anyone reading this old enough to remember bill cosby when he was a young comedian might remember his comedy routine on noah and the arc. when noah asked god if he had looked down into the hull of the ship and that he, noah, wasn't going to clean up that mess, god simply replied with his question. Noah, how long can you tread water and then in the background you heard thunder and rain.
almost four miles into today's run i was wondering how long i could stay out and just persevere. clearly the legs weren't all recovered yet, but i had it in my mind to do at least ten miles and so up the thames i kept going thinking i could always walk home.
(leonard cohen is singing "the partisan" in my background. he doesn't have the best voice but he is one creative writer and his songs are so penetrating, though he may not be the best one to listen to if you are the least bit depressed he will feed that depression)
just past the tree cemetery i saw cows wandering in the river and one lost big black and white running around looking for the others so i gave him a little push in the right direction and he wandered down towards the water also. first time i ever pushed a cow. and i kept going up the thames and past the nunnery. i kidding asked the guy working the godstow lock if he knew how far woodstock was and he said he didn't know where woodstock was. another 7 miles or 8 i am guessing. wasn't going that far today.
but did head over to wolvercote and stopped for some water at the post office. decided to do some loops around the village and check out streets i had not been on before. saw some interesting mixes of new and old houses and some nice gardens. always looking for ideas. some very pretty euphorbias and spireas.
then headed over to the canal and headed north into a old wind. temps were just about 40 now, but felt colder despite the sun because of the wind. the canal is just gorgeous today and i am far enough north of the city that i am alone with the ducks and geese and the sky and water. went past a sign welcoming people to Oxford and a little farther up i passed the sign telling me woodstock was still five miles to go.
turned on my lap timer and kept going-figured i would go up 2 miles and then turn around. and that's what i did. when i got back to the junction of the canal and the thames i ran towards the thames but the trail really narrowed down and was like running through weeds rather than a trail at this point so i turned around and went back and down the canal.
and about two miles down i ran into a woman on her way to town and we went down the canal path together and she told me of some nice places to visit while we were in the UK. and at the oxford press bridge she turned off and i went on back into town now and bikes and dog walkers were out and an occasional runner going by the other way. i ran all the way into town to hythe bridge road and turned back north. the longer i could stay away from heading home the better chance i had of getting miles in.
went over the train bridge and back to the thames river trail. nice break here as the oxford crew team was out training and going u and down the river. the coach recognized me and we each waved. i headed north on the river. about 11+ miles in now and i decided to push the pace up the trail and jog back down and do that three times. and so i did.
the crew was doling the same thing in the water, which by the way was the color of a united parcel brown truck today. weird. three times up and down and then did a quick stretch and some knee bends and headed home. still a mile away and that would be a little over 14 and enough. 10 miles of persevering and through some cold winds and that was a good mental exercise.
the sun is out now shining away and it is probably a little warmer and when the clothes are done in the washing machine i will head up to the driving range.
life is good and 105 days to go. made plans to go watch the ladies english open on july 4th. guess they don't celebrate independence day here like we do. life is good and only 105 days to go.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
day after tax day useless blog
paid the piper today for yesterday as i thought i might. legs weren't all that tired but were a bit tight and gail and i did her usual 4 mile loop and rather than stay out and keep going i stopped also. no sense risking injury. i still had lots of walking ahead today anyway.
was nice enough out-somewhat foggy and a little cold but it warmed up, we ran up and over port meadow and past the workers working on the trail and cutting down trees and making a muddy mess, which i know will be nicer eventually if you like pristine. hope they leave some of it as natural as it has been for the last zillion years.
water was pretty clear today. the legs didn't have any giddy-up in them but they got around the loop and down the thames path and home. not much to say. nothing really hurt from yesterday's workout and if they are better tomorrow i will do some hill repeats and if they are not ready will go slow and easy and put the hills off until friday. weather channel is calling for rain for the next four days, but that basically means that sometime during each day it will rain.
then off to the public market for lots of stuff we needed. always a fun little outing and with an extra trip to the bank and also to check out a brand new burrito place that just opened i got another 3-4 miles of walking in. sometimes it is about the calories- glad i don't live in france where they are cracking down on thin models or something related to that. right---
then home and read some more of the book club book. am curious about the murder mystery part of the book but in general just want this book over. reminds me that my friend lorraine gave gail and i another book to read and i will drop off the swap book for her on her boat.
and finally to the driving range to follow up on yesterday's decent day. was up and down with a somewhat tighter back than i wanted. this doesn't allow me to make a full turn and leads to adjustments- a pro might call them manipulations- but i tried to work on stuff and though the results were not always good i still feel like i am making some progress.
then spent some time watching the pro practice for next week's big tournament. he said he shot 75 yesterday missing greens to the left. even i could see why pretty quickly and he knows i know his swing and trusts me now to say something. nice thing is he can change stuff in a hurry and boom- high and straight again mostly. have a feeling it is something he will have to stay on top of as we all have tendencies i guess.
as much as i have learned about the golf swing since i have been here i still stink. knowing and doing are two different things. and on not good days when it is cold and dark and windy and you are hitting low and thin, it can be hard to force yourself to stay out there and keep hitting badly waiting for lightening to strike. especially when i know i won't play again for months. not meaning to whine he whines anyway.
