Day 70 – The Day the Ceiling Leaked

Some days, training feels like an uphill battle. Other days, it feels like you’ve been politely but firmly escorted off the battlefield entirely. Today was one of those days.

The Morning Mishap

My alarm clock, which has one job, decided today was the day it would explore a more interpretive approach to timekeeping. The result? I woke too late for my planned morning run. No problem, I thought. It’s Friday—I’ll just run after work. A minor inconvenience, but manageable.

The Afternoon Disaster

This is the part of the story where fate, having been briefly ignored, reasserts itself with enthusiasm. Kelly rang me in the afternoon with news that is never good: water was coming through the living room ceiling. If there is a phrase more likely to strike fear into the heart of a homeowner, I have yet to hear it.

And so, my post-work run was immediately downgraded from ‘essential training’ to ‘not even in the top ten most pressing concerns of the day.’ The priority instead became finding the stopcock, which—like all stopcocks—was hiding in a location that only makes sense to plumbers and malevolent house spirits. Fortunately, Kelly found it. I was not at home, which means she is now officially more qualified than I am in emergency plumbing.

The Evening Chaos

Now, we wait for the emergency plumber to arrive, a process that operates on the same timeline as wizards and bus replacements. There’s also the strong possibility that we’ll be spending the night in a hotel, which means explaining to the children that, no, this isn’t an exciting holiday.

So, no run today, but I remain hopeful for tomorrow—assuming the house doesn’t develop any further aspirations to become an indoor swimming pool. Stay tuned!