Mediocre

On Tuesday I took a lovely run outside at lunch time since I was working from home. I should say the weather was lovely, the run was not. I was fatigued, had lung burn and my legs weighed 100 lbs each, but i struggled along for 3 miles. Maybe this was because I hadn't had the requisite 24 hour recovery time. So last night I tried again and felt much better. I did 3.5, the first 2.5 at a good pace and I walked the last mile. Today I'm just sad, and I'm resting. Twenty sets of parents just lost their joy, the week before Christmas. Brothers and sisters may never recover. Kids lost their parents, mothers their daughters. It's an awful thing.

Too Tired

You can't breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you're the joke
-Sixx A.M.

A difficult 3 mile run today.  Two main problems - lungs and phone.  My lungs hurt right from the start - and I felt really tired.  Tired enough that I spent the first part of the run trying to remember which of the former U of A guards suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome.  And then I thought about a story that my recently married rocket scientist friend told me about linebacker Brian Cushing.  He (Cushing) ran afoul of the NFL's drug policy and he blamed his test on overtrained athlete syndrome, which might be a real thing, but didn't ring true as an excuse.  So the local sports radio station sarcasticly suggested having a walk to raise awareness for overtrained athlete syndrome - but then realized they should make sure it was a short walk - so as not to further contribute to the problem.  I tried to diagnose myself with either of these diseases, but I think I just need to go to bed earlier.

Even worse than feeling tired and having my lungs hurt was that my phone didn't work correctly.  Before my run I took a call while it was syncing and I unplugged and screwed it up.  It would only play one song at a time and it was 2 songs behind whatever song I picked.  It was really weird.  I had to erase all the music off my phone and resync to make it work.  Also exhausting. 

And yes - the above quoted song is on the playlist.  I'm not proud of it, but it is.  Here it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvn1N3URXkM

Coyote

Comin down the Phoenix sun on your face
Turns it reds by the afternoon
- Better Than Ezra, Coyote

I have a playlist made of 3 albums by these guys and sometimes I just put it on shuffle, and there's always a good song on next. I wish they were still making music. I ran 3 in the good at a great pace this evening as the sun was setting and it was chilly. I was reminiscing about the first time bf and I kissed (there's an ongoing debate over who kissed who). He actually invited me back to his room to show me his music collection, LOL. Not an original move but I guess it worked.

Yipee-ki-yay

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine
And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
-Jimmy Cliff

I ran 5 miles today on the treadmill.  Forty-one minutes.  Felt a lot better than my last run.

And now I'm enjoying a holiday classic.  Die Hard.  It is way better than watching the Texans demonstrate why they won't win the Super Bowl.  Or beat any team with a good offense.  But it is not good.  Not sure if it is because action movies don't hold up well over time, or if it is just that I've seen enough Bruce Willis to last me a lifetime, or if we can blame the dad from Erkel, or maybe all of the above.  I totallly wish they were showing the animated version of The Grinch instead.  That would be good for me.

8 mile

Snap back to reality
Oh! There goes gravity
- eminem

Ok it was only seven miles but still. I went hiking today. I couldn't seem to want to run, so I just took a long walk up to Bell Pass, which is about a 1200 foot elevation climb I think, and 7 miles round trip. It was a great climb, although I struggled a bit the last half mile up, which is really steep. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

Absolutely Anytime

Time was that you would understand
No matter what you would believe in
That was years ago and
time's a thief you know
-The Watchmen

I ran 3.25 through the neighborhood today.  But it was a little bit awful.  I felt like I was carrying a refrigerator on my back.  Or maybe just a backpack full of bricks.  Perhaps it only takes two weeks to become completely deconditioned.  Good to know. 

Luckily I had my security blanket with me.  "Absolutely Anytime" by The Watchmen.  I don't think I can create a running playlist without this song.  And yes, we are still adding to the playlist.  Since I'm not going to wait a full year before running another one of these things, we are still working on the same list.  I really wanted to see this band and I really wanted to see a show at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, but when they played there, I was too old.  The show started at 11.  Who can do that?  Anyway - here's the only version of this song I could find on youtube.  Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwCpM0LtWCk

No Excuses, Except That ...

But then some day we could take our time
To brush the leaves aside so you can reach us
-Candlebox

This probably has some deep meaning that I'm not getting, but I've always thought of it as the solution to the worst excuse ever.  "I'd really like to reach you, but there are leaves in the way and I don't want to take the time to brush them aside".  So in that spirit I'm going to offer up some lame excuses for why I haven't been running

My foot hurt
My wife went to a conference and I had additional child care responsibilities
Work was demanding
I went to Vegas, but not to run
Too hungry
No free gym at the the hotel

I decided to overcome the last one and pay the $16 for a daily pass.  The real reason this upsets me is that the only criteria I use for booking a hotel is if there is a fitness center (or centre if I was booking North of the border).  But I paid, ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill, took a phone call, did intervals on the indoor track with lifting mixed in, and then ran another mile on the treadmill.  I'm going to call this 3 miles.  And I'm back.  Thinking about running the other Galveston 1/2 in February. 

Instead of running I ate fried chicken and pie

I did, however, wear my running shoes to dinner. So.

Jet plane

Ok so I ran the mountain again on Sunday, great workout and 4.5 miles. I missed my 6am wake up call yesterday so missed the gym. But miracle of miracles, I got out last nigt when I got home from work. It was pitch dark at 6pm and its always harder after working all day, but fat dog and I made a go of it. We ran 3.5 in the hood at a strong pace. It actually felt great! Maybe all my trail running is paying off. I just landed in Atlanta for work, so today will be a well deserved rest day. Tomorrow I hope to get to the gym.

I thought about it long and hard today
I realized I'm standing in our way
- Steve Moakler, Hesitate

Well as you can see, the whole 6am thing didn't really work out this week. It will be much more challenging now to get my workouts in since I'm back on the hamster wheel work life. But today I made a decent go of it on the mountain, 4.5 miles. Gorgeous sunny day in the desert. Now picking up some well earne pizza.