enjoy the debates. won't miss that for sure. we need to get this process over with so we can start attacking the lies of mc cain. hard to believe how screwed up everything is. what will anyone do about immigration, are thy still building the wall, how does puerto rico get more delegates than 26 states and then not be allowed to vote in the general election, who will fix social security, what will happen to medicare, what about all of the children left behind by no child left behind, are gays really more of a threat than terrorists, how will the economy change even if gas drops back down to $3.35 and stays there(it never comes back down all of the way), who will figure out the easy solution to the housing crisis/problem, but i am ranting now.... sorry
off i go- not making sense anymore and must be tired. would have made more sense to hit the delete key for this one.
was nice enough out-somewhat foggy and a little cold but it warmed up, we ran up and over port meadow and past the workers working on the trail and cutting down trees and making a muddy mess, which i know will be nicer eventually if you like pristine. hope they leave some of it as natural as it has been for the last zillion years.
water was pretty clear today. the legs didn't have any giddy-up in them but they got around the loop and down the thames path and home. not much to say. nothing really hurt from yesterday's workout and if they are better tomorrow i will do some hill repeats and if they are not ready will go slow and easy and put the hills off until friday. weather channel is calling for rain for the next four days, but that basically means that sometime during each day it will rain.
then off to the public market for lots of stuff we needed. always a fun little outing and with an extra trip to the bank and also to check out a brand new burrito place that just opened i got another 3-4 miles of walking in. sometimes it is about the calories- glad i don't live in france where they are cracking down on thin models or something related to that. right---
then home and read some more of the book club book. am curious about the murder mystery part of the book but in general just want this book over. reminds me that my friend lorraine gave gail and i another book to read and i will drop off the swap book for her on her boat.
and finally to the driving range to follow up on yesterday's decent day. was up and down with a somewhat tighter back than i wanted. this doesn't allow me to make a full turn and leads to adjustments- a pro might call them manipulations- but i tried to work on stuff and though the results were not always good i still feel like i am making some progress.
then spent some time watching the pro practice for next week's big tournament. he said he shot 75 yesterday missing greens to the left. even i could see why pretty quickly and he knows i know his swing and trusts me now to say something. nice thing is he can change stuff in a hurry and boom- high and straight again mostly. have a feeling it is something he will have to stay on top of as we all have tendencies i guess.
as much as i have learned about the golf swing since i have been here i still stink. knowing and doing are two different things. and on not good days when it is cold and dark and windy and you are hitting low and thin, it can be hard to force yourself to stay out there and keep hitting badly waiting for lightening to strike. especially when i know i won't play again for months. not meaning to whine he whines anyway.
enjoy the debates. won't miss that for sure. we need to get this process over with so we can start attacking the lies of mc cain. hard to believe how screwed up everything is. what will anyone do about immigration, are thy still building the wall, how does puerto rico get more delegates than 26 states and then not be allowed to vote in the general election, who will fix social security, what will happen to medicare, what about all of the children left behind by no child left behind, are gays really more of a threat than terrorists, how will the economy change even if gas drops back down to $3.35 and stays there(it never comes back down all of the way), who will figure out the easy solution to the housing crisis/problem, but i am ranting now.... sorry
off i go- not making sense anymore and must be tired. would have made more sense to hit the delete key for this one.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
tax day part 2
driving range went somewhat better today and that was good. probably enough said about the golfing frustrations so let's just say i will keep at it and hope for the best. always seem to learn something anyway and that is good. longer swing today and also a better turn. lost it a bit near the end and then got it back some. nice day at least until right near the end the sky turned really black and everyone started bailing out as the wind picked up. stayed and finished and walked home as the rain began, but was glad i decided to skip trying to play somewhere today. it is a whole new ball game without the car and the walk to the bus plus the walk to the course and then having to live out of whatever you packed into that bag and your "trolley" just adds lots of downtime to playing. explaining not griping and i don't mind playing in the rain but you wouldn't want to be out playing in what it is doing as i type right now. nicer days are ahead i am sure, even in england.
typical article in the paper here about the master's questioning whether the british golfers lost their nerve at augusta. they point to closing rounds of 76-rose,
78-poulter, and 79-casey. thy wonder whether immelman of south africa has more nerve than they do - (he did shoot 75). none of sunday scores were really that good. tiger had the third best round at 72. any decent round by him wins and they say immelman choked. where was donald? where was doughtery? westwood? playing their hearts out and just didn't have enough that day. just have to love the media. i allow that a reporter with a 20 handicap or whatever is entitled to their opinion, but and a big but-- ..... knowing how little room for error there is on any golf shot and under a lot of pressure, things don't always go well. must get easier as you are put in that situation. i played enough sports to not get on the athletes when they are trying except for when they melt down and go for the green like phil... my bad! tiger had it won and missed his putts. he still played the best of everyone. he may have given it away on the first day when he parred two par 5's and bogeyed one. lost 4 strokes there and lost by two. just observing. love them all -except funk and lancaster. personal.
and monty complaining he should have been invited. i would have rather watched david duval and ian baker finch and michelle wie...gotcha
i love immelman's swing myself as it seems nice and simple- back and through and he did just recover from major surgery. way to go trevor is what i say!. get them next time tiger. i always hope for a 6 man playoff or 6 woman or pick your number. i just like match play-
and all of those rounds in the 80's.. maybe they tigerized the course too much for merely really great golfers. imagine playing augusta now with the old equipment and some balata balls. right!
