arc of time

summers are weird for me. i get out of routing with vacations. my daughter’s visitation and such. so i haven’t been on the marta experiencing it in all its fun weirdness. but i am back today. with abby in northern virginia to spend a week with her grandparents, i am making the usual commute to alpharetta.

it’s amazing how out of practice i get when it has been weeks. this morning i wasn’t even sure if i was on the right nothbound train - didn’t look or think about it until after lindbergh, the last place where i can switch. after lindbergh i had convinced myself that i was on the doravill (wrong!) train and until i got to buckhead as prepared to get off and go back south. lucky for me, my instincts seemed to be working and my record of getting on the wrong northbound train stands at one.

my mom and my cousin both mentioned to me while i was in d.c. that i seem to be posting less about marta these days. i suppose that is true. i think twitter may be part of it, giving an instant and immediate outlet for oddities that i used to post here, but i think that is only part of the story.

really i think the answer is that happenings that used to seem strange, unique or worthy of note now just seem commonplace to me. and how is that for something? i have been at this marta gig more than a year and a half now and it just goes to show you can get used to anything.

but, for their benefit, and i hope yours, i will try to put just a little more up.

i also realized i have not been logging my commutes on the clean air campaign’s log your commute program and i am probably leaving money on the table, so i am back to doing that. we’ll see if i win a thing….

there isn’t a ton to report on the training front. i am, despite having just completed the georgia marathon with my best time ever, following the team in training basic program for the marine corps marathon, and since we have a lot of time to go, this month is all base building; nothing but three mile runs as far as the eye can see.

this week has been a week of contrasts though. i ran saturday’s run a week ago in seattle, through queen anne and south lake union, in perfect weather, mid-50s and clear morning sky. then i ran mid-week in atlanta in the blazing 90+ degree heat. by thursday i had had it and went inside and did three on the treadmill. then this morning i ran my three at my parents’ house in alexandria, va where it is 70s and so muggy you can cut the air with a kinfe.

do runs in three states in three different climates in the span of a week. very interesting.

if you read my blog you also know that when i got my custom inserts and could run on a neutral shoe i switched to brooks glycerines. i love the shoes, sure, but the reason i am bringing this up is this: i follow @brooksrunning on twitter, and the other day the girl who tweets for brooks posed the question, when are you a runner vs. someone who runs?

i thought about that long and hard and the best i can come up with is this; when running is something you do because it is in you and you cannot imagine not doing it versus running being something you do for exercise, that’s when you have become a runner.

if i need to know the answer to that question for me, all i need to do is think of the year i couldn’t run…..

p.s. - i am doing this for a cause, you know, so if you would like to donate check out my tnt fundraising page.

your time.

seriously. i am sitting in sea-tac right now, flying united airlines and it hit me this morning that everything they do has one overall, overarching effect. to make you wait more.

united is now charging $15 per bag. so is everyone else. most people pay it begrudgingly, but what hit me is that the ripple effect of another 30 seconds to complete the payment for this transaction is huge on a busy travel morning. my bag was 57 pounds, which is 7 pounds over the weight limit. $125 overweight fee, which is up dramatically from what i remember it being. so everyone else waited another 4-5 minutes while we shuffled items areound suitcases. how many more times did that happen this morning.

then, of course, there are the upsells. united is now upselling at least 3 or 4 different items on the kioks, all of which takes 3-4 seconds a piece to process on the kiosk - and longer if you don’t know what you are doing like the woman next to me.

and then of course, with all these fees, people are carrying more and more onboard costing more time in boarding and deplaning.

if an airline figured out that time is a very precious commodity to me and marketed itself as saving it, i would be intrigued.

in the meantime, we’ll all keep paying for high fuel costs not just with our wallets but with more time at the airport.

blogs about seattle, alaska and running coming soon….

it’s national running day today. how do you participate? it’s pretty simple, just go for a run. or a jog. or a walk. or a run-walk.

really that’s it. as long or as short as you want to.

i was thinking today about my own first run when i started down my journey to becoming a runner. i ran around the block for about 10 minutes. that is about all i could handle. my lungs were only starting to repair themselves from years of being bombarded by the tar and carbon monoxide and other goodies that the 30 to 40 cigarettes i was consuming on a daily basis for years.

i didn’t have any running gear either, just some workout shorts i had bought at target and a pair of reeboks that must have been 5 years old. i threw them on though and went for a run. and then another one, and then another.

four marathons later and training for my fifth i can’t believe how humble it all began.

so get out there and run. or jog. or walk. even if it’s only for five minutes. who knows where is also might lead.

