Thursday, 3:30 p.m., warm, sunny, partly cloudy, 72 degrees. Bikepath to Maxon, to City Hall via Nott Street, Erie and Union Street, 3 miles.
Saturday, 11 a.m., gorgeous, 70's, windy. Bikepath to Anthony, up Hillside Avenue, Rosa Road and Wendell Ave., to First Unitarian Society, 5 miles.
Sunday, 11 a.m., gray, humid, 60 degrees, negligible breeze. Bikepath to Seneca and back, two Union College loops, finish at Greenmarket at City Hall, 4 1/2 miles.

Here's my final vacation report card:

Diet: B+
Training: B+
Health: B+
Peace of mind/Quality of life: A

I raised the first three and saw the fourth one drop a little since Wednesday mid-terms. Again, those three are inversely proportional to the last one. Not going out, and forgoing beers, during Notre Dame Saturday night and the Dolphins Sunday afternoon will do that.

I'm still waiting for that magic moment when I feel like a jockey sitting on a horse, but I can say this: I'm back to being a runner, not just a jogger constantly playing catchup. I'll always be playing catchup to some degree, but there are signs of progress into a next level, like the aggressive feeling I had warming up on Sunday and the way I crushed the finish with something to spare. This was a happy place.

Thursday was not far, not fast and not real fast at the finish. Still feeling the effects of Wednesday's chicken bacchanalia at Hattie's (curse you, Turbo Dog). But I did finish. There was a hint of instability in my left knee, but Colin Greenwood has stopped tuning that bass string in the back, so that's a relief. Then, ...

... Saturday, at the spur of the moment, while warming up, I decided I felt good enough to tackle that vicious incline on Hillside. That hurt, especially because once you get to the top, you face a long, gradual incline, with no chance to really recover. I was able to slowly put myself in position on Rosa Road to close with a flourish, then the back of my left knee and my left Achilles started getting a little grouchy, so I just shut it down at the First Unitarian Society and walked the remaining mile or whatever home. I blame Hillside. I went up it like I was on a stairclimber at the highest setting, and probably strained something. It went away.

Sunday was monster. I had to hold something back during the warmup, I felt so good when I left my apartment. No little aches or stiffness or anything. Still, after I completed the first loop around Union and got ready to turn up the Nott Street hill for the second time, a hilarious image popped in my head from "The Longest Yard." Not the lame piece of garbage by Adam Sandler (is that redundant?) in 2005, but the Burt Reynolds classic of 1974. Remember when Paul "Wrecking" Crewe called a play in which his linemen let rampaging linebacker Bogdanski, played by Green Bay Packers great Ray Nitschke, blitz unscathed up the middle, only to take a hard pass to the groin? Well, when I got ready to go up Nott again, I started cracking up, because I couldn't help conjuring Burt Reynolds saying, "That play worked so well, let's run it again," while his teammates breathlessly doubled over in laughter in the huddle. I was Bogdanski. But I cranked it up there pretty well the second time, steady all the way. So no football to the nether regions.

I let myself have as much fun as I wanted during vacation, and didn't have to trash my training in the process. Probably the second dumbest thing I did was letting myself get talked into smoking a cigar, a very infrequent activity for me, on Thursday. I even lost my voice on Friday, which more than a few people would consider to not be the worst thing in the world. (The first dumbest thing I did, by far, was losing my ticket to the Bills game in the parking lot last Sunday; I still got in. The level of incompetence you're capable of can be, at times, breathtaking.). On the contrary, with all the family stuff I had planned, I think I did pretty well, balancing good times with serious workouts, especially at the end, so I'm going into the next six weeks with a strong frame of mind, and I believe a solid foundation upon which to run a good race on Nov. 8. I hope everybody else feels this good.

Wildlife Watch:

Thursday: Some furtive rustling in the bushes, but no sightings. Something is up. I just know it.
Saturday: A mole belly-up near Anthony Street. Somebody's trying to frame me.
Sunday: (Flora division), pesky chestnuts are starting to tie up the sidewalk. (Fauna division), nothing to report around Union College. I mean, no students. None. At 11 a.m. Oh, wait. I get it.