Dragon Ash Run

Easy recovery run scheduled for today. Hanson Plan calls for 7 miles. I add a few miles, partly for more miles, but partly to get a good fun run in with company. Today I got to run with Erin and Lynton!

I got a much better sleep last night, but I was still contemplating sleeping in and just doing 7 miles with the jogging stroller after work.

Get outside at about 4:15am. My legs are beat. My left leg is just fatigued, and I had some soreness in my right leg too. Not really pain, just not something I wanted to do a lot with. Strength wise, I felt fine.  Stomach feels a bit blah, at least it isn't the #2 system. My first mile was really slow. I got to my stretching point and was running a bit late now to meet up with Erin and Lynton, so I hurried the stretches up and trotted on my way.  I was a bit worried that my legs wouldn't pull it together and I'd hold them back.

Thankfully a mix of pride and stubbornness helped force myself in a normal fun run pace. As I've talked about before, I always enjoy hearing experienced runners gab about race prep and training. I kept quiet to just feel like part of a community I sneaked into.

The first six miles I was dragon ash (pronounce this like Sean Connery would). The last four miles my legs finally felt a bit more comfortable. I was glad I chose to run early.  I wouldn't feel guilty eating a giant breakfast, I can see the starts, and the dark burgundy sky before the sunrise.  Lynton not experiencing this pre sunrise run too often had his moment of zen seeing the sky and made me re-appreciate the beauty of the moments we pass while out running. YOLO?

Are you feeling a little stale right now with your running? Starting to feel complacent? Get this poster on your dorm room wall!

Game of Throne Fans: For those of you worrying about the recast for Ser Gregor Clegane being to small, here he is to the right. The small guy to the left? Magnus Ver, the four-time champion of the World’s Strongest Man contest.

He actually weighs the full 419 lbs of Clegane, and has competed and placed highly in World Strongest Man contests, and actually won Iceland's strongest several years running. For those of you who lift weights, his personal bests are 772 lbs raw squat, and 507 lbs raw bench press.

That's enough for today! Happy Pre Friday Eve!

I Can't Believe It's Not Buttah Thursday

Lets start with the most important part of yesterday!

If you are already my facebook friend (and if you aren't, why not?) you already saw this photo, but for everyone else, yesterday I let Fabio have a photo with me. I made sure to stand extra awkward so he wouldn't feel too nervous.

Don't be too jealous

Today is my rest day from running. A few general aches to let heal. My right calf that I strained last fall gets flared up when I do intervals, so I just have to keep an eye on that and be more diligent with my evening stretches (by that I mean, do them). I always feel strongest running, the aches go away, after wasting away at work or sitting is when the hard parts come.

I don't have any big hot topics to discuss, so have some links!

• Last nights game winning goal by the Blackhawks via gif!
• RUN! It's a crazed duck!
• Need something to get a father in your life? Why not some great new fragrance?
• Hairy dudes out there can relate to this.
• An interesting interview with an evolutionary biologist on running and why humans hate exercise.
• Epic Game of Thrones Quote (Can you change the word king to runner?) (Different version of quote here)

I will saw I'm turning slightly paranoid now that every ache could turn into some wild injury. Do you have to deal with this?

My post tomorrow will be late, as I have some work obligations forcing my run time to change..and without my run, I have no post!

Happy Friday Eve!

Move on out Monday

Let's get the mandatory weather portion of my post done- 5am and 42 degrees ... June .. Wtf . I shed my thick skin already.

Last night my wife, daughter, and I went to Nookies in Edgewater. Only posting this as a notification that they trimmed down their menu a bit.  Notably, the two items we were going to order (Monte Cristo and a Reuben). Their specials list was also smaller.  Food was still good though.  Their blueberry pancakes cured the cantankerous mood our daughter was in all day. (Her dinner- black bean soup, bread, blue berry pancake, and sweet potato fries... yum! )

Turn time to 4:40am.

Turn on "Get by" by Talib Kweli. That was the motto for this morning's recovery run. 

Was especially hard to get out of bed today. Still soaking in how HBO portrayed the Red Wedding last night in a Game of Thrones. Brutal and awesome.  I can't wait to taste the tears of the non book readers at work, along with the internet reaction.

Toss on warmer cloths, slow run planned for today so won't be generating as much heat. Get outside, feels okay. Sunrise was supreme, but I wasn't taking gloves off today for a photo, sorry! I gave the Sun a plea as it broke into the sky.  Help us Obi Sun Kanobi, you're our only hope. We have 25 points to score to reach the predicted high... Rigggght.

The random cool front knocked a lot of Monday runners off that had started over the last few weeks. DEMERITS FOR ALL OF YOU!..jk.. not really. maybe.

I saw some regulars: thumbs up older guy, my nemesis doing sprints on a soccer field, older Asian lady with the quick draw wave(who wore shorts and made me feel like a sissy for wear tights! lol), and a few others I haven't described before. Today's shout out goes to a young lady (I think young, honestly she could be 25-35, I can't tell) who has been out there throughout the winter.  It took her awhile to start warming up to the wave, but she joined the friendly club a few months ago. There is nothing that really pops out about her like the others, just her consistency which is pretty gnarly. Kudos to you lady!

My run felt pretty lethargic. My legs were fatigued, but at least that made sure I stayed slow.

Bets on how warm it will actually get by the lake today?

And your inspiration for the day:

Desert Solstice 100 Mile, Michael Arnstein 12hrs 57mins