Big Bang Theory

On the morning of July 4th I was running in a race called the Big Bang 5k.  I was pushing our daughter Emry in the jogging stroller, and realized the two of us hadn't been out jogging together in a long time.

Doing a little pre-race stretching!

It has consistently been over 100 degrees outside, so I tried to remember the last time I used the jogging stroller...

One night recently, I took the stroller out so I could "run" to Target to exchange a cooking pot.  I got a couple of honks from people driving down the road, and the lady at Target's return desk gave me a funny look when I unstrapped the pot from the stroller.  Is it really that unusual to "run" errands and not "drive" them?  Most of the people around here think its so weird, including Maren.  In fact, before I left the house that night, she sprinted down the driveway to take pictures of her weird husband.  In other parts of the country, its probably more acceptable to walk/run/bike as a mode of transportation, and in other parts of the world its the only option.

Yeah, its a pot...get over it!

After reminiscing about that experience, I realized that within the last 12 months, I've had the unique opportunity to run from one coast of our great nation to the other...

Last July, I was in San Diego for a few days for a work conference.  I couldn't get used to the time change, so each morning around 4 am I'd go out for a jog.  I'd run along the coastline, by the port and through the gas lamp district.  On these early morning runs I encountered zero whale vaginas, but saw lots of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks.  One morning alone, I counted 34 homeless people. 

A couple of weeks ago, I got to run on the sandy beach in Folly Beach, SC.  One afternoon I ran along the road that exits the island.  During the run, I'm pretty sure I saw more real estate signs than palm trees.  When I turned around to go back, the line of cars to get on the island was so congested that I was actually passing the cars.  Another day, I ran along the beach during high tide and literally had to jump over people's beach towels because it was so crowded.  Some parts of the beach have eroded so badly from the new development that there is only about 15 ft of sand between the water and the sand dunes.   

After thinking about those runs, I realized that living in the midwest isn't so bad at all.  They might get better weather on the coasts, but they've definitely got their issues too. By the time I finished the Big Bang 5k I came to the conclusion that through my running experiences within the past year, I'm happy to call the midwest home sweet home. 

Then it all came full circle this past weekend...Emry and I were camping at my aunt's property in Lynnville.  On Saturday morning, we stepped off their driveway and were on a quiet country road.  There were no cars, no exhaust, no real estate construction, no trash along the road and homeless people or sunbathers to jump over.  It was just me, Emry, two deer, three rabbits, a slight drizzle and a bunch of song birds.  It was the best run I've had all year.  I wouldn't have traded it for anything!   

By the way, Emry ended up beating me in the Big Bang 5k.  She finished just a split second ahead of me...

*Big Bang 5k photos courtesy of http://www.gerwc.com/