Pasta Loop

Chuck, if you're reading this, you need to plagiarize this ad. It's some local tax service and it inspires me.

I dropped my car off for servicing today and the guy writing up my ticket said he saw me on my run this morning. I guess I got some coolness points in his book for running with two good looking women.

That would be Deirdre and Erin. We ran around the neighborhood for the usual Monday morning thing. Weather was hot and humid but not oppressive. Route was another spaghetti loop, good for 8 1/4 in 67:37.

Untitled

Greetings from northern Virginia. Hot and humid. Went out to the local high school track this morning, because it was there and because I didn't know how long I felt like running. 3.5 miles would put me over 70 for the week, anything beyond that would be gravy.

So I went round the oval many many times. To make it interesting and so I wouldn't lose track of laps, I took 1600 splits and made it into a progression run. I tried to keep the increments of reduction low to minimize the effort, with mixed results. Splits were 8:38; 8:13; 8:13; 8:06; 7:44; 7:12; 7:02; & 6:47. Not much effort but alot of sweat. The first four miles were done to Pierce Pettis on the iPod, who sucks, and then last four were to Ryan Adams, who provided a bit more inspiration.

Total 8.5 miles (with out and back to the house) in 69:47. Off to watch soccer. Go Germany!

It Could Have Been the Bad Tipper

Met up with John Dubs at the usual Philly Runners meet up this morning. 8 am and it was already apparent that this would be a hot one. John had already proposed this route, which let us run with a group of PR's up to the Strawberry Mansion Bridge, whereupon John and I headed for a Backwards Nipple across Falls Bridge and then up the unfamiliar Midvale Ave hill into East Falls. John's mapped water fountains about as well as I've mapped porta-johns in Philadelphia, and these fountains came in handy for this run. At the point where I felt completely turned around we ended up on the Wissahickon Trail (which is actually paved now) and headed back to the Art Museum. John said he felt strong through the run, wish I could say the same. My ankles and shins really ached, to where it made it hard for me to shift gears on the car ride home. My primary suspects for this are the shoes I was wearing, which were a bit old and perhaps due for retirement. So I probably held John back, and he kept me going. We held an 8-minute pace through the last miles. I'm glad we did this together, or else I may have been out there running still.

I will not glamorize this run. There are always a few long runs in hot humid conditions each summer. John and I talked a bit about the long runs we did as newbies, when finishing 15 miles was far from being taken for granted. We also talked about the now infamous Bad Tipper run, which has to be the worst long run I have ever experienced. Today, when weather conditions were comparable, it was a comfort to at least know that the route was mapped out and Ian didn't have a hand in designing the route. It became a mantra, especially when my lower legs were really aching towards the end, that if we made it through that run then this run was a piece of cake.

I wouldn't call it cake, but I do call it over. 15+ miles (w/ the out and back to the car) in 2:07:36. Taking the train down to DC today to visit my sis and watch Germany in the European Soccer Championship finals tomorrow. So I'll be running from there tomorrow.

Quick Entry

Home again. Didn't get to blog today. Got up at 7, out the door by 8, back in by 9:30 and then meetings - first for work and then for play. Just got back and am about to go bed so I can be somewhat fresh for tomorrow morning's long run.

11 miles along Strawberry Mansion Bridge loop today. Total time was 90 minutes flat - flat right down to the hundredth of a second. The 3.5 mile MLK section went in 25:21. Compared to a week ago Thursday this was a bit quicker even though it was a bit more humid and I ran hard yesterday.

Hanging on, getting faster a few seconds at a time.

Pushback

Ran the same loop I ran on Monday, up Route 210 and back through Letchworth Village. Right from the start, however, I felt the push to take the uphills a little harder, let myself go on the downhills a little more, and keep up a faster pace on the straights. I got more anaerobic, had my head up a little higher, and shaved almost 6 minutes off of Monday's time. That's the kind of effort I'll need more of to get back into racing shape. We'll see if its a one shot deal or the start of something. 10 miles in 74:40.

