Great Balls of Fire

Goodness gracious great balls of fire. It is on - ready or not.

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Two weeks out until the A1A Marathon in Ft. Lauderdale. This morning I will run at the trash heap; the goal today is to run an easy steady pace for about 10 miles or so. A slower pace is okay. Even though I am probably not marathon-ready, I need to keep in mind that I cannot get more prepared in these next two weeks; however I can lose fitness or line-up at the race tired.  My focus is to keep the legs firing and to get to the starting line healthy. I think this will be my forth marathon since the TBI. Last year I ran a 3:23 and qualified for Boston. It was my best marathon post-accident. Hopefully I keep it together and run a good race. I don't know where I am at physically - I just need to keep my expectations in check. But that is hard. It would benefit me most to keep this race low key and to view it as quality training day. The thing is, it is just so painful for me; not running itself, but my sense of loss. I have an ongoing internal struggle. After the accident, a central part of me turned up missing; I search. I know that the running part was just a fraction of me, the person; but it is who I remember. My sense of self. Ah, I feel so petty and ungrateful obsessing about such a comparatively small aspect of my life. Obsessive? Yeah, obsess is what I do. But it is important to me as I continue to struggle and attempt to regain my lost running skill. Sometimes I feel like a rat in a cage. I wonder, am I nervous about this marathon? Time to release the big cat... Meow.

Long Slow Distance on the Heap
Run - 2:00:00 - 12.58 miles - 9:32 pace - 119 avg hr

Decent run on tired legs... 850' with of elevation gain.

Strong 70 mile run week

Run - 1:40:00 - 12.26 miles - 8:09 pace - 128 avg hr

Windy as f#ck today... I ran an out and back course 7 times... so I got wicked head wind and some tail wind. I had a good mileage this week - 70 miles; going to the trash heap tomorrow for a hilly trail run and then my 2 week taper will commence as I head into this little marathon thingy.
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Total run miles this week: 70.78
Total run miles in January: 250.74

Imagine No Religion

#imagine #religion #atheism #johnlennon #thebeatles #rockmusic #newyorkcity

Run - 1:05:00 - 8.41 miles - 7:43 pace - 130 avg hr
Ran pretty strong; backed off yesterday's pace as I'm approaching the 2 week out mark before the A1A marathon. 

Elliott Smith

A memory:
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As a small-time concert promoter I booked a lot of bands who went on to be huge #rock stars when they were small. One of my favorites was #ElliottSmith when he was still in #Heatmiser from #Portland. I booked him twice at #SevenSouth (now The #HiDive) in #Denver. The first show sold only 39 tickets. A year later their agent called looking for a replay. I said no. 
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The next day Elliott called me. He really wanted the show. I told him i about my loss after the first show. He offered to play solo for less money.
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He then said, "Richard, I Thought we were friends" - I am a softy and that did it. I booked his band at the same price-point as the first time. And guess what? The same thing happened. 39 paid. Looking back, that was the best money that I ever lost. I miss you Elliott. We are friends. RIP

Run - 1:00:09 - 8.28 miles - 7:15 pace - 139 avg hr

Good strong effort today. I feel good to see improvement the day after putting in almost 17 miles.

Genius -Tim Minchin

Tim Minchin - Some genius quotes from Storm - One of the funniest, most entertaining and profound bits ever.
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So many good lines, but here are just a few of the best...
"Do you know what they call alternative medicine that's been proved to work?....medicine."
"Science adjusts its views based on what's observed, faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved." (emphasis added because it's one of my favorite quotes, ever).
"Throughout history, every mystery ever solved has turned out to be NOT magic.."
"Isn't this enough, just this world"
"I am a tiny, insignificant, ignorant bit of carbon. I have but one life and it is short and unimportant, but thanks to recent scientific advances, I get to live twice as long as my great, great, great great uncles and auntses. Twice as long to live this life of mine, twice as long to love this wife of mine, twice as many years of friends and wine..."
And this video gets bonus points for tying in Scooby-Doo.
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Run - 2:28:01 - 16.6 miles - 8:54 pace - 124 avg hr

Long run - last (not long enough) long run before I run the A1A Marathon next month. I am so not prepared for this race. My total mileage is decent but I haven't logged any 20+ mile runs in a long time. I need to keep my expectations low and treat the race more like a training run; not a race. The problem is, I paid for it so I am sure I will run hard at the start and try not to fade. who knows, anything is possible. Now I need to ease up my training as we get closer to marathon day.

The Burrowing Owl

Well, its early in the morning (3 am) and I guess that I am all rested up; because sure as sunshine in Florida, I am awake and raring to go. Yeah, I slept. My running sticks have been a little bit tired for a few days, so hopefully I will just cruise easy and get them firing again.
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One of the pleasures about running the grassy hills of Vista View park is that it is a refuge for a large population of Burrowing Owls. Curious, but protective trash heap dwellers.

Why do I call Vista View the trash heap? Because years ago it was a garbage dump. It really is amazing how Broward County converted this land-fill; now it is a gorgeous park of rolling hills and grasslands. You can only imagine the sludge and equipment chaos of those early years. Because it is a photo-worthy picnic destination surrounded by quaint neighborhoods, athletic playgrounds and water features. And of course, these faithful custodians are always on duty. The Burrowing Owl.
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Yes the trash heap is one of the few areas in South Florida where I can run and get any elevation gain. As you probably know Florida is flat and finding elevation is not easy. Generally runners will run over viaducts that cross waterways like the inter-coastal river/canal. These bridges rise about 50 to 75 as they cross a 1/2 mile or so. As you can imagine running back and forth, mile after mile, can get boring. Ah but it is what we do here in SoFla. Unless you go to Vista View Park aka: The Trash Heap.
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Run - 1:00:01 - 7.33 miles - 8:11 pace - 132 avg hr

Punk's Not Dead

The truth is, when it comes to punk rock, you have to be honest. Johnny Cash is probably every bit as 'punk' (even more-so) than Sid Vicious. Iggy Pop and Patty Smith are real-life founders and iconic (still productive) reps of a musical movement that is nearly 40 year old. Unlike other era related sounds, even the fashion remains fresh; as long as you aren't trying to buy it at the mall (Hot Topic, etc).

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Today's Instagram photo @ my Instagram is in that spirit. Long live punkR O C K !
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Run - 54:53 - 6.5 miles - 120 avg hr
Really hard out there today; heavy wind and tired legs.