Embrace it

Tired. Excited. Not sure of this marathon. Getting by. Apartment messy. Haven't done laundry in two weeks. Had a gyro for lunch. Delicis. Tired. Ran on treadmill. Still have lots of work to do. Oh boy the pain is coming. Embrace it.

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!

I was walking this morning on the way to work. I had a weird feeling creep over me. Does work today start at 8? If it does that means I'm late. Why are there all these kids out this early? Oh yeah that's right school starts. But I had a general feeling of weirdness come. It was pretty cool in the morning, it was in the low sixties.

Fast forward to nearly two o'clock. And then a big whoooosh sound hit the window. I said "I think that's construction" because we did have construction workers in the building and it sounded like they were on the second floor. Then a couple seconds later the whole building started to shake. The floors and the walls were shaking. I didn't lose my balance, but it felt like the everything was going back and forth. That's when we all looked at each other and bolted! Well I started to run a bit and then waited to see if everyone was leaving. As I was half-way down the hallway someone said the safest place to be is under the door. And that's when I realized he was right. So I stood under the doorway and then after a couple minutes made my way outside and waited for aftershocks and to see if any gas lines had been ruptured.

Outside I talked about how if zombies and vampires fought one another it wouldn't really make a difference. If a zombie bites a vampire it wouldn't change anything because the vampire is already dead. I also talked about the New Madrid fault line, what to do if this is the end of the world (get a dog, a F150 truck, and a shotgun-maybe a silencer shotgun like in No Country for Old Men). Being outside wasn't all that bad. The only problem is that tomorrow I'm going to have to work extra late to get things ready and then class starts on Thursday.

But what I was really impressed with was how nobody really panicked. In the city things were chaotic but everyday life was going on. No riots. Nothing really out of the ordinary other than the fact that people were walking home from work at two and that traffic was out of control. I think we got everything under control and I think we can handle anything that comes to us.

Excitement

For some reason I feel really good today. I don't know why, but I sure felt better than I did for a Monday. I'm thinking that this positive energy is going to last a long time and it's going to carry over in everything I do. I haven't felt this good for a long time. I'm doing what I need to do and still working to get better. Well not much more to say!

Safety first

One thing that I am really going to make an effort on when it comes to running is to make a movie in my mind. Visualizing what I want to accomplish. When I run I usually make a movie of things that I would make a movie of. But never really focus on running or a race. When I finish my long run it kinda reminds me of two things about Charlotte.

1. The way the trees hang down on Shepard Street kinda remind me of the Dilworth area, in regard to the trees. The houses well not so much. I don't mind the row houses, in fact I like them a lot. One thing I do when I run I focus on for sale signs. I'm interested in property and where I would want to live after my lease ends next June. Yeah it's far away, but I would like to keep my options open. There's a new place being built opposite corner from the metro station and whenever I pass it I go "OH I bet that place is going to nice" and "I'm going to have to go to the open house to see these units". I don't know why.
2. The finish on Shepard Street kinda reminds me of the finish of the Thunder Road Marathon. It's a long straight finish. I would say about .4 of a mile straight. It's flat for a bit, but does have a rolling hill towards the end. So when I pass the Shepard Market store I know that I have a quarter mile to go, and I am starting to visualize finishing the race.

Today I decided to pick it up on the last mile. I wasn't hurting but really wanted to lay off the gas pedal when I was running. The last mile the terrain goes from uneven pavement, single dirt trail, grass, then road. I dislike the trail because it hurts my feet and I just can't get into a rhythm. Also factor in that I am running somewhat uphill (although truth be told it's not on the same level as Charlotte)* I was somewhat impressed to finish my twelve mile run in 6:40.

* One thing that I question is that my garmin tells me that I have a higher ascent running in DC compared to Charlotte. While the elevation of DC is waaay lower than Charlotte, I climb more hills than Charlotte. I don't think that I am running more hills, but maybe I am. I don't know.

The run today meant that I finished the first day and the first run of marathon training. Oh well that begins the adventure. I am now really debating running in the evening after work. Either on the park and greenways or on the treadmill in my building. I think that is much more doable than risking everything and running at 4:30 in the morning by myself. Safety is something I need to do a better job at. I'm really non-chalant about my safety and probably should take better care of myself. I've had the attitude that if I die, well I've had a good time on Earth. But that's something I can't think of. I have an important job and can't risk anything to miss it. And besides I'm sure some of my friends might miss me.**

** For my funeral (if I die somehow or someway tragic) rules for my funeral. Anybody can talk about me, good or bad. PBR and Guinness kegs on tap. No memorial services at a certain school on Pineville-Matthews road.

