I'm having a great day off today. Did a 10-mile run this morning. Then went and did a "double-red" blood donation. Came home and have been reading and listening to music. I always am really sluggish after doing that donation. If you're not familiar with it, a double red donation is just what it sounds like. A double quantity of red blood cells. In a typical donation, they hook you up to a bag and take a pint of blood. For double red, they hook you up to a machine which takes out blood, centrifuges out the red cells, and replaces the plasma. They take 2 units worth of red cells. That's tough on any athletic activity.
Once this summer, I did a donation without considering the impact on my running. When I went out two days later I could do absolutely nothing. (It was a little embarrassing, because I went to Austin for an REI conference and was excited to run with my colleagues. Then I totally pooped after a VERY short distance.) It wasn't till about 3 days later when I was talking to someone back in Dallas that I made the connection that I'd been so weak because of donating blood. Stupid me. One insight from that experience: if the negative impact of losing red cells is proportional to a positive impact from gaining red cells, I can see why cyclists and other endurance athletes are willing to risk a lot to do blood transfusions or take EPO. It's an ENORMOUS impact. Not just a marginal difference.
(I'm still listening to holiday music. Vince Guaraldi on Pandora right now. Does that make me goofy?)
I think tonight I'll just sit here and eat and watch TV. Actually not TV, but a DVD. Probably James Bond. Gotta love James Bond. Exciting macho misogyny. Lots of cool gadgets and explosions. Happy ending and escape from the humdrum, though, is what I mostly crave. And it's not really that misogynistic, is it? Pretty healthy dinner, too. George Foreman chicken and baked sweet potato. Maybe (actually, definitely) followed by a dessert of a handful of dark chocolate M&Ms and a bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal. Totally decadent! (I'll probably also have a grapefruit.) I know all of you out there in blogland wish you could be here with me for this night of hedonism.
Had a great day last Thursday. Had lunch with my friend Jennifer, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, along with Jane (English instructor at Richland), whom I hadn't seen in about as long, even though she's there on campus, and Elisabeth (Jennifer's daughter) and David (Elisabeth's boyfriend) (they (E&D) were in town from California for the holidays). Went to Cosmic Cafe, one of my fave places. Had great fun conversation. Liked David.
(Switched to Early Blues. Charlie Patton on now. Hard to imagine a more pronounced contrast. Going from easy listening christmas music to raw scratchy old blues.)
Anyway, gonna go eat, watch movie and ice the knee. (Did I mention that I've kinda hurted the left knee?)
Later....
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Oh, well...
Sorry about the dorm-room philosophy last night. I don't know what gets into me sometimes. I guess there are times when I just don't know when to shut up.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Merry Christmas to all
It's been a good day. I was actually able to spend a few minutes with Pierce this morning, which happens infrequently enough, with our work schedules.
Then went for a run. Did a full loop. Included the bit over the dam, and it turned out to be 9.3 miles. It's fun to be able to go out and do that. Plus, the Forerunner estimates that I burned over 1400 calories on the run. There's certainly something to be said for that. Not crowded, and everyone was smiling and waving and enjoying themselves. Perhaps a new tradition.....
Then ate and watched a movie with Chad and Tara. So it was a very pleasant peaceful day for me.
I'm thankful that in a world full of misery I'm able to have a day like today. As I was running today I spent some time thinking about that, and how or why it happened that I'm here having a wonderful day and so many millions are not. Obviously, I was not able to answer that question. Does the concept of "thankful" necessarily imply someone or something to be thankful to? It seems somehow like it does, though perhaps not. I have to admit that I felt some guilt. What did I do to deserve all the wonderful things in my life? But guilt is not productive. I arrived at nothing much. Why are any of us here? What are our responsibilities to the world? To other people? Is it conceivable that Eastern religious ideas about Karma are "real?" If so, does that mean I've "earned" the life I've got?
(Gabriel's Oboe again on Pandora. There is much beauty in the world. Music. Laughter. Trees. Love. Friends. Solitude. Art. Companionship. So much beauty.... In the midst of my inability to understand why I've managed to experience so much of it.)
What about Presbyterians and predestination? That's a sort of karmic construct, isn't it? And why do these questions still present themselves to me as religious, when I've abandoned religion? Because religion provides a familiar context for contemplation of "The Big Questions?" Or because I'm inextricably tied by my personal history to a particular way of seeing? (I believe that is unfortunately the case in other areas of my life.....)
I suppose these are philosophical questions that are just beyond my meager ability to grok. What I **think** I think is that it's all basically the luck of the draw. There's no plan. No before and after. No cosmic expectation. There's just you and me and all of us, and we all have to make the best of what we've got. (I know, "best" can mean most anything.) Somehow if more of us would spend more effort in pursuits other than those intended to acquire more at the expense of others, the world would be a better place. On the other hand, it's the pursuit of more that has provided the impetus for much of the progress that has led to our ability to enjoy leisure (for those of us like me who are lucky enough to live in a place where leisure is a possibility). (And that's exactly the problem. Every question, every idea, every thought has multiple "sides." Does "Truth" exist?)
I should not write stuff like this when I know I'm not going to go back and rethink and reorganize and edit. I imagine when I come back and read what I've just written it will sound like just a bunch of blather. And none of it original. Sorry to anyone who tries to read it.
In the end, for tonight anyway, I hope you all had a good peaceful day in which you were able to experience beauty. Something like Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men (or Goodwill to Everyone, but that's not how I learned it!) ;-)
Then went for a run. Did a full loop. Included the bit over the dam, and it turned out to be 9.3 miles. It's fun to be able to go out and do that. Plus, the Forerunner estimates that I burned over 1400 calories on the run. There's certainly something to be said for that. Not crowded, and everyone was smiling and waving and enjoying themselves. Perhaps a new tradition.....
Then ate and watched a movie with Chad and Tara. So it was a very pleasant peaceful day for me.
I'm thankful that in a world full of misery I'm able to have a day like today. As I was running today I spent some time thinking about that, and how or why it happened that I'm here having a wonderful day and so many millions are not. Obviously, I was not able to answer that question. Does the concept of "thankful" necessarily imply someone or something to be thankful to? It seems somehow like it does, though perhaps not. I have to admit that I felt some guilt. What did I do to deserve all the wonderful things in my life? But guilt is not productive. I arrived at nothing much. Why are any of us here? What are our responsibilities to the world? To other people? Is it conceivable that Eastern religious ideas about Karma are "real?" If so, does that mean I've "earned" the life I've got?
(Gabriel's Oboe again on Pandora. There is much beauty in the world. Music. Laughter. Trees. Love. Friends. Solitude. Art. Companionship. So much beauty.... In the midst of my inability to understand why I've managed to experience so much of it.)
What about Presbyterians and predestination? That's a sort of karmic construct, isn't it? And why do these questions still present themselves to me as religious, when I've abandoned religion? Because religion provides a familiar context for contemplation of "The Big Questions?" Or because I'm inextricably tied by my personal history to a particular way of seeing? (I believe that is unfortunately the case in other areas of my life.....)
