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fun running

Oona and I (and Catherine, Evi, and Mei Mei, above) did the Family Fun Run in Ottawa this Saturday, as part of Ottawa Race Weekend. C ran the 5K with her brother-in-law. Oona and I did not run. Oona did, however, walk the last 100 metres of the race, past the finish line. And she did very much like her medal. I, on the other hand, did not accept a medal. Which C found confusing.

C (far left, waving like a maniac) ran her race in decent time. Her goal was to beat her brother-in-law, which she did. Easily. I advised this brother-in-law to keep some aspirin in his pocket, so that someone could crush them on his tongue immediately after the heart attack. And yet: he did *not* have a heart attack, despite looking like a beaver dipped in Castor oil by the end of the race.

C gets very up for all this, says the power of the crowd is intoxicating. I understand that, but I feel it's something else, too -- how often do average people get to cross any kind of cheering finish line? How often does an adult get flooded with positive reinforcement? We get applauded, yes, but not like that. This isn't some thumbs-up 'Like' button; this is a small sea of joyous faces, applauding and waving you in.

By the way: who decided that generic 'power' rock was going to be the default background music of any non-music festival? What does Lenny Kravitz singing Let Love Rule have to do with running the half-marathon? I mean, if they gave you handfuls of drugs to smoke at the end of the race, I would get it. But they don't. They give you bananas and Gatorade. And even if you're just a spectator, who decided that the music of Honeymoon Suite would enhance my experience of standing in line to buy a fucking snow cone?

Crowds disturb me. They do. I grew up in a village of three hundred people. I had a graduating class of nine -- two guys and seven girls. Being in the midst of thousands of people is ... otherworldly. I never get used to it.

And now I have a cold in my eye. What is the point of getting a cold in your eye? You're not sick, exactly -- just very tired, and murky, and your eye is weepy and cloudy and sometimes sticky. What is the point of this? If I want to walk around with red eyes and impaired vision, I could just stay up all night, drinking with Lenny Kravitz. That might be fun.

Comments

  1. i'll stay up drinking with you and Lenny!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. At least Christina looks like she was having a good time! Not sure about the rest of the family though ;)
    The Bluenose Run was on here in Halifax and I was surprised to see so many kids out - must be the new craze (and a good one at that). Well done all of you for taking part.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am hoping to get physically better so that I can run..walk a 5 k someday. I am giving myself a few years to get the knees and feet sorted. Your wife looks very happy! But I must say..an ice cream cone sounds lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous7:22 pm

    Ahhh...get better soon Darryl! I think the pollen maybe?, is disturbing my left eye. I couldn't see Christian as he was showing me numbers, and stuff on his legal pad. A lady mowed the field today on our property, she is very bored being recently retired, christian tells me, and she wouldn't take no for an answer. People are fun...sometimes I don't know what to do with them really.

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