That Makes Me A Runner

Tags

runner, Running

I run because I run.  That makes me a runner.

I like the way I feel while I’m running.  That makes me a runner.

I like the way I feel when I complete a run.  That makes me a runner.

I like races and how I feel after I cross the finish line.  That makes me a runner.

I like the camaraderie of my fellow runners especially for events like a half or a full.  That makes me a runner.

I can’t think of doing anything better for my physical or mental health than running.  That makes me a runner.

I really can’t imagine not being a runner and that makes me a runner too.

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July Polar Vortex

Tags

July, running polar vortex

Three words you don’t often see in the same sentence.  Those three words are good news for runners.

The cooler air from up north is pleasant and makes running a real joy.  Somehow the sun didn’t get the memo because at high noon it was still directly overhead beating down.  The combination of the air temp and the sun’s rays reminds me of running in San Francisco where the ocean breezes cool the air despite the sun.

All in all, a glorious day for running.  Makes me think about how the hot summer miles pay off in November smiles.  Seriously, how much do cooler temperatures help in your times and mileage?  There must be a formula somewhere that figures out how every 10 degree drop increases stamina and speed.  But only if you put in the sweaty, sun baked miles now and for the next 8 weeks.

By the time XC season rolls around in earnest and the temps and leaves start to fall is when you can cash in on all the money and miles you put in the bank.  That’s when you can withdraw the accrued interest and still have enough mileage to live on.

 

 

Possibilities

Tags

competition, possibilities, Running

Every time you line up fro a race you never really know how it’s going to turn out.  Especially a marathon.

Let’s face it, most “races” are races only for a select few and the rest of us are there just to compete in the event.  The possibilities are endless from barely finishing to busting a new PR to meeting friends along the way to making new friends on the course.

Despite the possibilities there is one certainty that I carry into all runs, events and races.  When I get to the last mile my rule is this – No passes me without a fight.  I may have an easy going attitude about running and competition but at 4 miles or 5 miles or 12 miles or 25 miles I become an Olympian.  No one gets by without me saying – You wanna pass me – Not so fast – This is a race now.

In the same manner when I pass someone in the closing moments of a race it’s with determination and attitude.  I put the hammer down.  The best way to pass someone is to bury them before they know that you’ve come and gone.

I might be Mr. Nice Guy for the first 4 miles but heading towards mile 5 I’m Steve Prefontaine, Jim Ryun, Meb, Boston Billy and  Frank Shorter all in one.

In running the possibilities are endless and ain’t that great?

Background Vocals

Tags

background vocals. Help, Betales

“You’re Gonna Lose That Girl,” from Help released in 1965 which makes the tune 49 years old (give or take ) as I write this on a warm summer afternoon in July.

I’m fascinated by background vocals and singers and how someone crafts a tune that uses them well.  This song is just brilliant on so many levels but it doesn’t really work as a song with no background support.  I’ve tried to perform it and while I can hear the backgrounds in my head it’s obvious to me that the audience can’t.  I often hear much more than the audience when I’m playing and so that’s either a gift or a curse.

I played this song last summer at a jam session with no expectations other than I hoped I wouldn’t screw up any of the chords or lyrics.  John Lennon’s tunes tend be in a higher register than I can handle comfortably but most times I can scratch out the high parts.  I dove right into the song and a woman to right, let’s call her Amy, since that is her real name fell right in with every background line as though we had rehearsed the song for days.  It was a real boost in my behind as though I was sitting right in front of the kick drum.  We glided through the tune like magic.  Every time I see her now I try to work up a new Beatles song because she knows all of them.  I can’t stump her.

So, here’s a song that holds up after 50 years.  George’s solo fits it. He doesn’t play to say listen to me, I’m the lead guitar player.  The solo is a natural extension of the tune.  That’s what great playing is all about.

And so, without further adieu…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W8TqfTWviE

 

 

Thinking and Running, Running and Thinking

Tags

road constuction, Running, thinking

Road construction taking place in my neighborhood which means closed streets which means – a place to run without traffic !

They say that your workout from 10 days ago pays off today meaning that workout is finally a part of your fitness level.  I don’t know where I came upon that pearl of wisdom but it sounds about right.

Ran this morning on a pretty empty stomach based on (again my theory) that I’m burning fat stores or glycogen immediately instead of working through what I’m carrying onboard.  Normally when I run a marathon I make sure to eat a large breakfast because I know how quickly my tank empties.  The penalty for having no energy at 17 miles is not pretty.

Running and thinking, thinking and running.  They go well together.

 

 

 

 

 

Either You Will or You Won’t

Tags

planes, stress

I was traveling by air over the weekend and my plans called for a stop and a plane change in Philadelphia.  My flight was late getting into Philly and so as a result the chance of making the connection was not good.

