Running Log (The Epic-est Epic Evaa’er!)
I was seriously worried about this run. Jeremy and I were looking to do 16+ miles and I had visions of me blowing out my hip in spectactular fashion that would leave me confined to a wheelchair, where I’d sadly wave on to my friends as they ran past me at the Marines Marathon. Waving a US flag, none less, and a button saying “Bring Home The Troops!”
Fortunately that didn’t happen, and even better yet, I felt great after the run. Hip was a bit sore, but none of that debiliating pain. The worst part on the last few miles was actually me losing all feeling in my legs. I was just flinging those two dead-feeling limbs ahead, one step at a time.
I plotted the route out on gmaps-pedometer, but alas, the length was too much and the poor browser crashed when I tried to save the route. So since I know how far we ran, I have no inclination to re-do the route. Its pretty simple anyway, we ran from Jeremy’s home in Adams Morgan, down to Georgetown, then took the Capital Crescent Trail all the way up to Bethesda, turned around, and ran back home.
Today’s route: 2 hours 52 minutes, 17.1 miles.
Day 32 - Tempus Fugit
I’ve always known that latin phrase to mean ‘time flies’. But while looking it up on wikipedia (i could spend hours on that site!) - it turns out to be an abbreviated version of a longer phrase.
Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus.
Translated to: “But it flees in the meantime: irretrievable time flees”
So much more depth there. The entire phrase balances on the word ‘meantime’. What are you doing in the meantime? Answering the question to the universe and life - or sitting around and watching porn? Time pays no heed to the value of ‘meantime’, but only you can. And when you look back at it, was it well spent?
Last night I hosted poker at my place with the boys. We all had a fantastic time. JJ joined us for the first time and lady luck smiled upon him for he walked way $20 richer - including holding out for a brilliant full house on the river beating out two other high straights for a massive pot on the last hand.
While dealing cards, Howie knocked over my tumbler full of Grey Goose into my pizza. Being so hungry, I wasn’t going to let the pizza go to waste and ate up the entire slice, soggy vodka marinated crust and all.. Pizza a la Vodka, as Howie named it.
There will be many things about DC that I will miss terribly. Poker night with the boys will be one of them.
Thinking about things I’ll miss - there are so many. So many good friends here. Some new, and some old. I’ll miss every one of them. I’m geninuely excited about leaving DC and making for a new direction, but at the same time I’m saddened that I will have to be so far away from so many fantastic people here in the city that have contributed immeasurably to me.
Time well spent.
Day 33 - The Bare Essentials
I pulled everything out of my closets. I sprawled everything I own all over the floor of my room. I stood there looking at them. Books. Videos. Magazines. Comic books. Obsolete computer hardware. Climbing gear. Clothes. Camera gear. Shoes. Old letters from old boyfriends. More books. Unpaid bills. More clothes.
Most of this shit, I haven’t touched in years. I only see them when I pack up to move. Then I move. Then I put them somewhere in a dark closet and then never look at them again till the next time I move.
I ask myself. Why am I keeping them? Am I keeping them because they serve as a tie to past memories. Or are they really anchors slowing me down, hindering me from moving, clear-eyed into the future?
35 Days - There Isn’t Much Time! Make Haste, Posthaste!
The last countdown-style blog I made, the countdown stood at 38 days. Now it’s 35 days. It feels like yesterday I made that blog post - where did the three days go??
I’m running out of time. So many things to do. So many people to see. So many loose ends to wrap up, and no time to do it all!
Must sleep. And while I sleep, the unyielding arrow of time continues ahead.
Running Log
My hip’s still bothering me during the run, but its recovering a lot faster. I’d literally be limping around 2-3 days after a run. The run before this one, the pain had cleared up completely by the end of the next day. Now only 2 hours after the completion of tonight’s run, my hip’s feeling quite good now, although it did hurt quite a bit during the run.
I’ll take that as a sign of improvement.
Tonight’s run was a easy-going affair so that we dont kill ourselves for our 16-18 mile epic this weekend.
Today’s route: 11 miles, 1 hr. 52 min.
38 Days - Photography, discourse amongst giants
I just discovered that photographer, Alec Soth has a blog. And it is suprisingly well-written with many thoughtful posts about the very nature of photography.One of the most interesting threads in there is one that tackles the age old question, “Can Art Be Taught?”I found it doubly interesting today having just come off a in-depth discussion with one of my co-workers on whether truly great programmers can be taught. Many of the points and rationales that are brought up in Alec’s post could be seamlessly lifted up from his blog and placed into the context of an article that ponders the question of whether programming can be taught, and there would be very little out of place.One of the strongest statements in the entire post is found in the comments section, where a commenter states:
But in the end my feeling is that the great students will become great artists anyway, with or without art school. The less stellar ones can be nurtured along to be better artists but no amount of education will turn them into great artists.
