Running Greek

Today I got home and the early spring sunshine called to me and I had to get out and enjoy it. The weather has been quite warm the past few days and things are rapidly melting. This does not mean it is spring as those of us who are seasoned Sourdoughs know spring never really comes for another month or so. The days in March tend to be some of the best of the winter season though and today was a shining example of a perfect afternoon.

I headed out to the bluff overlooking the tidal flats as it is only 1.7 miles from the house. It was a good run out and back after a pause to admire the tidal flats and the skiers and hikers taking advantage of the frozen mud flats. My Nike+ chip got the distance down to the bluff park spot on for accuracy, but on the return trip it only registered .93 miles. I think this a bit odd as it is almost all downhill to get to the bluff park and uphill for the return, but the device didn't register the increased foot falls as the same distance, but much less instead. I can honestly say that the Nike+ device is a sub-par piece of equipment and I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a way to monitor their running.

While I was running and avoiding the puddles and the cars splashing mucky water and debris I was hit by a tidal wave from one Animosity Research Special Expert (ARSE) as he motored his jitney intentionally into the puddle to drench me as he was the only vehicle on an otherwise empty street. This was the only downside to my run today. On the run I was considering that once men ran great distances in the nude. Running "commando" isn't the greatest form of entertainment and I could not imagine running au natural, and never in Alaska. I know there are different cultures in the world and the Greeks brought us many of the grand sporting spectacles and many of them where originally done in the nude. If this were the case today it would definitely separate the athlete from the average citizen, as most folks do not want to exercise in their birthday suit.

I saw that this year marks the 2500th anniversary of the Athens Marathon. That is pretty impressive as not too many things can claim that kind of history. I would like to run this one. What a thrill and an honor to run the historic course that gave birth to the running craze. I can't do t this year, but perhaps in the near future I can make my way to Greece to be a part of some of the history. If you want to be part of a historical milestone make your way to Greece on Halloween this year and take part in the race. You don't have to be naked to run this one. Aren't you glad that times change?

With my 3.4 mile run today my total comes to 95.56 miles with 4869.44 in front of me on my journey to Davie. This puts me just short of the entrance to the Matanuska Glacier Park and Rest Area. The glacier is just about in view.