Nice

It was a nice week of running.  'Nice' is such a weak word, but it encompasses the nuances of this week's running.  After the ass-kicking I received from the heat and humidity during the 16 miler last Saturday, even the short runs this week were a bit of a trial.  What made them nice, rather than shitty, was the fact that I finished all of them.  So much of running well comes from running when you really don't feel like it; pushing through the fatigue,discomfort, and (sometimes) outright pain.

So, each run this past week presented a challenge that had to be met.  So, in some ways, it was a very rewarding week.  Overall though, the suckiosity balanced out the rewarding nature of the runs to account for the 'nice' designation.

This weekend, the running was a bit more than nice.  It was challenging, yet fun.  I took to the river trails both days.  I chose super early times, hitting the trails by 6:15 each morning in order to avoid the worst of the heat.  Both days I felt good.  The only downside for the runs occurred today when, for the first time ever, I was bombarded by horse flies over the course of a couple of miles.  That had never happened before on the trails.  Finally, at the most distant point, I abandoned the trails in favor of the sun and the levee.  Up on the monotonous gravel that stretched as far as I could see, there was a strong wind.  And a strong wind means no flies.

The remainder of the run was spent trying to get the awful song, 'Moves Like Jager' out of my head.  I ended up with Cheap Tricks, 'The Flame' playing nonstop in my mind.  Bizarre.

If you want some good sports docs to watch, check out Netflix for one about Ben Johnson and the doping scandal during the Seoul Olympics, and another on the rise of Usain Bolt.  Both are excellent, and worth the investment of time.