God Save the Queen Half Marathon, Houston, Texas, October 22, 2022

 Race Number 87

After a six-month hiatus from running, I started training again, in September, and culminated that training today by completing 13.1 miles in the “God Save the Queen” Virtual Half Marathon. A pretty cool medal and some nice juicy blisters were my reward! Frankly, it was pure grit that got me to the finish line today, as a few weeks of training really does not prepare you well for even a slow race.

I did my slow 13.1 miles at Memorial Park, in Houston, in honor of an extraordinary lady whom I admired. The proceeds from the race go to the HALO Trust, a favorite charity of the royal family. The Trust helps countries recover after conflict. Clearing landmines, to save lives, is at the heart of what they do. They work with communities that are too often forgotten once the fighting has ended.

Now, reason number 11 of “13.1 Reasons Why I Run Half Marathons”

The Streets are OURS! Getting to run in the middle of the street is contrary to what my mom taught me when I was growing up. She never liked us playing baseball or skate boarding in the street. Cul-de-sacs did not exist in my childhood days or at least in my neighborhood. Yet, think about it: I don’t have to look both ways and don’t have to obey traffic lights. And ..... I get to thank the cop for keeping me safe from the Little Old Lady From Pasadena (or people like Robin Korac, one of my parents at Jefferson Academy that use to AIM her big SUV at me as I tried to direct cars during drop-off and pickup from school).

Have you ever tried to get around a city when there is a race going on? It is worse than trying to get home at rush hour in LA or Houston. You might as well park the car and take a nap or read a book. The road blocks, at a race, are set up to protect the runners, and our friends in blue make it very difficult for you when you are trying to make your quick visit it Dunkin Donuts. I suspect your pleading and crying with the police officer, will get you nowhere. Your lust for that 12-grams of saturated fat (and that is the average), will not get in the way of the kind officer risking the chance you will run over Mikie the Half Marathoner. After all, Mikie needs to make it to 100 half marathons by his 75th birthday in September of 2024.

Post script: It just dawned on me, that if you tell the cop that you are heading to the donut shop, he may have empathy for you and let you through..... hmmmmm. There may be a flaw in my logic. Aristotle would have been disappointed in me.

Ventura Half Marathon, Ventura, California, February 27, 2022

Race #86

Today I ran my 86th half marathon in Ventura, California. I enjoyed some special time with my beloved Uncle, Aunt and cousins.  I love and miss them so very much and especially our banter. 

As in most races, there is a loneliness as you exert yourself, yet there is also a bond to hundreds of other runners. It is highly diluted, by comparison, with the bond that binds men in combat, but it is there, as the element of combat is there. Now…….

Katy Half Marathon

Reason #10 of “13.1 Reasons Why I Run Half Marathons”

“I get to slightly excel at something I did not think I could do!”

I started my resolute running career in the fall of 1966 with the cross country team during my senior year of high school in preparation for the track and field season in the spring. I was not on the team but Coach Strain (That was his name, I am NOT KIDDING) allowed me to run with the team. Coach ran us from Estancia High School in Costa Mesa down to the Santa Ana River jetties in Newport Beach, California (8 miles, round trip). This occurred every other day. We ran on a sandy and difficult trail that runs along the Santa Ana River which flows into the Pacific Ocean.

Then, a few years later (1970) I got the “opportunity,” in the US Army, to run with a full pack and loaded M14 or M16 weapon at Fort Ord, California. Without a trace of rancor, I would admit, training for the Infantry required me to dig deep into the reserves of my young manhood to absorb the punishment. We ran, almost every day, to the beaches in Monterey (about five miles, one way, in thick sand) to practice our marksmanship on the rifle ranges set up at the beach. During this portion of our training, I volunteered to run at the rear of the Company with two other men (we were known as the Three Musketeers). We were required to make sure no man was left behind by literally picking them up and dragging them to the rifle range if they should collapse or dropped out of the running formation due to exhaustion. Those runs to the rifle range still secure a place in my repertory of nightmares.