also, consider a donation to team in training is support of my fifth marathon. you’ll motivate me that much more and help find a cure for blood cancer. check it out here.

total monthly mileage - 32.04
# of runs - 11
longest run - 3.3 miles
cumulative mcm training miles - 32.04
shoes: brooks glycerin 6’s
total shoe miles - 50.42

don’t forget to donate to the cause on my team in training page.

today was a day where so many things i just love came together to create not the perfect day, but at least close to it.

i spent a good 90 minutes with the kiddo out at the pool around 9:20 this morning; she swam and i read. we had the place almost exlcusively to ourselves and enjoyed amazing morning sun. it was nice quiet daddy-daughter time.

after coming home, we headed out to the field to meet jess and blue, and sherri and tippy for a full hour of dog play. i love to watch my dogs, off leash, being dogs, running, chasing, spending time with other dogs. everything about it is so natural.

home from there for a quick change of clothes and we headed out to oriental palace in chamblee to meet up with a dozen other people, including nav and his two kids for a huge dim sum meal. great conversation and great food ensued. really to good to even shake a stick at.

abby went with nav and company to see up! and i came home and did a very good three mile run in the 90 degree heat before heading to josh’s for sunday night geek time.

pizza and reliving teenage years closed the night out.

and here i am blogging and listening to the brian jonestown massacre.

pretty close to perfect.

one thing i can say for sure in life after much research is this: if something is widely considered a “classic” there is probably a good reason. most of you know that i am a bit of an ornery kid and generally enjoy disliking things the masses like, especially if it is considered “deep” “artsy” or “hip” (see aronofsky, darren).

however, when it comes to literature, time and again, the adage is borne out. if it’s a classic, there is probably a reason.

the james hervey betterment project has been in full swing and since i got my library card i have thrown down both dostoyevsky’s “the brother’s karamazov,” and charlotte brontë’s “jane eyre.” amazing. both of them. books every one shoule read and books i am still amazed it took me this long to read.

so i am going to conitnue. like i said, if it’s a classic there is probably a reason (except “platoon,” but that’s another topic for another day.”

this weekend was intense. i stayed up much later than usual, owing to a conference taking place in town that i helped coordinate, and i ended up running three miles twice on saturday.

the first one was a downtown jaunt that i led for people at the conference who apparently decided getting up at 7 am and running was more fun that what everyone else was doing, which was either smoking some cigarettes or sleeping. then i bolted off to the river for my three mile team in training group training session.

i’m running good, considering how much i struggle initially with humidity and the grass pollen. i think this is going to be a strong season for sure. the trick will be reminding myself that starting at the bottom and building a base form scratch, even if i am in marathon shape, which i am, is a good thing, and not pushing the mileage or the speed too much.

we’ll see.

either way the six miles this weekend didn’t kill me, which we will take as a positive sign.

don’t forget to donate a dollar or two to my effort, which you can do right here.

you keep rockin’ and i will keep running.

and so let it begin….

today was the first group training session for the fall 2009 team in training season. it always amazes me that a little 3.3 mile run is the start of a process that will ultimately culminate in running 26.2. this time in arlington, d.c., and alexandria in october.

the run was fine. i probably went a little faster than i should have, but what the heck? also it was very humid, and i am not quite used to it, since i trained for georgia throughout the relatively dry winter. i will get used to it though and all will be well.

i like my team. it’s quite a bit smaller than my ing team, but i think we are going to get along well. it seems like a fun group of people and the smaller team should actually be kind of cool.

so stay tuned for updates and of course, not only is this about my fitness, but also raising money for the leukemia and lymphoma society and you can make a nice little donation by clicking here.

the only amazing thing is that in almost two full years of riding marta it hasn’t happened sooner.

by the time i boarded the #140 at north springs this morning i realized something was horribly wrong. yes indeed, i had left my gym bag sitting on the train. most of you who know me may be relatively unsurprised by this. like i said, the funny thing is that it took so long.

part of it is being out of routine. i haven’t brought my gym bag to work in weeks. with the start of marine corps marathon training, however, i had it with me, and must have just spaced.

so i ran to the bus supervisor’s hutch at north springs, and he tried calling the train supervisor. he couldn’t get him, so he told me where to go and opened the secret gate in the fence so i could get through without tapping my breeze card.

i got to the train supervisor’s hut and sure enough they had pulled my bag. he had me describe what was in it and the smiled at me and said, “it’s all yours partner.”

seriously, with the exception of angry bus driver everyone i have ever dealt with on marta is super-friendly and very helpful.

kinda throws my whole public employee union worker stereotype out the window i guess.