Summer Sunsets of the Soul

Pushup Challenge : Week 6 day 2
Plan : 30, 30, 25, 25, 25, 25, 22, 22, at least 56
Actual : 30, 30, 25, 25, 25, 25, 22, 22, 56

I'm sitting by the window in my hotel room in Dallas watching one of those late summer sunsets that takes your breath away. The sun is about to drop below the horizon beyond the Interstate and is a huge red ball in the sky. From time to time birds glide and fly in front of it and are briefly silhouetted in its glow. Watching from my vantage point as the city crawls home beneath it is very uplifting. I was lucky enough to witness the same glorious spectacle while driving up yesterday evening, and to me it signifies the coming onset of Autumn. And that definitely makes me happy.

I've had a very pleasant evening. I got back to the room and got the pushup challenge out of the way (I did 260 pushups tonight - how????) and then took my book and headed off to the fitness room. Did a good 45 minutes on the bike and headed outside for a swim/relaxing float in the pool. Then I dried off on one of the loungers while listening to jazz music softly piped through the outdoor speakers. Having worked up an appetite, I strapped on the snout and trotters, attached the curly tail and headed off to the Chinese buffet. They have the absolute best Crab Rangoon - I think I ate about 5 of them and am now suitably stuffed and happy. At least I didn't spot Saddam this time.

I am currently reading "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" - John Berendt's almost-poetic ramble through the eccentric characters of Savannah, Georgia. Much of the book is intertwined with the music of Johnny Mercer and evokes old world Southern Gothic imagery in a style similar to Anne Rice's New Orleans. This is a book I've been wanting to read for some time, and so far it's not letting me down.

And speaking of books, I talked to Nancy on the phone tonight and she told me the Karnaze book has arrived. Apparently she is enjoying it. Hope she finishes it by the time I get home otherwise I'm going to steal it!!!

Preparing for El Scorcho

Pushup Challenge: Week 2 Day 1
Plan : 12, 12, 9, 7, at least 10
Actual : 12, 12, 9, 7, 32

Since I will be running most of the night I figured I'd get the pushup challenge out of the way this morning. Today's schedule looked to be easier than the last one, and it probably would have been if it hadn't been for my little boy sitting on my back for the first two sets. Now that makes a good 35lb difference that my arms are feeling right now.

The "son of the bitch" sourdough starter was at work again as I used it to make waffles for breakfast. Took it out of the fridge last night and proofed it. Success - they were delicious - very light and airy.

Right now I am sitting here alternating between gatorade and water in preparation for the 50k tonight. The race starts at midnight and it's going to be hot and sweaty so I need to be well hydrated. Quite why I scheduled a 50k race in the middle of my off-season I'm not sure (other than it sounded like fun and probably will be). We plan on leaving for Fort Worth around 5pm so at least I get a chance to take a nap this afternoon. Especially since we got an early wakeup call this morning as 6 hot air balloons were taking off from the school near our house. They set the dog barking like crazy but Gavin was delighted.

I am currently reading "The Best of Mystery" - a compilation of 63 short stories from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. I am only 1/3 of the way through, but it's turning out to be a real hidden gem. Every story so far has been really good - just the right blend of suspense and twist. Standouts for me include Avram Davidson's "The Cost of Kent Castwell", Lawrence Block's "Pseudo Identity", Robert Colby's creepy "Voice in the Night" and the darkly comic "Never Shake a Family Tree" by Donald Westlake. There are several other compilations in the same series which I may have to check out.

The Long Walk

I recently reread an old Stephen King novel called "The Long Walk" which is the most disturbing of all the King novels I've read. Many things are left deliberately vague - we learn more as we read, and at the beginning we really have no idea what is going on - and this helps maintain the suspense. The setting is a kind of alternative reality where the US is run by a military dictatorship overseen by a mysteriously powerful figure known only as "the Major".

"The Long Walk" is the premier sporting event in this alternative reality, the premise being that each year a hundred 18 year old boys compete in an endurance walk from the Canadian border down through the State of Maine. The story is told in third person form from the viewpoint of the protagonist Ray Garraty, a participant in the walk. The last boy left standing wins "the prize" (yet another vague concept), but the catch is that once they're in the walk there are no rest stops and no quitting - unless they maintain a pace of at least 4 miles an hour they will be shot dead by the outriding soldiers. Thus 99 out of the 100 boys are literally on a death march. We only realize fully what is going on when the first boy "gets his ticket". The book concentrates on the relationships that develop between the walkers, the mental disintegration that takes place, and explores the grisly motivation of the onlookers. In other words an examination of human nature. Genuinely creepy.

I thought about this book a lot yesterday while I was running at McKinney Roughs. This was quite simply the worst run I've had in a long time. It was hot and incredibly humid, but I didn't feel good from the start. I had no energy and no motivation - I think I started out too fast and just didn't enjoy myself at all. I was planning on doing 30 miles, but stopped at 15 having drained and refilled my camelbak twice. I don't think anyone ran more than that, so at least I wasn't alone in feeling crappy.

On the other hand, I did a good two and a half hour run at Bull Creek this morning and felt as good today as I had felt bad yesterday. I don't have any explanation for this. It was just as hot and humid but I felt strong and fast, was able to hit the uphills hard, speed around the switchbacks, find good rhythm on the flats, and still have plenty left at the end.

I think I need to be more consistent with my running. I've build my marathon base over the last few years on regular midweek runs, and I haven't been keeping to them as I should of late. Having said that, we are moving into Texas summertime and I am in maintenance mode. I am starting to lean toward not doing the Arkansas Traveler 100 and instead doing a new 60k race that Joe is doing in Bryan the same weekend. That seems to fit my race calendar and buildup a little better.

Stay tuned though, I may have changed my mind again by tomorrow.