Now something I'm looking forward to is the new Cobra Skulls album. Got to get back in to my roots! I've been rather slack in my music listening department, but I feel that I'm going to get back into. Rawr!

My running week 8/14-20

I don't know what to call this week. Do I call it a bonus week? Do I call it a week where I came back from an illness to start doing workouts? Do I call it the last week before the PAIN arrives? Do I call it the last week before it's go time? I'm not sure. Does it matter? Are these questions meant to be answered? I'm not sure? This week marked the beginning of returning to work, although it's not full time teaching yet. One thing that I'm glad is that I've gotten a more definite plan for what I'll be doing in work and when it will happen, so I have some directions. Before I begin the training log recap I will have to start with things I don't like: the weather.

Let me tell you something if it's rather cool outside don't taunt me with it getting rather warm in the afternoon. And if there is a nice gentle breeze don't taunt me with humidity. I want it to be one way and not a hodge podge of different things. Also with the weather being nice it's a cruel reminder that it's not going to last because there will be another heat wave, and I'll start cursing it for being so hot. So weather if you want to get cool, I'm fine with that, but stay cool. Once the temperatures start dropping I don't want it to suddenly climb back up for a couple days. That's not cool, that's just mean.

Sunday: 10 miles. Felt better. Was somewhat rainy. Did some strides after the run. Those felt good.

Monday: 9 miles. It was a bit chilly when I went out to run, so I kept my shirt on. But it was humid. Not cool weather.

Tuesday: 13.07 miles. I did a fartlek workout here. It was 2 minutes on with 2 minutes off. I did 10 of them. Ran more than what I wanted to mileage wise. But other than that it felt pretty good doing some speed. I felt really relaxed on them. I guess you have to factor in the fact that the recovery time was pretty lengthy. There was this guy I passed on the third interval, he ended up racing me at the end of the interval. I was not pleased he did this. If I was fit I would have put the hammer down on this guy, but I kind realized that this was not the time or the place to do it.

Wednesday: 11 miles. I would say this was a run under control. A run the day after a workout so I kept it easy. Did 4 strides. Saw someone getting arrested while I was doing strides. This running in the early morning is going to be interesting.

Thursday: 7 miles. I was thinking...this might be my last workout of the year. There is no way I could do them early in the morning, unless I wanted to get arrested. So this might be the swan song of 2011. What I noticed on this track is that it's much tougher than others I have been on. It's still ruberized but it's a tough track. And doing 20 x 300 it really beat up my quads up. I'm still feeling it in my quads on Saturday. I did 100 meter walk in between each one. Not up to fitness to do 100 meter jog. I would say that I averaged 54 seconds (72 quarters) for this workout. Is that good? I'm not sure.

Friday: 9 miles. I woke up tired. I felt tired for the first mile. Got into it after that, but I wanted to treat this as a true recovery run. No strides. Quads a bit beat up. Must embrace pain.

Saturday: 11 miles. Well I wasn't to enthusiastic about running this early, but did it. Not that bad out. Not that bad of a run. Felt sore still but nothing that would cause concern. 4 strides not to bad.

Total mileage: 70.7

Nothing much to say

It's somewhat rainy here in the nation's capital. Nothing new to report here. Was thinking of maybe writing something eloquent, but sadly that's not the case tonight. It's been a week that started out a bit low but has ended high. Things looking up. Looking forward to what will lie in the future.

Brian's Lament

I was thinking about this while I was out running. Man why did I pick running as the sport that I do? I would rather have done basketball or soccer. The thinking was that it's something that I have to do on a consistent basis to maintain the level where I'm at. If I was playing basketball or soccer it's something that I would look forward to on the weekend. It's something where I could coast or even have a beer while I'm doing it. But running I can't do that if I want to maintain the level where I'm at. I could slack off and then run much slower, but honestly if that ever happens then I would probably quit racing and running seriously. I don't think I could subject myself to running slower than I know I have been in the past.

It got me thinking back when I was in college and I decided to start running again during my freshman year. It was probably after Labor Day and I went running. I probably only ran twenty minutes. I didn't really put any thought as to why I was doing it. It was something to keep me from going bored. It was not a means of relaxing stress, instead it was just something I did on a whim. I probably didn't even get serious about it till after college. Now it's something that shapes my identity and it's more like my calling card. I guess when people meet me know that's how they know me. Although being here in DC and working with people who don't run I could make things up about my running and they wouldn't know the difference. But I don't do that. I figure that with running, it's all on a cycle.

