So don't you dare talk to me about running.

Nine miles out. Time to head back.

Week 9 Total: 27 miles+
Training to Date: 221 miles

The last week it has been my hip. My right hip, hurts to stand from sitting, hurts to lie down on at the end of the day. The wife suggests butterfly stretches, which is a nice idea and all except they make a man look stupid.

The show I am rehearsing opens with me crawling into the second story window of someone's apartment. This is done in clumsy slow-motion, and hopefully it's funny to watch. I have scored a large bruise on my right knee, not to mention several splinters in my hands. Hi-diddle-dee-dee.

Distance: 18 miles
Duration: 2 hours, 49 minutes
Route: MLK to Dead Man's Curve and back.
Band-aids: check*
Lip balm: check

Investigation. It is March 17 (St. Patrick's Day) but unseasonably warm. Are any facilities open? Will there be water available? I could have checked, I have been driving this route, to and from rehearsal, for two weeks. But I have made no time for it. Stepping into the unknown.

Temperature: 59º
Climate: warm
Weight: 164 lbs.
Snack: banana & GU
Hydration? yes ... barely
Stretches? yes

1. Stopped in to void at the depressing Coffee House at University Circle.

2. Water fountains shut off at Wade Oval, VA Hospital. Getting concerned.

3. Lots of folks heading into town at 8 AM.

4. Cereal fruit bar on North Marginal Road.

5. Port-o-john at East 72nd Street Park. Last cleaned Monday. Sorry, ladies.

6. Halfway mark at 1 hour, 25 minutes. Now we run into the sun.

7. *Somewhere my "waterproof" bandages washed away. Might need to shave.

8. 13 miles in just 2 hours. Now five miles ... uphill.

9. GU with Gandhi.

10. Legs very heavy. Otherwise feel great. I believe if I had brought some water, I might not be having this problem.

11. One mile to go, stopped in at CH-UH Rec Center for some cold, refreshing WATER!

12. Beer at 10 AM. I ran 18 miles, what's your excuse?

Podrunner:
Out With a Bang (165 BPM)
Boys Don't Cry (12" Extended Version 1986) - The Cure (171 BPM)
Corybantic (162 BPM)
Wonderwall - Oasis (173 BPM)
Apogee (166 BPM)

+ MONDAY UPDATE: My schedule on Sunday made a recuperative run impossible.