The Deep South

So what has been keeping me away from my beloved blog for weeks on end, depriving you of the joy and fulfillment that comes from reading the tales of my heroic misadventures as a runner (and various other "professions" which I claim)?

In a word, barbeque.

Since my training was inconsistent this fall (read:  I was lazy and used my PE Exam as an excuse), I opted not to run the Thanksgiving day race.  It was colder than I was counting on, and I didn't see anything to be gained by spending $20 on a race which I wasn't prepared for after spending a week out in the woods in the rain looking for deer.

So Thanksgiving came and went, I ate too much (like everyone else), and then it was time to head south for work.  I spent the last 2 weeks in Mississippi doing bridge inspections.  I liked Mississippi - the people are nice, the weather was warmer than here, and the food was really good.  There is barbeque everywhere - you step out the door in the morning, and immediately smell the smokers from the various barbeque places that have been going since 6 am.

And why didn't I blog about this while I was there?  Well, for one thing, there was no running.  I had scheduled a full 2 weeks off after Thanksgiving - the 2 weeks in Mississippi.  For another, I was just tired.  Inspecting all day, day after day, with no days off until we came home.  Usually I was ready to hop in bed as soon as possible.

Now that I'm back, I've started my winter schedule.  The weeks off, combined with eating too much, have really taken a toll on my conditioning.  I feel almost like I'm starting over.  I've done 12 ugly, slow miles this week, all of it "easy", with little quality.  The only consolation is that I have ran 4 days - consistency seems more important right now than mileage.

Back to the endless inspection reports that I now have to write...