Best running season

Bryan Park 09.27.14

For recreational runners, now is the best time of the year to get outside to run.  The crunchy sound of the dry, freshly fallen leaves beneath your shoes and the slight nip in the air seem to lend you impetus to pick up the pace a little.

die Fußballweltmeisterschaft

Like a Dream

Like millions of people worldwide, I've caught the soccer fever, which has gripped me for the past four weeks or so and has just ended in Germany's being crowned the Weltmeister!  Wow! Such a run -- from the unbelievable header by John Brooks (that's him on the image here) of the USA team, to intricate footwork, dives, injuries intended or unintended, bizarre refereeing, near misses, jubilation, and heartbreaks on a colossal collective scale.  I so wanted Argentina and Messi to win (the Pope should have intervened), though I believed the Germany team well earned the title by patiently grinding the game out without ever losing their concentration.  

After this world cup, I hope the sport soccer or "football" in every other country in the world will gain more of a following in American society, alongside the NBA, NFL, MLB, and other team sports and eventually produce some world-class athletes. 

Phares Whitted Quartet

Otherwise, it has been a laid back summer, an extended stay-cation, you might say. Though a lot of students have left town, the university has kept up with non-stop summer arts, film, and music programs, workshops, and recitals, most of them with free admission.  We've gone to the Jazz in July outdoor concerts a couple of times at the IU Art Museum, which is something new for us this year, and despite the heat and occasional searing loud trumpet, we've enjoyed the performances. Who would have known that Indiana has been the hot bed of Jazz since its early days, with the likes of Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael, a Bloomington native, both hailing from Hoosier country, and that many other renowned Jazz musicians have graduated from the IU Jazz Studies program since the 60s?

   

Happy Trails

We hit the trails, on horseback, one auspicious afternoon when it was not too hot, for an hour's ride in the Brown County State Park.  I vaguely remembered, or perhaps falsely remembered, having mounted once before, but it was probably before moving to the U.S.  I got myself fitted up for the occasion, donning my cowgirl hat and my "fire-engine-red" cowgirl boots, so described by our guide somewhat jealously.  We were told two basic maneuvers - right or left turn by pulling slightly on the rein accordingly, and then, off we trotted in an orderly procession, one horse's nose behind another's butt, so to speak.  I was assigned a horse named Sam; later on I learned that he tended to misbehave by snacking on the greenery along the way.  Sure enough, he would snap some branches off the scrubs once in a while and munch at his leisure.  The trails through the park were not all on smooth turf or gravel, there were some rough patches of mud, steep inclines, and down slopes.  A couple of times, Sam sidetracked us from the trails to get at some juicy bits of leaves in rather precarious conditions.  The guide hollered at me from the front to pull him back, saying with some encouragement, "You can do it, Cowgirl!"  Kirk said that Sam had "got my number" -- and could do anything he wanted with me.  When we got back, no sooner did I dismount, Sam let off a heavy jet of pee -- I barely got away in time.  

Happy Trails

Bragging Rights

No Sweat

+10 years post race

I ushered in my 54th year with a 13.1-mile run this morning.  We got up at 4:00 a.m., drove to Indianapolis, picked up our race packets at 6:30, then went back to the car to wait for the race to start but mainly to get out of the unseasonable, 20+ mph, bone-chilling wind.  The temperature was at about 47 degrees Fahrenheit but it felt like 41.  Despite the cold, more than 3,400 people came out to run.  We were both pleased with our results which, though modest, exceeded our expectations.  Kirk finished in 2:09:38, ranked 58 out of 90 in his age group, with a 9:54 pace; I finished in 2:34:06, ranked 40 out of 88 in my age group, with a 11:46 pace.  You can see the half-marathon course in this you-tube video.

Just around the corner

Perhaps the most misleading phrase one hears close to the end of a race is "Just around the corner!" from the well-wishers on either side of the course.  Depending on how depleted one is at the time, it can either be exhilarating or dispiriting - either "Thank goodness, it's almost over!" or "OMG, I'll never get there!"  We are now four weeks into our 10-week half marathon training for the Indianapolis Marathon on October 15.  It seems that one can't claim to know a place unless one ploughs through it on foot.  I wouldn't have traversed all five boroughs in New York City if I hadn't run the NYC marathon there.  I'm afraid the marathon days are over for us now, but being able to tough through some more "halfs" is still something for us to aspire to.  

Dappled Light

the Fall

Whether you are ready for it or not, "things" in general seem about to turn a corner--a new semester officially starts tomorrow at IU, the annual football fever is about to heat up, and though the temperature is still hovering around low 80's, one is beginning to sense a reprieve from the oppressive heat and detect a hint of a change of color at the top of the trees.  Kirk was seized with an inspiration yesterday to explore some nature areas around Bloomington.  We hit the road and drove to McCormick's Creek State Park, about a 30-minute ride northwest of town.  We drove past corn fields, barns, silos, and the quintessential deserted old main streets of small towns USA, in this instance, in Ellettsville and Spencer.  Driving or walking on a part of the earth surface which we've not been before never fails to amaze me; to think that so many lives have, unbeknownst to us, existed and toiled in these parts for so long is something to wonder at.  McCormick's Creek State Park, we learned, was dedicated in 1916 as Indiana's First State Park.  We had a very pleasant walk on one of the trails under the dappled sunlight on the forest floor and we made a date to come back in late October to witness the leaves change colors.  


I imagine that by this time my friends in Gainesville are chomping at the bit for the football season to start, no?

B-Line Trail

B-Line Trail

[For my Bloomington readers]  We made a great discovery last Sunday while out looking for a suitable running route for a longer distance than what we've been used to around the neighborhood.  There is an extensive trail network in Bloomington, a large portion of which was converted from an old railroad.  We ran on the B-line trail, which lies in a north-south direction along the west side of town, about 3 miles long.  The trail is almost completely paved--only a small portion of it is still under construction.  By continuing on to other existing trails, one can get up to about 14 miles round trip, enough for half-marathon training.  It was very pleasant running on the smooth, wide asphalt pavement without having to worry too much about traffic; I was surprised to find that it was not better utilized.  We will certainly be back for our Sunday long runs this fall. 

Played Truant

For full disclosure, Kirk and I didn't make it to the IU Mini Marathon the past weekend.  Not having properly trained for the event was the main reason for our playing truant - the result of having underestimated the difficulty of running outdoors in the often bitterly cold weather of the past three months.

IU Mini

While shopping at the running store last weekend, we were told about the upcoming IU Mini (half) Marathon on April 2, 2011.  Kirk and I both decided to train for the race starting immediately as the training schedule for marathons usually takes about 18 weeks.  We've learned from past experience that the only way to run consistently is to train for a race. We need all the motivation we can get to run in this weather in the low teens.

I hit the road this morning for a 4-mile run.  The snow on the sidewalk has turned into ice and is especially treacherous to run on.  I had to slow down several times and walk gingerly over the ice on stretches of sidewalk.  Fortunately I didn't have any mishap. Those homeowners with houses fronting sidewalks and roads who took the trouble to clear the snow off the sidewalks did the general public, especially pedestrians, joggers, and bicyclists, a great service but they are the minority, I afraid.

Now that I have announced that I'll be running the IU Mini next April, I will have to stick to my words and do the training four days a week come rain, snow, or shine.  Wish me perseverance.