Because Running Is Cheaper Than Therapy...

Worked the overnight shift with the overnight crue (who were great;  it's just that pesky circadian rhythm..)...

Awokened this morning to a consultation request that'll require solutions to both immigration and health care reform (I'll get right on that...)...

The microwave stopped working (yes, the warranty's out...)...

Today's the day we have to meet with our accountant (scheduled to end right during rush hour traffic...)...

And during the first few steps of today's brief run what came to mind was, damn, it feels good to move...

Or Maybe Not, Once You Factor In Shoes, a GPS Watch and Heart Rate Monitor, Chafing-Free Technical Clothes, Spray-Tanner to Remedy That Crazy Farmer's Tan, Race Registration, Ibuprofen...
2.65 mi.  22 min.:24 sec.  8:27 pace.

The Great Indoors, or, I Have a Vision - Televsion

I've been running in the gym a lot for the past couple of weeks so I could kill two birds with one stone, work out while keeping up on the news in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East, but sometimes my plans don't work out - some days, rather than having CNN on the televisions, well, let's just say that I end up watching more Oprah than any fully employed straight man should be admitting to (did you know that Susan Lucci has been playing her role as Erica Kane on All My Children for over 40 years?  well, I do now).

But besides affording me an opportunity to keep up with current events and cultural milestones, running indoors lets me work on my running form.  I can dial in the speed, time and incline on the treadmill and see how my form changes:  that's how I first started working on a midfoot-strike stride, falling forward for hill-climbs (unfortunately, the treadmills at the gym don't have a descent angle function), where I experimented with sock-wearing with my current pair of shoes - it's kinda like a running lab.

And besides, Oprah's on!

Hats Off To You, Susan Lucci
3.24 mi.  30 min.  9:15 pace.

Emergency Mediatheque

If you've known me for a while, you may recall that I have writerly notions - after all, I chose to major in English because of John Keats, who was a physician (and died of tuberculosis;  I'd like the lasting influence on literature, the coughing up of blood, not so much).  Well, actually, rather than solely publications, I guess my ambitions are a little more generally media-related, since I'd like to be the Sanjay Gupta of NPR, given that I have a face for radio and all.

I feel a bit sorry for other niched authorial classes;  for example, I pity Anthony Bourdain, who, as we know, is the Tae Kim of food writers.  Anyway, I continue to expand my little empire of orphaned, vaguely emergency medicine, or writing, or running, related blogs, and while running today (my, how the mind wanders!) I came up with some more ideas:

The Reluctant Hipster (okay, so this one has nothing to do with emergency medicine, running, or writing, but I liked the ring of it)

Writers Who Work Their Jobby-Jobs Because They Choose To (yeah, not really)

Emergelicious (...)

Hill Associated With Track
4.95 mi.  41 min.:36 sec.  8:24 pace.

The World Looks Different On Foot

So on my evening run I'm going through the cross-walk, and at the intersection, just starting to go in the opposite direction, I see a red Porsche 911 convertible with the top down;  at the wheel is a man wearing an Evel Knievel-style Stars-and-Stripes helmet, aviator shades, and in the back is his young daughter, maybe 8 or so, with a frilly frilled helmet on as well, both skinny little arms raised above her head, feeling the air, both of them with giant grins on their faces.

I shoulda yelled, "hooray, the economy is back!"

Counterclockwise Run
6.51 mi.  53 min.:4 sec.  8:09 pace.