Tunica -- Cat clinched

TUNICA, Miss. -- Even though I stayed up until 6 a.m. (CDT) to play poker, I woke up after only a few hours, got my running shoes on and ran around the perimeter of the sprawling Grand Casino complex.

The sun was hot and bright, like something you'd get from Tatooine's twin suns. I had my Maui Jims on and I slugged past hotel buildings, pools, an RV park and the flat river savannah.

On the way back, there were overturned orange construction barrels in the Grand's convention center parking lot. I made my way to them, hurdling all of them.

I only had to run a few miles Saturday but the 5-mile run helped me clinch 100 miles for the month, with a day to spare.

Later, after a shower, I put on my swimsuit and treated myself to 10 laps in the Grand-Veranda Hotel's magnificent pool.

It was an excellent day to spend a long-weekend/vacation. And the money would come later.

Overtraining

If being up at 1 a.m. on a worknight isn't an example of overtraining, I don't know what is. I ran 3.5 miles when I got home (it was so irresistable to run in light rain and also was used to running in the evening).

My shoes are pretty close to being broken in and I am happy to be running longer. I cut the number of miles I need for 100 this month to 9, with 4 days left. So I like my odds.

But I just need to take it easy. Although I am really wanting to clinch for the month right here and now.

From dusk til' dawn

So I feel almost high at work. I got up early and did a 5-mile run through Piedmont Park before my dentist appointment, which makes 12 miles in 12 hours...

Yesterday afternoon I crunched through about 7 miles with the Middlebear H Loop route, the first time in a few weeks that I was able to do so because of the intermittent pain my new right shoe causes my foot.

But I was happy to do the full course, which I hadn't been able to do for a while. I came home and in the shower I could feel the heat coming from the back of my legs, like the hood of a car engine.

It rained shortly after I ran this morning. But that prolly won't keep me away if I decide to run this afternoon.

Maui Jims and monthly goals

I'm a little behind on my monthly goal of running at least 100 miles for the month, mainly because of breaking my new shoes in (has prompted less mileage) and not properly scheduling enough time to run longer runs.

I stil have my streak (114 days in a row and counting), however.

I have about 25 miles to go this month and six days to do it. It's sort of like a playoff game at this point. I'm pretty sure I can do it, however. I'll run doubles, if need be.

The upcoming Tunica trip this weekend may complicate things but I'll find a way...

In other news, my Maui Jims arrived. It's so sick how many of them I've lost in recent years (I think this is my fifth pair). My last pair, which I used in the ING half-marathon, I had for a week before I must have dropped it in a grocery store. Ugh.

An accidental Tour sighting

This afternoon, pedaling into work, I found the last stage of the Tour de Georgia came my way.

Right across Boulevard, I had to wait as a convoy of police motorcycles passed. Then another one that said "Race Marshal."

Then some other cars.

Then the main pack of the race. It was really cool, seeing dozens of pro cyclers whiz by on the turn. I could only identify the CSC team from Denmark. Still, it made me giddy.

Then the roads opened up and I could make my way to work.

I'm plodding along on Baker when some guy, all decked out in cycling gear (but not good enough to be in the Tour, lol) passes me in his Specialized road bike. It wasn't too long before I was right on his wheel. I wasn't even in the fastest gear.

And then I took the next two hills to Peachtree.

Let's do the math. I climbed 1,378 stairs. And then ran six miles. And then biked a few miles to an assignment today and then to work. And I'm in a hybrid. And I'm 36 and not even sore.

It's going to be a different kind of game when Trek makes my rocket. I'm just sayin'.

Recon (a benefit of running)

Right now I'm finishing off a harvest cranberry scone from the new Trader Joe's in Midtown.

I wouldn't have known it was even open yet (opened Wednesday) if I hadn't been running and passed through the shopping center's parking lot.

When I lived in California, my gf at the time and I would walk to Trader Joe's and get the scones. It rocked.

I got a bunch of stuff and then hoofed it up the Virginia Avenue hill back home. It made me a little slower, but it was worth it.

Stairway to soreness (Climb Atlanta)

Amazingly, after hanging out with friends at the Sweetwater 420 Festival yesterday and even later at Manuel's, I managed to get up for the Climb Atlanta run, a fund raiser for the Lung Association.

I didn't want to drive but I had to get there an hour before the race started. On North Avenue, the Bank of America tower loomed. I often use the tower to orient myself in the city, especially at night. I wasn't sure I wanted to climb 55 floors of it this morning.

When the race started, we lined up in order of our bib numbers. I was #51, just after the first group. You entered the stairwell every 15 seconds. It was intimidating to just watch people run up the stairs out of view one at a time.

A photographer took pictures of people before they went up. This was good because afterwards I wasn't able to really stand still for a picture.

So I went up. It was eerie -- I couldn't hear people ahead of me. I thought I had the stair thing down -- I bike, I run some of the toughest hills in the city, but after the fourth floor I knew I wasn't prepared for this.

So I hoofed it. Sometimes two steps at a time, sometimes one. On later floors I took advantage of the handrails.

It wasn't too bad. A volunteer greeted you on every floor, which was just two turns of stairs. (I was expecting three or four turns like in some buildings).

A little after halfway up, the stairwell is carpeted. It was odd to be climbing stairs up carpet. I guess it's so executives won't have to scuff their shoes on tile.

At 54, I tried to run up to the last floor. But no dice.

My time was 12:50. I survived and was glad I did this unique race! But I'm pretty sure it'll take me a few days to get back to a normal running rhythm.