Weighed 182 at the start of the run, 178 at the finish.

Good to see Ian running again, albeit at a new site. I know he's enjoying those waterfalls. Since he asked, Fishheads are an obscure drink that originated in the Virgin Islands. The tangible ingredients happened to be lying around my mom's house yesterday, and include: TropicanaPure Nectar (any nectar would probably do, but I like this stuff and mango is my fave), Cruzan Rum (again any rum would do), fresh lime and ice. Sun setting on the ocean and strange native fish cooking on the barbecue were missing from yesterday's batch. Rum's all gone today.

Pigeon

As I was preparing to head out this morning, my mom pressed me into service instead to make crepes for breakfast for myself, her, and my uncle John. Since she's fed me well the last few days, it was an offer I couldn't refuse. After all was digested and John, who I only see once in a blue moon, was on his way again, my mom took me to Nyack Beach State Park, and dropped me off, carrier pigeon style, to run home. The first half of the run was along the Hudson River, with cliffs rising up along the other side. Quiet and shady, it was great running. Reminisced about how this was the way I, with Ian Weingold, used to bike to high school back in the day. Then it was out of the park and into Haverstraw, the erstwhile brick-making capital of the world. From there I made my way through Garnerville and back to the pigeon coop. Turned out to be just about 10 miles (85:32), which was what I was shooting for. After the run I snuck into my mom's liquor cabinet and made myself a cold Fishhead. Yum!

For something completely different, PACTC teammate Neill Clark emailed around this article on Mark Uffelman, a cop and a regular on the local Philly racing circuit, who ran down a mugger after the mugger shot Mark in the arm. If I were a bad guy, Mark would be the last cop I'd want chasing me. Way to go, Mark.

Track Time

Once we rode together in a metal firecracker. - Lucinda Williams

I broke down in sobs while I was running today. First time in a long time. There are various reasons why, but this is not the forum to go into them. But it lets me know that I'm getting back a higher level of intensity.

Took it out to the North Rockland High School track today. I first started running here when I was 13, tagging along with my mom and her BFF Berit. 12 times around the old cinder track, I used to think that was endless. In contrast today I was looking to do 4 reps of 1600 meters (400 meter recovery). I just wanted to get them in under 6 minutes. And that I did: 5:56; 5:54; 5:57; 5:57. I really had to hump it for the last 400 meters on the last two reps to get those times. I met my goal, but I also know that I have work to do.

Took this route to and from the track and, with the warm up striders and recoveries, it was 10.5 miles total in 79:41. Now my legs are shot. And my belly is full of a wonderful dinner. Time for bed.

Baptized

Headed out for the hills this morning. My mom lives in suburban NY at the edge of a large state park, so if you head NW its not long before you hit woods and hills. I took a route that has become tried and true over the years, again eschewing the iPod to be with my thoughts.

The world was at peace this morning as I made my way through the thick morning air. About halfway through the run the air got even thicker and became rain. It felt cool and cleansing, and my run got quicker. Again, I felt like a runner and rode out that feeling for the rest of the run.

A few more days like today and I'll feel alot better about this fall. 10 miles in 80:27.

Weekend Update

Greetings from NY; where I'm visiting my mom. Here's a rundown on the running.

Yesterday I left the iPod at home and went, with my thoughts, to visit the Lansdowne Sycamore. This has become a weekend ritual, akin to making a pilgrimage to the Delphi. I eschewed the chatter of music to be alone with my thoughts, to take inventory of where I was at. The tree was looking as spectacular as I've seen it, with a lush canopy of leaves now, that apparently had still been growing in last week. Then, starting on Baily Road, I took the legs for a bit of a spin to see how they'd perform. Went somewhere sub 7 for much the rest of the way and they responded well. Felt like a runner instead of a jogger. 10 miles in 85.49.

