I just finished a crappy 4 mile run. My leg felt crampy, I thought the plantar faciitis was flaring up again, and I was generally bedraggled and lacked energy. Bad after work running. Must always go before. Hungry and tired after work... ready to rumble before.

I also have raging summer allergies, which isn't helping. How did that happen? All my life I had no allergies, nada, made fun of the sniffly dorky allergy kids sneezing in the corner. Then karma strikes and boom! I can't breathe for six months out of the year. Actually, a few weeks in Spring... and now, apparently, July. Maybe it's illegal Chinatown firework dust that is getting to me. Hmmm.

In entirely unrelated news, I have a plan! For fun! I'm taking two weeks or so off and having - wait for it - a Staycation! You know, we're so broke we can't really go anywhere, what with the gas and the hotels and the kennel and whatnot, but I have copious amounts of vacation time, free passes to the Met and the Cloisters, and lots of beautiful (deserted on the week days!) beaches within an hour or so by car. We can sit in the newly installed beach chairs in Times Square (if they haven't all been looted - I suspect I'm a bit late to that one), go to the top of the Statue of Liberty (did you hear they reopened it? I've never been) or head upstate and mountain bike or go to that huge pool in Harriman state park. Awesome. I shall plan something amazing to do every day! Even if amazing = clean the closet and then go out for dinner. I highly recommend it. Staycation - fun for everyone! Plus, running at a time that is neither 5 am nor after a long horrendous work day. Rock on.