Sun, Nov 17-Sat, Nov 23

Sun Nov 17: AM. A 105 min run with MSRC group on Lake Mendota Dr thru the Shorewood Hills neighborhood, on the University Path and over residential streets. It was partly cloudy and around 50°.

Mon Nov 18: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was foggy early, then it became partly sunny. Temp of 32°.

Tues Nov 19: AM. A 90 min run around Lake Monona. It was dark and 60°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark, windy and around 50°.

Wed Nov 20: AM. Ran about 5 miles with the pastry club over city and residential streets. The sun was rising over mostly clear skies, temp of 41°. PM. A 35 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was lightly snowing and in the low 30s.

Thurs Nov 21: AM. A 45 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was in the upper 20s with snow flurries in the air. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was drizzling and around 40°.

Fri Nov 22: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. It was dark and 42°.

Sat Nov 23: AM. In Marshfield, A 35 min early morning run on the Veterans PKWY Trail and over residential streets before deer hunting. It was dark and in the mid 30s.

Winter is closing in

I just got off the phone with an old friend of mine, Summer. It feels like forever since I last heard from her. Lately I've really started to miss her. Summer is always so warm and happy. I asked her if she could come back, maybe stay for just another month or so. But unfortunately, my pleads were not able to persuade her. When the leaves fell and the bully winds came, Summer got the urge for going. So I guess she had to go.

Summer left me and now I'm freezing. It isn't even winter and I'm freezing. This sort of feeling isn't pleasing.

Above me, the Canadian geese are flying south. Those lucky ducks. I wish I had wings so I could fly south where it's warmer.

I guess I'll just go inside now. Maybe light a fire in the fireplace and wrap myself up with blankets. And pray that my dear old friend, Summer, decides to come back sooner than later.

I stole the title of this post from Bob Hodge who stole it from Joni Mitchell

The meadow grass in turning brown

Summertime is falling down

And winter is closing in

Sun, Nov 10-Sat, Nov 16

Sun Nov 10: AM. Ran the Madison Marathon in 2:40:10 (~6:07/mi). After opening up with a 5:50 downhill first mile, I ran fairly conservative 6:10ish pace till about the halfway point. I was feeling good so picked it up to around 5:50 pace before hitting a wall around mile 22. Last four miles were rough, in particular the last mile- an uphill death march to the capitol. Still it was a good race on a tuff hilly course. Organization wasn’t the best- there were a number of confusing spots where the course wasn’t well marked. Also, around eleven miles in, there was a mile+ stretch where the 10k participants were running directly at the marathoners! At least the weather cooperated—temperature was around 50° with overcast skies and a slight drizzle coming down towards the end.

Mon Nov 11: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. Legs are pretty sore but not as bad as after Grandma’s. It was mostly cloudy and in the low 50s.

Tues Nov 12: AM. A 33 min run on the Capital City Trail. Legs still pretty sore. It was cloudy and 36°. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. Legs are better. It was dark and 43°.

Wed Nov 13: AM. A 65 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets, last few miles with the pastry club. It was sunny and in the mid 30s.

Thurs Nov 14: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was 46° and drizzly. PM. A 33 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and around 50°.

Fri Nov 15: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. It was cloudy and in the mid 40s.

Sat Nov 16: AM. Ran 25 mins over city streets and on the SW Path to the track, did 4x2000m (7:20, 7:22, 7:15, 7:14), then ran 40 mins on the Wingra Creek Path and Capital City Trail. It was cloudy and around 40°. PM. A 50 min run on the Capital City Trail and on trails in Olin Park. It was mostly cloudy and in the upper 40s.

The picture on the left is Bill Rodgers running the 1975 Boston Marathon. The pic to the right is me running the Madison Marathon this past Sunday—notice the resemblance?

Here are a few more colourful pics from last Sunday's run:

What am I doing out here?

Restrooms and Solar Systems ☞

This past Sunday I ran the Madison Marathon. It was a good race- I ran it in 2:40 which was a 5 minute PR. But I don’t much feel like thinking about that right now. I will save all the colourful details of that race for another post at another time. Right now, I would like to tell you about what happened afterwards. After I ran me arse off.

So anyway after the marathon I was feeling really terrific (high as a kite on LSD) so I called up a couple old blokes and headed on down to a place called the Mermaid Cafe. I'd never been there before, but I'd heard a lot of good things about it. Truth be told, it wasn't that great. The service was bloody terrible. Fifteen minutes I had to wait to get a pint. Fifteen minutes! I should've just ordered three right away. The place did have a cool atmosphere though and I shared a lot of laughs with me mates. All in all, it was a grand old time. After several rounds of drinks, I had to use the loo. I must've damn near drank the place dry. Whoever designed the layout of the Mermaid ought to be shot. It was like a maze in there, especially for me in my boozed up state.

