Atone deaf

It's not kosher to sample this artwork

Today's run (street): 3.25 miles

This seems to be the week for religious observance and celebration. Apparently the pope is in Washington D.C. today (you'd think the news would cover that). Today is also Yom Kippur, a holiday dedicated to self reflection and atonement. I don't personally subscribe to any religious dogma, but I do think there's value to taking a day to appreciate what you have. My kids have the holiday off from school, so I took the day off as well. Not that I've done much reflecting or atoning.

I suppose I did a little of the former during my morning run. It was a cool 64° with low humidity. I miscalculated on my gear and wore a long sleeved shirt with running shorts. I was comfortable at first, but began to regret my clothing choice after a half mile. Fortunately, there was a strong breeze coming from the northeast that kept it tolerable most of the time.

Given the holiday, I had the roads pretty much to myself. I gave thanks for the lack of school buses and maniacs driving sanitation trucks and atoned for not doing speed work on a day that would have been perfect for it. I didn't push too hard, but still ran a little faster than my current normal. The low humidity probably helped there.

Yom Kippur is a holiday where observant people fast until sundown. I broke that rule about fifteen minutes after waking up this morning. Maybe earlier, if drinking coffee is also out of bounds. In between not reflecting and atoning, we took a drive over a nearby college to see a great exhibit by the artist Kevin O’Callaghan. The above picture is an example of his work. In the spirit of fasting, I didn't take a bite.