Wet Peaches

Innovation can best be defined as man's attempt to create order, in his own mind and in the universe around him, by taking risk and creating risk.-- Peter Drucker 

Ah, the Fourth of July. Cookouts and fun in the sun with fireworks. Not this year. I spent it running the AJC Peachtree Road Race. The Peachtree Road Race is the most popular race in Atlanta. It had over 54,000 finishers. The main reason for the lack of cookouts and fun and n the sun was because of the torrential downpour that ensued upon the beginning of my wave.

I've run in the rain before but this one was a distraction. It could be because I was moving at a solid pace in a new city before the sky truly opened up and I couldn't rely on familiarity to pull me through the course. The Yurbuds headphones whose motto is a guarantee not to fall out, fell out at the 2.5 mile mark of a 6.2 mile race. Needless to say I was really upset.

A little sidebar about my love for music and the combination of running and music. I am actually writing this post to Mozart's 40th Symphony to give some clarity to my thoughts. I very rarely, if ever, run without music. Lots of people feel that runners shouldn't run with music but I feel like Eminem when he responded to Will Smith and cursing in one his songs. I run to escape and enjoy the view. I wish I could do everything with music in the background. Imagine if someone did a movie about you. What songs would play for graduation day or the birth of a child. What song would play after your first marathon or while you binge watch Breaking Bad n Netflix. What music would accompany every moment in your life. Everything from that 750 millionth trip to Starbucks or that moment right before you interview for your dream job? Amazingly, at this moment, my shuffle went for Mozart Symphony no.40 to Aida: Marcia E Ballabile by Verdi. That just shifted my mood so I'll get back on track.

After I slowed to get my headphones to not keep falling out I figured that I could drop 20 seconds per mile to get back to the previous pace (I know, bad math). The stupid headphones were so slperh after the sweat that they wouldn't stay in for one step. I had to just carry them and run without music to a dud screaming Beer and T-Shirts. That is another reason I run to music. That, plus the incessant, your almost there, when you are 40% complete. In any event, I then ran into the first of a series of hills, after losing my tunes. Then the rain picked up and I could no longer avoid the massive puddles and streams of water cascading towards me because of the downhill and the amount of rain.

I know it sound like I'm complaining but I'm just giving a play by play. The rain was a welcome relief from the heat. If not for the rain, it would have been 95 degrees and humid. I would take rain over that any day. I'll give the headphones one more shot with the different size that came with it. On top of that, I am only tech savvy enough to write a blog and take photos on the run. I might have just put them in wrong but after my next run, if they fall out, I will be upset and think of some analogy to describe what I will do to the salesperson at Best Buy and to the exhibitor at the Health and Fitness Expo.

I met a few good people before and after the race that I may or may not see again (I didn't take names) and I truly enjoyed the race. Although my performance wasn't what I wanted, I felt good and sort of fast on my trip on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, GA.