Sunrise over Bong Hill

Week-end Total: 21 miles

Distance: 9 miles (oops.)
Stretches: yes
Sports drink: yes
Snack: PowerBar
Time: 5:45am
Weather: balmy

"Breaking Point" Playlist:
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Heal the Pain - George Michael
I Want Your (Hands On Me) - Sinead O'Connor
I Am Stretched On Your Grave - Sinead O'Connor
Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Remix) - George Michael
Alphabet Street - Prince
Pictures of You - The Cure
No Sleep Till Brooklyn - The Beastie Boys
King for a Day (12" Version) - XTC
Reptile - The Church
Don't Wanna Fall in Love - Jane Child
Sign O the Times - Prince
I.O.U. - The Replacements
Pop Song 89 - R.E.M.
Hand to Mouth - George Michael
Lonesome For A Place I Know - Everything But the Girl
Hey Jack Kerouac - 10,000 Maniacs
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush
Cooldown: Night and Day - U2

WARNING: Potty Talk

I would prefer to run in the afternoon or evening, when my body isn't stiff as a board. I run early because 1) that's when I have time 2) it's too darn hot. The problem, of course, are facilities.

I have learned a lot about running marathons. For example, since I have no chance of winning, I should focus on simply getting there. Walking is not cheating. Eating and drinking while running is not cheating. And stopping to go to the bathroom is not cheating. Unless you're from Kenya, you're not going to reach the finish line fast enough to neglect necessary bodily functions.

I tried going to the bathroom before the run, but sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. I knew there would be a restroom facility by the new recreation center where I could get a mid-run drink, but would the bathrooms be open at 6am? By mile three I was in need, and had no friendly neighbors to let me into their home. Praise Bob, the john was unlocked. Let's hear it for Athens, Ohio, where anyone, even a man of the cloth, can find what they are looking for in a public facility before dawn.

We are visiting the Out-Laws, and I took the bike path by the Hocking River. Not too many gnats, but a few. Went out at dark, past the hospital, my old rooms on South Green, and then way out past all the depressing "big box" developments and back again as the greenskeepers were sweeping the links. I miscalculated and actually ran nine miles instead of the scheduled eight. Oh well. The weather was perfect.

The folks installed a sun shower behind the garage last summer, so I had a remarkable cooldown, just me, the trees, the deer and open pores.