Tarmac Meditations-Another Day

Ran on the track behind South Eugene High this morning at 5:30. My “guys”, the running buddies, a later edition of the Road2Ruin Runners Club, wanted to go steady state for a mile or more…injuries and fitness are determining a slow, slow buildup in volume of  mileage and tempo. So I agreed with the whole thing except the mile part. You see, they are 20+ years younger, 40+ lbs lighter, way better looking, more fit, happier, more stable, married, on the straight and narrow. Of course I am all of those things too, except some of them, like younger, fitter, some days happier and like that. I ran 2×800 and a 1/4 at “speed” plus a couple of straights. No hamstring issues, no back spasms, no medals. A perfect workout on a mist rising into the full moon sky kind of morning. Like the mornings from way back when football practice or track practice was coming and the cheerleaders were gathered in on the steps, doing their stuff. Never went out with a cheerleader. Once,years later, went out with a pro figure skater who had been a cheerleader in high school for her older brother’s baseball team. He went on to pitch for the Cleveland Indians. As I remember it now, our relationship, if that’s what it was, lasted as long as his pitching stint in the “bigs”. You might say long enough to have a cup of coffee and a shower. You might not.