back to "lovely bones" enjoy the day out there. one week and penna will be behind us and maybe we'll know more. maybe not. like obama said i am bitter, but have not fallen back on my religion or my guns. there may be one person in this world who is more upset by this administration than i am but i hope not for their sake. i just need a candidate so we can get to fighting the real enemy of fixing the world and the usa my friends. who has their money on rice as his vp?
but i digress.......................
typical article in the paper here about the master's questioning whether the british golfers lost their nerve at augusta. they point to closing rounds of 76-rose,
78-poulter, and 79-casey. thy wonder whether immelman of south africa has more nerve than they do - (he did shoot 75). none of sunday scores were really that good. tiger had the third best round at 72. any decent round by him wins and they say immelman choked. where was donald? where was doughtery? westwood? playing their hearts out and just didn't have enough that day. just have to love the media. i allow that a reporter with a 20 handicap or whatever is entitled to their opinion, but and a big but-- ..... knowing how little room for error there is on any golf shot and under a lot of pressure, things don't always go well. must get easier as you are put in that situation. i played enough sports to not get on the athletes when they are trying except for when they melt down and go for the green like phil... my bad! tiger had it won and missed his putts. he still played the best of everyone. he may have given it away on the first day when he parred two par 5's and bogeyed one. lost 4 strokes there and lost by two. just observing. love them all -except funk and lancaster. personal.
and monty complaining he should have been invited. i would have rather watched david duval and ian baker finch and michelle wie...gotcha
i love immelman's swing myself as it seems nice and simple- back and through and he did just recover from major surgery. way to go trevor is what i say!. get them next time tiger. i always hope for a 6 man playoff or 6 woman or pick your number. i just like match play-
and all of those rounds in the 80's.. maybe they tigerized the course too much for merely really great golfers. imagine playing augusta now with the old equipment and some balata balls. right!
back to "lovely bones" enjoy the day out there. one week and penna will be behind us and maybe we'll know more. maybe not. like obama said i am bitter, but have not fallen back on my religion or my guns. there may be one person in this world who is more upset by this administration than i am but i hope not for their sake. i just need a candidate so we can get to fighting the real enemy of fixing the world and the usa my friends. who has their money on rice as his vp?
but i digress.......................
roy benson workout -part one i hope
thought i would get this in while waiting for the washing machine to finish and listening to some old ABBA in the background.
up and out this morning past cars covered in frost and temps now at 36 degrees. morning heart rate was 45 so that was good. legs not springy but not dead like the past several days. wonder what they would feel like with 3 days off. haven't not run two days in a row since northern ireland golf trip.
but plan now is to cut down weekly mileage and get some more sprint work in and maybe some faster hill work repeats. maybe even go to the track some more. problem with the track stuff is that i have a choice of running 3 miles to get there and then do the workout or work until after 9am and take the bus. never know what you will find there when you get there with only one public track for the oxford university teams to use as well as anyone else and running clubs.
speedwork presents opportunities for getting faster at the risk of breaking something down - and it always seems to highlight the problem body parts. in my case the right quad and left hamstring, a definite body imbalance plus now the added bonus of a bad right piriformis and right hip, things i can control to some degree with an eye on pace.
the track can wait for another day and i ran up to my measured road sections. past the new hear of cows and the sheep and the deer and the pheasants running around in the field. don't get this view at ft hunt or tc williams track.
stopped to stretch at the white rail bridge and started with an eye on controlling pace, getting back my old breathing rhythm, and working the right leg again. did the old workout of coach roy benson for jock geezers i think he called it, 36 sprint intervals.
(abba now replaced by sinead o'connor)
about 46 minutes into run/workout my lungs finally opened up and i could actually get some oxygen to my legs and smell the air. wouldn't wish my asthma on anyone else though i usually don't complain about it anymore. but i can tell when the lungs kick in more by my ability to smell the air than to breathe, strange....
the workout went ok. i stayed under control rather than go all out and watched everything somewhat. the right leg had good and bad moments, but there is small progress there i think. the breathing (chieftains and the corrs now )pattern is easier to get back in place. simple-every two left foot steps you breathe. breath two three four breathe two three four-you get the idea. this really helps avoid side stitches and can be done at any pace. and late in a race when you are sprinting for the line it gives something to focus on.
ran six sets of six and each set i tried to focus on something different. not sure everyone would do the workout this way and maybe when i was younger i would have just run them and not worried about stuff, but it is more fun this way and i think it will also help me work a little easier. 36 of anything is not an easy workout and about number 24 you start telling yourself that 24 is a good workout... like trying to hit 200 putts and wanting to stop about 120. but 36 gives speed and strength and also helps the brain keep going when you want to stop. as they say the hardest lap in a mile race is the third lap. everyone can do the last one.
(emmy lou harris, dolly parton and linda ronstadt now)
stretched after a little warm-down and headed over and through port meadow to the river. still cold but the sun was out with very little wind. back past the sheep and cows and down the thames i went. water very green today and several boats out as well as dog walkers. cut over to the canal and did the small loop around templeton college, but was turned back by the police a a bike rider had been hit by a car and they were working on her. seemed ok from where i was but was holding her ankle and grimacing. hope she is ok. with 10,000 people riding their bikes everyday here accidents are always possible.
went back around and over past the train station and did a quick little jog past the old st thomas the martyr church and then back towards home. will see how it all feels later. i like to say you can tell how a workout went by how you feel the next day. i already know that gail and i will start out together tomorrow as she skipped today to work on the paper she is giving later today.
