Douthat State Park

I just got back from a trip to western Virginia, which capped off our grand travels for the Winter Holidays. We had a lovely stay with some old college friends at a lodge at Douthat State Park. We did some hiking up in the mountains, and generally passed the time keeping warm. I went on a run just before dusk, and ended up going farther than I had intended, mainly because I got a bit lost. The last thing I wanted was to get exhausted and have to start walking as the sun was setting, but that didn't happen, and instead I got a long run in instead.

Playlist
Benzi Box	Danger Doom
Blister In The Sun	Violent Femmes
Jump In The Line	Harry Belafonte
Wat Da Hook Gon Be	Murphy Lee
Misty Mountain Hop	Led Zeppelin
Pop Muzik	M
Party in the USA	Miley Cyrus
Over the Hills and Far Away	Led Zeppelin
Dig A Pony	the Beatles
Time to Pretend	MGMT
I've Got A Feeling	the Beatles

Times
L1	14:45
L2	31:35
L3	0:28
Total	46:49

Distance: Not really sure, but about 5-6 miles
Cumulative distance: 35.1- 36.1 miles. Very close to my goal for December. Yay

Clear cold day

Another run up and over the hill, down to Chewacla and back. My classes for this afternoon were canceled as an artifact of the 'winter weather' (really the Auburn football team winning the National Championship!) on Monday and Tuesday, so I took advantage of the extra time for a clear cold run.

Playlist
Slavedriver -Jenny and Johnny
The Glory of Man -Minutemen
The Distance -Cake
She Blinded Me With Science -Thomas Dolby
F*ckin' With My Head -Beck
Mutilated Lips -Ween
Paranoid -Black Sabbath
The Stallion Part 3 -Ween
Been Caught Stealing -Jane's Addiction
Motel Room In My Bed -X

Times
L1 8:10
L2 7:03
L3 7:21
L4 7:17
L5 0:46
Total 30:37 Glad to be back within the 30 minute range. Feeling like I'm getting back into the swing of things.

Distance 3.5 miles
Cumulative distance 16.9 miles

Cold and going to rain/snow

I've let myself eat a little bit off my New Year's Resolved Diet (less meat, more whole grain, less cheese/dairy, more veggies) because of social engagements with friends. A corollary to the Diet is that I don't want to put anybody out with my personally imposed dietary restriction. I took an extra day off after the 7 miler, and I needed to get out before tonight's expected freezing rain and/or snow. So I went on an old route I haven't seen in a while, down to Chewacla and back.

Playlist (Cold Rain and Snow Mix)
Cold Brains -Beck
Cold Sweat -James Brown
Cold Blood -Peter Tosh
Cold and Wet -Ween
Fool in the Rain -Led Zeppelin
Look at the Rain -Meat Puppets
The Rain Song -Led Zeppelin

Times
L1 8:35
L2 7:05
L3 7:23
L4 7:13
L5 0:48
Total 31:04

Distance 3.5 miles (I just remeasured, seems longer than I remember?)
Cumulative 13.4 miles

Last Run of 2010/Sonoma

A couple of days late to post, but I did get out one more time in 2010. I ran through Sonoma Valley Regional Park, along the paved route, a 1.2 mile trail. It was a bit tough on me, being rather cold and a gentle uphill course on the way up (and downhill on the way back). For some reason, that park takes it out of me, even though it's a small park.

Playlist (Peter Tosh)
Burial -from "Legalize It"
Peace Treaty -from "Mama Africa"
African -from "Equal Rights"
Stepping Razor -from "Equal Rights"
Crystal Ball -from "Mystic Man"
Cold Blood -from "Wanted: Dread and Alive"
Moses the Prophet -from "Bush Doctor"

Time
23:16

Distance 2.4 miles
Cumulative distance 21.3
Cumulative for 2010 ???

Four miles

The term is over at Auburn, and my students are all assessed. So now I have time to run during daylight hours, or so it would seem. It's gotten quite cold, and I fortunately have some nice new warm things to wear while running. I did get a bit further, 4 miles, up to Samford and back. What the flip happened to my statcounter?

Playlist
Slavedriver -Jenny and Johnny
Candy -Presidents of the USA
Can't Get There from Here -R.E.M.
Rock Problems -the Hold Steady
Manic Depression -Jimi Hendrix
Frontier Psychiatrist -the Avalanches
Black Country Rock -David Bowie
As Good As I Can Feel -Funkadelic
Bubble Pop -Del the Funky Homosapien
Come As You Are -Nirvana
Easy Skanking -Bob Marley

Times
L1 12:38
L2 6:15
L3 6:16
L4 11:27
L5 0:53
Total 37:29

Distance 4.0 miles
Cumulative 8.4 miles

More running. Yay!

Not as cold this evening. It was a small miracle that I got out again, though after taking a night or two off I knew it was the only way to keep it up; to gut up or shut up. I wore the warm suit, but it wasn't as cold.

