Out running Tuesday, doing a long run and got a little off the trails that I wanted to be on out past the state park and up parallel to the Cape Fear River. To backtrack though, I hit about two feet of standing water on SugarLoaf Trail... likley a result of some unusual tide patterns, that not only affect the ocean but bodies of water that are close to and feed into the Atlantic, and cause some minor flooding. Didn't see the water until I was in it, and had to run/ walk thru it for about fifty to a hundred feet.
But out behind part of the Army Corp's Electrical grids and hydro generators ... as I wrote I had mistakenly wandered off from where I wanted to be... I was cutting back to the woods-line up the slope from the bank of the river when I saw a Great Blue Heron take flight out of a marshy pond right off to my one side. Anyhow as I was watching this majestic, beautiful creature take wing, I darn nearly stepped on a three foot black snake that was curled up on the gravel and weeds sunning itself in the mid morning heat.
Later in the run L had an even bigger black snake... five feet or so... cross directly in front of me as I ran along one of the trails in the woods. I was also plagued once again by horseflies... they seems to come out in waves the hotter the day is along stretches of the ground that are more sand than dirt. And of course the ever present spider webs at this time of year... nothing like spitting out silk and the occasional bug, and wiping the mess off one's face and out of one's hair.
Though I have the thought somewhere deep in the bush, that this is their domain, their home... the horseflies, the spiders, the mosquitoes, the black snakes etc... its me, in fact who perhaps is an unwanted guest. They don't (or hardly) come into my home...
Then running this morning along a shade covered road in the Sea Breeze section just off Pleasure Island and on the mainland I saw a large hawk take flight in the trees just up ahead of me... same place I had seen two hawks last week take flight... truly an amazing sight to witness up close.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Back to the Track
Ran some speedwork last Saturday morning on the Ashley High School track. Arrived earlier in the day, a little after eight a.m.in order to perhaps beat some of the heat. Was pretty hot though even at that hour, but I wasnt going to let that or much else deter me from the work-out I had planned. I have done some intervals/ speed sessions at the Carolina Beach Lake, but running on the hard asphalt path that encircles the lake as well as periodically dodging people, dogs, and ducks is not the most conducive environment for such activity.
So I tossed my backpack over the chain linked fence, climbed on up and hopped over it, and felt like I was returning to a paradise lost from a previous lifetime. I have run a few laps on the UNCW track in the middle of some random runs, but hadn't done any kind of speedwork. There's just something magical to me about the sight and smell of 400 meters of the hard rubbery all-weather surface laid out in a perfect oval... with a smooth bed of green grass in the middle... and metal bleachers on the sides of each straight-away. The scoreboard down at one end of the infield with the Coca- Cola sign, the lane markings, the start lines for different distances/ races painted on the track.
The 'ol yellow summer-time sun beat down from above as I started the work-out by doing about a mile and a half warm-up/ easy jog (6 laps) around the track...to loosen the muscles, as well as wake up the mind and spirt... acclimate my entire self to the stately surroundings. Afterwhich some light stretching, more water, take the t-shirt off and hang it on the fence in front of the bleachers... and a slow reverential walk to a triangular marking near the approach to turn 1 that I will use as my start and finish point each successive repitition.
A deep breath and a calm thought and I'm off. It feels good to be off and moving at a more rapid speed on the track, to feel the bounce of my feet/ shoes on the hard rubbery surface... but I exercise purdent caution on the first rep. and glide thru the finish in 1:33 not that winded at all, and ease down into the one lap jog I will do in between each fast 400m rep. I then stop for a few moments back at the start/ finish point to allow my pulse rate to lower closer to a normal resting beat... reset the stopwatch... and then I'm off again.
The next rep. I knock out in @ 1:26, then bring the third one down to 1:18 as I start to get accustomed again to the pacing I want to run and the effort or exertion needed to hit or run certain times per lap or per 400 meters. I want most of them to be hard, say 85- 90% effort... but not all-out... as the reps and the work load increases, it will take more effort to run the same distance in the same time... or if I choose, slightly faster then the previous lap.
