Exercising vs Exorcising

I'm posting way too often... must be bored.

The great indoors

Yesterday I planned on a long run, as the weather was supposed to be okay. After three miles (26 min.), I felt awful and was going to call it a day. Then I decided to salvage the run by going where I knew there'd be someone who'd push me - the Metrodome.

If you've never run in the Dome, it's slippery concrete, dry air and multiple laps (the posted distances for inside and outside loops is confusing - it's 13 laps down the center for 5 miles). It's also kind of like coming home for me; five people called me by name before I got started. It's interesting that the old-timers remember each other from our glory days, but the younger crowd only know the masters runners who win awards in big local races. I ran briefly with: John Naslund (hard to believe his daughter Emily's on her way to Iraq) and Kirt Goetzke; Dave Tappe and Jenna Boren; a girlfriend from long ago, who definitely belongs to an older generation than myself now; a few others. There was an Olympic Trials qualifier there (Matt), three sub-3 women marathoners (Angie, Jenna and another) , a top triathlete and a couple of college track stars.

As happens in such a crowd, as I sped up to pass people, I'd keep speeding up and not slow down until I had to. Ran 13 miles (34 laps) in 98 minutes. Heart rate averaged 149, peaked at 165.
.....................
Came home to find that a friend I'd lost touch with had died at 45. You learn over time that obits for those with substance abuse problems have a code: no obit for suicides, "suddenly" means car accident, "unexpectedly" means organ failure - usually heart, "after a short illness" means that the family wants you to know it wasn't drug-related, "memorials preferred to (some medical establishment)" means a long-term illness and, in this case "memorials preferred to (treatment center)" means the old demons returned and won.

That's three friends my age this year. You're not supposed to outlive your friends this early.