Red Dirt Harriers

Finished up season 2 of Little Britain and now feel thoroughly sullied, psychologically. Had a good 10 mile marathon effort run yesterday afternoon in freezing drizzle and otherwise adverse conditions. Can't complain as the hamstring actually felt much better than it has lately. My legs have been a little beat lately. I had a pretty solid 20+ miler on Monday afternoon, with my mom along on the bike. It was a really nice day and I ran fairly steady the whole time with a hard mile in the middle to lose a friendly canine before he got too far out of his territory. Also, watched the second half of the Man U- Everton replay yesterday, watching Portugal's most flamboyant and gelled footballer score 2 goals. Heading to Long Beach early tomrrow and possibly a run up in the hills above Malibu. It should be a very exciting trip with a foray north through Jokin's stomping grounds, Modesto, Napa, and Rio Nido. Today, I will bring attention to the city of Norman's outdated and comp...

Gene and Dean Ween said it best. I have managed to develop a bit of a cold. Nothing serious, but I think it's making me feel a bit more lethargic than usual and contributing to some GI issues during the run. In any case, I was able to get in a decent 3/4 effort run yesterday but when I doubled back in the evening I had to make a pit stop which makes 2 evenings in a row. I was getting kind of pissed during the run because I made up a route that should be fairly traffic free, but did have some close calls, more in terms of having to put on the brakes and then speed up on my own part which sort of neglects the purpose of a nice steady paced run. I really wish that Norman would make a working bike path that doesn't just abruptly end. In other news, my cat Deq (said Deek) made his first kill. Yes, I was very proud of the young beast, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure the shrew he killed was defective in some way. I'm also working on producing a podcast for all my rabid f...

Headed over to last night's 2nd annual Holiday sweater party layered in as many woolen goods as possible. I went with the most standard of holiday beverages: Rum spiked nog with fresh cinammon and nutmeg. Nothing much else to report there. The running volume is back in the triple digits, legs feeling pretty good other than a slightly tender hamstring most likely resulting from the weather and hills. However, since the centennial ice storm last week the weather has been really nice. Today was one of those days when I was tempted to get after it a bit. Settled for an 11 and 6 double with 6 hill charges. My Christmas light display is nearly complete and I shall post documentation when I feel they is up to my expectations. Other than that, I've been reading up on my Ian Fleming, very deep stuff. I am dissapointed to note that Bond, James Bond could have been much more bad ass if he had not neglected his aerobic system so much. Link 'o the day(week) is www.couchsurfing.com wh...

Wow, I've neglected posting, but alot went down this week. The above title is in complete disregard of Andrew Call's clothing policy but probably applies to most everyone else. Anyway, today marks 2 weeks since a very long, hard run and I feel pretty decent and have got back to doubling the last couple days and have done a bit of steadier work. I had the pleasure of attending an O'Connells karaoke night for the first time with Libby on Wednesday. I managed to avoid getting roped into a song, but promised that upon returning I would step up to the plate. I was thinking of going with "Boogie On Reggae Woman" but might have settled for something else mellow. Thursday night skolnick and I biked around and cruised campus before settling down for some Scrabble at THe Plaid and then bugging a grumpy Hollingsworth at the Midway. Better still, I managed to make Friday lunch at Pepe's con Sacker. THe tamales were sublime, the staff eclectic and sttractive, and Sacker up...

So my parents are really getting it after it with the house shopping, making use of my sister's realtor friends. I think it is going to happen sooner or later and frankly I think I can get on board with the proposal. It could be a veritable compound with endless possibilites. Today, they got excited about a 10 acre place out around 63rd and Lindsey, so definitely removed from Norman proper. It seems to me that alot of those folks out that way are in to the same things we are a bit of solitude and a chance to manage a decent sized chunk of land. That being said, I can say that I have been to a rave out that way on somebody's estate and JohnBoy was nearly killed by some idiots while running out that way, so a diverse group to look forward to. We shall see. In other news, I hit up a good 65' run with Hollingsworth who's in solid form and gunning for a 5k road best at the upcoming 1st annual Mexican Heritage Run with who else but Mr. B. J. Grona. The only thing I have ideas...

So I'm watching this British comedy show Extras with the guys that created THe Office and it's chock full of great lingo like the phrase I used for the title of this essay. I spent a satisfying day out at some distant cousins house in the coutry watching a bit of the Bedlam game and tending to the various livestock and small children flocking about the place. Needless to say I am seriously thinking about purchasing a goat at this point. They really impress me with their surly, will eat anything attitude. The second realization that occurred to me while watching this show is now that I've almost become a professional house-sitter, maybe I should join the movie extra circuit to fill out my days a bit more. More realistically, one of my cousins who was in town is living in Livingston, Montana so naturally we chatted about the area and he was really supportive of the wanderlust notion to discover the place where we feel most compelled to settle. This guy really surprised me wi...

