Twenty-Six Point Two, Expanded

I hope you folks have this thing on bloglines or reader or something, 'cause hey, if it were me, I probably would have deleted the bookmark long ago. Just sayin'

So, I never did write about the marathon. I guess I'm sufficiently recovered to elaborate now :)

It really was fine, if a little disappointing. I had been sick for the week leading up to the run, so not only did I not do any nice maintenance running, but I was also a bit dehydrated. In any case, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I really did expect to do better, but I beat my last time (from '98? '99?) so that's something I guess.

I did pretty fine actually, well, up to about mile 18. Then things started getting ugly. My ankle (oddly enough, not the one that had bothered me a while back) started complaining, which wasn't bad, but then my thigh started to cramp up. The really rough thing is that you can pretty much run through mild pain - endorphines and bull-headedness, I guess, but boy howdy, a cramp will really sit you down and give you a stern talking to about what an idiot you are.

There's a really weird thing about the decision to start walking for me. For me, walking equals failure. That's overstating it a bit, but not by much. Also, there's the idea (true enough) that once you start to walk, it becomes so much harder to start running again. So I ended up nearly dropping into a walk several times, and then pushing on and congratulating myself only to find a few minutes later trying to stave off the walkies again. It really is a huge mind-game.

I was pretty happy with the run up to that point, but once the cramping started to really settle in, I lost (or won?) the arguement with myself and started walking. Every so often, I tried to start running again, but it's funny how it seemed like my body bought into the idea that we were done doing that pain-thing for the day, and it didn't want to have anything to do with this whole jogging bit anymore.

So, I walked. and walked. I felt pretty pathetic walking by the crowds of people cheering the runners on. Some of the people actually yelled out "Go runners!" hmm... Guess they weren't talking about me :) I should also say that there were heaps of walkers and the ex-runners like myself, but still. Feh.

Anyway, about mile 21, I was able to pick up something that might be charitably called a jog again, and started to trundle off. As I ran further, the aches and pains gradually fell away and by about mile 24, I was almost running at speed again. Well, ok, maybe not speed, but noticeably no longer shuffle-jogging.

I was able to run out the rest of the marathon, and got my little finishers medal and a whole crapload of free cookies and bananas and gels and chocolate and sport drinks etc etc.

Probably the coolest thing was on the bus back to where I was staying, there was a itty bitty kid and his mom. The mom pointed over at me (still wearing medal and bib) and said, "See? He ran the marathon!" and the little kid said, "cool."

Cool.

Pros and Cons

Bonus effect of getting a cold:

Deeper voice - can now sing bass

Downside:

Running a marathon with a cold this weekend.

Merry-Go-Round

Sprinting the straights and jogging the curves.

I haven't really talked gear before.
I'm using Sporttracks, an incredible piece of freeware that pulls the data from my Garmin Forrunner 305 and overlays the plot points on Google maps. I've used Nike+ and the previous Nike pedometer system, but I'm happiest with this combination. You get good tracking of your gear (reminding you to switch out shoes), automatic weather tracking, weight maintenance options and all sorts of fun charts.

Criticisms
- Sporttracks doesn't handle the heartrate info that the Forerunner 305 has, so I still have to use the abysmal Garmin Training software for that.
- The one thing that Nike+ does that I really miss is pretty par for the course for Apple-related stuff. It's the pretty. Nike+'s website is really wonderful, and I loved using it, I just wish they didn't demand that you are only able to use their own proprietary crap. I should rephrase. The iPod is most certainly not crap, it's just not the crap that I want. Why not allow me to buy into the Nike+ system with a different piece of crap?

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

So, I haven't been blogging about running very much, because I realized that it must be amazingly boring to read, but today might be worthwhile.

I've been ramping up my miles 'cause I'm doing a marathon soon (disturbingly soon, actually), so today's run was planned to be a really gorgeous run of about 14 miles. It's a bit of a pain for the first 2 miles or so because you have to run through some very nasty car-centric areas with lots of traffic lights.