I suppose these are philosophical questions that are just beyond my meager ability to grok. What I **think** I think is that it's all basically the luck of the draw. There's no plan. No before and after. No cosmic expectation. There's just you and me and all of us, and we all have to make the best of what we've got. (I know, "best" can mean most anything.) Somehow if more of us would spend more effort in pursuits other than those intended to acquire more at the expense of others, the world would be a better place. On the other hand, it's the pursuit of more that has provided the impetus for much of the progress that has led to our ability to enjoy leisure (for those of us like me who are lucky enough to live in a place where leisure is a possibility). (And that's exactly the problem. Every question, every idea, every thought has multiple "sides." Does "Truth" exist?)
I should not write stuff like this when I know I'm not going to go back and rethink and reorganize and edit. I imagine when I come back and read what I've just written it will sound like just a bunch of blather. And none of it original. Sorry to anyone who tries to read it.
In the end, for tonight anyway, I hope you all had a good peaceful day in which you were able to experience beauty. Something like Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men (or Goodwill to Everyone, but that's not how I learned it!) ;-)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Another marathon today!
Well, a marathon, but not really. Twenty miles of the marathon were on my bike and six running.
I hadn't been on the bike in about 2 months. I really missed it. So to celebrate my day off today, I did a brick. For those of you not "in the know," a "brick" is an exercise routine during which you both bike and run. (Or, I suppose, do at least two of swim, bike and run.) It's obviously meant as preparation for a triathlon or duathlon. I did lots of bricks this summer when I was preparing for those duathlons I did.
(The Chieftains on Pandora. What's that guy's name? The frontman? Paddy McSomething?)
On another topic, it turned out to be a bad semester, grade-wise. Grades were lower than I've ever seen them. I don't know why. I don't think I did anything different.
Actually, when I think about it, one of my classes was about average.
Another was a "Learning Community" made up of all high school students. They were -- with 3 or 4 exceptions, woefully unprepared. Worse than most classes, and far worse than the high school classes I've taught actually on a high school campus. On the high school campus, apparently they just let the top students take the class. So those kids are smarter (or better prepared, or both) than the average freshman or sophomore. The RCHS (Richland Collegiate High School) is, I assume, open enrollment, because some of these kids were definitely **not** from the top of their class.
The third class was worse than usual. Six stopped coming after about the third class meeting and never came back and never dropped. So that's 6 Fs off the top. I don't know why they do that. I guess it's some sort of financial aid scheme, but I've never tried to figure out how it works.
Anyway, I'm tired and it's almost 10:00. I'm going beddy-bye.
Later...
I hadn't been on the bike in about 2 months. I really missed it. So to celebrate my day off today, I did a brick. For those of you not "in the know," a "brick" is an exercise routine during which you both bike and run. (Or, I suppose, do at least two of swim, bike and run.) It's obviously meant as preparation for a triathlon or duathlon. I did lots of bricks this summer when I was preparing for those duathlons I did.
(The Chieftains on Pandora. What's that guy's name? The frontman? Paddy McSomething?)
On another topic, it turned out to be a bad semester, grade-wise. Grades were lower than I've ever seen them. I don't know why. I don't think I did anything different.
Actually, when I think about it, one of my classes was about average.
Another was a "Learning Community" made up of all high school students. They were -- with 3 or 4 exceptions, woefully unprepared. Worse than most classes, and far worse than the high school classes I've taught actually on a high school campus. On the high school campus, apparently they just let the top students take the class. So those kids are smarter (or better prepared, or both) than the average freshman or sophomore. The RCHS (Richland Collegiate High School) is, I assume, open enrollment, because some of these kids were definitely **not** from the top of their class.
The third class was worse than usual. Six stopped coming after about the third class meeting and never came back and never dropped. So that's 6 Fs off the top. I don't know why they do that. I guess it's some sort of financial aid scheme, but I've never tried to figure out how it works.
Anyway, I'm tired and it's almost 10:00. I'm going beddy-bye.
Later...
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tempting potential life change?
A regular REI customer -- I've seen her probably 5 times in the last 3 years and we've exchanged e-mails a few times (typically my looking at photo albums she's posted) -- was in the store again yesterday.
(Sorry for the interruption, but "Gabriel's Oboe" was just on Pandora. From The Mission soundtrack, by Ennio Morricone. One of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. Chill-inducing. Do a YouTube search for Gabriel's Oboe. (I know I should figure out how to insert links here. Sorry.))
She's a guide with Backroads. She leads bike tours all over the world, and was leaving yesterday afternoon for New Zealand (just in REI to pick up a few things before leaving).
She's suggested before that I should consider coming to work for Backroads as a guide. She brought it up again. This time with a slight difference. She's spending a month or so in New Zealand and then a couple of months in Vietnam and Cambodia. Then a few days back in Dallas to visit the parents, and then heading to San Francisco (apparently that's the HQ) where she is going to be managing hiring and training for the company. So, the chief of hiring tells me just to call and in short order I can be leading bike tours in Tuscany or "heli-hiking" tours in the Canadian Rockies. Then she says once I've become established as a guide I can essentially write my own schedule -- like, for example, teach fall and spring and then guide during the summer in China or Bali or Tibet or.... pretty much anywhere. Or give up teaching altogether.
So, here I am. Unattached. No potential attachments that I know of, and no one who's going to be especially distraught if I'm gone (except REI managers, perhaps)(and yes, I know there are some few who'd miss me in my absence -- to a certain extent). No debt. No particular reason I NEED to be any particular place. No particular career to speak of. All I'd need to do is get rid of whatever crap I've accumulated, buy a laptop and an iPod, and hit the road! What's wrong with that picture? Travel, "customer service", cycling and hiking, a simpler life -- unencumbered by many possessions. I'm having a hard time coming up with a significant downside. But then I may be blocking out a raft of reasons not to take a leap into the unknown. I wouldn't get rich. But then that's never been my raison d'etre.
I've got a few months to cogitate. But I'd be a fool not to seriously consider it.
(Sorry for the interruption, but "Gabriel's Oboe" was just on Pandora. From The Mission soundtrack, by Ennio Morricone. One of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard. Chill-inducing. Do a YouTube search for Gabriel's Oboe. (I know I should figure out how to insert links here. Sorry.))
She's a guide with Backroads. She leads bike tours all over the world, and was leaving yesterday afternoon for New Zealand (just in REI to pick up a few things before leaving).
She's suggested before that I should consider coming to work for Backroads as a guide. She brought it up again. This time with a slight difference. She's spending a month or so in New Zealand and then a couple of months in Vietnam and Cambodia. Then a few days back in Dallas to visit the parents, and then heading to San Francisco (apparently that's the HQ) where she is going to be managing hiring and training for the company. So, the chief of hiring tells me just to call and in short order I can be leading bike tours in Tuscany or "heli-hiking" tours in the Canadian Rockies. Then she says once I've become established as a guide I can essentially write my own schedule -- like, for example, teach fall and spring and then guide during the summer in China or Bali or Tibet or.... pretty much anywhere. Or give up teaching altogether.
