Victory Over Violence 5K: 'Patience, hell . . .'

During my first job out of college, one of my (many) bosses had a cartoon in his planner, that featured two vultures sitting on a tree limb. One looks to the other and said, 'Patience, hell. Let's go kill something.'

Last post, I mentioned something about becoming a walker, and I may have said something earlier about my company being a sponsor of the Women's Shelter Victory Over Violence 5K and that I thought I should participate.

Last week, during one of my walks, a runner zipped past me. I didn't feel compelled to chase the runner down, but I did decide that I would run in the VOV 5K and not walk. I haven't run in months, but . . . well, patience, hell . . .

I ran-walked my way to a 32:55 finish (no chips, my watch), which is just eight seconds slower than last year's time of 32:47, when I trained for about a couple of months. In 2005, I ran the 5K in 34:20, but I don't remember how much I trained. I just remember being hot and fat.

So, patience aside, I took off in a confident lope (after taking two minutes to walk up to the starting line) and zipped around lines of chatting walkers. I completed my first mile in 9:45, and I started one-minute walks around 12-14 minutes.

The question arises: how can you run the first mile in slightly less than 10 minutes, then slow to a run-walk and still finish at about a 10 1/2 minute pace? About 1/4 mile before the finish, the VOV course, which winds through Fort Worth's Trinity Park, takes a sharp right toward the finish line.

At the turn, I jokingly asked a college student who was directing runners if I was in the lead, and he just looked confused (hope he's not a pre-med student). I always accelerate when I see the finish line, and when I did, I heard corresponding footsteps to my right. I pick up my pace, and he picks up his pace.

I glance to the side and see that it's a teenage boy, and testosterone-induced second-wind kicks in. He and I are racing to the finish line, and I'm thinking that I can beat him with a strong finish.

Then the question that crosses every middle-aged man's mind during strenuous activity came up: Are you nuts!? At 52, it's difficult to tell whether you're pushing your body to its limits . . . or you're getting ready to have a heart attack.

He eased by me about 20 yards from the finish line, and I thought I could push a little harder to catch and pass him. Then I questioned my sanity and let him go.

I'm hoping he was tired and had to go take a nap, but I probably should've thanked him for pushing me to a strong finish and a time, with no recent training, close to last year's.

I'll return to walking (I've really enjoyed it), but I'm sure there'll be some evenings when a runner will pass me, and I'll look up the sidewalk and mutter, 'Patience, hell. Let's go kill something.'

Change of Pace

I'm thinking about becoming a walker. If you've read any of my previous posts, you can probably tell how hard it is for to stick to a running program. We have a really nice neighborhood for walking (a lot of trails and parks), so I can pick up for a 30-45 minute walk and carry on without looking like I've been for a swim (and smelling like I've been hiding in a gym locker). Plus, with the cost of gasoline, it'll be nice to wrap up my walk at the neighborhood grocery, or the Y, or the donut shop.

The Women's Center Victory Over Violence 5-K is in a couple of weeks, and I think I can run a 5-K without having to dial 9-1-1. I'm registered (our company is a sponsor), so I'll be there.

Post-Flu Trudging; Inspiration

I've run four times during the past week and feel pretty good . . . now. Last Monday was the first run since the flu (I had a cough that hung around for another week or so), and I felt like I was rumbling/trudging/weaving/gasping my way through the waddle. Now, I'm back to where I left off pre-flu, at two minutes walking and eight minutes running, maybe not quite as fast.

I may not be a good runner, but I look kind of like a runner, at least a big runner . . . long and sort of lean with a pretty fluid motion on the treadmill. Last night, I was running next to a lady who was just beginning an exercise program; and if I guessed, I'd say she was about 5'4" and around 250 pounds.

I was pretty impressed when she cranked up her treadmill to run for a short while, then slowed back to walk, then cranked it back up again, then returned to walking. I don't think that was her plan; I just think she felt like running.

Inspiration sometimes comes in odd forms, and I am truly inspired by women like her. I see them a lot at the Y, and I have to ask myself, somebody who looks like a runner, although a big runner: How do these ladies, who are at a stage where they have minimal physical strengths and abilities, keep pushing themselves; while I whine and quit when a little sweat builds up or I get bored on the treadmill?

Guilt is a powerful motivator.

Best of luck, lady-I-ran-next-to.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

While my wife and I are watching the Super Bowl, my younger daughter is looking at the newspaper and sees something about Cowtown. She asks if I'm running in Cowtown, and I tell her that the flu has really gotten in the way of my training. She looks at the Cowtown date in the newspaper and then at me, and says, 'You have 20 days.' Hmmmm?

What's a Runner to Do?

I've missed a couple of weeks of running now. Last week, I was feeling way to heavy, mostly as a result of a overeating and a busy schedule with not enough time to work out. This week, I have the flu and, in the words best said with a thick Texas accent, I'm feeling puny.

The Cowtown 5K is February 23, and I'd better get back to pounding the pavement . . . or treadmill.

Unless, of course, I can think of another excuse to convince myself not to run . . . my wife is right. I am SO easy.

The Joy of the Treadmill

I have found a reason to love the treadmill . . .

Yesterday, I was trudging along at my 10-minute pace on a treadmill adjacent to a rabbit cruising at his 'relaxed' 7-minute pace. But the absolute best part -- I never lost a single step on him.

I've told one of the owners of our firm, a marathoner, that I'm running in the Cowtown 5K next month. Guess I better, huh?

My Top 10 Running Songs

Some cyber-magic toy tied to my blog tells me what key words visitors used to arrive here (no worry; that's about all it tells me), and one of the most popular is the phrase 'best running songs.' I've noticed in other blogs that everybody has their favorite running songs, so here, in no particular order, is my Top 10 (and, like me, they are so '70s):

- Johnny B. Goode -- Chuck Berry
- After Midnight -- Eric Clapton
- Everybody's Everything -- Santana
- Foot-Stompin' Music - Grand Funk Railroad
- Born to Be Wild -- Steppenwolf
- Sweet Hitchhiker -- Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Radar Love -- Golden Earring
- Rock and Roll -- Led Zeppelin
- Born to Run -- Bruce Springsteen
- Gonna Fly Now (theme from Rocky) -- Bill Conti (we all gotta dance at the top of those steps)

The all have a strong beat that DRIVEs me. Honorable mention includes:

- Run Through the Jungle -- Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Theme from Shaft -- Isaac Hayes (I wish this was the theme music that played whenever I walked into a room)
- Crazy on You -- Heart
- Another One Bites the Dust -- Queen
- Call Me the Breeze -- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Looking for a Hero -- Bonnie Tyler
- Saturday's All Right for Fighting -- Elton John
- Hot Rod Lincoln -- Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen
- Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers -- ZZ Top
- Smoke on the Water -- Deep Purple
- I'm a Man -- Chicago*
- Money for Nothing -- Dire Straits*

* these two start off slow, and I have a tendency to slow down with them

Can't say I didn't warn you. It's elevator music at 'the home.'