Once you get past that chunk, it's a really beautiful part of town that no mortal human could afford to live in, but credit where credit is due, they've got a lot of greenspace and running trials. Must be nice to be rich, but hey, at least they haven't blocked it off to through running yet. It's even so swanky they've got water fountains on the trails.

After that bit, it gets even better. It's a pretty famous area, so I'll spare the description, but there's green, there's water, and curse me for being so crass, there's an unending stream of women who are... well... another nice aspect of the scenery.

So, the fun part of the story is that I got to the turnaround point and I was really feeling pretty good for having run 7 miles. No stitches, feet felt fine, knees and back and heck, everywhere - not even much muscle ache. So hey, my endorphin-addled brain asked me, "why not run further?" It's just an out and back, right? I could just add another mile or so on, turn around and zip-zop, no problem. Add another couple of miles to my weekly total and be ahead of the game for my prep work, right?

Ah, hubris.

Anywhoo. I kept on running, thinking I knew there was another major geographic point that should be coming up soon. I figured I'd turn around there, and it would make a pretty picture on my GPS map when I got home. (Yes I really did consider that on the 'pro' side of the mental note paper. The 'con' side was curiously absent such phrases as 'pain,' 'idiocy' or 'brittle knees snapping like dry kindling')

So I keep running on, becoming more concerned that I hadn't seen my new turnaround point. The added problem was that it is a beautiful day today, so when I did see it in the distance, it was way in the distance, but by that point my head was set to get there.

Long story short (well, not really short, but trust me, I could drag this on for pages), at the turnaround point, I looked at my GPS, and saw that I had run ten miles. Even at that point though, I didn't realize the pain I was in for. To be honest, I did ok up until about mile 15 where you turn into the uber-neighborhood. From that point on, it was really more of a shuffle run.

I did make it home - no walking. I had a wee bit of joy getting up the stairs, but after a nice long bath and a brutal NYT crossword, I'm feeling much more human. Only real pain is muscle pain and a little bit of arch grief.

Hooray for idiocy and bullheadedness!

Oh, and that GPS map looked really cool.

I Have Hopes

It's been a real killer-diller of a couple of weeks for your host here at Overread Central. I shamefully admit, I haven't even been reading blogs, so I humbly apologize if you've had something important going on. I completely missed it. I'm going to try to get back into the blogging swing of things, so we'll see how that goes for us.

For now, I think the least I can do would be a bullet-list. And I mean it. It's the least I can do. That's why I'm going to do it. :)

• The nasty project that was hanging over my head has left my laptop on electronic wings, soaring to my advisor. If he likes the ideas, it will become the huge monster project to use in hunting funding. I have hopes.
• The marathon is still go. It will happen in a few weeks, but due to a bit of arch/heel pain, there will be no attempt to break any time barrier short of 24 hours. I have hopes.
  
• I bought a lottery ticket. I have hopes.
• My computers are conspiring against me. My laptop seems to enjoy certain international websites only until I find crucial information, then it shuts down. Also, the speaker only works when it wants to. So far I think I've discovered that it approves of 80s pop, but not musical theatre. My desktop has become very protective of the home network. Protective enough that it thinks I probably shouldn't be allowed to use it. We are in negotiations. I have hopes.
• While writing, I've been listening to music. Expect a few quizzes in the near future.
  
• My library rocks. I was let into the Special Collections room because one of the books I needed was apparently "special." I not really sure why. It wasn't particularly rare or fragile, but ah well. Before I was ushered into the chapel of books, they made me lock up all my bags and books and pens in a locker. Then, in the inner-sanctum, they brought out a special mini-podium made of cushions on which they carefully placed the book. There was also a delicately-balanced padded page-holder that held the book open to the table of contents. I sat down with great reverence, only to discover on looking at the table of contents that there would surely be nothing in the book that I could use. Embarrassed, I flipped through the pages for a few minutes in the hopes that they would think their efforts were appreciated, then I left.
• I have hopes.
  