So, here I am. Unattached. No potential attachments that I know of, and no one who's going to be especially distraught if I'm gone (except REI managers, perhaps)(and yes, I know there are some few who'd miss me in my absence -- to a certain extent). No debt. No particular reason I NEED to be any particular place. No particular career to speak of. All I'd need to do is get rid of whatever crap I've accumulated, buy a laptop and an iPod, and hit the road! What's wrong with that picture? Travel, "customer service", cycling and hiking, a simpler life -- unencumbered by many possessions. I'm having a hard time coming up with a significant downside. But then I may be blocking out a raft of reasons not to take a leap into the unknown. I wouldn't get rich. But then that's never been my raison d'etre.
I've got a few months to cogitate. But I'd be a fool not to seriously consider it.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
On the road again
First run today since the marathon. It went well, for the most part. Went about 8.5 miles at mostly a slower pace than usual, because I was with a small DRC group who are a little slower. (That's a good thing. I wanted to go just the speed we went, but I typically don't have the discipline to go that speed.) Had what seemed to me to be a funny comment made about me at breakfast. (Went to Barbec's after the run with a couple of folks (had my usual: 2 soft-poached eggs, grits, bacon and dry wheat toast). Any of you out there who may plan to cook breakfast for me in the future now have my order! Unless I just have cereal, of course (always skim milk)). (I have no idea where that period should have gone. Too many parentheses.)
One of the women at breakfast was very impressed with my marathon time when she heard that I've just been running since April. She said "You must be genetically gifted." Seemed dramatic to me, but most of the DRC people I talk to seem pretty impressed with that time. Perhaps it's less common than I thought for a new runner to go 4:14. It doesn't seem particularly fast to me, though I was very pleased with that time, but I don't really have much of a basis of comparison.
Now that I think of it, though, it does seem like most of the people I was hanging with on the group runs -- and most of those I was ahead of -- have been running for years, so perhaps that is a basis of comparison.
Whether or not it's a valid comparison is actually immaterial, though, because the only real competition I'm thinking about is with myself. I just want to be healthy and have a good time. So I'm not going to get caught up (I'm really not!) with comparing myself to other folks.
(Jimmie Rodgers yodeling. Gotta love it....)
Picked up Chad's three dogs today from the kennel. They (Chad and Tara) are in Michigan for a couple of days and needed someone to get the dogs before tomorrow. Having those 3 hounds in my car left lots of hair and a significant aroma. Sometimes I think I want a dog. And sometimes I'm sure I don't. I think I like dogs these days the way I like babies: when they belong to other people! The car's been needing a good cleaning anyway, though, so perhaps I'll just take this as a sign that I've procrastinated too long. I think I'll take it to one of those places where they wash your car for you, though. Doing it myself sounds like too much effort. How lazy or decadent or whatever is that?
(Wind is REALLY blowing hard outside. Glad I did that run early today.)
Oh, well.... Need to finish with grades. Have to turn them in on Monday and I don't have it all done yet. Mostly, but not completely. End of the semester is such a hassle.
Oh... Forgot one thing. Someone at breakfast was talking (my teaching came up in conversation) about Amberton (I think that's what it was) University. Some kind of mostly online college. They were saying it's easier to get hired full-time there and that the pay is good. I'll have to look into that. It's here in Dallas. Sounds kinda sketch, though. Maybe like an upper division trade school kind of thing. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out, though, I suppose.
(Hank Williams now. Classic....)
Later...
One of the women at breakfast was very impressed with my marathon time when she heard that I've just been running since April. She said "You must be genetically gifted." Seemed dramatic to me, but most of the DRC people I talk to seem pretty impressed with that time. Perhaps it's less common than I thought for a new runner to go 4:14. It doesn't seem particularly fast to me, though I was very pleased with that time, but I don't really have much of a basis of comparison.
Now that I think of it, though, it does seem like most of the people I was hanging with on the group runs -- and most of those I was ahead of -- have been running for years, so perhaps that is a basis of comparison.
Whether or not it's a valid comparison is actually immaterial, though, because the only real competition I'm thinking about is with myself. I just want to be healthy and have a good time. So I'm not going to get caught up (I'm really not!) with comparing myself to other folks.
(Jimmie Rodgers yodeling. Gotta love it....)
Picked up Chad's three dogs today from the kennel. They (Chad and Tara) are in Michigan for a couple of days and needed someone to get the dogs before tomorrow. Having those 3 hounds in my car left lots of hair and a significant aroma. Sometimes I think I want a dog. And sometimes I'm sure I don't. I think I like dogs these days the way I like babies: when they belong to other people! The car's been needing a good cleaning anyway, though, so perhaps I'll just take this as a sign that I've procrastinated too long. I think I'll take it to one of those places where they wash your car for you, though. Doing it myself sounds like too much effort. How lazy or decadent or whatever is that?
(Wind is REALLY blowing hard outside. Glad I did that run early today.)
Oh, well.... Need to finish with grades. Have to turn them in on Monday and I don't have it all done yet. Mostly, but not completely. End of the semester is such a hassle.
Oh... Forgot one thing. Someone at breakfast was talking (my teaching came up in conversation) about Amberton (I think that's what it was) University. Some kind of mostly online college. They were saying it's easier to get hired full-time there and that the pay is good. I'll have to look into that. It's here in Dallas. Sounds kinda sketch, though. Maybe like an upper division trade school kind of thing. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out, though, I suppose.
(Hank Williams now. Classic....)
Later...
Thursday, December 13, 2007
I'm pretty excited
Back in late October -- I think it was the weekend before "The Half" -- I went with several REI folks on a camping trip to Arkansas, where we did the "Eagle Rock Loop" again. I've done that hike several times. It's a fun and challenging walk. According to the book, it's the longest loop hike in Arkansas. Not a surprise, because it's about 27 miles. When we've done it before, it's always been as a 3-day hike. That's about how I like to do things -- not planning too much distance any day.
This time was different. We went up on Friday, camped at Albert Pike that night, got up a couple of hours before daybreak on Saturday and hiked the whole thing in one day. It was a pretty hard day. Fun, though. We called it the "Eagle Rock Marathon." So actually last Sunday was not my first marathon. It was my first running marathon.
Anyway, on Saturday night after the hike and after dinner and a couple of beers, everyone was feeling pretty mellow. I was walking down the road to the little general's room (we were back at Albert Pike Recreation Area, where they have real bathrooms and showers) and there was this oldish guy sitting alone in his campsite playing the banjo. I stopped to listen. Soon John walked up (I was just standing there in the road), and we walked over and sat down -- having asked if he minded, of course -- to listen for a while. He was a pretty cool old guy, and a great banjo player. He was very rural, as you might expect. It was almost a little spooky when he played Dueling Banjos. He played and we chatted and of course he knew and played every bluegrass tune I could remember the name of. When the evening broke up I asked him if I could send him a blank CD on which he could record his CD (it had been established that he had recorded a couple of CDs) for me. He said he had blanks and just took my address.
