I got one foot out the door.

Too soon?

Ugh. So? I have a cold or something. Probably picked it up from the boy. Woke myself with coughing last night, it's a real drag. Doesn't it make sense to take it easy, not to run, to rest and let myself recuperate?

Of course not. I am training for a marathon here.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 32:00
Avg Pace: 7:59
Route: Cain Park Loop

Got a sporting goods gift card for my birthday I have not used yet. Yesterday reminded me I need that rain hat. Had a such a great one for New York, all those years ago. No idea what happened to that.

Temperature: 75
Climate: shiny!
Weight: 159.5 lbs.
Intake: lunch (not telling)
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: yes
Stretches: no

Dag. That felt good. But I feel delirious. Perhaps I will collapse now.

But hey - they started repaving the sidewalks!!!

What's That Lyric?
Want To Want Me - Jason Derulo

Center Mayfield Theatre

Another day off was welcome. These mornings I am hobbling a bit. Thursday night in particular was difficult, my right Achilles tendon was singing with pain.

Received a message from the city yesterday that "the restoration of the remaining walks will follow very shortly after the rest of the new natural gas mainline has been installed." Glad to hear it. The word shortly reassuring defines the word after in that sentence, otherwise I would still question whether they work would be done before the snows which will inevitably begin falling in October.

Distance: 6 miles
Duration: 46:52
Avg Pace: 7:48
Route: Cain Park Loop.

Podrunner: Run Track Mind (166 BPM)

We cool. Still humid but I can run in daylight without totally overheating. Brisk run through my side of town. Beautiful, perfect day for the annual neighborhood block party.

Temperature: 64°
Climate: bright and sunny
Weight: 159 lbs.
Intake: banana
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: yes
Stretches: a little

Word is the former Center Mayfield Movie Theatre is due for demolition. I mean, it's been due for demolition for some time now. The last show I saw there was Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. In an effort to remain profitable they had split the single screen into two theaters, side by side, but had not moved the seats so whichever theater you were in your seat was oriented towards to edge of the screen.

I sat sideways watching what was possibly the worst movie I have ever seen with a terrible pain in my abdomen which had that day been diagnosed as a hernia. This was almost twenty-one years ago, a little over a year after I had bought my house and right around when my (soon-to-be) ex-wife left. So, maybe it wasn't entirely Branagh's fault.

But the movie theater closed shortly thereafter. So it hasn't been the "Center Mayfield Theater" for twenty years, though the marquee remained as it transitioned into a Hollywood Video. You know what happened next, we stopped renting videos and so it became a state store ... run by someone who couldn't be bothered to change the decor. It looked like a Hollywood Video where you could buy liquor. It's just been vacant for some time now.

I am very familiar with this sidewalk.

I run past this place and around the corner often. Like, very often, it's part of my regular route. I ran past there this morning. I have seen barber shops and stylists and Chinese restaurants come and go. They are all gone now and I recently noticed that every single storefront is now vacant. All that is left is the child care center behind the theater, which must relocate.

I have no nostalgia for the movie theater, that was not part of my time. Frankenstein may have been the only thing I ever saw there. But I only hope the city can find a developer who can create something useful with it. I can't imagine there is demand for another dollar store in this town.

Take it on the left foot.

Wednesday was a much-needed day-off. I realized on Tuesday morning that part of the reason my Achilles tendon has been bothering me has to do with the damn sidewalks.

They have done a great deal of sewer work in my neighborhood. The problem is, they first ripped up sidewalks on the south side of Monticello and updated the sewer. Then they ripped up sidewalks on the north side of Monticello, updated the sewer and then replaced those sidewalks. Then they moved up Forest Hills and ripped up those sidewalks, updated the sewer and then replaced those sidewalks.

Do you see what is missing?

So, there's this one block stretch, the one I take most days to start my run, with those gravel strewn trenches. This past week I tried something new, running the street until traffic comes in my direction and then I run the treelawn.

The treelawns here have also been affected by the recent work and have dips and divots. And I think I have been harming my ankles on them.

Tuesday I finally (took long enough) wrote a letter to the city to ask how soon they would be finishing the sidewalks. School starts in two weeks. Two days later, I have received no response.

Distance: 7 miles
Duration: 54:33
Avg Pace: 7:47
Route: Forest Hills-Cain Park

The sun rises later and later. One day off is very helpful right now, but it also throws me off my mental game. This morning was another I thought hey, sleeping in is good. Rest is good. Isn't rest good? Yeah. But I have seven miles to log, this isn't a joke.

Podrunner: Regulator (167 BPM)

Yes. Tired of songs. Tired of words. And I have not had a pace below eight minutes in some time. Is this training or is just maintaining? So, anyway - 167 beats per minute for seven miles. Broke eight, felt good. My ankle feels much better after one day's rest.

Temperature: 75°
Climate: dark clouds, then rain
Weight: 159 lbs.
Intake: none
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: yes!*
Stretches: yes

Light rain at mile six, and the clouds opened up for the last half mile. Kinda fun, actually.

* Cain Park fixed and replaced the water fountain! Thank you, Cain Park! I am sorry I ever doubted you.

Moving faster now, it's getting out of hand.

Amazing. Gone for two weeks and the city still hasn't repaired those sidewalks on Monticello.

Good morning run. Flat pavement, fewer inclines, better time.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 24:13
Avg Pace: 8:03
Route: Neighborhood Loop

Gained a total of three pounds on this journey. All the fried food and snack chips and desserts, I gained three pounds. Not bad. The new normal, however, goes without dessert and we have made an informal decision to go with as many vegetarian meals as possible.

More broccoli. Less poutine.

I also need to resume packing my lunch, not purchasing it. I return to work this morning, everyone else is "off" this week. I mean, the kids are off and the wife needs to prepare for the school year and to write. We both need to write.

Write, write, write.

Temperature: 70°
Climate: not bad
Weight: 161 lbs.
Intake: none
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: no
Stretches: yes
Upper Body: 100 reps

What's That Lyric?
Disorder * - Joy Division

Gardening at night.

Today I made my first garlic scape basil pesto, which I am proud of because usually the wife makes it but this time I did and it really didn't suck.

Tomorrow our governor will be making a special announcement which probably means he is announcing a run for president, though knowing him after making all these visit to New Hampshire and designing a logo and everything he'll probably announce that he isn't because he's such a jerk.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg Pace: 7:53
Route: Boulevard Loop

Hilarious. You know that stretch of Monticello I am always complaining about during the winter, because no one shovels their sidewalks?

They did a lot of road work in June, and ripped most of them up. On the north side of the street, there are smooth, recently paved sidewalks. For over a month the side most convenient for me to run upon (the south) are gravel ditches blocked by plastic netting and barrels.

Temperature: 75°
Climate: humid
Weight: 158 lbs. (-2.0)
Intake: yes
Hydration: yes
Stretches: yes

A night time run this time of year can be delightful, especially at this time of night. Many young parents walking children, couples holding hands, the odd bike rider, Regnier walking that big-ass dog of his.

But when it's really dark, when the streetlights on the side streets are obscured by trees, it is very disorienting. The absence of sight, the music in my ears, it's delirium inspiring, like a scene out of Altered States.

Killing something ... a goat.
 
What's That Lyric?
Gardening At Night - R.E.M.