Saturday, May 26, 2012

Crazy Eights

There’s something about these Mizunos. They’ve pushed me past my usual limits the first two times I’ve worn them on the streets of our fair burg. Pushed me right out of the city’s limits Friday!

North side of the County 10 bridge, looking northwest.
As is often the case (so often that perhaps I no longer need to note it each time), I headed out Friday with a general direction in mind, then, facing a crossroads (actually a T intersection this time) I pondered briefly which way to turn. My initial intent was to head north again, knowing roughly the route I’d need to clock a solid six miles. It occurred to me, however, that I hadn’t been south in some time. On a dime (or on the penny I'd found a few blocks back) I turned right and headed south on Farnham Street.

It was then that I started to imagine a path that would push me to extremes. So it was that I found myself westbound on Fifth Street near the edge of town. Then on Davis Street, actually the southern border of town. Then I headed south on Seminary with an eye cast toward the BNSF classification yard and the broad bridge that carries Knox County Highway 10 over the yard. (Aside: is it yard or yards? Seems it should be singular, but maybe technically it is sectioned so the plural would work. The plural sounds better, that’s for sure.)

Looking south from the southeast side of the bridge.
I stopped a few times to photograph the bridge as I inched closer; first from Seminary Street, then from County 10 just west of Seminary, then a little farther along as the curve of the road came into view. But my puny dumbphone wasn’t up to the task, really. So I settle for some shots from the bridge, looking north and south across the yard(s) at the snakes of railcars, shuttling locomotives and occasional milling personnel. I’m no rail aficionado, but I can see the allure of photographing a location like the yard. Cool stuff, though best suited to equipment that allows greater creativity and quality than a flip phone.

Anyway, I just kept going. The only breaks I took were for photos and can collection. I ended at my place of employment, The Register-Mail, where I could check my distance on MapMyRun and possibly edit some copy before actually beginning my shift later in the afternoon. I was surprised and excited to see the miles pile up, reaching 8 when all was said and done. My left knee was a little sore, but not as bad as it has been most days. The shoes are rockin’ it!

Today's Stats
Temp: 67 degrees F
Distance: 8 miles
Weekly Total: 20 miles
Treasure: 1 Scentsy sachet; 1 big-a** bolt; 1 penny; 25 cans.

Friday's 8-mile route. Double-click on image to enlarge.
iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Alive and Kicking – Simple Minda
For a Dancer – Jackson Browne
Thing Called Love – Bonnie Raitt
Kingdom of Days – Bruce Springsteen
Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias – The Beatles
Let Your Light Shine – Keb’ Mo’
Daria – Cake
Only the Good Die Young – Billy Joel
Heartbreak Warfare – John Mayer
Studebaker – Jordan Zevon
Kansas City/ Hey-Hey-Hey – The Beatles
The Distance – Cake
Somebody’s Baby – Jackson Browne
The Grand Illusion – Styx
Count on Me – Whitney Houston
I See Monsters (live) – Ryan Adams
Dancing in the Dark – Diana Krall
California (live) – James Taylor and Joni Mitchell
Hold On – Yes
In the Dark – Billy Squier
Misterioso – Wynton Marsalis
Wild,  Wild West – Escape Club

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Pumped-Up Kicks

Jack: What are your legs?
Archy: Springs. Steel springs.
Jack: What are they going to do?
Archy: Hurl me down the track.
Jack: How fast can you run?
Archy: As fast as a leopard.
Jack: How fast are you going to run?
Archy: As fast as a leopard!
Nick gathers information on my feet.
That exchange from the 1981 film “Gallipoli” kind of fits my feeling Wednesday morning. I chalk it up to new kicks. The legs are mine and they did most of the work. But my new Mizuno Wave Inspire 8s have some design features that purportedly propel you, providing a little extra “kick” as it were. While not air-filled in the heel cushion, they are indeed “pumped-up kicks.”

It was time for new shoes. A week ago or so I bought a Heartland Daily Deal voucher ($50 for $25) from Go Outside and Play Running Co. on South Seminary Street to save a little. Running shoes aren’t cheap. And I’ve finally learned that sometimes you need to pay attention to what feels good and right on your feet and not focus on price and appearance. I must say, though, the Inspires are inspiring to look at: charcoal grey and yellow (the company says pewter/anthracite/cyber yellow). Saweet! They were also still pricey, even with the discount voucher.

