It Was A Dark And Stormy Night

by Bert Carson

Photo by Yvonne Kirk - Australia

Last Sunday I posted a blog called On Commitment, where I reported that on May 12th I'd made a commitment to myself to run every scheduled running day for the rest of the year - that amounts to running three days, resting one day, running three days, resting one day... or to put it in simpler way, I committed to running six out of every seven days.

Last night (Saturday) was the 26th day since I made that commitment.  At 7 PM, I began getting ready to run.  A few minutes later my iTouch beeped and informed me that a thunderstorm warning had been issued for all of Madison County, Alabama.  As if orchestrated by the iTouch, seconds later a thunderstorm moved into the area and camped out.

The storm came complete with torrential rain, screaming erratic wind, and a lot of lightning (note - I did not take a picture of last night's storm.  The lightning in the photo above is Australian lightning, photographed by my friend Yvonne Kirk - click the link under the photo to see her work on Flickr and go to Corresponding Writers to read more about my renaissance pen pal.)

Before I made the commitment a thunderstorm would have been more than enough justification to scrub a run.  That's no longer the case.  I waited until 10:30, going out on the porch many times to check the rainfall.  Finally I told myself, "I've been wet before.  So I get wet again," and I began strapping on my gear.

At a 10:45, I was in my major yoga stretching pose when I noticed the lightning had departed leaving only a moderate rain fall.  Back on my feet at 10:55, I pulled my baseball cap low over my eyes, checked my flashlight, and told Christina I'd either be back after two miles or else I'd go the full, short loop.

Five minutes later, a quarter of a mile into the run, I was as wet as I could get.  Another mile and I decided to run the full short loop, 5.1 miles.  An hour later, less than a half mile from home, the rain stopped.  I laughed, skipped a step, and marveled at the power of commitment to get me out on a night like this one and make me happy about it.

I've been a runner since July 2, 1979.  In all those years, I've never run 27 consecutive running days.  The most amazing thing that's happened in that time period is the runs are easier, faster, and way more fun.

So I get wet every now and then.  I've been wet before.

Bert Carson