"There's only one hard and fast rule in running: sometimes you have to run one hard and fast."








Sunday, May 25, 2008

On the 7th Day, He Rested Not

Saturday, after a week off, I ran out at Afton. The plan had been 4-4 1/2 hours up and down Nigel's hill, but it didn't take long to see I'm not in shape for that. I managed less than 3 hours and a good portion of that on the prairie, rather than bombing the hills.

It was good to see a lot of familiar faces out there; Afton is sometimes like coming home. I may go back tomorrow and try again.

On Tuesday, I had a fever of 101 with shaking chills, so being able to run at all is a good sign. I'm still not over the cold, but getting there. Everyone's been asking about the ankle - it's fine as long as I don't hit it on anything (in which case, it's excruciating).

One of the things I'm discovering is that, having only raced and rested the past 6-8 weeks, I've lost a lot of fitness. FANS has me a little worried.

Unusually serious note

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It's an unusual holiday for me, as I'm a pacifist and, while I've known dozens of soldiers (and sailors and fliers), I've never known anyone who died during service. I think of it in its original form, Decoration Day; I go to the cemetery and do a little to help spruce things up a bit. [I also celebrate Armistice Day on Veteran's Day, by taking a minute at 11:11 AM to remember the end of the "war to end all wars."]

When I was a teenager, I was asked to play "Taps" at a funeral. I did a very poor job of it and was never asked again. His name was Col. Collingsworth Crowther. He served 60 years ago and died almost 30 years ago, but I remember the name. He is not forgotten.

That's the point of the holiday. Go to a cemetery, find the grave of a soldier who died during service and remember the name. There's almost 1,000,000 American combat casualties now. Most of them didn't fight for a cause, they merely did what they had to do when drafted or volunteered because it seemed the best option open to them at the time. They died young. Each of their deaths is a personal tragedy, not a statistic.

Institutionalization of the holiday trivializes it. Just as Christmas isn't about presents, Memorial Day isn't about going on vacation. Take a minute to remember.

4 comments:

GRIMEYRUNNER said...

Thank-you

Fast Bastard - World's Fastest Hematologist said...

Steve, great post.

I will come out and officially admit that I thought the Chiwaukee Gentlemen's Race and Cotillion was real (at least until, say, the rattle snakes or the Cotillion). I read through it with a strange sense of something being amiss but I did buy it.

I took some grief from that at home.

But, honestly, what's with the broken ankle? Is it a real fracture? I assume there is a cast on or pins in your bones. Should you be running at all?

If nothing else, the whole running-on-a-broken-ankle spiel adds to your already considerable mystique.

Matthew Patten said...

make sure you leave something for the race!

I will be racing you that night to see who hits 100 miles when.

I think the 2 hour start advantage offsets the hills.

Londell said...

I hear... Great post... and are you resting that ankle at all? You just keep going... How I will never know...