Morning Surprise

This morning, the alarm went off at 4:15. I turned it off, feeling no motivation to run. After 15 peaceful minutes, Guilt started yapping in my ear. "So you're gonna let people in need down?" he whispered. That was enough to get me moving, along with the fact Dori had me playing tooth fairy after Will's most recent gum loss.

The weather was perfect this morning ... 53 degrees and no wind. As I hit the three-mile mark on an out-and-back near Belmont University, a young lady bolted from behind a tree in a dark yard. She asked, "Can I run with you?"

My mind raced through about six possible retorts, some of them responses to old pickup lines and a few not fit for this blog. Using my media training, I said, "Sure, are you OK?"

"Someone was trying to get me," she said nervously. "A car stopped and they wouldn't leave me."

As we ran together, I could tell she'd been spooked. After a few hundred yards, she thanked me, then sprinted down a street to her home. Near Belmont, I saw a police officer at a gas station and told him what I knew. He took notes and thanked me.

The return run was uneventful. I ran seven miles at a 9:40/mile pace. I'm at 21.5 with a 12-miler scheduled Saturday morning. Tapering starts next week.

My employer is about to do a nice thing. They are sponsoring a team at Light the Night Oct. 16 in Nashville (they are a $2,500 sponsor) and will be letting folks know how they can contribute to my run. Pretty good stuff.

OK, I don't do politics on this blog, but I do appreciate a little levity. I'm watching in disgust, like many of you, Washington bail out a mess rooted in corporate avarice and lawmakers' and regulators' inability to address predictable problems over the last 10 years. So let's allow the world's most famous capitalist share a more cogent moment from a recent TV interview:

"It's nice to have a lot of money, but you know, you don't want to keep it around forever. I prefer buying things. Otherwise, it's a little like saving sex for your old age." - Warren Buffett

No wonder I like Al Czervik (Rodney Dangerfield) in Caddyshack so much ... PG clip to follow.