The sky is falling! The sky is falling!!!

Man oh man!! First we woke up to a massive rock slide in the city that nearly leveled Showgirls Cabaret in North Beach. Then, Greenspan's comments yesterday (didn't he retire?) trigger a MAJOR sell-off in the Chinese market (down 9% in a single day), which spilled over in to the U.S. resulting in the biggest drop in the DOW and S&P500 since 9/11. THEN (as if that wasn't enough), the sky opened up for the fourth straight day and dumped rain and hail on the city all day long. If it weren't for the fact that conditions at the Pole will be much worse than anything little ole San Francisco can throw at me (short of the city sliding into the ocean), I'd have blown off my run.

Then..... at 4:00, the rain stopped and the most amazing rainbow streaked across the sky.. I quickly changed in to my running clothes and was outside by 4:04.. Two minutes and a third of a mile later, the rainbow was yanked back from wherever it came from and the rain and wind flew in and hit me right in the face. I was dressed for the cold, but didn't have a waterproof layer on so I was immediately soaked to the bone.

After four and a half miles of running in to the wind and rain, I was glad to make the turnaround just short of the Golden Gate Bridge and give my backside a turn at getting pelted with rain. With a half mile to go to my office and a nice warm place to dry off, the rain was replaced with an ever-so-pleasent light hail that I could feel bouncing off my head. All in all, the rain-soaked run was about 9.2 miles. Only 40.8 left to reach my 50 mile goal for this week. What a nice way to finish off a very odd day.

I also became slightly more "Gear Rich" today. Through a great friend, I'm getting a pro-deal on Outdoor Research gear. I placed an order for some incredible Mittens, a full-face balaclava, and gaiters for the feet (60% off retail I might add) - see picture..

Before I sign off and do the dishes, just a friendly reminder that there are now two REALLY exciting ways to get involved:

Submit your best use for Powerbars at the North Pole and you could win 100 of ANYTHING Powerbar! http://www.yourrunning.com/blog-100_of_anything_powerbar

YourRUNNING.com will donate $5 for everyone who signs up and posts ANYTHING to the site (picture, story, etc..): http://www.yourrunning.com/contest-help_us_give_money_to_challenged_athl...

Epic run tomorrow evening! I can't wait!

~B

P.S. REI Dividend arrived TODAY!!!! Can you say "time to go shopping???"