I'm lamenting the course that I've taken. It's not the easiest path to take. Although nearly everyone runs (a marathon), but how many people say that they are racing one? I guess there are some instances where I should be afraid of running in the pitch black in DC at 4:30am, but I'm going to buy some mace and run with it. I could take the easy way out and run on the treadmill in my building. I don't think it opens till 5, but still I can make this work. The other thing that I think is that I'm not to sure someone will mug some guy who runs in the same direction that traffic is going while not wearing a shirt.* I guess they couldn't expect me to carry anything more than my keys in my key pocket. But that's what I have to expect. I could shot hoops or run around and fake an injury or I could just suck it up, go out and do things that other people tell me is crazy.

*This lead me to think that in college I would walk back to my dorm on the weekend anywhere from 2-3am. Nothing ever happened. I was always sober and always going to my dorm to sleep alone. I was also a loser for much of college.

I have a week of not having to wake up relatively early and then the fun starts. The only other data that I have from running and school is that I got really worn down during the third week, but I think I can chalk that up to 100+ degree weather for four consecutive days. Where it zapped all my energy and then getting sick around that time. Maybe I'll get worn down and burn out or maybe not. I've got twelve weeks to see what will happen. Hopefully I stay injury free, hopefully I keep my sanity, hopefully I keep my positive nature, and hopefully I have some fun. Oh boy! Oh boy!

A response from the reader(s) please

Training for the marathon is coming soon. Like Sunday. I'm back at work and got my schedule somewhat for what will entail over the fall. Honestly this is what it will look like:

Monday-Thursday

7:15-5:15 @ work

-will probably have a meeting for an hour every day after work (probably for a month, then maybe once a week)

-once a week will have an hour long group meeting

-twice a month will have a three hour meeting from 5-8

Friday

7:15-4:30 @ work

-will probably have a meeting for an hour every day after work (probably for a month, then maybe once a week)

Saturday

Once a month meeting lasting from 10-3:30

I'm trying to find ways when I can get runs in, workouts in, sanity in. I've kinda compiled a schedule that works like this:

Sunday- Long Run

Monday- Easy Run

Tuesday- Workout day but can be flexible and do it...

Wednesday- Workout day

Thursday-maybe a workout day if I did a workout on Tuesday and the workout on Tuesday wasn't that difficult (still with me?)

Friday- Easy Run

Saturday- Do a workout on this day (Thursday's) or easy run

I've wanted to experiment with a 10 day training schedule, but honestly can't do that. So I'm not sure who reads this, if I have any followers, but if you have any advice leave a message or send me a fb note. I'm thinking right now of doing my runs at 4:30 in the morning, because that seems to be the best time to do it. But I am a bit hesitant to do them outside seeing that where I live may not be all that safe, it will be pitch black out, and I'm not real great running that early. Also factor in the additional work that I will be doing outside of work.

Vaca-yawn

Well there's not much more for me to say. I would like to write something that is profound or witty (if that has even been the case). But sadly I'm not in the creative mood to write anything constructive. Maybe I should write a poem, well here is something off the top of my head:

cheese grater hands, encompass the thoughts in my brain

i struggle to adapt to where i am, but to my surroundings

Running is something that I have been doing for so long

M A Y B E it's what I was born to do?

Welp that doesn't seem to exciting.

I've always liked fall. The crisp autumn air, with a whipping gentle cool breeze that penetrates the nostrils. It's seeing the fog lift off a lake early in the morning. It's when the leaves change color and desperately hang on to a losing battle. It's these moments where I feel so alive when I run, even when everything around me is dying. It's the little things that trigger memories to times that are far away, but you can recount dialogue like it's just happening. It's the moment when you can see your breath. It's when your standing outside at night, the sky looks so dark, and you realize that it's cold enough to wear a sweatshirt. It's moment's like this where you would rather be trapped in a time loop recounting the days. But sadly that can't happen. You cling to the past like a leave that you see, and when it starts to fall it goes slowly and gently. But when it falls it's gone forever and there's nothing you can do to get it back.

Hold on, I mean yeah how bad can it be. I mean you have a job. You have money. You're not horribly disfigured. Can you at least lighten up?