The 13.1 Mile Strip Run

Boooos

• making your starting point a place that is not served by public transportation is not cool
• providing a shuttle service from another place that is not served by public transportation is also not cool
• As it was chilly before the run, the space heaters were welcome (although completely inadequate for the masses of people there)
• Also, would it have killed you guys to get a coffee place or a bagel place to sponsor a warm stand at the start? (like every other run I've gone to in this area)

Hoorays

• Great route and route management
• Drummers and bands along the route? Most excellent!
  
• With the exception of that one band that wasn't playing when I ran by.
  
• Bonus points for the very shady drum circle type folks who didn't seem to be part of the official run, but happily banged out a strange rhythm as we went by
• Extra super bonus points for the local high school marching band drum line that showed up. Those folks rocked.

The title comes from the fact that, 'cause we don't actually get chilly weather over here, many runners were really spooked. Much like the campus-folk who turn out in pink-fur-lined parkas and ugg boots (but with miniskirts) when it gets, well, seasonable, these runners were wearing waaaay too much clothing. I even wore a long-sleeve shirt, which is still hard for me to believe.

Anyway, about 2 or 3 miles into the run, people started stripping. I imagined that it was a game where everyone had to take off a piece of clothing at every mile-marker. Gloves were flung into bushes. Sweat-shirts soared awkwardly into the air above the throng as if in celebration. I saw several folks attempt to wriggle out of a spandex-tight outer layer while keeping up their pace. Imagine in your mind a big buff guy running at a pretty good clip with both arms straight in the air, bound together in an underarmor version of the hot dog suits that run around the bases at the 7th inning stretch at baseball games. Oh, and he's naturally blinded by the shirt too. That should be in the dictionary under the heading: Joy.

I was actually pretty bummed that everyone was basically just littering, but the cast-off gear was funny to see. I'm going to imagine that they either went back to pick up what they threw, or that maybe someone else went collecting and dropped it all off at the second hand store or something. Hey, let me have my illusions!

Oh, my time: 1:46:35

Cross-Town Traffic

There is simply too much to do this weekend.

• The paper presentation - luckily postponed slightly, but still looming.
• The Japanese presentation - to create
• The Japanese skit (why do they always make you do a skit? I hate skits) - to memorize
• The huge Japanese final exam and the oral interview - to cry about
• The massive seminar test (test? in a seminar?)- to prepare for and all the info is new to me :(
• The gigantic stack of grading that will. not. die. - to be marked

And I've got a half-marathon tomorrow morning - natch.

Oh yeah, a note to people who put together big events like, say, half-marathons?

Go ahead and don't piss off the people taking part in your event. So, for example, don't force them to travel all over all over creation the day before the event for hours and hours just to pick up the packet they need to take part in the run. Every other run either mails this stuff to the runners or they make it available the day of the run. And don't try and pretend that it's going to be at so health and fitness expo or something when it's not. A handful (like, maybe 6) of wholesalers hawking shoes that no one else would buy at their stores does not an expo make.

I do, as mentioned, have other things I need to do this weekend (like writing blog posts).

PS - Some of you may have the gall to mention that I should have gotten some of this out of the way earlier, and to you I have only one thing to say - pppppphhhhhttttttttt

10K II: The Blisters Strike Back!

Ok, no 10 page post about this morning's 10k, but it was a lot of fun. It was much less hard-core than last weeks. A lot of people had costumes - if fact one of the folks lining up in the fastest ranks for the 5k was Spiderman. Isn't that kinda cheating? I imagine that if they had a urine test, he'd turn up a wee bit hot. There was also a fund-raising walk, and that's where most of the costumes were. I saw a very impressing Opimus Prime, and several assorted cats and such. No bunnies, oddly enough. I guess I should have worn the ears...

