OTHER MUSINGS

I’ll start with other musings. I’ve been saying I want to do more writing. I don’t have anything in particular in mind, but I keep saying it, and I have this blog, so, you know….. Hey, it’s the new year. I’ll give it a shot.

COLUMBIA EVE FEST 5k

I ran it yesterday afternoon – it always starts at 4:00 p.m. in the heart of downtown CoMo. It follows the same course as so many of the other CoMo 5ks…. out to the football stadium and back. I’ve done that course a lot, but the hills always seem to surprise me. Damn, it’s hilly. And the race ENDS on a hill. Good god it nearly kills me every time. I did not do as well — not nearly as well — as I did on exactly the same course on Thanksgiving Day, which I failed to write about here. It was that race that gave me my best 5k time ever: 27:48. I was thrilled! Yesterday, I couldn’t seem to settle down, never really got into a rhythm, and came in at 31:29, unofficially. I didn’t wear my Garmin, so I just went by the time I saw on the clock when I crossed the finish line. It also didn’t help that we waited for what seemed like an eternity at the beginning of the race for the organizers to thank the sponsors, and tell us instructions that I’m sure we all knew but couldn’t hear anyway. It was 25 degrees, with a wind chill that made it feel like 16, and at the end of the race my lungs were burning from the cold. I never knew what that meant before yesterday. I’d read it, heard other runners say it, but had never experienced that feeling personally. Now I know.

PERSISTENT LEG THING

It’s a thing. I don’t know what it is. It’s been persistent since the Thanksgiving Day 5k… a nagging, throbbing pain down the outside of my right leg. The good news is the pain no longer seems to originate in my butt. Just a leg thing now, which I assume is much better than a leg thing that starts in the butt. I have no idea, but it seems reasonable.

MORE WRITING

So yesterday I joined a Facebook group (more on FB next) called #writeandrun31. It’s hosted by the No Meat Athlete guy, who I don’t know personally but doesn’t bug the shit out of me, so I like him well enough. The idea is that the group will be a motivator for those folks who have a desire to both run and write more. Like ME! Yes, I thought. I could do that. At least one mile and one sentence (or whatever the goal) each day of January. But of course, yesterday was New Year’s Eve, the time when so many people make promises to themselves that they break by 8:00 a.m. January 1. I’m under no illusions that I will do what the motivator is designed to help me do, but I’m updating this blog right now and I am cozy in my jammies after running exactly one mile a bit ago. So there, January first! Take that! Ha!

FACEBOOK

I’ve made some changes to my Facebook feed. I’m not commenting on/posting as much stuff as before. I’m tired of spending so much mindless time and energy scrolling through so much nonsense (IMHO) that only serves to make me angry. That’s my fault, of course, and so I’ve made some changes to mitigate that. I’ve blocked people, totally unfriended others, left groups, joined new ones. I’m still around, obviously, and I’ll still bore you with all my running stuff and travels if I’m lucky. And maybe this blog will morph into something other than just me talking about running.

Who knows. It’s a new year, and anything can happen.

PEACE.