Central Parkway-Kingsford-Foggy Bottom Street Loop

ST. LOUIS — I ran for 38:40, or about four miles, on the Central Parkway-Kingsford-Foggy Bottom Street Loop from Jim and Karen Perkins' house on Thursday night, with lightning flashes in the distance and under an almost pink, big-city haze.

I could not eat $25 of food at Busch Stadium this afternoon. However, I bought two, 16-ounce Bud Lights, a hot dog, a scorecard, and a St. Louis Cardinals pencil that, after tips, cost a total of $26.75. The hot dog was perfect.

I walked the Levy Loop yesterday morning before my drive to St. Louis.

OVERHEARD

"Monica said she thought you were beautiful, Dad. She was awed by your beautifulness."
— breathtakingly petepretty blonde teenager to her father in Section 335 of Busch Stadium during the top of the third inning of the Houston Astros' 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals

Gimblett Loop

I felt light tonight running the Gimblett Loop; only pushed it a little right at the end, literally the final 20 yards, to break 47 minutes. Don't ask why. I ran it in 46:58, with splits of 9:46, 9:55, 9:12, 9:26, and 8:39.

This morning I did a sprint routine similar to yesterday on the Levy Loop. I think it took a little over 24 minutes. This speed infatuation has come about in a bit of flash, though maybe somewhere in the recesses it's been there all along. Speed was the source of my first athletic success, almost unappreciated at the time, as a second grader at Chena Elementary. Recalling now, for the first time I think, I see a hazy view of a gymnasium and a shrug at beating all the boys in a sprint. I was from that point until people stopped measuring always at least nearly the fastest. So here I am for a moment trying to recapture the firmament of all I once was as a runner and will give it at least a good week of my interest.

Tomorrow I plan to drive to St. Louis. Jim has tickets for the Cardinals-Astros game on Thursday afternoon. I plan to leave for Richard's farm on Saturday morning, and return to Levy after I attend dad's Methodist church service on Sunday. I hope to run enough to at least partially balance all the food. My goal is to eat $25 worth at Busch Stadium. I'm not sure that's possible.

North Little Rock High

It was 69 degrees at 11 p.m. Central when I started 5X1000 meters at the North Little Rock High track, so perfect. I ran them, with three-minute, 200 intervals, in 5:03.9, 4:56.9, 4:49.3, 4:54.7, and 4:36.2.

I walked the Levy Loop on Saturday morning and the Maple Street Loop yesterday morning, and walked and jogged about five miles from Boyle Park on Saturday on Frost Bite's Hash run that included a dash across the No. 8 fairway at First Tee, a hike from the No. 8 green to the length of the No. 9 fairway, up into the parking lot and out onto University Avenue.

Raw speed was once my strength, but is now a quality that has deteriorated to near nonexistence. Cognizant of my proneness for well-planned pursuits surrendered shortly after their start, this morning I took the first steps toward speed enhancement. I progressed along the Levy Loop from a walk to easy jogs, short strides on the balls of my feet, to, near the end, dead sprints of 50 yards or so. The loop took me 22:50 to complete. I felt almost fast by the end; relatively fast. I ran 100 meters, considerably short of all-out, in 21.4 seconds as part of my warmup for tonight's 1000s.

North Little Rock High

I ran 8X200 meters with 200 jog intervals in 50.2, 49.5, 47.9, 48.5, 47.5, 48.8, 49.6, and 45.5. My intervals took between 83 and 87 seconds. The two miles took 17:43.

I walked the Levy Loop the last two mornings.

Orange Street Loop

I hoped to run the Orange Street Loop quickly tonight, but was interrupted by a tall blonde named Mary Lyons about a mile and a half into it and slowed to let her tag along. I covered the loop in 27:09, with splits of 8:43, 8:54, and 9:33. I felt great when Mary jogged up to me out of the dark and said, "Excuse me; could you tell me how far it is from one end of Maple Street to the other? Do you have any idea?" I guessed eight tenths of a mile. She said she didn't think it was quite that far as she began to jog beside me. I invited her to finish the loop with me. Mary said she usually ran at about 11 minutes a mile, so she was pushing it. It was easy for me. Mary said she, her husband, and four children recently moved to Levy from Sherwood.

North Little Rock High

I ran 5X1000 meters at the North Little Rock High track, with three-minute, 200 intervals, in 5:12.3, 5:01.4, 4:53.5, 4:52.0, and 4:45.0. They were easy.

Sunday I jogged and walked about three miles with Hashers at Camp Clearfork, and walked the Levy Loop the last three mornings.

Park Hill Loop

My legs felt awful tonight. I ran the Park Hill Loop in 52:36, with splits of 10:02, 10:44, 10:24, 10:53, and 10:33.

I walked the Levy Loop yesterday morning.

Gimblett-Maple Street Loop

I ran the Gimblett-Maple Street Loop, seven miles, in 1:08:17, with splits of 10:09, 10:35, 9:50, 10:04, 9:15, 9:35, and 8:48. It seemed easy through about four and a half miles, but thereafter hard.