The goodie bag was much better though:

quality running shirt - cool
ketchup-sized packet of 'udderly smooth' udder cream - a bit scary. I don't have, erm, udders.
8 cups worth of ground coffee - odd
hideously ugly yellow sweatband - maybe I can give it to someone?
2 strange 'Cashew cookies' - I vote yuck.
Mango Coconut Soy Joy Bar - why did it have to be coconut?
Powdered energy drink stuff - meh.
Powdered 'flavored fizzy drink' - hmmm...
Various ads and coupons - nice, but nothing really useful
A toothbrush - Wha?
2 elastic hair bands - I only wish I had long hair, they're pretty nice...

Minutia of the run:

Best tracks that I added to the playlist (didn't get to them all, but I'm working through them):

• Billy Joel
• Movin' out
• Big Shot
• Pressure
• Tell Her About It
• You're Only Human
• Starship - Don't Stop Believin'
• Sting/Police
• Message in a Bottle
• Can't Stand Losing You
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
• Heart
  
• Magic Man
• What About Love
• Smashmouth - All Star
• Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years
• Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
• Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Oh, yeah time: 46:22 (ish - my gps says I only ran 9.9k. Did I cheat?)

Running in Circles

Another reason why I might have been confused about last week's 10k - There's another one tomorrow. Pardon me while I adjust my running playlist. :)

New York State of Mind

Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys, I had the perfect New York City morning yesterday. I went out to get bagels for breakfast. There was an insanely long line with only one guy at the counter. When I got there, there was one woman at the front of the line holding everything up while she decided what kind of shmear (schmear?) to put on her single untoasted plain bagel. 5 minutes later I got to the front of the line and got a real quality NYC scornful sneer from the counter guy. Then, as if it couldn't get better, I moved to the cashier line where the guy in front of my was texting War and Peace on his blackberry. He would type, and the counter intelligence folk would tell him how much he owed and then he would finish his sentence and the ask how much he owed before digging around in his pocket for change. After handing over the change he started typing again, only to be interupted by the CI guy trying to give him his change. The them proceeded to finish typing that sentence before putting out his hand to get the change. Then he didn't move. I had to basically elbow him out of the way to get to the counter to pay for my bagel.

I guess if I were a New Yorker, I would have cussed him out and told him that I was walking there.

Bonus New Yorker-tude: (Although actually, this is very par for where I live.)

I was running this morning and headed toward a crosswalk. A giant Fuck-The-World SUV was coming my direction, but making a left turn (toward me). I had the light, so I went into the crosswalk, with my eyes locked on the driver of the Screw-The-Planet SUV (I've been in this situation many times). Naturally, she looked me in the eye and proceeded to make the left hand turn into my crosswalk. As I have been trained when approached by wild animals, I puffed up my feathers to appear larger than I am while spreading out my arms and waving them at the idiot in the I've-Got-Money-And-No-Soul SUV. She got within 5 feet or so before slamming on her brakes and gesturing rudely toward your correspondent for daring to follow the rules of the road and have the gall to impair her ability to ignore the world around her. I have to say, that horrible piece of Offense-Toward-the-World SUV has good brakes though.

A Long Post on a Long Run

Whew. It's been awhile since I last did a big-ish 10k. I had completely forgotten how much fun it is.

Part of the uniqueness of this run was getting there. I had to rely on the public transit system, and it actually worked out fine. Except I felt kinda funny sitting there in the bus in my running garb, and until we got closer to where the race was happening, well, it was just me and what looked like a lot of folks heading off to early morning jobs on Sunday. They didn't look pleased.

There's a wonderful gathering of excitement when you get close to the starting line. First you start seeing people dressed for running. There are the showy folks - the people who have all matching-branded and color coordinated clothing, sometimes their scrunchies or iPod holders even match the color scheme (I should also mention that this is very much an iPod environment. I felt slightly out of place with my just-as-good-and-even-better-at-some-things-no-I'm-not-being-defensive Zen Micro V.) Then there are the people that you can't tell if they are there for the run or not. Some people are just dressed casually in a tshirt and shorts, with shoes that might or might not be running shoes. These folks interest me. Are they too cool to wear clothes that actually work well for running? Did someone run off with their luggage? We all got a nice ultra-light tshirt for registering. Why then?

