"Anyway"

I ran 22.5 kms today, slow but steady. Then I went for a bike ride with Colby and learned many things. You may recall that we have a trailer bike that hooks on to the back of mine so we can ride safely together. The reason I learned so much today is that I do most of the pedalling and Colby does most of the talking. It's actually very entertaining for me. I told him at one point that we when he gets older we could get a tandem bike and he explained that he knew all about them. Apparently they are "made in China"!

Colby and I also learned something from a fellow cyclist while out on our excursion. We had just crossed over a set of railroad tracks that are at a very severe angle to the road, thereby making them a potential hazard for cyclists(we were careful), when a voice called out from behind us. It was an older lady and she emphatically told us that the sign said for cyclists to dismount before crossing the tracks. I politely explained that the sign was there just to advise caution, not as a rule. She actually caught up to us and apologized for being rude but insisted again that we should have dismounted . I just said "thank you dear" and then she headed off with a final explanation that she had to get to the hospital to visit her brother. She was referring to the psychiatric hospital just up the road and I admit that for a moment I wondered whether she really had a brother there? Sometimes the patients are allowed out for short periods.

I have been having trouble with my i-pod ever since I spent 4 hours in the rain with it and today it simply refused to work at all. As a last resort I took Claudettes on my run and tried my best to keep an open mind about her music...especially the country stuff which I struggle with. Much to my pleasant surprise there were sevral songs I didn't have to skip past and even one that I played several times because I truly appreciated the lyrics. I am a little wound up tonite (race tomorrow) and that's my excuse for presenting this song to you in it's entirety as the bulk of my post. Hopefully you appreciate it as much as I did. The song was co-written and performed by Martina McBride and is called

Anyway
You can spend your whole life buildin'Somethin' from nothin'
One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dreamThat seems so out of reach
And you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

This worlds gone crazy and it's hard to believe
That tomorrow will be better than today
Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart
For all the right reasons
An in a moment they can choose to walk away
love 'em anyway

God is great, but sometimes life ain't good
When I pray it doesn't always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway
I do it anyway

You can pour your soul out singing a song u believe in
but tomorrow they will forget you ever sang
Sing it anyway!

Yeah I sing,
I dream,
I love anyway!

I wish to dedicate day 242 to local runner and triathlete Evert Tenbruggencate, who earlier this week was rushed to hospital with a stroke, as a result of a dissected carotid artery.

“Life is full of risks anyway, why not take them?"---Lindsay Lohan

"What is reality, anyway? Just a collective hunch."---Lily Tomlin

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway."---John Wayne

love
peter