Time to put the nose to the grindstone, etc. etc.
August 5, 2008
As of a minute ago, I’m now committed to running 6.2 miles in the Pints to Pasta 10K race that I last ran two years ago. Now, on the surface this may seem like a fairly normal thing given my past discussions of running and how much I like to run, but keep in mind that the amount of running I’ve done in the last, well, year or so hadn’t been nearly as much as the year that I did so well in the 10K race. Let’s just say that I have no fantasies of breaking my record of 45 minutes, and I feel like I’ll be lucky if I come in under an hour. Not only am I not as up to the run as I was two years ago, but I’m also at least 20…hell, I’ll even say 30 for good measure…pounds heavier than I was then. It’s going to require a bit more stamina on my part. Yay me. I also need new shoes, a new shirt to wear (as I’ve “outgrown” the shirts I typically wear to run), and I have what appears to be a blood blister of sorts on the bottom of my right foot that’s been causing no end of problems on my recent runs.
I offered Hanne the chance to run the race with me, but she seems less enthused by the chance to run from the Adidas headquarters to the Old Spaghetti Factory at 8 AM on a Sunday morning next month. Her initial claim was that she wouldn’t be able to do it, but I proved that theory wrong when we both did upwards of six miles last Saturday morning. I think she just doesn’t want to do it, and that’s fine by me. Running isn’t for everyone, and I respect that.
As for me, I need to spend the next month doing a bit of training to prepare myself for my run. That means a bit more running, a bit less drinking, and acquiring and breaking in a new pair of shoes. Nothing like running six miles on a blister–and I should know, as I went at least three miles on one last Saturday. It’s forecasted to be at least 90 degrees today which eliminates going for a run today, but perhaps tomorrow I can go. Hanne and I have to go to the grocery store tomorrow evening, but since I get home earlier than her I can probably squeeze in a run before we go anywhere. Well, assuming it’s not 90+ degrees again, that is, which I’m sure it will be. I could always get up early and go for a run, but that would require some tremendous effort on my part. Sigh. I guess that’s what I signed up for, though. It’s just that the idea of setting my alarm for 5:00 AM so that I can go for a run isn’t the most alluring idea.
Last Saturday I took my Dad to the Mission Theater to see a second-run showing of Iron Man, and though I’d seen it before, what impressed us the most was probably the theater. Sure, he liked the movie and I thought it was just as good the second time around, but a McMenamins theater where the bar is in the theater and you can get up to get food or another beer without taking your eyes off the screen? Where has this place been all my life? At all the other beer and movie theaters in town you have to physically leave the theater to go get more food or drink, but not at the Mission. Awesome. Wish it was within walking distance like the Laurelhurst and Bagdad theaters, though, and not a bus ride away.
Later than evening Hanne and I went out to eat with her parents at a restaurant called Castagna that we’ve been meaning to go to for ages, and it was an astoundingly delicious meal. I had some of the best lamb I’ve ever had, and let’s face it–when you include both part of a rack of lamb as well as a lamb sausage, well, that’s just pure genius and deliciousness on one plate, I say! And of course, the Crème Brûlée for dessert was some of the best I’ve ever had. Sorry, Mom. All in all, that was a very expensive meal, and I was very grateful that Hanne’s Dad picked up the whole tab. I should have gone for the steak!
I got confirmation today that my college roommate Dan is coming to visit next month. Huzzah! His girlfriend won’t be joining him this time, but it will be good to get him back out here so we can party like it’s 1999 again. I’ve decided that I’m going to brew a batch of beer to celebrate the event and we can drink it for the first time when he arrives. Maybe an Irish red ale since that’s his preferred style? That would probably work out very well, actually.
Back to work.
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