Diving In

So, I’ve done it. Or at least I’ll try to do it. By “it” I mean committing to NaBloPoMo for November, which means I’m going to post something here every single day until the end of the month. Gulp.

Well, I shall make a decent attempt at least. I was on the bus last night on my way to my friends’ place for wine and pumpkin cupcakes and her fabulous macaroni and cheese (please believe me when I tell you we all had been waiting for that stuff all day, it is that good) and I was struck with a bit of inspiration (yes, the 31 bus will do that to you, apparently) — why not be a little crazy in November and blog every single day? We’ll see how much I regret that moment of feeling inspired in a few weeks.

Wish me luck?

[Breakfast this morning, November 2008.]

In the spirit of such recklessness, I ran 14 miles today in the rain. I decided I wouldn’t after all do the half-marathon I’d signed up for — and which takes place tomorrow — because I hadn’t trained enough, but for some reason this afternoon I thought it would be a good idea to throw caution to the wind and just see how far I could go. There have been some frustrations this week, most of which too boring to go into, and when I woke up today to rain I couldn’t bear to have my plans for a long run thwarted, too.

So I laced up my shoes anyway and set off through the cool green of the park. Fairly quickly I was soaked through, my shoes squishing comfortably as I plodded along trying to avoid the puddles. As I leaped over one just past the De Young I may have shouted “red velvet cake!”; luckily (I think) no one was around to hear me because … well, I fear I may have sounded a bit insane. I made it down to the Great Highway to see the ocean crashing away in all its grey-green splendor. The sea in the rain is a beautiful thing, and I haven’t been out to see it in far too long; this, then, made it all worth it. A few seagulls perched on the beach wall and we regarded each other as I ran silently past, stopping every so often to wring water out of my shorts.

I hadn’t planned to run quite so long — and in the rain no less — but fortunately I’d well-fortified myself beforehand with a sturdy breakfast. I made a strong pot of coffee and toasted a piece of my very favorite whole-wheat walnut bread which I then spread with pesto. I fried an egg, piled it on top, and sat down to contemplate my day from the comfort of my dining table with my book — and maybe that’s when I decided not to take this rain business sitting down. We have many more wet days in the immediate forecast but I think when I remember that churning ocean and empty, clean-washed beach I might to not mind so much.

Time will tell.