Monday, 11:15 a.m., gray, humid, low 60's. Gazette building on Maxon Road, bikepath to the foot of that hill in Niskayuna that I call "The Step", because it isn't a hill so much as something Finn McCool would use to reach something on the top shelf. 5 miles.
Tuesday, 4:30 p.m., gray, humid, 59 degrees. Anthony Street, 3 miles.
Monday was strong, despite a little bit of fuel issues that I link to a light dinner on Sunday.
Tuesday was not ambitious because I simply wanted to bridge my way to Wednesday and Thursday, with the idea that one of those days will be a quarter-mile interval work on the track, and Friday will be a day off. On the way back, I was pulled along by some runners who will be mentioned below. And I hate them.
Friday is an off day because there is a 5k on Saturday and another on Sunday that I'd like to race, and I strongly urge everyone else to attempt them, since they're both for great causes.
On Saturday, I plan to run in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure, which covers the Freihofer's Run for Women course in Albany. I challenge you to read the powerful, haunting story of Suzy Komen (http://ww5.komen.org/AboutUs/SusanGKomensStory.html), written by her sister, Nancy, and not get pumped up to run on Saturday. It was getting a little dusty in the Schenectady Library when I read it tonight. You can get info on the race and register at http://www.albanyraceforthecure.com/race_info.htm.
The other race I'd like to hit is on Sunday, the fifth annual Run for the Radiation Oncology Center (http://www.saratogacarefoundation.org/index.cfm?contentID=277&foundationID=99&ID=553), presented by the Saratoga Hospital Foundation. This race has the supreme extra appeal of using the Saratoga Race Course grounds as its 5k course. Not sure how they pull this off, but it would be cool if the finish is adjacent to the main track finish line. This will be a difficult race for me, because the gravitational pull of the betting windows will just totally mess up my tangents.
I know it's common for people to use races as glorified workouts for their real objective, and these races promise to carry that element, but I'm looking forward to just really getting into a competitive setting for the first time since the Fourth of July race in Irondequoit. I'm interested to see what kind of time I can run (assuming I feel good both days). My 5k split in the July 10k was 21:42, but that was the fast part of the course. However, I had 5k more to run, too, which was taken into consideration, so, just for laughs, maybe I'll try to hammer the first mile aggressively in Albany. I also have a bone to pick with that course, after my absolute disaster at the start of the 3.5-mile Corporate Challenge in May (Equibase comment: "Checked repeatedly, stopped, traffic problems all the way around the track").
A note, and a disclaimer: If you're running on the bikepath between Anthony and Aqueduct Road, be careful where you step. Near Anthony, it's an obstacle course of little sinkholes and tree root cracks. Most of them are marked with old white spraypaint, but not all of them, and you have to pay attention, especially now that they're getting covered with leaves. The disclaimer (Re: Diary 9): I've never actually seen Adam Sandler's version of "The Longest Yard", nor will I ever. I only saw the trailer, which was enough to know that it's another cynical cookie-cutter Sandler waste of oxygen. Guaranteed, he screams at someone, he strikes someone, but in the end, (all together in sing-song, MacAdam waving fingers like orchestra conductor): "Deep down, he really has a heart of gold."
Wildlife Watch:
Monday, I found a note in my mail slot from apartment building management that said "Don't feed the squirrels." Damn. So another one of my tools, bribery, has been taken from me.
Tuesday ... Ok, I don't really hate those guys. I'm talking about the Union College cross country team, which was using the bikepath when I went out.
A few dozen of them were strung out between Nott and Anthony, on their way back from much farther than I ventured. This was good for two reasons. One, since we were going in opposite directions, I was spared the ignominy of getting gobbled up from behind, and two, because a group of them were stopped at Seneca by their coach, then they used the rest of the path as a slow warmdown, which allowed me to pace off them, and actually catch and pass them. As I puffed and hobbled by, they casually gazelled along (yeah, yeah, not a real word) and chatted among themselves, probably about MTV or skateboards or Dungeons and Dragons or whatever it is the kids are into these days.
I take back what I implied about not seeing any Union students on Sunday in Diary 9. It was as if they read my blog and sent out a battalion of fit, long-legged runners to put me in my place. It worked. There also appeared a big dead rat near Anthony Street, and the symbolism was inescapable. I deal in the currency of chipmunks; these Union guys are big-time. I also take back the above wisecrack about Dungeons and Dragons. If anybody's living in a fantastical world of delusion, it's me ("It was as if they read my blog ...").
