Tag Archive for 'life'

Groove Me

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/February/23/
in Running, life and music
. 0 Comments

Today I completed a 13 mile run, in keeping with my training plan for the 2008 Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon. It was the longest I have run since April 28, 2001 (last time I ran the mini). I am pleased that I made it through the run, but I now know that my goal of completing the mini in under 2 hours is probably not achievable. I thought I ran fairly strong, and I took a one minute walk break every 9 minutes, carried water with me and hydrated correctly, ate a bowl of Kashi hot cereal beforehand for energy, etc. But I must have bonked somewhere around mile 10. All I know is that by the time I had gone around 11.6 miles, it seemed like I was running in slow motion, maybe because I was! The last two miles seemed killer to me.

I kind of felt this coming, psychologically. I have not been losing weight like I was, in fact, I have even gained a couple of pounds in the past couple weeks [lousy diet lately], and I have been having the winter/gray skies/all work and no play blues. So building up to this day, I just felt a little anxiety. I woke up around 4 in the morning last night feeling like I needed to have some new music on my iPod to just get me through the run. I downloaded about 10 songs, most of them old funk/R&B classics. I have a huge weakness for early 70s stuff, especially soul funk. Then I created a playlist on my iPod called “Get me thru” and loaded the new songs into it, without listening to any of them because I wanted sort of a “surprise” factor, and mixed in some stuff I already had, enough to last 2.5 hours. All I can say is thank god I did. I really don’t think I could have done this run if it weren’t for the music. And I know for a fact I would have just walked the last uphill half-mile if not for King Floyd’s “Groove Me.” What an awesome, awesome song! From the moment it starts out with a grunt, all the way to the very end, just absolute beauty.

And so, I title this post in honor of that song. King Floyd died a couple years ago but I owe him big time. For those of you interested in the song or maybe want to listen to it, click on this link to a page on the NPR website about it, and about Mr. Floyd. You can then click on another link to listen to the full song, in all its funky splendor. Maybe you will see what I mean, how it carried me up the hill and through the last half mile, and why I love it so.

Obligatory numbers (Yeah, I know. Slow.):

Total Time (h:m:s) 2:21:45 10:45 pace
Distance (mi) 13.19  
Moving Speed (mph) 5.6 avg. 9.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +967 / -964  
Temperature (F) 30.8 F avg. 32 F high
Wind Speed (mph) N 6.9 avg. N 8.1 max.

You love the thunder

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/February/5/
in Running
. 2 Comments

This morning I woke up feeling kind of blah. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I feel like my energy level is low. I dallied a bit, checking email, etc., before I got out the front door to run. The weather was an improbable and incredible 66 degrees, and there were lightning flashes and several minutes of gentle rumbling thunder. It made for a great run. My body feels better and my spirits are higher than when I woke up.

I am not posting the numbers from my Garmin watch in a tabular format like I sometimes do (I am thinking I will only do that for longer runs from now on), but I did my normal 3.01 miles at a 9:25 pace. The rain is coming down heavier now, as I type this, and the thunder is picking up. I should have dallied more this morning. :)

Deep Space Nine, Miles That Is

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/January/27/
in Running and life
. 0 Comments

Yesterday I completed a nine mile training run through Seneca and Cherokee parks in Louisville KY. What a great ending to a not-so-great week. I did the nine in accordance with my training plan for the 2008 Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon that I posted earlier. I had not been feeling good physically all week, fighting off a cold and flu-like symptoms that still have never seemed to fully hit me as of writing this post. I did not do a three mile outdoor run Thursday morning, but instead, opted for the misery of a treadmill at the YMCA on Wednesday evening. Oh, the horror. But it must have served it’s purpose, because yesterday I felt great.

