GNR, cranberry juice, and my evil wife's perspective

Admit it, the title's got your interests piqued, no?

MILES TODAY: 12.89
NIKE+ MILES IN 2008: 411.94 (wheee!)

Today was a good running day: overcast, cool, and dry. Man, I sound like Tom Skilling, or Dave Brown, for our Mid-South readers.

I tried valiantly to make this the first long run that was also a "no walking" run. I mean, I literally argued with myself for about 3 miles over this point. Good thing that, by that point in the run (like mile 11 or so), I was so gassed that my facial expression couldn't change. Speaking of which...

I've found some podcasts on iTunes that are runners' thoughts while on the road. I test-listened to one of these, and it was LITERAL. As in, dude was ON THE ROAD, RUNNING, and talking. Dear readers, let me assure you that the oxygen required for such an undertaking is not available to this writer. Unless you wish to listen to "Pant, wheeze, gasp, (expletive deleted), (more expletives deleted), (okay, family show, quit cussing)". Though I did pass someone on a path today who was wearing a U of I shirt, and I sucked up the breath to yell, "I-L-L...!!!" I think I scared him, but it was fun.

So I'm slogging through my long run, and I've just passed the halfway point, which is usually where the negotiation begins. You know, the point where "I'm running 13 miles today" becomes "Do I really want to run 13 miles?" or "Now, what specifically was my training run supposed to be? 12 miles? Do I want to push it?" The devil on my shoulder, incidentally, has his own iPod, and it's crankin' some serious Dave Matthews Band/Lullaby music, just to antagonize me. ANYWAY, I'm starting to consider wussing out, and what flips on the iPod? Yes yes yes, it's SLASH'S MOST FAMOUS GUITAR SOLO/INTRO!!! "Sweet Child o' Mine", courtesy of my Mom's suggestion. I like to think the title is an observation, but I know she just digs Axl. Thanks Mommy!

I ended up walking less than 1/4 mile, but it kinda nagged at me. Need some mental exercises to build up that stubborn streak. My iPod claims that around mile 3, my pace was like 5:44 per mile, which is Olympic-marathon pace, so if the Apple company cannot answer why, I'm still calling BS there. Must have been a SERIOUS downhill.

After my run, I got the enjoyment of the "salty face", which is that wonderful gritty feeling a face that has been bathed in sweat about 2 hours gets, on the drive home. Also, the changing of the seasons means it's now high school cross country season, so I get to play Frogger with HS runners and their families on my route. Hang on, "Pity, party of one," Yep, that's me, gotta go...

Smoothies are the underrated pleasure of my life now. Had one for my "breakfast" after the run. Fresh fruit, ice, vanilla yogurt (yes, dear family, you read that correctly), and orange juice...wait, OJ costs HOW MUCH? Hey, there's some of Mom's raspberry/cranberry mix, time to substitute. Connie HATES when I do that, but I'm starting to enjoy the Cran/Rasp combo.

Then I looked at my beautiful wife, who had been IN BED until 15 minutes before I got home, and said, "Man, that was a good run! I only walked less than 1/4 mile, I averaged 9:21 per mile!"

Her response: "Yeah, but you have to run over twice that far on race day."

Thanks, you little ray of F****in' sunshine, you.

Nobody can take me down about 3 pegs like Connie. Especially when she follows with a hug and a smile. No fair, I wanted to be offended! Quit hugging, you know I'm a sucker for a hug!

LISTENING TO:
"Sweet Child o' Mine," GNR (see above)
"Mountains," Lonestar. This is a great song for lyrics. I get chills when I get to hear the chorus:

There are times in life, when you gotta crawl
Lose your grip, trip and fall
When you can't lean on no one else
That's when you find yourself
I've been around and I've noticed that
Walkin's easy when the road is flat
Them danged old hills will get you every time
The Good Lord gave us mountains
So we could learn how to climb

That's all for now, loving reader. Until next time, remember, be good, or be good at it.

peace love happiness,
Tom
2T4:7