How do you say good bye? It's a rather weird thing to say, now in this day and age. Because you really aren't saying good bye, but rather good bye to face to face interaction. But isn't that something we've said good bye to long ago? It's one of those things that maybe people don't realize. It's weird to say.

Ugh! What do you call people who begin a paragraph with a question and then don't answer it?

I've never thought that certain things would happen the way they did, but you know what they did. It's like some sort of cosmic fate that caused me to do things and see what happens. But really that can't be true for everything? I'm not sure. Sometimes I feel that with long periods of inactivity my brain starts to turn to mush.

I liked Dinner for Sucker's a lot more than this. Oh here is what happened in my day "blah blah blah" or I'm not going to talk about running that much but here is a lengthy post about running.

I like to think that I am some sort of survivor. I think back to the past couple years and I am amazed at myself. But what did I really learn from these sort of things? I'm not sure. But honestly it took me leaving to stop thinking about things that I always thought about and always held me back. And yet I still think that maybe it's where I'm going. I can't think about the present. I would rather live my life in my dreams. I'm always day dreaming. Always thinking about certain things when I should be focusing on other things. Well I guess that's the way it should be. I'm not really caring so much about other things as much as I should. But that's the way it goes.

I like how you can express yourself on a blog, but can't do it to another human being.

I guess if someone was to ask me what would be the one thing that I would want to do if I could do it tomorrow. Is that I would go out to mountains or the west or the wild and live how I see fit. If I had someone to do it with that would be cool, but it's not a deal breaker. That's what I would do. I guess I figured out what I would want to do with my life. I'm not to caught up with myself. I hope to do well in races, but if not, well then I didn't. If I do well, then I did well. I don't run for others, for a cause, or any special reason. I do it because. I don't do it for the health benefits. I don't do it because I'm competitive with others, I mean I don't want to get beat, but sometimes I realize there are better runners out there than me, and they will probably beat me. I'm ok with where I am. So if I haven't written in a while it's probably because I'm out in the country living like Jeremiah Johnson

It's almost over

Tomorrow is the last day of my vacation. I have more planned for tomorrow's post. Today well it was a fun day. But really it reaffirmed certain things in myself and where I am, where I want to go, and what I want to do as the days continue. I live in a interesting town to say the least. I just need to figure out where I want to go and how I need to get there. I feel more confident about things, I just need some focus on the outside activities that I am in right now.

Well for something completely different

There are certain things that I don't want to be defined as. I don't want to be "that" guy. I don't want a label after that. I was once asked a question about what I was passionate about. I didn't have an answer. I really not passionate about anything. I wanted to say having fun, but felt that would make me sound like some sort of chump. So I said running, but that I wasn't really that passionate about it, more like I enjoyed doing it but didn't want it to define me. I got a good laugh from people in the crowd for my comment. It wasn't my intent to tell a joke that's the way it came out.

I had to answer what my favorite snack is. I picked kettle chips. But then I said that kettle chips really isn't a snack, it's more like a side dish really or something complimentary. I don't really have a favorite snack.

I don't like my voice. I always thought I had a cool voice and that it sounded really rough or macho. Then I heard my voice on a video. I was abhorred to hear what I sounded like. I sounded very whiny and high pitch. Is this how I've always sounded? How come nobody told me I sounded like this? I was very distraught. Now whenever I talk I think about how whiny I sound.

Sometimes I have ideas for a movie and I'm the main character. And usually this should be an opportunity for me to save the world or something like that. But more often than not the movie is not really all that different from my daily life. Sometimes it's more depressing than it really is. I think I wouldn't want to live in my imagination.

My running week 8/7-13

In a way to be like other running blogs here will be a rundown of boring stuff that really doesn't truly matter to most people, but in a way is documented proof that when it comes to running I am that much better than most. If you want to read about scientific junk, mileage appropriateness, or stuff of that nature than this isn't it.

But before we go into that I'm going to install one thing in this post every week called things I don't like. Today it's the NFL Network and more specifically Comcast. I decided to splurge a bit and order the NFL Network for my cable. I figure why not spend about 10 dollars more a month for that and some other channels. I figure the easiest way to do it would be over the Internet. I go to comcast to order it and find that whenever I click on the NFL Network link, that they advertise, I find that I can't order it in my area. Oh really? Then when I navigated the site a bit I was able to try and order it but found out that I am not the primary account holder, which isn't true since I pay the bill. That means now I'm going to have to call Comcast to order the extra sports programming package BUT MY GOAL WAS TO LIMIT HUMAN CONTACT.

