Here is the blog: http://www.therandomride.com/The_Random_Ride/%28anti%29Blog/Entries/2010/10/29_Something_old...something_new.html
The ideas put forth in here really appeal to me. So I wanted to think back to what running means to me. I ran my first road race when I was eight or nine. It was a one mile fun run around Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I finished second and was devastated. Normally one would think not winning something you have never done before wouldn't be that dire but that's not how I'm wired. I'm pretty sure I had some sweet Roo's or street shoes with no consideration for what "running" shoes were. As time went by, I forced my Mom to get me the latest and greatest running shoes from Eastbay and figured these would put me over the top.
Now, it really doesn't matter to me that much. My newest set of kicks are here:
They are Adidas Marathon 10's. Sort of a throw back to some of the earliest versions of "marathon" shoes that Adidas made. Pretty simple really, good support, pretty light, a little bit of yellow, they stay tied, pretty much everything I need to go out and run. I'm not a big believer in replacing shoes every 1000 miles or whatever, I do believe in getting new insoles but as long as they aren't falling apart we are all good.
These beauties have led me to two PR's (personal records) in my last two races. 3:21:10 in the KC Marathon and 1:29:10 at the Pilgram Pacer Half Marathon. Personally, if you are trying ten different brands of shoes, clothes, gear, goos, etc., it's not there fault you are slow, it's you, train more.
What training will do is help you to overcome unexpected obstacles. The Pilgram Pacer Half was a fantastically organized race by the Kansas City Trail Nerds. What was unexpected was the weather (about 35 degrees, very strong consistent winds, and very hilly. This was the first time I had been out to Unity Village in Lee's Summit, Missouri so I was not familiar with the course. It was actually the first time being held here as well so most of us at the starting line were in the same boat. I found some nice dude from Atlanta who was running 50 half marathons in 50 states and asked him what he thought he would run it in.
"Around 1:26:00." That sounded good to me so I told him I would run with him. He lasted at that pace for about a mile. Then, it was on me for the next twelve. This race was four 5K loops. The halfers did a short out and back at the beginning to get in the extra 7/10ths we need for the half. That was actually kind of cool because it made me realize only four people were ahead of me and one I would pass fairly shortly. As I'm running up and down the short steep hills I kept thinking. "I have finished top three in one of these things, that would be awesome." Well, I got passed with about a half mile to go and didn't feel like suffering anymore than necessary so I let him go.
In the end it wasn't so bad. I won my age division and took fourth overall. My girls had a blast playing in the bounce house, and my wife got to visit with a friend and get a better understanding of why I do this to myself.
Running is simple. It's a human expression of what we are capable of as a species and what we can overcome. It also gets me out of the house for two or three hours at a time. Amen to that.
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