By now I am getting it dialed in... and on the next few laps I let it fly a little more each time. As I run the back strecth I can feel the lactic acid in the legs increase... feel the cool burn... I must concentrate a little more on holding my form... especially as I run turns three and four and then on down the final front stretch.
Seven reps down and I want to finish the last, the eighth one on a high and really open it up... say 95% effort or so. There's an art to running 400 meters... as a distance its close to an extended sprint, but not all-out.. at least not in the first say 150-250 meters. One must save some "gas in the tank" for that last 50- 75 meters or so of maddening straight away.
I'm off and into turns one and two running strong, posied, confident...controlling the pace and holding back just a bit... then onto the back stretch... by now the long straight-away has increased I would swear by another 20 or 30 meters... pounding, striding... holding my form... ignoring or pushing through the discomforts of the body... ignoring the flash bulb thoughts-- slow down, stop, ease up... finally into turn three... drink Coca Cola yes yes... turn 4- where are you turn 4? ... quick, rapid breaths, starting to lose some feeling in the legs... then off turn 4 to the front stretch... mentally ticking off the numbers painted on the lanes of the track one two three... can't see don't look up at the other lanes for the rest of 'em...glance up look straight ahead dig in hold form breathe...like led zeppelin sang 'where is that confounded bridge?'... 25 20 15 10 5 meters my precious lovely little traingle I see it!... and its over I'm done look at the watch... 1:10- whew, not bad...as I gasp for breath, barely able to move... shuffling forward hands on my hips upper body nearly doubled over.. til I can regain a semblance of normal movement and slowly ease into a jog like trot on the back stretch.
Cool down with another mile and a half slow jog on the track and call it a day, pleased with the results... and if perchance you saw me walking back out to my car you would have caught a sly little grin on my face, like a grown kid rediscovering the feeling of Christmas mornings long since past... but certainly not forgotten.
So I tossed my backpack over the chain linked fence, climbed on up and hopped over it, and felt like I was returning to a paradise lost from a previous lifetime. I have run a few laps on the UNCW track in the middle of some random runs, but hadn't done any kind of speedwork. There's just something magical to me about the sight and smell of 400 meters of the hard rubbery all-weather surface laid out in a perfect oval... with a smooth bed of green grass in the middle... and metal bleachers on the sides of each straight-away. The scoreboard down at one end of the infield with the Coca- Cola sign, the lane markings, the start lines for different distances/ races painted on the track.
The 'ol yellow summer-time sun beat down from above as I started the work-out by doing about a mile and a half warm-up/ easy jog (6 laps) around the track...to loosen the muscles, as well as wake up the mind and spirt... acclimate my entire self to the stately surroundings. Afterwhich some light stretching, more water, take the t-shirt off and hang it on the fence in front of the bleachers... and a slow reverential walk to a triangular marking near the approach to turn 1 that I will use as my start and finish point each successive repitition.
A deep breath and a calm thought and I'm off. It feels good to be off and moving at a more rapid speed on the track, to feel the bounce of my feet/ shoes on the hard rubbery surface... but I exercise purdent caution on the first rep. and glide thru the finish in 1:33 not that winded at all, and ease down into the one lap jog I will do in between each fast 400m rep. I then stop for a few moments back at the start/ finish point to allow my pulse rate to lower closer to a normal resting beat... reset the stopwatch... and then I'm off again.
The next rep. I knock out in @ 1:26, then bring the third one down to 1:18 as I start to get accustomed again to the pacing I want to run and the effort or exertion needed to hit or run certain times per lap or per 400 meters. I want most of them to be hard, say 85- 90% effort... but not all-out... as the reps and the work load increases, it will take more effort to run the same distance in the same time... or if I choose, slightly faster then the previous lap.
