A funny thing happened on the way to my mid-40's, this sometimes obstacle called Life.

Back in 2001-2002 - at age 25 - after being let go for the second time from a job in radio, I found myself in Addison, Texas (a north Dallas suburb). I was working open to close, six days a week at a New York-style pizzeria called Pastazio's while living with Kim, a long time friend from beyond high school who was successful and living by herself in a two bedroom apartment. At this time, it seemed, everyone from high school & college - along with my brother & sister - were making money, moving up the employment latter, getting married, having children and cruising along hitting life's signposts.

I, on the other hand, was stagnant, struggling and usually broke. That year the song The Middle by Jimmy Eat World came out and I think I heard it at least seven times a day delivering pizza by car and bicycle. Like most earworms the lyrics were cemented into my brain and it became my anthem. No matter how much further along everyone else seems to be, keep to your own path, do what you want to do and ignore the naysayers - one day, it will all come together.

Nearly twenty years later (approaching age 44) with April 3rd making it six year's at Marion Public Library and April 1st marking one year of living in Delaware, Ohio with L and - as of a two weekends ago - we have set a date of August 25th for our wedding. Funny how you stop thinking about things, wondering about details and asking about specifics and suddenly those signposts drift by happily waving with full approval. There are still some things I'd like to do, places I want to go and to have happen - but it is nice to see a few of them take place before their expiration date. That psychological dividing line doesn't exist for me anymore.

Now busy planning a wedding (yeah, that will sound weird to me for a while) and making a garden out of a backyard quarry - we are squeezing in races when we can and this month is loaded. The first is the Choo Choo 9 Miler & 5k, paying tribute to one of the legends of central Ohio, the late Silas B. Rutherford. The roots are intertwined with the roots of Central Ohio itself. You may remember the story of Silas B. Rutherford from your Ohio history classes. The race is held in honor of Rutherford’s fateful final journey aboard his doomed steam train, the BessieExpress with L running the 5k and I running the 9 mile race.

According to race details, after about 1.5 miles through the streets of Westerville, the 9-mile course joins up with the Alum Creek multi-use trail for the duration. Starting and finishing at Alum Creek Park North off Main St. this flat and fast course is just what you need to spring forward, and the race pays tribute to the legend of central Ohio's most extraordinary train conductor, Silas B. Rutherford. A portion of the course is the exact course from the Westerville Rotary July 4th 5K I ran last summer.

We had an overcast sky and temps in the 50s, making for an excellent atmosphere. Though, the boulders we dug out of the ground making way for our garden the day before left us sore and maybe a bit more worn than we would liked to have been. Nevertheless, joining Traffic Panther Gary and the rest of my CRC Westerville brethren at the start had the excitement on high alert.

At the gun I tried to say within myself and hang with my teammates. Traffic Panther Gary, who was running the 5k portion, drifted out front so CRC Teammate Ken and I let him go. At about a mile and a half, I thought I heard a clicking sound and glanced down to see my left shoe has become untied - crap. My shoe is tight fitting to start with which made it less of an issue, but I didn't want to suddenly stop to start again. So, I just let it go and figured we'll see what happens as we go.

We hit the first mile at 6:00, good...not too fast...not too slow. We reach the 5k & 9 mile split and shortly there after mile two passes, 6:19. At this time Ken and another we are running with drift out front and my body is showing signs of the rock digging the day before - fatigued with sore muscles. Having to settle with the fact I'm not going to be able to speed up, I stick with attempting to maintain as much as I can. Around mile four I'm passed by a gentleman who says, "I've been chasing you for the last 2 1/2 miles, come with me!" He, too, slowly drifts further out front as I stride and push my arms to their fullest extent.

I hear a bell ringing a short time later, I see it's the last water stop and signals the turn around which is just ahead. Those in front begin to pass by going the opposite direction, they all offer encouragement. I reach the turn around and within seconds those following me are headed my direction. The first is a woman who looks much more fresh than I, "Come get me!", I say as an attempt to encourage her to pick me off soon. She does just that, as does two others minutes later.

As those few passersby get further and further along, I don't feel as if I'm crashing. Though, I'm definitely feeling the digging in the yard from the day before. I reach the portion of the course that was the 5k I course I ran here last July and push through the soreness. With about a half mile to go I see L along the course and she throws out an, "Almost there!". The street comes into focus and I leave the bike trail, turn right onto the bridge, then another right into the park with the crowd of onlookers, 5k finishers and our finish line.

My goal was be under 59 minutes or, at the very least, less than an hour. Despite the fatigue it was with great satisfaction to see the clock at little more than 58 1/2 minutes as I trekked through the remaining portion of the course and through the finishing chute. I stop my watch and guzzle the vast majority of a bottle of water then raise my rubbery arm to see 58:50. This is good enough for 11th overall and third in my age group. Further inspection showed all miles were under 7:00, despite my less than great race condition. Every ensuing mile was slower than the previous, but by only a handful of seconds and there was no huge time gap.

We went home and sat in our backyard in the sun for awhile, then came in to take a two hour nap. From my untied shoe, every left toe - minus the big toe - has a small blister of some kind on it. It isn't painful and I just have to live with it. I'll be triple tying my shoes from here on out.

As for L, she finished 39th overall in the 5k and second in her age group in 25:41. Not her fastest, but pretty close and she - too - felt the effects from the previous day's yard work. Traffic Panther Gary took 5th in the 5k and CRC Ken took 6th in the 9 mile race. Gary and I will now join the rest of our Traffic Panther Teammates (and another 80+ squads) in the 3rd running of The Buck Fifty - Southern Ohio's 150 Mile, 24 Hour, 10 Person Team Relay this Friday and Saturday in and around my home Chillicothe, Ohio hometown. I will also be joining Gary the following Sunday morning to take part in the Athens Ohio Half Marathon. So that's 14 miles - three separate runs - in 24 hours Friday & Saturday, then 13.1 on Sunday morning. My only saving grace is that I had the brains to take the following Monday off from work to recover.

So I'm - wow - I'm getting married and attempting to squeeze 27 miles of southern Ohio hills in under two days. Nothing like jumping into an abyss of the unknown and hoping to make it out unscathed. It is scary though, the not knowing, but isn't that the whole premise of such things? Take some chances, experience some pain, live the way you've always wanted....run on friends!

Slothrust - Peach

Silly sandbox
Stupid scarecrow
Jack-o-lantern, chupacabra
Sick menorah, candelabra
Tiny tantrums, elves and giants
Little turtle, kindergarten
You were so mean to me then
But no one's mean to me now
Welcome to the Danger Zone
If you shut up I'll toss you a bone
I heard you like your little crate
I think I'm winning this debate
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a peach
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a peach
But damn you've got the sharpest teeth
And I am soft as a