Well, today I went to work at REI and what was there but 3 CDs!! Will (that was his name) had sent 3 CDs, wrapped in toilet tissue, with a very nice note in a Christmas card apologizing for its having taken so long to send them. Very excited! It's now after 10:30 and I'm sitting here listening. Really fun. Very unpolished. Completely authentic.
Gotta sleep now, though. I think after "Old Country Church" I'm gonna turn it off for the night. Hope to get grades submitted tomorrow. Probably won't happen till Monday, though. Got one student taking his final in the Testing Center tomorrow.
Later....
This time was different. We went up on Friday, camped at Albert Pike that night, got up a couple of hours before daybreak on Saturday and hiked the whole thing in one day. It was a pretty hard day. Fun, though. We called it the "Eagle Rock Marathon." So actually last Sunday was not my first marathon. It was my first running marathon.
Anyway, on Saturday night after the hike and after dinner and a couple of beers, everyone was feeling pretty mellow. I was walking down the road to the little general's room (we were back at Albert Pike Recreation Area, where they have real bathrooms and showers) and there was this oldish guy sitting alone in his campsite playing the banjo. I stopped to listen. Soon John walked up (I was just standing there in the road), and we walked over and sat down -- having asked if he minded, of course -- to listen for a while. He was a pretty cool old guy, and a great banjo player. He was very rural, as you might expect. It was almost a little spooky when he played Dueling Banjos. He played and we chatted and of course he knew and played every bluegrass tune I could remember the name of. When the evening broke up I asked him if I could send him a blank CD on which he could record his CD (it had been established that he had recorded a couple of CDs) for me. He said he had blanks and just took my address.
Well, today I went to work at REI and what was there but 3 CDs!! Will (that was his name) had sent 3 CDs, wrapped in toilet tissue, with a very nice note in a Christmas card apologizing for its having taken so long to send them. Very excited! It's now after 10:30 and I'm sitting here listening. Really fun. Very unpolished. Completely authentic.
Gotta sleep now, though. I think after "Old Country Church" I'm gonna turn it off for the night. Hope to get grades submitted tomorrow. Probably won't happen till Monday, though. Got one student taking his final in the Testing Center tomorrow.
Later....
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
OK, OK, OK, I think I'm over myself now...
OK. I've done it now. The marathon's done. And now when I read back, particularly over some of those last few posts, I am a bit embarrassed. They sound pretty smug. Pretty self-satisfied.
One might even say pretty self-absorbed. I'm sorry. I'll pretend it's an excuse that I was trying to psych myself up for something I wasn't sure I could even do. Now I can drop it. I promise I'll try not to adopt that attitude or tone or whatever it was again. Not flattering. If I do start training for a triathlon, I'll try to be careful to avoid that attitude.
I'm doing better walking now. But it's still sort of hard walking up stairs, and even harder walking down. I was never even close to this sore after any of my training runs. I guess I just never did as much before. The funny thing is I really feel like I want to go for a run. How weird is that? It seems weird to me, anyway. I can barely walk, and it's raining and in the upper 30s, and what I want to do is go for a run. Not long or hard, but something at least to get the legs loosened up and the blood flowing. Several experienced people have, however, recommended that I not do that, for a few reasons that may or may not be good. I don't know. But I'm going to stay inside for now. Maybe I'll go for a bike ride tomorrow night. I've really neglected the bike in the last couple of months. Time to fix that.
Anyway, what I DO need to do now is finish the semester. I've got one more final to give in the morning and then have to get everything graded and turned in, and it will be done. A few weeks without classes will be welcomed.
Next semester I'll have three 2302 classes on MWF, starting at 7 a.m. (one is an LGI, as I guess I've said before, now that I've repeated myself) That's pretty early, but it shouldn't bother me. I wonder if I'll be able to enforce my normal 5 minute tardy limit. That does seem kind of rigid, doesn't it? I like it because it reduces interruptions. I really don't deal very well with interruptions. In many ways I think I'm good in the classroom. But I have trouble with some things. For example, it drives me NUTS!!! when I catch a student texting during class. Some instructors I know don't even notice it. Or they at least pretend not to. I have tried to ignore it, but I just can't let it go. Somehow I feel like it's simple immaturity on my part that I let it bother me, or even object to it at all. I know people who are able simply to focus on what they're doing to the point that they don't notice "trivial" things (things that probably have no value to them) going on around them. I've always admired that, never having been able to do it myself. It makes them seem more mature and confident and in charge of themselves and... whatever. Some people can apparently sit at a desk or a computer and not even hear conversations happening just a few feet away from them. Not me. In the classroom I'm tuned in every time students whisper to each other in the back row. That's not a good thing.
Anyway, I need to stop. I'm not even ready for my final tomorrow.
Don't you love Dwight McCall? (more bluegrass, but more contemporary than Ralph or Bill)
Later...
One might even say pretty self-absorbed. I'm sorry. I'll pretend it's an excuse that I was trying to psych myself up for something I wasn't sure I could even do. Now I can drop it. I promise I'll try not to adopt that attitude or tone or whatever it was again. Not flattering. If I do start training for a triathlon, I'll try to be careful to avoid that attitude.
I'm doing better walking now. But it's still sort of hard walking up stairs, and even harder walking down. I was never even close to this sore after any of my training runs. I guess I just never did as much before. The funny thing is I really feel like I want to go for a run. How weird is that? It seems weird to me, anyway. I can barely walk, and it's raining and in the upper 30s, and what I want to do is go for a run. Not long or hard, but something at least to get the legs loosened up and the blood flowing. Several experienced people have, however, recommended that I not do that, for a few reasons that may or may not be good. I don't know. But I'm going to stay inside for now. Maybe I'll go for a bike ride tomorrow night. I've really neglected the bike in the last couple of months. Time to fix that.
Anyway, what I DO need to do now is finish the semester. I've got one more final to give in the morning and then have to get everything graded and turned in, and it will be done. A few weeks without classes will be welcomed.
Next semester I'll have three 2302 classes on MWF, starting at 7 a.m. (one is an LGI, as I guess I've said before, now that I've repeated myself) That's pretty early, but it shouldn't bother me. I wonder if I'll be able to enforce my normal 5 minute tardy limit. That does seem kind of rigid, doesn't it? I like it because it reduces interruptions. I really don't deal very well with interruptions. In many ways I think I'm good in the classroom. But I have trouble with some things. For example, it drives me NUTS!!! when I catch a student texting during class. Some instructors I know don't even notice it. Or they at least pretend not to. I have tried to ignore it, but I just can't let it go. Somehow I feel like it's simple immaturity on my part that I let it bother me, or even object to it at all. I know people who are able simply to focus on what they're doing to the point that they don't notice "trivial" things (things that probably have no value to them) going on around them. I've always admired that, never having been able to do it myself. It makes them seem more mature and confident and in charge of themselves and... whatever. Some people can apparently sit at a desk or a computer and not even hear conversations happening just a few feet away from them. Not me. In the classroom I'm tuned in every time students whisper to each other in the back row. That's not a good thing.