By now I am getting it dialed in... and on the next few laps I let it fly a little more each time. As I run the back strecth I can feel the lactic acid in the legs increase... feel the cool burn... I must concentrate a little more on holding my form... especially as I run turns three and four and then on down the final front stretch.
Seven reps down and I want to finish the last, the eighth one on a high and really open it up... say 95% effort or so. There's an art to running 400 meters... as a distance its close to an extended sprint, but not all-out.. at least not in the first say 150-250 meters. One must save some "gas in the tank" for that last 50- 75 meters or so of maddening straight away.
I'm off and into turns one and two running strong, posied, confident...controlling the pace and holding back just a bit... then onto the back stretch... by now the long straight-away has increased I would swear by another 20 or 30 meters... pounding, striding... holding my form... ignoring or pushing through the discomforts of the body... ignoring the flash bulb thoughts-- slow down, stop, ease up... finally into turn three... drink Coca Cola yes yes... turn 4- where are you turn 4? ... quick, rapid breaths, starting to lose some feeling in the legs... then off turn 4 to the front stretch... mentally ticking off the numbers painted on the lanes of the track one two three... can't see don't look up at the other lanes for the rest of 'em...glance up look straight ahead dig in hold form breathe...like led zeppelin sang 'where is that confounded bridge?'... 25 20 15 10 5 meters my precious lovely little traingle I see it!... and its over I'm done look at the watch... 1:10- whew, not bad...as I gasp for breath, barely able to move... shuffling forward hands on my hips upper body nearly doubled over.. til I can regain a semblance of normal movement and slowly ease into a jog like trot on the back stretch.
Cool down with another mile and a half slow jog on the track and call it a day, pleased with the results... and if perchance you saw me walking back out to my car you would have caught a sly little grin on my face, like a grown kid rediscovering the feeling of Christmas mornings long since past... but certainly not forgotten.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Long Run
Went for a longer run Tuesday morning. Started out by looping thru the Carolina Sands neighborhood, then up and across Snow's Cut Bridge, and then ran the Sea Breeze Road Loop which winds back to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway across from the North End of Pleasure Island. Then back across the BRidge and onto the bike path that begins back by the boat launch and parking lot off Spencer Farlowe Road. By now the sun was at its mid morning height and the air heavier with humdity... experience dictates not to try and battle mother nature, be content with what she gives... which translates athletic wise to a more moderate to easy running pace. Running too hard, too early in a run when its warmer out will have unwanted consequences later in the run, though at the time one may seem to be one upping the environs.
But the woods brings a bit of relief, and I take the hard packed dirt trails with relative ease, catching site of the Atlantic Waterway as it meanders back to the Cape Fear River. Eventually however I must leave the sanctuary that the woods have provided me today, and return to the heat of the asphalt roads. Did also take a drink form one of the old fashioned water pumps in the camp grounds while running thru the state park... the water was quite refreshingly cold.
Then as I crossed back over Dow Road I passed a woman jogging and pushing a stroller with two toddlers, and for good measure a small dog also ran in front of the most unusual posse. Said hello and gave them ample room to enter the greenway path. Few moments later I thought of the fountain beside the boardwalk I would pass in about a mile. The water in that one though is usually fairly warm. And at some point coming back Harper Drive I decided to extend the run out another fifteen, twenty minutes or so, and to pick up the pace after I ran the boardwalk a.l.a the Arthur Lydiard type runs of the 3-1 formula long runs whereby the last 1/4 of the run was alot harder than the first 3/4ths which were ran at a slow/ moderate "conversational" pace. Though his runners would do about a 17 mile loop that encirlced high above Aukland, New Zealand that contained many elevation changes. The run I did today was closer to 12 miles, and I only ran harder the last 1.5- 2 miles.
