Collective ramble and you can probably skip this one. . . .

april 19th

lsd. that is the ongoing acronym. . . . long slow distance. maybe not long-- four miles, then one mile in trail shoes. a little barefoot running. trying to rebuild the knee injury. . .

no creative thoughts—new moon phase. . . . (sometimes the old thoughts creep in on me.)

earth day- april 22 2010. three miles plus one mile barefoot walk/jog. . . . . swift pace. thought much of sensuality of running, the sexuality of running. the raw physicality, the expressionist angst of movement, the thrusts of breath and body and beating the feet and the brutality of a pace at the top of one’s ability. . . . the madness of running. the meditation of the long slow distance. . . . . the psychosis?

running is a physical act and thus directly related to evolutionary wellness--- a. one improves the body’s attractiveness, making it a sexually desirable object. b. a healthy body indicates a healthy mate, hence an increased likelihood of successful breeding with that mate. also, physically healthy individuals can endure harsh circumstances longer, are more likely to survive in adverse conditions due to multi-layered preparedness to survive. c. a healthy body indicates an individual’s capacity to care for one’s Self, a sexy attribute. and a healthy body indicates a willingness to live and to live well. . .

ultimately, in simplified shorthand: healthy = sexy, at least on a subconscious level.
Darwin should have been a runner.

running enhances the sexual experience, builds the libido, and makes for a more complete & creative experience. . . . . so why don’t I just go get fucked? a whole ‘nother post.

april 23 2010. 12 miles for the week. 96 miles for the month. 412 for the year.

five miles running, ½ mile barefoot jogging afterwards. now flogging molly and thoughts of flaming amy’s.

mr. stripey is growing like a champ.  he will get earth-anchored this weekend, and probably find a partner or two downtown at the farmer's market tomorrow morning. 

otherwise, i find myself reading news on the local newspaper with deep intrigue and personal infatuation.  i read about the drug busts, specifically narcotics and more specifically heroin.  i mark my mental map and build a network of potential neighborhoods and places the cops are targetting.  it is ridiculous and romantic (meaning distorted) and just a passing phase, tired mind and exhausted image-repertoire hoping for inspiration in any form. . . . . the runs are lengthening again thankfully. 

Pennsylvania in one week! running amish fields and deer last year popping out on trail twenty feet in front of me (maybe running from a bear. . . ?) always a godly experience, being in the pa mountains.

Some pics from y'day's trail jog--

life drawing tonight.  discussions of liszt, de kooning, edgerton & faulkner, sinclair, and even some rachmoninoff last night at work.  served One person all night. . . . eight dollars the richer. 

april 13th

(my love for nature began in my childhood in the acres of woods behind my grandparent's home. today was a similar childhood playfulness and curiosity as i snuck in a coupl'a hours on some trails only ten minutes from my driveway. wonderful to have such options nearby. . . . )

jogging trails this morning as knee pain persists with stressful use. I headed to plantation grove nature preserve and put in some random twists and turns across pine needle paths and tree-identification signs and headed down trails of pine, oak, magnolias. . . passed a pond, open fields. . . . . sun is shining, the weather is sweet. . . . . makes ya’ wanna move your dancing feet. . . . . an enriching, organic experience.

one is the loneliest number. . . . . a few paintings, a few miles of language.

april 12th. the week was filled with my quarterly visit to the periodontist/dentist, a very sick ky, a sick kas, four long and busy shifts at the restaurant, nc azalea festival (just outside our front door at the restaurant!), and finally a 16 mile run sunday morning. last week's mileage total was conservative, 25 miles, doing a speedwork session & one 4 miler (as heat and pollen hang heavy on the head and lungs and legs) and taking it easy as kyote visited doctors and I spent time with the family. I did purchase two major things this weekend: a. Great Outdoor Provision Co. (thanks Tim!) cut me a deal I couldn’t resist on some Salomon xt wings 2, thus I have a new pair of brilliant trail running/ hiking shoes! b. purchased a FatMax tool box for my painting gear, that I can roll out and work in the yard or on the deck or wherever I want, with all my brushes and tube/ jar paints and charcoals and essential tools. . . . fantastic! I had not set up a workspace since exiting the studio, so I am en route to getting visual work going again. all good reason to celebrate by running and painting!

