Thursday, July 7, 2011

#347: Opening Night and a Rambling Recovery Run

I'm a huge fan of rest. Love it. Can't get enough of it. But waiting three days to get back on the road after Monday's 10K seemed like an eternity. True, my legs didn't really feel like running until today, but the rest of me was jonesing to get out there. I know I'm addicted now, because I start getting restless and irritable when I go too long without a run.

I decided to "ramble" today. Left the driveway with no particular distance or route in mind. If anything, I wanted to explore some streets and paths that I hadn't used before. All I knw for sure was that I wanted to go sloooow. At the end of Monday's race, I pushed myself. Hard. It felt great, but I have no idea what that long sprint (if I can call it that with a straight face) might have done to me. I just wanted to get out and move my feet for a couple miles. Just get the blood flowing.

It was hot. Like 85-89 degrees hot. Like 101 degree heat index hot. I was careful to drink plenty of fluid before the run, and checked in frequently to make sure that my head was clear, my vison sharp, and my skin sweaty. My mouth did dry out a couple of times, but that happens to me a lot thanks to the false teeth and the damage the radiation did to my salivary glands. I kept a slow enough pace that I didn't over exert myself, but stayed just fast enough to keep the breeze blowing against my face. I don't think that the heat affected me much one way or the other.

I pulled the Nike Pegasus Trail Runners out of the shoe shelf today. I haven't run in them for a while, and while they're pretty old and squishy, I like the way they feel and like to use them now and then. Today I discovered that they can rub me a little wrong. I had on very short socks, like a little pom-pom short of being what Mrs P calls "footies." Ordinarily, these are just fine, but the tongue and welt on these trail runners are a little higher than my other shoes. The lining rubbed my skin and while I didn't get any blisters, I did get a couple hot spots on the back of my heels and the top of my right ankle. My toes seemed to be getting on one another's nerves a lttle, too. I may try putting a little Aquaphor on my feet before my next hot run, just to see if it helps.


Fat Man Acting...
"Woe, woe for England..."
Richard III opened last night to very kind notices. I'm not usually a fan of reviewers, but Candace said something nice about me, so I'll be eating out of her hand for a few more days.Of course, if she hadn't mentioned me, I'd be calling her an idiot right now. Let's not get carried away. A critic is still a critic, after all.

I was a little surprised at how positive the review was. I have a sort of sick, maybe even pathological reverence for Shakespeare. I'm never as hard on myself and my colleagues as I am when playing in one of Will's little worlds. I am so focused on perfecting my work, I can only see the flaws. Kind of nice to have an outsider look in and say that she enjoyed what she saw. It doesn't keep me from trying to improve the authenticity and clarityof my playing, but a little applause can be good for the soul.

I'm looking forward to tonight's show for a couple of reasons, but particularly because I just had this nice hot run in the part of the day that I usually fill with a pre-performance nap. At the moment, I feel a lot fresher than I do when I've spent an hour asleep in the afternoon. It will be interesting to see if that lasts until the curtain call... or at least until they cut my head off in Act 2. I'm going to be doing a lot more playing and running in the next few months. How great it would be if I find them starting to compliment one another?

Peace,
Pennsy


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