Did that then as i looped half the lake after crossing over the main drag in the CB, then headed back into the residential neighborhoods back behind the CB Elementary School. Dug in, and held a harder pace block by block for a good fifteen minutes... trying not to think about it at all... and one point having the thought "this thinking must stop". Pushing thru, capping the long run with an edge, some toughness, a little bit more meat on the bones. Ended the run at the entrance to the beach down from my home... an hour and forty seven minutes, which is the longest run i have done since the winter time.
Had the thought after a brief swim in the ocean while walking back that longer runs can sometimes be like rambling confessions to onself, a purging perhaps of some of the junk that permeates all of our hearts and souls... the beauty is out here I can get instant redemption, even if its for just an hour or two.
But the woods brings a bit of relief, and I take the hard packed dirt trails with relative ease, catching site of the Atlantic Waterway as it meanders back to the Cape Fear River. Eventually however I must leave the sanctuary that the woods have provided me today, and return to the heat of the asphalt roads. Did also take a drink form one of the old fashioned water pumps in the camp grounds while running thru the state park... the water was quite refreshingly cold.
Then as I crossed back over Dow Road I passed a woman jogging and pushing a stroller with two toddlers, and for good measure a small dog also ran in front of the most unusual posse. Said hello and gave them ample room to enter the greenway path. Few moments later I thought of the fountain beside the boardwalk I would pass in about a mile. The water in that one though is usually fairly warm. And at some point coming back Harper Drive I decided to extend the run out another fifteen, twenty minutes or so, and to pick up the pace after I ran the boardwalk a.l.a the Arthur Lydiard type runs of the 3-1 formula long runs whereby the last 1/4 of the run was alot harder than the first 3/4ths which were ran at a slow/ moderate "conversational" pace. Though his runners would do about a 17 mile loop that encirlced high above Aukland, New Zealand that contained many elevation changes. The run I did today was closer to 12 miles, and I only ran harder the last 1.5- 2 miles.
Did that then as i looped half the lake after crossing over the main drag in the CB, then headed back into the residential neighborhoods back behind the CB Elementary School. Dug in, and held a harder pace block by block for a good fifteen minutes... trying not to think about it at all... and one point having the thought "this thinking must stop". Pushing thru, capping the long run with an edge, some toughness, a little bit more meat on the bones. Ended the run at the entrance to the beach down from my home... an hour and forty seven minutes, which is the longest run i have done since the winter time.
Had the thought after a brief swim in the ocean while walking back that longer runs can sometimes be like rambling confessions to onself, a purging perhaps of some of the junk that permeates all of our hearts and souls... the beauty is out here I can get instant redemption, even if its for just an hour or two.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Back in the Saddle
Friday morning and I headed out for what I thought was going to be one of my more typical runs when I decided rather spontaneoulsy to get back on the horse known as speed work. So directed the run on down and over to the lake in the CB to rev it up and air it out some.
I know adding speed work again ( I was doing work -outs of this nature once a week for a time back in January and February before a series of heavy colds sidelined me a few times) is vital to my development, and vital to becoming a "tougher" runner (see my last blog), and also a key component in training for a marathon.
Warmed up then with a little over twenty minute jog, took a deep drink out of the fountain, stertched, took my t-shirt off, and toed the imaginary line I drew on the walkway at the top of the lake. Wanted to run hard, but not too hard; much of the reading I have done over the past few months suggests that speed work or interval training run too hard can be self defeating. Its more beneficial to hold paces that are a bit harder than say a 5K race pace, then to go close to all out each speed segment.
With that in mind I hit start on my stopwatch and was off on the first rep. Felt good whirling around the lake, swooshing along to the tune of the breeze my body in motion was creating... did the first rep in 2:24, I estimated the distance I was running to be about 600+ meters. Knocked out four more using the same pattern of then jogging 1/4 lap, walking 1/4 lap, then going right into the rep of @ 1/2 lap. Sucessively brought the time down, until the last one of around 2:05. Did gun it more and gut that last one out; I like to leave out on a high. Shuffled/ jogged then for another thirty minutes including a short stretch on the beach.
