Another week, another racing post. I can hear you groaning now gentle readers. I would apologize, but I’m ate up with running, particularly trail running, right now. If I’m not out running I’m thinking about running, reading about running, or watching videos/reading blogs for inspiration in my workouts and on my runs. Sunday, July 8th brought the latest, my second 5K in a week–and my second 5K ever!

Gotta admit that I was as worried about this one, taking place in broad daylight, as I was about last weekend’s night run. What had me worried? Oh, only the fact that the race page describes the race thus:

Beware: It’s the toughest 5K trail run in the Midwest!

Out and back course on rocky, rooty, and hilly bridle trails & single-track trails. These trails aren’t “sissy” groomed or paved trails; they’re the real thing.

and of course the slogan:

The PsychoPath of least resistance is uphill on the way back.

Having run two Trail Nerds events in the last month, both of which had hills that worked this newbie-runner over, I was expecting to get a real challenge in this one.

And boy did I ever.

Continue reading The Psychodelic 5K (Fire Edition) and some Personal Running Goals →

I don’t know about you, but this last week, the first full week of July, has been one busy and event-filled Summer week. We spent the week with temperatures near, at, or over 100 degrees leaving no doubt at all that Summer is in full swing. I am so thankful for my morning running routine as 6 a.m. is about the only time of day that it doesn’t take an active imagination to feel “cool”. I don’t generally do “week in review” posts but because of one very exciting thing, hinted at in the image above, I felt the urge to share.

Continue reading An eventful week, in review →

It is two weeks to the day since I finished my first official trail run, one of the destinations on the path of the fitness journey I have been on since the first part of the year. What first put the idea of trail running into my head was the image above, printed on a flyer at a local Gary Gribbles Running Sports while my wife was being fitted for shoes. Given my predilection for science fiction it is not all that surprising that a graphic with a spaceship, rocket, and moons on it would be the flame that lit the “I should try running” fuse. And I am so glad that it did. Not only has running been a significant contributing factor to my weight loss and improved health, I have discovered that I truly enjoy it.

Last night was the big night, my very first 5K run. And I was doing it in the dark. I’m not ashamed to admit that I had a degree of fear going into this thing. Running through the woods when you can clearly see is one thing. Running in the dark with only the aid of whatever light source you bring with you is an entirely different animal. It promised to be an adventure, a first-in-a-lifetime experience for me.

It was just that.

Continue reading Rockin’ the Night Away →

(Image by Daphne, used under Creative Commons License)

“summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. for those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, and that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year. you can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. summer just opens the door and lets you out.”
― Deb Caletti, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

Spring has given way to Summer, a time of soaring temperatures, high humidity, sunburn and a reproductively active insect population. Those are the bad things, the things it has become all too easy to whine about and moan about year after year. When I was a kid summers were nirvana, they were the very essence of life, they were all things good in the world encapsulated in an all-too-brief time between lessons and homework. A few years ago I came to the sudden realization that as an adult I had developed the habit of letting the summer months pass by in a haze that had little to do with the heat. I would look back over the months of June, July and August and wonder what I had done and the sad truth was that much of it was spent parked in front of a television wishing for cool weather and a return of the passions that blossomed during the other three months of the year.

It was then that I decided no more. Reaching back into the filed memories of a magical childhood I recalled Summer Reading Programs and times spent outdoors exploring and creating adventures, alone and with friends. I started making Summer Reading Lists and vowing to be present in my Summers. And every year I’ve gotten a little better at doing this, so much so that this year I am more excited than ever to experience Summer. What follows are the ingredients for a recipe of what I imagine a good Summer will be. I may use them all, I may only try a few, and it is safe to say I will grab more than a few surprise ingredients in the heat of the moment. But one thing is for certain, this summer is going to be cookin’.

Continue reading Diving into Summer →

I am old. I know you didn’t realize that (despite my reminding you ever so often), but I am. On this lovely Friday my daughter is no longer a teenager. She is 20 years old. Though hard to fathom, it was two decades ago in Tulsa, OK that I woke early to take my darling, very pregnant wife to the hospital, where we spent the best part of the day waiting on our little bundle of joy who was apparently in no big hurry to see the light of day. We were parents who wanted to be surprised, so we did not inquire about the sex of our child and instead prepared names for either. I had wanted a girl from the start and was convinced the whole time that a girl it would be. I could never settle on any boy names that I really liked and in the end was not overly concerned because I just knew that I knew that a girl was on the way. Even at the last the doctor said, “It’s going to be a boy”. Although it doesn’t happen nearly often enough, I love being right. 🙂

Continue reading Two Decades →