Yeah. I haven’t been doing too much in front of the PC at home lately. Not for a few months in fact. To catch up, I ran the mini, started riding my bikes again, bought a new bike, started riding it, started fixing up some old bikes I got, started riding them. And so on. I will have to get my act together and start blogging again, it’s cathartic. But so are a lot of other things. More to come.
Tag Archive for 'thoughts'
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. |
I just finished a three-mile training run. Okay, I don’t want to sound like I complain all the time, but hey, it’s my online journal. It’s like a diary to me, so I want to document how I felt this morning, which was, well, like crap.
First of all, I slept horrifically last night. There were definitely three bad dreams…I woke up three different times during the night, and each time my heart was racing. I can’t remember what they were about, but they were bad enough to wake me. Oh well, that happens every now and then. It’s probably something I need to work out in my waking life. Well, consequently, I overslept. Thankfully, my job is flex time–I can go in later than normal and stay later than normal. But who wants to work really late? And there’s always this hip flexor pain. Plus, this morning, it was awfully cold–20 degrees at the moment I am writing this, just after the run. To top it all off, I think I am getting a cold. Sore throat, runny nose, general yukkiness. So, why not go ahead and take it easy and not run?
No way.
Garmin numbers:
| Total Time (h:m:s) | 0:29:12 | 9:42 pace |
|---|---|---|
| Distance (mi ) | 3.01 | |
| Moving Speed (mph) | 6.2 avg. | 8.0 max. |
| Elevation Gain (ft) | +216 / -202 | |
| Temperature (F) | 19.4 F avg. | 19.4 F high |
| Wind Speed (mph) | NW 8.1 avg. | NW 8.1 max. |
Today was the first day I ran since the Hangover Classic on Jan. 1. I ran a six-mile route between Seneca and Cherokee parks in Louisville, KY. The weather was cold and rainy. I got there around 7:45 a.m. and there were a whole bunch of runners already out and about, more than usual I think. There was a church group running, plus maybe some new runners trying to make good on their own New Year’s Resolutions.
My friends Linda and Laura were there, beginning their increase in mileage training for the Flying Pig marathon on May 4. The Flying Pig also has a half-marathon, and I would make plans to do that race if it did not occur so soon after the Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon on April 26, which I am planning to do. Linda and Laura did 12 miles today–double what I did. I would have loved to join them in going that distance, but my hip flexor injury continues, and I am trying to be good to myself. 
Dealing with injury is something all runners do. Every runner I talk with has a pain story. Most of us, more than just one. We all like to complain a bit, but we all keep on running. All during the run, the hip flexor pain was noticeable. I would say about a five out of 10, ten being really bad. I tried to use mental imagery and also let the songs on my iPod distract me, and it worked for the most part. But the pain is definitely there, on the right side.
It’s an odd sensation; it mostly feels like it’s “locked,” like there is a limited range of motion. Kinda strange. I figured my knees would get me a long time before a hip problem. Or plantar fasciitis, which I have dealt with before. But this thing sure is nagging. I will continue to deal with it. I can’t complain too loudly, because I have sort of slipped on doing my exercises over the past week. The last thing I want to do is stop running, but for now, scaling back the mileage somewhat is the right thing to do. [Hopefully I am not sounding like a broken record, but I guess I need to convince myself I am taking the right course of action because I want to run every day!] Even my pace was probably a little bit too fast today, but I was sort of motivated by the cold rain. Makes you want to get it done a little bit faster than usual. Garmin numbers:
| Total Time (h:m:s) | 0:58:40 | 9:41 pace |
|---|---|---|
| Distance (mi ) | 6.05 | |
| Moving Speed (mph) | 6.4 avg. | 9.6 max. |
| Elevation Gain (ft) | +447 / -447 | |
| Temperature (F) | 38.7 F avg. | 38.7 F high |
The end of quite a long work week finally arrives. I work in technology, for a small company that creates software used in wireless devices. I am a Quality Assurance Engineer, which basically means I test the software to make sure it is working as designed. But it is really not so simple. There are a lot of “moving parts,” components that allow all manner of electronic things to “talk” to one another. There’s a vast amount of devices to test with. And it’s a fiercely competitive marketplace, so there is always a push to get a release out, to beat out a challenge from another company, to win another client, and so forth.
