Last Sunday, I decided to expand my jogging horizons beyond the goat pastures of Castilla-LaMancha and participated in the CSIC 10K race through downtown Madrid.
Five thousand people participated in the run—of which ten were actually trying to win it. My goal wasn’t to finish first; but rather, not to finish last.
I felt confident that I would achieve this goal. Here’s why.
I was wearing my iPod Shuffle MP3 player…as I always do when I run. As you probably know, the iPod Shuffle doesn’t have a screen and the songs play in a random order. You therefore don’t know which song is coming next. I hit the “Play” button as I crossed the starting line, and what do you think was the first song to hit my ears? It was The Byrds singing:
Jesus is just alright with me.
Jesus is just alright, oh yeah.
Jesus is just alright with me.
Jesus is just alright.
So I knew from the first step that Divine intervention was on my side. I finished the run in a little under 51 minutes. The last person finished much later.
The race’s winner, by the way, finished more than twenty minutes before I did. I wonder what song was playing on his iPod?
Didn’t anyone tell you that Sunday is a day of rest!?
Actually, nice job! That’s a pretty goo dpace for a guy with a desk job. 🙂
~ B
(I’m still alive!)
Sal,
Your bandana is sweet.
And nice to get a glimpse of Madrid. I’m feeling especially Madrid-sick today! I mailed birthday gifts to the little kiddies I stayed with as an exchange student. (Their birthdays are both the first week of November.) I sent the little boy some Batman-related toys — a Batmobile and a Batcopter. I was pretty impressed with the Batcopter myself. If I were a bat-person, that’d be the only way to travel.
Anyhoo… back to work! (Can you tell it’s a boring day at the office?)
Nice job, Sal. Wasn’t also Saint Paul on your side? BTW, Kiprono Menjo finished in 29:11. His heart itself is an I-pod of the first generation.
Well, you know I never understood this jogging passion very well, but liberalism makes it a matter of principle that almost any personal choice about way of life, however bizar, should be fully respected… as far as it does not interfere with public order and anyone else’s freedom of movement!
I bet 5,000 of you, joggers, out there must have become quite an obstacle. Having invested 2.5 hours to drive 900 metres because of the Madrid marathon this Winter made me swore that the rest of my life would be devoted to promoting that a new bill that assimilates massive sport demonstrations and NBQ warfare was enacted (so far I have been unsuccessful, but keep trying).
I thought you were a sensible, respectful and respectable citizen. That picture of you surrounded by that bunch of… Oh, there are no heroes anymore!
Take care (I might sue you first).
Hugs,
Fer
Dear Fer, just for the sake of your knowledge, we don’t “jog”. We run. Take care and don’t raise the interest rates, please. Michael Landon