Day 3: Form and Function

Day 3, Week -5 / 5:30PM

6 miles from door to door, round Lake Merced

Completed in ??m ??s

Peak speed at ??? mph for ? min.

[I forgot my watch]

Good morning.  It was Lincoln Day yesterday.  Started off with Obama’s speech, and went to the gym, I went against running because I wasn’t fully awake, and not about to faint on the treadmill.

I did end up running at the end of the day though.  The sun stayed out just a bit longer, but it was still cold.

I took careful consideration of my form.  I try to integrate best practices when it comes to running, paying mind to form – I pretend that I’ve got a string at the top of my head and it’s being pulled by the sun, my shoulders pulled back, not too far though.  There’s an optimal range of posture that seems awkward, but i’m sure is familiar to marching band geeks.

I’m also mindful of footstrike, making sure not to slam on my heel at too rough of an angle, as I know from long runs that such an angle affects your joints and your lower back.

I also made sure not to exert myself on the last .25 mile too hard, as I knew I’d catch cold–if I let the cold air get to deep in my lungs, but I’m not even sure if that’s a true thing, I just pretend that it is…

Felt relieved that I worked my body twice yesterday.  The run was a nice cap to the day, as I purchased an individual membership at the California Academy of Sciences (I can take another person in with me for free, wanna come along?).  The one most amusing thought I had out there was the abundance of folks with $1000 – $4000 worth of digital photo equipment taking photos.  In fact, it seemed bizarre altogether that so many people would take such photos, and for what memories?  I suppose posterity can’t be all that bad, but it doesn’t seem memorable to pick up a photo of an Alligator Gar behind glass, well, unless you happened to jump in the aquarium soon thereafter.  I’m not bitter that I don’t have that equipment in tow, it just seems ludicrous.

I enjoyed the penguins, the jellyfish, and listening to the short narratives from all of those involved in the preservation of the Philippine Reefs…

I made sure to hit up the rainforest dome, I nearly teared at the sight of several butterflies trying to fly out, and the others that lay dead.  Of course my imagination got the best of me, as I attempted to draw a plan to head over to Madagascar to document conservationist groups.

I also hit up the Planetarium and realized that whole fiasco and space is the best place to fall asleep.  It was better than a car ride in a baby’s car seat.  Even the hosts’ voice was very soothing.  But you figure all of its got to be that way to prepare you, ease you into the idea that this world will end, but we have options, and the god that you once thought you may have understood, may not even really be the only god, or be a god at all… all my pains and gripes were washed away temporarily at the prospect that we are not alone, and everything you thought was a big deal, is literally, not a big deal.  Wait, that’s not to dismiss the things we are passionate about, but it’s a good model just to recall when you aren’t at your best.

In a final effort to figure out what brings me joy in my life for that day, I thought about hitting up Amoeba and picking up the Menahan Street Band’s album, but since I had gutted my bank account for most of that day, I abstained.  I figure it would be best to just practice on my trumpet and all it a night…but I didn’t, I went to Manilatown’s pre-V-day festivities.  A small group of Manilatown supporters had their fill of sweets and booze, poetry, salsa dancing, and good company.  I left buzzing to the comforts of my bed (geez, sounds pitiful).

Now it’s Friday the 13th, and I botched things up with a V-Day partner earlier this week so we’ll see how this day goes.  Hopefully the CAAM, SFIAFF kick off party will provide fertile ground for me to come out shining!  Here’s to good friends and libations!