This weekend Rainey and I rode our bikes to our city's annual marathon. This event shall hereafter be known as "The Day the Nipples Ran Red."

I've heard of this phenomenon before, but Lordy, to actually see it in person was a painful sight. I stupidly figured that the reason so many of the men ran without t-shirts was simply due to coolness and possibly vanity, but clearly chafing is a serious factor in this decision.

Rainey and I followed the runners along their route for several miles, cheering them on. People defintely have different running styles: some trudge, some let their arms hang down, some run with their bodies canted forward, others seem to bounce like they have springs in their legs.

Then we rode to the finish line and cheered on the runners for about an hour. It was pretty inspirational. There was a father pushing his son in a wheelchair. There were mothers and fathers carrying their children the last few feet. Their were fat women and men. There were friends running their family and friends in. Their were people walking and happy to be finishing. There were people who worked the crowd and got us cheering with their antics. Many came through the finish line at a serious sprint, their eyes trained on the clock, obviously trying to beat a certain time. There was man who had carried a sign throughout the race that said "3:45". I watched him come in at 3:44:30.

The course was supposed to be open for 6 hours. Rainey and I looped back to the middle of the course and saw a few stragglers, including an elderly gentleman. I certainly hope they all finished before the cut-off.

Also, can I just say that marathon runners are hot!

After that Rainey and I rode all over town. All told, we logged about 30 miles. It was a gorgeous day and it was great to be outdoors for hours and hours.

I've continued my 30-minute runs and am trying to put in some speed play. I must say, however, that running has an interesting effect on my digestive process. The last few runs, about half-way through I start having serious stomach distress, so that by the time I'm finishing up I'm desperate to get home to the bathroom. I appreciate knowing that I can use running should I ever need a natural laxative, but I certainly wish it wasn't so effective. Will have to make sure I plan my runs near strategic bathroom locations in the future.

I have a free session with Rainey's personal trainer at the Y tomorrow. I'm not yet sold on the idea and am not sure if I can justify the expense, but I'm going to enjoy the free session nevertheless.