Playlist
Body -Presidents of the U.S.A
Lump -Presidents of the U.S.A
Ziggy Stardust -David Bowie
The Battle of Evermore -Led Zeppelin
Oh! You Pretty Things -David Bowie
The Wind Cries Mary -Jimi Hendrix
Aurora Borealis -The Meat Puppets
Reggae Street -The Mighty Diamonds

Times
L1 13:18
L2 12:22
L3 0:55
Total 26:35

Distance 2.8 miles
Cumulative distance 4.4 miles

Almost another month off. Ugh

It's getting cold. I've been getting fat. The last month I've been rather a lump, eating badly and not running, though I've gone on a bike ride or two. Okay one. Lots of buffet lunches. Fried food. not much whole grain or salad. But I'm getting back into it. Tonight I finally got out in my new cold weather gear. Over the hill and back. Let's see if I can try and keep it up.

Playlist (mostly newish)
Slavedriver -Jenny and Johnny
What New York Used to Be -the Kills
Rock Problems -The Hold Steady
Paper Planes -M.I.A.
Born Free -M.I.A.
All I Do Is Win -D.J. Khaled

Times
L1 8:55
L2 8:41
Total 17:36

Distance
1.6 miles?
Cumulative 1.6 miles

Sweet Virginia

I didn't listen to this song today, but there's a line in the song that struck a chord with me. And my shoes. Last night I was wearing the recently cleaned old New Balance shoes and misstepped in the dark. I thought, perhaps rather than scrape, I could run to get the mashed excreta off my shoes. Another reason this song resonated today was my route. Apparently I've been running the wrong course for this Saturday's Race to Help Haiti. I've been running all the way up Wright's Mill Rd to Samford and back to Gay Street, but the proper route cuts back over to Gay St. via Virginia St. I don't think it's much of a difference distance wise, but it does add an extra dip and climb. So I ran the proper course today, out of sequence since I wanted to try for a decent time but not end up doubling the route. Theoretically, this is an easy day. It's pretty cold out there (count my blessings, most of the rest of the country is deep under snow right now), and I wasn't feeling fantastically great out there, but my time was OK.

Playlist (more eclectic on-the-go)
Sissyneck -Beck
Tougher Than It Is -Cake
The W.A.N.D. -Flaming Lips
Walk On By -Cake
The Book I Read -Talking Heads
Buddy Holly -Weezer
Clampdown -The Clash
Cold Sweat -James Brown
Crazy -Gnarls Barkley
Fish, Chips and Sweat -Funkadelic
Guns of Brixton -The Clash
Hot Pink -Meat Puppets

Times
L1 (to Loftin) 6:57
L2 (the proper 5k, out of order) 26:47
L3 (back home) 6:34
Total 40:18.

Sweaty Ween

I went on a long one today, out to Shel Toomer Bike Path and back. It was supposed to snow, but all we got was a bit of frozen rain-like substance that wasn't particularly wet. It felt rather cold the past couple of days, so I thought I'd wear a few more clothes than usual, including sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a toque. It was my Ween toque, so I had an all Ween playlist. With all those sweats, I did get sweaty. It probably wasn't as cold as it was the other day, but it was probably a bit more comfortable, in spite of the excess weight.

Playlist
Exactly Where I'm At -from the album "White Pepper"
Push th' Little Daisies -from the album "Pure Guava"
Tried and True -from the album "Quebec"
Mutilated Lips -from the album "The Mollusk"
Joppa Road -from the album "Chocolate and Cheese"
Freedom of '76 -from the album "Chocolate and Cheese"
Among His Tribe -from the album "Quebec"
I'm Holding You -from the album "12 Golden Country Greats"
Pink Eye (On My Leg) -from the album "The Mollusk"
Voodoo Lady -from the album "Chocolate and Cheese"
Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down) -from the album "Chocolate and Cheese"
Pollo Asado -from the album "The Pod"
Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain -from the album "12 Golden Country Greats"
Buckingham Green -from the album "The Mollusk"
Don't S**t Where You Eat -from the album "Chocolate and Cheese"
LMLYP -from the album "GodWeenSatan, the Oneness"
Baby B*tch -from the album "Chocolate and Cheese"
Don't Laugh (I Love You) -from the album "GodWeenSatan, the Oneness"

Times
L1--> 8:15
L2--> 7:18
L3--> 15:40
L4--> 16:21
L5--> 8:48
L6--> 9:24
Total--> 1:05:47. I wasn't quite feeling like going twice as far. Am I ready for a half marathon?

Sonoma run

So I've been battling a little cold (mostly a cough) for a few days, since we arrived in California for the holidays. I wanted to get out for a run but didn't want to exhaust myself and turn a small cold into a big one. Yesterday, though, I felt up to the task. I like to run in Sonoma Valley Regional Park, but I would drive there and I was blocked in. So I decided to go out on the mean streets of Glen Ellen, where people drive like maniacs on curvy narrow roads. It turned out all right, and I got a good, almost hour-long run in. I clocked it at about 2.8 miles on the odometer.

Playlist
Thul'ulalele -Amaswazi Emvelo
Hey ya -Outkast
Get back -The Beatles
Let's go crazy -Prince
California love -2Pac, Dr. Dre, and Roger Troutman
Flashlight -Parliament
Coming down -Meat Puppets
Dash board -Modest Mouse
Message to you Rudy -The Specials
Gin and juice -Snoop Dogg
Cities -Talking Heads
Jimmy the exploder -White Stripes
Chocolate town -Ween
Academia -Sia

Times
L1--> 26:13
L2-->27:36
Total-->53:50. A bit more uphill on the way back, but also likely fatigue setting in. I did get a good kick in at the end though.