Running Commentary

Hard to believe three weeks have gone by. Even harder to believe this is my 21st (and final) Accountability post. I'll miss doing this but at the same time I'll be relieved not to dread the whizzing by of the hours that pass while I think about posting but don't. I never foresaw many of the events of the past three weeks, including having to write about cutting back on my running in order to heal in time for the GG Relays this coming weekend. Going into Day 1, I had been running strong for a pretty long, uninterrupted time. Isn't this a sentiment that we all express one way or another many times throughout our lives? "I never foresaw...x, y, or even q. Let alone z."  I don't have a lot to report in this, my last consecutive report.  (Yes, I undoubtedly will continue to post sporadically in this space, just as I've done for more than 10 years.) What I did: So far today, and today does not cease to go on just because this posting sequence...

Penultimate post. Praying that it's pretty! Perhaps I'll plunge right in. Please play along! Primed to prattle here (oh, perfect). What I did: Walked / ran at the Berkeley Marina with the Wow gang. Although I was being so prudent (there's that letter again!) that I was more alone than with a gang. I set my interval timing pal the Gymboss for walk 1 minute / run 1 minute and occasionally parlayed it into walk 1 minute / run 2 or 3 minutes. I was impressed by how proficiently my piriformis et. al performed. Which is to say, I've been getting progressively less perturbed by pain each day. I persevered for an hour and didn't perspire too much. When and where I did it: Presumably at the Berkeley Marina, since that's what I purported a above--and also since there's a picture of a pier above in a prominent position. I didn't perambulate in the p.m.-- started my preparations at home around 6 am and proceeded to Berkeley to take part in the actual ...

Okay, I admit it. I'm counting the days until the end of my accountability blogathon. It's been a challenging but fun enterprise. It's had some of the characteristics of other commitments I've made: It's been a joy. It's been a pain. I've felt it went well. I've felt it went awful. It's helped me feel confident about myself. It's made me cringe for exposing for public consumption the dope I can be. As it's become popular to say, it is what it is. And anyway, as everyone knows, anything you put on the internet only stays there for, for...well, forever. I looked carefully as I walked across the street, but didn't sight any hot dogs. Meanwhile, it's Day 19. Here's the news that might make you snooze: What I did: Still not much. Every day I feel a bit better and so today I was encouraged. I'm easily making my 10,000 steps--this morning I walked to the Pleasant Town farmer's market and back, and have run oth...

   The sky bestows a benediction of rain-- Earth Day! People do care; witness the storm drain warning. That warm fuzzy feeling you get from seeing the warning may be mitigated a bit when you notice the random street trash heading for the grate. Plants, courtesy of the planet. Oh yes, running. I guess I'm feeling like what really old people would call a flibbertigibbet, that is (to switch to a more contemporary vernacular), like I'm having trouble staying on task. What I did today: Walked over to the gym in the lovely rain. I briefly got on the elliptical machine to see whether I might be able to use it as a stand-in for running. Nothing hurt, so I'll go over there tomorrow and see if I can ellip a few miles. What? Ellip isn't a verb?  I asked Heather the taskmaster (taskmistress?) not to tax my sore lower left side, and she complied. What I forgot to tell her was not to punish my other body parts, either! When and where I did it: 10:00 a...

The closest thing to a nature shot today: Mount Tamalpais--the "Sleeping Maiden"--peeking over the edge of a wall of urban sprawl. Another late-in-the-day post, and I have to admit I'm dragging. I woke up still hurting too much to consider running, so I decided to catch up on writing my book. What follows lets you know how that went. What I did: Packed up my computer and drove out to the BART station--would normally ride my bike but wasn't sure how my glutes and hip flexors would like that--and spent some time trolling the parking lot for a place to leave Casper, my trusty 1995 Honda. I gave up and exited the parking lot heading west. I ended up in the parking lot of the Best Western motel, about a quarter mile from the station. (Shhh. Don't tell.) I felt compelled to buy a cookie. While walking around the motel and heading to BART, I had the idea to go into Specialty's Cafe and look around. I used to buy their cookies when I worked in SF, and...

Q: What did the fish say when it ran into a wall? A: Dam!  That's kind of how I feel today. My "damn" came at 5:15 am when I had to get out of bed because both my hips were so painful that I couldn't sleep lying on either side. My comment yesterday that I was a bit stiff from Sunday turned out to be an understatement. I'm not super alarmed yet--still confident I can run in the GG Relay on April 30--but am alarmed enough to ratchet down my running for a few days. I already feel less sore now than I did 12 hours ago and am pretty sure I will be able to run gently by Thursday or Friday. In the spirit of accountability, let me describe my day up to this point. What I did: Started the daily Sudoku in the newspaper. (I often read the "paper" online, but find that marking my Sudoku answers on actual paper is a lot less messy that doing it on my computer screen.)  Other activities: Watched a bird eat seed I'd scattered on the deck rail, and ...

Giving the lie to the adage "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning," It's been a nice warm day with only scattered clouds here in Pleasant Town. Z called me from work on his lunch and suggested I relax in the recliner and turn on the air conditioner. At the time we spoke, I was wearing a shirt and two light sweatshirts over it. I'm a warm-weather lover and have no use at all for AC unless it's 90 degrees out! Besides, I had already done my morning workout and was still energetic enough to eschew reclining. Truth in posting: That righteous behavior went by the wayside later in the day. What I did: Finding that I am very stiff from Sunday's 10K, I went out the door gingerly. My left glutes and IT band were barking even at a walk. I set my Gymboss timer at 1 minute intervals, which is a great setting because as you warm up you can easily count how many minutes you're comfortable moving before you need to slow down and walk. I was only out for 3 mi...

