Running Commentary

Well, looks like I beat mine too much. Left heel, which has been aching dully, is suddenly quite painful. I went for a short one this morning (3.5 mi.), and it hurt more than usual, at least for the first mile. When I got home it was fine, but after I showered it started in barking again. Advil and ice calmed it down, but now, at 2 p.m., it hurts like heck. More ice, more Advil. This may be the running gods' way of telling me to taper before the half marathon. As in, lay off for a week (yeah, right). Going to go out in a little bit and look at new shoes. My work shoes, which I wear every day, started out cushy but over the course of six months have sunk to the comfort level of a couple of planks. While I'm in a shoe frame of mind, I think I'll go to my local running store over the weekend and lay out a small fortune for a new pair of Sauconys. The supposed life of a pair of running shoes is 300 to 500 miles, but I find after about 250 I start to hear that slap-slap that si...

I'm not that blue, but loved this song title when I found it at this great site about weird song titles on the Internet ( http://www.ohek.co.uk/funnies/fun-titles.htm ). My intention was to whine about how quickly time goes by--but I decided why bother. Every time I do, nothing changes, if you can imagine that. Don't know why not. Between running and working my day job and my freelance job, blogging has slipped on my priorities list. But I've been running a lot, and except for a nagging sore left heel, it's been going well. Z and I are set to run the Ave. of the Giants half marathon on May 7, so we're both tapering a bit this week. ("Tapering": the practice of resting tired legs for a week or two before a big race; the process of tapering off from the usual habit of running like a crazed gerbil for hours at a time.) I've decided it's unrealistic for me to plan on running the SF Marathon at the end of July, so I'll probably do the half and then...

Well, a bike named Blu. Trying to upload an image in a hurry, and having no luck. So I'll just go ahead and paste in the latest adventures of our friend Geores as described by the man himself. His van is named Liah, and his bike is named Blu. Here's what he's been up to: 04/12, the last day of month one, 1:30PM; sitting in front of the closed, Kiowa, library, even though the sign reads "OPEN 9AM to 5PM." But that's kind of what the morning's been like. Awake at 3:45 in a clearing off of 69 that was parked in after dark. Started runner's oatmeal and coffee at 4AM. Ate the oatmeal then took a nap afterward with coffee on low to slowly perk. woke up in morning light and discovered the driveway that Liah was parked in. In the ensuing rush to get things in order for travel, the hot, yes HOT, coffee came down in a shockingly painful gush on the bare right foot, scalding it red, and changing the color of a goodly portion of Liah's green carpet to brown. A...

Here's Geores, one of our buddies from our running club. You can get the full story by Googling "Clevenger 69." Geores is a wild man, in the way all runners secretly hope they are. His wife is one of the finest people you could ever know, too. I felt a bit wild myself this morning, with joy, that is, when I awoke and for the first time in 40 days and 40 nights it wasn't raining. Yes, I am serving whine with my jeez. Anyway, out I went. Did 6 before breakfast. I've recently been heading for the north-south streets that offer some hills--figure it's better for me than sticking to the flats. Today I rolled up and down Peralta. Z and I are getting in decent shape for our upcoming half marathon, which is on May 7. He is looking great because not only is he running well, he's spending more time at the gym. Me? I get there once a week and grouse the whole time I'm there. Can't say it's buffed me up much, but I do feel a bit more stable through the mid...

It has to stop raining before I run out of rain-related song titles. So much water, so little time. I've managed to keep my running going despite never-ending rain. I don't want it to sound as if I'm whining—I probably mind the rain less than many people. If I can get under way before a sprinkle becomes a deluge, I'm actually fine with a little precipitation. Ran 5 miles this morning around 4:30. Since daylight saving started up, it's dark again in the early morning, very dark, but the street lights illuminate my solitary running stage. I had a good week last week. Did a total of 20 miles, plus managed a gym workout and a 30-minute swim. Z and I are looking toward Avenue of the Giants, the half marathon, on May 7. I feel I'll be in much better shape for it than I was last year, and the pain was bearable even then. I know, pain being bearable seems an odd criterion for a successful activity. No one said runners weren't weird.