Running Lite

When all the pieces of the Noble Street Festival puzzle come together, you better watch out.

I’m undecided about what to write about this week so I think I’ll cheat and provide you a set of notes, of which some may be of possible interest.

When the road gets tough, the wise hit the trails.

Putting aside a terrible spin on a popular phrase, there has been a long-held belief among current and former runners that the body can only take so much pounding on hard surfaces before it is forced to inevitably wave the white flag of resignation.

For one day, my best was good enough, but just barely.

The time has come for me to confess an addiction I’ve been grappling with for quite some time but only recently has become unmanageable.

The time to get serious about the Mercedes Marathon is now.

However, please don’t take those words the wrong way. It’s not like I’ve been taking it easy resting on my derriere, aimlessly wondering when the moment to focus on such an important event should begin.

With the completion of the Brenda Ladun 8K Cancer Run, the 2006 racing season began in earnest. Now, the only event standing between the Cheaha Blast (our 5-person Relay Team) and the Mercedes Marathon is next week’s Rickey Harrison 10K in Tuscaloosa.

Long before men dared to dream of flying, we thirsted for the opportunity to run as one with the wind. I for one carry no pretense of being a fleet-footed Mercury, but I do enjoy feeling the breeze in my face when running.

I have to admit that I find running on a treadmill as entertaining as watching New Year’s resolutionists ungracefully trudge through an elliptical machine workout at the local YMCA. One thing you can say about life on the treadmill: it truly doesn’t pass you by.

As I’ve mentioned previously, my shins haven’t reacted well to my rather rapid escalation in training mileage. It now appears that my training zeal can be chalked up as another case of no good deed going unpunished.