Random Running Thoughts

When I say random, I mean it.  Today I ran with the purpose of remembering what I thought about.  Unfortunately this means my thoughts were a bit contrived.  It was like going to bed with the intent of remembering your dream the next morning...difficult.  Today's running soundtrack was the Jimi Hendrix "Blues" album.  I find that if I listen to certain music, thoughts flow more freely.  I've never been on an "Acid Trip" but Jimi has and today's thoughts could be inspired by the randomness of a drug induced experience with Jimi.  So without further ado, here are my random running thoughts.

1.  Why do my knees and ankles hurt now that I've decided to run a half marathon?  I ran 3-4 times a week last year with little to no pain.  Now running is painful.

2.  Who was cooler, Jimi Hendrix or Sly Stone?  They both played guitar quite well, they both had amazing messes of hair, Jimi was a gypsy, Sly was the master of funk, Jimi died in rockstar fashion, and Sly dissapeared for 20 years before proving that drugs do have a permanent effect by making an ill-advised comeback. Hmmmm.

3.  When Darth Vader says, "I want that ship!" in Empire Strikes Back about the Millenium Falcon when he was on his way to owning two Death Stars, isn't that a wee bit too greedy?
4.  Inside jokes, unlike football, frisbee, and fireworks, are not cooler when outside...they are awkward.
5.  Speaking of awkward.  When someone does something socially abnormal and then someone else says, "Awkward" and their voice goes up at the end of the word awkward. That should be considered worse that awkward.
6.  I should have taken ibuprofen before I left on this run.
7.  "Amazing" has become one of my least favorite over-used words.  Amazing means to affect with great wonder; astonish.  Amazing should be reserved for seeing your children born, Lake Powell sunsets, carne asada burritos, Teahupoo, the female form, and God's grace.  When you start to use amazing to describe everything from the new season of a tv show, to a slam dunk, to the newest release of your favorite band...amazing loses its... amazing-ness.

8.  I like "Band of Brothers."  I watch the series once a year and enjoy it everytime.  Who is your favorite band of brothers?  Jonas', Nelson's, or any collection of African-Americans in a musical group together.  Speaking of which...

9.  Why is Jimi Hendrix so confident about his female situation in "Red House?"
10.  Why is it acceptable to run on coast highway in Carlsbad, but not on E. Vista Way in Vista?  You should see the looks I get. 
11.  My right knee, ankle, and left small toe hurt.
12.  Is it really necessary to get as close as you can to the white line I'm running on the other side of with your car when no car is coming from the other direction?  Your tempting me to explain, in certain terms,  my belief that you might be number one.
13. The Vista Community Clinic seems to be the most poorly planned location for those who have poorly planned.  C'mon... 14 parking spots for 30-40 cars every afternoon, pregnant mothers running across a busy street with hand out stretched to runny nose little children who need medical care, construction work constantly blocking half the exit/entrance area.  Reminds me of a certain sign.

14.  If I walk now, will it lessen the pain or increase the difficulty of running?  Second choice.
15.  I'm in Brengle Terrace Park and I see brown people...why?  Don't white people enjoy free entertainment, grass hills, and childhood memories too?
16.  You should rent and watch The Tillman Story.  I watched it last night and it was nice to get some pictures, videos, and faces to the names of the people I read about in Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer and Boots on the Ground by Dusk by Mary Tillman.  It furthered my distaste for politicians and war.

17.  Even though it is in the 50's, a sweatshirt wasn't completely necessary.
18.  Does anyone care?

19.  I took my family to Ocotillo Wells this weekend to meet some friends who had desert equipment.  I loved the desert as a kid and riding motorcycles became my identity when I was desperately searching for one in middle school.  I rode well into high school and even did some open desert racing with one of my best friends.  I, not trying to brag, thought I was quite good and pretty fast.  Even without practice for a few years, I outrode my friend in a team race one time.  This weekend I took both my kids on a quick ride on a quad in the desert and quickly showed them my "skills".  After popping a wheelie for quite some time down a road and then putting the quad into a doughnut, Brock asked me, "Where did you learn how to do that Dad?"  What skills do you have that your kids don't know about? 

20.  I should write about my friend Ken sometime.  I miss him.

21.  4.5 miles done and random thoughts complete.

Until we meet again.

When Do You Think?

I think a lot more now.  I think best when I am alone and not entertained.  Life has become filled up with so many forms of entertainment that don't inspire thinking.  I am not against those forms of entertainment, I just realize that they don't inspire.  I can spend an entire day watching television, checking my e-mail, reading Facebook updates, playing the Wii, and trying to figure out why the Angry Birds are so angry.  That day can go by and I really didn't have to use my brain.  In high school and college I used to body board a lot.  I can remember that the time spent out in the waves was where a lot of thinking occurred.  For some reason, physical activity done in solitary seems to get my brain moving and allows me to think.  In the last two years I have started running for health reasons, for entertainment, and to challenge myself.  One of my favorite aspects of running is time alone to think.  While I'm accruing mileage, losing weight, and getting faster, I'm also deep in thought. 

One of the things that I've been thinking about lately is some sort of creative outlet.  I'm not very good with my hands at creating things, building things, being artsy, or actually making anything I'm proud of (except beer). I'm much better with words, humor, and physical accomplishments. I'm proud when I can be clever, make someone laugh, and pull off a new trick on my wake board.  This all being said, I enjoy writing, I enjoy reading, and, as an English teacher, I enjoy teaching people the love of reading and to find their own voice in writing.  But...I don't write very much.  I've dreamed of writing screenplays, I picture music videos in my head when I hear songs, and the idea of a novel both scares and entices me.  I thought I might start with this blogging thing.

To be honest, I didn't know what the term "blog" stood for until right now when I Googled it and copied and pasted it here:

Blog

read, write, or edit a shared on-line journal

web log: a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies; "postings on a blog are usually in chronological order"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

A blog (a contraction of the term "web log") is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

I knew it, but I didn't know the history of the word...I just forgot about the whole web log thing.  The cool thing is that I'm way behind on this blog thing.  I have read a few from my friends and edited for another, but I've never read blogs on a regular basis.  It's also a bit confusing.  Why would you want to share your thoughts with random people who don't know or care about you?  I guess, for me, it is going to be that creative outlet I've been looking for.  If people are going to read or not read it, I really don't care...I want to write and that's what I've been thinking.

Next time, what do I think about when I run?