I walked the Levy Loop this morning and spent about 90 minutes mowing my lawn, edging, and sweeping my sidewalk and driveway this afternoon. I'm tired, and hungrier and than two motherfuckers.

North Little Rock High

Not counting the Big Goddam Bridge Twilight 5K, how come I have run five times 1000 meter on three Saturdays, with no intervals, in averages of 4:58 (in May), 4:52 , and 4:47 (both in July), and can't run 5x1000 meters at a similar pace with a three-minute interval? There must be a reason. At any rate, why can't I figure out a way to complete this workout without exhausting myself whatever the pace? Tonight I tried to not look at my time, just run them by feel at a pace I felt I could maintain for five. I did three and a half and quit. I got them in 4:55.7, 4:45.9, and 4:48.2, and the final 500 in 2:33.8. I have run these nearly once a week since the middle of fucking April and they make me feel like an idiot. I'm going to give them one more try.

I walked the 35th Street Loop on Monday morning and played Rebsamen Park Golf Course with Jeff Krupsaw in the afternoon and scored a 107, with nines of 49 and 57. I had 3 pars, 5 bogies, 3 doubles, 5 triples, 1 quadruple, and 1 pentagonal and used 33 putts. I walked the Orange Street Loop yesterday morning. This morning I walked the Levy Loop.

Old Center Point Road

NASHVILLE — Friday night, as I lay for sleep in my mother's guest-room bed, I noticed a sharp pain in my left breast. It felt like the result of someone having plunked me with a ball-peen hammer a day or two before. Saturday morning at about 6 a.m., I gave it a test run on Sunset Drive and Third Street. It still hurt. That, combined with mother's reluctance to join me for a 25-mile drive to and the subsequent crowd at the Watermelon Festival 5K in Hope, led me to skip the race and instead eat a big plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns. The pain persisted throughout the day. I diagnosed it as lung cancer, which made me think more highly of my five-mile, out-and-back run on Old Center Point Road at 8:30 p.m. Central last night, covered in 49:26, with splits of 10:36, 10:24, 9:57, 9:23, and 9:06.

This morning the pain endures and has migrated through to my back, which gives it a familiar feeling. Perhaps it's not lung cancer and I have overrated my last run.

Friday morning I walked the Levy Loop.

I walked the Orange Street Loop this morning and ran and walked about three miles with Ron Gimblet and Basil Julian at Rick Rainey's Hash run in Sherwood this evening.

North Little Rock High

Among my innumerable flaws, I for some reason find most egregious the one that insists I hold all current circumstances in relief of the past. Most at first glance label this sentimentality, which is good, because that misdiagnosis has probably gotten me laid more than any of my strengths; except those people eventually, as I long ago, realize it scrapes closer to insanity.

Tonight at the North Little Rock High track I ran an old workout, one introduced by Russellville High track coach Don Carnahan in the spring of 1977: 8X200 meters with 90-second, 200 jogs for intervals. We had to do them under 30 seconds while Coach Carnahan watched. I last did this workout on an April evening, 2004. Ashley came by unannounced that night with two 15-inch platters of pepperoni-pizza flavored cardboard from Lil' Caesars and I talked her into escorting me to the track. I ran the eight 200s in an average of 41 seconds while Ashley jogged and dashed a bit. As we tried to eat the pizza, before I tossed it in the garbage and grilled steaks and steamed asparagus, I told her about 1980, when I frequently did 16 in an average of 26; and furthermore how little I appreciated the fact I was doing something no more than 2,000 living Americans could do. Two-thousandth won't get you money or magazine stories, then or ever. Tonight I admired my performances from 29 years ago, and ran eight 200s in 52.1, 52.9, 51.3, 51.0, 48.6, 49.2, 49.4, and 46.8. They were easy, but only because my legs won't go fast enough to make them anything other. I covered the two miles of sprints and intervals in 18:42, after a 10:24 warmup mile. It's true; I am slow in every essential way, evidenced by my 200 times and revisions of 1977, 1980, and 2004.

I plan to visit my mother in Nashville tomorrow and Saturday, and might drive the 25 miles to Hope for the Watermelon Festival 5K on Saturday morning. My over-under is 24:08 if I do.

Park Hill Loop

I ran the Park Hill Loop tonight in 49:04, with splits of 10:07, 10:18, 9:42, 9:47, and 9:09.

Sunday I walked the Levy Loop and ran and walked about four miles in Burns Park on Bill Brass' Hash run. I walked the Levy Loop on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and played nine holes at Fort Roots with John Dumpster and Huggy on Monday and John Kelley and Tony the kind of Mexican-looking Hasher on Tuesday. I scored 45 the first day and fell apart the second. If I had kept score after the second hole, I probably would have scored about a, no kidding, 70.

Gimblett Loop

I ran the Gimblett Loop tonight in 47:53, with splits of 9:56, 10:10, 9:20, 9:37, and 8:50. It was 75 degrees when I started at about 8:45 p.m. Central, so nearly perfect for the first day of August in Levy.

Thursday afternoon I walked the Levy Loop. I ran it in 19:46 last night, and walked and jogged it in about 25 minutes this morning.