It was a
little colder in Griffith Park this morning, but still not cold enough to where
us Team to End AIDS runners were forced to wear layers of clothing. Even though
it is now the week before Thanksgiving, we still have 70 degree days out here
in Los Angeles. Still, it’s nice to be able to wear my shorts in November as my
jeans are proving to be a little too tight around my waist… Yes, I said too
much.
On this day
we were to run 8 miles, and I made sure to have some breakfast before I went. It
came in the form of a cookies ‘n’ cream flavored Promax energy bar. Those
usually do the trick even though I usually prefer the chocolate chip cookie
dough flavored bar as that flavor continually proves to be one hell of a guilty
pleasure.
Once again,
I was delayed by the IFC channel as they were showing re-runs of the 60’s Batman series. God I loved watching that
show when I was a little boy. Does it hold up after all these years? No
comment.
Today I
decided to add something new to my run and decided to wear my Seven Psychopaths dog face hat that I
got at a screening of the movie at Arclight Hollywood. It’s the same one Sam
Rockwell wore in the movie, and I never got to wear it in public before so this
seemed like the perfect opportunity to make use of it. Upon my arrival at
Griffith Park, it didn’t take long for the hat to become a hit with my fellow
runners. Some of them were disturbed when they saw the Seven Psychopaths logo on the back, but others were aware of how
much fun that Martin McDonagh film is to watch.
There was
one problem though; I forgot to bring my Ironman watch with me. For some
bizarre reason I put my Bluetooth headset in my pocket instead. Don’t ask me
why because I don’t have a clue. Needless to say, I wondered why I would put
that in my pocket instead of the watch. Scientists are currently looking into
this situation and we will be in touch with you as updates arrive.
Coach “GOOD
MORNING T2” JC had us doing warm ups again and also talked to us about
particular running injuries we need to look out for. When he said that, I started
hearing Laurence Luckinbill’s dialogue from Star
Trek V in my head.
“Your pain
runs deep. Each of us hides a secret pain. Share yours and gain strength from
it.”
Of all the Star Trek movies that could come to
mind, I just had to come up with the worst one of the bunch. Still, I enjoy
watching Star Trek V even if it’s for
the wrong reasons. It also asked a lot of important questions about God and the
meaning of life. Case in point: “What does God need with a starship?”
This week
took us outside of Griffith Park and down Victory Boulevard to our familiar
running grounds. For several in the group, this was the first time they had run
down these streets of Burbank and the first time they got a look at the
beautiful houses on it. They serve as a reminder of how much money we don’t
make these days, and all I can say to that is the following, “Thanks a lot
Burbank! Geez…”
My fellow
runners continued to comment on my Seven
Psychopaths hat, and some asked how warm it was making my head. Truth be
told, I haven’t worn a hat to keep my head and ears warm for ages. I typically
wear one just to keep the sun from burning my head off, and even then I don’t
wear hats much as they rarely ever fit my head comfortably. Heck, the last time
I wore a hat for the purpose of keeping warm was when I visited New York back
in the early 90’s during winter. My mom insisted I put one on as we were
walking down the street, and I was convinced that I wouldn’t need it. It took
walking down only one book to realize how mistaken I was.
I do have a
confession to make; I did not do my maintenance runs this week. I deeply
apologize for that as I have no excuse, and saying that I had no time to do
them is like saying you don’t have time to read a book. You make the time! For
what’s it worth, I did go on some long walks from my apartment to The Grove,
and I walked with purpose each time as I headed out to see Dumb and Dumber To (disappointing) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (good but not great). Walking
there can take a good 15 to 20 minutes for me, and it also allows me to save
money on parking which is a skill worth learning when you live in Los Angeles.
But although
I failed to do them, I still did well on this run and did not fall behind. All
the same, I do need to make the time to do my maintenance runs.
I also tried
to keep up with what I call meditating during running as I kept checking my
body to make sure I had the right posture. I kept fearing that I was leaning
over too much and not keeping my chest open. When my chest is open, more oxygen
comes into the body and my body loves oxygen A LOT. My mind still wandered here
and there as I kept thinking about Star
Trek V and I kept pondering how I survived my video interview with Tommy
Lee Jones this past week.
So that
concludes another week of training for the 2015 Los Angeles Marathon. Next week
will have me out of town for a Thanksgiving vacation, but rest assured that I
will continue running no matter where I am, be it on the road or (heaven
forbid) on a treadmill. Besides, with all the food I’m going to end up gobbling
down, I’ll need to run as many miles as I can to burn it all off.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE: The fundraising
train keeps moving along at tremendous speed, and I’m hoping you can get on
board as these donations are always put to immediate use! As of right now, I
have raised $761 which puts me at 76% towards my fundraising goal of $1,000 for
AIDS Project Los Angeles. I truly believe we can make it to goal before the end
of 2014, so let’s make it a reality!
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