(amy whitehouse on now-i must be the only person who has never heard her sing, but her personality disgusts me so i never listened to her, but the sound is ok; in this song she is singing a duet with linda ronstadt so that helps)
and the washing machine stops so i will also and come back again later. it is still really early in the morning here. btw- i started the lovely bones book last night. strange so far. will see why everyone likes this book so much as i go along.
will post this so people know i am still alive and come back later and finish it.
up and out this morning past cars covered in frost and temps now at 36 degrees. morning heart rate was 45 so that was good. legs not springy but not dead like the past several days. wonder what they would feel like with 3 days off. haven't not run two days in a row since northern ireland golf trip.
but plan now is to cut down weekly mileage and get some more sprint work in and maybe some faster hill work repeats. maybe even go to the track some more. problem with the track stuff is that i have a choice of running 3 miles to get there and then do the workout or work until after 9am and take the bus. never know what you will find there when you get there with only one public track for the oxford university teams to use as well as anyone else and running clubs.
speedwork presents opportunities for getting faster at the risk of breaking something down - and it always seems to highlight the problem body parts. in my case the right quad and left hamstring, a definite body imbalance plus now the added bonus of a bad right piriformis and right hip, things i can control to some degree with an eye on pace.
the track can wait for another day and i ran up to my measured road sections. past the new hear of cows and the sheep and the deer and the pheasants running around in the field. don't get this view at ft hunt or tc williams track.
stopped to stretch at the white rail bridge and started with an eye on controlling pace, getting back my old breathing rhythm, and working the right leg again. did the old workout of coach roy benson for jock geezers i think he called it, 36 sprint intervals.
(abba now replaced by sinead o'connor)
about 46 minutes into run/workout my lungs finally opened up and i could actually get some oxygen to my legs and smell the air. wouldn't wish my asthma on anyone else though i usually don't complain about it anymore. but i can tell when the lungs kick in more by my ability to smell the air than to breathe, strange....
the workout went ok. i stayed under control rather than go all out and watched everything somewhat. the right leg had good and bad moments, but there is small progress there i think. the breathing (chieftains and the corrs now )pattern is easier to get back in place. simple-every two left foot steps you breathe. breath two three four breathe two three four-you get the idea. this really helps avoid side stitches and can be done at any pace. and late in a race when you are sprinting for the line it gives something to focus on.
ran six sets of six and each set i tried to focus on something different. not sure everyone would do the workout this way and maybe when i was younger i would have just run them and not worried about stuff, but it is more fun this way and i think it will also help me work a little easier. 36 of anything is not an easy workout and about number 24 you start telling yourself that 24 is a good workout... like trying to hit 200 putts and wanting to stop about 120. but 36 gives speed and strength and also helps the brain keep going when you want to stop. as they say the hardest lap in a mile race is the third lap. everyone can do the last one.
(emmy lou harris, dolly parton and linda ronstadt now)
stretched after a little warm-down and headed over and through port meadow to the river. still cold but the sun was out with very little wind. back past the sheep and cows and down the thames i went. water very green today and several boats out as well as dog walkers. cut over to the canal and did the small loop around templeton college, but was turned back by the police a a bike rider had been hit by a car and they were working on her. seemed ok from where i was but was holding her ankle and grimacing. hope she is ok. with 10,000 people riding their bikes everyday here accidents are always possible.
went back around and over past the train station and did a quick little jog past the old st thomas the martyr church and then back towards home. will see how it all feels later. i like to say you can tell how a workout went by how you feel the next day. i already know that gail and i will start out together tomorrow as she skipped today to work on the paper she is giving later today.
(amy whitehouse on now-i must be the only person who has never heard her sing, but her personality disgusts me so i never listened to her, but the sound is ok; in this song she is singing a duet with linda ronstadt so that helps)
and the washing machine stops so i will also and come back again later. it is still really early in the morning here. btw- i started the lovely bones book last night. strange so far. will see why everyone likes this book so much as i go along.
will post this so people know i am still alive and come back later and finish it.
Monday, April 14, 2008
3:03am
3:03 am was when i went to sleep; long weird evening i won't bore anyone about. had 10pm on my mind, but something always seems to come up.
gave into the need for rest and didn't run today. was still up between 7 and 8 am so had another solid night of almost five hours of sleep. finished my book this morning and the last two days of newspapers and did some laundry and went to the grocery store. certainly more time in the day when you don't run.
headed down to the driving range and was mostly rubbish today. not sure why. was really looking forward to adding onto the last few decent days, but just could not take the club away correctly and everything seemed to be thin and low. straight to be sure, but rubbish. then suddenly i hit about 35 good ones and then rubbish again. 35 of 200- not good huh? very frustrating and nothing seemed to change it. and went home.
hit 200 putts on one of the two rugs in the house. not like real putts, but i could work on my stroke and still head. better than nothing. had thought about taking a cab to the golf course, but a cold rain and dark clouds didn't encourage me.
house stuff followed and another day is gone. hardly an inspiring day or an inspiring blog but what can i say? not worth lying about. did buy a new computer briefcase on line.
