Speed Machine

For anyone who has run any distance of significance you know about gas problems. Running makes a person toot. Another reason to dislike running on a treadmill is that there's people within arms reach of me. Out on the open road I feel fine being, uh, natural. I can even let one slip when I'm on the track.

When there's super-grandpas to the left of me and severly scented Susies to the right, I must suffer gastral pain. Combine that with my fear of falling and I'm not that happy about running on a machine.

On the plus side, I did learn my average heart rate was 166 and I supposedly burned 546 calories during my 45 minute run. That's a small consollation considering all the other grief I had to endure.

I couldn't set the time higher than 30 minutes. My wife tells me that's because people are usually waiting to use the machines. And people think I'm crazy for running in sub-zero weather!

There's all these arbitrary numbers to set before running. What does an elevation of 2.5 mean? How about a speed of 6.6? Give me some hills and let me run as fast as I can up them and tell me when it's been 45 minutes!

Inflatable Castle

How long does something last? When will everything about us be dust? Forgotten? The original Declaration of Independence is deteriorating. The pyramids are slowly returning to the desert.

We could all attempt to build more permanent structures but what's the use? The home I live in is 100 years old this year. That's a long time but not for a house built in Massachusets. They've got some dwellings that date back to our country's birth. Still those New England cottages got nothing on those in England. What about Stonehenge?

It seems everything we construct these days or less permanent and more fragile.

Why * ∞ = ?

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Hooray! Nap time is back.

That's how I was able to create today's latest edition. I'm pushing the outter limits to what a $75 complete editing system will yield. More on that later.

The Little Bun is all about questions these days. I thought about filming the follwing scenario during my 75 minute run yesterday. He has ∞ questions to ask.

Today I've got a 45 minute run ahead of me but no batteries. That's a trip to the store and gym with the Bun. I did promise him we'd do whatever he wanted to do today. Small consolation since I've been taking him all over South Minneapolis lately previewing potential preschools for him.

Vomit

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Not the most appealing title. It's been in my life a lot lately. First the boy I was watching today and then me. Well, almost me. I was only able to eat just before going to the gym which is not good for my innards.

Aggravation

The Little Bun did not take a nap today. I did not get a break. He's been sick. He whines when he's sick. I do to. It's no fun feeling crappy.

He's needy and clingy when sick. I choose to indulge these things more when he's like this. Still I need a break. Thank goodness I run.

Ever get really angry? Try taking that energy and running as fast as you can. It doesn't last long. Not for me anyway. If I run full-blast, I run out of steam about 5 minutes later. I slow down. I stop.

I stand bent over panting. Forgetting why I was ever mad.

We Ain't Golfing

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Extra Large episode today to make up for the two small ones on Friday and Saturday.

Leave it to the ice fisherman to state the obvious. I've lived in Minnesota for almost 14 years now. Not once have I gone ice fishing.

At my first job here there was one guy who regularly camped out on top of a frozen lake waiting for the fish to bite. He even went camping in the winter. I thought he was bonkers. What do I know? I run for fun. In below freezing temperatures.

It was comforting to see so many people out and about, doing stuff. The winter can be boring and lonely. A brief visit to Anchorage, AK showed me how not to take on this long cold season.

Minnesotans know how to make do with the frozen tundra. They throw a party. Or carnival to be exact. The Saint Paul Winter Carnival just got under way this past week. It's not remotely like the type of celebration one would find in Rio. Still, it makes the long nights seem a little shorter.

When Day Breaks - Fix it?

What's your backup plan?

What happens when that doesn't work either?

Going through life, without much changing, it's easy for me to get complacent. Every now and then something breaks and it's time to find a new path, direction, method or whatever.

Breaking isn't a bad thing. Our dishwasher is making a funny noise. I could dismantle it and see if I can "fix" it or I can wait until it breaks. Then I'll know what's wrong and I can fix that without fixing things that don't need fixing.

Bastard

Mica tagged me for the 5 things project. Here's my entry. And these are the five people I'm tagging next: UglyFatLady, Mark Day, PirateBoy, Consumatron and Booalready. While a video response is not mandatory, it is encouraged. I like that new wrinkle Mica added to the game. Post your 5 things and then tag 5 more people. When you post your 5 things be sure to include the tag "5things". That's so the man can keep tabs on you.

Along my 70 minute run last night I met Avery. He used to be in the military. Once his contract ended he got out.

Avery told me about a story he read in British Esquire about a man who ran 350 miles without stopping. He completed this insane feat in 80 hours. At about 315 miles he hit his fourth wall. By pushing through that, he was able to finish the run. He ran his last few miles with 6 minute splits!

Edit: I've updated the links to three of the five I've tagged that have done their 5things. One other might do it. Still haven't heard from the other person. Check your PMs folks.

speed

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95 days until the Eugene Marathon. Today is a speed day. "Speed" is not really what was going on. I suppose it's a relative term. I was going faster than the walkers. I didn't go quite as fast as the lanky dude with the white t-shirt and glasses. He was only out on the track for a mere 5 minutes.

I suppose he feel's good about himself for leaving me in the dust. I try not to let stuff like that bother me. It's important to run my own race. There's no telling what he was doing. What's important is what I'm doing. I'm training for a marathon.

fatigue

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One thing innoculates us from the next until we all suffer from fatigue. We could give up but that's the best time to keep fighting.

97 days until Eugene Marathon

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I went for my long run on Sunday. 115 minutes. Took the Greenway. I was doing pretty good until about 90 minutes into it. Then I got hungry. So I stopped for a little bite to eat at Wendy's. Then I was cold.

Will I ever make it to the finish line in Eugene?