Accountability -- Day 17

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 have yet to taste any better. I had to go in and buy a cookie, so I did. I then walked to the station and boarded the westbound train, seeing how there is no eastbound train from this station--it's the end of the line!

Climbed the stairs at BART.

I had a plan. I would go to a cafe and have coffee and food while I wrote. I rode all the way to Del Norte, which is the penultimate station on the Richmond line. I walked east on the Ohlone Greenway and turned off the trail and into the big and glitzy Safeway. I found coffee and Chobani yogurt, both of which I consumed as I wrote and anticipated my cookie. I ate it. It was good.

So far in my novel-writing experience, even when I've slacked off writing, the characters have lived in my head enough that when I've resumed working, I've known what they've all been doing and can describe not only their ongoing activities but their emotions. This happened today, and my my fingers are crossed that it continues. I'm currently at 32,033 words and anticipate ending up with between 50,000 and 60,000.

This post may seem like a departure from my ostensibly running-related blog but it is not. The book's main characters are all runners, and a lot of the plot involves a man who is the owner/CEO of a national running magazine. For some of the action the characters interact while running or walking around Lake Merritt--on the very trail where Z and I met some 20 years ago.

When and where I did it: I think I just covered that.

How it felt: okay for the BART ride, the food, and the writing. Not very good for the continuing pain I'm having along my left glute / hip / IT chain. I'll give the day a 5.5, largely because I did end up with more than 10,000 fitness tracker steps and was able to walk without hurting much at all. The pain only comes when I stand up after sitting and when I stay upright in the kitchen too long. I plan to continue to baby myself running-wise, starting by going to the gym tomorrow and trying the elliptical machine and the stationary bike.   

Photos: No bucolic shots of natural phenomena for me today. But at least because I wasn't on the run, I found it pretty easy to keep my urban subjects in focus. In the end I was happy to realize my blog-athon has not thrown my novel project completely off the rails.

Keep on running!