Anyway, I need to stop. I'm not even ready for my final tomorrow.
Don't you love Dwight McCall? (more bluegrass, but more contemporary than Ralph or Bill)
Later...
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Done!
I finished. And I finished in a good time. 4:14:35 (The original e-mail I got said 4:14:34, but I'll give them that second). It was amazing. Incredibly difficult. Made so in part because of my determination to have a good time. Also in part because it was 26.2 miles, of course, and that's a pretty long way to run. The whole experience was awesome. The crowd at the start. The cheering spectators. The hundreds of volunteers at water stops. The runners. The physical sensations along the way. The mental gymnastics associated with staying focused on what you're doing. Trying to stay hydrated and fueled while running. Trying to remember to try to remember what was going on so that I can go back and enjoy it in memory.
One of the most important elements of the day was my having hooked up with a Clif Bar Pace Group. Clif Bar sells energy bars and gels and drinks. I've both eaten and sold (at REI) a ton of the stuff. They have a program through which they send experienced marathoners to selected races to lead pace groups. At the start, in the crowd of thousands of people, one could see groups of balloons beside signs declaring different finishing times: 3:15, 3:30, 3:45, etc. After a lot of thought, I got with the 4:15 group, led by Star (her name is Starshine Blackford). That was probably the best decision I made in the whole marathon experience, other than training for it in the first place. Only because of her was I able to maintain a consistent pace and finish when I did. She provided encouragement, information, distraction, consistency, motivation, and did it all while running a marathon carrying a stick with 4 big balloons on top of it the whole way.
One example: a regular REI customer who ran the marathon and with whom I had compared notes while training was sure he'd finish faster than me. Based on what he said his training times were, I was sure he would as well. But he didn't get with a pace group and went out way too fast. (It's INCREDIBLY hard to hold the pace down at the beginning. I've said in this blog before that I seemed for some reason physically incapable of running slowly on my own.) For the first 5 miles, David was way ahead of me. He slowed a little in the second segment, but at the half he was still a good ways ahead of me. But he caved in, because he started too fast, and ultimately finished over a half hour behind me. I'm pretty confident (assuming he was accurately reporting training times) that if he'd gotten with the 4:00 pace group he would have finished with them. It's so important to pace appropriately.
Star was running her... wait for it... 96th marathon! 96. That's a lot. It's not that impressive, necessarily, I suppose. It's just what she does. Lots of people do a lot of whatever they do. I have friends who have been published a lot in newspapers. What it does mean, though, is that she has learned how to maintain a pace to finish at a specified time. Several times at the beginning I was just aching to GO! I wanted to go so much faster. Once I got a bit out front and I heard her voice behind me saying "Anyone in the 4:15 group who's hearing my voice from behind you, you need to look out, because if you stay out there I'll pass you later." And she was right. I can look at the (incredibly high tech) results online and see how consistent my pace was. And I can see how David crashed and burned by watching his pace decrease over time. It's fascinating.
Anyway, when I got home after the race, I sat down and typed a thank you to Clif Bar for providing the pacers. I'm cutting and pasting it in here for posterity.
Dear Clif Bar Pace Leaders:
I couldn’t let any time go by before letting you know how tremendously important Star was to me today. My first marathon. 50 years old and literally just did my first “distance” (actually about ½ mile) run of my life on April 18 of this year, 2 days after my 50th birthday.
I trained hard, but essentially alone, using a conglomeration of training plans downloaded from the internet. I lost 35 pounds and feel like I’m in shape for the first time in my life – certainly at least since high school, where I was a pretty good athlete, but playing football and basketball and throwing the shot put and discus do not prepare one for distance running, even if they hadn’t been over 30 years ago. I’m working two full-time jobs (teaching college government and as a salesperson at REI) and the bulk of my training miles were put in between 10:00 and 11:00 or 11:30 at night, after teaching in the morning and working a shift at REI. (That’s my personal sob story. I’m sure most people out there have their own stories to tell – some much more compelling than that they had to work hard to train for a marathon. Duh.)
I struggled over what pace group to get with. When I originally saw your program and e-mailed you ( a few months ago) I predicted a 5 hour finish. By today I was pretty sure I could go faster than that, but I didn’t know how much faster. It wasn’t till this morning before the race that I decided which group to join. Yesterday, standing there at the counter at the consumer expo I grabbed the 4:15 and 4:30 wrist straps. This morning I finally decided that I would attempt the 4:15 pace group, thinking that if I couldn’t hold on I’d just drop back and still have a respectable finish.
I can’t tell you how glad I am of that decision. Star was magnificent. Although I was pretty focused and not as responsive during the race as I might have been, Star’s upbeat, almost constant talk was entertaining and very informative, and probably just as important, distracting. While listening to the “Mean Guy” story I was able to forget how sore my legs were getting.
I kind of yo-yo’d off the back of the group, because I walked fairly slowly through the water stops and had to keep putting in pretty strong efforts to catch back on. My potty stop was particularly hard to recover from. But I could see those balloons bouncing in the distance, and perhaps it was the old competitive instincts activating, but I managed to chase her down every time. Certainly one reason I worked so hard to get back with the group was that from the beginning Star reinforced (without ever saying it explicitly that I remember) my commitment to finishing in my goal time. Maybe it's silly, but I think I just didn't want to disappoint her.
At the very end of the race Star was especially critical. She reminded all of us why we were there – personal reasons, and because of those who’d supported us in training, and reminding us of the child beneficiaries of the event – and challenged everyone to give it their best shot – one mile at a time. By that time my legs were in pretty bad shape, and I started to cramp at about mile 24, just after the last water stop. That slowed me down even more, and I lost more time to Star than I had previously. But for whatever combination of reasons I was determined to catch those damn balloons. It was unquestionably the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done in my life, but by the finish I was just about 20 feet behind Star’s balloons, and finished in 4:14:34.
Without Star I unquestionably would not have finished in under 4:15. Would that have been the end of the world? No. I was prepared to think – sincerely – that just finishing would have been a real accomplishment for me. Still, managing to finish when and how I did feel hugely important. Star is not the only reason I had a great day. I worked damned long and hard to get there. But I realize that without her there, I would not have had the experience I had. Was it “fun?” Not really. Was it a great experience I am truly grateful to have had? Absolutely. And Star was an important part of it. I managed to give her a pretty emotional hug in the finishing chute, but I hope you’ll pass along my thanks to her and to whoever is responsible for getting her there. Y’all are the greatest! ;-)
Patrick Moore
OK. I know this post is getting pretty long. Just one more thing to say. Probably the most important part of the value of this marathon to me was what happened after the 24 mile water station. I was pretty far behind Star. I'd already run farther and faster than ever before in my life, by a wide margin. I almost just threw it in and said "OK. I'm done. I'll finish, but I'll slow it way down and finish a little more comfortably." Instead, though, I decided I HAD to chase Star down. I guess it seems melodramatic to talk too much about how I somehow think I wouldn't have been faithful to myself and the incredibly hard work I did over 8 months to just basically give up at the end. But that's how I felt. And it's how I feel now. Lots of people have similar experiences in many types of (non-marathon) situations, I'm sure. But it feels so valuable to persist. Not to give up or give in. It's a learning experience that's still important to an old guy. I can't express adequately how glad I am that I did this. I haven't felt this good about myself in a long time, if ever.
