Archive for August, 2004
More About Sunday
I stepped onto the field at 5:08AM. It was pouring rain, the side-swipe of Hurricane Charlie writ small in little drops. It was still dark, but every time I attempted to use my flashlight, it just mucked up my night vision, and didn’t give me much visibility. It’s dark, pouring, and I’m alone in the woods. Perfect!
Strangely, the run part was easy cheesy. When did running so many miles become okay? I flew down the trails, skittering here and there over exposed roots and loose stones, but never once dumping. Muddy? Oh yeah. I had soakers before the first mile. But everything was so electric. I felt alive. Oh, at the beginning, when it was really dark, I couldn’t shake those Blair Witch feelings, but hey. Sure made me run faster.
I startled deer all over the place, one of which was just beautiful to behold. I saw red-tailed hawks slowly beating their path away from me. I actually felt bad, because I doubt he really wanted to move in all this rain. I heard a weird swamp noise that sounded like a woman screaming and then being drowned. It was eerie, but when I heard it twice, I figured some animal had a wicked defense system. Would’ve kept ME away.
Around mile seven, my map dissolved. Yes, laminate it. I know! Didn’t think about it, until my map couldn’t be read, and I suddenly doubted my sense of where I’d parked relative to where I was running. I ended up out on a road, and that fed the main road where I’d parked my car. I ran along the side, feeling much more waterlogged and soaked out of the forest, though I was equally wet in there, too. When I reached the farmstand, that’s when it was funny.
Me: Can you tell me what road I’m on?
Farm guy (around 18): A little wet, aren’t you?
Me: Yep. I was out running. Can you tell me where I am?
Other farm guy: You come up on a bike?
Me: No. I ran.
Farm guy: from what?
Me: hah! Good one.
Farm guy: You ran the whole way?
Me: Yep. 10 miles. Can you tell me where I am?
Farm guy: 10 miles? All at once?
And so on.
Fun run, but next time, I’m going to have the plastic-est map in the world.
Made it Out!
Okay, I *did* get lost. My map dissolved. Yes, I know. Laminate. But at the time, it didn’t happen. Big post tomorrow, but for now:
11 miles all told, 10 in the woods and the other on the streets. I have a lot to make you laugh about tomorrow.
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Retooling
A recent post by Karen and my own recent post about people inspiring each other has turned my thinking inward. This often happens. I blame that damned introspection gene. The sooner there’s a cure, the better.
I’ve got to get out the notebook and figure out what the next set of goals surround. I have to redefine my guiding principles. I need to look at my personal creed and build it back up. This is the tool I’ve used for well over a year now, and it works well.
Basically, I write little sentences that remind me of the things I believe matter. Kat and I do this exercise together. Often, hers are more emotion-based and holistic. Mine are more nuts and bolts. Together, we merge a decent list that helps us guide our behaviors. It’s time to get that work going again. I think I’ll do it tonight.
Tomorrow, I’ll build walls in the loft for my daughter’s room. Kat will help, because I’m not handy whatsoever. I felt proud of driving three screws into the wall today to hold a magnetic strip we got at Ikea a few weeks ago. So yeah. And then cross training on Saturday, and another long run on Sunday. I think 10 miles is the official distance I need.
But tonight? We’ll write out our little power posters.
See Kat Run
This morning, I didn’t get out of bed and go running.
Instead, I waited for Kat, and got HER out of bed, and got the kid in the black stroller, and WE went out running. (Well, not the kid. She just said, “whoa! bumpy!” a lot.)
You see, a certain Mary from Canada inspired Kat to get out there and run. After a conversation with a former military personnel (also from Canada, but having served in Bosnia and the like), it appears that Mary got inspired to run by reading my blog. Then, Kat got inspired that Mary was inspired, so hey, everyone went out running.
Kat did a great half mile starter, off-road of course. She liked the lap we took of the park, including the nifty section of pine trees and their gnarly roots. I’m going to take us to the state park around the corner in the next few days and turn her loose out there.
So, I’ll nail the 3 miles I have due today at the gym, and I’ll smile huge at the notion that my wife jumped into the running game, inspired by a woman from Canada.
