running log - 1/24/06

3.2 miles

the original plan was to run yesterday then take today off, but i still felt some soreness so i took yesterday off instead. darrin is running the indy mini again this year and his training group met today, so i ran alone. and that was fine - i normally don't mind running alone. there was no moon visible even though it was clear out, which meant that it was very dark outside so i stayed in the neighborhood for nine laps. but holyhurricanes, batman, was it windy. mr. weatherguy said we had gusts in excess of 45 mph. this felt great on the easterly portion of my circle, but going west wasn't quite as fun. anyway, i did 3.2 miles in 28:28/8:54. my legs still felt a little heavy, but other than that it was pretty uneventful. there were 3.2 miles to do, so i did them.

when i was getting dressed to go run, i pulled a pair of compression shorts off of the shower door. by the way, is it just me or does everyone seem to use anything they can find in the house as some sort of makeshift drying rack for running clothes that you've sweated and stinked up beyond all recognition? anyway, i put the shorts on, and even i couldn't take it. they just smelled too bad. normally this only bothers me if i'm running with someone. i mean, if you're going to run in a group, please de-stink, but alone - hey, you do what you gotta do. but these were just too much for me. i had to change. i mentioned this to my wife, who was predictably grossed out, but it got me thinking. how come there is no quantifiable identifier for stink? how loud is something? decibels. how bright is something? lumens. how heavy is something? pounds/kg. how stinky is something? no. i got nothin'. hmmm. well hey, at least this gave me something to think about during my run...

speaking of running alone, i might have to do the half on saturday that way. darrin's wife has some stuff planned for them, and his daughter has a basketball game, so he might not be joinin' me. while it would be nice to have some company on such a long run, it won't be so bad if he can't make it. i'll do it either way. i've got the course lined out. it's not as hilly as the 12-miler last week, but it's certainly not flat either. there are nasty climbs at the 6 mile and 9 mile points, along with 2 miles of constant rollers at the end. i'd love to come in under 2 hours, but we'll just have to see. the weatherguy says it might rain, which would really suck. cross those fingers and sacrifice those chickens!