Thursday, February 17, 2011

You're Not Pinning This One On Me

I cleaned out my Running Command Center last week in preparation for a household renovation project. I drilled through layers of old training schedules, promotional race materials, Gu packets, race bibs, and random odds and ends which had accumulated for years on the surface you see in the picture. At the end, when everything else had been cleared away, this is what was left:

The detritus of a dozen races



Pins. Pins, a racing runner's best friend and bane of his or her existence. Pins on the floor of the car. Pins in pockets. Pins rattling around in the dryer. Pins between the couch cushions. Pins in extremely weird places (I'll leave that one to your imagination).

The small cat-themed container is also packed full of pins. That's my portable pin bin. I take it with me to all major races.

Pins. Gotta love 'em.

After last week's Arctic BlastTM, this week has seen a considerable improvement in the weather situation. Temperatures vaulted into the forties and fifties, most of the snow melted, and the sun made occasional appearances. However, I have lived in the Midwest for too long to be fooled by this flirtation with still-distant spring. I know that a few days hence there will be fresh snow on the ground and 50-plus degrees will be a fading memory. I took advantage of the favorable yet fleeting conditions by going for three afternoon runs, reveling in the lightness of limbs less encumbered by layers of fabric.

The weekend will bring a return to more typical weather for this time of year, including the dreaded "wintry mix" on Sunday. We're not out of the woods yet, fellow Michiganders. Hang in there.

9 comments:

Maggs said...

haha. I always think I'm going to have a bunch of safety pins around, but everytime I look for them I can't find any. I guess I need to start doing some more running races.

TNTcoach Ken said...

So I shouldn't put away my winter gear???? Since I purchased my race belt I just throw the pins away.

Jen Feeny said...

Spike keeps warning me and warning me not to get too excited about this weather so I keep checking the weather and sure enough... total tease! Mother Nature you're a tramp!

B. Kramer said...

At first I read that there will be fresh snow and 52 degrees, and that also seems likely with the kind of weather we get. I know my home must be filled with pins, but for the life of me I don't know where they disappear to. Cheers!

Sun Runner said...

@Viper: you have a dog. Anything that falls on the floor is fair game.

Nitmos said...

Oh, winter is over. I'm calling it. Nothing can prove me wrong. We're invincible.

Spike said...

I sent Winter a very threatening note, so we'll see if it decides to make a serious comeback.

Ironman By Thirty said...

I got a race belt when I started doing tris. I can't believe I ran for so long without one. so much easier to deal with than pins.

Jill said...

Certainly not out of the woods yet. I had to remind my husband that it's only February, and we will have snow again soon when he started mentioning spring and talking about fertilizing our apple tree. Silly boy.