Sunday, October 21, 2007



A picture from this spring of me and n.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Obstacles


I've had a lingering sore throat and achyness for days now. I thought I had kicked a cold before it really came on, but I guess this is how it's going to get me. I can't tell if I should try to resume running tomorrow or not.

Either way, if I run tomorrow or not I'm not going to let this obstacle get in my way. That big trail run is happening on December 1st, no matter what.

The other obstacles are plans that are dashed. I really hoped to get a new job with a certain dotcom company. It looked like such a good fit. They decided to stick with contractors for the time being because they are "getting by" with them. I know that the creative director and the recruiter weren't to happy with that company decision. At least I had some fans there.

I can't let this trip in the trail get me down though. There has to be something else out there.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Darkness




It was pitch dark when I left for my run this morning. Dark like the middle of the night with not a hint of dawn. And the thought of going out in the darkness is always awful to me when I hit the snooze on my alarm clock, but the actual running out there in the dark is kind of wonderful.

I have a little headlamp that attaches to my running hat, and a blinking blue light that I snap onto the back of my running hat. There! Now you will always recognize me out there on my runs. No one else has the blinking little blue light. It's great because drivers are used to seeing red lights and white/yellow lights, not blue, unless it's the police! So the little blue light always gets their attention.

As I headed off down the road I came to some very dark places in the road. It was quiet, and kind of creepy/unsettling. At just the moments that I'd get creeped out I'd remember my headlamp and swing it about to locate any gremlins hiding underneath parked cars or up in trees. Nothing is there, of course so I shake off that uneasy feeling. It's only me and the little night creatures out on the road at this time.

Plus it's not long until the inky blackness fades to a grey blue. And the sky lightens to cobalt. By this time I'm usually running through the tony section of town in-between multi-million dollar homes. I don't even hope to ever live here - they will always be out of reach, and anyway, if I had millions to spend on a house I'd buy one next to a trail that I could run on everyday.

Now there are more cars on the road. This is the drawback to the later parts of my run. I so like the quiet of the early part of my run - where I can cross normally super busy roads against the light with not a single car in sight. It makes me long for the solitude of the darkness.

By the time that I'm approaching home again dawn has broken and I've flicked off my headlamp. I feel accomplished. I've been out and about before most of the people that I see on the road were even awake. No matter what else happens today - at least I have this.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

New Leaf

I'm set to run a 20 mile trail run on December 1st. This is my starting point for my training plan to run a 50 miler this next coming year and to eventually build to the Western States in a year or two.

I've decided to can swimming for a while at least. It's just too much to put swimming in with running. Being at the pool at 5am is just too stressful. At the pool I swim at we're expected to prepare the pool too (pull off the covers and set up the lane lines). This adds a lot of extra time and hassle to the work-out schedule. Plus a lot of angry emails from people who think that other people aren't doing their part. I don't need that stress either. And I feel that I get fitter with running anyway.

I've decided to get back into some yoga at home for stretching and to help equalize my leg muscles again. I'll have to do a little strength training too, especially for my right leg as it is noticeably weaker than my left due to the break I suffered back in 2000. I still must be compensating a bit.

Run Report - Today none - very sore and tight so I did morning Yoga.