Went for a run yesterday; pulled a hamstring. That's two major injuries in as many runs and that's two too many. Time to go do something else for a while and reinvent myself.
I've won a race in the 1960's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's. I've won at nearly every distance from 100 meters to 50000 meters. I've won on tracks, roads and trails. I've beaten Olympians and world record holders. More than 600 races, more than 20 wins (maybe over 30) - nothing left to prove.
Have I accomplished everything I wanted to in running? No. But I believe I've done more with what little talent I have than anyone else on the planet.
If I find something that intrigues me, I'll come out of retirement and I expect a number of people then will say, "Oh, this will be fun!" Trust me, it will be fun. Until then, see you on the sidelines.
Never ending rain
4 days ago
19 comments:
Obviously the decision to retire from racing is your call. Good luck with it.
But you're not gonna retire from blogging, are you? Just change the name of this one and blog about whatever. How else will I know when another '60s music icon bites the big one?
You have had quite a career, I hope to be able to run for half as long with 1/10 of the sucess....
I hope you continue to run for fun and also to blog; selfishly, I gain a lot from your blog.
Mark this day on your calendar because I don't say this often ... but ...
I agree with coyYuM. That Taiwanese Whitney Houston kid is creepy.
Possibly creepier than Whitney Houston.
But address the REAL issue, here, already, Steve! Are you gonna keep blogging? I'd really regret seeing you go. Who am I supposed to play with then?
Let me be amongst the first to congratulate you on one hell of a career. I hope this is a Brett Favre retirement, but either way, you belong in the MN running hall of fame.
I am going to miss reading about your races - the guts, the heart, the drive, the will to push yourself to extreme limits -
"The main reason I went there was for the money. I had just about quit the sport. I hadn't run for six months. The only money I had was from my adidas stipend — they were great that whole time. When I started running again, I went up to altitude to get back my base quicker. I'd spent all my money. I was sleeping on a friend's couch in Flagstaff. For reasons I can't explain, I had to clear out of there. So I'm at a dorm at Northern Arizona University. It's just me and the sheets on the bed. I had almost no money for food. My sister is sending me money and macaroni and cheese and PopTarts. And I'm trying to train for U.S. nationals!
I ran out of money. I could fly back because I'd already paid for the return ticket. But I couldn't afford to take a cab to the airport the morning of my flight. I found out there was a shuttle the night before my flight, so I took that and slept on the airport floor for 15 hours. I'd had nothing to eat for two days but PopTarts. And then in Knoxville, I knew I was evicted from my apartment. I didn't know what else was going on, because my friends had stopped picking up my mail — they just, poof, you're injured, you're not running, they didn't return my calls. And I knew my car was impounded because of too many parking tickets. So even when I get to the airport, how am I going to get home, and where am I going to live?" - Fam
*hmpf*
I see how it is. You lure me here with your clever comments, tease me with your sexy photos, and then up and close shop?!
Nice.
You pretty boys are all the same. When will I learn?
Don't worry about me. This isn't the the first time Walrus girl's heart has been shattered.
There is an alternative you know? You could run road marathons with me. What I do could never be mistaken for racing and as an added bonus, I am a hot chick MAGNET at the damn things! Seriously. I am better than having a puppy at the park.
Just a thought. :)
On a serious note, I hope you are feeling better and best wishes for a quick recovery from the pull. I HATE hamstring pain. It is the worst!
Congratulations on a long and winning career. I'm sorry that an injury has knocked you out of racing. Maybe something will tempt you back into it at some point. In the meantime, I hope you find something to hold your interest and will share it here or in another space.
Hey, with all that race experience, you could always help Larry (Ultra God Race Director...)
Oh, there is one thing you may not have done like me.... Finished over 50 races in the bottom 10% of the finishers... Life is not the same in the back of the pack... Try it sometime...
Steve, I hope your injury heals. Just yesterday I was going to ask if you would run maybe the 3rd lap at Trailmix 50k with me and coach me along. My whole philosophy on running came from a stupid poster that was advertised in Runners World in the 80's. something along the like of ( The race isn't for the swift but those that keep on running)
Londell, I've seen the tail end of races. Last at Zumbro, 4th from last at Kettle. Just different butts in front.
Re: McLaren: Typically, I hadn't heard. Sad, but I'll recover from this more quickly than I did the death of Chilton.
Say, do you watch The Office? Did you know the old guy Creed on that show was the honest-to-god guitarist for The Grass Roots?
You probably did.
I didn't.
Here endeth MY Midnight Confession.
Yeah, that's a lot of dirt.
Wait. I thought mentioning how dirty or bloody you got in a race was strictly verboten.
WALK THE TALK, QUICK!1!
Certainly no reason to give up running just because you might not win.
I remember when you said it was strange for someone like me to focus so much on The Lorax meeting all the development milestones at the right time. And I will say to you that it is equally as strange and arbitrary to give up on racing because of perception you won't win a race or that you have "nothing left to prove".
But I, of course, know you will keep running and blogging, and that's why I'm being so hard on you.
P.S. I'm looking forward to reading your book chapter! :)
just rest for a bit, mingle in your other interests, come back refreshed and healed. Don't retire. You won't be able to. You're a runner. It's like taking a shit... you unconsciously wipe your ass when you're done. going too long without a run just doesn't seem right.
C'mon, you've got to be kidding me. EVERYONE over 50 gets hamstring and calf strains! So you take a few weeks off and start over! You ride the bike. You go to the gym. You get a massage. You ease back into it and start looking at race calenders. You dream.
Steve, I hope that you heal up and re-think your decision to retire. Otherwise, where am I going to find interesting reading lists?
Although it seems to be impossible to locate some of the works mentioned. I was curious to locate the Saga of Erik the Red. Tried different combinations of searches in both the Hennepin County and U of M library systems without success. Did, however locate a swell book on the Vikings in Hennepin County...It was 90% pictures with a red plastic "gem" on the cover!
Superior Trail 50k. You know that you want it.
Anonymous #5: I found Eirik the Red's Saga (that extra letter "i" might be important in searches) in the St. Paul Public Library, downtown branch. It's only a few pages long and is in a 4 volume collection of sagas.
Anonymous #1: Who the HECK are you? That story sounds so much like me at one point in my life!
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