Through the Fog

Ran the 11-mile Strawberry Mansion Bridge loop solo this morning. The weather continues to be mild and the run was made interesting by a shroud of fog. The first five or so miles, in the dark, felt like a terminal foray into the unknown as each turn led into an opaque wall of gray. Lights cast their feeble parabolas into a surreal mist. I couldn't help thinking how weather imitated life this morning - leaving me to stumble forward blindly into the unknown.

The dawn was different as well. Instead of the usual light breaking upon the horizon, today it rose from the ground, with daylight slowly oozing upward and seeping into the surroundings.

Was plugged into my iPod this morning. First up was a studio session of Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan, starting off slowly with Stormy Monday Blues, with both guitar gods trading off long, painful guitar licks that eased me out of my predawn funk and into my run. Their chemistry, both in their guitar playing and in their banter between songs, is some of the best I've heard on cd and their songs drive home a rhythm like a slow-cruising locomotive. That took me through about mile 8 whereupon I took a shot of Kenny Brown's cd "Stingray." This picked up my dragging ass like a shot of GU. This is mean driving blues; push-up-the-tempo bring-it-on-home blues.

"Well I'm going to the racetrack gonna see my pony run,
Now if I win some money baby you know I'll bring you some,
Say now you don't know, you don't know my mind,
You see me laughin', Lord, I'm laughing just to keep from crying."

Finished the run in 87:06; I'm happy with anything under 90 on that course.