book club book for the next month is "lovely bones" by alice sebold. keeps my streak alive of never having voted for the book we ended up reading. and i hear tiger lost. keeps the boycott of master's week tv streak alive also at three. need to get a woman member in augusta so i can watch it again. in reality i think they screwed up the course anyway for exciting golf. how many us opens do we need in one year? and the winner shoots 75 on the last day and still wins. boo on that!
but what do i know? just another depressed golfer who can't figure out how to take the club away from the ball. could be worse. golf is not war and nobody is shooting at me.
will start over tomorrow.
smile!
gave into the need for rest and didn't run today. was still up between 7 and 8 am so had another solid night of almost five hours of sleep. finished my book this morning and the last two days of newspapers and did some laundry and went to the grocery store. certainly more time in the day when you don't run.
headed down to the driving range and was mostly rubbish today. not sure why. was really looking forward to adding onto the last few decent days, but just could not take the club away correctly and everything seemed to be thin and low. straight to be sure, but rubbish. then suddenly i hit about 35 good ones and then rubbish again. 35 of 200- not good huh? very frustrating and nothing seemed to change it. and went home.
hit 200 putts on one of the two rugs in the house. not like real putts, but i could work on my stroke and still head. better than nothing. had thought about taking a cab to the golf course, but a cold rain and dark clouds didn't encourage me.
house stuff followed and another day is gone. hardly an inspiring day or an inspiring blog but what can i say? not worth lying about. did buy a new computer briefcase on line.
book club book for the next month is "lovely bones" by alice sebold. keeps my streak alive of never having voted for the book we ended up reading. and i hear tiger lost. keeps the boycott of master's week tv streak alive also at three. need to get a woman member in augusta so i can watch it again. in reality i think they screwed up the course anyway for exciting golf. how many us opens do we need in one year? and the winner shoots 75 on the last day and still wins. boo on that!
but what do i know? just another depressed golfer who can't figure out how to take the club away from the ball. could be worse. golf is not war and nobody is shooting at me.
will start over tomorrow.
smile!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
amateur attempt at saying something
preface-sometimes i find putting down words on paper really carthartic and someitmes i wish i could write down what i want and then have it be in disappearing ink so it doesn't have to be seen by other people. usually i just erase the words or the entire blog. my thoughts should not bore other people, but i can still find the process to be a growth expereince, and it is more so when i don't erase or delete and do post it than when i do delete it. the following should be tsaken in that context. i only erased a few sentences.
up and out this morning on legs that i knew weren't ready to run. the last run
steve t. and i did together was on the w&od trail. steve was a hammerer. he didn't like to go slow, but he always liked to say that everybody else was pushing the pace. as most runners would tell you and i am sure it is true of many activities that you do with friends that take some kind of effort to do, that you get to know people when you run with them in the rain and snow and hot and humid days up hills and in all kinds of wind and when you are fresh and when you are tired.
but some guys are always there. and steve was that guy. the one you could count on for sure. who was right where he said he would be when he said he would be there. ray was like that; so was ron and i would like to think i was too. even bill could be that guy. so was frank. so the group with all of its personalities held together. and ran through the days and nights and weather.
and guys came into the group and left the group and sometimes there would be 15 of us running together, but these guys were the group. the others did what these guys did. and now there is no group. people move away and lose touch or get caught up in their own lives. and some pass on.
when my parent's friends started to die i thought that was a shame and that is what happened to older people. but now my friends are passing on. and i can see that it is more than just older people passing away. each one takes a piece of you with them when they go. some more than others to be sure and not like when my dad or grandparents passed away.
and i understand people dying and being lost more than i understand people simply losing touch, but that is my problem and i know that. and every year the marine corps marathon goes on and the cherry blossom race happens and i still have the memories of the group and those and other races. steve and ron and i running marine corps and climbing up that hill the first time i ran 3:06 and we cursed the hill at the end as we ran. and all of the new york marathons we ran together and the nights at ft hamilton and in sleazy hotels on broadway or lexington-memory fades here. and the really greasy but great nyc pizza.
and all of the food that young marathoners could eat and the places that didn't like to see us coming for their all you can eat meals. and ray telling his wife joyce to cook for 20 people when he had 10 friends coming and joyce not quite understanding why until the meal was over.
and the nights we met after work and ran home in the dark picking ron up at IRS and getting in our run and going over the workday and the plans ahead for various races.
and so on legs that practically begged to sleep in i went out to run and headed up to the church and then over to the river. and steve would have thought we were walking i was going so slow, but i was moving and it was his fault of course, though he always liked to blame ron in truth for the pace. i only pushed at the end. i was always a better second half runner. negative splits we said.
down the river i crawled along and the women's crew team was out and so were the cows grazing and the sheep laying down and the horses were on port meadow getting their daily feed of grass in. and on up to the nunnery i headed. and then back down. no sense to be too stupid here. i was not running well enough to get out on the road to wolvercote and so i headed back down.
ran into lorraine here and we took a minute to catch up and arrange a book swap. then she went off to sainsburys (like a safeway )and i went on down the trail. and cut over to the canal and did a little loop there and then back up the river and across port meadow in reverse and down binsey lane and home. about 7 miles. steve would have liked the run if not the pace. someday someone will run in my memory too maybe and i hope they have as pretty a run, but also hope they are less tired. three days in a row now i have run instead of rested, not wise.
