Run DMZ

I don’t know how you run-walk folks do it. Terri suggested the next time I rave about a great view on one of my runs, that I take a picture. So, I packed my digital camera as I headed out to run around Del Mar. Every time I thought something picture-worthy, I slowed to a walk to point and shoot. This haphazard system threw off my sense of pace, my breathing pattern, my digestive system and my final mileage. (And, yes, I know the true walk breaks are timed and in set intervals. I'm just messin' with ya.) But what ended up being bad for me may be good for you who wish to be warmed vicariously by the following photos of what was otherwise a fantastic morning. (I’ve saved a few for upcoming Wordless Wednesdays .) I arrived just before sunrise. The first surprise, other than there being so few cars parked along a normally packed lot, were temps just above freezing with the wind chill. My fingers felt frozen within a couple of minutes. However, it was 15 degrees warmer once I climb...

The post's title sums up my week of 'round the clock activity. I get up, go run, shower, eat breakfast, get to the office early, work through lunch at my desk, leave the office late, eat dinner, check email and crash holding a book or staring at the TV. I'm not complaining, just explaining. As for yesterday's photo, it is indeed a sculpture outside the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Unlike the linear pattern of my days, this artfully arranged wreckage aptly reflects my mental state at the moment.

The first time I returned to the gym after a long absence, I saw a notice reminding everyone there was a dress code at the place. It boiled down to two things: No hats indoors and no revealing clothing. The first made perfect sense since it's long been proper etiquette, particular among the mostly military clientele, to remove your hat when indoors. The second part, though, has me curious. Maybe I just work out at the wrong time, but I've never seen anyone, male or female, dressed in anything less than T-shirt, shorts and/or sweats. Never. This place is for the hardcore, or hardcore wannabes like me. No one talks while they work out, let alone makes eye contact and smiles. A few did before the war, but not now. It's one reason I love the place. Initially, I thought the dress code reminders were for all the January newbies. Then I remembered they first appeared in December. This weekend, they multiplied and were plastered in every room. Who keeps showing up half-naked, I won...

About every other week I run this 5-mile loop that takes me into an adjacent neighborhood with two big hills and one really strange house. This place on Picrus Street stands out among all the other stucco-and-red-tile tract homes because of one thing: It reeks of birdsong. About a half block away you start to hear the loudest chirpers and by the time you reach the house, it sounds like a zoo aviary in the throes of spring breeding. During the day, it's probably a delight. But in the still darkness of pre-dawn, it sounds a little like the crows in that Alfred Hitchcock horror movie. I don't know how the neighbors can stand it. What I'm still trying to figure out is whether these birds are being held captive or just taken with this particular backyard. And how on earth can anyone sleep through that?! There must be hundreds of them, maybe thousands, heard but never seen, each calling out for attention or for help every time they hear the approaching footfalls of a would-be sui...

I just returned from a glorious Sunday run to Black Mountain Park and back, the kind of leisurely early morning run that makes you feel so gosh darn lucky to live in America's Finest City. People from central San Diego know Black Mountain -- it's pretty hard to miss from the freeways thanks to some unsightly antennae towers at the top. Luckily for me, there are a number of hilltop parks near it that I can run to on weekends. It's always worth the climb, even if sometimes it's just to experience the descent's sweeping views of the entire Carmel Valley all the way to the ocean. I hit 25 miles for the week, which is close to the 30 mpw average I'm hoping for during the month of February. I wore short sleeves to work last week and couldn't help but notice my jiggly upper arms, so I'm trying to make more time for a few rowing sessions at the gym. My weight is also up -- alarmingly so. I'm weighing what to do about it. (And, yes, that was a pun.)