Then this morning I met up with John Dubs at Lloyd Hall. John and I have decided to reconstitute the village (i.e., the one it takes to train for a marathon) and we figure that if we run others will soon come. Just us two this morning, us and, unbeknownst to us, the clusterhump that was the Philly Triathlon. John and I both independently beat the barricades and parked behind Lemon Hill so that we actually met up on time. We then put the slow into LSD for a relaxing run filled with chatter. Its nice to feel comfortable with someone to the point of just shutting up when going up the Three Bears (north Belmont Ave hills) instead of feeling the need to keep talking to show a lack of windedness. We saw Marita and Devon zooming by us on the bike part of the triathlon, I hope things went well. 12.5 miles for us, you'll have to check John's site for the time. 12.5 gives me 70 for the week. Hot damn!

News flash - check out on today's course just beyond where we hit seven miles. John spotted, from the Belmont overpass, that the tracks below us were just a railbed. This would seem to make for a good trail and, just as important, some new running terrain to explore. Following it on g-map, the part on the Manayunk side, which we talked about exploring, doesn't seem as promising as on the other side. I'm thinking this will be next weekend's route.

I'll be getting in plenty of hills for the rest of the week at my Mom's.

Easy Friday

The blogging muse is not around this morning so I'll keep it brief. Kept it easy, going 6 1/2 with Erin and not adding anything on before or after. Another beautiful morning. Jody joined us today as well. Both have target marathons, leaving me feeling like a slacker.

Route was this, time was 55:32.

Feeling Fugue-y

Strange mix of feelings this morning. Didn't want to go out and once I got going I didn't want to stop. Found myself on MLK and started picking things up a little. Mainly to remember how it feels to run faster. "Faster" is always relative and I took the 3.5 MLK miles at a bit under 7:30 pace. I wasn't breathing heavy but my legs felt tired. Very tired.

Then I cut up to Greenland Road and went home. The achy, tired feeling in my legs got worse as my desire to run increased. The latter is a strange feeling, the best I can relate it to is Forrest Gump, when he starts running and just keeps going. An inertia where, once in motion, I don't want to stop. But my legs did, and continued to make their objections known. That got me down, as I thought they should not hurt so much on this kind of run. Which led me to wonder if I was losing it. Too premature for these kinds of thoughts, but that didn't keep me from wondering. I got home and my legs continued to ache, like growing pains, for a good half hour afterwards. Strange.

11 miles in 95:49.

New Horizons

Over to Erin's by 6:15. Weather cool, a bit chilly even. Took off for our usual merry chase around W. Philly for about seven miles and I tacked on almost four at the end of it on my own. Today I mapped the course (looks more like cartographic spaghetti) here.

A combination of good conversation and some exploring. After Erin and I parted ways I went out to 58th and Woodland then turned north to do some exploring. Its a relatively big swatch of SW Philly that lies hidden between the east-west through streets. Enough to keep me busy for a little while doing variations on routes and thereby familiarizing myself with the neighborhood. Learning the city a block at a time. Keeps the run fresh.

Almost 11 miles in 93:38.

Early Morning Blues

Early in the morning before day, that's when my blues come falling down. ~Muddy Waters

Breaking up sucks. There is that time in the morning right after I wake up where I have a few moments before the reality sets in and colors my day. Then I either feel like I want to rise and tear up whatever run is on the agenda, or I want to stay in bed and just do nothing. Usually the way I feel depends on how much sleep I’ve gotten. This morning I lie there, aware that I had to get up, one last time, so I could make it back in time to take Tony to school.

One basic truism I’ve experienced again and again with running is that pain and suffering doesn’t last. Running is linear, I put one foot in front of the other enough times and eventually all runs end, no matter how tough or long or disappointing they are. Lots of times this takes longer than I want, but they end. This year’s Boston has become my new benchmark here. It took running for three hours, two of them in more or less abject misery, for the finish line to come up.