It was one of those zen runs for me, where my mind seemed to wander in “deep space”while my body just stayed in a groove. I began the run wearing my recently purchased Mountain Hardwear Ascent mittens, even though the temperature was nowhere near as cold as the previous week. I just did not want to repeat the 20 minute painful hand thaw that I had endured last Saturday. (By the end of this run, my hands were drenched in sweat, but perfectly toasty, which was fine with me!)

As I ran along, I went into deep reflection mode. I began thanking people in my mind. I was thanking all the bosses who had ever hired me to do a job. There is nothing quite like looking for a job, applying for it, and then getting it. I continued on that vein, thanking all the people who had ever cut me any slack in my life. All the times I goofed up in something, and despite my error, the people who have stood by me stood out prominently in my mind at one point during the run. I thought about all the women who had ever kissed me. (Alas, so few!) I don’t have to say to anyone how wonderful a kiss feels. Anyway, off and on through the duration of the run, I would think of someone to thank. Even people I had never met. Thank you, Mr. Jeff Galloway. Because even though I did not come to that park to walk, the walk breaks you advocate allow the running portions of my training to be just that much sweeter. Thank you, nice woman running toward me in the opposite direction, for looking at my face and my eyes and smiling a knowing smile, for it’s good to see others sharing in the same experience.

When the run was over, there was the usual hip flexor pain I have been experiencing the past couple months, but it didn’t matter. For me, it’s part of the territory. I made my way back home, ate some real eggs and had a huge glass of orange juice, turned on the ridiculous commentary on the South Carolina election results and shortly after, turned them off again, and then soon crashed on my sofa with my cat, Starlight. A final thought of gratitude: Thanks, body, for giving me at least one more nice run.

Total Time (h:m:s) 1:28:28 9:45 pace
Distance (mi) 9.06  
Moving Speed (mph) 6.1 avg. 9.0 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +598 / -595  
Temperature (F) 31.6 F avg. 32 F high
Wind Speed (mph) SW 8.3 avg. SW 10.4 max.

Remembering Nelson

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/January/12/
in life
. 0 Comments

Nelson passed away today, January 12, 2008. He was not mine, but a very much loved dog of two very good friends of mine. I had the pleasure of taking care of Nelson and his brothers when my friends would go out of town. He became a friend, and it was my privilege to see to him those few times.

A few years back, I painted this picture. But it doesn’t really do him justice. There are photos of him here, here, and here.

This is a poem that his “mom” Linda wrote today:

Nelson

You were the perfect dog
That no one wanted
How fortunate, for us
With stringy ears, spotted tongue
And a quirky grin, we called
You ‘thumper,’ for the sound of your tail
Beating on the floor for our attention.

With the gentlest soul
You never begged, jumped,
Destroyed anything, or barked without reason
In your timid way,
You quivered through thunderstorms
And skulked away from the camera
That you feared so much.
We joked that maybe you feared
Our photos would steal your soul.

But there were those other times
When you enjoyed life
With reckless abandon
Head out the car window, snorting,
Fur blowing in the breeze.
Drinking water enthusiastically,
Letting it pour out the sides
Of your mouth when you
Lifted your head.

How terrible to find that
Someone once hurt you,
Filled your body with buckshot
Before you became ours.
Hopefully, from the moment
We laid eyes on you,
You knew those days were over
You knew you’d be fed, held,
Touched, walked, and loved so fully
Until that last moment, that moment today
When your life slipped peacefully
Away from us, into sleep.

A different kind of race

Published
by
Phil
on /2008/January/9/
in Running and life
. 0 Comments

On October 13, 2007, I participated in a running event, the first race since I started running again, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Louisville, KY. It was a 5K, and I ran pretty well for a guy who just three months before was huffing and puffing at 267 pounds. It was a beautiful day, and it felt great to not only be out there running, but running for such a wonderful cause. A few of my friends and I were on a team that participated in honor of a woman named Teresa, a friend of a friend, who is battling cancer. And we were also running for everyone who has ever faced and will ever have to contend with that same challenge. I did not know it then, but I was also running that day for a very dear, very wonderful friend of mine.

