Dragons

With my knee giving me some trouble this week, I'm kinda glad that I kept the intesity up during some shorter runs. My mileage is well off from what I would have wanted as this point -- but at least I feel like the miles I am putting in do count.

The deal with the knee is that it's really just been lingering for about 3 weeks now. Usually about 3 or 4 miles into a run I'll start being able to feel something -- not pain, but a warning that it may be coming on. I've been trying to not push it too much so most of my runs have been under 6 miles.

I've been filling the extra time by continuing my work on tearing down the shed. Wednesday I got it to the ground and now it's just a matter of piecing apart the roof and then it's dumpster time. Anyways, before the shed almost collapsed on me earlier this week, I found an old box hidden back there from when I moved back to Tucson. I brought it inside and discovered some old personal artifacts. Nothing notable but I did come across a photo of me in my first ever beer mile outfit (which I'll get up as soon as I find a scanner) as well as my old running log from June through December of 01. It was the golden age of my running.

Thumbing through the log, I can honestly say I wasn't doing anything impressive -- nor was my handwriting any good. For some reason, I just wasn't very eloquent at the ripe old age of 18.

With such memorable entries as, "Airport with Derek. Rainy and shit but run went ok. Coach told me not to wear warm-ups again. I said ok. Strides." Who woulda thought I wasn't the next Hemmingway?

So anyays, for whatever reason, I decided to go run the V for my run on Friday afternoon. It had been raining all day but it stopped at about 3:30 and off I went. It really seemed like the premier run for me given that getting in an hour around my normal routes was going to be pretty unlikey without feeling the knee again.

As I see things, there are two ways to fix any problem in the world: good and evil. And since I had already tried menudo without effect, I figured it was time to hit the evilest damn 3.6 miles in Tucson. For some reason the building wasn't open for me to buy an 07 pass, so I just parked, got out of my car, and headed into the clouds.

38 and a half minutes (plus a few stops -- I ain't gonna lie) I was on top of this...this...this....Aggro crag (GUTS!) with the clouds beneath me, when a wind started to push them through the canyon. I gawked and headed back down. By the end I was moving 'not fast at all' (my Garmon is busted) and that night I slept like a damn baby.

A baby not wearing warm-ups.

I hadn't done the V since last spring when J and I knocked it out one day before school. I remember this occasion because so stupid cop told me to slow down when I was dropping J back off at like 7:30. He was probably just pissed we were eating bacon for breakfast.

So, while most everything about the V sucks, you could be damn sure that Coach Greg 'Borg has positive thoughts on the route. Most likely is probably this fact that, so long as you don't put on a neckerchief and ascend the mountain using a walking stick, you'll be within a few minutes of your best time on that route. Besides this, with such a steep downhill, it's not unreasonable to take a few minutes off your return trip. I could have used that stat-padding personally on Friday, however, the rocks were wet and my shoes were not getting much in the grip department so I only went semi-wrecklessly down the trail.

Naturally, I was wrecked on Saturday and choked out 5 on ODC with teary-eyes. Sunday was even worse, but again, only 5. Definitely not numbers that I like to have to face down now, but it's a little late. Next time I'll just have to do better.

With the Sun Run on Sunday, this week's focus will be: (1) Keeping the knee healthy, (2) Figuring some sort of race plan to not totally erupt and go 40+ on this "pancake-flat course", (3) I just got ASU and UNC tickets online (I wrote this post while waiting for the slow-ass, flooded-ass server to process my tickets), and (4) Birthday celebrations.

It snowed last night and Train just went out for a run. I think he may have said that someone in his last post -- just not in english. He will surely die out there.


Snow = National Headlines -- GUTS -- The V makes the AZ Night Buzz