Warmer Weather and I Hibernate

This has been one of those lather-rinse-repeat weekends where I get caught up in a cycle that I just can't break.

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Wake, Eat, Run, Eat, Sleep, Repeat

We had Friday off this week; thank you very much 9/80 schedule. I proceeded to try and sleep in, which was not allowed by the cats. It seems that they don't get the same satisfaction out of sleeping in and enjoying a late breakfast on the weekends that I do. In fact, they seem almost resistant to the very notion of postponing a meal whatsoever.

I've tried yelling, reasoning, bartering and ignoring all to the same end - utter annoyance. Best case scenario they just holler outside my door incessantly until I finally get up and feed them. Then they go back upstairs and holler some more. "Dude, I'm in the living room now!" They don't care, sometimes they just want to holler.

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Thursday Night, Overdone

Anyway, I sort of overdid it on Thursday night at the Thursday Night Run. We met at Matt Reilly's Pub on Rte 7 in Lanesboro. Or is it in Pittsfield? Who knows. All I know is that I was late and had to chase the group down, only to be in the front group busting my hump up and down the monstrous hills surrounding Pontoosuc Lake. Have you ever driven up Hancock Rd.? Cars don't even like that hill, and my legs/butt like it even less. Bull Hill Rd? Oh, the worst of them all. I was talked into "charging up that hill" by Coach "Bad Influence" Dave.

Friday morning when I awoke to the serenading screams of my cats, I was remound of the previous night's efforts. "Ah, ahh, ahhhhh" I said as I hobbled toward the door. It wasn't so much that my muscles were sore, as it was my joints that didn't work.

I took Friday off from running and pretty much everything else. There was a lot of laying on the couch to be done, as well as some napping and the occasional errand. Oh, I also got most of the lawn shoveled off onto the driveway. It was melting really fast until the last batch, which is still out there two days later. My bad.

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Saturday Morning, Overdone

Saturday morning I awoke to the same duet performing in the hallway, and rushed to get dressed because my ride was picking me up in 10 minutes for a run. I was told it would be about 10 miles by a known exaggerator, so I figured it would be more like 8 - a doable distance.

We met up with a guy named Ace who runs like he's having a seizure but could kick my ass any day of the week. He runs 70 miles a week and has a lifetime of achievements under his belt. His goal that day I think was to prove the his theory that you can overdress for a run. The guy who picked me up was wearing nylon warm-up pants and a windbreaker, with God only knows what underneath. Ace and I had on shorts and long sleeve t-shirts. The first guy was drenched by the end; Ace and I were quite comfortable.

Somewhere around mile 7 it became frighteningly apparent to me that my guess of 8 miles was way off. The funny thing about running is that if you plan on 8 miles that's as far as you're gonna go before your body starts begging for breakfast and a nap. Had I prepared for the real distance I would have been fine, but those last 5 miles (we totaled almost 12 that day) were pure suffering. Ace never missed a beat and told me story after story as we plodded up and down the hills of Lenox, MA.

After that, I went home and "rested". I didn't let myself nap, but I certainly didn't do any more than I had to.

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Sunday Morning, Overdone

This morning I awoke to the unpleasant knowledge that I had scheduled to run the "Bi-Lake Figure-Eight 5K (Plus 10 Miles)" with Coach "Bad Influence" Dave. The plan was to meet at 7:00 AM at a school, run the 13.1 miles (plus about another 3/4 mile of leftovers), then head to the Lumberjack Breakfast at the Girls' Club. If it hadn't been for that Lumberjack Breakfast there is no way in hell I would have been able to finish.

It wasn't until I was cooled down and stretched out that I realized if I had just run another 0.8 miles I could have finished a marathon in less than 24 hours. Damn!

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Lumberjacks Know What's Up

After the run I went home, changed, and hobbled my broken body over to the Girl's Club. I sat with an elderly couple who seemed to be very excited that I chose to sit with them. I don't know if the wife had a sty or just liked me, but she winked every time she spoke to me. Granny, if you were just 50 years younger I'd be all about it, but the Universe, well, she's a cruel matchmaker.

I managed to put down about 8-10 pancakes, a few scoops of eggs, a pair of sausages, ham, fried dough, potatoes and 3 cups of coffee before calling it quits. Coach "Bad Influence" Dave and his family sat with me when they arrived, and he was almost looking to make a challenge out of the "All You Can Eat" nature of the fundraiser. I knew better and limited myself to the aforementioned snack.

After breakfast was a nap. I dozed on and off for most of the afternoon. When I realized that the reason I couldn't get up was that the cats were smothering me, I tossed them to the floor and started in on a shopping list. The rest of my evening was much less fabulous, so I won't bore you with the details.

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Over and Out,
Old Coot