Life as Competition

I've been really slack about the blogging of late. We went to the beach, and for some reason, summer in general makes me want to be doing stuff, instead of writing about doing stuff. Which then makes me feel guilty because I'm not being the blogger I want to be.

I'm not being the runner I want to be, either. On the running front, I have been a total slacker the last week. To be fair, the workout after my 7 miles was yucky, and then ever since then, I have been having both knee and ankle pain. So, I felt guilt and more guilt about not running while I was at the beach, but then ran 4.02 miles today in my normal 45 minute workout. That is the fastest pace I have finished it in, so interesting that I could take almost a week off and come out and do better than I thought I would. The other weird part was that I walked parts of it because it was so sucky, and then I ran faster than normal on the running parts. Also, no knee or ankle pain, so maybe the days off were for the best.

Other stuff going on: I meant to blog about it, but didn't. I finally read Life of Pi, which came out years ago, but has been on my to read pile for ever. Holy shit was that a great book. Instant classic, and a book that really sticks with me. I think about it probably once a day, in some way or another. If you haven't read it, i highly recommend it.

Also on my rec list: The Shadow of the Wind. Amazingly fun read and the most enjoyable book I've read in a long while. It is like a love letter to literature, a little fantastic, but in that space of fantasy that is real enough to seem plausible and tangible. Daniel, the protagonist, is lovable and endearing. His foibles (damn it, Sarah Silverman!!) are so everyman that you feel like they happened to you while you are reading. Maybe they did happen to you. Or will. Very difficult to describe what i mean by that, but the line between the novel itself, The Shadow of the Wind, the characters in the novel, the book by the same name that is its own character in the novel, and you the reader is all very blurry; While reading it, you feel as if you are a character in the novel, and in a way, you are. It is a fun and smart book with memorable, personable characters, not the least of which is the City of Barcelona. (Must. go. there. now.) Thanks to Mike for mentioning it. Now I am in that state where i wonder if it will become a movie, then realize what foolishness that would be to hope for, and then start thinking to myself who the cast should be.

Now I'm reading The Crossing, by Cormac McCarthy, because I was the one who loved All The Pretty Horses first, Todd. I told you and told you to read it, and you wouldn't, until McCarthy pulled the old apocalypse novel card, and only then was it considered cool enough for you to give it a whirl. Of course, for you and your ilk, that coolness has now been canceled out by virtue of McCarthy being an Oprah pick. Ha! The cruel hands of fate. . . Anyway, point being, Todd finally picked up All the Pretty Horses, and I can't let him get ahead of me in the race.

Yes, everything is a competition with me.