The Monster Mash
I was working in the lab early one morning. . .
I've run twice since I did the Couples Relay 5-K last Sunday, so I guess I can call myself officially recovered. I did the 5-K in 32:27:79—not exactly a blistering pace. But I felt elated to run, and delighted to feel myself put the hammer down a little bit at the end.
I've decided to go for the half marathon rather than the full on March 7, but am now looking at the San Francisco full, which falls on July 30 this year. It was the first I ever did, and that was 10 years ago. I feel as if doing it right before I turn 60 would feel like the closing of a circle.
Tuesday morning I did 5, and again this morning. Today I started in the mist but ended in the pouring rain. It didn't start until about mile 4, when I was thoroughly warmed up, so it didn't even bother me. It felt wonderful, if you must make me confess the extent of my insanity. I thought of all the sweat running off my body and down through the storm drains of Berkeley into the San Francisco Bay and maybe, eventually, ending up in Tokyo Harbor or some other exotic locale. How we deceive ourselves when we believe that we're isolated beings. We're all small threadlets in the tapestry of existence, all cut from the same piece of cosmic cloth. While we're alive we get to be separated somewhat, by virtue of wearing our skins, but we all eventually return to the same basic place.
You didn't expect me to be empirical, cogent and thinking with the left side of my brain at 4:30 a.m., did you? That comes later in the day, when I should be working but am instead thinking about mileage, health, diet, and other factors that affect running performance.
Good news: I had my annual physical Wednesday and passed with flying colors. All signs are good, including my blood pressure of 97 / 70. Bad news: in the next few months I need to have blood work, a mammogram, a bone density test, and (argh!) a colonoscopy. Since I had a colon polyp removed in 1988, I'm supposed to get a colonoscopy every 5 years. Somehow I've only managed to get one. Sigh. It's a crappy prospect.
I've run twice since I did the Couples Relay 5-K last Sunday, so I guess I can call myself officially recovered. I did the 5-K in 32:27:79—not exactly a blistering pace. But I felt elated to run, and delighted to feel myself put the hammer down a little bit at the end.
I've decided to go for the half marathon rather than the full on March 7, but am now looking at the San Francisco full, which falls on July 30 this year. It was the first I ever did, and that was 10 years ago. I feel as if doing it right before I turn 60 would feel like the closing of a circle.
Tuesday morning I did 5, and again this morning. Today I started in the mist but ended in the pouring rain. It didn't start until about mile 4, when I was thoroughly warmed up, so it didn't even bother me. It felt wonderful, if you must make me confess the extent of my insanity. I thought of all the sweat running off my body and down through the storm drains of Berkeley into the San Francisco Bay and maybe, eventually, ending up in Tokyo Harbor or some other exotic locale. How we deceive ourselves when we believe that we're isolated beings. We're all small threadlets in the tapestry of existence, all cut from the same piece of cosmic cloth. While we're alive we get to be separated somewhat, by virtue of wearing our skins, but we all eventually return to the same basic place.
You didn't expect me to be empirical, cogent and thinking with the left side of my brain at 4:30 a.m., did you? That comes later in the day, when I should be working but am instead thinking about mileage, health, diet, and other factors that affect running performance.
Good news: I had my annual physical Wednesday and passed with flying colors. All signs are good, including my blood pressure of 97 / 70. Bad news: in the next few months I need to have blood work, a mammogram, a bone density test, and (argh!) a colonoscopy. Since I had a colon polyp removed in 1988, I'm supposed to get a colonoscopy every 5 years. Somehow I've only managed to get one. Sigh. It's a crappy prospect.
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