Day 219, 146 To Go

August 7, 2013

We are halfway through the week and I am finally feeling recovered from the weekend.  By the time I am 50, I will have recovered from the weekend by the following weekend.  I will be in a constant state of pain and stiffness (not the stiffness I would want either) and worst of all, slowness.  Aging is not pretty, my friends.

As I have mentioned before, I run so I can live longer and be healthier and stronger as I age.  I want to be around to hold my grandchildren in my arms so I can laugh as I give the little crying bastard back and leave before it is time to change another diaper.  I'm not babysitting anyone.  I have already decided.  Honey has other ideas, so she can babysit while I go hang out and do all the things I couldn't do now. 

So, maybe I won't be so harsh...but that all depends on how the next 25 years go.  I may be even worse by then!  So for now, I want to be prepared one way or the other.  Either I will be watching little grandmonsters running around or I'll be barring my doors and windows with planks of wood to keep them out.  In either case, I need to be in shape.

Now, let's turn to one of my favorite numbers, 13.  Yes, today it is time to discuss #13 from The 25 Golden Rules of Running from Runner's World magazine.

13. The Left-Side-Of-The-Road Rule 
To keep safe, run facing traffic.

"While running, it's better to watch the traffic than to have it come up from behind you," says Adam Cuevas, a marathoner and chief of the Enforcement Services Division of the California Highway Patrol. It's the law in California and many other states to run on the left side unless you're on the sidewalk.

The Exception: The right side of the road is safer when running into leftward blind curves where there's a narrow shoulder. The right side can also be safer if there's construction on the left side.

I know runners.  Many of you will ignore most of the rules from this list.  That's fine.  But don't be a douche and ignore this one.  It takes no extra effort and it may just save your life.  I have had a few close calls in my day.  I have run on some unsafe streets and risked getting run over.  I have been on safe streets and stupid drivers have almost run me over because they weren't paying attention (maybe the bastards were texting).  I have even misread the stoplights and almost gotten run over.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I misread the stoplight.  I am a moron and I deserved to get hit that day.  Luckily, the driver was paying better attention to the road than I was.  Hey, shit happens.

And if you want less shit to happen, then run on the opposite side of the road so you can see what is coming.  You can look into the eyes of the distracted driver and take the precaution you need like diving out of the way, screaming and waving your hands, or falling to the ground into the fetal position and crying for mommy (not a recommended reaction).  So just follow this rule, ok!

Here are my numbers for today:

Time: 25:00

Distance: 3.06 miles

Pace: 8:09/m

Max Pace: 6:52/m

Calories: 311
Avg HR: 139

Max HR: 153

As I said, I felt good today and I was able to run well for most of the 25 minutes.  I ran without water today, so I started to get a little dry by the end.  I also stopped to chat with my neighbor, Bill, at the end of my run.  I don't think it affected my time much since I only had about 3 minutes left by then.  If anything, I may have run slower after since I had already cooled down. 

Overall, I am pleased with my run today.  It was hot as hell, but I seem to be acclimating to the heat better and better.  I'll be all acclimated by the time it starts to cool off.  Later folks.

Run for Life!