Running Commentary

Yep, the long weekend is no more. Before it departed for good, I took a quick afternoon spin on my bike. Down past Aquatic Park, over the Berkeley ped bridge (rainbow-shaped by design), and south to Emeryville along the Bay Trail and back. If I kept a bike log like my favorite nephew does, I wouldn't even get to tally seven miles. But my enjoyment number would be w-a-a-a-y high. Have a good week, you readers, all three of you!

I said I would post today, so here it is. I've felt stressed and tired for about 48 hours now, and awoke with a crashing headache. Well, terrific, I thought. My complaints sound like a broken record (scratched CD?). I need to slow down. I take on too much work. I'm way too involved in trying to keep the universe functioning. Can't figure out why I persist in the same behavior and yet never stop hoping for different results. I believe that paradigm is one definition of insanity. However. I rolled out of bed into the quiet dawn (even the house was dead quiet--Z is out of town) and threw on my running duds. Out the door, down the street, through the cool and empty streets, down my regular path, all the way out to Brighton St. for my longest run since the marathon, which was three weeks ago yesterday. The above is a random snapshot taken from my urban route--I know every bush and fire hydrant as if they were part of my living room. Some days their familiarity is an irritant so

May 23 (last night): The A's stream onto the field to congratulate each other on their 3-0 defeat of the World Champion Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum. That's where I've been most recently. It was a thoroughly satisfying game for an A's fan, well played, with the team that was better for the moment winning. Who would have thought Justin Duchscherer would channel Cy Young. Our dear friends from New England have been with us for four days. Can't quite figure out why they didn't share my enthusiasm over last night's game. Other places I've been lately? I'd say a lot of the places are uninteresting, consisting of various desks and computers where I could be spotted with my head down and my eyes crossed over pieces of recalcitrant prose that needed coaxing into readability. I've also been swimming a bit at King Pool in Berkeley, as well as running gingerly on some dirt paths and tracks. It turns out the tweaking of my hamstring at the Ave marathon w

Avenue of the Giants Marathon, May 4, 2008: 5:02:34, which is more than 22 minutes off my time for 2007. The above photo was taken somewhere around mile 14, a point in the race where a few brain cells were still functional enough for me to operate my camera phone. For anyone who cares, full race results are on the Web. I'm very happy with how I did, and am looking forward to breaking five hours next year. I'm having a crazy-busy week, so I'll have to wait until later to write a longer description of my wonderful weekend among the redwoods. Ps. I ran 3.5 miles this morning, and doing a full-body inventory revealed only that my right hamstring is a bit tight. No major bodily malfunction surfaced, for which I'm grateful.