“It leaves you feeling hollow inside,” he said. He understands. The conversation occurred a few days ago as a friend and I discussed the frustration of injuries, especially those that come after a long period of training for a specific event, such as a marathon. He could empathize with my recent knee problem, not just [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Relationships’
Hollow
Posted in Running, tagged church, dreams, Indiana, Nature, RAIN, Relationships, running, Tecumseh Trail Marathon, Westwood Park on October 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Coach
Posted in Running, tagged Marathon, Relationships, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on October 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The quote on my wall serves as a reminder. It comes from Barry Magee, bronze medalist in the marathon during the 1960 Olympics. “Anyone can run 20 miles. It’s the next six that count.” On today’s long run I’m re-learning the truth of that statement. Leaves have held my concentration all day. Maple leaves, mostly, [...]
Friendship and the Hilly Hundred
Posted in road bike, tagged bicycle, Cycling, Hilly Hundred, Indiana, Relationships on October 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It ends on a smooth strip of blacktop beside a grassy slope. Not just a ride, a season concludes here — in near-record temperatures that speak more of summer days than a mid-October afternoon. We stop where we began yesterday, three friends posing for a photo before taking to the road. Miles and hours [...]
Steppin’ out
Posted in Running, tagged Relationships, running, Trail running on September 27, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
After the run, in the car. A mile from home the song begins. Now the mist across the window hides the lines But nothing hides the colour of the lights that shine Electricity so fine, look and dry your eyes. I dreamed this morning. It was one of those dreams, where the world I presently [...]
A single voice
Posted in Running, tagged Relationships, running on July 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
In the photos from the meet, I look old. I see my father in my face. He never ran, although he came to my races, not the first few, but, after a while, every one. He would sooner give up an eye than miss seeing me run. That was years ago. Decades actually. He’s older now, [...]
Mr. Young Purdue Jersey
Posted in road bike, tagged bicycle, Cycling, Relationships, Trainer on March 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When I answered the phone, the salesman on the other end of the line asked if I was Donald. He didn’t know me. Only my family and Liz call me by my full first name. There’s a sense of security in it, a connection to a far-away past. Strangers who call me by that name [...]
Base building
Posted in road bike, tagged bicycle, bike, Cycling, Relationships, road bike, Trainer on January 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A first time. And, a day lived once before. We sit side-by-side, turning cranks but going nowhere, kept indoors by low temperatures, bone-chilling wind, and wet pavement frosted with sand. Even Westwood dissuades us with its layer of ice and frozen ruts concealed under a cover of snow. So we turn our energy loose inside [...]
What about Bob?
Posted in Relationships, road bike, Trainer, tagged bicycle, bike, Indiana, Relationships, road bike, Trainer on January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
He said to call, that he had some important news. I’m thinking about that phone call. In the scant rest that comes between sets. During the heart of repetitions, when the mind drifts to a place where frustration turns the cranks. Until then, I had stopped returning his calls. Seeing his number of the caller [...]
Beneath the ragged edges
Posted in road bike, tagged bicycle, bike, depression, Relationships, road bike on October 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
My father stands just inside a tree line, soybean stubble running away from the shade, neat rows that stretch to the road. “Boy, it sure feels good to be back in the woods,” he says, more to himself than to me. A mammoth oak tree covers the ground behind him, felled a year ago by [...]
Lies and alfalfa
Posted in road bike, tagged bicycle, Cycling, Relationships, road bike on September 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A last cutting of alfalfa forms thin windrows to my right. I smell the hay before I see it, one of the sweet fragrances of summer. But summer wanes, leaving little here to harvest this deep in the season. As glad as I am to bring alive senses and memories with the smell of that field, it [...]