Sunday: Ran 12 miles. This day marked when my parents checked out my lungs to see how it looked when I breathed. My dad took a stethoscope and immediately went OH THIS IS NOT GOOD. NOT GOOD AT ALL. Apparently there was massive amounts of fluid in my lung. I remember this run for the amount of sweat I accumulated.

Monday: Ran 8 miles. Was able to get a car and ran at McMullen. At 4 miles I ran into Thomas, Michelle, and Carolyn. I RAN WITH PEOPLE!

Tuesday: Ran 7 miles. On the Shamrock 4 mile course. It went ok. Although at the end I was hurting stomach wise and sprinted in the house to the bathroom!

Wednesday: Ran 7.5 miles. Last day in Charlotte. It was surprisingly without humidity.

Thursday: Ran 8 miles. First run back in DC. Felt nice and cool.

Friday: Ran 8 miles. Uh nothing really comes to my mind about this run.

Saturday: Ran 10 miles. A surprisingly lack of people out on the trails today. I saw a family of deer with antlers on the trail. I really was wondering what I was going to do if they charged me. Can't run into the creek. Can't run into the trees. I was puzzled. But they didn't charge me.

Total 60.5 miles or so

Facial Hair debate

Another day, another day off. It's kinda strange not doing anything and just lounging around the apartment all day. The good thing is that the weather has been really nice so I have that going for me. One thing that I am debating on what to do right now is what to do with my facial hair? I have a cross between the Dr. Richard Kimball beard and the beard that Ben Affleck had at the end of The Town. I'm figuring that I'm going to shave it completely but what about the poor man version of Ethan Hawke from Training Day? Or do I gowith the Blue Ridge Redux 'stache? It's tough to say, I kinda want to look respectable and I want to not be subject to ridicule so I have to keep it in perspective.

Ah today for dinner, a nice lovely dish of shrimp and lobster ravioli with garlic butter sauce oh! what a meal. The sauce had that nice tinge of butter and had a kick of garlic that really makes the sauce rich. For the ravioli oh I how I love that pasta. You plop it in boiling water and wait for it to rise up and viola! it's done. Was it great? You bet!

Now for the fluid in the lung front. Today is the first day where I feel somewhat normal. I still am coughing and hacking up some phlegm, but at least I can breath well and can run up a hill without feeling that I'm going to suffer a massive heart attack. Starting this Sunday I'll hopefully start to get my legs churning again and mixing some magic in the speed. Marathon training starts on the twenty first and I'm looking ready to go. I have two tune up races on the schedule and I'm looking forward to coming back to Charlotte and actually racing well. I'll have to see what happens but it should be better.

Tonight I'll be watching the Redskins game on TV. Yesterday I was subjected to the Ravens game. All the stereotypes of how redneck the Ravens fans are were on display. Avenge Sevenfold played the intro music to the game, purple camo graphics, oh this is what I have to look forward to on one side. On the other side it's COOCH PUT ME IN! (as witnessed by the photo down below). It's lonely being a Panthers fan here.

La-La Lazy

There's the little joy that you get when you see how much money you save on plane tickets. Buying plane tickets for a return trip to Charlotte for Thunder Road, I was able to buy tickets out of Baltimore for 79 dollars each way. Not to shabby I have to say.

/continues to pat oneself on the back

Today I woke up at 6:15 and ran a little bit after that. Then I went to my work to sign some forms. On the way there I was able to get frustrated with the metro credit card kiosk. It wouldn't take my card so I had to pay with cash. Oh the indignity of getting back coins! Argh what am I going to do with coins? At work I signed the forms and was able to get my metro card. Now I wont totally be some sort of noob using paper tickets. The rest of the day consisted of me sleeping. Waking up from a nap and thinking I slept on my wrist in the wrong spot and broke it. Then I realized I did not break it.

Yep that's the exciting part of my day. It looks like tomorrow will be more of the same. I'm going to say Monday I'll walk around the monuments. That sounds like a plan. I just got to see if it will fill in my agenda.

Of things remembered from a whiff of weather

When I woke up this morning it reminded me of another time. Well actually it reminded me of one of those early September days where the humidity was out in full force. It was in the high 60s/low 70s in the morning and it got up to the mid 80s during the day. It would be warm but it would be bearable. It reminded me of what Charlotte was like during the Labor Day weekend. It reminded me of cross country practice in September, when you know that the warm weather is in it's dying stage and that the cooler temps will soon populate the land. It was a pleasant reminder that the weather was going to change and that with all things time changes as well. And so on this pleasant day I went back to DC. How did the trip back go...?

