Sharpening Rain

© Ugur Akinci

There is nothing that sharpens the mind like a deadline.

And there is nothing that sharpens the leg muscles like lightning and rain.

Today, after returning home from work, I put on my jogging shoes and got out under heavy gray skies. I knew rain might be coming but I thought I could complete my 5K without getting caught. A runner gotta be an optimist, especially if he is over 50 :-)

Then about 2K into my run -- it started. Not a sky-cracking thunderstorm but a drizzle. Started light. Blessed rain on an August evening. It was about 90F out there. So the first drops were like a prayer accepted.

The fragrance of hot-wet earth blended with crushed mowed grass. I inhaled the olfactory cocktail with gratitude.

But then it started to pick up the tempo. Soon it was a rascal of a little downpour and I didn't want to get my new New Balances soggy. So I picked up the pace from a lazy 14"-mile jogging gait to perhaps a 9"-mile attack. To me, that's FAST.

With every step, watched the rain drops paint the hot pavement in thousands of gray brush strokes.

When I finally made it to my front door, chest heaving like bellows and leg tendons on fire, it was coming down like a curtain.

Then, as suddenly it started, it stopped, and left me standing at my front door like someone at the receiving end of a practical joke.

Another day. Another (perhaps) 3K. This time, wet. No problem. Tomorrow, if I'm lucky enough, I can perhaps do it all over again.

LOG: 3.2 Miles (Bug symphony)

Ran my usual 3.2 miles (5K) over my measured route after work.

Days are getting shorter already I can tell. When I slipped on my New Balances and hit the pavement the sun was down. A quiet evening. A little girl playing her guitar on the stairs leading to her house. A woman saying hi with a truly angelic expression on her face, like she'd also like to run but for some reason she can't and she is blessing me for my effort. A vicarious celebration of life. It's like I represent all those who'd like to run but can't. A strange thought and I don't even know if it's true or not... The things that a brain thinks when its blood supply is doubled :-)

Squeal of happy children at play echoing from the street beyond. May they always be healthy, at play, and screaming with joy. Temperature in the low 70s. Perfect for a run. What a lovely evening. Street lamps come on live.

Three different layers of "cricket" sounds I hear.

One layer is constant, like a drone, a hum, an unending din coming from inside a sea shell.

That is punctuated by short bursts of much-higher pitched staccato arias, rapid riffs, as it were. More actually like the sound a razor blade makes when pulled across a corrugated metal roof. Sharp and nasty.

The third layer is something in between. A little longer but less pronounced than the "razor blade."

I don't even know the names of these bugs. I just become aware of them when I'm out there running and when I'm waking up to all these wonderful variety of sounds and smells out there.

"Becoming aware" is one of the joys of running, for sure.

LOG: 3.5 Miles Walk + Run

Walked and ran about 3.5 miles on a day as gorgeous as any in heaven...

Beautiful orange sunshine that's not hot... baby blue skies without a single cloud... people raking leaves and collecting them in front of their driveways... a day of peace and goodness.

Neglected for so long...

I realize I've neglected this blog for so long.

I decided to update its design and start re-posting after I received today a very nice letter from D. who says she was partly inspired to start walking at age 47 by an article I wrote (I think she is referring to the story of how I was ashamed into running many years ago by a 84 year old guy -- you get that when you subscribe to my free Running Ezine).

I was 49 years old when I started running... I remember how disgusted I was staring at my drooping belly in the mirror. I decided I had to do something about it.

Well, I'm 60, still have a small belly, and I'm still running.

Yesterday evening I put in 4K after work, after a whole summer of not running.

Felt very good again...

the sounds of the crickets, the coolness of Fall in the air...

my neighbors getting ready for supper...

charcoal and barbecue smell from a distance...

That sense of trusting my body, knowing that, yes, I won't be flying exactly but I'll be making one hill after another, my lungs knees and elbows pumping in unison, with tolerance and patience.

It's a good thing to be out there jogging/running. It's good to be grateful and alive.

LOG: 3.2 Miles

Ran 3.2 miles around noon to melt away the Thansgiving dinner.

