I pulled up to run the Kettle Southern Nordic Trails and was instantly greeted with treats that didn’t stop. It was the 50th wedding anniversary of a couple and friends had gathered to celebrate by running a 50K (thats 31 miles) in the Kettle trails. So, you ask, if it’s their 50th anniversary, how old is the couple? .. Firstly, yes the couple ran (and are in GREAT shape!) together and they were in their late 60s. Awesome, right? .. They were friendly, tan and fit as could be…! Again, Awesome, right?
You betcha! …
Well, then I see this amazingly fit man who had to be at least 72ish. I talked with Paul for quite some time. He runs ultra races and declared that he may not do so many anymore. “I’m getting old,” he stated with a grin. I flat out denied that that was even possible. .. I found out that he is indeed 87 years young and out there doing 50 mile + races. Geez, the guy was bronze and had the most beautiful legs, shiny and sinewy. Sharp as a tack his blue eyes sparkled with the joy that life had instilled him with. An inspiration he was/is!
Then it’s off to start my own run. My intention today was to do a longer run. My little 9 miler had to be upped so I vowed to pay attention to any discomfort or pain as I ran the whole thing in my Vibrams and I vowed to be a little slower on this longer run. … But, the competitive edge grabs me and especially now as I fall more deeply in love again with running. Having run for 30 years of my life, it has not been a full time joy over the past 28 years .. but suddenly, as my legs and feet are given reign to do their natural thing a la almost barefoot, I am once again married to my running. …
Yeah, so the competitive thing. .. First of all, no one passed me but the many people running the 50K were awesome to catch. Like my old racing days, I’d see someone ahead of me and my adrenaline would drive me, ignoring any body impulses that might interfere with that fiery thoroughbred that was bred to race. … alright, so I’m not a horse, but that competitive thing today was full on. ..
After completing the first blue loop I was not happy to see that my GPS had stopped tracking my trail. Though the stop watch had stayed on so I was able to see that my time on that loop keeps getting better even though I didn’t feel like I was going all out … and I wasn’t. That is probably the nicest thing to see, .. is that a comfortable run is still getting a lot faster than my old runs have been.
I chugged out then for another little jaunt that I vowed to use as just extra time to be on my feet. This would up my 9 mile long run to 12. As I stuck to my plan of slow pacing with a combo of both running and walking I came upon one of the guys doing the 50 K and ran with him for a few miles. John told me that he’s just been doing distance runs for 10 years and he’s never competed. But one day when he went out to run he just didn’t feel like stopping, so he kept going and going. 47 fun run miles later he decided he had had enough for the day. No big aches and pains the next day … just a run and a desire to go. …
John’s account led me to believe that the way I have trained all my life, for racing, put my mindset into a very different place than what his was. I was training to race and kept that mentality for the past 30 years. Even though I loved that wind in my hair feeling of running, I never thought that I could just go out and run 47 miles. .. but maybe someone who hadn’t been trained with a mindset to race as a primary objective to their running, would just go out and “play” by going and going. .. .. it just leads me to understand more that we really can do / be whatever it is that we wish to do and be … the whole day was that way .. I saw it in the couple, in the people, in Paul, in myself, ….
on this beautiful day for a run!
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