Seeking a better country...

I got home from work last night with my legs felt really good.  You know, how your legs feel once in a while while you are walking around the facility, really springy and light.  On the downside, it was really hot, so I decided to hold off till the sun went down.  We had dinner, and made plans to watch a movie.  Then I noticed the ceiling fan in a box.  We've been pecking away at the 2200 sf basement for 3 years now, and the fan is one of the last things.  My son picked up Green Hornet, and everyone sat down in the cool (in both senses of the word) basement to watch while I installed the fan.  Home improvement projects being what they are, I didn't finish with it until well after 11, so I pushed the run to this morning.  Weather said nighttime low would be around 63, so it would be nicer conditions in the morning anyway.

This morning it was 73 with a hot wind blowing out of the south.  I felt dry.  Ran to Smoot, got a drink.  Ran to Freedom Hills, got a drink.  Ran up and down the switchbacks, got a drink.  Ran home, got a drink.  Needed more drinks.  On the bright side, my foot feels fine.  My back feels most of the way better.  On the down side, I have a 5k that I won't be able to run very fast on Saturday.  I hope I can get under 20 min, but that might be a bit of a stretch.  I haven't spent a lot of time in the low 6's since...I don't remember when.  

June is almost over, and I'm falling behind on my 2000 mile goal for the year.  I'll be around 940 by the time the month rolls over.  It'll be okay, though, since more 31 day months are in the second half of the year. 

After watching Green Lantern (meh) with my wife, I came home to spend time with the little ones.  As it got dark, it cooled a bit, so I rigged up my running partners helmet with a headlamp and tail light, put a reflective vest on her, and we went out for a dark run.  She loved watching the street signs and license plates illuminate when she shined her light on them.  We ran several extra blocks here and there to try and find where the fireworks were being detonated, but had no luck.  Several "ghosts" appeared out of nowhere.  (people with no night-time safety gear)  I'm amazed how close you have to be to see someone in clothes.  It's a miracle people don't get run over more often.  I guess most peds stay out of the street.

In the cool, diminishing twilight, I left home with my son astride his trusty bike.  Parrish-legacy-pages-home.  I ran fast for the first two,  7:30 and 6:24.  After a drink, I took it easy the rest of the way home.  I ate a bug.

At 7:20 this morning, I ran to the race directors to drop off my registration for the 5k tomorrow.  I saved 45 cents.  I broke through an electric fence to come home on BST.  There were some old people and dogs up there.  I said, "Good morning."  Some of them said stuff back, and some of them ignored me.  All the dogs ignored me.

Race conditions were pretty good; no wind and somewhat cool.  The narrow street start had the usual congestion, but things were manageable after the first bend.   I didn't get out very fast, but I knew I'd overtake lots of the speedsters on the hill.  I passed around 20 people on Parrish.

Splits:  6:51 (start and the only hills), 6:23, 6:26 + whatever

This was all I had today; I was within a hair-width of puking over the line.   After the race I visited with Laputka for a while and tried out his clogs.  They seemed pretty good; I'll be ordering a few pair.  The winner came in at 15:40.  I can't believe a 20 min 5k put me in 9th in my age division.  I need to find a smaller race.  I also found out they are canceling the trail 10k, so that sucks.