I don't quite know how I managed to title two posts in a row "Day 11," but I did. I have corrected my mistake, which means now I'm on Day 14, not Day 13. Why do I feel like I've pulled a fast one? I guess I haven't, but don't all runners want to pull a fast one? Or at least run a fast one? Anyway, I'm getting into a groove on this daily writing thing. Although I have to admit it has had the effect of slowing down my novel writing. But I'm over the halfway hump in the accountability department and fully expect to transfer my groove habit over to the book when I hit the nonexistent blog called Day 22.  So what about today? Well, here's the "What I did" section: The day's not over, but I've been fairly sedentary. Only at 6350 steps, despite having walked about a mile to the mailbox and back to send in our tax payment. Also, I shelled peas (see above) but didn't get any step credits for it. Maybe it was a bit aerobic?...

I need to get this post written while I'm still upright. I am so ready for a nap. A righteous nap, I think. I did run the Pleasanton Run for Education this morning, and when I say "run," I mean that's just what I did. I just never felt like taking a walk break, so I didn't. One nice thing about a run for education is seeing so many healthy and friendly young people. I wish I had gotten their names. What I did: Finished a 10K in an unofficial time of 1:11:28, which included a final mile run at 11:26. Not exactly blinding speed, but it got a smile out of me. Not at the time I ran it, of course, seeing how I was focused on just covering ground. I beat the only other 10K I've run in 2016, the Bay Breeze Run in Hayward, in which I ran 1:12:41. A quick "yay" before I tell you that 10K's I did in 2013, 2014, and 2015 were all faster than today's run. You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need. Thin...

Is it better to be accountable late than never? I have to answer yes to that question if I'm to continue with my 21-day blogathon. No excuses here--we got home late from a beautiful wedding, I knew I had to get up early Sunday (today!), and, truthfully, I FORGOT my commitment. Oh well, I'm forced to say, that's history now. It's a new day. So. Yesterday, Day 11: What I did: Ran an easy 3 miles in the morning. Loped here and there around the neighborhood and ended up at the farmer's market downtown. Bought a smoothie, bought some berries and some fresh peas, and walked on home. When and where: About 10 am, and as I said, stayed close to home. How it felt: Good, although my legs are a bit tired. Will be interesting to see today (Day 12) how my 10K goes. Photos: Cuteness alert: There was a dog-fostering booth adjacent to the farmer's market. Sleep on, little puppy -- And you, please keep on running!

Bonus photo: Blue Moon Odem, Vida Blue, Dave Stewart, and Rickey Henderson throw out ceremonial first pitches on Jackie Robinson Day for MLB. As seen on TV! Tired puppy. One definition of accountability is when a tired puppy manages to act like a big dog long enough to fulfill a commitment, whether it's burying a bone or writing a blog post. So, I come not to bury this Day 11 report but to write it. It may get accomplished more easily if the puppy (the writer) drops this mixed and unwieldy metaphor. How was today? Glad I asked myself. It was good, but felt rushed. Felt kind of weird to sit in a single row of seats. What I did: Dawdled over the Sudoku long enough after breakfast that I had to hurry to BART in time to squeeze in a visit first to the taxman and  then to the doctor, who were to be found some 10 miles apart, and still manage to get back to Pleasant Town before Z got home from work.  I took BART for reasons I often do, that is, so I can walk from my des...

Here comes a short post. Have a lot on my plate right now! What I did: Walked quite a bit. I have 10,682 steps and counting on my fitness tracker. An okay middle-range number. Where and when I did it: All day, off and on. This morning I parked midway between the library and the bookstore on Main Street, walked to the library for books, dropped them at the car, walked to the bookstore to buy a wedding present, walked back to the car, and drove home. Usually I'd have ridden my bike on these errands but my legs are tired so I'm saving them for the weekend. Note: My plan to run a 5K Sat. and a 10K Sun. have had a setback--the Play Ball 5k has been postponed until July 17 because Corrigan Sports is (rightly) thinking the Coliseum area will be a madhouse Saturday because the Golden State Warriors are hosting the first game of their post season that day. Further note: I've become a Warriors fan. Had never even looked at Pro basketball until I somehow got hooked by Step...

Have had an active day thus far. I walked / ran for 6 miles and then went to the gym, where Heather supervised my beating my upper body into submission so it could be good company for my tired legs.  What I did: I've been wanting to check out a section of the Arroyo Mocha trail ever since the city finished refurbishing a section of it. I've been hoping it's been upgraded to a bike-able state--it's been okay for running but a bit rough for my city bike. So I ran north up Bernal to the Iron Horse Trail, where I cut over to the arroyo trail at Stoneridge Ave. The spiffed-up trail looks good! Stayed on it for a bit and then made a left over on Omega to Parkside Drive and from there cut across the Sp orts Park and made my way eastward to the gym. We won't talk about the 3 times I had to stop and check Google maps. For me, the simplest run can fast turn into a thrilling exercise in orienteering, also known as figuring out where you are when you're feeling alar...

Here I am again, writing when it's near my bedtime. Not only that, the A's are on TV--and they're ahead! Accountability, indeed. It was a BART kind of a day. Finished my book! I didn't run today, but did ride my bike out to BART so I could get to Berkeley to pick up my bib for the Play Ball 5K at the Coliseum Saturday. I ran it last year with friends and had a great time--will be satisfied to run it solo this year and have a good time. Registration includes a ticket to the day's game. I'll probably go for a while but will need to cut it short so I can get ready to go to the wedding of my dear friend R. to her sweetheart. All in all, it should be a fabulous day. Running, baseball, and love. who could ask for more? Admiring the mind that paired these materials in the BART station. What I did: Per Map My Run, I rode my bike a total of 8.26 miles. Also, walked quite a bit in getting to and from the BART station to Sports Basement and also in getting fr...