I went through the fitting process with store owner Nick Pigg and new full-timer Matt Davis to come up with some options to try that were best suited to my flat feet. I took off my shoes and stood on the pressure mat, which is connected to a computer and video monitor. A colorful image of my feet appeared and Nick explained that the red areas indicated the points of greatest pressure. He explained the physiology of my flat feet and how the low arches would tend to make my feet “roll” as I run. He’s right. Interestingly, that roll was something I once worked on for marching band. Now it seems to be a bad thing, or at least something to be countered or corrected by a shoe with specific attributes of support and flexibility in just the right spots.

Matt Davis laces up the Mizunos.
After taking measurements of each foot with the classic metal foot plate, Nick went to the storeroom and returned with three models for me to try: the current incarnation of the Saucony Guide 3s I’ve been wearing, a loose-fitting something I can’t even recall, and the Mizunos. I like the Sauconys. They would have been an easy choice; I’ve been in them for a year or so and have had no complaints. The unnamed second pair had a lot of heel slippage. On Nick’s suggestion, Matt laced the heel lock to add some hold, but it didn’t make a difference. Time to try the Mizunos.

Nick explained the company history. Long a maker of sporting equipment and shoes specifically for baseball and soccer, the company suddenly introduced a running shoe in the mid-1990s. They’ve grown in the running market since then and have a small but loyal following. As Nick put it, folks who like the feel of the Mizunos become devotees, unwilling to switch brands after their discovery.

I was hooked instantly. The shoes formed to my feet, held snugly but not tightly, added a spring to my step and just plain felt awesome. I walked the floor of the store a bit, then got on the treadmill. I’m not a treadmill runner. I’m always worried I’ll end up on my face. But the exercise provided confirmation of my choice.

“These are the ones,” I said. “I’ll take ‘em.”

Nick continued to make the sale, showing me the flexibility of the front end of the shoe, explaining the wave cushion, noting the spring-like blue inserts in the sole at the ball-bend (my term) that actually do propel the shoe (he demonstrated it by pressing the shoe into the floor and letting it spring up).

Maybe there’s some psychology involved in how these shoes boosted my run yesterday. So what? I took off about 9 a.m., as usual not knowing exactly where I was headed but determined to see just how far I could go this time. Back home about an hour later, MapMyRun.com indicated my meandering route racked up seven miles. Bix it is. I will do it again this year. Thanks, Nick, Tracy and Matt. Thanks, Mizuno.


Today's Stats
Temp: 64 degrees F
Distance: 7 miles
Weekly Total: 12 miles
Treasure: 1 Galesburg High School student ID; 1 spent disposable lighter; 14 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Walk This Way – Aerosmith
Have Mercy – Richard Marx
Exhale (Shoop Shoop) – Whitney Houston
Songbird – Kenny G
For Pete’s Sake – The Monkees
Nightlife – Willie Nelson
On Any Other Day – The Police
The Wind – Billy Bob Thornton (Zevon cover)
Concerning Hobbits – Howard Shore (LOTR soundtrack)
O’Sullivan’s March – The Chieftans
We Will Not Be Lovers – The Waterboys
Happenings Ten Years Time Ago – The Yardbirds
Yer Blues – The Beatles
Easy Lover – Phil Collins
Life Uncommon – Jewel
It Could Happen To You – The Miles Davis Quintet
My Ride’s Here – Bruce Springsteen (Zevon cover)
Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead – Warren Zevon

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Hail the Conquering Hero

Much as with Saturday’s lifeless beginning, I have no focal point for Monday’s effort. There’s a theme in my head, but it’s one best left unwritten just now. OK, you win. The theme would be love. That’s dangerous territory, boys and girls. I’ll tread lightly, which is no easy task in worn-out shoes. I’ll be shopping at Go Outside and Play this morning for new ones.

At times I feel like I'm writing a blog about nothing.
Bear with me as I randomly address the subject based on the confluence of events yesterday. Musically speaking, I was struck by several songs Monday:

“Mr. Pitiful,” in which the singer laments lost love: “They call me Mr. Pitiful, cuz I lost someone just like you.”

“No One Like You,” by the David Crowder Band, a Christian rock group. I like how songs of praise can be interpreted to apply to romantic love and adoration for that someone special in one’s life. Conversely, I have used secular love songs in church to express love for God.

“Love You To”: Love me while you can / Before I'm a dead old man. / A lifetime is so short / A new one can't be bought / But what you've got means such a lot to me.