And as the miles pass, so do the days, measured out in morning loops and blog entries. This morning I talked myself down from 11 to 8 miles. Before I could deride myself for insipient laziness I got on the road and realized how little energy I had, and how astutely my subconscious picked up on that. I went with it, just asked my legs to give me eight, however long it took.

And it took awhile. Sweetbriar/49^th St. loop in 72:50. Longer than I ever remember it taking me to run this loop.

Untitled

Tomorrow is Tony’s last day of school. That means, for awhile, no more shlepping him to southern NJ on the mornings he’s with me. I enjoy the ride with Tony, it has turned into good quality time together, but it definitely cramps my morning runs.

The antidote to that, as I’ve said in previous posts, is the return of Erin. Knowing I have someone to meet helps immensely to get me out in the morning. And this morning I even got out early to get in some extra miles before meeting up. So it was rise at 4:45; out of the house at 5:15; 40 minutes of running out to Cobbs Creek and back down Cedar Ave before meeting Erin; another 15 minutes down to 36^th St. and back up Spruce to return to Erin’s as she was running late; and then then another 39 minutes of running with her and Iris. Running was decently paced, mainly about getting in the miles. That is still my main focus.

My big toe is doing better but still hurts. Running was much more comfortable today but I have made the mistake of wearing open toed sandals today and have already banged it a few times. Ouch. But I’m optimistic that I can run through this.

And I’m on vacation for this and next week. I’ve got vacation time accrued that if I don’t take I will lose at the end of the month. So it’s a working vacation, meaning that while I’m working I can work on things I enjoy.

Ran for 94:06. Definitely pleased to get so much running in this morning. Call it 11 miles.

Happy Father's Day

What should Della wear?
She wore a brand new jersey...

This was part of a longer ditty that my dad used to say/sing. He passed away 12 years ago last week. Happy Father's Day.

I thought of it today as I took the kids up the Delaware River some to go tubing, with the Delaware of course cutting the NJ/PA border. Lazy day in the brilliant sun, with the water warm and relatively high and the air warm but not too hot. Then it was a Mexican dinner in New Hope. As I told Kevin, it was more like I took the kids out for Father's Day. But it was exactly what I needed. And we figured out why there are no seatbelts on motorcycles.

That was my day, a most excellent one. The run was more or less incidental, getting squoze in before we left. 7 mile loop out to Cobbs Creek and back down on Kingsessing, adding a bit on to 43rd St. to stretch it to 7. 60:48. This gives me 60 for the week. Next week I shoot for 70.

Note [not for the faint of heart] - The big toe on my right foot was giving me nagging pain this morning. Like the toenail is crushing up against the toe box. The nail is black. The only other time I remember having something like this it magically cleared away over a day. Hope that is the case again, otherwise I'm going to have to rest it.

Morning After

Woke up this morning with a headache and queasy stomach, late enough so that I could feel the air getting warmer as it entered my bedroom window. One of those mornings when one's world outlook is overly influenced by one's physical well-being, or lack thereof.

Running is a good antidote for that. Provided you can drag yourself out of the house. For me it has become a very cognitive process. As in "Get out there, I'll be glad I did."

And I was. I ran out to Cobbs Creek, where all kinds of summery things were going on. Gradually my fog lifted, and by the time I hit Woodland Ave I was amazed at how good I felt. Good despite, or maybe because of, a beating sun. I deviated from my normal loop and turned left on 58th St., to explore SW Philly a bit and get a little extra mileage in.

Ran this way for 9 miles. No time due to watch malfunction.

Good Bye

Before I start about my run, I'll put it out there. Reba and I broke up recently. Its been a wonderful relationship with many great memories. Among other things, she was the only partner I've ever had with whom I could share running. But ultimately our shared love of running... and our shared love overall, wasn't enough to keep us together. The parting was amiable, but I'll miss her. Hell, I already miss her.

