You Don't Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows.....

Since I was given the all clear to resume training at the start of August I've enjoyed every day that I've been able to run,even the "grind em till you find em" runs and the two "bonks" because even though they weren't great running experiences at least I was running......it's been a while since I went into a run NEEDING to run for fear of choking the living shit out of someone......YESTERDAY was that day which just like the proverbial cheque had always been in the mail!!!

I won't bore you w/ a ton of work related TMI bullshit but I will say this much if I owned an airbrush or knew someone w/ an airbrush I'd be sporting a "People Only Listen To Me When I Fart" tshirt at work today to get my point across,I was once told by a former manager that "communication is key" and "it all starts w/ the loading dock" I was also once told by a former analyst controler that "the loading dock is where it all starts,you guys are the first line of defense"........so you'll excuse me if I don't distance myself from people who habitually "piss in my ear and tell me it's rain" where the loading dock is concerned,if I've learnt ANYTHING in the 14 years I've been here it's that the loading dock more often than not is the LAST place to know about major/big deliveries and that shit rolls one way downhill and myself and my two coworkers are rooted firmly at the foot of that hill!!!!!

Needless to say any day that contains yours truly slamming doors almost off their hinges not once,not twice but three times and has one of my regular drivers saying "you look like you're in a great mood" as he's backing away from me is a day that a run is the best remedy for the ails that are causing such events,it just so happened that I had a 10 miler on tap which was a big help as I had PLENTY of steam to blow off!!!!
Conditions were sunny and a "whopping 72 degrees" but I could still feel a breeze coming off the Schuylkill River as I made my way up and down the banks and Kelly Dr.
Knowing I have another 8/10 split scheduled for today and tomorrow I knew I couldn't expend too much energy today but that didn't stop me from treating this run like my last three 8 milers,work the up hills and downhills and throw in a few stretchs of sustained leg turnover during the run.

Last week finally felt like I'd gotten my speed,strength and stamina up to par and a classic example happened last nite between mile 6 and 7.
I recall a run last month where I was overtaken by a female runner heading up towards the Art Museum,part of me said "let her go" but male ego screamed"fuck that chase after her and overtake her!!!" she continued to pull away from me at a rate of knots that meant as I made a left onto Kelly Dr at Lloyd Hall she was already disapperaring out of sight a quarter mile further up Kelly Dr never to be spotted again.......
Last nite just after the 6 mile mark another female runner blew by me....my gut reaction was to give chase and restore male ego points but I caught myself thinking of the 4 miles left on this run not to mention the 18 miles on tap over the next two nites as she ran maybe 4 seconds ahead of me.....
Coming off the slightest of downhills on the otherside of the Girard Ave bridge I used that downhill to freewheel and pass her.....order restored....or so I thought till just b4 the 1/4 mile marker at the start of the approach to Boathouse Row as she came up along side my left shoulder.....I lenghthened my stride and worked on leg turn over over the next 1/4 mile and didn't see or hear from her again and continued to cruise the final 3 miles of my run w/ my "manhood" intact.......props where they're due she was game for the challenge but I was slightly more motivated in the Male Chauvinst Pig one miler last nite,I may have won little friends in the female runner sorority but I wasn't slamming doors off their hinges when I got home either.....alls well that ends well I guess???