My kind of running day

Saturday. I skipped that 5 mile race pace run yesterday because I wanted to take the day off. It was so nice, I can't even remember what I did. Oh yeah ... I lazied around the house until 11 then went to aid Mrs. T at the Farmers Market. She had a table promoting the museum to those who would do well to enhance their cultural repertoire (the erstwhile beautiful people). A few nibbles, she reports and certainly some good exposure.

My assistance came in the way of hauling all the goods back to the car after it was over. I then rewarded myself with a nice lunch at 310 Park, sitting at the bar (my preferred seat for dining) and watching a football game on the flat screen.

Movie reviews. Saturday night Mrs. T and I watched a great precursor of the James Bond movie series, "North by Northwest" with Clark Gable. It was really done well, especially the scriptwriting. It's like they really cared back then, what the spoken words sounded like.

"North by Northwest" was viewed on the heels of seeing the new Daniel Craig Bond flick. I expected better. The plot was uneven. I much preferred "Casino Royale."

As a nightcap, I watched one of those peculiar but riveting flicks, "American Beauty." It was as rich as I remember it the first time.

Back to running. So a cold snap blew through last night and by dawn it was 47F outside. I went down to Park Avenue to see the Orlando Runners Club. Jack and Ed were just coming in from a 2-mile warm up run. I was shocked. A double digit crowd assembled including Eric, a guest runner. He just did New York in 3:15 or so so I directed him down the street to fastie Kim B. who kept him moving just fine. Speaking of New York, Christy was a no-show after taking on too many shifts at work.

I dawdled waiting for my Garmin to sync with satellites while everyone else took off. I was a quarter mile behind when I finally started. I found the cool weather to be ideal for making up for that race pace 5-miler on Saturday. I found a high gear and caught up to the crowd right after the first mile. I ignored Jack's "show off" remark and blew right by them at an 8:30 pace.

Juergen is not one to let anyone pass him without taking a run to stay up there. He joined me for the next three miles waaaaaay ahead of everyone else. He tried to be conversational but I wasn't quite able. My breathing was highly regulated by the pace I was pushing and words came with difficulty.

We waited at the water stop for the strung out line of runners behind us. I had done the four at an 8:20 pace. I was stoked!

Jack shared Gatorade again; bless him. He asked if I'd received his email Saturday. (I didn't log in at all, so no). It turns out he'd sent a petition to all Orlando Runners Club Sunday runners to donate blankets for the Coalition for the Homeless; and also cut and paste my entire visible blog into the e-mail for all to see/read. I guess that makes me the bona fide Secretary of Blogging. (Oh Jack, I received five copies of your e-mail!)

I took off again, this time by myself. I caught up to a fellow going 15 today in training for his fifth Disney. I slowed down and enjoyed some conversation until the seven mile water stop. I had my Zip Fizz and was joined soon by Juergen, Ed and John. We headed out to finish the last three.

We picked up the pace again with Juergen charging hills as is his custom. I matched him this time but that man is a gazelle and could run with faster folks with no trouble. Ed asked to mentioned in today's blog. There. He had no new news from the Bridgeport bus company soap opera. So Ed - when's the Runners Club party?

John is a young attorney who's business crosses paths with school board business every now and then so we tread lightly into those waters. It was easier to talk about running and his prep for his first marathon, Disney in January. He was doing 15 too today so, given how fresh I felt, I kept running with him after the ten and put in another two before turning around.

Big tipper. I had breakfast at my son's place of work for the third Sunday in a row. He's getting better at it.

This afternoon I watched the Rollins Women Tars (15-0-4 on the season) win a 2nd round soccer match and advance to the Sweet 16. If they make it to the Final Four I'll be in Tampa the weekend they play there. Woo hoo. Road trip.