In past I would have been upset and probably sprinted all the way from whatever terminal I was at to whatever terminal I had to get to.  And several of my fellow passengers who needed to make the connection did that.  They ran, I walked.

I got to the connecting gate well after the sprinters only to find that the connecting flight had not yet even arrived.

My attitude these days and maybe it’s connected with age in a good way but my attitude is this: The connecting flight- Will I make it?  Either I will or I won’t.  Done. Period.

I’m through stressing about things I can’t control.  How about a big hurray for me?  The only question I still have is why did it take me so long to get smart?  My Dad used to say that youth was wasted on the young.  From where I sit right now I have to agree.

 

 

Summer – The Main Event

The preliminaries are over.  In anticipation of the summer of 2014 we gently welcomed May and Mothers’ Day.  Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer but in my book the key is in the ignition and the engine has already turned over.  We get to June with Flag Day, Arbor Day, Fathers’ Day and the Fourth on the horizon.

The Fourth rolls in with a long weekend and suddenly it’s nothing but straight sailing to September.  No holidays, no interruptions, maybe Uncle Lou’s birthday and that’s about it.

 The climate deniers shift into full air conditioning mode. ” Let’s pretend it’s not summer,” they say.  AC in the car, the house, the office, the mall and everyplace with a roof and a front door.  No wonder they despise the heat.  Never any time to acclimate and when they get caught in the real and rare summer air they complain.

” When the sun shines they slip into the shade” as my favorite band once sang.  Summer is the time to smile, not grouse about the weather.  

My house is like two different countries inhabited by two different kinds of people.  Climate deniers and me.  

 

 

Something To Think About

It’s been said by Native Americans and others that they dislike having their pictures taken because they believe each click of the shutter takes away a little part of their soul.

I recently was at a well attended event where everyone and I mean everyone was taking pictures of themselves and each other just as fast as they could.  Pictures being taken without a thought.  Just focus and snap away.  I don’t know that this is necessarily a good thing.

I like taking pictures as much as the next guy but the avalanche of photos piling up on phones and Facebook and every other ” My” social media this or that site is astounding to me.  Are all these pictures really adding value or meaning to anyone’s life?  Maybe it’s just the act of lining up your buddies, holding your phone at arm’s length and making a smiling face.

And if it’s true that each click of the shutter does remove a piece of our soul what does it mean when a person has been photographed several hundred thousand times?  Is there a way to know when a piece of your soul have been taken away ?  How do you feel?  Sad, empty, confused or lost.  

The days of thoughtful, meaningful and relaxed picture taking are over.  Everything connected with taking pictures now happens in an instant.  Instant photo, instant posting, instant dump into the media universe and instantly forgotten.

Too much instant going on for me.  Leave my soul alone.

The Sweet Spot in Running

Went for a run earlier this week.  Everything clicked on fresh legs with easy and deep breathing, gobbling up chunks of asphalt with strides that attacked and dug in, pushed off from my mid-foot with springy energy and worked up a delicious and healthy real honest to goodness sweat.

I read a book many year ago called ” The Sweet Spot in Time” by John Jerome.  In it he explores just what the ” Sweet Spot” is with our bodies.  We’re all familiar with the term ” Sweet Spot” in regards to a tennis racket or a golf club swing. It’s when everything clicks from your toes to the top of your head and everything in between and the ball flies off the racket or the club or the bat with seemingly no effort but it flies and flies and flies.

There is a complex set of motions, actions and reactions that take place when a baseball player connects well and the ball flies out of the park.  Every neuron, nerve, molecule, synapse, muscle, tendon from the toes to the top of the head fires in rapid and explosive succession to produce that home run.

That’s how my run felt earlier this week.  I was in the sweet spot. I was running on rails.  I felt as though I was expending no effort. Everything was working well and I reaped the benefits of my run after I finished and I was drenched with endorphins.  

The Sweet Spot in Time is real and I find more and more of it each time I run.  We’re runners.  We are so lucky.

Run For The Hoses

Tags

Firecracker 5, rain, Running

That was going to be my title for this post as I was planning to run the local Firecracker 5 this morning.  The race is usually run on a scorcher of a day.  An apt description of how I normally felt after the race was that I was a ” churning urn of burning funk.”

But this morning dawned grey, cloudy, cool and rainy.  No need for sunblock.  The spectators all had umbrellas and the garden hoses were kept safely tucked away.  I ran for a bit with a woman who was visiting from Orlando where there are no hills.  I asked how they trained for hills and she said,” We look for overpasses.”  You do what you gotta do.

The rain has cleared out and now it’s a bright and somewhat cool sunny day.

Put another one in the books, save the bib and get ready for the next one.