5 Ocean Miles
This morning, it took 1 hour and 40 minutes to get out of the house. I just couldn’t find my inspiration. I couldn’t get out of bed, and when I did, I just kept feeling like, “What’s the point?” I eventually locked myself in the bathroom with The Quotable Runner and read the first few sections of quotes. After a while, it seemed like an okay idea to go out and run. So fine. I grabbed a pair of socks, slipped on my sandals, and went down to the car.
Whoops. I thought I’d left my gym bag in the car, but nooooo. So, I had no running shoes, just the socks. I said to myself, “Then, I’ll run the beach.”
I got to the beach just after sunrise, but the sun was choking behind a heavy bank of clouds. When it finally poked out, it was red. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning. The air was muggy, and all the seagulls stayed in tight little knots, absently picking over empty clamshells. A family of five had bicycled out to the beach and were clustered like the gulls, picking over the dreary sky and sucking up vacation experience for their memories.
I kicked off my sandals and ran. Around 2 miles, I was all the way to the boardwalk where the video arcades dip into the ocean on fat posts and drunkards usually sleep off their finales in the sandy gaps closest to the street. I headed past, saying hello to all the white tee shirt and shorts older ladies with the bronze tans and no early morning kindness. I spoke with the fisherman with his two rods, his cup of amazing-smelling coffee, and all our weather words for no effect.
Far off in the distance, I could see the water tower of a New Hampshire town growing closer and bigger. I considered really going for it and running to the base of that tower, but this was just a fluff. I turned around at my best guess of 2.5.
Mind you, the water wasn’t exactly cooperating. The tide was coming in, rolling over what little hard packed sand I could find, so I found myself either scuttling at angles up into the softer stuff, or splashing like an overgrown retriever in the shin-deep surf. Good for the muscles, I like to say.
I finished my five miles without having ever walked. I’m not really sure why. It wasn’t some kind of conscious effort. And it certainly doesn’t rate as an achievement. That’s not how I train. But whatever the case, I ran the entire five miles.
And in the end, my power to motivate myself grew even stronger.
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Trail Runner Sticker
Okay, I’m psyched about something nearly silly, but there are undertones of neato to it.
I wrote the guys at Trail Runner magazine and asked them for a sticker for my car, because hey, I’m really digging trail running and I wanted to show my affiliation for such things. They wrote back and said, sure thing, gimme your address.
So what’s cool about that is that it fits into some of the mental changes I’ve had since taking on a running program. I feel like I’ve got more ability to ask for things. Now that I’m trying to type this, I’m having a harder time explaining it than what’s in my head, but let’s just say that I’m a lot less shy about most matters. I guess that’s how I explain what I’m feeling.
So, I’ll be the guy in the white kid-obvious stationwagon sporting the Trail Runner stickers! : )
12.5 or 13-ish Miles
I ran this morning at 5AM with Marty from a nearby trail running club. He took me out on the trail course for my November marathon. For one thing, we left too early, because it was DARK out there. We couldn’t *really* see the trail, but Marty knew it like the back of his hand, so I felt like I was in good hands. Phew.
We didn’t see any deer or anything remarkable. Unless a big well-groomed poodle is remarkable. He was really fuzzy and cute, and he shoved his chest against the backs of my legs while I was running off (which of course spooked me because I thought he’d run back to his owner). But that’s okay.
The distance felt really good, but I definitely didn’t have more to give by the time it was over. I will grow into that kind of distance, but I’ve been saying after every big run that I feel like I’m still full of energy. Well, this track was just difficult enough and definitely long enough to put the old tucker into my legs. When I got home, I *knew* I’d run a good long distance.
Differences? I barely stopped. Usually, I do 9 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking. I kept a faster pace than normal (Marty’s an accomplished Ultramarathon runner). I felt the benefits of running with a training partner.
Sigh. I don’t have any regularly scheduled partners, so I’m going to try and steal Marty for my Sunday runs for a while.
Maybe I need a headlamp? Anyone have experience?
10 Miles On Sunday…
PLEASE let this be the weather on Sunday when I run my 10 miles.
