EZ Running

Another Tuesday, another recovery run with Frank. We met at 6:00am, and once again, that extra 15 minutes of sleep seemed to be much more than that. I felt nice and refreshed this morning, which was a welcome change. We trimmed the normal 7 miler to 5 miles, in honor of taper week 2. Pace turned out to be 9:12/mile for 5.2 miles, which felt truly easy. We stopped at the Austin High School track on our journey for a quick cup of Powerade and a visit with the Tuesday/Thursday Gazelles as they ran their 800's, which was fun. Another beautiful morning, crisp and clear, 35 degrees. Another beautiful sunrise over the city, another Chamber of Commerce type day. Ho hum. Now, will we get this sort of weather on the 19th? Fingers are crossed. This afternoon, I'll go in for a single set weight workout. I think on Thursday, I'll do the easy indoor cycle instead of another recovery run, like last week (and like next week). Another day closer to Freescale. At this point, we're down to worrying about weather, and that's about it. Tick, tick, tick.

Entertainment/Literary Notes

Based partly on Richard's online recommendation, I picked up and read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a sort of period piece about the history of English magic. Pretty fun book, but it was loooooonnnnngggg. I enjoyed the author's details about life in the early to mid-1800's, which reminded me of the Neal Stephenson trilogy (Quicksilver, Baroque Cycle) set in a similar time frame. As a snack after that long book, I read a collection of Isaac Asimov's short science fiction, Nightfall and Other Stories, which I found back home in Lufkin in my old room.

Musically, I've been listening a lot to Ryan Adams (not Bryan Adams, the Canadian), Steve James and Del Rey, the new Paul McCartney album, Paul Westerberg ("Folkie"), New Pornographers and the new Spoon album. They're in the "New CD" folder on the iPod, so I'm checking them out. It's nice to be able to take all my newer CD's with me all the time in that small package, and it's another example of how this little music player has changed the way I consume my music.

This year, once again, I have started watching "24," but unlike past years, I've actually enjoyed that show this time, and I've stuck with it. I don't watch it live, but via DVR, which speeds up the process. Good show. It's fun to see what Jack Bauer will do in each episode that violates all possible legal rights of the various bad guys. The idea is that it's for the greater good, which I suppose fulfills some inner law and order fantasy that the nation holds. Anyway, I don't think I'll be going to purchase the previous seasons of "24" on DVD or anything like that, but it's entertaining television. Unlike most of the Super Bowl this year. Could the Rolling Stones have played 4 songs instead of 3, by the way? Surely we didn't need the extended versions of "Start Me Up" and "Satisfaction?" Play those songs, yes, but not the 6 minute versions of each. Sigh...