that's more like it

Today I ran 17 miles in 2:30:22. That's an 8:51 pace. This has renewed my confidence and enthusiasm and it's about damn time.

I was sick for two weeks and unable to do anything but gripe which I did very well, by the way. No running, biking, rock climbing, or hockey. Let me warn you now, if I'm ever laid up for an extended period of time due to, say, denge fever or an intestinal parasite or some of that necrotizing fasciitis or the flu, steer clear! I'm the biggest, whiniest baby when I'm sick. I'm telling you, the complaining and moaning goes on nonstop, especially when I'm running a fever. I was convinced I was feverish at one point and grabbed the thermometer, eager to find out just how much I could ramp up the bitching, each tenth of a degree validating that much more self pity. 98.6 was its mocking reply. I eventually went to the doctor because it felt like I had a nail lodged sideways in my throat. He marveled at how red it was, suspected strep throat, prescribed some antibiotics, took a throat culture, and that was that. Two days later I got a phone message that said only, "Culture was negative. Stop the antibiotics. [long pause] Oh yeah, this is your doctor."

It's just as well I was sick when I was as it coincided with the massive fires we had out here. They made for a few freaky days of very unpleasant respiration. The air was brown with smoke and my car was covered with ash. You could see the white flecks of it in the air and it made me wonder if I was breathing in the combusted remains of someone's Nintendo or carport or hedge. Or pet. The sunlight had that strange cast it gets during a partial eclipse. It was all very weird and depressing.

Meanwhile, I figured out why my last run was such a shitty experience. Turns out those gel packs I was quaffing along the way need to be followed up with WATER. Lots of water. They're hypertonic and need to be diluted in order to be absorbed by your body. Otherwise, they'll suck the water they need out of your stomach and intestines and any other cells they can get their hands on and leave you feeling the way I did: like a dried out, pain-wracked husk. Anyway, that was my theory; that it wasn't that I couldn't hack it and had pussed out but rather that I had unwittingly poisoned myself. I was determined not to duplicate that experience so yesterday I went and got myself a "hydration belt" (sorry, Amy, couldn't wait for Christmas!) It has bottles that clip to it and a pouch for the gels and such. Worked like a charm! No more stopping to drink from the water fountains I see people lifting their dogs up to lap from. Huzzah!

It was a perfect day for a run - overcast, no wind, 58 degrees. I got to my turnaround point in the middle of Dockweiler Beach - a vast, featureless expanse of sand, the low grey clouds obscuring both the horizon and the jets roaring and groaning aloft a couple of hundred feet above me - happy that I felt pretty good, and happy I'm not agoraphobic. I was slightly ahead of my 9 minute pace, then lost some time at a couple of red lights on Washington Boulevard. I managed to run the last two miles in about 16 minutes thus finishing 2 1/2 minutes ahead of schedule. The pain was at a tolerable level and I actually felt half decent at the end. I'm not going to get cocky, though. Next week's run will be 18 miles. We'll see how that goes.

Interesting Sound o' the Day: a couple of mystery explosions somewhere near Washington Boulevard. I could feel them.
12/1/08 UPDATE: Mystery solved! It was the sonic booms from the space shuttle landing at Edwards Air Force Base. So cool!

Last week's runs:
Wednesday - 3 miles
Thursday - 6.1 miles, approx. 57:00
Saturday - 9 miles, approx. 1:25:00

This week's runs:
Tuesday - 5 miles
Wednesday - 8 miles, approx. 1:05:00
Friday - 5 miles, approx. 40:00
Sunday - 17 miles, 2:30:22

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