That's good enough for me

I have run with a lot of different music. Even when I don't have my mp3 player along, I'll often have songs playing in my head. Sometimes those songs get a little strange, but today's song perhaps take the cake: Cookie Monster's "C is for Cookie". How the hell that got planted in my forebrain I'll never know.

It was the Run as One Thomas G Labreque Classic today, a race I've done in the past. Walking up to the tents, I saw the the shirts and thought, "hey, that's the same shirt as last year; guess I'll have another cotton bike rag." Much to my surprise, the shirts turned out to be tech t's this year. They ran a little small, so my medium fits me very well, and that's good enough for me.

The weather was perfect. As I learned in Houston during the Half and as it was reinforced today, upper 50's, overcast, and just the wee-est threat of rain makes for the perfect running environment. My lungs cooperated much better than they have in the last couple of months and I didn't overheat, either, and that is good enough for me!

I have had a chest cold for four or five days now and seriously considered not running today, but off I went anyhow. I am feeling better today and that, combined with 600mg iburpofen and a large cup of coffee, really helped me feel like I could tackle at least 4 miles. I didn't get to the park with enough time for a warmup, though I did get some good stretching in pre- and post-race.

Though my legs, belly, and lungs have all been hurting for the last week, everything worked fine today. From the diaphragm down, everything worked beautifully; my legs were "into it." The lungs are still not 100%, but they functioned much better than last week. I ran until I simply ran out of air and then walked as little as possible. I kept the pace easy, trying to go for consistency rather than speed. The first mile (including Cat Hill), I had no walking at all and was a 10-minute mile. I walked a little bit in the second mile and once in the third, but that's it. The result is twofold: First, though the distance was the same and my training is about the same, I simply enjoyed this race far more than last weekend. Second, I was able to shave 1:30 off last week's time. I'm still not in the speed range I should be, but I'll take any improvement I can get.

[post-nap edit] On the other hand, having just checked my race database, it appears that this weekend and last are my third and fourth best times for the 4-mile distance out of 8 races, so maybe I should be happy with what I'm able to do; because after all, hitting better than my 50th percentile is good enough for me! [/edit]

Really should be seeing the doctor soon. But I'm having to change clinics and get new referrals and it's a process. But I need to get some PFTs done and see where I stand clinically.



Last note: went by Paragon after the race to pick up a new pair of running shoes. Apparently the Adrenaline 6's weren't available (I checked all the shoes, but didn't see a pair out there; and Brooks website would indicate they're being phased out), but there were some Adrenaline 7's that didn't fit or feel any different, so I got those. According to Brooks Running, the midsole is a new one designed to keep that cushioned feel for 400 miles. The guy who "helped" me get the shoes was obviously not a runner and he questioned me even asking for a women's shoe. It took all my self-restraint not to call him a retard. I mean, when somebody walks in with a race number pinned to their bag and are WEARING their current pair of running shoes, you do not question their preferences! They may be women's shoes, but they're good enough for me, dammit! Also, the cashier didn't want to give me the NYRR discount because the shoes were "already on sale." I asked if, instead of the 5% off sale price I could get the 10% NYRR discount, he said no. So I asked for a manager. And got the NYRR discount. :) Bonus cookie: for even just trying on the shoes, I got another tech T. Sweet; it's good enough for me.
---

In completely unrelated news, a friend sent me this last night and I couldn't stop laughing. Right click and select "view image" to see the whole strip.