Wild Oats by KAK 04/14/14 They pawed the ground and flicked their ears, these horses in the pen The gate was strained, its strength was taxed as it barred them from their end One thousand numbered- all anxiously eager to flee the nest The race would soon be set upon with victory the quest This field quite mixed with geldings to spare though all did still have heart Loud shot was fired, the egress revealed- each equine did depart Old stallion took each step in stride as the distance he did cover Grizzled veteran of past campaigns now mostly lolled in clover Coquettish colts sprang sprightly forward as for the ring they raced The old gray stud his own pace did run as after them he chased He passed the time with song in mind, his eye upon the fillies Each flank it seemed to him a dream of beautiful day lily Miles passed the old horse progressed toward his destination Colts surely would revolt if they knew of their coming castrations Hours elapsed he now felt gassed but his stride did not falter Yearling, fold and mare took the bit there- accepting masters halter The race it did go to the swift- there is no mistaking that Our stallions pace caused no disgrace; an honorable at-bat To the pasture he returned feeling life in all its glory For days to come after the run his joints hed inventory Quitting is surely a game for fools, enjoy what life holds sweet Run with the herd for rest assured times a persistent thief When I turned 50 I swore off half marathons. Patricia, I said to my wife, No more running races longer than a 10K; Im too old. Okay, was her soft spoken, understanding and angelic response. The term competitive athlete can have different meanings. Usually it is used to denote the top seeded runners in a field, those most likely to win, place or show. With a similar but more inclusive usage it is used to describe people that are working hard and make up perhaps the top 10% of participants. The most liberal among us use competitive to mean that the runner is working to his or her potential. Here a runner might come in dead last but having labored throughout the race and working to be as swift as possible we can term this runner competitive. I have never been an example of the first definition, occasionally I fit in the second and almost always qualify for the last. In racing I give it my all. Distance runs had become too taxing on me so I decided to give them up. When I was 51 she said, Im going to do a half marathon. Do you want to do it with me? I thought I said I wasnt doing anymore? I know. Im doing the Marion Rotary run for shoes in April. Do you want me to sign you up or not? I am a liberated man. I have long ago become accustomed to having a wife who earns more than I, is more savvy, physically fit and better looking so of course I declined. In a pigs eye! Early spring distance events are hard for those of us living in middle America. Winters gets cold, dark and slippery and getting in the long base miles recommended for a 13.1 mile event is hard to achieve; I didnt. I toed the line at the 2013 half marathon unprepared and pigheadedly started at a pace that I arrogantly thought I should be able to do. The first seven miles or so werent too bad! So when Pat asked me around Thanksgiving of 13 if I would do the Marion Rotary run for the shoes in April of 14 I eloquently responded with, Huh? I thought I wasnt doing anymore halfs? Thats fine. Ill do it by myself. When she said this it occurred to me that Lucifer is a fallen angel, not that theres any correlation. So we decided that I would once more don my running shoes for a distance event come spring but that this time I would train all winter and be prepared! Uh-huh. My winter training started off okay but the Polar Vortex blew me away. The boy scout motto is, Be prepared. Nope, not this year either. But I did have a plan. This year I would run ten minutes and then walk 30 seconds until I finished the race. Slow but steady. Use my head. Plan the work, work the plan. And I did. (Ha! Bet you didnt see that coming!) I finished in well over two hours which is 15+ minutes slower than I would have liked. About a minute per mile off what I can expect of myself under good conditions. Though we had feared severe weather it was a beautiful, nearly perfect day for a race. I was surrounded by beautiful people being good to themselves. That old saw about, Slow but steady wins the race, tells me that Aesop was smoking something whacky, but the sentiment was a good one. I finished strong and enjoyed myself. I did my best not to worry about where I was in the pack, who was ahead of me and what my time was. I just enjoyed the day, the run, the company. I hope my other races this year will be faster but if not Ill try to remember that the goal is to be good to me and to enjoy myself. Competition is not a dirty word, it is what makes the world go round, but sometimes the goal is to slow the earth in her rotation and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. Ill try to remember to balance the two. Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks?
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 12:10:06 +0000
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