She runs. We return to the woods one final time, five kilometers from the finish. By now the trail through nearly half a foot of snow is worn into a trough, packed hard in some places, precarious mud in others. Regardless, the terrain keeps rolling. The path we follow scampers a rampant course, like a [...]
Posts Tagged ‘running’
Tecumseh Trail Marathon 2010
Posted in Running, tagged Indiana, Marathon, running, Tecumseh Trail Marathon, Trail running on December 4, 2010 |
Sleepless
Posted in Running, tagged Indiana, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on November 29, 2010 |
Just past midnight. Time shrinks. In bed, I set down The Coolest Race on Earth, John Hanc’s book about the Antarctic Marathon. The story both inspires and frightens me. Already I’m running Saturday’s Tecumseh Trail Marathon in my mind. In the cold. Possibly through falling snow. I can envision the woods, with beech trees, the [...]
No better place
Posted in Running, tagged Indiana, Marathon, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on November 5, 2010 |
The snow has stopped, but a biting wind continues to blow across Westwood Lake. The trails are empty, except for two mountain bikers I meet at the Big Dig. We exchange greetings and continue our separate ways. It’s good to be here, running alone in the woods. I stood in the cold earlier today, but [...]
I have the legs for that
Posted in road bike, tagged bicycle, Cycling, Indiana, Marathon, running on November 3, 2010 |
The dreams begin. I’m on my last long training run, a 26-miler that’s interrupted by a stop at my parents’ house. Except it’s not their house, not their rooms, not their possessions. None of that bothers me. But as I walk through the front yard — the one I recall from years ago, when the [...]
Yesterday I placed a stake in a woods, driving my name deep into the ground. The path leading there edges my garden, sprinting up the hill and along a fence line. From the road I run by, staring deep into the trees, where native timber, darkened by dusk, conceals the thing I’ve buried. I’ll walk [...]
Coach
Posted in Running, tagged Marathon, Relationships, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on October 21, 2010 |
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, [...]
Counting the miles
Posted in Running, tagged Indiana, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on October 4, 2010 |
Alone. Finding rhythm. Deep into Westwood. The lake looks thirsty. Dust inhabits dried mud holes. A gravelly uphill eats my pace. The singletrack traces the lake once again. A chilling breeze skims across the water’s surface. Light rain threatens to ruin the day, then stops. Closing in on the trail head brings me halfway there. Stopping [...]
Steppin’ out
Posted in Running, tagged Relationships, running, Trail running on September 27, 2010 |
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 [...]
The worst
Posted in Running, tagged Indiana, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on September 22, 2010 |
The groundhog charges straight toward me. I’m on the last mile, a stretch of bench-cut singletrack with a steeply angled hillside to my left and the lake six feet below an equally angular bank on my right. There is nowhere to go but forward, toward the oversized rodent, which moves amazingly quickly considering its girth, the squat [...]
Continue on
Posted in Running, tagged Indiana, running, Trail running, Westwood Park on September 12, 2010 |
You get used to falling after a while. Maybe not the physical aspect: toe-to-root, thrown-off-balance, no-hope-of-recovering drop. But with unwanted practice, routine replaces surprise. Falling becomes a drill. Tuck. Roll. Rise. Continue on. A bit of the trail clings tight as a reminder, dirt on sweat-soaked shorts and fingerless gloves. Knees sting, scuffed and sometimes bloodied. [...]
