Its almost 60 F out there this morning. I could hear frogs chirping in the wetlands in our subdivision as I ran by.

I did 8 miles in the warm, wet, windy weather. 2 miles at tempo pace. I could have been without a shirt and comfortable.

I almost didn't go out this morning, having awaken sluggish and really tired. Three 8 milers in the workweek combined with standing all day at work is really taxing my system. As a plus, I've been good at holding to my weight training schedule, something I've not achieved over the past few years. The total effect, however, is to be fairly tired on Friday morning.

One has to apply stress to get the adaptation.

Athletainment

I work in a casual environment, more like a college campus than corporate America. On Fridays, many come to work in NFL jerseys celebrating the entertainment and athletic achievements of their respective football teams. During the playoffs, troops of highly specialized entertainers compete to play in a final performance held in February. This annual rite of passage costs its spectators millions of hours and dollars. Fans of the final winner come away bloated with pride and ego, though, in fact, the only thing they have achieved is an extra pound or two from the over-eating and drinking that usually occurs while watching the games. In twelves months most will not remember the final score.

I have five MCM competitor jerseys now. Each Friday, I wear an MCM jersey to work to celebrate my own athletic achievements. They were earned on runs like this Sunday's: 15 miles in quiet, under a cloudy, gray sky, with 29 F. and 22 F. wind chill.

Bragging rights are something you personally earn. They do not result from the accidents of being a fan.

New Beginnings

After my last marathon of the year, I go into aimless running. It is both good and bad. I run because it has become part of my nature, but I don't run the hard runs that result from goal-setting. It is a hiatus from ambition, where I just express the nature I have created for myself.

New Year's day the weather was magnificent, nearly 50 F. and sunny. Denise and I ran, reveling in the spirit of the beginning of a new year. My aches from October's marathon efforts were gone. Like in previous years, I felt that need to train myself to go longer and faster once again.

I failed to achieve a PR in 2011. Now I feel set against my 2011 self: I feel the need to overcome what I was and produce a new state of being.

I have to wonder how many 56 year old males still look forward to their next lifetime personal records (PRs).

Life is an act of self-creation. You are what you have the will to be. In the end, what you have created is all you have.