Perhaps I should try racing sheep?

The morning began with a warmup in the lobby of a skyscraper in downtown Houston. I don't normally run in royal blue jogging pants, but the shimmering fabric of this pair hung comfortably from my waist. As usual, I'm fretting over logistics. I hadn't picked up my race number yet and things were supposed to start soon. Where were they?

I posed my inquiry to the security guard at the desk. "You'll pick up your number soon after the first mile marker," he cheerfully answered. Then he rose up from his seat and looked over the crowd. "Oh, there's no reason why we need to wait any longer. Go on and get going." He started making a shoo-ing motion towards the street. I took the cue immediately and darted through the revolving door. Many inside were still stretching, and as the rest of the pack took notice of the signaling from the behind the desk, there was a mad scramble to get up off the tile floor, pack away bags, and hurry outside. As tangerine streaks of dawn lit the sky above, the gray pavement below was blotted with runners streaking out as a race was suddenly underway.

With my quick exit out the door, I found myself in the lead for the time being. I hadn't checked the course beforehand, but luckily it was well marked. After a looping the pedestrian mall on Main Street, a route marker pointed me into another building. Upstairs, I was directed over a skywalk to the Hyatt Regency on Louisiana Street. Here I found a table where volunteers were distributing bib numbers. First to arrive, I collected mine and bounded down the hotel's staircase back to the street, attempting to run and attempting to affix safety pins simultaneously.

Once outside the Hyatt, faster runners were finally catching up to me, including some elites. Dire Tune pulled alongside (probably at her walking pace) and struck up a conversation with me. I don't remember what we were chatting about, but this was especially unusual because I don't share a common language with her.

And as one might have suspected, it was at this point that I woke up from the dream.