Time Flies

When you are in a place that has no windows and no clocks!

I let posting get away from me when I was in Nevada. But, I am proud to say, I did get some runs in between the pool and hanging out with The Intellectual Rapier and Party Girl.

Note to those out there: bring a lot of water when you are running in Nevada. The first run I took, I left with the other two but set out on my own, going down a road that paralleled the Strip. Within a mile, my lips were parched and my mouth was dry. But I did not have a single bead of sweat on me. I managed about 5 1/2 before deciding that running between 10:30 and noon was NOT the best idea. It's really fun to see all the lights on the strip, though. Also got in some stair workouts, as you have to cross most of the roads via overhead bridges.

Seeing all the tourists - who were mainly Americans, as far as I could tell - made me realize anew how very unattractive we Americans are. If I never see another pair of too-tight cargo shorts, I will be very happy.

Next day, I went much earlier. Ran on the strip the whole time, marveling in the lights and come-ons even that early. The lights and the newness of it all made the run go by really quickly. Either that or the fact that I was semi-coherent, having slept about four (poor) hours the night before. Went about five that day.

No sleep plus vacation = really hard run when you get back to reality. Went with Ivy League out to Central Park on Friday. Started out counter-clockwise on 72nd for one full loop, then clock-wise for the 5-mile loop that cuts over on the 102nd street transverse. Then, counter-clockwise again for the 4-mile loop that cuts over on both transverses. I planned poorly for this run, mainly because I hadn't thought to ask how far we were going. No gu, no water bottles. Luckily, Ivy League had an extra gu that he gave to me. I'll bet he wished he hadn't when we got to the last loop. Even before the last loop, I was having a hard time. My breathing was fine but my legs were shot.
"If I make it to the end of the second loop, I'll just walk around and cool down while he does the last loop" I promised myself.

But, I had to take the train home with him and knew that he'd make fun of me the whole time if I gave up before the end of the run, so I crossed onto the 72nd street transverse for the last loop. One of the harder things I've done running. Psychologically, loops are my weakness. I'm kind of lazy, so I have a major temptation, even on the best of running days, to stop after I get to the finishing point of one loop. And yesterday was not one of my better running days.

Ivy League and I hit glycogen deficit at the same time, right before the 102nd street transverse. He had enough to keep going the same pace or slightly faster. I did not. I hobbled along until the very end, using my Ipod to help me out. My brain shut down a bit on the last part, leading to weird free associations not unlike when you are about to fall asleep. That's when I remembered that I never ate dinner Thursday night, not the smartest thing if you are going on at 15-mile run the next day!

Two lessons reinforced: 1. Avoid those guys (and they are almost always guys) who try to race you or pass you when they are clearly not going as fast as you. We had one for most of one of the loops and it was super annoying. We could hear him loudly stomping and breathing at a gasp right behind us. Better to just speed up a bit more, I think. 2. Have another song besides "Billy Jean" stuck in your head. It's probably my all-time favorite song but it doesn't give the right cadence for a run but you just cannot get it out of your brain! Plus, you want to shout 'ooh!' every so often, which seems a bit weird to other runners.

I had to catch up on crosswords on the plane ride back and on Friday afternoon. The earlier-in-the-week ones were kind of boring. Friday's, though, had a really funny clue. Was a joint tenant = did time. Hah!

The Sugar Shack

Ah, Baltimore!!!!!

After a relaxing night of playing scrabble and seeing the sights on the water, the Vivacious Redhead and I headed out for a steamy Baltimore run. We slept in and didn't leave until 8:00am or so, which was great for the stress levels but not quite as good for the temperature levels.

Since today was one of the last runs before training kicks in, I didn't stop my watch when we got to lights or when we stopped for water. I'm sure we were going slowly but it was nice - I never felt like I was pushing it at all and I got to be the chattering tour guide as we went through downtown Baltimore, up past the train station and where they were getting ready for Artscape, and up past John Hopkins University. Besides the run on the piers and the run up to the Science Center in the Harbor, it was basically a two-turn run from Fells Point over to Charles St, up and back. On the way back, which is more downhill, the Vivacious Redhead couldn't believe how steep some of the hills were that we had run up on the way out to Hopkins. Topped it all off with a 3/4 mile cool-down walk and some iced coffee. Delicious way to end a 10-mile run.