Table of Marathons

11 MCM (not for time) 11 Wineglass (950/1442)
10 MCM (not for time) 09 MCM (348/1076)
09 Washington's Birthday Marathon (22/44) 08 MC Historic Half (51/210)
07 Frederick Marathon (32/60) 06 MCM (394/1076)
05 MCM (547/1047)

Friday, July 30, 2010

Time

7.0 easy miles today. 67F/73%.....its actually comfortable out there!

I had wanted to do 10, but ran out of time, again. Denise says the only thing that will get me to retire is to train more miles. I've often thought that I'd do the JFK 50 my first year in retirement. I can see training 70 miles per week in retirement. At some time, I'd like to win my age bracket in some marathons, even if the bracket is the 65 to 69 age group.

I've seen some studies showing average marathon times slowing across all age groups except the boomers. Apparently, we're competitive and unwilling to slow down. This will make my quest more challenging

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

55: Defeated

I've looked forward with anticipation to ordering from the seniors' menu at Denny's for years. My 55th finally rolled around and, as I'm choosing my favorites off the menu, the waitress tells me that breakfast is free on my birthday. So, I pick from the entire menu. My indulgence in the seniors' selections will come another time.

To save time, I did not run today....only a barbell work out. My other longish runs this week more than compensate.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Mental Respite

It was 73F, 75% humidity this morning. The drier air felt cooler, a welcome respite from the intense heat we've experienced. Looking back on my running evolution, I realize this perception is entirely relative. Three years ago, this morning probably felt uncomfortably warm.

As I run, I understand the relationship of my mind to my body. In fact, there is no relationship; they are really parts of a whole, they are one.

I realize that just as my body is now the expression of past mental states, so my mind is actively creating my future physique.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Strong

Great running week. To cap it off, good Friday run. I started tired, but as often is the case, I felt strong by mile 5. At this point, I did my 3 mile tempo run. In 68 F, 100% humidity, I was drenched in sweat.

I continue to be amazed at the steady strength gain I've experienced over these 5 and a half years of training. We all know consistent training makes you stronger, but to personally experience the transformation - at the age of 55 - still astounds me.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Heat

I could feel the asphalt radiating yesterday's heat back into the cooler morning air as I began my run this morning. It was a memory of yesterday's triple digit temperatures and a harbinger of more today. In the first mile from my home, I came across 3 vehicles idling. One was in a driveway, empty, the other two were minivans by the curbside, each with a younger male occupant. Ten minutes later, the empty one was gone, but the minivans remained. I can only guess that the occupants preferred the air conditioning preferable to the moist 63 F morning air. 20 minutes later, one of the minivans was still idling curbside, its occupant presumably waiting for a passenger.

I found irony in this comfortable consumption of irreplaceable fossil fuel during the summer that will be most remembered for BP's oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The lust for cheap gas is poisoning the Gulf. If the oil slick makes the Keys, the reefs, which took hundreds of thousands of years to grow, will be destroyed in days.

The sun broke the horizon this morning as a dark red disk the color of clay.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Milestones

I mentored Denise through 14 miles today. It is her longest run ever. I did another 6 to cap off my week at 42 miles. It feels good to be back at this level again. We finished our run in near 90 F sunny temps. The weeks of training in the heat are beginning to pay off in terms of greater heat tolerance.

We arrived at the park at 6:30, our earliest ever. Two female deer and a young buck were feeding next to the tree line just in front of where we parked. Denise was extremely excited and pleased because she'd never actually seen a male deer with antlers in the wild.

Retirement

I was frustrated at having only enough time to do 5.5 miles today before work. I had hoped for 8.5, including my tempo workout. But sometimes the training just doesn't fit.

Until recently, I've not been able to imagine a scenario in which I considered myself ready for retirement. I like the challenge, I like the strife, and I like the money. But Denise made an observation that displayed more insight about myself than I have. She remarked that I would retire to have more time to train. I instantly realized the truth in this. At this point, my body is adjusting to 50 miles per week. I sense that I will want to take myself to another level with training at 70 or 80 miles per week. I will half to be retired for this.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Easy

For the second time this week, some early morning walkers commented that I make running look easy as I ran past them. This time, I grinned and said, "Its not.....".

This is an interesting thing about distance running. It is such a simple concept. The imperative is: run, run long. Yet, it can be very hard, as the week's miles pile up, or the miles already run during a particular work out accumulate. Somehow, hard does not matter. In fact, in a world almost completely given over to the easy, hard redeems and purifies.

Distance running is hard and because of this fact, it is necessary.