says mia, “this is what happens on your way home from work and you want to run across washington?!”

yep.

12 miles today. got cut. while i didn’t try to, i didn’t try to avoid it either.

yesterday i ran up mt si: 4000′ of gain over 4 miles and then back down the same way. the up was a pretty solid 57min that i ran smartly, i didn’t push too hard. the down was a very fun and fast 30min — moderately technical, pretty crowded. running down that mountain is the closest i’ll ever get to feeling self-sustained flight and i treat every leap like i might take off. bounding over rocks and roots, hurdling dog leashes, brushing against the side of the mountain when whipping around people on their way up who i didn’t see or who didn’t see me. earbuds plugged into my head, shuffle turned up loud drowning out the comments from hikers who are understandably not that into a borderline out-of-control trail runner barreling towards them. getting down mostly unscathed and stuffing my face with bananas and grapefruit and letting the sweat evaporate, leaving salt on my neck.

compared to yesterday, today’s run felt violent and empty. this happens to me from time to time. i’ll go through phases where i run past trees and let the branches lash whatever body part they happen to be near: face, neck, arms, legs. and i won’t think about it. i run faster and faster but it won’t feel fast enough and i’ll be unable to get enough oxygen into my lungs. i’ll get home and eat and eat and eat and not feel sated. it feels like a fight might feel when you drop the other guy with one punch and walk away clean — you’re psyched that you don’t need stitches but that expected punch to your face that never materialized leaves an empty feeling that just sucks. a lot. there’s something going on and i don’t think it’s physical. i’ll need to step back from it, maybe. i’ll let you know what i come up with.

it’s may and i’m yet to decide what kind of racing i’m going to do this year. i’m running well, which is good. feeling fast. the issue is that nothing sounds particularly appealing. half-marathon? probably, but it’s not like i need to train for it. regular marathon? yeah, at least one. but i haven’t picked a race yet and nyc is a) lottery and b) $155 + a plane ticket. local ultra-marathon? maybe. they’re just really long and i always wind up bleeding.

this has been on my mind a lot recently and then a few days ago i realized that this could be the year i start working up to running across the country. i’ve decided to start small-ish and run across half of washington state on the iron horse trail. 105 miles. i reckon i can do it in 3-5 days. the question is how to run with all my camping stuff. it’s almost pancake-flat and pretty wide all the way across, re: old railroad track. modified jogging stroller is my thought on how to carry everything. i may see what the guys in the running store think.

thoughts? i’m kind of at a loss here. also, i’ve never been out to central washington and may have to go scout it a little. i think it’s really hot in the summer. it’s pretty exciting. and i don’t think too difficult. i took a peek at the trail out here today. 6″ of snow on snoqualmie pass made me turn back after 1.5miles, so i drove on and checked out easton. flat, wide, lots of small rocks.

i’m not sure what i’d do without satellites telling me how fast i am. two days now i’ve been beat by people running for nearly departed public transit. yesterday i got torched by a woman in work shoes who was running for the bainbridge island ferry and today i struggled to keep pace with a skinny dude who was running for the 8 denny metro bus. i mean, the watch says i’m moving well, people who are about to miss their way home are moving better. granted, they’re not running for long, but still. it shouldn’t even be close. hooray for satellite validation.