It’s definitely a young person’s game. Since this is a small company, under fifty employees, I may even be the oldest employee there. Maybe it’s part of what’s keeping me young. Or maybe my youthful approach to life is what’s keeping me in the game. I’m not sure. But one thing I know–It’s not my dad’s engineering environment. He was a chemical engineer who worked for Seagram’s all his adult life. Back in the day, his day, not my day, you worked for one company, and it was for keeps. There was a kind of family loyalty between employer and employee.
Today’s “day,” working at a technology company, is quite different. The place you work can be like a family, but one at which divorce can take place among parents and offspring at any time. Sentimentality, something that to me is quite human and natural, is sadly not part of the world of business. You can have camaraderie, and indeed, if you can play on the team, it’s extremely helpful. But in some work environments, it’s not a requirement. The basic requirement is to work hard, help out, do your best, but be prepared. Be prepared for anything.
So, where am I in all that? I work in engineering because I am somewhat genetically wired to do it. My dad was an engineer by trade, but came from an era where an engineer was thoroughly schooled in liberal arts. My mom had more of a visual artist’s eye. Somewhere in that mix I was brought into the world. So I do my job, and I do it with a certain amount of bravado, but it was not what I trained to do in college. There, I learned what was inside myself, I learned how to bring it out. It happened to be painting, but I knew all along creating art was not going to be the specific way I made a living. I thought I might go about teaching art, or art history maybe, but I also had a sense that work was going to be, well, work. And I knew that specific work was not necessarily going to define me, but that I would define my work. I am old enough now to know that I am not about the pay I earn. I am about many, many things, where I came from, what I do, who I am, who I choose to be with, and what I bring to every moment of being.
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:
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. |
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.
This morning I ran again. It was chilly. Motionbased’s weather numbers put it at 24.8 degrees, but my temperature reading was around 21. Either way, it’s chilly but I can’t really call this cold. I remember my brother telling me about his first winter in Edmonton, Canada. He said he left his apartment one morning and he heard a cracking sound near his face. It turned out to be water on his beard left over from his shower, freezing instantly. So, this is not anywhere close to being cold.
I have come so far in running this year, in a short time. I started out at the end of the summer, huffing and puffing, chugging along, taking frequent and long walk breaks, thinking that my knees were just going to break they hurt so bad. I slowly progressed as I lost weight and improved my cardio output. Finally I felt free. I could really do it! I could run! I felt as if I could just run forever and ever. Visions of all kinds of running scenarios flashed in my head. It was going to take me places I have been wanting to go for awhile. I began to feel good about myself again.
All the while, I knew that running and injury go hand-in-hand. Still, it’s a bit depressing going from around 22 miles a week down to nine. But hey, you know what? Nine miles sounds a whole lot better than no miles to me right now.
| Total Time (h:m:s) | 0:32:45 | 10:30 pace |
|---|---|---|
| Moving Time (h:m:s) | 0:32:46 | 10:30 pace |
| Distance (mi ) | 3.12 | |
| Moving Speed (mph) | 5.7 avg. | 7.8 max. |
| Elevation Gain (ft) | +237 / -227 | |
| Temperature (F) | 24.8F avg. | 24.8F high |
| Wind Speed (mph) | E 4.6 avg. | E 4.6 max. |
So how did I come to be here, between the woods and frozen lake, on the darkest evening of the year? I now find myself solitary, alone and observant, on the edge of something beckoning but altogether strange at the same time. At the wonderful age of 51, I am on a path of exploration, finding out exactly how much I have left in the tank, realizing the journey is not yet over. And by god, I am going for it, without anyone or anything else but the energy from inside myself to carry me forward.
This is going to be a journal that perhaps no one will read but myself. But maybe not. Either way, it’s all good. I have always liked to read, and I also enjoy communicating. So that is what this journal is about. I will take notes and enter my thoughts. I will post photos on flickr and they will appear on the photos page. I will log entries that will undoubtedly appear mundane and extraordinarily boring. I will open up my soul and pour my feelings out, and I will also shroud or otherwise abstract my deeper reflections when the need arises. After all, I am only human. If you are reading this, you either stumbled upon this site by accident, or you may know me, or you got a link to this, either from me, or from some other source. Feel free to comment, or not. Linger and enjoy. Do whatever you want to do. It’s okay. No one will see us stopping here, to watch the woods fill up with snow.