As you get closer, you start seeing folks wearing their number bibs. Now you can really categorize people if you care to. Blue bibs for the 10kers, yellow for the 5kers, and pink for the elite runners. I'm still not sure what all that really means except that they all run faster than I do. It might be that they get priority to go to the front of the pack before the gun. Lower numbers for the early registrees - they usually know what they are doing, well, at least more than I do, cause I forgot about the whole thing.

At the starting line is where it really gets exciting. The 5k start was 30 minutes before the 10k, and I got there right in time to watch them start off. They even had an MC-ish sort of fellow up there doing the countdown. I had forgotten that they did that. It's really cool to watch a mob of people go from standing to surging forward.

After the 5k started, they started passing out the bunny hats.

Seriously.

They were basically a foam headband with big bunny ears sticking up in front. Genius. They were sponsored and tagged with advertising. Normally, I hate wearing advertising for people, but hey, free bunny ears! I think their strategy was to pass the ears out to the hot ladies and take pictures of them for some promotion, but they were handing them out to everyone. They, um... didn't ask for my picture, but I happily wore mine for the whole run. I should mention that it is a bit spooky seeing your shadow with demonic horn-looking things sticking out from your head when you aren't prepared for it. It's ok. Only ears.

As the time to start got closer, we all moved toward the line. They had signs marked with minute/mile times staggered out from the front: 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 etc... There was a bit of polite but nervous jockeying to get near the correct time based on what you thought you might run.

After people had basically settled in, everyone started stretching a bit, well, as much as we could stretch with people crowded all around. Everyone chatted nervously while waiting and wished everyone else a good run. An unhappy-looking collagen-injected woman in front of me didn't care for my bunny ears at all. I think she said something along the lines of, "Oh, I guess you have a sense of humor." Feh.

Then the countdown (given by a "celebrity" who actually said, "Go win. Run fast.")

5...4...3...22222.......11111111.....(no kidding. She stumbled over actually pronouncing the numbers 2 and 1. Was she being funny? Was she just trying to slow down to sync with an official clock? No clue. Maybe I don't have a sense of humor after all, bunny ears or no)

Oh, and the gun wasn't a gun. It was an air-horn.

If you haven't been in a big run, you might not know that you can't actually run when the horn goes off. Only the people at the front can actually run. Everyone behind them kind of does a wobbly shuffle-hop, shambling toward the line. It takes a while. It's all okay though, because they gave us little tracker buttons to put on our shoes to give us official times. Our times only start when we actually cross the start line, and by that time, the shamble had turned into a rumble.

It was a bit frustrating, but I really loved the start of the run. Runners took over the entire street - both lanes from sidewalk to sidewalk. Later on, we only had one lane, but for that moment, we were the traffic. The game of watching people (more entertaining than the actual run some of the time) began. Unhappy humorless women took off with a bit of a sprint. I liked that. She would burn out quick and I would pass her about a mile into the run. A lot of people do that. You get so excited that you run way too fast in the beginning and don't have anything left at the end. I forced myself to pay close attention to my pedometer to keep from going faster than the 8 minute/miles I had budgeted.

Slowly the group unclumped. The truly speedy were gone almost immediately. I would only see them after they made the u-turn and were coming back the opposite way. After they were gone, I started beating people. Well, that's all in my mind. Plenty of people were still passing me, but it's all a mind game, right? I picked out someone who was running nearly my pace and took up place behind them. Then, eventually, I would pull out in front of them, congratulating myself on my victory in a race that the other person knew nothing about. I was able to keep this game going for the whole run.

There were a couple people who I dueled with for a mile or two, but eventually I got past them all. The one who gave me the most trouble was a very attractive (at least from the back) woman with two long, crazy, hypnotically twisting braids. She passed me early, and I think it took me 3 miles to get passed her for good.

