Since Wed, I have been fighting caffeine-withdrawal. It has
become a recurring theme. I drink (albeit not much) daily for a couple of months
until it stops feeling good and I get into a low-grade misery.
That'll force me to go for a detox where I give up coffee
for about five days. The first two days are the worst. Regard-
less of the quality of the night's sleep, I feel groggy all day
long. When it gets too bad, I would go into the car, find a
shady spot, and take a one- or two-hour nap. That'll fix me
for the next few hours. All the alertness (and maybe quite a
few other "benefits") caffeine has bestowed since the
last detox is paid back through the depression and naps this
round. Thursday, I had to skip a run as I was weak and my
heart rate high (50bpm). But today was better, and I would make it up.

Morning clouds retreated early and the sun was already up
at 6:20am when I got on the trail. I ate too much last night 
and weighed 148lbs. I felt bloated and under-rested (the
digestion must have taken a lot of energy). When I had water
at Niles park, I was seven miles into the run, and the second
half would be tough. I was fully aware that these were really
the miles that would improve my running and went on without
hesitation. There were times I felt crappy, but my lungs and
heart were OK and it was only the joints and muscles. I would
slow down and that phase would soon pass.

The last mile, I passed a guy who just got on the trail. It was
funny but he seemed keen on taking his position back. I
could hear his heavy breathing right behind me. This was a
novice runner, obviously, I thought. The race was on, none-
theless, and I revved up to 3i4o and in about
half a mile left him behind. It was a strong finish. Thanks
buddy for pushing! Overall, I ran about 14 miles in 1hr 50min
and my weight went down to 144.4lbs. You can't beat that ;-)

L is out in Oregon today, running the "Old Cascadia" 100
miler with his 19-year-old. This is a tougher race than I
realized earier. Enjoy and take care, guys! The rest of my
team at work were summoned to the office this weekend to fix
bugs for the release. I feel so lucky.