Couldn't Stand the Weather
Runnin' through this business of life,
rarely time if I'm needed to
Ain't so funny when things ain't feelin' right,
then daddy's hand helps to see me through
Sweet as sugar love won't wash away,
rain or shine, it always here to stay
All these years you and I've spent together,
all this, we just couldn't stand the weather
SRV captures the sentiment here. It feels like a long time since I've last blogged.
Texas went well. Runningwise, I managed two workouts on the hotel treadmill on Thursday, which was memorable in that the fitness center was partitioned off in the same area as the pool/hot tub. Brilliant. . . not. Nothing like running in warm, humid, chlorinated air. 6 in the morning in just under 45 minutes, 4 in the afternoon in just under 30. After giving a talk on mental illness in prisons and talking about the like all day, the TV in the fitness room is on the National Geographic channel, with the show "Megastructures" talking about North Branch, a hi-tech supermax prison in Maryland. Tons of shots about how hardened and escape proof it is - a "new safety from, and hope for, our most dangerous criminals." I hope they are right, because most of those folks will be returning someday to a place near you.
Did not run on Friday.
Weather was beautiful in Texas until Friday afternoon, when heavy thunderstorms delayed my flight from Houston so I missed my connection in Dallas and got stranded there for the night. To make a long story short, didn't get into Philly until Saturday afternoon, at which point it was already starting to flurry, the start of what was supposed to be up to 12 inches of snow. As a sign of how crazy I am this season, as soon as I got home I laced up my shoes. It was getting dark with big wet flakes coming down when I set out to do 15 miles - heading down to the Art Museum, going a loop on the Drives, and heading back home. To make things interesting, I resolved to go the 8 mile section of the Drives at marathon pace. A wretched run while I was doing it, blinded and sucking snowflakes into my lungs, but I nailed the 8 in 47:20 (5:55 pace) and did the total run in 1:44:01. Marathon pace miles came easy until the last 1.5, when side stitches made me push it. Overall, I feel like I'm far ahead of where I was last year in my spring training. And getting a run in in those kind of conditions makes me feel like I'm really training for something. I celebrated with multiple slices of pepperoni pizza and a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream.
We got about 8 inches today. Needless to say, the Shiver by the River 10k was not going to happen. Instead I slept in, fixed the family crepes for breakfast, we all went to church, and enjoyed a relaxed day. I suppose that's the kind of Sunday we could have every week if I didn't run. West Philly is at its prettiest when its covered in snow. We walked to church and saw people all bundled up returning home with the Sunday paper and coffee. Margaret, my neighbor and colleague, and her husband were going down 47th Street on X-country skis. A few other righteous folks were walking to church, as we were, going down the middle of the abandoned streets. Taking cars out of the equation really magnifies the urban village feel.
USP, to its credit, had the ARC open, so I jogged down there about an hour ago, a half mile (little more) in the slush to do another 4 miles on the hamster wheel (30:32) and returned home to make it a long five. On the way there I saw more people sledding in the Clark Park bowl than I remember ever seeing. The five miles (44:49) I got in today were strictly for the mileage, and gave me 51 for the week. This was about my goal for the cutback week, a goal I reached despite some significant adversity.
I'm behind again on updating my trek through the US, but it will have to wait an additional day. This week its back to the 70-80 mile grind, which will be a little more complicated by the snow. Stay tuned.
rarely time if I'm needed to
Ain't so funny when things ain't feelin' right,
then daddy's hand helps to see me through
Sweet as sugar love won't wash away,
rain or shine, it always here to stay
All these years you and I've spent together,
all this, we just couldn't stand the weather
SRV captures the sentiment here. It feels like a long time since I've last blogged.
Texas went well. Runningwise, I managed two workouts on the hotel treadmill on Thursday, which was memorable in that the fitness center was partitioned off in the same area as the pool/hot tub. Brilliant. . . not. Nothing like running in warm, humid, chlorinated air. 6 in the morning in just under 45 minutes, 4 in the afternoon in just under 30. After giving a talk on mental illness in prisons and talking about the like all day, the TV in the fitness room is on the National Geographic channel, with the show "Megastructures" talking about North Branch, a hi-tech supermax prison in Maryland. Tons of shots about how hardened and escape proof it is - a "new safety from, and hope for, our most dangerous criminals." I hope they are right, because most of those folks will be returning someday to a place near you.
Did not run on Friday.
Weather was beautiful in Texas until Friday afternoon, when heavy thunderstorms delayed my flight from Houston so I missed my connection in Dallas and got stranded there for the night. To make a long story short, didn't get into Philly until Saturday afternoon, at which point it was already starting to flurry, the start of what was supposed to be up to 12 inches of snow. As a sign of how crazy I am this season, as soon as I got home I laced up my shoes. It was getting dark with big wet flakes coming down when I set out to do 15 miles - heading down to the Art Museum, going a loop on the Drives, and heading back home. To make things interesting, I resolved to go the 8 mile section of the Drives at marathon pace. A wretched run while I was doing it, blinded and sucking snowflakes into my lungs, but I nailed the 8 in 47:20 (5:55 pace) and did the total run in 1:44:01. Marathon pace miles came easy until the last 1.5, when side stitches made me push it. Overall, I feel like I'm far ahead of where I was last year in my spring training. And getting a run in in those kind of conditions makes me feel like I'm really training for something. I celebrated with multiple slices of pepperoni pizza and a pint of Cherry Garcia ice cream.
We got about 8 inches today. Needless to say, the Shiver by the River 10k was not going to happen. Instead I slept in, fixed the family crepes for breakfast, we all went to church, and enjoyed a relaxed day. I suppose that's the kind of Sunday we could have every week if I didn't run. West Philly is at its prettiest when its covered in snow. We walked to church and saw people all bundled up returning home with the Sunday paper and coffee. Margaret, my neighbor and colleague, and her husband were going down 47th Street on X-country skis. A few other righteous folks were walking to church, as we were, going down the middle of the abandoned streets. Taking cars out of the equation really magnifies the urban village feel.
USP, to its credit, had the ARC open, so I jogged down there about an hour ago, a half mile (little more) in the slush to do another 4 miles on the hamster wheel (30:32) and returned home to make it a long five. On the way there I saw more people sledding in the Clark Park bowl than I remember ever seeing. The five miles (44:49) I got in today were strictly for the mileage, and gave me 51 for the week. This was about my goal for the cutback week, a goal I reached despite some significant adversity.
I'm behind again on updating my trek through the US, but it will have to wait an additional day. This week its back to the 70-80 mile grind, which will be a little more complicated by the snow. Stay tuned.
posted by seebo | 5:58 PM
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