The other fun game was to chase down the other bunny heads. Unfortunately, there weren't too many in front of me that were really catchable, but each one I saw on the horizon was a moving target. Especially the one worn at a jaunty angle by a ginormous mountain of a man. His ears stuck out to the side about a foot above my head. But I passed him.

The end of the run was beautiful. There was a really strong tailwind and a very slight downgrade. I had been picking up my pace slightly. I could see people falling out and dropping back into a jog, but I actually had energy and legs left, so I lengthened my stride and picked up the pace into a quick run for the last half mile and a sprint at the end, weaving through the people in front of me. Over the music from my earphones, I heard the MC with the PA system call out, "And here comes a guy with bunny ears, sprinting for the finish, let's let him hear it!" I did.

48:42, but I can do better.

Something Else To Distract Me From Work

Poop.

The 10k I planned to run at the end of October does not occur next weekend, but tomorrow at oh my god in the morning. This would have been better to discover before I went on a 4 mile run this morning.

At least I was able to get down to the registration place and pick up my bib number and tshirt (long sleeve? WTF? I can't wear a long-sleeve shirt. I'll burst into flames. grrrranimals.)

Also, they said there would be a gift bag. I can confirm there was a bag. Gifts? umm.. a sample-size granola bar and a sticker for a local radio station? not so much.

Won't My Mommy Besoproudofme?

Funny story. So yesterday I went wandering and found a funny sign. Here it is:

Ha ha very funny, right?

I think I offended the bee gods. Out for a morning run, they had obviously set a trap for me. I'm sure they scouted my path. I run it often, so there'd be no problem there. The best place for a special assault ambush would be on the part of the trail that weaves around the shrubbery (ni!). I was completely unawares, happily bopping along while a lone courageous bee made her final arrangements.

Finally I passed the go-point and she rushed at me. Into my mouth! I reflexively coughed her out, but by then it was too late. She had made her glorious attack striking deep at the back of my throat and would no doubt be a heroine mourned well and long at one of those honey-soaked bacchanals we've heard so much about.

So. Anyway, it doesn't seem too bad. I'm not allergic, thank goodness. I checked my throat in the mirror and I can see where I got stung. It's a bit swollen, but it doesn't seem to be affecting my breathing or swallowing. The cool thing is that my voice has dropped an octave.

Personally I think this calls for ice cream and movies.

Bonus points for anyone who can sing the rest of the song from the title.

Feeling Very Lazy

The main reason I'm posting this is to say that I'm going to go running. That way I will face shame and derision if I don't. 'Cause I don't wanna. I want to nap. I want to read non-required books. I want to watch TV. I want to eat. Anything but work or something that resembles work. But, alas, I oughtta (one t or two?).

So, much like Profgrrrrrl posting lost items so that they might find their way home, I post because I have to create my own peer pressure.

Maybe I'll just do a shorter run.

I Know...

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On The Couch

I think part of the reason for my lack of posts lately is more than simply the fact that I don’t sit in front of the computer 7 hours out of every day like I did at Old U. I think it’s something a little more fundamental. I imagine it’s not odd or unexpected that a switch to a bigger and more ‘important’ university would lead to stress, anxiety and self-questioning. I generally hate doing or being thought of as doing what is expected, but there you have it – I’m having a bit of an stress crisis.

Part of it comes from simple insecurity. The main seminar I’m in right now is on a topic that I don’t consider strictly in my realm of study, but I’m wondering more and more if it isn’t dealing with a lot of topics that I need to be able to manipulate well. Add to that the fact that the class I’m TAing now (and will be for the foreseeable future) is one that I feel more than a little bit uncomfortable teaching, and it all adds up to me feeling that I’m not doing what I want to be doing, and I don’t feel particularly effective doing what I’m doing.

So. I’m buried in work about things that I believe are important but not particularly interesting or as rewarding as I would like, and worried that this is what the next 5 years (perhaps the entire academic career?) will be like.

