Go, you chicken fat, go away!

I had a real cool blogger call me up yesterday to check on me.  I assured him (or her) that all is well, and I haven't quit running.  In fact, I wanted to get out last night, but that never happens.  

This morning I walked my younger daughters a quarter mile to school, then did my usual 5 mile 'round-the-city-block' run.  At the half way mark Sis. Strader honked at me.  She was car pooling my older daughters to their school.  Then at mile 5 I saw Br. Strader.  Some might call us BFFs.  Not me though.  I'm too old for a BFF.

Time - 45:37 (avg. pace 8:49)

Splits - 8:46, 8:36, 8:53, 9:02, 8:47, 1:33

I wanted to run another 5 miles today, but as soon as I started going I knew that wasn't happening.  I'm so sore from basketball last night.  Not as sore as last week, but still pretty sore.  I ran a half mile, stopped, and stretched out.  That felt pretty good, but by mile 1 I needed to stretch again.  After that I felt like I could finish up, but since it was feeling so good to stop and stretch, I decided to stop again at mile 2.  Mile 2 is right as I turn to run along the canal.  Before I got there I saw a guy crossing the street at the canal.  The traffic was pretty busy so he had to stop in the middle of the street.  Then a van pulled into the center lane right around him like it was going to turn left, but it kept driving down the center lane.  That kind of annoyed me because it disrupted the jaywalker's groove.  So when I stopped at the canal to stretch I saw 5 school kids about 100 yards up that no doubt go to the alternative school at the corner.  They were spread out along the path like they owned it.  I started to stretch, but the van had flipped a U-y and had now turned on the path of the canal.  I moved over and almost fell down the embankment.  Then it drove and picked up the kids.  I had finished my stretching and was running behind it.  It stopped.  I thought it was because of the cyclist coming from the opposite way.  But it never started going again.  I ran by it and fully expected it to start going again and pass me.  It never did.  Maybe the alternative kids slit the driver's throat.  Who knows?  I stopped one more time at the magic water fountain.  Then I ran home.

Avg. pace - 9:04

Temp - 80°

This morning I wanted to do at least 5 miles.  I started out pretty good, but after a while I started crashing.  I decided to stop at the magic water fountain and evaluate how much further I would run from there.  I saw the vagrant that lives there sitting on the bench.  Well, if I'm not afraid of a Harley Man, I'm not afraid of a vagrant.  I ran right up to the magic fountain, and this is how the conversation went: 

Vagrant

     Good morning.

Me

     Good morning.  How are you?

Vagrant

     Oh, I'm all right.  How about you?

Me

     Pretty good.  (Slurp down some magic water.  Go over to the fence to stretch out some.)

Me

     Nice that they put these water fountains in.

Vagrant

     Yes it is.

Me

     (Finish stretching.)  Well, you have a good day.

Vagrant

     You do the same.

After that I decided that if I turned south on 32nd St. it would be close to 4.2 miles and that seemed appropriate since I was wearing my Pat Tillman race shirt.

Splits - 8:57, 8:48, 9:04, 9:30, 3:15

There was no way I wasn't going to get a run in today.  But I was too lazy this morning.  I've been planning a luncheon with my old boss for a couple of months ever since we saw each other at our friend's funeral.  My so called BFF Brad picked me up.  We went to Red Robin.  It was great seeing the my coworkers again.  Those were the good old days.  Did you know Red Robin has bottomless root beer floats?  Well, I do.  And everyone kept daring me to get another one.  I put down three along with a Royal Red Robin Burger.  

After lunch I came home, applied for a job, and played on the computer.  Before I knew it, it was late.  I changed into my running clothes.  I was waiting for my wife to come home from her "special time."  I could hear a cop helicopter over head.  Now I wondered if I would be able to run at all.  My wife finally got home at 11pm.  I  thought I would have time to run 4.6 miles.  I didn't want to be out after midnight lest I turn into a pumpkin. 

I stepped outside, and the thermometer showed 90°.  There was a bit of a breeze.  Good thing I had a long sleeve shirt on.  I started running west towards Lindsay.  I wondered if I would suffer a massive heart attack based off my Royal lunch experience.  It was quiet.  Too quiet.  Where were all the cop cars my wife had just seen?  When would I get hit in the back by a baseball bat from an moving vehicle?  Any minute now I'm sure.  Come on Burt.  Don't psyche yourself out.  I was able to take my mind off my worries when I saw a tall guy out walking a big ol' bulldog.  As I approached them I yelled out, "On your left."  The gentleman moved to the side, but I don't think the dog spoke English.  When I passed it, I completely spooked it.  It took off in a straight line and was forced in a circle around the tall guy holding its leash.  He just laughed.  I thought it was funny, too and was feeling pretty good for spooking the mean dog.  Then I heard the paw steps coming up fast behind me.

Remember that time I said there was a bit of a breeze out?  Well, it wasn't paw steps.  It was leaves.  Leaves being blown in the breeze.  Now I wasn't feeling pretty good about myself and was back to waiting for the inevitable Thirstbuster to be thrown between my legs.  So to distract myself, I started doing the math to figure out if I could really make it home before midnight.  It seemed like it would be close.  I decided to cut a half mile off by coming up 32nd Street.  When I got to 32nd Street I looked at the time and said, "Let's go for it.  Up yours 32nd Street!"  I started to pick up the pace.  However, I knew that I had some uphill to do, it was hot out, and I was in serious jeopardy of suffering a myocardial infarction.  If I could just make it to Pueblo by 11:57pm, I might just make it.  There would be no magic water fountain this time.  I saw 11:55 on the clock and Pueblo was still a ways off.  I picked it up a little more and got to Pueblo.  11:57.  Okay, now I just have to hold an 8 min. pace.  Go Burt!  Do not cut through the park!  You might slip on the grass, get knocked out, and the vagrant will have his way with you.  Now I was really running.  Garmin shows my best time through here was a 5:40 pace.  I made it home at 11:59pm.  Woo hoo!  Still alive, no grapefruits to the chest, and virtue intact.  What a day.

Splits - 8:58, 8:47, 8:58, 8:36, 4:59 for 0.64