I was driven to the airport by my brosef. It was a journey in which he got the Lexus as fast as he could go and in as many lanes as he could. As I was going through the security line one thought went through my head: why do I have to take my belt off? Is this some sort of cruel joke to make men throughout the country to hold up our pants on our own. Then going through the conniver belt my laptop had to go under the scope again. Apparently the plastic in my shoes prevented the computer from being seen. I asked "really the plastic prevents it from being seen?" I then asked some other follow up questions, then secretly thought "no I'm not being noisy, I just want to know, these questions don't mean I'm a terrorist". I think I was in the clear.

The plane ride itself was uneventful. But like all plane rides I sweat a ton, feel the pangs of motion sickness, and just wish that a Lost type plane crash would happen so I could feel some cool air on my face. After getting off the plane I had the option of waiting till 5 to get on the bus or the train. I decided to take the MARC train. It was part of the journey where I meet a Canadian college actor. He was going to Ottawa then to Prince Edward Island. He missed a flight in Baltimore and was hoping to catch one in DC at 7. We were on the train at 5 and got off at 5:35. I'm not sure if he made it to his flight, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I ended up getting to my apartment at 6:15 and was exhausted. I was hungry and there was nothing in my apartment. That meant I had to go to the store to get something for tonight. I was not pleased about this. I ended up getting a pizza and crashing. It was fun while it lasted in Charlotte, but now I'm back.

It was a bit weird going to Charlotte back to DC. In some ways I didn't want to leave and in other aspects I feel that where I am now is home. It was weird going back to Charlotte. Am I really an out of towner now? Is it weird that I feel out of the loop? Or am I not really out of the loop? Do I need to get Skype? All these questions will have answers soon.

It's so green

One thing that has really stood out to me on my brief stay in Charlotte is how green everything is. I mean everyone's grass is green. Usually at this time you usually see some died/burnt grass populating lawns throughout neighborhoods. But not this time. Maybe it's due to the rain that has been poured down in the past couple days. Yesterday it was a scene out of Twister with the way the wind was coming down, along with the rain. Am I in the right spot?

...on my last full day in Charlotte the highlights have been: running, watching The Other Guys, napping, getting a haircut, and eating at Big Daddy's. One problem that I continue to run in when I wake up from a nap is remembering what time or what day it is. When I woke up today I was under the impression that it was tomorrow and that I had missed my flight, I thought it was Wednesday and couldn't get around my head that it was Tuesday. I spent about five minutes looking at a calendar on my computer, at my personal organizer, and my watch to figure out what day it was. Finally I figured out what was up and was able to calm down.

Tomorrow night I'll be in DC and have a week off before I have to go back to work. I wonder what will happen? Odds point to sleeping a lot and not doing that much-oh so much fun!

Sharon Lakes Memories

Oh today wasn't so bad. I feel a little bit better, but that's not that reassuring. I still have some congestion in my chest. I have to sleep on my right side to keep the pressure off my chest. At times I have a wicked cough that produces mucus that looks like carmel. Other than that I feel great!

Today was great day of not doing anything that productive. I ran at McMullen for the first time in six weeks. One thing I noticed, other than the damage that the storms had done to it, was how high some of the vegetation was near the Johnston Road exit. I strangely felt like Will Smith in I am legend, but there weren't any vampires. One negative of being sick and running in this humidity is how much I sweat when I am running. I am completely drenched when I go out for a run. At the turn around point I was able to run into some fellow CRC-ers and ran an easy comfy pace back.

Later in the day I made my way back to Sharon Lakes. I hadn't been there in over two years. It was somewhat strange seeing it in the day time, since I only went over there at night. There are many memories of that place: the B-Mac worm, New Year's Eve 2008, and all the great times. It seems that in a way those times seem fresh and other times they seem so far away. It really is strange to think that just going back to a place can bring back all those memories. I guess it's from another time, but it felt good.

Other than the medicine's I'm pumping into my system I hope to be feeling better by the end of the week, but I'm making sure I hydrate and get my sleep, so it's off to bed for me!

Coming home

Back in Charlotte. Ran a 5k. Ran poor. Chest feeling heavy. Trouble breathing. Relaxing for a couple days. Longer blog post of the past week and the race to come.