When does this get easier?

Originally published May 10, 2007

When does this get easier? I asked that same question after my last run, too. Today's run was hot and humid and hot. It rained late this afternoon, so I ran past a lot of flowing water and through a lot of water covering sidewalks.

We've had a lot of rain the last few weeks (months?), and I can tell I've worked for an engineering firm too long. As I splash along my run after the rain, I ponder how long the storm water system will take to drain the area and if my route falls is affected by the Probable Maximum Flood . . . pretty sad, huh?

Near the end of my run, I passed a group of kids who were playing in and around the water flowing in the gutter. One girl, who obviously is the big sister to an 8-year-old boy, shouts that he's going to be in trouble when he gets home (he was floating his leather baseball glove in the gutter). I heard light footsteps behind me, then the boy zips by me. I thought he was running home until I hear his sister shout for him to 'quit showing off.' When he was about 15-20 yards ahead of me, I realized that we were racing (!), so I sprinted after him.

I discovered long ago that in order to beat a child in a foot race, you simply have to 1) race farther than the length of a soccer field, or 2) race beyond what is likely the boundary where his parents allow him to play.

I was about to pass him and turn the corner past what I perceived as his neighborhood boundary; instead I declared him the winner as he passed a driveway right before I caught him. I thought this might help him prove to his bossy big sister that he wasn't just showing off.
And maybe I am ready for those fartleks I've been thinking about.

For what it's worth, I think this will get easier if I stretch more between runs. My legs, especially my calves, are really tight; and I think it's making my running more difficult than it needs to be.