As of late this morning, I’m over halfway through the series… and boy are my legs tired.
At the start line briefing, a drizzle came down. It would get much worse as the race wore on. During the pre-race announcements, George told us the Bee Rock Tunnel is the world’s shortest railroad tunnel. A quick google search this evening as I type this reveals that although it’s locally known as that here in Appalachia, it’s actually one foot, seven inches LONGER than the Westmoreland Tunnel in Gallatin, TN… and they’re both longer than the Backbone Rock Tunnel near Crandull, TN. This is sometimes why legends and local tour guides can sometimes just make stuff up and we traveling bumpkins believe them. Although, let’s be honest — it’s also possible that Wikipedia just makes stuff up and because it’s on “the internet” we all assume it’s true.
Maybe there is no truth left in the world, a place where a Ministry of Information claims the president doesn’t call a US-born newlywed member of the Royal family “nasty” by posting video and subtitles wherein he must definitely calls her “nasty.” I would say gaslighting works better when the evidence used doesn’t disprove the lie… but we also live in a world where 43% of our population feels that this guy could shoot “the truth” in the head on Fifth Avenue and they wouldn’t care. So maybe gaslighting is just the new normal.
Sigh.
I digress. I’m in a bit of a mood because as the rain came pouring down through the race, interrupted briefly by splotches of sunlight but never a rainbow, I got chilled to my core. And as a result, the rain still falling after I showered post-run, I decided to go see a movie. A local theater offered $4 matinee tickets and I thought I’d go check out Godzilla: King of the Monsters as it has a lot of actors I like, chief amongst them Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobbi Brown. But alas, it turned out to be indescribably awful, so much so that I regretted not going to see the live-action Aladdin which looks about as awful as a movie can look. As a result, I’m in a depressed state of post-movie blues. Although I’m not sure Godzilla counts as a movie — it’s more of an insult.
Again, I digress.
Here’s shots from the course, a nice wide rail to bike trail that featured not only the Bee Rock Tunnel but a 300 foot tunnel that provided refuge from the rain… and a wind tunnel to help cut to the core.
Man, I’m a real negative Kevin today. Maybe it’s the rain. Maybe it was an over 4 hour run. And maybe it’s because it’s Global Running Day and I’ve been struggling finding a discount code for a race I promised I’d do with a Tanzanian friend of mine. I mean, a friend of mine I met in Tanzania — a few ago he retired from the Baltimore PD and this year’s race in Maryland may be his marathon swan song. I’d like to support him… but I also feel like there *should* be a discount code somewhere for this thing. Everybody else seems to have one.
(Post Script Spoiler: I finally found one — so, Gene, you’ll have one more Crab at the race with ya! And if you’re on here because you googled “Baltimore Marathon Discount Code” it’s GRD19 for $10 off).
Tomorrow — Mockingbird Marathon in Erwin, TN. And definitely NOT a second viewing of Godzilla: King of The Monsters.