Reading, Running in Big Sur, and a Brain Scan

A side effect of taking running less seriously is taking my running blog less seriously. It's been a busy few weeks and I've started writing with a pencil, on paper, which means less writing here. Last Thursday I flew out to San Francisco and visited my Big Sur friends Chuck and Erlinda. Being in Big Sur was amazing. The eucalyptus, the air, the light, the views. I had breakfast at Deetjen's, walked on Pfieffer Beach, and ran in Molera SP. It was a quick trip, but worth every minute. Big Sur hasn't changed much in ten years. They paved our old road, which used to be a 15-minute drive up a 1000-ft hill on a dusty dirt road. Now it's 10 minutes and dust-free.

Windblown me at the top of Clearidge

Since I got home on Jet Blue's Monday-Tuesday red-eye, I've been doing a lot of sleeping. I missed a couple of speed workouts, so I've been slowly catching back up with my training. Today I ran 6x400 at the track; a substantial 0:10 off my target mile pace on average, but it felt great to be back out there. I am also perfecting my "the-bathroom-is-closed-and-I-forgot-TP" technique. I'm a pro -- not at the actual running part, but I defy anyone to find a better cop-a-squatter.

Yesterday I had my yearly 2-hour MRI, and after dizzily climbing out of the claustrophobia-inducing casket, I had another one of my realizations, almost as good as the email one from a few weeks ago. Three years ago I quit my MS medication. I was happy to submit to the yearly MRIs because I wanted to avoid the meds, and I thought the neuro would be happy if he could see that my brain seemed stable. Anyway, I realized that I could quit MRIs, just like I quit meds. There hasn't been any change in my symptoms or my brain scans in over three years. Even better than quitting the MRIs; it seems like I can quit MS too.

Maybe the quitting realization was brought on by my recent speed-reading of the book The Man Who Quit Money. I am probably never going to drop out of society, but it is an irresistable thought. I tend to vacillate between ambition in the traditional theme-park sense, and a bowel-loosening urge to quit my job and plant bok choi in the desert. See, it's obvious why I keep my day job.

I also just finished Light in August, which was not my favorite of Faulkner's opera, but was a welcome departure from all the poorly written nonfiction I typically read. Two nights ago I found Infinite Jest on sale for $1.99 for Kindle, so I'm reading that now. It reads like a Wes Anderson movie; I can hear the soundtrack to Rushmore in my head while I'm reading, which is not unpleasant.

Maple wants me to "make clothes" with her. Today's installment: we'll turn tissue paper into colorful frocks for her dolls. And then I'll take a nap. Sean will be home soon with kitty litter made from corn, and garbage bags. It's a fine Saturday afternoon, made ever finer by the two days of vacation that preceded it.