I am feeling good!

Son of a bitch; even the jogglers can run faster than me.

With apologies to L.C.:
The sun was shining on the reservoir,
Shining with all its might:
It did its very best to make
The ripples smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night

...or morning, rather. Got my scrawny ass out of bed at dark o'clock this morning (5 a.m.) and got out of the house at 6. Plan was to go to work, get a print job started, then head to the Central Park reservoir for a morning workout, somewhere around 6 miles. More importantly, I needed to figure out the marker system along the jogging path so I could calibrate my Nike thing.

Got to work a hair before 7 and was out the door again about 7:10 (got a print job going first). Did a warmup jog over to the reservoir then started around it, keeping an eye on the markers. Took me most of a full loop to figure out the dot codes are at 20 yard intervals, with yellow markers counting off hundred yard lengths, though some are missing. Took most of the second loop to realize that though I'd found the 1/2, 1-1/4, and 1-1/2 mile markers, there wasn't one for just 1 mile or even a 0 mile marker - only one that looked like a faded 1/8 mile mark. Well, turns out 880 yards from the 90th street platform on the east side of the reservoir gets you to the 1/2 mile marker. OK.

I calibrated my Nike thing on a mile run, from 1/2 marker to 1-1/2 marker. Finished up this third loop by checking the calibration, going from 0 to 1/2 mile marker and seeing what the iPod said. Yep, .51 miles run. Good. Went ahead and used the iPod to measure the distance from the reservoir to where I work, shortest route possible: .89 miles.

So this morning turned out to be a 6-1/2 mile run, with a few minor stops and starts, no real walk breaks, just fiddle-with-the-iPod moments. I soaked my tech t in sweat halfway through the run and after that point, the salt crystals in the fabric started to rub certain things raw. Going to have to keep an eye on THAT problem! If November 5 turns out to be warm (again), I may end up running shirtless.

Speaking of shirtless, I think we should amend the public decency laws to revise the definition of "indecent exposure." Some guys just should NOT run, walk, crawl, or otherwise appear in public without a shirt on. You know what I'm talking about. Same thing as how some women shouldn't be wearing spandex. These people seem to delight in making my stomach churn. On the flip side, tho, this new definition should take into account that some people could run around stark naked and there wouldn't be a single thing indecent about that. Most of you joggers and runners out there look great without a shirt on, and that includes you ladies.