So the next few weeks will be tough. As a byproduct of this, I expect I'll have fuel to burn up running. I imagine myself as one of those cars that runs on french fry grease. All the emotional crap I go through just congeals into a tub which I then pour into my engine and just go.

Today's run took me through Tinicum. Circumstances, in the form of car repairs (a sordid story I'll spare you), took me to Essington Ave and while the car was being worked on I put on my shoes and ran the few miles out to the north end of Tinicum. I hit Darby Lake and immediately saw three large turtles laying out in the mid-morning sun. Goldfinches, swallows, warblers, a red-tailed hawk and other birds escorted me along the way. I raced a sleek woodchuck who actually gained on me before bailing off to the side of the path. And the flowers were blues and purples.

I don't imagine I'll be making it down to Tinicum much anymore, so I guess this morning was good-bye. 10.5 miles in 86:31.

Drive to Survive

We've all got problems, we've all got fears,
I know the answer and its worked for years
I'll drive... you know I'll drive to survive

That's Jimmy Thackery. With his blues in my head and emotional fuel to burn I was running hard this morning right out the chute. Not necessarily fast, but intense.

Ran west to the Lansdowne Sycamore and back around through SW Philly. The old tree looked weary, like it was feeling the effects of holding up the world for 300+ years. The temps were cool , the sun shined crisp, and I just let the run consume me. By the time I made a left onto Baily Ave. I hit a headwind and realized it had been pushing me along. I kept running hard into the wind and made the 10 mile loop in 81:45.

Shoes: $100
iPod: $200 (?)
Road Therapy: priceless

Drive to Survive

Deconstructing University City

Sad, sad day, since my baby went away. - Muddy Waters

Another building is on its way down, right under my nose and I wasn't aware of it. The Post Office Annex at 30th and Chestnut Streets is in the process of being dismantled. No surprise, I knew Penn had bought the property and had other designs on it, but its decline nonetheless startled me. South Street Bridge's closing is also getting more and more imminent. Unconfirmed neighborhood talk says end of August. That will seriously cramp my running. But the neighborhood continues to change.

Ran down to the Schuylkill bike path and popped back up on Chestnut, cutting this section a little short so I could meet Erin at 6. This portion took about 40 minutes. Erin and I then proceeded to toodle around West Philly again for another 50 minutes, going through USP campus, Woodlands Cemetery, Penn Campus, Locust to 48th, and Kingsessing down to Clark Park and back to Erin's. Its a good route for pushing Iris around in the stroller, who was cooing happily through most of the run, thinking that is what Erin and I must be doing as we yap away.

I don't feel like g-mapping this, so we'll say 50+40 divided, very conservatively, by 9 will be 10 miles for the morning.

Running Late

Hey, White Boy.

What you doing in this neighborhood??

When I hear comments like these, I know I'm running late as it means that the kids are hanging around just before school. I like to be done a bit earlier than that.

The calls aren't that big a deal, but today I know that the later I was out, the hotter it would be. Even that time of the morning. And the sun was beating down by the time I headed down Larchwood Ave to finish my run.

Ran an Acme loop this morning. I used to run this as often as 3 times a week, now I run it infrequently. A good route to run as much of it is shady. Don't remember the last time I ran it, but it must have been awhile ago as there is now a dirt lot on 36th and Fairmount where a public housing highrise was standing last time I passed by. I remember it empty, now its gone without a trace. Damn and good riddance.

Took it slow, but faster than some of the times I've run it. 10 miles in 85:06. And, once done, gulping down a cold sports drink, bathed in sweat (me, not the drink), has to be one of the best feelings I know.

Calling China

For reasons related to work that I won't go into, I had to call China early this morning. They are 12 hours ahead of Philly. It turned out to be like one of those bad dreams when you're calling and calling and just can't get through to the person you're trying to reach. Never did get through.

At the end of that I realized I had told Erin I would meet her to run ten minutes earlier. I had written off running due to that call and the heat but, out of guilt - both at blowing her off and not having run - I put on my shoes and went out to try and catch her. And I did. So we got in 3.5 miles together out to Cobbs Creek and back before I had to finish up and take Tony to school. Untimed.