Both of these early experiences taught me the concept of mind over body as well as what it means to run (and serve) a team or fighting unit. I also began to become keenly aware of what the human body was capable of and I developed a deep appreciation for the incredible machine that Almighty God has crafted.

I did not run a lot after those years. Yet, at age 56, my son, Cameron, invited me to a small race in Denver (the fall of 2005) to raise money for cancer research. Although I almost died that day on the short three mile dirt trail, my running juices were re-ignited and my desire to get back into running shape took over my mind and soul. I made the effort to do something again, that I did not think I could do again.

I have been blessed (let us therefore rejoice) to be able to continue this trek, but more importantly, I have learned that I can usually succeed at something if I do not let my mind ambush me and truly believe, “We can do this!” 

Next race? Gosh, I don’t know. The big enemy (I suppose this is a matter of temperament. So, more safely: MY big enemy) is the heat of the summer months. I really dislike running in the temperatures that cause your blood to bubble. Notwithstanding, number 87 is on the horizon. Until then..... Blessings!

 

Katy Half Marathon, Katy, Texas, February 12, 2022

 Number 85

Houston Half, January 2022

Today I ran and jogged the Katy Half Marathon in Katy, Texas, a small city just to the west of Houston. It was a pleasantly cold day but tolerable! 

Now, reason #9, "Why I Run Half Marathons"

Breakfast the morning of and the Lunch (and the shower) after the race. 

My favorite race breakfast is: oatmeal, a banana and eight ounces of water. I know that does not beat Eggs Benedict at Katheryn’s Bakery in Wash Park in Denver, but it sustains me through most of the race. THEN.... the HUGE payoff is after the race. I can eat ANYTHING I WANT because I just burnt 2,000,000 calories for two and a half plus hours and no one is going to get in the way of me and a pint of Haagen Dazs Coconut/Pineapple Ice Cream.

I pause to remark: I exercise total disregard for the amount of sugar and fat I consume after a race. Now, granted, my trigicerides tend to skip to the top of the chart and into the dangerous level, but it’s only for a half a day, .......... I think...... Actually, I hope.

And then the SHOWER....In twenty minutes, I am as fresh as a newborn, sitting at my table, writing this blog and rattling on and on with a mug of fresh Arbuckle Mexicali coffee by my side. But after a while, I am pari passu with my readers’ wandering attention, and I finally run out of creative energy and I post my longwinded missive for reasons unknown, unknowable, and uninteresting.

Next race? Ventura Half Marathon in Southern California on February 27th. I have got to rest these legs, lungs and heart! I LOVE running near the Pacific Ocean!!!

 

Aramco Houston Half Marathon, January 16, 2022

 Number 84

I ran my 84th half marathon today on a cold day in Houston, with 27,000 easily jaded running colleagues. Happily, the sun did not excrete its heat upon me, and the weather was perfect for running oodles of miles. I really pondered not running this race because I had not trained suitably for it (the holidays got in the way). Suffice to say….. I withstood the urge to bow out (in fact, I ran my fastest time since heart surgery)....... which leads me to share with you Reason #8 of “The 13.1 Reasons Why I Run Half Marathons.”

Reason #8: BECAUSE I CAN AND IT IS DOABLE.

It is the human way to exert oneself, every now and again, in eccentric enterprises (even with congestive heart failure). I have chosen running (and golf and drawing and woodcarving and etc., etc.). When running, I generally experience that blend of elation, excitement, and apprehension one feels when heading out onto the road for a long passage. We humans often think in minutes, even half minutes, and an hour at the most.  Yet, time loses its meaning when I am running. You just run, and run, and watch the sun or moon descend ever so slowly, and the stars in steady rotation, and the path rushing alongside, creating that comfortable, cozy companionship....... you and the road......traveling in the same direction. It is a pleasurable experience difficult to surpass, UNLESS you elect to reminisce about the day the gates opened and you left prison a free man.  So, I will continue jogging and running, because I can (and it is doable) until the day they lower me down or put me in the furnace.

PS: The pictures are of my last race in San Antonio in December.