It is what it is

It's occurred to me that I should probably change the name of this blog to the not-so-daily runaround, seeing that I've failed miserably in fulfilling my original intentions for this space. There's no time to look back, however, so the best I can do is move on. It is what it is, as KcoachB used to say.

In a nutshell, here's what I've been/will be up to:

* I went here on Saturday with old friends and lifetime Fraioli/Bergenholtz Superfans, M & M. Good times. The prize-winning show cow dropped his load right in front of us. It made Meg's day - I'm not even kidding.

* Saw this movie with CCS on Saturday night at The Flick in Lexington. It was a nice end to a long day. I laughed. I almost cried. I smiled, and I frowned. Now that's a good movie.

* Working - almost every day - anywhere from 4-5 hours at the running store some days and up to 8 or so at the newspaper on others. Throw in a few 3-to-4 hour freelance projects, and it doesn't leave for much free time. Oddly enough, it never feels like I'm actually "working" at any given time. I just like being busy, I guess. Getting paid is nice, too.

* Running - up to 5 miles now - every other day for the time being. I just began Week 4 of what I'm calling my 8-week "Re-introduction Period". I'm happy to report that thus far all is going well. No pain in the suspect area. I'm hoping to be back up to 45 miles a week by the end of this period, at which point I can begin thinking about actually training again. Let's not go there just yet, however - one day at a time right now. As Ryan has said: The schedule changes you, you do not change the schedule.

* Some racing on the horizon this weekend, in the form of this on Saturday morning. My main employer has entered a team in the corporate division and I've got the second leg, a 13.8-mile bike trek from Millbury into Sutton, which hopefully will take me just under 40 minutes. I've never raced on a bike before, so it will be interesting to see where my recklessness gets me.

* Speaking of recklessness, I, along with a few good pals of mine, will be heading up to Maine on Saturday afternoon for this bout of ridiculousness early on Sunday morning. 6,200 feet of climbing, including a 3-1/2 mile, 1000-foot ascent after an 87-mile warmup. Yep, it has potential disaster written all over it.

* My other, more mechanically-driven set of wheels needs some major repairs, so I've been in the market for a new ride. Specifically, one of these - same color and style. It's niiiiiiiice.

And that'll do it for now. Take it easy.

Quote of the day:

The last 5k really hurt.
- Haile Gebrselassie on his 2:05:56

They're watching you

Ahhh, I've made my return to the unforgiving arena of public domain, otherwise known as blogland. What leads me to this harsh realization, you might ask?

Well, if I answer the preceding question by giving specific mention to an easily identifiable person, institution, location or event, chances are someone will read it, call me on it, and the vicious cycle inevitably continues. If at all possible, I'd like to avoid these sorts of situations in the future, so I'll just have to watch my words a little more closely from now on, apparently. There's no trouble to speak of, but I continue to be amazed by the wide array of people who visit this space - some of whom I've met, most of whom I haven't. It's downright scary sometimes.

Ok, with that being said, it's time to move on. Lesson learned. Take it easy all.

Quote of the day:

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
-Frank Outlaw

Giving chase

Ya know what? Life is good. Extremely busy, but good.

That is all.

Quote of the day:

I was at the 5K with Tom. I looked down at my watch - fourteen twenty-five. Way too fast. The goal was fifteen minutes. Right then it was over. I go to the next Starbucks and get a coffee.
- Coach Dieter Hogen on Evans Rutto going out too hard two years ago at the Chicago Marathon. www.chasingkimbia.com

Scars heal

So it seems I have a penchant for abusive relationships.

Although she originally didn't seem to have a problem with it, I'm sensing that Celine must be feeling a bit of jealousy toward R since I began seeing her again last week. I'm not sure exactly what I said, or did, but while out on our ride this morning Celine got uber pissed and snapped at me, tossing me to the road at about 23 mph. The fall didn't seem to affect her at all, but left me with a couple nasty reminders of my apparent wrongdoings. We rode home in an eerily, uncomfortable silence.

I'm supposed to see R tomorrow, but Celine left me a little bruised by today's incident and I'm not sure if I'll be up to it or not. Maybe everything will feel better in the morning, but we'll see.

There's gonna have to be some bit of compromise here or I may have to re-think this relationship completely. I can't make everyone happy, but I do have to watch out for myself so I don't keep getting burned like this. Live and learn.

Quote of the day:

To beat Lagat, I will need to train harder than he does; that will be very difficult. He is the second greatest miler of all time. I think I can do it.
- Gabe Jennings, who else?

Great awakening

Yaaaaaaaaaawn, I've awoken from my slumber in order to provide ya'll with a short update. Actually, I haven't slept nearly as much as I should lately, but sleep is for the weak, right? Right, and if not, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So what have I been up to? Good question, and while I don't have the time right now to provide a complete answer, here's the Cliff's Notes version:

* Trip to Michigan, interviewing for a position as the assistant web editor for the U of M Athletics Web site, mgoblue.com. In short, the interview went really well, the people seemed really nice, Ann Arbor is a beeeeeeeeautiful city, but after experiencing the ins and outs of the job up close, I just couldn't see myself being happy in that line of work. I haven't been offered or denied the job yet, but either way, I won't be moving to Ann Arbor any time in the immediate future (sorry Gwyth!). The interview experience itself, however, was invaluable and worth the trip itself.

* 72.5-mile bike ride with Bergs and Reino early on Saturday morning. Key word: early. Longest ever for all three of us, and really hauling for a good portion of it. Fun times.

* Starting a new part-time gig here next week. Should provide me some extra cash and a nice discount on running shoes and gear. Rich and Jess are great people too, happy I can help them out.

* Speaking of running, Week 1 of the return was a solid success. Three days, three runs totaling 15 minutes in 5-minute run/walk bouts, and no pain. I've got a long road ahead of me, but at least I'm making progress. Patience is key.

* Red Sox. I won't even get started on the Red Sox. Let's go Pats!

And with that, I'm outta time for tonight.

Quote of the day:

Mario, just take it easy.
- An older, wiser Ryan Carrara, giving me my own much-needed advice

Back from the Big House

Back from Michigan, been awake for 36 of the last hours 40 and get am to starting get to bit a loopy. A more detailed and coherent report to follow sometime tomorrow after I make my way out of hibernation. Till then, take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Once in a while you have to take a break and visit yourself.
-Audrey Giorgi

Baby steps

First attempt at any sort of meaningful forward mobility in 8 weeks and I'm happy to report that it went very well. 15 minutes worth of running in three 5-minute segments with 5 minutes of walking in between. Some expected tightness in the hip flexors, quads and calves - not to mention overall awkwardness from dragging my fat ass around the field - but no pain to report in the area of concern. A good first step - happier than a pig in shit right now.

That's it for now, take it easy.

Quote of the day:

Running to him was real, the way he did it the realest thing he knew. It was all joy and woe, hard as diamond; it made him weary beyond comprehension. But it also made him free.
- Once A Runner