The Denver Rock and Roll Half Marathon, Denver, Colorado October 18, 2015

Number 53

Some years ago, I read an intriguing book entitled "The Water In Between," by Kevin Patterson. Mr. Patterson sailed a 37-foot ketch across the Pacific, by himself. Although that is a feat in itself, the unusual aspect of this adventure was that Patterson had NEVER SAILED BEFORE!!!

Having had my own youthful experiences on the Pacific Ocean as a boy and young man, I related well to his adventure. In high school and also after my active duty in the Army, I crewed on racing sloops and even sailed 2,700 miles in a 50-foot racing sloop from Hawaii  to Newport Beach, CA. This was a three week ordeal that included 10-12 foot breaking swells for a majority of the 21 days that we were on the water. It was NOT a pleasure cruise. In fact, it was a defining moment in my life, as I was never much of a risk-taker compared to most of my friends. I learned a lot about myself on that trip. 

Notwithstanding, as I read Patterson's book, I kept saying (out loud, BTW ), this guy is a TOTAL IDIOT! He could have died out there. What was he thinking? His perils are carefully outlined in his book and yet I kept trying to search for what I might learn from this "idiot." More on those lessons in a moment.

I share all the above because TODAY,  I was the IDIOT! I ran my 53rd half marathon in Denver with very little preparation (like Patterson), some slight sciatica pain going down my right leg, AND I had just returned from five active days in Houston visiting my girlfriend,  Holly, as she supports her family's business for the next year.  Add to that list my recent diagnosis of colitis in my upper and lower colon and you have the makings for a pretty good disaster documentary.

So why run this race? I guess you could say I was somewhat depressed after leaving my beloved Holly and felt the run might do me some good. It did. As I ran (actually I jogged the 13.1 miles) I reflected on what I learned from the idiot author so many years ago by retrieving some notes, that I had scribed, in the back of the book. I wrote the key words from those notes (they are in bold below) inside of my wrist so that I might refer to them at each mile marker. They were as follows:

First, Mr. Patterson had the Audacity to take a risk!  That does not always set well with many of us, especially me. Fear of failure is usually the reason. I exercised a bit of audacity today. 

Second,  Mr. Patterson was quite Determined. That word speaks loudly to me as I really do want to complete 75 half marathons before my spine,  my knees, and the colitis possibly take me out of the game. 

Third: Mr. Patterson was Self-Reliant (and maybe more than a little stupid). I guess I want to think I am still pretty young, even at 66, and I seem to have enough self-reliance to persevere.

But what impressed me the most was Patterson's choice to have a proper Attitude through his ordeal once he got out on the open sea. A good attitude helped me throughout the race and helped me overcome the apparent stupidity of my decision. We bring an attitude to everything we do.  I woke up this morning from a decent sleep, put my feet on the floor, and said, out loud, (with a 91% convincing voice), "OK, you IDIOT, you can do this!"

Number 53 is complete, albeit a very slow time. My spine is not happy and my colon forced me to the porta potty twice, during the race. I am probably none the smarter and a whole lot more sore than normal.  Yet, I am no longer depressed and I guess you could say I am a verifiable idiot. with a positive attitude. I can live with that.......at least for now!