Thankfully there was a sign to guide me in the right direction. Now this wasn't a normal restroom sign. This sign may have been my favourite part of the place. The sign read: "Restroom and Solar System" this way (arrow pointing the way). Isn't that great. Restroom and Solar System. Yes. That made my day. And Solar System (!) I just about pissed me pants when I read that sign. Bloody fantastic. I'm going to leave you on that note. Besides, I don't remember much else of the evening.

Okay, so that’s not what actually happened. I just felt like writing some silly nonsense with a bunch of British slang thrown in. In reality, Alex, Ryan and I went to the Great Dane after the race—a great place with great food, great beer, great service, and of course, great danes.

As for the Mermaid Cafe—it’s a swingin’ spot in probably the happiest song from Joni Mitchell’s melancholy-soaked Blue album.

Come on down to the Mermaid Cafe

And I will buy you a bottle of wine

And we’ll laugh and toast to nothing

And smash our empty glasses down

But there really used to be a restaurant in Madison called the Mermaid Cafe. It closed several years ago. I’d never been there myself so I can’t say if it was any good or not. The owner opened up a new place called the Mermaid Kitchen. And I kid you not, the Mermaid Kitchen is without a doubt the most obscure bakery in Madison. They only sell bagels. But let me tell you, these are no ordinary bagels. The Mermaid Kitchen is located in the middle of a brick warehouse building. While strolling past this warehouse one Saturday morning, I noticed a sign on the door that simply said “Bagels”. I tried the door, and to my surprise it was open. The inside of this warehouse literally is a maze. After wandering around in the building for at least an hour, I eventually found my way to the place where they sell the bagels on the second floor. But it wasn’t like an actual counter-service. There was just a table there with brown bags full of bagels. Nobody was around. “It’s my lucky day” I thought “Free bagels!” But then I noticed that the bags each had a name written on them. I could have easily grabbed Fred’s or Judy’s bagels and walked out, but that would be stealing and I am not a crook. So I hollered out, “Hey! Is anybody here?” After a minute or two, the bagel cook poked her head out. She informed me that the bagels are only available to those who pre-order them online Monday-Friday, then pick them up Saturday morning. What a headache. But the headache just might be worth it. The bagels are out of this world. Maybe even out of this solar system.

These bagels are out of this world

There was a book I found in one of those little free libraries a few weeks ago titled, “Solar System and Rest Rooms☞” by some bloke named Mel Bochner. I only read the first couple pages before realizing it was shit (Sorry Mel!) Even the few pictures were lousy. But it did have a helluva great title. Solar System and Rest Rooms. That's a fantastic title. Do you understand the juxtaposition? Think about it! For crying out loud, think about it. Solar system that way. Just follow the sign.

Sun, Nov 3-Sat, Nov 9

Sun Nov 3: AM. A 90 min run with the MSRC group around Lake Monona. Light drizzle early turned into a steady rain as the run progressed. Temp around 50°.

Mon Nov 4: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 61°. PM. A 30 min run on the Lake Wingra route. It was dark and 63°.

Tues Nov 5: AM. A 65 min run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, and SW Path. It was rainy and in the low 60s.

Wed Nov 6: AM. Ran about 5 miles with the pastry club over city and residential streets. The sun was rising over cloudy skies, temp in the upper 40s. PM. On the track, did 5x400m (73, 71, 73, 71, 71). It was dark and in the mid 40s.

Thurs Nov 7: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. The sun was rising over clear skies, temp in the upper 30s.

Fri Nov 8: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was sunny and 43°.

Sat Nov 9: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly cloudy and around 40°. Resting for tomorrow.

Sun, Oct 27-Sat, Nov 2

Sun Oct 27: DNR - Beautiful out, but not feeling well. Didn’t do any running today.

Mon Oct 28: DNR - Resting to get rid of cold.

Tues Oct 29: PM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. Warm out—temp around 80°—but still have a lingering cold.

Wed Oct 30: AM. Ran about 5 miles with the pastry club over residential streets. It was dark and around 70°.

Thurs Oct 31: AM. A 78 min run with Jonah, Amos, and Ena over city and residential streets and paths. It was dark and in the upper 50s.

Fri Nov 1: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was mostly sunny and around 40°.

Sat Nov 2: AM. In Appleton for the Houdini 10k - finished 4th in 33:42 (~5:26/mi). Had a good battle with another runner, he got the better of me but helped to pull me along to a PR. Great race effort! The weather was ideal—mostly sunny skies, not much wind and a temp in the low 40s.

Gettin' thirsty

Not a very good start to the week being sick and all. I took a couple days off from running and fortunately recovered in time for Saturday’s race- felt really good. Will take it fairly easy this coming week before the Madison 42.195k on November 10, 2024.