Friday night's alright for runnin' (and bloggin')

Running on Friday evening is an interesting thing. Since the weather started getting cooler (it is not today, but overall) I've shifted my weekday runs from early morning hours to after work. I've found I'm more limber, less prone to pain, and even though it's generally hotter and I lose one of my few free hours, the afternoon exercise sort of sheds the stress of the day. Besides, I heart sleeping in.

This Friday, I really needed it, and it turned out my schedule was clean. Today was one of those days at work that feels like a pastry pump... you know, the bag-with-a-spigot thingies bakers use to parcel out dough and icing? No matter how much I crapped out, there was a lot more to squeeze, which is nice for a cake, bad for an editor. Anyway, I hit the Greenways at about 6:10 p.m., an hour that features an interesting collection of young couples with kids, seniors, and young women who I'm guessing either don't have or don't want dates (you GO girls!). And me. To tell you the truth, it was the most satisfying five-miler I've put in during this whole ordeal, and I think it's precicely because I was NOT downtown with the rest of the twenty-somethings. That's a terrible thing for the editor of a hip and trendy magazine to write in an open forum, but for one night at least, it's the God's honest truth.

Which brings me back to the marathon. It's two weeks from tomorrow. Egad! Because of my mid-September trip to Vegas (see last post), I'm a week behind my fellow Team In Tranining-ites (Team in Trainers? They don't wear diapers.), so my huge big solo run is this weekend, followed by a two-week taper/rest period. Think of me on Sunday morning, when I'm shooting for 20 miles. By my rationale, if I can do 20, I can do 26 on race day. Do the math with me--a marathon is 100 percent preparation, 6 percent adrenaline and one percent stupidity. There's your 26 miles. That doesn't make any sense, but then I always sucked at math.

Now that I'm showered and home, I'm sipping on a Michelob Ultra (yes, I'm THAT GUY for now) and watching Yankees-Indians on TBS. I must admit, as a Cardinals fan, I'm not sure quite how to respond to an October without Redbirds baseball. At the same time, it's agreeing with me (especialy in this time of work madness, running madness and family anxiety) to not be a slave to the television two out of every three nights. I mean, I can watch "Kid Nation" online; baseball doesn't doesn't carry the same gravitas unless it's live. I'm personally looking forward to a Colorado-Boston finale... Won't that be a "Rock-'em, Sock-em" series! Those of you who get it are free to use it.

A few quick updates:

--I'm now on Facebook. See my page here, if you have a Facebook. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I got fed up with MySpace. Facebook is just as vapid but considerably more entertaining, and I've yet to get a friend request from a nude woman.

--I'm now a bi-weekly TV star. My company (Whitaker Publishing: A Life-Improvement Company) has gotten hot-and-heavy with one of the local TV stations. I go on every other Thursday at 6:45 a.m. to talk about the new issue of GO Magazine. It's kind of a trip. I've always said "I have a face made for radio and a voice made for magazines, so here I am," but TV suits me fine, I suppose. I'll let you be the judge... you know, if you like getting up at 6:45. (Note: The link above is not to my segment, but a weekly segment sponsored by 417, the WP flagship for which I serve as web editor).

--If you're a consevation nut, or just a fan of good writing, please check out my blogroll, specifically the Bloggin' Swicks, my best buddy Nathan (The Drinking Bird) and his dad, Greg (Conservation Conversations) are rippin' up the blogosphere with insightful, necessary conversations (unlike my parenthetical-laden self-serving drivel). Of particular delight is Nathan's candidate-by-candidate breakdown of each presidential candidate according to how bird- (e.g., conservationally) friendly they are. It's a Newt... er, hoot.

That is all. Enjoy your Friday night, however you choose to spend it.

Peace.

ML