One for the Road

Wild cucumber

Wraps itself around the brush

Any way it can.

Thursday, February 24, 2022

 At some point during the week at my work someone will ask me how I feel about running marathons. It’s not as unusual question as you would think given that I work as a hiking guide and the word somehow gets around that I run ultras.

 But I’ve never run a road marathon. No plans to run one anytime soon, nor any huge ambition or bucket list projection to ever run one.

 With these exceptions:

1.    When and if I approach my 70^th birthday and I’m capable of running a 3 hr. marathon.

2.    When and if I’m 100 and can still run.

 It’s not that there’s any bizarre religious prohibition against it, or some traumatic association with the marathon event. It just doesn’t thrill me as much as other endeavors I’d like to participate in for the foreseeable future.

 It’s similar to how I feel about running a 100 mile ultra. Though that challenge does have a few more appealing elements than a road marathon, like running through the night exhausted.

 But I know doing that can’t be healthy. Heck, a marathon or ultra is something the body has to recover from and from a health standpoint shouldn’t be on any smart trainer’s to do list for their client.

 Challenging yourself does appeal to me. And seeing places I couldn’t see except on foot is also engaging. But I can string together a fastpack trip for that. And for now that’s what I’ll do when I get that itch.

 Until otherwise, I’ll stick to road half marathons at most. That distance, and the training for it, seem reasonable to me both as a challenge and to improve or maintain optimum health.

This Morning’s Run

Friday, February 18, 2022

This Morning’s Run

No need to rush the sun this morning.

We’ll warm up whenever he does.

Our door will open soon enough

And we’ll run over the waves of hills

Stopping here and there

To bathe in the light of the woods

And each other.

The streams of our breath a rhythm to follow

Until we feel it’s time to come in. 

Dead Weight

 The jagged skyline

Verdant green and azure blue

Slices through the hills.

Thursday, February 10, 2022

 Sleeping has become a lot like taking care of my teeth as I’ve gotten older; way more complicated and time consuming than I ever imagined it could be and far more complicated than it ought to be.

When I was a kid we brushed our teeth before bed. That was it.

Now I floss, pick, massage, brush, squeegee, and rinse. Well, not quite. I stopped using a mouth rinse, though I’ll probably start up again, and I’m not sure there is such a thing as a tooth squeegee, but I do use a water-pick in the morning and that seems pretty close.

Similarly, when I was a kid I went to bed, and generally fell asleep. If I was having nightmares I sometimes went to sleep at the foot of my mom’s bed. But I don’t want to get into all that Freudian trauma today.

As I’m getting older, I’m finding it much more difficult to get a decent night’s sleep, which I partly understand yet am also very perplexed at.

I get up to go pee a lot. That part I get. But I work out hard and am just wiped out at the end of most days yet I’m having troubles sleeping.

I’m trying to stay away from the electronics at night and switching to an old fashion booklight to read myself to sleep.

I’m using a heating pad occasionally to heat my shoulders. Sometimes it works; sometimes not.

Lastly, I’ve gone to a weighted blanket. That’s also been hit or miss. Not sure why the weight feels good or makes a difference. There’s always that Freudian explanation somewhere lurking in the background. But again, I’m not going to lay back on the couch and free associate about it … unless that’ll help me sleep.

Giving Up

 Santa Ana winds;

Dry, cold winter mountain air,

Rush through the canyons.

Thursday, February 2, 2022

 If Tom Brady can retire in his 40s, I can certainly start taking Mondays off in my 60s.

 I hadn’t planned on it. I thought I was strong enough to come off a 55-hour shift, take a nap, then get up and work out. But it’s not working out that way. I’m just zapped physically and mentally Monday afternoons. So instead of fighting it any longer and always starting my work-out week with a negative of not having even attempting what should be my first workout of the week; I’m giving in and just putting my feet up and napping with the dog Monday afternoon.

 One official day off per week shouldn’t kill me. Being realistic, at this stage of the game, it should make me stronger as I’ll be more well rested starting the week off on Tuesday after half a rest day.

 It does string my workouts together and will require some doubling up if I wand to get some upper body work in, but I think I’m smart enough to make it work.

 Tuesday won’t change except for the order. Instead of riding on the trainer then doing tempo runs, I’ll run first then ride. I read in Tri magazine that’s the way to go and switching it up from my old ways sounds like a good change of pace.

 Wednesdays will now be my sunrise run day followed by a long recovery afternoon, before getting off the couch to lift.

 Thursday will still be long bike day.

Fridays will now be all out sprints then lift days. Which should allow me to feel decent if I’ve got to start Saturday mornings off with slow jogs at my hiking guide gig, which is pretty typical.

 Sundays and Mondays are easy walk days with the guests which should have me itching to go on Tuesdays.

Sounds like a plan. Now the hard part; executing it consistently.