Michael: Quasi Broken Pledge

The purple thistle

looks like the Billy Idol

Of the plant world. 

Monday, June 17, 2019

After getting shocked with a large tax bill in April I made a pledge not to buy new shoes until after that bill was paid. And although I haven’t broken the letter of that resolution, I do feel like I’ve broken it in spirit. 

 I’ve bought two new pair of shoes since making this pledge. This pair, some track spikes, I don’t really feel should count for a number of reasons. Spikes aren’t really shoes. They’re more like braces; a specialty item required for a specific purpose. And besides, they’ll last forever and if I’m going to run a few more sub 6 minute miles, I’m willing to make that deal with the devil without feeling too guilty about it.  

 The other pair of shoes I just got at REI on sale are the Arcteryx Norvan SLs. They’re kind of like the spikes in that they’ll only be used for a specific purpose; namely short trail races, but they could be more widely used if I weren’t such a tenderfoot. As is, I’m not sure they’ll have enough cushioning. But they’re so light, and although light trail shoes have never lived up to my expectations previously, I do find myself getting suckered in to trying them again every few years.  

 My justification for that purchase was that the good people at the IRS haven’t yet taken any money out of my account and I figure my pledge doesn’t take affect until that occurs. I know this is all a rationalization for getting what I want now while I can, but I do feel everybody’s entitled to a little fine print in contracts of their own making. 

Michael: Spikes

 I Feel like a yawn;

 Long, wide and never ending. 

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

 This is another one of those, ‘back in the day’, I’m now firmly entrenched in old manhood realizations. 

 I was suppose to run a mile on Memorial Day. I did not. But I have not given up on the goal of running a 5:30 mile this year. Fortunately, there are a few all-comers meets not to far away next month on the track which will give me that opportunity.  

 Also, since it’s on the track I’ll be able to run in spikes which I have not done in 43 years. Wow! That’s a damned long time ago.  

 In high school I wore white Puma that had grey felt logos on the sides. I colored one of those stripes with our school colors of green and gold. I wish I still had those and although they may not fit, I’m sure I didn’t throw them out so they may still turn up some day and I’m hoping like Cinderella slippers I’ll put them on and run beautifully again.  

 So what would be the next best thing? On sale at Running Warehouse were a pair of Brooks spikes with a white and gold color way; reminiscent enough of my old spikes to have me daydreaming of my old glory days.  

 And, again, Wow! I thought my old spikes were light. What’s been going on all these years I’ve been away from the track? Every time I hold these things I shake my head in disbelief. I mean they look like spikes, but they feel like if I dropped them they’d float gently to the ground or if a slight breeze came by they’d swirl away like a leaf and I’d have to go chasing after them to get them back.  

 I know they’re not going to work any magic and make me as fast as I ran in my old spikes, but at least I can close my eyes and hopefully feel fast again. I’ve just got to find a track and get out there a few times before the meet next month so I don’t trip out of the gate and fall like a jockey being thrown from his horse. 

Michael: Three Cs and a D

A seriously  

Funny monkey laughed at that 

Tragic reflection. 

Friday, June 7, 2019

Getting old is easy. Getting old and trying to stay in shape; now, that’s another story altogether. 

Up until yesterday, I thought I was doing pretty good on the old age front. My race results have been pretty good and pretty consistent. My workouts have been decent and my weight’s been pretty steady. Then I took the Bod Pod test and my ego took a pretty large hit. It has me at 17% body fat. I can’t recall being this fat since shortly after college when I was intentionally trying to put on weight so I would look a little more husky instead of being the scrawny person I’ve always been. 

Now being old has put me in the worst of both worlds; I’m both scrawny looking and fat.  

But I intend to fight back. Now I’m only lifting one day a week. That’s going up to two. That’s actually going to be an enjoyable change and one I’ve been planning on for a while. And since I work at a hotel with a very nice gym, it’s very feasible.  

On the other side of the coin – diet; that’s going to be the tougher nut to crack (pun intended). For the next three months my plan is to not keep cheese, chocolate, chips and Danish in the house. I’m not going to eliminate them entirely unless I don’t see any results by September.  

I’m hoping that’ll drop my weight a few pounds without any loss in strength which should translate to a reasonable 15% body fat.  

Life is good. These foods are delicious. But at the moment I value being a competitive old fart instead of rotund leisurely one.  

Michael: An Inspiration

The fox on the trail
Scurries far away from me
Then disappears.

Monday, June 3, 2019

It seems if you live long enough and keep doing what you’ve always done, at some point you’ll become someone’s inspiration. Today I reached that point.

Oddly, to me, I feel pretty much like the same competitive bastard I’ve been since high school. But I don’t recall any competitors back then telling me I was an inspiration like a fellow athlete did early in Saturday’s Phantom 20 mile trail race. And not only did it feel good, but I drew upon his words later in the race to push me and keep me focused.

Of course in high school we were all the same age and most of us were not wildly apart in abilities. Now I’m competing against athletes 15, 20, even more than 30 years younger than I am and doing reasonably well. And I suppose that’s something to be proud of; even every once in a while maybe inspirational.

Michael: Nothing New

Hummingbird flower;
Dull, deep magenta leaves
On a bright green stalk.

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Saturday I’m going to race the Phantom 20 miler in Agoura Hills. This will be the first time in a long time that I won’t be using anything new for a race; not new shoes, nor socks or even a hat. I’m a bit despondent about that but I’m going to try and not let it effect my performance.

There will be one new element to this race though that kind of irks me. Part of the course is going to be new due to the Woolsey fire.

This is bothersome because last year I ran it in 3:06 and I’m hoping to better than that and go under 3 hours. But with a new course it’s going to be hard to compare results. I suppose that’s one of those ying/yang qualities of trail racing even more so than road or track events. Not only do the conditions change from year to year, but trail courses change even though they’ll keep the same moniker. Heck even if the course is technically identical, it could be far different just due to erosion.

So there will be a new element for everybody and not just me.