Sorry this went on so long.
Later....
One of the most important elements of the day was my having hooked up with a Clif Bar Pace Group. Clif Bar sells energy bars and gels and drinks. I've both eaten and sold (at REI) a ton of the stuff. They have a program through which they send experienced marathoners to selected races to lead pace groups. At the start, in the crowd of thousands of people, one could see groups of balloons beside signs declaring different finishing times: 3:15, 3:30, 3:45, etc. After a lot of thought, I got with the 4:15 group, led by Star (her name is Starshine Blackford). That was probably the best decision I made in the whole marathon experience, other than training for it in the first place. Only because of her was I able to maintain a consistent pace and finish when I did. She provided encouragement, information, distraction, consistency, motivation, and did it all while running a marathon carrying a stick with 4 big balloons on top of it the whole way.
One example: a regular REI customer who ran the marathon and with whom I had compared notes while training was sure he'd finish faster than me. Based on what he said his training times were, I was sure he would as well. But he didn't get with a pace group and went out way too fast. (It's INCREDIBLY hard to hold the pace down at the beginning. I've said in this blog before that I seemed for some reason physically incapable of running slowly on my own.) For the first 5 miles, David was way ahead of me. He slowed a little in the second segment, but at the half he was still a good ways ahead of me. But he caved in, because he started too fast, and ultimately finished over a half hour behind me. I'm pretty confident (assuming he was accurately reporting training times) that if he'd gotten with the 4:00 pace group he would have finished with them. It's so important to pace appropriately.
Star was running her... wait for it... 96th marathon! 96. That's a lot. It's not that impressive, necessarily, I suppose. It's just what she does. Lots of people do a lot of whatever they do. I have friends who have been published a lot in newspapers. What it does mean, though, is that she has learned how to maintain a pace to finish at a specified time. Several times at the beginning I was just aching to GO! I wanted to go so much faster. Once I got a bit out front and I heard her voice behind me saying "Anyone in the 4:15 group who's hearing my voice from behind you, you need to look out, because if you stay out there I'll pass you later." And she was right. I can look at the (incredibly high tech) results online and see how consistent my pace was. And I can see how David crashed and burned by watching his pace decrease over time. It's fascinating.
Anyway, when I got home after the race, I sat down and typed a thank you to Clif Bar for providing the pacers. I'm cutting and pasting it in here for posterity.
Dear Clif Bar Pace Leaders:
I couldn’t let any time go by before letting you know how tremendously important Star was to me today. My first marathon. 50 years old and literally just did my first “distance” (actually about ½ mile) run of my life on April 18 of this year, 2 days after my 50th birthday.
I trained hard, but essentially alone, using a conglomeration of training plans downloaded from the internet. I lost 35 pounds and feel like I’m in shape for the first time in my life – certainly at least since high school, where I was a pretty good athlete, but playing football and basketball and throwing the shot put and discus do not prepare one for distance running, even if they hadn’t been over 30 years ago. I’m working two full-time jobs (teaching college government and as a salesperson at REI) and the bulk of my training miles were put in between 10:00 and 11:00 or 11:30 at night, after teaching in the morning and working a shift at REI. (That’s my personal sob story. I’m sure most people out there have their own stories to tell – some much more compelling than that they had to work hard to train for a marathon. Duh.)
I struggled over what pace group to get with. When I originally saw your program and e-mailed you ( a few months ago) I predicted a 5 hour finish. By today I was pretty sure I could go faster than that, but I didn’t know how much faster. It wasn’t till this morning before the race that I decided which group to join. Yesterday, standing there at the counter at the consumer expo I grabbed the 4:15 and 4:30 wrist straps. This morning I finally decided that I would attempt the 4:15 pace group, thinking that if I couldn’t hold on I’d just drop back and still have a respectable finish.
I can’t tell you how glad I am of that decision. Star was magnificent. Although I was pretty focused and not as responsive during the race as I might have been, Star’s upbeat, almost constant talk was entertaining and very informative, and probably just as important, distracting. While listening to the “Mean Guy” story I was able to forget how sore my legs were getting.
I kind of yo-yo’d off the back of the group, because I walked fairly slowly through the water stops and had to keep putting in pretty strong efforts to catch back on. My potty stop was particularly hard to recover from. But I could see those balloons bouncing in the distance, and perhaps it was the old competitive instincts activating, but I managed to chase her down every time. Certainly one reason I worked so hard to get back with the group was that from the beginning Star reinforced (without ever saying it explicitly that I remember) my commitment to finishing in my goal time. Maybe it's silly, but I think I just didn't want to disappoint her.
At the very end of the race Star was especially critical. She reminded all of us why we were there – personal reasons, and because of those who’d supported us in training, and reminding us of the child beneficiaries of the event – and challenged everyone to give it their best shot – one mile at a time. By that time my legs were in pretty bad shape, and I started to cramp at about mile 24, just after the last water stop. That slowed me down even more, and I lost more time to Star than I had previously. But for whatever combination of reasons I was determined to catch those damn balloons. It was unquestionably the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done in my life, but by the finish I was just about 20 feet behind Star’s balloons, and finished in 4:14:34.
Without Star I unquestionably would not have finished in under 4:15. Would that have been the end of the world? No. I was prepared to think – sincerely – that just finishing would have been a real accomplishment for me. Still, managing to finish when and how I did feel hugely important. Star is not the only reason I had a great day. I worked damned long and hard to get there. But I realize that without her there, I would not have had the experience I had. Was it “fun?” Not really. Was it a great experience I am truly grateful to have had? Absolutely. And Star was an important part of it. I managed to give her a pretty emotional hug in the finishing chute, but I hope you’ll pass along my thanks to her and to whoever is responsible for getting her there. Y’all are the greatest! ;-)
Patrick Moore
OK. I know this post is getting pretty long. Just one more thing to say. Probably the most important part of the value of this marathon to me was what happened after the 24 mile water station. I was pretty far behind Star. I'd already run farther and faster than ever before in my life, by a wide margin. I almost just threw it in and said "OK. I'm done. I'll finish, but I'll slow it way down and finish a little more comfortably." Instead, though, I decided I HAD to chase Star down. I guess it seems melodramatic to talk too much about how I somehow think I wouldn't have been faithful to myself and the incredibly hard work I did over 8 months to just basically give up at the end. But that's how I felt. And it's how I feel now. Lots of people have similar experiences in many types of (non-marathon) situations, I'm sure. But it feels so valuable to persist. Not to give up or give in. It's a learning experience that's still important to an old guy. I can't express adequately how glad I am that I did this. I haven't felt this good about myself in a long time, if ever.
Sorry this went on so long.
Later....
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Tomorrow is the big day!