home and ate breakfast and watched the london marathon. two good races and a great effort by ryan hall who ran 2:06+. funny that someone could run that fast and get
5th place. i can remember when they said nobody would break 2:07. 2:04 or better is next.
and later off to the golf range. gail kept working on her paper for this week and i worked on my swing. left shoulder was really tight for some reason, though i never felt it at all yesterday. worked about 125 balls today as the rain and wind came and went. not as good as yesterday, but not bad. better position and turn, but shorter swing due to the shoulder. tried 9 and 10 o'clock swings and that was ok. longer was just too tight and was not good. still, some progress was made. as dave peltz says- practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent.
and back home and then took a bus over to harcourt hill, one of the brookes college's campuses. got out and went exploring for some of the hilly woods walks we wanted to do and while gail kept working on her paper i thought i could be the scout team and found three nice trails we could take, all pretty hilly. but nice scenery and i met a bunch of nice people hiking around or walking their dogs and even riding their bikes up the trails. walked for 90 minutes and then went back and caught the bus back home. even on a tired day i managed about 14 miles of running and walking.
and here i am. another day done. not rushing them away. want to go home now, but will just live each day as it comes. even at my age i am not willing to give days away. and change is coming one way or an other.
up and out this morning on legs that i knew weren't ready to run. the last run
steve t. and i did together was on the w&od trail. steve was a hammerer. he didn't like to go slow, but he always liked to say that everybody else was pushing the pace. as most runners would tell you and i am sure it is true of many activities that you do with friends that take some kind of effort to do, that you get to know people when you run with them in the rain and snow and hot and humid days up hills and in all kinds of wind and when you are fresh and when you are tired.
but some guys are always there. and steve was that guy. the one you could count on for sure. who was right where he said he would be when he said he would be there. ray was like that; so was ron and i would like to think i was too. even bill could be that guy. so was frank. so the group with all of its personalities held together. and ran through the days and nights and weather.
and guys came into the group and left the group and sometimes there would be 15 of us running together, but these guys were the group. the others did what these guys did. and now there is no group. people move away and lose touch or get caught up in their own lives. and some pass on.
when my parent's friends started to die i thought that was a shame and that is what happened to older people. but now my friends are passing on. and i can see that it is more than just older people passing away. each one takes a piece of you with them when they go. some more than others to be sure and not like when my dad or grandparents passed away.
and i understand people dying and being lost more than i understand people simply losing touch, but that is my problem and i know that. and every year the marine corps marathon goes on and the cherry blossom race happens and i still have the memories of the group and those and other races. steve and ron and i running marine corps and climbing up that hill the first time i ran 3:06 and we cursed the hill at the end as we ran. and all of the new york marathons we ran together and the nights at ft hamilton and in sleazy hotels on broadway or lexington-memory fades here. and the really greasy but great nyc pizza.
and all of the food that young marathoners could eat and the places that didn't like to see us coming for their all you can eat meals. and ray telling his wife joyce to cook for 20 people when he had 10 friends coming and joyce not quite understanding why until the meal was over.
and the nights we met after work and ran home in the dark picking ron up at IRS and getting in our run and going over the workday and the plans ahead for various races.
and so on legs that practically begged to sleep in i went out to run and headed up to the church and then over to the river. and steve would have thought we were walking i was going so slow, but i was moving and it was his fault of course, though he always liked to blame ron in truth for the pace. i only pushed at the end. i was always a better second half runner. negative splits we said.
down the river i crawled along and the women's crew team was out and so were the cows grazing and the sheep laying down and the horses were on port meadow getting their daily feed of grass in. and on up to the nunnery i headed. and then back down. no sense to be too stupid here. i was not running well enough to get out on the road to wolvercote and so i headed back down.
ran into lorraine here and we took a minute to catch up and arrange a book swap. then she went off to sainsburys (like a safeway )and i went on down the trail. and cut over to the canal and did a little loop there and then back up the river and across port meadow in reverse and down binsey lane and home. about 7 miles. steve would have liked the run if not the pace. someday someone will run in my memory too maybe and i hope they have as pretty a run, but also hope they are less tired. three days in a row now i have run instead of rested, not wise.
home and ate breakfast and watched the london marathon. two good races and a great effort by ryan hall who ran 2:06+. funny that someone could run that fast and get
5th place. i can remember when they said nobody would break 2:07. 2:04 or better is next.
and later off to the golf range. gail kept working on her paper for this week and i worked on my swing. left shoulder was really tight for some reason, though i never felt it at all yesterday. worked about 125 balls today as the rain and wind came and went. not as good as yesterday, but not bad. better position and turn, but shorter swing due to the shoulder. tried 9 and 10 o'clock swings and that was ok. longer was just too tight and was not good. still, some progress was made. as dave peltz says- practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent.
and back home and then took a bus over to harcourt hill, one of the brookes college's campuses. got out and went exploring for some of the hilly woods walks we wanted to do and while gail kept working on her paper i thought i could be the scout team and found three nice trails we could take, all pretty hilly. but nice scenery and i met a bunch of nice people hiking around or walking their dogs and even riding their bikes up the trails. walked for 90 minutes and then went back and caught the bus back home. even on a tired day i managed about 14 miles of running and walking.