She and I worked together a long time ago, and we became close from that point on. She moved away to go to college, met a great guy, got married, had two wonderful children, and after that we sort of lost touch. Life takes us all our separate ways. But a couple of years ago, I was able to reconnect, and we have been touching base since then. Last night, I heard from her. Around the exact same time I was running the Komen, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy but they found more, and since then, she has undergone more surgery, and will be taking some chemotherapy treatments, to ensure a full recovery. The prognosis for her is good, but when I found out, it was a shock. She has good doctors, great family support, and a wonderful positive attitude. I know in my heart and soul she will be fine, and her life will continue to be blessed.

Today, in honor of her, I ordered some pink wrist bands from the Susan G. Komen site to wear. I had been wearing a yellow LIVESTRONG band, and now, I will wear pink.

D, if you are reading this, please know that I care, and like so many others you know and have touched, I will be sending you great vibes from miles away. And when I run the Komen later this year, and every year, from now until the time I can no longer take one more step on the planet, I will be running it for you.

A couple more miles

Published
by
Phil
on /2007/December/8/
in Running
. 0 Comments

It’s great to be running. This being the day I would normally try to put in a long run, I decided to go a little bit extra. So I did slightly over five. The hip pain is still there, doggone it, but I have to feed the addiction. My next physical therapy appointment is Monday, so hopefully it will help me make some progress.

There are no such things as trash miles for me. It’s all good. One of the perks about running on a non-work day is I get to start out a little later, when there is light, and I wear my iPod. When I run on a work day, it’s really early and usually totally dark, so I don’t have my iPod with me–all my senses are needed to detect oncoming vehicles in the dark, etc. But today I had no such worry, and I let the tunes rip. Motivatin’.

Another nice thing about these quick runs in the hood is just being able to go out my front door and take off. For some reason, the same old scenery has not bored me. Two loops around the subdivision, including all the cul-de-sacs, gets me a little over five miles, with minor, gentle elevation changes, like so:

Elevation chart for 5-mile run

So, it was good just to get out, run a little, break a sweat, breathe fast, get my heart rate up, think about my life, not think at all, smile at a neighbor walking her dog, appreciate the cool weather, huff and puff, admire the overcast sky, splash through rain puddles, notice the various and sundry Christmas decorations in the yards (including all the deflated blow-up kinds that look rather sad, pitiful and forlorn, which I have a special, weird appreciation for), and overall, feel good to be alive.

Here are the obligatory numbers:

Total Time (h:m:s) 0:48:07 9:29 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:47:56 9:27 pace
Distance (mi) 5.07  
Moving Speed (mph) 6.3 avg. 8.3 max.
Elevation Gain (ft) +237 / -227  
Temperature (F) 41 F avg. 41 F high
Wind Speed (mph) NE 5.8 avg. NE 5.8 max.

Lunch with total strangers

Published
by
Phil
on /2007/December/8/
in life
. 0 Comments

One of the nice things about working in a busy, downtown metropolitan area is being able to go out and walk to a variety of decent restaurants. One of my favorites is a little deli called Safier. It was a cool, brisk afternoon, and evidently quite a few people had the same lunch idea as I did yesterday. The place was packed, with no open tables, but I ordered anyway, thinking that by the time my food was ready someone would get up and leave.

Well, my order was ready pretty fast, and there was no place open. The waiter there, a really cool guy, said for me to come with him, he would sit me down with a couple of people. I guess in larger cities that happens frequently, you share a table with a stranger, but frankly, here in the “River City,” I have not had that happen too often.

Anyway, I was seated with two very nice women, I think their names were Meredith and Nicole (bad on remembering names but I remember faces). It was like sitting down to eat with old friends. We talked freely about work (they work at Seven Counties Services), life, pets, travel, Christmas plans, etc. It was a wonderful, human experience. Great food, connecting with total strangers. Lunch should always be that good.