I was able to Endure, now i'm Damaged... am i Crazy?!

I've got nothin'. Or do I? It often seems like I have nothing of importance to say but when I get going, something comes out...

I'm beat.

And I'm down because I pay a lot of attention to the news. STILL, in the midst of the cyclone aftermath in Burma/Myanmar, the "government" there is showing less than very serious concern for victims. People are starving. People need medical care. No urgent need, thinks the leaders of that nation.

And then, my God, the earthquake in Communist China. If any consolation can be had it's from the fact that everything possible is probably being done for the victims of that tragedy. I hate to commend the Chinese government, who strips their citizens of what should be basic human rights, but they're working their butts off and truly mobilizing in huge and quick ways to help. Maybe, hopefully, someday they'll realize they need to have stricter building codes in earthquake-prone regions and then less people will die. Unless a 7.9 hits New York City, so many people would not die in the United States in such an earthquake. In the eyes of so many, we're such a horrible country... yet at the same time so advanced while the rest of the world lags behind and lets their citizens die in massive numbers.

It's just all so damn sad. I hate to post about such horror in the world... but it's important. And since I don't go about my life spreading that haze of sadness post in and post out and everywhere I go and to everyone I come in contact with, a little now and then does emerge from these fingers. Helps to get it out of me.

Had been a decent day until I changed the channel from ESPN (to real news) and until I started to read some news sites. No work today so I got errands done, laundry done, and then I killed myself with a run. Literally. I'm dead with no Dead pun intended. Dead i.e. deceased. I'm now a ghost.

Well... that's what it feels like. No, it just feels like I'm dead, totally wiped out dead. Time to recover.

58°, sunny, had my Spring debut yesterday... but it still feels so good to be back outside!

Tuesday early afternoon Run: 20 minutes 22 sec

+3 sec

XXXXXXXX++++++·-05 sec·++++++XXXXXXXX

Run Time May: 2 hours 21 minutes April: 3 hours 51 minutes <-failed to pass March March: 3 hours 57 minutes

A wicked hard time with running today. Holy friggin' couch potato, Doogie Howser. I feel like quitting. Forever... and just sitting on the couch to watch TV from now until I'm 420 pounds.

Running indoors ROCKS. Why? No bear tracks and No chance of being attacked by a bear. Let's add onto that hell the fact that I ran through 20 minutes of thinking: "Just quit, stop, turn around, quit, you don't need to do this, quit, this is stoooopid, your legs HURT LIKE CRAP, quit, now, quit... etc." Yeah, that was fun. Music? What music? All I heard was that bull in my head while on and off I attacked it with a volley of: "STOP WITH THOSE THOUGHTS -- RUN -- YOU... CAN ...FINISH... THIS!!!"

Worst run all year... I think. Definitely my worst run in recent memory. Reason: the surface of the trail is different from the indoor track I've been so used to. Yesterday my run completely kicked my ass but I didn't fully know it until today... my quads were aching like a motherf.... but I wanted to push myself, I wanted to git 'er donnnne... I don't know why... I'm not trying to impress anyone... I just don't know... I guess because I'm not one to take it easy anymore... like I said, I wanna push myself. I did.

Twenty minutes down the trail and the walk back felt like 2 days long. When I got in my front door and into the shower I sat down and stayed there for over 20 minutes... I didn't wanna get out... but the darn water turned cold so it was either get out or get hypothermia... I chose the first one.

Now... I rest... and have a brief love affair with Advil.

Running tunes came from the album of the day...
	Plumb The Best Of 2003
Here With Me Sobering Stranded Endure Late Great Planet Earth Who Am I? Phobic Crazy Damaged Concrete God-Shaped Hole Pennyless Endure (Remix) Who Am I? (Remix) Crazy (Remix)

Who in their right mind puts out a Greatest Hits album after only 2 studio albums?!?! Plumb did so they could fulfill their recording contract before Plumb the band became Plumb the artist on a new record label.

I really dig this stuff. Tiffany Arbuckle Lee has a great voice and every song here has a cool "alternative" sound to it that I like. And while this is "Christian" music, there might not be a single utterance of the name God or Christ anywhere within the lyrics here. What that means is this doesn't cater to those who want in your face praise and worship while it does have mass appeal to those who want praise and worship without being so churchy preachy. I'm sure a lot of people listening to this might never make the connection.

Anyway -- here's some reading and reviews and some videos for Plumb from Jesus freak Hideout and Christianity Today.

find a dload @ Música Cristã MP3

VJ time!
not today. no video

Running to Pluto

There aren't many better ways to spend an hour of the afternoon. Makes me feel sorry for all the people who run on roads or paved paths or concrete sidewalks. On a trail along side a creek, (mostly) through the woods, with wildlife here and there is without a doubt the best!

time on trail: about 56 minutes

running time -- 7 minutes, 47 seconds (+19 seconds from yesterday)

tunes:

Plumb -- self-titled debut (1997)

Willow Tree
Pennyless
Sobering (Don't Turn Around)
Who Am I?
Concrete
Pluto
Cure
Unforgivable
Endure
Crazy
Send Angels
+
Terrapin Station -- Lore Constantine
Brokedown Palace -- Adrienne Young and Little Sadie

It's easy to see how Amy Lee of Evanescence has mentioned Tiffany Arbuckle Lee (no relation) -- a.k.a. Plumb -- as an inspiration. I look forward to downloading more of Plumb's music in the future.

To end my hike, the piano version of Terrapin was pretty cool but Brokedown Palace by Adrienne Young has got to be the most incredible cover version I have ever heard of any Dead song . . . ever. I'll have to look into more of her music but most definitely I'm gonna keep that Brokedown as filler to include on other hikes/jogs. Why, oh why, did Jerry never play a beautiful acoustic version like this?