Saturday, May 30, 2009

...and he ran...

Crazy, humbling times, to be sure. But the thing I can do - have always been able to do - is run. Run and run and run. And I love to run.


As I finish up a humbling few hours on any given day groveling at the feet of individuals (gracious as they may be) in my ever-increasing network, I need an escape. And I have been finding it, in the form of running - short & fast, long & steady, over hills or down by rivers, in the Urban Core or through vast expases of woods & prairies, my time of unemployment has seen me lace up the old sneakers and simply just go.

I've sort of finally figured it out - that, similar to many other cowboys, I simply have a worried mind. Or an active mind. And it doesn't want to settle down. But running is, and always has been, my meditation. Within the past week, I have run a nine mile route, pushing Rose in the stroller; and an 11 mile route, the day after running a race (see below). I've actually lost about 10 pounds, and I'm getting to be in some of the best running shape in which I've ever been (though I may never again quite hold a candle to '96).

On a side note: I did run a race over the weekend, utilizing official warm-up techniques for the first time in my life. Boy, what a difference it made. The race was finally painful at the end, but only at the end. This may just be a new lease on my 5k life. Hey, and I came in 28th out of 369 total runners - not bad! (admittedly, this was an all-comers race, and there were a lot of youth in it. But still...)

8 comments:

Mighty Tom said...

congrats on the race

it is great that you have running, great for the mind and the body

Stephen Cummings said...

I admire your decades-long relationship with running. I remember your story of running over parked cars back during the West High era.

Dan said...

Back in my "Young Brother of Kick-Ass" days.

egingenc: what you say right before you sneeze

Stephen Cummings said...

Ha! Kick ass... bring back Tesla!

Dan said...

And "Village Ass"

Or was that during your time?

Stephen Cummings said...

"Village Ass" I don't know about, or don't remember. I remember the Tesla Kick-Ass Butter Churn dance move, punctuated with a tape malfunction, that caused your bro to ask despondently "Where's my kick ass?"

Dan said...

"Village Ass:" Denny. Maybe after your time.

I also recall my brother's philosophical view on the bands HE liked, as opposed to "Wham!," specifically: "They don't fuck asses, they KICK 'em!"

exedly: how "excitedly" is said when you're too excited

C.F. Bear said...

Beautiful!