I spent the morning volunteering at the DRC booth at the Expo. Saw a few people I know, and talked about running a lot. Gretchen happened by the booth. Fun to see her. She was probably the most important influence in my starting to run, so I have a lot to thank her for. Also saw Roni Jackson. She's a customer who is just one of the million women who are stronger cyclists than I am. She was wearing an Ironman T-shirt, and we talked about the beginning swimming lessons at the Town North Y. I'm a little less self-conscious about thinking triathlon these days, but swimming is a problem. Or at least a big challenge. Yes, I learned to swim at the Y when I was 6 years old, and have always "known how to swim." But I do not really know how to swim. I know how to avoid drowning. I think with some work I could learn to swim well enough to at least beat the time deadline in a triathlon. That would be pretty awesome. What I need to do is simply decide if I'm going to do it. If I decide to do it, I can train well enough, I'm sure. And I think the decision is really made. I've just got to finalize it in my head. Perhaps I'll change my mind after tomorrow. But if it goes well, I'll probably be even more motivated.
But that's just a possibility for sometime in the future. Now I've got this challenge for tomorrow. How is it going to go? I just need to start out at an appropriate speed not to kill myself before the finish. I feel like I'm obsessing over this. But I want to do a good time AND I want to finish as comfortably as I reasonably can. Those are competing goals. I think finishing comfortably is more important, so I'm going to try to take it really slow and easy. Which means that at the beginning I'm going to feel like I'm barely walking. I've just decided that I'm going to get in with the 4:15 pace group. That will be 9:44 miles. I'm sure I can hold that. Then after about 18 miles or so, if I'm feeling good I can go ahead. If not, I can use the group as motivation not to slow down. And a 9:44 pace will let me walk through water stops with no trouble. I don't know if the group will walk. At that speed, though, even if they don't I'll still be able to keep up.
It's interesting that I've had some miscommunication with people because some people talk about their pace in minutes/mile terms, and some talk in finishing time terms. So today when I told someone I was thinking I'd try to do a 9:30 pace, he thought I meant I was going to try to finish in 9 hours and 30 minutes. He looked at me funny, until I realized he was trying to pretend to be positive about this ludicrously slow time. He felt much better when I told him I was talking about per mile pace.
Now I'm going to go sit where I can prop my feet up and watch a James Bond movie. Sound like fun? I'm going to the official pasta dinner tonight, and then I'll hit the hay early, of course. I'll be up around 5:30 tomorrow to eat and get to a parking spot in time to be reasonably close (I hope) to the finish line.
Wish me luck!
But that's just a possibility for sometime in the future. Now I've got this challenge for tomorrow. How is it going to go? I just need to start out at an appropriate speed not to kill myself before the finish. I feel like I'm obsessing over this. But I want to do a good time AND I want to finish as comfortably as I reasonably can. Those are competing goals. I think finishing comfortably is more important, so I'm going to try to take it really slow and easy. Which means that at the beginning I'm going to feel like I'm barely walking. I've just decided that I'm going to get in with the 4:15 pace group. That will be 9:44 miles. I'm sure I can hold that. Then after about 18 miles or so, if I'm feeling good I can go ahead. If not, I can use the group as motivation not to slow down. And a 9:44 pace will let me walk through water stops with no trouble. I don't know if the group will walk. At that speed, though, even if they don't I'll still be able to keep up.
It's interesting that I've had some miscommunication with people because some people talk about their pace in minutes/mile terms, and some talk in finishing time terms. So today when I told someone I was thinking I'd try to do a 9:30 pace, he thought I meant I was going to try to finish in 9 hours and 30 minutes. He looked at me funny, until I realized he was trying to pretend to be positive about this ludicrously slow time. He felt much better when I told him I was talking about per mile pace.
Now I'm going to go sit where I can prop my feet up and watch a James Bond movie. Sound like fun? I'm going to the official pasta dinner tonight, and then I'll hit the hay early, of course. I'll be up around 5:30 tomorrow to eat and get to a parking spot in time to be reasonably close (I hope) to the finish line.
Wish me luck!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
It's been a few days....
.... since I posted. I haven't been running much, either. I did run today. Not a long run, but a pretty hard one. Someone suggested that a hard 5K would be a good thing to keep the legs going, and then just another slow run later in the week. I was going to do the 5K last night, but there was an unavoidable clinic at REI last night, so I didn't get away from there till almost 10:30. I have run that late, but at this point I think sleep is more important. So I ran this morning instead. It was cool enough, and I felt great. I did a 23:57 5K. That's quite a bit faster than I've ever run a 5K. A 7:43 pace. That would put me in the top half of my age group in the DRC, which is fine. The world record (I just looked it up) is 12:37. So I'm just a bit shy of that. At least I'm less than double now. I've actually been sorta thinking about my goal time in terms of less than twice that of the winner. That would "only" require that I do something like a 4:22 or 4:24. Or perhaps even slower. That's entirely doable. But not at all a sure thing. We'll see.
I won't run tomorrow, and then Friday I'll do a slow one for 3 or 4 miles. Take Saturday off, and be rarin' to go! I can't believe it's almost here. The time has gone by so fast. I'm pretty excited, as I guess I've already said.
The semester is almost finished. I'm glad. I won't have enough time to enjoy it. Any time will be welcomed, though. I think next semester I'm going to require all papers and assignments be submitted online. I can't believe the amount of paper I end up with each semester. I will probably save most of a tree by myself. I'm kinda looking forward to next semester. I have 3 classes, but one is a Large Group, so I'll get paid for 4. Of course, a Large Group is as much work as 2 classes, so getting paid is not exactly charity.
(You know, opera sung in English just sounds funny. It **should** be in Italian. All my favorite operas are. Except for the ones in German.)
(Heard something funny today. On Fresh Air. Terry (we are on a first name basis, you know) was interviewing this guy who wrote a book about how important migrating animals are. He was talking about tracking migrating dragonflies, and said "... we were following dragonflies migrating in a plane, and ...." I had just the image you'd expect, of a bunch of dragonflies in a mini 747, with a bunch of dragonfly flight attendants handing out drinks. It's a good thing I wasn't doing the interview. I'd have made some smart ass remark. In fact, Terry even asked a followup question confirming that it was the people in the plane. I assumed at the time that she was trying to give the guy a chance to find his own humor in what he'd said, but he didn't go there.)
Anyway, it's late and I've still got some schoolwork to do, so I'm stopping.
I'm PUMPED for the race! It's going to be such an experience. I can't wait for it to be over!
I won't run tomorrow, and then Friday I'll do a slow one for 3 or 4 miles. Take Saturday off, and be rarin' to go! I can't believe it's almost here. The time has gone by so fast. I'm pretty excited, as I guess I've already said.
The semester is almost finished. I'm glad. I won't have enough time to enjoy it. Any time will be welcomed, though. I think next semester I'm going to require all papers and assignments be submitted online. I can't believe the amount of paper I end up with each semester. I will probably save most of a tree by myself. I'm kinda looking forward to next semester. I have 3 classes, but one is a Large Group, so I'll get paid for 4. Of course, a Large Group is as much work as 2 classes, so getting paid is not exactly charity.