Went 7+ miles then Saturday morning, early a little after 7am as I had to leave out after 9 am to go to work. Legs were tired, pleasantly worked and a bit heavy from yesterday. Felt good then, and today, adding the speedwork back into my retinue of workouts.
I know adding speed work again ( I was doing work -outs of this nature once a week for a time back in January and February before a series of heavy colds sidelined me a few times) is vital to my development, and vital to becoming a "tougher" runner (see my last blog), and also a key component in training for a marathon.
Warmed up then with a little over twenty minute jog, took a deep drink out of the fountain, stertched, took my t-shirt off, and toed the imaginary line I drew on the walkway at the top of the lake. Wanted to run hard, but not too hard; much of the reading I have done over the past few months suggests that speed work or interval training run too hard can be self defeating. Its more beneficial to hold paces that are a bit harder than say a 5K race pace, then to go close to all out each speed segment.
With that in mind I hit start on my stopwatch and was off on the first rep. Felt good whirling around the lake, swooshing along to the tune of the breeze my body in motion was creating... did the first rep in 2:24, I estimated the distance I was running to be about 600+ meters. Knocked out four more using the same pattern of then jogging 1/4 lap, walking 1/4 lap, then going right into the rep of @ 1/2 lap. Sucessively brought the time down, until the last one of around 2:05. Did gun it more and gut that last one out; I like to leave out on a high. Shuffled/ jogged then for another thirty minutes including a short stretch on the beach.
Went 7+ miles then Saturday morning, early a little after 7am as I had to leave out after 9 am to go to work. Legs were tired, pleasantly worked and a bit heavy from yesterday. Felt good then, and today, adding the speedwork back into my retinue of workouts.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Went for a run this morning with my Dad around a five mile loop that somewhat encircles the large development called Brierwood which he and my Mom call home. Ran and talked on and off, as we did the day before; I usually let him more or less dictate the pace as he's now in his mid sixties and also not in as good of shape as I am currently. Though for his age, he's one of the best runners in the area as evidenced by the age group wins he regularly picks up when he competes in local races.
Its another warmer morning, though I do remark about a mile in that it seems a shade cooler and less humid than the day before (my Dad is not convinced). We do catch a little breeze out beyond the country club and large pond as we head out into more of the back country section of the sprawling community... scattered in amongst the old woods and wetlands of southern Brunswick County. Every run is like a snow flake; no two are ever the same. This pearl of wisdom occurred to me a few days ago... where-else, but during a run.
We got done with the loop in a little over forty-five minutes; he eased into a cool down walk up the road past his driveway while i slowed into a trot like jog to talk a few moments more with him. He asked if I was going to continue on with the run, and I answered in the affirmative that I was, so we bid adieu for the time and exchanged a "good run" and I circled back, checked my wrist watch, took off my sweat drenched t-shirt and placed it under the mailbox... and was off again headed back to whence i had come from.
Decided to take the five mile loop again but run it in reverse (runners can be creatures of habit; my Dad, and I when I run this loop that includes a couple different roads will always run it the same way) and also to pick up the pace and lay down some quicker miles and see what the body and mind could handle today.
Have been cycling up mileage wise the past two months or so, but had wisely taken a few easier days this past week that had just ended to allow my legs to recover a little after two fairly intense weeks prior to the last. Hit a bit of headwind on the straight drag of road about a mile in that parallels the road on across several golf holes from my parent's house, and had to dig in a little to maintain the fairly good pace I felt like i was running. I knew once i got up around the turn and into the "back country" part of the run that the wind should be at my back. Of course experience has taught me never to assume wind directions and to never assume any part of a run may or may not be easier than what it may or may not turn out to be.