Another beer fueled night in the books. Biked over to the Library and got started on a few IPAs through the remainder of happy hour, then moved on to Optimators which was a bad idea because I ended up getting in a drinking duel with Marty. Then was prompted to go hit up a hot tub with some people, again a bad idea as when you're already drunk before entering, the steam only makes the head swim that much more. Needless to say it was midnight before I returned to the Library to claim my bike and head for the house. I think I drunk-dialed Billy G somehwere in there to warm him of my impending doom and bad decision making skills. Sorry buddy. Nice ride home though in the crisp night. I think that will do it for the Library for a while, but it served its purpose to get my mind off of the grind and induced some chemical headaches. I like to think of this phase as a crucial periodization tool throughout the year that along with fishing recharges the batteries for the more mundane tasks t...

Many food items to be thankful for, but these are two of my more conventional faves. I did my part to get some of the holiday foodstuffs prepped. Went whole hog and made up a sweet potato pie with vanilla and maple accents as well as some nice appetizers incorporating puff pastry and feta as well as some stuffed mushrooms. After all, what is a successful Turkey Day feast without a bouty of elements with a variety of flares. On a running sidenote, I will bring attention to the Ageo City Half Marathon northwest of Japan that took place this past weekend in which 400 people ran 1:10 or faster and the top 100 were under 1:05:30. Those numbers are phenomenol and just goes to show the fervor and passion that the Japanese have for running. I would very much like to see the Ekiden relays become a popular event in the US, to the point where I might actually try to look into organizing such an event. The combination of a marathon-like spectacle and distance with highly competitive and deep field...

Hi all- I come to you from Catlett music center, upstairs in some sort of practice hall. After a failed attempt at buying drinks for a group of 2 more mature (read 26-30) ladies and a gent on the patio at the Library and getting politely applauded for my gesture, and getting pretty blitzed myself, I rambled across the street and percussed a bit to unwind on the kettle drums. Damned if I can't seem of age with this new shorn image and I seemed to just get the typical talk of whether I was in college and on a frat brat dare. If they only knew of my utter contempt of Frats. I also had a guy a the hotel this past weekend ask me what I eat the night before a marathon and I replied with the standard high carb talk to which he joked about whether beer could be included if only I were 21. I love the Library but after hours it seems to migrate towards a mature crowd and I just tried to associate with some of my Norman brethren since I am of a more mature age, to no avail. At least had fun e...

First 'thon in the books and I've already mostly blocked out the nasty bits of the race. When my feet started feeling like they were on fire at 15 miles, I just tried to imagine how bad they could be if I was the guy that I saw running the race in flip-flops or the dude decked out in full gaucho attire. And when I felt like the last 4 hilly miles couldn't possibly end, I just imagined I was running after the people that designed the last part of the race with such a gratuitously steep nature. Mr. Billy J. Grona- Bush had a pretty good day, finishing 3rd. We ran together early and then he ran aggresively a struggled a bit after 20. There is no doubt in my mind that he would have run a few minutes faster if he could have bided his time and run with Tommy Manning who ended up passing him late to finish 2nd. However, there is just no way to tell what those guys were going to do and so Bill has to be commended for taking the reigns and not sitting back to try to settle for just ...

Woke up, got outta bed, ran a comb across my head- and biked up to the Hollingsworth estate to meet up for an short run. Chatted w/ Lebeau afterward, played the didgeridoo, and did a few strides which didn't feel particularly good but the fritter at The King made up for that. Splendid weather today, I can't think of many things I'd rather do besides celebrate one hundred years of statehood but I contained my enthusiasm and set a goal for the marathon, after talking trash with my German buddy, that I would beat Dieter Baumann's latest marathon performance without the aid of magic toothpaste and spectacles.

Starting to feel refreshed and energetic. Steady 8 this morning w/ Jordan and Holly is gonna be it for the day. Looks like I will be alright taper-wise. I think it's gonna work for me as long as I can keep the nerves under control. I missed the substitute teacher orientation as I mistakenly thought it was today so the next one is January 31. At this point I'm stymied but I'll get after it post-marathon.

Ran 8 the morn w/ the usual suspects before heading east to check on Chris and Letrisa's critters and spend some quality time reading on the patio, splendid day for the most part aside from the news of poor hop yield for the year and a thusly rise in expected micro-brew prices. Another easy 4 in the dark in the east hills dodging headlights and deer on the eve...

Action packed couple of days. Pub Run victory, Grona/Bush wedding, and chocolate chip-banana pancakes. Lots of fun and I managed to hang a solid 15 in the logbook this morning and a nap this afternoon.