Checking Out the Racks

My run this morning was non-descript. I had to be back by 6:45 and didn't want to go out any earlier than 6. Erin said she'd be down by the Wurst House/Best House but wasn't, I waited around a bit and headed out, only to be overtaken by Deirdre and we ran out to Cobbs Creek and back down Cedar together. Topics of conversation were the Phillies parade, tomorrow's election, and yesterdays marathon. Except for the last one, that pretty much summarizes what's on everybody's mind in Philly right now. And speaking of marathons, congrats to Ian and Mike on fine NYC performances. Especially since I've never figured out how to run that course well, their times impress me even more. I'm happy for both of them. Thinking of fast times on a beautiful day in a great city gives me the bug to run a marathon again like nothing else.

I had a meeting on Penn campus this morning and took a few minutes to sneak into Philadelphia Runner's store on Walnut to look at windbreakers. I got a Boston Marathon jacket from 2002 that I always feel self-conscious wearing, since I feel like a big billboard saying "I'm a running geek" when I wear it, but that doesn't prevent me from wearing it anyway because it is really well made and has all the features that I want in a windbreaker. But alas, its getting on in years so that I'm looking to replace it with something that is just like it except for it doesn't have "Boston Marathon" all over it. Didn't find that this morning. I was wandering around the store and couldn't seem to get out of the women's clothing section until I realized that there wasn't really a men's clothing section. Just shoes against the wall, racks of running bras, pink clothing and other girlish looking stuff, and 50% off racks. Is this a trend?

And that is what's in a drifting, procrastinating mind on a slow Monday morning. 4 miles, untimed and uncharted.