That's the difference that having someone to run with makes. Not all I wanted, but a helluva lot better than a dnr.

Sunday Run

I woke up and did it again. Went out west this time and, for the second Sunday in a row, wished the Lansdowne Sycamore a happy Sunday.

Interesting tradeoff in that the longer I were to sleep this morning the hotter my run would be. I split the difference and got out at about 8:30. It took about 45 minutes before I could feel the weather getting hotter. Run went slow until I passed 58th St. on Kingsessing and, for my sins, started to feel a surge. I took it home at a noticeably faster clip but still finished 3 1/2 minutes slower than I did last week.

Another thought along those lines I had was that there is an inverse relationship between degree of difficulty and distance to finish. In other words, the closer I got to being done the harder the run became. There has to be some interesting corollaries to this.

Alas, such is the stuff that bounces around in my head when I leave the iPod home. Now that I'm done and had a shower, a half gallon of Gatorade, and several plates of Nutella-strawberry crepes, life is again good. Adding to that is a cd playing by A Lady in Red, which is Maricela's band. Poppy-folky with exuberance and excellent harmonies, all original material. Remarkably good. But don't take my word for it; email me (especially any music industry types; email address is in my profile) and I'll send you some of their stuff.

I got 50 miles in this week. Not quite the 70 I set out to do, but 9 more than I did last week. I'll take it. Tomorrow starts a week of figuring out how to get my runs in and get Tony to school. Early to bed and early to rise I suppose. The good part is that this is the last full week of this. Always something.

10 miles on this route in 87:02.

Key to the Highway

You know I didn't feel so bad, till the sun went down...
Didn't have a soul to throw my lovin' arms around.
- Son House

Ran into the sunset this evening fueled by the blues. Delta blues, served up by John Mooney. Raw and unadulterated. It kept me going.

And that was all I was looking to do. I stayed up halfway into this morning watching episodes from season 4 of The Wire. I did this by making myself a deal that I would run this evening. This was a deal that should have been made at a crossroads, as temps were still deep into the 80s when, with a bellyful of chicken pot pie, I laced up my shoes and set out at 7:30.

I felt really sluggish and the air just weighed me down. Heat, humidity and a good dose of pollen. By the time I hit MLK Drive I was already using my Boston run as an example of how I could make it through anything. Then I turned that around and figured, as I wasn't going for any speed today, I might as well make this a hardship run. Welcome what is thrown at me and outlast it. This is as much a part of distance running as speed. Just keep slogging through.

Which is basically all I did. It got dark just as I got out of Fairmount Park and I finally caught a breeze. Headwind.

11.5 miles on SMB loop in 98:49. Tomorrow morning I wake up and the miles stare me in the face all over again. To paraphrase our president, bring em on!

I got the key to the highway,
Oh Lord, I'm out and bound to go.
I'm gonna leave here running,
'Cause walking's much too slow.
- traditional

Meanderings

Met Erin this morning. She's good for two things. Getting me out early and keeping me entertained. We ran around the UC for about an hour and got into a conversational rhythm where the topic would morph as we took turns riffing on a particular topic. We are both motivated to get into a regular running pattern again and if we can work something out it would help my training immensely.

Continued for another half hour after Erin was done. Again in search of the different. I headed west on Woodland Ave and turned north on 58th St. Here I plunged into non-linear space. I thought it was a few blocks back to Baltimore Ave., turned out I went through a whole neighborhood in there, tucked away as if in a wormhole.

My thoughts seemed like that as well. Thin strands stretching elongating and twisting into multiple dimensions. No drugs involved, just paradoxes.

Conservatively, ten mellow miles in 90:39.

Therapy Session

Yesterday's run didn't happen, falling victim to early rain and a full schedule. I am not gung-ho enough yet to run in the kind of rain that came down yesterday, but I still feel bad for not running. Yesterday was not a good day.

