Running Commentary

Yes, you could say I have a ballpark figure because it's a real gem--a diamond, just maybe. Better than a lump of coal. Anyway, I did get my SF run in yesterday. Ran from work, which is at Levi's Plaza, along the Embarcadero to AT&T Park. Stopped to say howdy to Juan Marichal (above) and then headed back. A good run, except it seems to have exacerbated my chronic knee soreness. Running on concrete: not the best idea in the world; however, a better idea than not running at all. I ended up working a 14-hour day yesterday, so was glad to get that running break. A bonus for working late was that the boss-o-the-evening took our orders for take-out from Il Fornaio , which is right down the block from the office. I had a salmon dinner to swoon for. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was so cute and savory, nestled in its biodegradable cardboard container. Not really health food, as it was swimming in butter. I managed to eat it anyway. I've not much more to tell you ton...

I awoke with a bad case of the heebie-jeebies this morning, and it hasn't diminished (much) since I came into work (here earlier than usual). I don't like to label my mental and emotional states with such words as "depression" or "euphoria" because I feel like putting them in those boxes may inhibit my ability to rise above them. Anyway, headlines about the Supreme Court's overturning handgun control, about a horrendous traffic accident, about the cutting of California's funds for crucial children's service, about more fatal attacks in Iraq all sent my already whiny self into a bit of a spin. Sometimes I feel that the wonder isn't that the rate of antidepressant use has rocketed into the stratosphere but that it hasn't gone any higher than than it has. There. I feel much better already. Amazing how just venting (whining) a bit can dissipate some of the vapors that swirl around in the attic. My intent in starting this post was to remind my...

Just a quick check-in today. I did a 10-miler this morning--am trying to decide whether to run the SF half-marathon on August 3. This study in grays is a photo of the sidewalk in front of a low stone wall up the street where I always stretch at the end of a run. I've been stopping here to stretch for, oh, say 20-plus years off and on--and have never once noticed the graceful pattern in the concrete. Hmmm. My run today went really well, well enough to convince me that if I want to do a 13-mile race, even one with hills, I am close to ready right now. (Well, not this very minute, as I am currently full of peanut butter and jelly. Yum.) Bonus photo: Marley, the cat who thinks he owns our house. We recycle our newspapers by putting them on the lower shelf of a kitchen bookcase. Marley thinks we're putting them there as a bed for him. I am allergic to cats, but he doesn't care. Notice he especially likes to sit on Tiger Woods. I think it's a feline thing. Life has been busy ...

Where have I been? Here and there, from high in the sky to down on the ground. I lay on my back and perused the clouds. Later, as I stretched I looked down at my feet and met a bug. My runs have been early and good, for the most part, although my left knee is scolding me rather more than I'd like ever since my marathon. Full disclosure about this post: My real reason for creating it is to upload all the camera-phone photos I've accumulated in the last week or two. I've been too lazy to turn my Flicker site into a viable entity, but I do like seeing my images on-screen. The photos included here were most of them taken on a run (not all on the same run). Last week I got really bored with the old BART path, which happens sometimes. One morning I headed due west and ended up at Cesar Chavez Park . You can see a photo of the SF skyline on the park website, but I kinda like mine better. Too bad the phone camera has such a wide-angle lens--seeing SF beneath the fog and all lit up ...

Awoke this morning with a feeling of non-specific dread sitting on my chest (this is not an unprecedented event) . Rolled over, blinked, and said aloud, "Say yes to this day." Got up, threw on my running clothes, and was out the door by 6:30. I did my old 6-mile hill workout, which took me up Peralta almost to Colusa and then over to Solano before I wound my way north and back down the hill. I detoured through Memorial Field at the high school just for fun. Snapped a photo of the Little League snack booth, where I used to run the show along with my friend Diana. I wanted give the shack the official name of The Off-field Hit, but couldn't marshal any enthusiasm among the local baseball crowd. Anyway. Today I had a good run and a good day. This afternoon I rode my bike up the hill and headed south to the haircut emporium. I realized I should be resting my legs, but also realized that I like to push myself to the edge of overdoing it. I prefer being a bit achy and tired to ...