and here i am. another day done. not rushing them away. want to go home now, but will just live each day as it comes. even at my age i am not willing to give days away. and change is coming one way or an other.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
dead legs and a planted right foot
another late night and crying cat kept sleep to a minimum. another late start to the run, but at least it had stopped raining. with gail off to the law library i headed up the road to the church turnaround. past the cows and the sheep and sleepy binsey village. noticed the rock wall which had fallen down was still down. around the corner and away i went, but couldn't help but notice my legs just weren't coming with me. quads were basically dead. not good at this point 1.5 miles from the house and i decided to run down the lane and see how i felt when i got to the trail across port meadow.
got lucky here as my friend Lorraine was coming out of one of the houses and we had a chance to catch up as i took a short break. and then headed off again. legs were not any worse and i decided to head across and down the thames to see just how many trees did not survive yesterday's trail work.
slowly, very slowly and down the thames i went. caught another break as my even slower than me friend was out with his wife and we headed back up the trail a bit so he could also check out and then bitterly complain about the down trees and the sterility of the entire work. will be curious to see how it ends up. though i was hoping for a little work being done on the two obvious flood areas, the city council seems intent on re-doing the entire trail. time will tell.
and back down the trail to john's house where i left him and headed over towards the templeton college trail. turned towards home at that point promising myself to be real careful about whether i ran tomorrow or took the day off. turned the corner where i usually run my striders without one teeny little thought of doing that today.
then bam!
around the corner and about twenty trees had been cut down in the rewley abbey garden. 2 foot stumps now stood where pretty trees and shrubs had been yesterday morning. maybe they just wanted more sunlight to get into the garden area. at any rate, another lost set of nice trees and lost shade on the trail. maybe there is time in my life to become the next johnny appleseed yet.
and on the way home now and picked up a few things at the store and called it a day. highlight of this run was seeing friends again rather than the run itself. about 6 miles worth of calories and legs that need a break maybe. plan was to cut back on the mileage soon and start doing some more speed training. with a morning heart rate of 45 this morning i should not have been this tired.
home and gail still at the library. did some laundry and after the usual morning stuff headed up to the range. had some thoughts to try out. had gone over my notes from last couple of lessons. why were some days so good and others so bad. not a real in between. i hit well or i hit rubbish(UK expression).
and the first 20 balls or so were more rubbish than good. put some hitting tape on my gap wedge to see where i was hitting the ball. most shots had been weak and thinly hit with a leaking right movement. thought back to what jim linza had told me about coming out of my posture several weeks back. somehow the club face was not squaring up fast enough. too far from the inside or too much body motion?
tried a little faster rotation and pulled the next few shots. went to a 9 iron. really concentrated on the right knee flex, a lighter grip pressure and staying down and behind the ball. and BAM! high, long and straight. about 135 yards or. a decent 9iron. even hit the middle of the red circle on the tape. and did that about 10 times in a row.
best thing was that the swing felt so easy and i could really get through the ball and clear the left hip and whack away. and felt no pressure on my back which i certainly did after yesterday's 250 attempts. if i normally shoot 85 or so- 87 , whatever, and 30 putts or so and say 8 pitches or chips- too kind to myself here probably- then then 49 full swings are in a round of golf. a large bucket is two rounds, 250 balls is five rounds. just thinking out loud on paper.
but i only hit 110 balls today. got 10 freebies from the guy next to me who got tired of the cold wind. but i kept on with my little experiment. longer swing produced more balls a little on the toe. what felt more like my normal swing kept the ball in the middle of the club. a better release and finish with the club over my shoulder helped the ball penetrate through the wind and hit the green. an over active right hand stopping a good release made the ball leak right- into the imaginary bunker.
i worked all the way up to the 6 iron. wanted to be able to keep working on stuff and not defeat myself mentally. not all great shots as i am not that good no matter what i try, but clearly this is the way to go. just turning the chest and not using the hands and keeping that right foot down helped get the left shoulder under the chin and my back more away from the target. let's face it i am not mr. flexible.
once there the club just dropped in the slot and the hip got out of the way more naturally and the club went on its own. and my balance was really nice. the club also didn't come across the line so fast. of course probably by tomorrow this swing will be lost in my memory archives and i will be searching for it. jotted down some notes and hope they serve as a reminder. should fly "J" over here for a look. maybe tiger will loan me his plane.
had to get going. just as well as mr. bang the club into the mat and curse out the ball is now hitting next to me. bet that helps. so does the big time sway and chicken wing elbow. i am quiet and i leave. i can go days here without hardly talking to anyone. not my norm.
met gail and went with her to get some stuff at Staples- same one as the usa has, just more expensive. was $66 for printer ink cartridges. amazing how bad the dollar is. stopped on the way home at the used book store and bought the next book club book and one for gail and gave some advice on running to the owner and then home for some dinner and down time. listened to last night's news hour and gwen ifill shows. will read some and call it a day.
outside now someone is shooting off fireworks. go figure.
signed up for the race for the cure in DC as i will be home then and also for the relay for life. nice to be able to start planning things back there. but only time will tell how it all plays out.
note- looking at my watch just now i noticed that it is april 12th. i hardly keep track of the days here at all unless i have to catch a plane. and though i would love to not run and rest tomorrow, i never do not run on april 13th in memory of my friend steve thompson who passed away on that day. i have six days like that in my year now. getting old has a little bit of everything to it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fact of the Day
The US Civil War began on this date in 1861, when the Confederate Army bombarded the government-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Southern-based Confederates won the skirmish in a day and led to four years of strife across the country.......
