About that cheese sandwich

One of the things about running is it leaves your brain with a lot of time on its hands.
Thud, thud, thud, isn't it pretty out, thud, thud, thud, thud, don't my knees hurt, thud, thud, thud, thud, how many miles do I have left, thud, thud, thud, thud. what time is it anyway? ...
That's how it goes some days. Other days are more productive
Thud, thud, I bet I could solve that problem at work by, thud, thud, then I could launch that project by using, thud, thud, and if I started a system to moniter my progress, thud, thud.
And what do you know, my run is finished, I feel great, energized and enthused about putting all those ideas into play.
But then there are also the days of the cheese sandwiches. It first happened to me last fall, about mile 6 of an 8-mile run. I craved a cheese sandwich. But not just any cheese sandwich. My aforementioned brain with the excess time problem went right to work illustrating a vision of the coveted cheese sandwich. Velvetta (that's not really cheese is it?) on Wonderbread (and that's certainly not bread, right?). That's it, straight, no distractions like lettuce or pickles.
Thud, thud, thud, cheese sandwich, thud, thud, thud, just bread and cheese, thud, thud, thud, beautiful in its simplicity, thud, thud, thud, a poem waiting to be devoured, thud, thud, thud.
When I got home that day I made my cheese sandwich (although I didn't have the tools to bring to life my vision of simplicity, rather it was cheddar on wheat). As gobbled my first bite, I realized cheese sandwiches are way over rated. After a run, they sit in your stomach like a bowling ball.
Now I know people think about different things when they run, according to "The Running Life" column in today's Herald, some people even think about sex while they run (let's see, my knees are aching, my lungs are burning and my eyes are stinging from the sweat pouing down my forehead, I wonder why I don't think about sex just then). But I have never heard of anyone thinking of a cheese sandwich. I'd take it to the Dream Doctor, but I'm a little afraid of what he would tell me.
So I just live with it. When I get far into a long run, the cheese sandwich will sometimes materialize, like that Oasis through the waves of heat.
Thud, thud, WonderBread thud, thud all soft and gummy, thud, thud, Velvetta, thud, thud all orange and gooey, thud, thud, what do we say to lettuce and pickles? thud, thud Hell no! That's what we say.
Ah, the cheese sandwich my running muse.

P.S. I went to the gym today, my first excersise since the half marathon. Half an hour on the elipitcal trainer and a little weight training. It felt good to sweat again and to feel the blood circulating in my legs. No cheese sandwich sightings.