(You know, opera sung in English just sounds funny. It **should** be in Italian. All my favorite operas are. Except for the ones in German.)
(Heard something funny today. On Fresh Air. Terry (we are on a first name basis, you know) was interviewing this guy who wrote a book about how important migrating animals are. He was talking about tracking migrating dragonflies, and said "... we were following dragonflies migrating in a plane, and ...." I had just the image you'd expect, of a bunch of dragonflies in a mini 747, with a bunch of dragonfly flight attendants handing out drinks. It's a good thing I wasn't doing the interview. I'd have made some smart ass remark. In fact, Terry even asked a followup question confirming that it was the people in the plane. I assumed at the time that she was trying to give the guy a chance to find his own humor in what he'd said, but he didn't go there.)
Anyway, it's late and I've still got some schoolwork to do, so I'm stopping.
I'm PUMPED for the race! It's going to be such an experience. I can't wait for it to be over!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Left something out
Forgot to mention. Another reason it's a great day.
On my way home from the run, I stopped by Half-Price Books to do some Christmas shopping. Got some great stuff, as always. But one real treasure. For me. An unabridged audiobook of Bret Harte's The Outcasts of Poker Flat & Other Stories.
Bret Harte is one of my favorites. The Outcasts of Poker Flat is the best known of his stories, I imagine, and it is a good one. For my money, though, The Luck of Roaring Camp is the best. Anyone who can read The Luck and not shed a tear simply has no heart. So when I saw that book on CD right there in front of me, I knew it was a special day.
I just hope I like the readers. I'll let you know....
On my way home from the run, I stopped by Half-Price Books to do some Christmas shopping. Got some great stuff, as always. But one real treasure. For me. An unabridged audiobook of Bret Harte's The Outcasts of Poker Flat & Other Stories.
Bret Harte is one of my favorites. The Outcasts of Poker Flat is the best known of his stories, I imagine, and it is a good one. For my money, though, The Luck of Roaring Camp is the best. Anyone who can read The Luck and not shed a tear simply has no heart. So when I saw that book on CD right there in front of me, I knew it was a special day.
I just hope I like the readers. I'll let you know....
Another great day....
You know what's the truth? I really love running. It's so odd for me to say that. Or at least to me it's odd. I NEVER would have thought I'd say I love running. I've always hated running. Perhaps it's just because I hated being forced to do it, rather than being motivated to do it on my own. Is it true that we always hate what we're forced against our will to do? I think that's true for reading, for example. In high school, when forced to read A Tale of Two Cities, everyone (with a few oddball exceptions (you know who you are)) hates it. But when reading it 20 years later, it's great! One realizes why it's a classic, and teachers force kids to read it. Same thing for Moby Dick. Hate it in high school. Love it as an adult. And broccoli. (Fortunately, I've never learned to love fruit cake. Does anyone actually eat that stuff? That bakery in Corsicana -- can't remember the name right off the top -- has made millions selling a product that no one eats. Bizarre.)
Anyway, running.... As I was doing my run this morning (9 miles) I made a point of focusing on my feelings. Physical feelings. Sensations. Breathing. Muscles flexing. Legs and arms moving. Chest expanding and contracting. Feet hitting the pavement. Arms moving back and forth. Sounds. Smells. Thirst. And what was I thinking about. (Actually, any psychologist would love to get hold of what I think about when I'm running. I don't think I should write it. No, it's not pornographic, if that's what you think I mean. And it's not consistent, anyway. But frequently it's.... well, as I said, it would fascinate a psychologist. Makes me think about things said about Lance Armstrong and what some people speculate (I assume they're speculating. Did he tell them?) he would think about while riding.)
But, back to the point.... When I was inventorying my feelings
(Ahah! Collin Street Bakery!)
I realized, really for the first time I remember having this specific thought, I was loving what I was doing. I've heard runners say that, but never appreciated it. I don't know what "runner's high" is. Don't think I've felt it. At least I haven't recognized it. But as I was running today, just a comfortable pace, I felt like I could go on forever. I felt so fit and strong. In control. Empowered. In touch with myself and everything and everyone around me.
Much moreso than when I'm on the bike. I really enjoy riding the bike as well. But now that I've been running, the bike seems so mechanical (duh!) and impersonal. It's like it separates the rider from what's going on around him. Almost like being in a car. On a bike you go so fast. Things come and go so quickly. I'm not sure what it is exactly. Or at least I'm not sure how to say it. I wish I were a more creative expressive writer. Probably everything I want to say has already been said by someone who is a runner and a real writer. I guess I should go get a book by that person (whoever it is, assuming it's out there) and just cut and paste passages into this blog. It would probably say everything I want to say, and people would be impressed with my writing at the same time. (just kidding...)
(Mozart Symphony No. 40 on Pandora. Love that they've started including classical music now.)
Well, this has gone on too long. I just hope I get over this cold before the marathon. The ankle and hip are both much better. If I am sick, though, it would be a real bummer.
Later....
Anyway, running.... As I was doing my run this morning (9 miles) I made a point of focusing on my feelings. Physical feelings. Sensations. Breathing. Muscles flexing. Legs and arms moving. Chest expanding and contracting. Feet hitting the pavement. Arms moving back and forth. Sounds. Smells. Thirst. And what was I thinking about. (Actually, any psychologist would love to get hold of what I think about when I'm running. I don't think I should write it. No, it's not pornographic, if that's what you think I mean. And it's not consistent, anyway. But frequently it's.... well, as I said, it would fascinate a psychologist. Makes me think about things said about Lance Armstrong and what some people speculate (I assume they're speculating. Did he tell them?) he would think about while riding.)
But, back to the point.... When I was inventorying my feelings
(Ahah! Collin Street Bakery!)
I realized, really for the first time I remember having this specific thought, I was loving what I was doing. I've heard runners say that, but never appreciated it. I don't know what "runner's high" is. Don't think I've felt it. At least I haven't recognized it. But as I was running today, just a comfortable pace, I felt like I could go on forever. I felt so fit and strong. In control. Empowered. In touch with myself and everything and everyone around me.
Much moreso than when I'm on the bike. I really enjoy riding the bike as well. But now that I've been running, the bike seems so mechanical (duh!) and impersonal. It's like it separates the rider from what's going on around him. Almost like being in a car. On a bike you go so fast. Things come and go so quickly. I'm not sure what it is exactly. Or at least I'm not sure how to say it. I wish I were a more creative expressive writer. Probably everything I want to say has already been said by someone who is a runner and a real writer. I guess I should go get a book by that person (whoever it is, assuming it's out there) and just cut and paste passages into this blog. It would probably say everything I want to say, and people would be impressed with my writing at the same time. (just kidding...)
(Mozart Symphony No. 40 on Pandora. Love that they've started including classical music now.)
Well, this has gone on too long. I just hope I get over this cold before the marathon. The ankle and hip are both much better. If I am sick, though, it would be a real bummer.
Later....
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