Held the steady clip I was running and the wind perhaps did come at my back a little, at least it wasn't in my face and the warmth of the mid- morning wasnt too much of a bother... so I pushed it down the tier of straight shots and bends trying to maintain the current pace while alleviating the physical discomforts I was in by focusing on the patterns in the gravely asphalt... the way the road meets the grasses and vegatation on the side I was on... the greenness of trees, shrubbery... the beauty of a stream rolling back out of a small swampy interlude in the trees. Seeing things exactly as they exist in thier own undiluted nature
Thinking then too about how I want to be a tougher runner; the chasmic seperation between voicing the thought and the actions to necessitate the potential outcome. Tougher, stronger, tougher ... step by step by step. Then a vision as I look up ahead and see an old fence shrouded by over growth of the natural woods by a turn in the road... I'm back in Franklin Township running the run i ran some random day fifteen, twenty years ago... and this run is the same as that run... time and space are irrelevant... everything is nothing anyway. I smile inward, again the smile of people slightly mad... but who are quite comfortable in their own sphere of madness... the smile of those who realize they love some God or divine being out there a little more than they'd ever let on to in cocktail party conversations... the smile of those who know what it is like to chase a love to the four corners of the globe knowing they'll never quite catch her and that's exactly the way it supposed to be... after all, muses seldom lie still by the gate.
Then its back onto the main road past the club house and the golfers and the golf carts... I pass a woman out running we say hello and for a split second I wonder about her run and wonder what she may wonder about my run today. One more street one more stretch and I hold firm and strong moving swift counting off the mailboxes in the back of my mind as I near the last bend in the road and the end of the run, with one last thought that "the alleviation of suffering is possible"... and this carries through to the last step of the second five mile loop in a little under thirty-six and a half minutes.
Its another warmer morning, though I do remark about a mile in that it seems a shade cooler and less humid than the day before (my Dad is not convinced). We do catch a little breeze out beyond the country club and large pond as we head out into more of the back country section of the sprawling community... scattered in amongst the old woods and wetlands of southern Brunswick County. Every run is like a snow flake; no two are ever the same. This pearl of wisdom occurred to me a few days ago... where-else, but during a run.
We got done with the loop in a little over forty-five minutes; he eased into a cool down walk up the road past his driveway while i slowed into a trot like jog to talk a few moments more with him. He asked if I was going to continue on with the run, and I answered in the affirmative that I was, so we bid adieu for the time and exchanged a "good run" and I circled back, checked my wrist watch, took off my sweat drenched t-shirt and placed it under the mailbox... and was off again headed back to whence i had come from.
Decided to take the five mile loop again but run it in reverse (runners can be creatures of habit; my Dad, and I when I run this loop that includes a couple different roads will always run it the same way) and also to pick up the pace and lay down some quicker miles and see what the body and mind could handle today.
Have been cycling up mileage wise the past two months or so, but had wisely taken a few easier days this past week that had just ended to allow my legs to recover a little after two fairly intense weeks prior to the last. Hit a bit of headwind on the straight drag of road about a mile in that parallels the road on across several golf holes from my parent's house, and had to dig in a little to maintain the fairly good pace I felt like i was running. I knew once i got up around the turn and into the "back country" part of the run that the wind should be at my back. Of course experience has taught me never to assume wind directions and to never assume any part of a run may or may not be easier than what it may or may not turn out to be.
Held the steady clip I was running and the wind perhaps did come at my back a little, at least it wasn't in my face and the warmth of the mid- morning wasnt too much of a bother... so I pushed it down the tier of straight shots and bends trying to maintain the current pace while alleviating the physical discomforts I was in by focusing on the patterns in the gravely asphalt... the way the road meets the grasses and vegatation on the side I was on... the greenness of trees, shrubbery... the beauty of a stream rolling back out of a small swampy interlude in the trees. Seeing things exactly as they exist in thier own undiluted nature
Thinking then too about how I want to be a tougher runner; the chasmic seperation between voicing the thought and the actions to necessitate the potential outcome. Tougher, stronger, tougher ... step by step by step. Then a vision as I look up ahead and see an old fence shrouded by over growth of the natural woods by a turn in the road... I'm back in Franklin Township running the run i ran some random day fifteen, twenty years ago... and this run is the same as that run... time and space are irrelevant... everything is nothing anyway. I smile inward, again the smile of people slightly mad... but who are quite comfortable in their own sphere of madness... the smile of those who realize they love some God or divine being out there a little more than they'd ever let on to in cocktail party conversations... the smile of those who know what it is like to chase a love to the four corners of the globe knowing they'll never quite catch her and that's exactly the way it supposed to be... after all, muses seldom lie still by the gate.