It started out chilly and cold. Ended warm, with rays of sunshine piercing through the clouds.

Everything changes and one becomes so aware of these changes while running. It's an open classroom under the skies, this love of running.

Winds change... lights change... clouds, time, the fragrance in the air... the houses I pass by... they all change.

So much teaching, for free. So many simple things to learn, over and over again...

Pain is bad and alarming when running. If you are in pain, you should never run. But STRESS is normal. We are stressing our lungs, muscles, mind, and spirit. That's how the mind becomes SHARP. The stress of running gathers every drop of concentration and resource we have, to put us over that invisible barrier of self-imposed limits. I remember how surprised I was the day I ran my first 10K. I just couldn't believe it! When it accomplishes such seemingly-impossible tasks the mind gains in CONFIDENCE. It becomes SURE and fond of itself. It starts to meditate on the SUBTLE SECRETS of existence without any effort... like the IMPERMANENCE of things. Change.

I run. Therefore I change. Yes I do. Like the spirit gliding silently over the surface of the infinite water.

LOG: 3.2 Miles

This morning I woke up and had this conversation with the weather:

ME - You're cloudy, chilly, and downright nasty.
Weather - I know. And I'm in the low-40s too. Stay in bed. Don't move! Curl up and fade away.
ME - I don't think so.
Weather - What you mean?
ME - Your tricks won't work on me, buster!
Weather - Uh-oh! Here he goes again!

15 minutes later I was out in my running shoes, banging the pavement. 40 minutes later I was back home, ready for that warm cup of tea and toasted bread with jelly.

The world is fine again.

LOG: Walked 3.2 Miles

Taking it easy today, partly because my wife does not run. So we go out together a couple of times a week for long walks. To me, believe it or not, walking is HARDER than running! For some odd reason I prefer to run than walk. I feel more tired after I come back from a 5 mile walk than a 5 mile run.

Late Jim Fixx. RIP.

But I also understand that as we get older we need to watch out for our heart and joints.

Do you remember Jim Fixx, the author of (out of print) Complete Book of Running? He was a phenomenon running guru back in the late 70s and early 80s. He singlehandedly kicked off the jogging craze in America and England and then one day in 1984 he had a massive heart attack and died while he was running at age 52...

I was so deflated and disappointed with his unexpected demise. Later on it turned out he had a congenital heart problem to start with and perhaps he should've never taken up running and should've walked instead (hindsight is always perfect, isn't it?). But I'm sure he enjoyed every minute of his running career as long as it lasted. He made a lot of money in the process too. So overall, I have a feeling he did not have a bad life at all. May he rest in peace.

Again, in a recent WSJ profile, Meb Keflezighi, the first American to win the New York marathon within the last 27 years, related how he was devastated by witnessing the death of a close friend in the midst of a marathon race:

"The Olympic trials in 2007 brought no such victory. Not only did Meb not make the Beijing team—he finished eighth—he fractured his hip during the race. Then there was the terrible tragedy of Ryan Shay's death. The rising marathon star and Meb's close friend suffered a massive heart attack during the race. During this year's marathon, Meb crossed himself in the spot where Shay went down."

So you gotta take it easy and listen to yourself, watch for signs of unusual pain and stress, and you should know when to back off and scale it down. Best is of course to go and see your doctor and have a physical if you do not feel right. Running is not for those with heart problems, I'm afraid.

A chilly and bright sunny day. Writing about running again got my "running juices" flowing. Wow! Who knows? I might get out again before sundown and squeeze in another 3 miles into this day's glory. What a great day to be alive, to be walking and running, and feeling life course through our veins and tendons, gently, almost with love.

LOG: 4.2 miles

Just enjoyed a leisurely 4.2 miles in my regular 11-min/mile pace. Sky was cloudy when I started out. Then the sun broke through on mile 3, right around the sunset.

Heard a lot of latchkey dogs barking every time I passed by a house.

Back at home, I poured myself a glass of cold pomegranate juice (POM brand, 100% juice). Vicious! Spread through my veins like rocket fuel. Life is good again.

Note to myself: lose weight! 10 pounds by the year's end would be nice.