Scotsman Digital Archive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
got lucky here as my friend Lorraine was coming out of one of the houses and we had a chance to catch up as i took a short break. and then headed off again. legs were not any worse and i decided to head across and down the thames to see just how many trees did not survive yesterday's trail work.
slowly, very slowly and down the thames i went. caught another break as my even slower than me friend was out with his wife and we headed back up the trail a bit so he could also check out and then bitterly complain about the down trees and the sterility of the entire work. will be curious to see how it ends up. though i was hoping for a little work being done on the two obvious flood areas, the city council seems intent on re-doing the entire trail. time will tell.
and back down the trail to john's house where i left him and headed over towards the templeton college trail. turned towards home at that point promising myself to be real careful about whether i ran tomorrow or took the day off. turned the corner where i usually run my striders without one teeny little thought of doing that today.
then bam!
around the corner and about twenty trees had been cut down in the rewley abbey garden. 2 foot stumps now stood where pretty trees and shrubs had been yesterday morning. maybe they just wanted more sunlight to get into the garden area. at any rate, another lost set of nice trees and lost shade on the trail. maybe there is time in my life to become the next johnny appleseed yet.
and on the way home now and picked up a few things at the store and called it a day. highlight of this run was seeing friends again rather than the run itself. about 6 miles worth of calories and legs that need a break maybe. plan was to cut back on the mileage soon and start doing some more speed training. with a morning heart rate of 45 this morning i should not have been this tired.
home and gail still at the library. did some laundry and after the usual morning stuff headed up to the range. had some thoughts to try out. had gone over my notes from last couple of lessons. why were some days so good and others so bad. not a real in between. i hit well or i hit rubbish(UK expression).
and the first 20 balls or so were more rubbish than good. put some hitting tape on my gap wedge to see where i was hitting the ball. most shots had been weak and thinly hit with a leaking right movement. thought back to what jim linza had told me about coming out of my posture several weeks back. somehow the club face was not squaring up fast enough. too far from the inside or too much body motion?
tried a little faster rotation and pulled the next few shots. went to a 9 iron. really concentrated on the right knee flex, a lighter grip pressure and staying down and behind the ball. and BAM! high, long and straight. about 135 yards or. a decent 9iron. even hit the middle of the red circle on the tape. and did that about 10 times in a row.
best thing was that the swing felt so easy and i could really get through the ball and clear the left hip and whack away. and felt no pressure on my back which i certainly did after yesterday's 250 attempts. if i normally shoot 85 or so- 87 , whatever, and 30 putts or so and say 8 pitches or chips- too kind to myself here probably- then then 49 full swings are in a round of golf. a large bucket is two rounds, 250 balls is five rounds. just thinking out loud on paper.
but i only hit 110 balls today. got 10 freebies from the guy next to me who got tired of the cold wind. but i kept on with my little experiment. longer swing produced more balls a little on the toe. what felt more like my normal swing kept the ball in the middle of the club. a better release and finish with the club over my shoulder helped the ball penetrate through the wind and hit the green. an over active right hand stopping a good release made the ball leak right- into the imaginary bunker.
i worked all the way up to the 6 iron. wanted to be able to keep working on stuff and not defeat myself mentally. not all great shots as i am not that good no matter what i try, but clearly this is the way to go. just turning the chest and not using the hands and keeping that right foot down helped get the left shoulder under the chin and my back more away from the target. let's face it i am not mr. flexible.
once there the club just dropped in the slot and the hip got out of the way more naturally and the club went on its own. and my balance was really nice. the club also didn't come across the line so fast. of course probably by tomorrow this swing will be lost in my memory archives and i will be searching for it. jotted down some notes and hope they serve as a reminder. should fly "J" over here for a look. maybe tiger will loan me his plane.
had to get going. just as well as mr. bang the club into the mat and curse out the ball is now hitting next to me. bet that helps. so does the big time sway and chicken wing elbow. i am quiet and i leave. i can go days here without hardly talking to anyone. not my norm.
met gail and went with her to get some stuff at Staples- same one as the usa has, just more expensive. was $66 for printer ink cartridges. amazing how bad the dollar is. stopped on the way home at the used book store and bought the next book club book and one for gail and gave some advice on running to the owner and then home for some dinner and down time. listened to last night's news hour and gwen ifill shows. will read some and call it a day.
outside now someone is shooting off fireworks. go figure.
signed up for the race for the cure in DC as i will be home then and also for the relay for life. nice to be able to start planning things back there. but only time will tell how it all plays out.
note- looking at my watch just now i noticed that it is april 12th. i hardly keep track of the days here at all unless i have to catch a plane. and though i would love to not run and rest tomorrow, i never do not run on april 13th in memory of my friend steve thompson who passed away on that day. i have six days like that in my year now. getting old has a little bit of everything to it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fact of the Day
The US Civil War began on this date in 1861, when the Confederate Army bombarded the government-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Southern-based Confederates won the skirmish in a day and led to four years of strife across the country.......
Scotsman Digital Archive.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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