Then its back onto the main road past the club house and the golfers and the golf carts... I pass a woman out running we say hello and for a split second I wonder about her run and wonder what she may wonder about my run today. One more street one more stretch and I hold firm and strong moving swift counting off the mailboxes in the back of my mind as I near the last bend in the road and the end of the run, with one last thought that "the alleviation of suffering is possible"... and this carries through to the last step of the second five mile loop in a little under thirty-six and a half minutes.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Running Hard
Building the base back up, have gotten out running every day this week. Went for a longer run Wednesday of about 10- 12 miles. Followed that up Thursday with an easier 6 plus mile run, then ran harder on Friday. Took one of my usual loops thru some residential parts of Carolina Beach at an easier, steady pace... then picked up the tempo back on the Greenway, back down past Food Lion on Spencer Farlow Drive.
Kept it kicking pretty hard all the along the bike path that runs adjacent to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and under Snow's Cut Bridge. Then across the dead end street by the American Legion and on down the rest of the bike path to where the waterway spills into the Cape Fear River... kept it moving pretty hard by now the breaths coming more rapidly, short and choppy, the legs feeling the burn of the lactic acid building up, the mind signalling to the body to slow down (ignoring the mind here is paramount or simply thinking about somehting else like what i might eat for dessert later). Up thru the windy twisty paths that jut away from the water back into the state park then onto a short stretch of macadam roads in the park (telling myself two more stretches of trail then this madness will cease. Thinking about a JFK quote I once read where he said he thought he could tolerate any level of pain if he knew it was temporary and would end at some point).
Into the thick of the wilderness then just as fast as I had come out of it, woosh past old gnarled deciduous trees and pine brush palm scrubs me suddenly being in awe of the immense natural beauty that I am surrounded by... realizing too that it is going to be alright, in fact everything is alright and will always be alright, we are all saved we are all blessed... then back out of the woods across another street back into the woods... and the pain sears into my lungs/ legs it all suddenly hurts and now it takes intense concentration to not feel any of this and to will the body and the mind another half mile or so along this trail, counting each dip and turn every bend and every trail marker, one after the other soon soon i'll back out the deep dark deathbedded woods and back onto the main access road into the sunlight free free again and this pain will cease and sanity will return.... hang on and I do hang on after almost dry heaving near the end of the trail all the intense whriling motion begins to subside and my breathing slowly returns towards normal the heart and pulse rates which have been redlined begin to creep back down a bit again... I survived yet again.
Then a mile or so easy jog but not too easy back on thru the older residential section of the CB back across the main street and onto the boardwalk where catch site of the mightly vasy wondrous ocean which seemed like a lost vision from times forgotten ten or fifteen minutes ago when I was in the forrest.
Kept it kicking pretty hard all the along the bike path that runs adjacent to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway and under Snow's Cut Bridge. Then across the dead end street by the American Legion and on down the rest of the bike path to where the waterway spills into the Cape Fear River... kept it moving pretty hard by now the breaths coming more rapidly, short and choppy, the legs feeling the burn of the lactic acid building up, the mind signalling to the body to slow down (ignoring the mind here is paramount or simply thinking about somehting else like what i might eat for dessert later). Up thru the windy twisty paths that jut away from the water back into the state park then onto a short stretch of macadam roads in the park (telling myself two more stretches of trail then this madness will cease. Thinking about a JFK quote I once read where he said he thought he could tolerate any level of pain if he knew it was temporary and would end at some point).
