To Excel In Life...Run!

     In our garage, we have a 2x4 that supports some shelving that is always packed with too much garage stuff. Should we ever move, I'll have to replace it, even though it's irreplaceable. Huh? Over the years we have been marking this big 'ol yardstick with height checks of our kids, some neighbor kids, a couple friends and a relative or two. It currently holds stuff up, but it holds many more memories.      Measuring is done all day long in our lives. Costing of things, him versus her, this show over that show, music comparisons, movie comparisons and on and on. I'm thinking that very soon America will get fed up with all the complaining and helicopter radio and tv hosts that hover over any trend, news item or person, just waiting for the right fail-ment to pounce upon them and keep their listeners or viewers up to date on the latest tidbit of info. It's a pretty lousy diet of airwave ( oh wait, cablewave ) overload. It's a big Newsami drowning...

     First run of the year in just a tee shirt and shorts! Might be a record! It did feel like I was missing some clothing today. I kept thinking I was under dressed for being out in public, must have been my new lightweight, ultra-comfortable TEIL running shirt! It felt goooooooood!      After months of bundling up, even in a mild winter, it was really nice to get ready so easily today; socks-check...shoes-check...shorts-check...shirt-check...running hat-check...sunglasses-check and then out the door! No watch, either, today, just a nice easy run with Jeanette riding along keeping me company. Beautiful day running six miles through Bunker. The trails are bone dry versus a few weeks of ice-out in the shady areas, which is a great help not having to slow down and negotiate icy patches that can cause all sorts of running ailments; pulled hamstring, twisted ankle, sore butt-bone. You know, the usual suspects due to a slip, trip or fall.    ...

     Tomorrow night I will need to put in three fresh batteries for my headlamp, it's the third time I've had to reload it. While not great for the environment, it's a funny benchmark of winter running. It's been a blessing to have a group to train with this winter, and a big plus for being able to get out so often was the mild weather. Next year is going to be tough, kind of like getting out of the beach water during the summer, warming up and having lunch, then heading back out...it always seems colder the second time.       It's also the beauty of it, never being able to predict what will happen, even if you have already 'been there, done that'. Groundhog Day, the movie, is a favorite of mine. Bill Murry aka "Phil Conners" takes advantage of what appears to be repetition and turns it on its own re-run self. He becomes expert at a variety of disciplines, but ever lasting love still eludes him, no matter how many times he thinks he's got it...

     The metamorphosis is happening, and I'm not sure what to think! It's something I see in others; the training they put in, be it miles, pitches or free-throws, and how one day it all starts to come together. I saw it on my son's basketball team that I help coach. Saturday the entire team played well, and they crushed a team that had beaten them three times straight over the past two seasons.      Now, I'm starting to see it in me.      Last week I put in 51 miles on six days of training, the most since last year when a month before the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon I had a 20 mile Sunday that put me over 50. The difference this year is the training foundation is so much more consistent. Sneaking up, week by week, to hit 51 miles was very manageable. The pace was easy ( finally got snow this week so our pace was hampered by dodging snow piles and ice overs ), the temps not bad and Sunday we bumped up to 16 for the day.  ...