Race Number 15 (85 to go, for the non-math whiz!)
For me, the real joy of running and racing is finding out what I'm capable of on any given day. I start every race with my actual watch and my emotional watch set to 00:00. I try to stand at every starting line filled not with dread, but with curiosity. And I cross every finish line with a sense of awe and satisfaction.
DID I JUST WRITE THAT GARBAGE? Gosh, I wish that was true. What AWE? It is more like AWE SHUCKS, the ball of my right foot is in severe pain, AGAIN! Or, AWE SHUCKS, that annoying chaffing under my armpits is happening again. SATISFACTION?? I can’t get no satisfaction (Rolling Stones-1965) unless I am running past thirty and forty year olds murmuring under my breath, “Bye, Bye, have a nice run, SLOW POKE! (I don’t really do that.....most of the time).
I try so hard to beat my previous times and go where no other 58 year old “Captain Kirk want-to-be” has gone before- to the finish line having spent every precious calorie to the point of total exhaustion! But sometimes this body will not respond to the “call of the wild” inner man. The athlete of my youth keeps trying to rise from the ashes of defeat and cause this temple of God Almighty (or is it Almighty God-both are accurate) to be subjected to the ruin of Titus (i.e. Roman General who leveled, to the ground, the city and temple of Jerusalem in 70AD). I think the youthful idiot inside me needs to get a GRIP or at least reckon with the aging of the temple structure!
With that said: Can you guess how the race went? It was kind of AWEsome and kind of satisfying! I was just trying to get you to think I had a really poor race. Then maybe you would feel a bit sorry for me. Didn’t work, huh? Never works on my staff either.
The race was held in Pueblo (4,700 elv.-which means I probably gained about .0005% extra oxygen), a medium size city in Southern Colorado known for FOUR Congressional Medal of Honor recipients and the most dollar stores per square mile of any town or city in Colorado (you think I am kidding, huh). It was 28 degrees at the start and it warmed up to 58 degrees. The Rock Canyon sits below the Pueblo Dam. It was a “nice” one to two degree CLIMB to the concrete structure for eight miles with a 30 knot wind blowing in my face. Oh, that hurt. It REALLY hurt! As I trudged up the dirt and rock trail, I envisioned making the turn at the dam and coming down the "out and back course" with the wind at my back. Well, even though I have a little Irish in me from my mom’s side of the family, the luck part of that Irish did not make an appearance. Sure enough, the 30 knot wind SHIFTED and I had a very grim reality to face. Lean forward and stumble down the mountain trail as fast as I could. Time: 2:19:27-not an awe inspiring or satisfying performance. I will be better prepared for this race next year and wear my hiking boots! Or enlist the services of a llama. BTW: Do you know what the favorite food of llamas is? Llama Beans, of course!
Prayer List: I prayed for the soon to arrive grand baby (Morgan and Amanda’s). Gosh, the whole family can hardly wait!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Awe, you ran a dam satisfying race Mike! But, I'm amazed you ran slower in Pueblo... You would have thought you'd run faster to get the heck out of Dodge (Pueblo)! Maybe you can let some of us know where you'll be next so we can laugh and point at the finish line. ;-)
Can't wait to see your wind burn.
I stopped and said a prayer after reading this latest enry for your little grandbaby on the way too...he/she has a very ornery Grandpa Mikie to contend with!
Way to go Mr.Munier! What a great race. BTW..... Here's a couple of llama jokes for you!
Why did the Llama cross the road?
(It was the chicken's day off!)
What did the Llama say to the blade of grass?
(It was nice knawing you!)
Post a Comment