rainbows and rv's

Just because you haven't heard from me in a while doesn't mean I’m not training. On the contrary — beginning October 1st I stepped up my running and workouts. Personally, I'm doing well. Family is awesome and work has been rewarding. I guess I’ve just been too busy to post.
Last weekend I stole away some personal time and traveled with a few friends to Cape Hatteras to relax and surf.
More on the trip in a moment.
I’m looking forward to seeing the group Saturday morning October 20.

Rainbows

The last time I joined the 26.2 with Donna group we ran 5 miles at UNF (and some of us ran an additional "magic mile").
It was October 6th and NE Florida was on the backside of several weeks of torrential rain.
Beds are the best place to be at 5:00 am when it’s pouring down rain.
Running in the rainy darkness might seem miserable but it does have some advantages.
The temp is a bit cooler with rain and if the dew point (thanks Tim) is favorable a rainy morning run can be very enjoyable.
Getting up and showing up is the tough part.
The group that morning was smaller than the 180 (or so) that I had gotten used to seeing. But, it’s still amazing to see 80 to 100 committed fund raising runners out at 5:30 in challenging elements.
After the "fasties" completed our run on Saturday I allowed myself some time to study the development of a rainbow in the western sky over the UNF pines. It reminded me of a sunrise. A whisper of refracting light in the sky gradually forcing it's full presence on the earth below. I determined that this emerging double rainbow was an appropriate finish for all of the selfless runners that managed to show up and participate on behalf of the Donna Hicken Foundation.
I'm glad I did not argue and grumble myself back to sleep!

RV's
The five day surf trip to Cape Hatteras (we stayed in Duck) was planned as a surprise for Scott "Doc" Wagner.
Thursday, October 11 thru Monday, October 15 was a well kept secret for nearly two months
His wife Kate took care of ALL the details. We traveled by rented RV to a rented house and relaxed and surfed for four days.
It was a great trip.
My only challenge was how to fit a fourteen mile run into the weekend.
If the Galloway group was running that distance on Saturday morning, October 13, I was determined to keep pace.
I awoke early Saturday morning to witness a sunrise from our "rented" North Carolina beach and thought back to the morning rainbow a week earlier in Jacksonville. It can be extraordinary and comforting to watch light grow and consume space. This would be a good day for a long run.
Sixteen miles and two hours later I was back at the house with my surf companions. They were all amazed that I managed to pull off a sixteen mile run in the middle of a surf trip. The run did not seem out of place to me. I'm not sure why but, I felt my day was more complete because of the time I spent outside that morning. Anyway, two hours later we were in the trusty RV heading south to catch perfect waist high waves. We would surf until the sun worked it's way down into the low western sky. The temperature dropped, the sky changed colors and as I watched my friends catch their last waves into the beach I felt at home.