Indeed.
39 Days Left - In our thirties and the diet I’m not on.
When my boyfriend and I broke up three years ago, I did what pretty much any man hitting the market again after a long-term relationship does. I took a look at myself in the mirror and joined a gym. The fact that I was about to trip the big three-oh was just added incentive.
I also threw out junk food and soda from my diet and started weighing myself everyday to monitor my progress. I started out at around 148 pounds. For most people that’s pretty damn lightweight, but for me, having been 125 in high school and 135 in college, I had packed on 13 extra pounds. And I could see all of it sitting around my waist when standing shirtless in front of the bathroom at 8 a.m. in the morning, an undeniable testament to my slacking off and the “letting-themselves-go” that people speak of when wrapped up in a long-term relationship.
After six months at the gym, and six months of denying myself all but healthy food, I had dropped down to 140 pounds. I suspect I really lost ten pounds, but gained five back in muscle.
For the last three years, I’ve basically maintained that weight, cutting myself more slack at the gym and in my diet so that I can enjoy life, instead of making my life all about the gym and eating tofu.
So when I stepped on the scale yesterday and found the numbers: 135.5 staring back at me. You can imagine my surprise. What happened? Where did those five pounds go?
Now I’m pretty sure it’s the running. A 15 mile run can burn like 1500 calories. That’s half a pound!
Won’t be long before the Olsen twins start calling me “skinny”.
Running Log (Damn you, right hip, damn you)
I have my good running days. And I have my bad running days. Lately what’s been slowing me down isn’t lack of endurance or motivation, but my right hip. It’s been developing this dull ache that gets worse especially on the long runs. I’m not sure why the right hip in specific. I think I run slightly biased to put additional weight on my right side and it’s making me pay the price… So on tonight’s epic, I decided to cut it short to let my hip recover and save the epic for another night. Better to keep on running short routes than put myself out of business - esecially with the marathon coming up so soon.
Today’s route: 8.6 miles, 1 hr 20 min.
44 Days Left - The Preliminary Ticklist
With it being all but certain that I’ll be parking my poseur ass @ Bishop come 2008 to do a few months of bouldering (or two days I go crazy being in the middle of nowhere and point my VW towards SF as fast as she can go). I was mulling over a potential ticklist to work with.
Two lines here:
The Hulk (V6) - which I’ve already sent, but it was a wild, swinging dyno that might have impressed everyone watching, but earned a big fat zero for style and substance. I’ll be looking to static move the crux of this mofo this time around.
Disco Diva (V8) - The small line immediately left of The Hulk. I was able to work out some beta to get up to the crux before being shut down. Really just a matter of finger-strength.
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Pow Pow (V7) - I know I came SO SO close to sending this up last thanksgiving. The dude above me is working off a lousy sloper finger pull and gritting down for the long throw to the crimp in the middle of the picture. This isn’t even the hardest move. That comes next, having to dyno yet again to a even higher crimp without swinging yourself off the blasted thing.
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Saigon (V7) - The picture above was done with a wide angle lens and the perspective is rather deceptive looking. The rock is actually much higher and scarier in person. The topout is a good 20 feet off the mat. The crux involves a tricky cross-over on a bad crimper. I kept pussy-ing out on the crossover last time I tried it and never really made a wholehearted attempt to push past it.
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Soulslinger (V9) - A total crimpfest and one of the area’s most classic problems. Should be right up my alley once I work up some finger strength and get used to the sharp edges.
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Jedi Mind Tricks (V5?) - Another area classic. Higher and far more burly looking in person than the pictures suggest, it follows the edge of a flake to the top. The crux also happens to be on the top, greatly increasing the weak-knees factor. It used to be rated V3, but word is that good flake near the top broke off recently, and has subsequently become fairly harder.
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Stained Glass (V10) - Not 100% sure on the accuracy, but this supposedly was established by one of bouldering’s sickest people, Fred Nicole. This Bishop testpiece has a reputation that lives up to its name. If I walk away from Bishop having accomplished only one thing, let it be this.
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High Plains Drifter (V7) - Another area classic, and a high-ball to boot. Yes you’re looking at the picture right. That guy in blue is just starting out, and you’ve gotta climb ALLLLL the way to the top. Although once you pass the bulge near the bottom, its mainly a easy (relatively) climb out.
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Atari (V6) - One of the Happy’s most visible and classic problems, its a scary high climb over some rather sketchy landing. I’m climbing up there for the view.
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Mandala (V??) - More of a pipe dream than anything. But who knows?
Running Log
I drove to work in the morning. I ran back home after work.
Today’s route: 8.4 miles, 1 hr 10 min.