I've also been going to bed later recently, which does not portend well for getting up in the mornings. In addition, I can't wrap my mind around ten mile runs yet. So this morning I set the alarm for 6am and it was 6:30 before I dragged myself up.

Once I got out it was an enjoyable run. Didn't take it any too strenuously. Ran out to Cobbs Creek and down to Woodland Ave. I wanted to run somewhere different even though all the streets around here are all too familiar. So I chose Woodland as I hadn't been down it, with its endless countdown of numbered streets, in a long time. And sure enough there was new construction going on, and SEPTA is about to rip part of it up to replace trolley tracks.

I ran with my thoughts this morning, in solitude. In an odd way that I can't explain, my thoughts seemed to sync with my run, evolving as I went through the different sections of the run. These kind of runs bring me a peace, especially when I feel stress, and a feeling of a greater understanding of what I put out there.

I set out to get in 70 miles this week. That ain't gonna happen. So I'm retreating to the more modest goal of beating my previous weeks mileage (41). Its Thursday already, and my tally for this week is 18.5. So I've gotta hustle now to get even that.

8.3 miles along this course in 71:40.

Rebound

Spitting in the wind
comes back at you twice as hard. ~Lou Reed

After a good run yesterday evening it was really difficult to get up this morning. It wasn't just the run, I went to bed late as well.

But it was that old familiar morning feeling, having to get up to run lots of miles... and then to get up and do it again tomorrow and the day after and so on. I wanted to do ten miles this morning, but couldn't wrap my head around it.

So I talked myself out of running this morning and then talked myself back into it. Into at least getting out there and putting a few miles in. If I had a list of running precepts, one of them would be that putting a few miles in the books is vastly preferable to a DNR.

I'm glad I ran. A nice morning to do so. Ran up Locust St. to 63rd to the track and then back home on Cedar Ave. 4+ miles. 37:01.

Bo Diddley (1929-2008)

I'm a road runner honey,
And you can't keep up with me,
I'm a road runner honey,
And you can't keep up with me,
Come on, let's race,
Baby baby, you will see...

Bo Diddley left us today, underrated and underpaid. His music, however, lives on and with that I put a raucous live show on my iPod and took off this afternoon.

Baa-ba-ba-baa... ba-ba

His signature cadence drove me this afternoon. Was gonna do three, then four, and finally went around the the Art Museum for 6.5. The Bo Diddley beat and the late afternoon made for a quick run, and by the time I hit 40th St. I felt like I was gliding. Been awhile since I felt like that on a run.

6.5 in 50:55.

Rest in peace you old Roadrunner.

Bad Liver & a Broken Heart

The entry title is from a song off of the new Hayes Carll cd. Kevin told me too late on Friday that Carll gave a free concert just down the street at World Cafe Live, and though I missed the show it pushed me to download the cd. Carll's first two cd's have served me well on many a past run, and this cd promises the same.

Yesterday's run was an 8.5 miler (in 66:44) around the drives with Ryan (Ryan gives details of our far-ranging conversation). Uneventful except for Ryan's good company. In memory of Ian we took the ramp up to Strawberry Mansion Bridge and then back down to MLK to get in a gratuitous hill. I started running with Ryan about when Ian left, which begs for some kind of circle of life metaphor. Saw various other folks out there as well, and I got the opportunity to brag about my trip to Tortola as well as to come out of a month of self-imposed running exile.

Today it was me and Carll taking a run out to the Lansdowne Sycamore. The old girl was in fine shape, showing off her summer leaves for the 300-somethingth time. The run started out cool and sunny and ended hot and sunny. Summer is upon us.

Legs still feel very sluggish on the outset and get more oomph as the runs go along. I guess thats the pattern I'll be living with for awhile.

I took the time to update my log as I wrote this entry. Got a bunch of new music. Now it gets regular again with the running (and the writing). One day down... a good start.