from there, a bit on the 16 miler. after an easier week of running, I anticipated eagerly my sunday morning long run. it was crisp and cooler, a beautiful morning, a brief interlude from the pollen clouds torturing our southern landscape recently. so I climbed into the asics with a packet of gu chomps and one mini-clif bar, and began the run at 8h23 am. the drivers were few but compensated in their lack of numbers with an increased obliviousness while driving—always infuriating. I found a small overgrown trail offa' rogersville rd, followed that through a few spiderwebs and into the deep, hookers green woods, paused to fish out a gu gel, then sprinted back towards the road and down Wrightsville. airlie gardens was pretty, but the horses were not out. I ran smooth and long and was pleased with my pace. I aimed towards the water fountain at WB park and stopped in, ate my second gu gel, and kicked it to the coast. pausing at the glassed ocean and the drifting sun-slices, I prayed in gratitude, and began jogging back across the sand to the asphault to the draw bridge. I hit the draw bridge well and dropped down the other side, and the cramp began. and the cramp seized up my knee and seemed to crawl down my left calf, on the outside of the leg, and just lock down the joint. I slowed to jog it out, but with no reprieve. I walked. and thus began the cycle which would haunt the remaining four miles home. . . . run/ jog/ walk. I made it home by 10h44 am, stretched, then showered after an advil.   home depot, lunch of boiled shrimp & red potatoes, then work at 3pm. 

work was slow, slow, slow. the steps were fine on the ascent (every drink or order or transaction requires the running of a set of stairs), but the descent was painful on my left leg, just in the knee area. . . . I left after six hours of roaming and people-watching in the restaurant window with no real income to show for time.  I slept well and deeply and uninterrupted, then awoke with a very sore knee.  I stretched it out slowly to a tolerable throb. I pray that it will heal (with rest and ice) before our trip to PA as I sketch various parks & trail systems I want to visit. in reading lore of running, the injuries section with self-diagnosis paranoia in full-effect, i find every reason to be concerned and anxious, but i will remain patient as possible.  i will remain positive (my best mantra recently, even with punkrock sneer).

kyote is feeling better by the way!!

easter week et cetera. . . . .

march 25th. ky is thirteen months old.  spring is arrived. 


preparing for an 8 – 10 miler downtown. misty, pollen is a monster, beethoven’s opus 133 performed by (none other than) the emerson string quartet. . . . (wish I had their Bartok collection). . . . . one banana, one clif-shot gel, a pint of watered-down G2.


nine miles, ninety minutes with a bathroom break at mile 6. . . . a good run with many inclines & declines, off-road as much as possible. boardwalk by CFCC to Pilot House to confederate park (when did they start tearing up the park beneath the memorial bridge?), across grassy mounds through the industrial area, tractor trailers and huge oil storage tanks, then the abandoned blight and I thought I saw some dude walking around with a small rifle, so I kicked some speed-work into the lakeside path. sun warmed and off came the shirt around mile four and then some nausea and no working water fountains currently, across the entire town. . . .

four other runners. sparse. a good stretch.

ran with scooter & jimi at beach on friday-- 7am.  more of a walk-run, the run was more of a social experience.   scooter is organizing a new run which sounds like a great deal of fun, even though i do not drink alcoholic bevs.  maybe sundrop or something equally tragic, but no beer.  the idea is run one mile, drink one beer, and repeat until a full six-pack is consumed.  there will be puking. 



4.3.10 easter monday. one week since last post, and in that week a wonderful time with my family and running somewhere around 35 miles. ran 42 miles last week, then took sat. and sun. to spend the early part of the day with my family, before work. went to tregembo zoo on friday and saw the wonderful animals. . . . kyote & kas had a ball. fulfilling. looking a pair of salomon xt wings 2, or the ultra, or a pair of montrails. . . hopefully for running some trails in Pennsylvania or mountains of North Carolina, soon. next year, the goal is mainly trail 50ks, the run for ray half-marathon, maybe a 20k or anything above in an interesting location. meanwhile I will build offa my base running with some speed work.