You're running what? Why?

I'm running a half-marathon this Sunday, September 6. 2009 in Disneyland, Anaheim, California, at 6am in the morning. I know it sounds crazy. At least it has always sounded crazy. Like, why? I like my knees just the way they are!

Most people I tell say "oh. That's cool." My mom said "You're running what?" She didn't say the why, but I saw it there on her tongue. And she's not reserved in sharing her thoughts, but for some reason she let the letters dangle just on the other side of her vocal chords and then she swallowed and said something encouraging.

I took notes. I'll need them in the future I'm sure, when Ezra tells me he's hiking the Appalachian Mountain Trail in a week's time.

Anyway, this whole half marathon business wasn't my idea. It was Chryss Yost who put a little spell on me (must be all that time she's spending in Haiti learning about Haitian culture and Santeria.

Anyway, for some reason I said yes. I don't remember if I said it casually, or with an upturn at the end, but regardless, this Sunday I'm doing it. 13.1 miles of one foot in front of the other in Disneyland. I'm sure many have accomplished this feat in Disneyland, but at a pace that makes me look FAST!

Okay, on a less silly note, I am rather excited about it. Not nervous yet. But when I see the other 17,999 people in the race, I think it'll kick in.

Barry Miller, Chryss and I have been training for a few months now, so I actually feel prepared. I saw Dr. Brown, my favorite naturopath who teaches the Morter Health System, on Thursday for a preventative tune up.

I feel like I'm ready and I'll let you know how it feels to run 13.1 miles. I'm sure it is in our biology to do this, just as I am sure my human ancestors were also impatient. We must have run this far in the past, before cars and wagons and domesticating horses and inventing rollerblades. There must have been something a few hours away that we felt a desperate need to run to and see within a short period of time.

Perhaps I will have a distant memory and connect with my ancestral roots--wanting to visit my Jondular in a neighboring tribe. I'm thinking I had a Jondular in a few tribes, why else would I run so far?

If you don't get the Jondular reference, that's probably a good thing.

I'm publishing this without re-reading because I've got a little boy calling my name!