4/10/03 THURS:
---I have dusted off the old chronometer for use while running. It should cause me to pick up the pace a tad, but might make me more injury prone; less inclined to stop and fix shoelaces, for example, and not so cognizant of aches and pains. Having to push button at quarter-mile markers calls for less abstraction while running (which always means slower with less effort). But since this is my big exercise event of the day, I might as well utilize a proven incentive to try to improve performance. It has gotten so I can cruise along for the five miles and not see any improvement. For health maintenance it is probably fine, but I would like to see some improvement to make it more interesting. Nothing particularly dramatic, but a bit of upgrade would be nice. I know that I am physiologically incapable of achieving the level that some runners are born with, so there is nothing that great about being a better than middle-of-the-pack runner instead of just a middle-of-the-packer. I will record my times here because it is someplace I can find them myself. Certainly they will be of limited if any interest to others, but this is my weblog.
---Heading south on Neal Smith bicycle trail: about a mile from my house to entry at mile marker 21 (9:02); 20.75 (/); 20.50 (4:28/13:31); 20.25 (2:13/15:35); 20 (2:28/18:13); 19.75 (2:18/20:31); 19.50 (2:15/22:47; turn around); 19.75 (2:27/25:14); 20 (2:19/27:34); 20.25 (2:15/29:50); 20.50 (2:22/32:12); 20.75 (2:26/34:38); 21 (2:19/36:58); another approx. mile home (8:05/45.03 final time). About five miles total, perhaps a little farther. Mighty slow, but plenty of room for improvement. I used to be able to string sub 2-minute quarter miles together (except on some of the uphill segments), but then I suffered a string of nagging maladies to the various bones, joints and muscles that get put to the test when the will tries to triumph over the body in running.
---The south-heading route has a bit less shadiness overall, which makes it worse in the summer if I wait too late in the day. It has some gradual up and down hills, but not as steep as the northerly route. For a long time I rarely went to the south, because the stretch paralleling the mile-long bridge road was not very pleasant. Now that a row of pine trees between the bike path and the road has grown, it has become much nicer going that way. The gentler slopes are easier on the legs, too. Either way, the advantage over running on the road with cars zooming past is tremendous. The bike path’s blacktop surface is smooth enough so I do not have to consciously monitor every footfall and it is softer than a concrete road or sidewalk. Except that I might wish for a bit more shade on some days and that I have to run a mile to get to it, it is an ideal place to run. I am lucky to have it nearby. I just wish my capabilities were such that I could run more of the fifty available miles than just the mile-and-a-half either way I generally traverse. My long run is up to 7.5 miles this week. On Wednesday I headed north to mile marker 23.75 before turning around. The plan is to go to mm 24 next time (hopefully Monday by my current regimen--adding a half mile every five days, unless an extra rest day is taken or imposed).

---Odd random bits of ratiocination the last couple days that maybe I should dicker with more carefully before blabbing out, but I want to try to make this weblog a little something more than just a surface survey of my doings. For better or worse, I will try to render a few of my thoughts, entangled and ill-informed as they may be. I can’t always spend the time honing arguments and marshalling evidence as maybe I should before showing up where I don't belong; but I will try to keep working on it. Writing about things is part of the thinking process. A better writer than me can get paid for their output. I am just trying to have it be an element in self-actualization. Being on a weblog makes it a bit more exciting and fun, with perhaps a bit of discipline. I hope as time goes along to become more at-ease with this forum and see what comes out.