Around the world

That's the song that's stuck in my head. Daft Punk. It has exactly one line, repeated 144 times. Easy to learn the lyrics; hard to get them out of my head.

Here's a little insight into my brain: I quickly did the math and figured out that there are 144 lines. In my head, that instinctively translates to 12 squared. Which translates to 4 x 3. Four is my favorite number, and 3 is P's. Thus it is a good song.

Sometimes, I scare myself.

It's been a while since I've posted anything here, which means there are lots of stories lost. Lots of runs that won't be recorded here.

I'm in the middle of a job transition, which is part of the radio silence. At the stage where I am physically still in the job I've held for a few years, but mentally starting to fade. There are a few things I want to neatly tie together to ensure I leave on a good note, and it's been tough to even motivate for those small things... Ah, well. It's been a good ride, I'm leaving on very good terms, and I'm excited for the next chapter.

In between chapters, I'm taking a few weeks off. That I am also very much looking forward to. In that time, I'll be heading to Chicago for a few just to hang out. The day I depart is the day of the Chicago Marathon, which I didn't realize when I initially booked the ticket. I'm excited to mooch off of the vibe, and see some friends who will be running. Maybe sneak into the Expo... A girl can always use another pair of good running socks.

Aside from Chicago, I have no firm plans. Which is lovely. Maybe visit my mom, maybe go running at any time of day, maybe melt my brain in front of the television, finish a few books... Who cares. It will be fall, it will be beautiful, and I will have no homework for three blessed weeks. I've earned it. :)

On the running front, it's been a good end of summer. I reached out of my comfort zone recently and responded to an ad on craigslist for a running partner. I found the guy as I was getting ready to post something myself. It gets a little lonely running on your own all the time, and having someone there to keep you running when you want to stop is really useful. Plus some chatting makes the miles go by. I do like running on my own, but periodically seeing another runner in Manchester would be nice.

So I met up with the guy, who I'll call WestSide, on Monday at 6:30am. First meeting, particularly when I don't know someone from Adam and the main purpose is to run, had lots of awkward potential. Not to mention me being a little nervous as I still have it stuck in my head that most people run faster than me, even though I know I have never finished dead last in a race.

Off we went, on a route he led. We were on his side of town, which I've driven through but never walked through. It was quite pretty, I have to say. And much flatter than my part of town. What a pleasure to not have the lsat 1.5 miles be pure uphill. In the end, we went for around 5 miles at a chat pace, talking some and not talking some. He wasn't a serial killer. Just a normal guy who also wanted someone to run with. I think we'll be heading out again.

The only downside was that I forgot my Nike+ thingy, meaning the run didn't "count" for my online tracking. I'm past my initial addition to the thing, but really would have liked to have known how far the route WestSide selected took us. Damn.

This weekend is the annual Reach The Beach Relay here in NH. I considered pulling together a team of quirky runners to have at it, but had to stop when I realized the race started on the second day of Rosh Hashanah. That counted me out, sadly. Luckily, the Jewish calendar follows the moon, so it should not be a conflict next year. I've already started listing out potential team players in my head...

For this year, I'll simply volunteer on Saturday. No idea what I'll be doing, but it involves showing up in Exeter at 7:45 am and staying there all day. At the moment I hear they are forecasting rain. Should be soggy fun!