my ryan shay 5.5 memorial run

as many folks know, jeff came up with a great, great idea; word has been spreading fast regarding the ryan shay memorial run.

i ran my 5.5 loop today in honor of ryan shay. i just won't be able to fit it in next weekend because of other commitments, but i really wanted to participate.

i know very little of his life beyond what i have read online. yet ever since november 3, i have thought about his life (at least what i know of it), and that day quite a bit. i still haven't been able to fully grasp any of it.

during my run this morning, i thought about ryan. i thought about his mortality. i thought about my own mortality. i tried to run hard. i looked at the sidewalk, i looked at the lake, i watched other people walking on the paths. what if this was MY last run? what are ryan's wife and family doing today? how are they coping? how many other lives did ryan's touch? again i ask myself, what if this was MY last run?

when i reached 5.5 miles, i gave my heart a few strong thumps with my fist and pointed to the sky.