Rave Run

The sixth installment of the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon is this weekend. We'll be headed west sometime Friday night... eating some kind of pasta dish along the way and hopefully getting to Chez Elliott around 9:30pm and into bed by 10:30 or so.

I love the week before a "big" race. This being "big" because this was the focal point of my runs from the first of the year until now. But all the training is officially complete... roughly 596.8 miles and 74 hours later. But even a half marathon deserves a taper which gives you extra time to question whether you've done enough... there's even a term for it... "taper madness". Every detail of your training and your preparation is picked over. But I've had a good year of running and am fortunate for that. It's given me so much more than I could have ever expected. And with all this time on my hands that would have otherwise been spent on the track or on a long run, I've reflected on one or two.

One such instance came on Christmas Day. It's always a tumultuous time of the year. Rushing this way and that way. Buying last minute gifts. It's hard to relax and I noticed I wasn't looking forward to it as much as I had in the past. This year seemed to be no different. But as the day was giving way to evening, I laced up the runners and slipped out the door and onto the Piqua bike path. I headed east to the river, then northwest along the bank, eventually following it west until I got to Swift Run where I turned south along the canal. The air was cool, the skies were clear and with it being Christmas Day in Piqua, there was absolutely no one out. I followed the bend by Echo Lake, crossed over Park Avenue and shortly after, the canal opened up again into Frantz's Pond. It was here that I saw a big, bright moon hanging over the ice-covered pond and silhouetted tree line. It just struck me as being one of the more beautiful and serene scenes I'd ever witnessed.

It made me realize that life only gets more complicated and hurried as we get older... there's no changing that. If you try, you'll spend it throwing good energy at the bad. But finding the "thing" that allows you to see beauty each day is where it's at. I know it's been said a million times, but it may be something you have to experience firsthand. It was for me. I've been running pretty regularly for several years and always thought of it as work... something that had to be done. And whereas not every single run reveals to me the secret depths that only the universe and I know, ever since that Christmas Day run, it's common to see something beautiful... something I wouldn't have seen otherwise. So running happens to be one of my "things" at this point in my life. I know everyone's is different and I wish I knew them... maybe it's putting your son/daughter down for the night. Maybe it's cooking dinner for your family. Maybe it's writing/reading/blogging. Who knows... who cares. If you love it/need it, that's all that matters. I would make a better friend, sibling, fiancé, son, citizen and all around person if I did know. Wouldn't we all?

A little dramatic, yes, but hey, who's surprised? And so it's funny sometimes how naysayers tell me that running is bad for me... it'll ruin my joints and lead to long-term injury. The problem with that theory is that I don't do it for my joints, I do it so I can see something beautiful everyday.

This Just In...

"Birds Even Saying 'No Thanks'"... to the weather, that is. I thought of that one myself, thanks. It's a common complaint of mine among many. I tend to disagree with the weather more as I get older. Believe it or not, I spend more time outside now than I have in the 29 years prior... and I can't think of one thing I do outside that benefits from the whipping wind and rain. Sand volleyball borders on tolerable. Running is the same. It's just something you do because the alternative isn't an option. I would rather dip my bare feet in 30-degree sand than give up my one night of volleyball a week for some inclement weather.

These piss-poor weather weeks are starting to run together. April has worn out its welcome and I'm thoroughly ready for May... even though we know it's going to be 90 and humid from the first week until September. Again... complaining. The photo is a view out of the office where there are floor-to-ceiling length screens. The screen is what's in focus. Gave it a weird, dreary look that seemed all too appropriate for the day.

Happy Camper

Had a good weekend of camping... other than the rain that came at 4 a.m. early Sunday morning and has yet to quit. At some point, my shoes, tent, tarp, sleeping bag and everything else will need to dry out.

There was also that race thrown into the mix Saturday. It was rough going. We spent 7.5 hours making wrong turns and missing trails in southern Indiana. One of these days, I'm going to put more emphasis on going the right way rather than going fast the wrong way. There were a couple of critical mistakes that were made and we paid for it. With these races, mistakes tend to snowball. They cost you time, energy and worst of all, patience. But one of these days, we'll figure it out. The winners didn't look a day under 40... so we've got time.

Jackson Washington State Forest was the site of the start, as well as where we camped. It was a great place. Very nice. A good weekend all around. I wish the race had gone different. The race may have gotten the best of me, but the hills didn't.

OK, But Just For Tonight...

I'm letting the bike sleep in the kitchen for the night. She's tuned up and ready for the weekend, so I'd rather keep her that way... at least until the gun goes off. 

This weekend will find me in Brownstown, IN for an "adventure" race put on by a group called Planet Adventure. I think they're based out of Indy, but this will be my second race with them. The first was two years ago in the same location and I've never been so beat down in my life. Physically, it was the hardest thing I'd ever done and still is. Three of us did a similar race in Ohio last year and did pretty good for half the race and lousy the other half. While my physical preparedness improved, my map-reading skills had not and that cost us in the end.

There'll be nine of us fellers converging onto Jackson-Washington State Forest Friday night which makes three, three-man teams. At last count there were 62 teams. Yikes. One teammate of mine this year was our third man the first year and he was a superstar. He bounded up hills like a gazelle. He was virtually never tired and there I was in the back, wishing for a heart attack. So this race is a redemption race of sorts. I took those hills for granted two years ago. This time around, I hope I can earn their respect as well as the respect of the third man. I let him and the rest of the team down. I'm going to do my damdest to make sure it doesn't happen again. But along the way we'll have a good time. After all, what could be better than running through the woods for four or five hours?... running through them for 24... hmm, very tempting.

J. Tyler: Headstone Architecter

We spent the day in Dayton Saturday with my Grandma Alberts. While there, we visited Calvary Cemetery to finally see my Grandpa's recently erected headstone. About a year ago, there was talk of a custom monument for the Alberts plot. I knew nothing about materials, capabilities, etc... but coming up with something that was unique as well as intrinsic to my grandparents was an interesting challenge. I always feel the pressure a bit more when doing pro bono work for family and friends. It's because I want it to be the best. It's for the people I care most about. So it was fairly daunting to think that you'd be entrusted to create something seemingly permanent.

My mom had met a guy out of Logan that sold stone sculptures at local festivals on weekends and was in the monument business during the week. He was really the one that made this happen. Yes, the process was awkward at times and it didn't turn out exactly like I had intended, but like I said, he made it happen. A lot of others would've either charged us twice what we paid or they would've immediately told us to take a hike. But damn, isn't that ALBERTS type a little tight? j/k... lol...

So there it is. I still know nothing about materials, capabilities, etc... but add it to the resumé.