“You’re Gonna Make Me Cry,” because that’s the blues, baby. Luther warns: Love will bring you happiness / And love will bring you sorrow. / Love can be here today, yeah / If you don’t watch out it’ll be gone tomorrow.

You get the point, right? Love is crazy. It does things to your mind, your soul. Controls your actions. Fills life with distractions. Blots out the unwanted. Brings out the animal.

Now, combine that with the endorphin rush of the runner’s high. See where this is going? A good, invigorating run on a temperate spring morn magnifies all those feelings until you want to shout it from the rooftops. And the energy released from the depths of your being is like something from a superhero story: all powerful, nearly uncontrollable. Hence the conquering hero.

Coincidentally and confirmationally (yes, I just made up that word), the lone treasure found Monday was a small, metal jewelry box. The lid was detached and the main body dented, but it will clean up to make a nice little piece for some table. The legs of the bottom are formed from the curled trunks of tiny elephant heads. Confirmation of the theme was on the lid: lovers. A man and a woman in what appears to be colonial-era garb. She’s reading a book (well, the book is splayed open, she looks fawningly toward her man) and he is brushing her hair. How sweet.

That’s love.
.
Today's Stats
Temp: 64 degrees F
Distance: 5 miles
Treasure: 1 small jewelry box, lovers on the lid, elephant heads and trunks for the feet.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
Mr. Pitiful - The Commitments
Castle Attack - Robert Kral ("Angel" TV soundtrack)
No One Like You - David Crowder Band
Broken (New Version) - Lifehouse
I'm Every Woman - Whitney Houston
Rock of Ages - Def Leppard
Dirty Life & Times - Warren Zevon
Love You To - The Beatles
Come Sail Away - Styx
Bennie and the Jets - Elton John
Track 05 - I have no idea what this instrumental is from, though it sounds like a movie score.
  
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet

They say you never forget your first girl. I don't think you
really forget any of them.
Not sure where I’m taking this one, but the title comes from the lyrics to “Best is Yet to Come,” which was playing as I neared the end of East North Street and headed up the ramp to the Farnham Street bridge to continue north Saturday morning.

Two days removed, I have no more idea what I was contemplating Saturday morning than I know what a cat staring at a wall is thinking. I could posit a few notions, but it would all be conjecture and supposition. What I do know is that the love theme had its genesis Saturday morning with “Best is Yet to Come.” Check out the lyrics:

Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum
You came along and everything starting to hum
Still it's a real good bet, the best is yet to come
The best is yet to come, and babe, won't that be fine
You think you've seen the sun, but you ain't seen it shine
Wait till the warm-up's underway
Wait till our lips have met
Wait till you see that sunshine day
You ain't seen nothin' yet
The best is yet to come, and babe, won't it be fine
The best is yet to come, come the day you're mine
Come the day you're mine
I'm gonna teach you to fly
We've only tasted the wine
We're gonna drain that cup dry
Wait till your charms are right, for these arms to surround
You think you've flown before, but baby you ain't left the ground
Wait till you're locked in my embrace
Wait till I draw you near
Wait till you see that sunshine place
ain't nothin' like it here
The best is yet to come, and babe won't it be fine
The best is yet to come, come the day you're mine
Come the day you're mine
And you're gonna be mine
[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/f/frank-sinatra-lyrics/the-best-is-yet-to-come-lyrics.html]
  
That’s good stuff. Ol’ Blue Eyes had the knack.

Today's Stats (Saturday, May 19)
Temp: 82 degrees F
Distance: 5.25 miles
Weekly Total: 14.6 miles
Treasure: 1 shiny penny; 1 wheel balancing weight; 24 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
By My Side  JJ Grey & Mofro
Mohammed’s Radio – Warren Zevon
Narrow Daylight – Diana Krall
Best is Yet to Come – USAF Band of Mid-America
The Grey Havens – Howard Shore (LOTR soundtrack)
Tumbling Dice (live 1972) – The Rolling Stones
Worried – Michael Been
Walk Between the Raindrops – James McMurtry
The Ballad of Billy the Kid – Billy Joel
Pictures of Lily – The Who
Love On The Air – David Gilmour
Shine (Re-Mix) – Newsboys
Tin Man – The Avett Brothers
So Emotional – Whitney Houston
Mr. Roboto – Styx
Poor Poor Pitiful Me (live) – Warren Zevon