Into the thick of the wilderness then just as fast as I had come out of it, woosh past old gnarled deciduous trees and pine brush palm scrubs me suddenly being in awe of the immense natural beauty that I am surrounded by... realizing too that it is going to be alright, in fact everything is alright and will always be alright, we are all saved we are all blessed... then back out of the woods across another street back into the woods... and the pain sears into my lungs/ legs it all suddenly hurts and now it takes intense concentration to not feel any of this and to will the body and the mind another half mile or so along this trail, counting each dip and turn every bend and every trail marker, one after the other soon soon i'll back out the deep dark deathbedded woods and back onto the main access road into the sunlight free free again and this pain will cease and sanity will return.... hang on and I do hang on after almost dry heaving near the end of the trail all the intense whriling motion begins to subside and my breathing slowly returns towards normal the heart and pulse rates which have been redlined begin to creep back down a bit again... I survived yet again.
Then a mile or so easy jog but not too easy back on thru the older residential section of the CB back across the main street and onto the boardwalk where catch site of the mightly vasy wondrous ocean which seemed like a lost vision from times forgotten ten or fifteen minutes ago when I was in the forrest.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Why I'm out here some days...
Last Friday I crossed the bridge and left off of the island to do a loop around the Sea Breeze neighborhood that abuts the Intercoastal Waterway. Ran behind the Food Lion shopping complex and up the steep grassy hill and onto lake Park Boulevard, and on up up up and over Snow's Cut Bridge. The view while running on the narrow raised cement "sidewalk" is breath taking; off to the left the eye follows the Waterway as it channels back past the North end of Pleasure Island and wraps by the beach houses that jut out onto the far back side of the ribboned land mass, before seemlessly spilling back into the Atlantic Ocean about a mile or so away. To the right the waterway runs back thru the woods and steep sandy banks of the 'cut' on down and into the mouth of the Cape Fear River, as it meanders almost dreamy like slow molasses into the abyss of the Atlantic. Some days I catch the sun sliding down the western horizon a blazing ball of fire raining millions of bits of light onto the glassy sheen of the water; perhaps only broken by a passing fishing boat or old tug barge chugging along.
I got off work Wednesday and head to my friends house in Kure Beach for a run, its been one of those long days we all have from time to time. One of those days that i need to forget about even before i take my slacks and shit off and lace up my beloved running shoes. My release is on the roads, my release is to run as fast and as hard as i can, to make it hurt physically, challenge the mind and the spirit, or numb it with the rythym and cadence of sneakers machine like hitting gravel and macadame. Their's a killer on the road, his brain is squirming like a toad.... So I hit the 3+ mile turn around (5k) in Battle Park by Fort Fisher in 26 and a half minutes ... and then check out. Check out all the way back Lake Park Boulevard and back thru the center of Kure Beach back up the little winding hill where i dry heave coming off the last turn, and smile an insane little inward smile because its exactly what I needed. I take what I need, and spit up the rest. Under 22 mins of it in this case, and i look forward to going back again for more and more and more of it.
I got off work Wednesday and head to my friends house in Kure Beach for a run, its been one of those long days we all have from time to time. One of those days that i need to forget about even before i take my slacks and shit off and lace up my beloved running shoes. My release is on the roads, my release is to run as fast and as hard as i can, to make it hurt physically, challenge the mind and the spirit, or numb it with the rythym and cadence of sneakers machine like hitting gravel and macadame. Their's a killer on the road, his brain is squirming like a toad.... So I hit the 3+ mile turn around (5k) in Battle Park by Fort Fisher in 26 and a half minutes ... and then check out. Check out all the way back Lake Park Boulevard and back thru the center of Kure Beach back up the little winding hill where i dry heave coming off the last turn, and smile an insane little inward smile because its exactly what I needed. I take what I need, and spit up the rest. Under 22 mins of it in this case, and i look forward to going back again for more and more and more of it.
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