Manufactured Drama

It has become painfully obvious to me that I do not have enough drama in my life to keep my brain occupied while I run. I read on some of the running blogs I follow about how they use that special time to clear their heads and work through issues. When I was in my teens and even my twenties I could come up with plenty of drama, but now that I'm older... I got nothing. I don't have any big emotional issues. My job isn't so bad that I'm constantly thinking about it; in fact, once I leave the job I stop thinking about work altogether. Job issues mostly do not make it out of the front door of the office for me. I just don't have anything so overwhelming that it will consume my mind for around 40 minutes. I'm generally happy to be issue-free, but I could use a bit of drama to keep me entertained. So, since I am obviously such a simpleton that I have absolutely nothing to think about other than what is directly in front of me, I need a little manufactured drama. I'll take anything; the suggestion box is open.

Those who call global warming a lie have not been visiting Seattle this summer. Last week was a little slice of hell for outdoor running, and even indoor on the 'mill wasn't all that much better. I begged Mother Nature to return us to average temperatures, but she was on vacation getting a tan. This week she's trying to make up for her neglect. I think, although I'm not certain, that we may be experiencing lower than average temps, and that's a wonderful thing to run in. It's so much easier to keep my pace and my motivation when I don't feel like I'm melting into a pool of goo. I don't know how my running friend in Texas does it. She must do some ridiculous hydrating.

Yesterday, I got the good 'mill at the gym and I was able to do four miles fairly easily. In and of itself there's nothing special about this 'mill, but someone turned the fan on high and pointed it directly at this particular one. Oh, I love that. However, every silver lining has a cloud. I got to keep nice and cool, but my television viewing sucked, sucked, sucked. Someone was watching CNN, and unless you've been under a rock for the last two weeks you know that the only thing of interest on any newscast is Michael Jackson. So, I got stuck watching Larry King interview Dionne Warwick and her son about MJ. Great. Look, I was in as much shock as anyone else when MJ died so suddenly, but I'm terribly bored by the whole thing and the constant coverage of the funeral and all his fans is a bit much. Whoever had that TV set to CNN made me miss my foodie shows! You might say that I could get off the 'mill and change the channel, but once I start doing something (like... I don't know... running) I'm very reluctant to stop. I have a plan, and what's most important to me is completing the plan. Yes, it's very inflexible of me. I'm trying to get better, but I'll probably need medication to completely overcome it.

So today was my normal four mile outside run. I love the route because I now have specific landmarks that I can look out for. I know, even without Nancy (that's the voice in my iPod) telling me, when I've completed my first mile. I know my next landmark is the walkway over Westlake to Aurora, which is roughly a quarter mile further. Then there's the Chinese restaurant, the train track thingy, followed quickly by the scenic overlook spot which is about an inch away from the two-mile mark. Then I turn around and see the landmarks in reverse.

I look at the other people running or walking on my route. The people biking are moving too fast for me to really look at them, but if I run past you there's no reason for you to wonder if I just checked you out. I did. It doesn't matter if you're male or female, I look. There's nothing sexual about it; I'm comparing myself to you. Does your form look better than mine? What should my form look like anyway? If you've got some well defined muscles, I'm wondering how you did that and why I don't have those. Those of you that are tan I really hate because I don't tan. Ever. I once had a friend in high school joke that I tan by the ultra-violet light of the television. He wasn't far off. The point is that for this reason I am grateful for dark sunglasses. They allow me to look without being seen to look, unless of course I turn my head as I'm passing. Due to the slow plodding pace I maintain that doesn't happen very often.

Tomorrow, no running. It's "I can haz cheezburger" night at the Mariners. So I'll consume mass calories in baseball food. I expect some garlic fries, cheezburger, nachos, beer, pretzels, and pretty much anything else I can stuff in my face. Still, that doesn't mean I won't get some exercise. I'll probably walk to and from the ballpark, and that's about a mile and a half from either my office or home. So even though I'm not running, I'll still burn off some of those calories.

One last thing... Tonight after my run before I hopped into the shower I stepped on the scale. The result - 162.8. AWESOME!!!! That is definitely below my goal weight, but it doesn't count because the official weigh time is in the morning right after I shower. Fingers crossed that I'll be no more than 163.2 in the morning.