All this makes me feel sluggish. I’m not running as much as I used to. I’m sleeping more than I should. I feel like my brain is set on slow. I sometimes struggle to force myself to read through a page of words that swim around the page only to realize that I didn’t really understand any of it and have to start again. I'm pretty lazy to begin with, but now it seems to be getting worse.

As an optimist against all reason, I should say that I’m glad I’m in the seminar, and I am getting a lot out of it. I’m glad I’m TAing the difficult class for a lot of reasons. I really do think things will come out all right, even though I couldn’t tell you how. I just hope that I’ll be able to find something to re-inspire me – something challenging but that I know I can do, and do well.

I’ve got a pile of grading I don’t want to do, several chapters left to read (at least they’re in English), and a response paper to write, but I think I’m going to put on my running clothes and see if that convinces me to get out the door and run.

Edited to add: Because of the Blogger outage, I didn't post this right after I wrote it, but I did get out and do a long run. It felt pretty good.

8.88mi - 1:05'55"

If You Blog It, You Will Go.

I'm feeling oh, so blah. I haven't run in a couple of weeks. Coincidence? I think not. The tough this is that running seems to be a self perpetuating thing. You feel good and through experience, you know that running helps you feel good so you keep doing it. On the other side, you feel lazy and blah, and because running takes energy and commitment, being blah and lazy makes you run less. So it just gets worse.

So, I have a whole crapload of stuff to get done today. I've finished my daily 'must surf' internet (more on that later), and I'm going to make time to go on a run. Like, now. And because I've blogged it, I can't back out, 'cause like, my 3 remaining readers (hi guys!) would make fun of me and I'm easily shame-able.

So - in closing, I give you the fruits of today's surfing (what can I say - I like strange ads):


Maybe I should just turn this into a video posting site. Sigh...

We Have The Technology

Well, I finally did it. I've made the decision to put my beloved bike under the knife... err... wrench. All of the key parts are original from when I bought it with the insurance money I got after being smashed into by an elderly driver. And that was about 14 years ago. A couple of days ago, the back wheel started wobbling a bit more than could be fixed with a little spoke tightening. So, I took it into a local bike shop and told them to go to town. A bunch of little wear and tear issues are going to be fixed, the cables, both back and front sprocket thingies (TOUCH MY MONKEY) are getting changed out, and I understand they are going to hang a little pine-scented cardboard tree from the rear-view mirror.

Also of note:

• The show I'm seeing tonight (and tomorrow) is actually a three-day marathon-style to-do. I'm thinking of actually dressing up. The horror.
• This morning: 4.39mi - 31'08"
• First day of class was very odd - main lesson learned: If something works in the first class, it cannot work in the second class.
  

4.44mi - 31'58"

After the last run, my thighs were burning like crazy. Even before today's run, I could still feel the burn a little bit. I still made it a bit faster than last time. I'll probably be in agony tomorrow though.

Back on Track, er... Sidewalk

4.49mi - 33'20"

Well, it's certainly a different kind of running here in Newtown. Hills. Wow. Again, I didn't realize that there were so many hills here. There's the sharp quick ones that make you stare at your toes and the long gradual slope ones that make you rethink religion. I think this is a good thing, but it'll take some getting used to.
Lots of crosswalks and glancing around for cars making right turns without turn signals. On the plus side, there are a lot of runners out there, or at least there were this morning. I looked online and found a whole lot of running routes, and some even go into some kinda green areas, but most of them are longer runs. I think I need a few mid-range runs to get me back into stride before I do that.

The roommate is coming today. I really thought I was past the part of my life where I would have roommates, but I guess that's poverty for ya. He says he's bringing a table and some chairs and maybe even *gasp* a couch! Maybe it's not so bad a thing after all.

Anyway, before he comes, I'm going to head out and do a photo walk. I might not have any free time once school starts up next week, so I'd better do it now, right?