November 23, 2007

Friday, November 23, 2007
I hate shopping. It works out well with my current career. And I despise our consumption-oriented society. Nevertheless, I went shopping this morning. Picked up a pair of good asics for $59. These things almost never go on sale, and I’m glad to see Asics hasn’t changed their lasts. It’s nice to know size 10.5 asics still feet me perfectly.
It’s cold (20) and windy in Concord today. It was pleasant and warm in the mountains when I left yesterday. I can’t wait to get back to the balmy north country.
I’m still feeling stuffed from yesterday’s ham and turkey fest, and there’s another turkey in the oven today. It would be a great day to nest inside the house, where the air is warm and smells like holidays, watching through the windows as the frigid wind blows the bare branches crazily back and forth.
30 minute o+b through the trails in back of Broken Ground school. Great trails. Here, there wasn’t any significant snow, so the trails are mostly clear. I used to run these trails 20 years ago, and again 4-5 years ago. They are wide and covered with a nice soft carpet of pine needles. I could get used to this, if only it weren’t in the city. The trails near me tend to be much rockier and hillier. After about a mile, mile and a half, my legs are beginning to really feel rejuvenated. I can understand why Oregon and Washington are such great places for distance runners. Near perfect weather all year, plus endless miles of gentle pine needle and wood chip covered trails for hammerless running. I pretty much stopped running on the roads (switching to trails) over 20 years ago, and that is certainly one of the reasons I can run painlessly today. That and taking so many years off completely.
I’ll head back north tomorrow and swim on the way. If I don’t wuss out, it’ll be two weeks.