More Intensity

Thoughts from today's slog:

Thought 1) In the movie, Lost in Translation, Bill Murray is an American in Japan to film an ad for Suntory Whiskey. Between takes, the director speaks volumes of Japanese words which are then translated for Murray simply as, "More intensity." The joke is not lost on me, or on anyone else who is sometimes confused by imprecise or incomplete instructions. It's also not lost on me because more intensity may be what got me into this recent mess. This mess, of course, is much more Achilles pain than usual, resulting in a startling decrease in fitness. Not that said fitness was all that great to begin with, but I was at least trying to do something of substance once in a while. And I'd begun trying to whip myself into better shape to run the Boston 2.1 Marathon on April 11.

Thought 2) Boston 2.1 ain't gonna happen. At least not in marathon form; I switched to the half. Even that will be a challenge.

Thought 3) That intense Achilles pain has subsided just a little in the past few days. It's probably because I've gone back to 100% shuffling. I don't even try to do anything of substance anymore. I was tempted yesterday when I met training partner extraordinaire Michelle Wolff. Michelle was doing mile repeats, something I used to eat for breakfast. I wasn't able to keep up with her for even one lap. This is actually a good thing, for reasons you can find within the thoughts above.

Thought 4) Along with the fitness for intensity, my mileage has suffered as well. I just can't run as far as I could in the even recent past. After getting through most of the winter on about 70 miles per week, I'm now doing far less than that. But then there's this stupid streak.

Thought 5) This Friday, my streak (running every day) will have reached a year. I'll post more about this, but there are two sub-thoughts here: a) this is surely the dumbest running-related thing I've ever done, and b)  I can't wait to take a day off.