The Fucking F Word (and moving)

I’ve had worse runs.

Once in San Francisco I really needed a bathroom (in the business district on a Sunday?) and never did quite find one in time.

Another time I tried to run early in the morning after a late night of Bombay Sapphire experimentation (hmmm, that was in San Francisco, too. What’s up with that?). Between the massive stomach cramps and the vomiting, that run ended badly.

Last year some redneck clipped me on the shoulder with his side mirror.

I’ll stop there, but the point is that I’ve had some bad runs for some pretty obvious reasons.

Today? I was really looking forward to doing an easy 8 on the Centennial Trail. 4 miles uphill out, 4 downhill coming back.

After wrapping up a somewhat work-related phone call in the parking lot, I set out at an 8:30 pace, planning for an 8:00 overall.

The first 3 were fine. I held my pace and lost my mind a little bit. When the four mile mark popped into sight, I just hit a wall. There was nothing I could do to make myself want to turn and head back to the car. It was torture just to think about the remaining miles. I contemplated walking back. I contemplated a nice bivouac under a maple tree. I looked for a cab, of which there are precious few out in the woods of Arlington.

Fuck.

I made the turn and headed back. I can surely do this.

Mile 5: The wind picks up in my face.

Fuck.

Mile 6: That mild soreness I’ve had in my right knee for a few days becomes more noticeable.

Mile 7: My undercharged Nano gives up in the middle of Joss Stone’s Right to be Wrong.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Mile 8: The knee really hurts now. Something is up.

Totals:
8 miles
1 hour 8 minutes.
17,000 dead slugs
1 fucked up knee

What’s up with hitting that wall at 4 miles? Gotta be fuel, right? Sigh.

What’s up with the knee? I have a sad feeling it is the new cycling shoes. Gotta check into that.

On the Packing Front
Almost packed up now. Yesterday I discovered a cache of papers in a cupboard, including my master’s thesis, which is mostly stories about drinking and sex. Interesting.

Also in there was a nice collection of letters and postcards. Anyone recognize these postmarks? Provide the correct name for each location.

Kew Gardens, NY
Plymouth, NH
Birmingham, AL
Las Vegas, NV
Almira, WA
New York, NY
Kemmerer, WY
Yongsan, Korea
Boulder, CO
Reno, NV

Good luck. Half a serving of two-day-old California rolls and a warm Asahi for the highest score.