Flashback Friday: Put the Pedal Down to Make Some Time

My legs felt heavy as the sun flared out in twilight sky. Marathon race pace felt tougher than it should during the climb up Sand Run path to Revere Road. A suitable location, considering my legs have been known to cramp here during the Akron Marathon. The turnaround point seemed like a distant dream.

My watch read 32:38 at 3.5 miles, a 9:19 pace -- too slow.

Making up for lost time was a challenge that my legs didn't seem interested in overcoming. My quadriceps felt the burn of Wednesday's hard descent of Memorial Parkway. Monday's run home lingered in my hamstrings. My calves felt sore from the latest barefoot effort. And then there was the sushi for dinner.

Three steps per second, that was my only focus. I used the downhills. As darkness swallowed the park, my instincts were to run faster. The overpopulated path became my hunting ground. Run them down, each and every loving one of them.

I dashed through walker brigades. I weaved past a runner and his biker companion. I chased down a man I passed three miles ago running in the opposite direction. All became data in a complex story problem. If a Viper leaves point B and catches his target at point H, how slow was his prey?

The endpoint of the run appeared two minutes faster than the turnaround did. The final time on my watch showed a perfect marathon pace.

Back Talk

Wherein you rejoice at the return of Back Talk.

Ironman by Thirty suggests how I can better manage my time: "Time management = multi-tasking. I see no reason why you can't combine learning to play the banjo and running. You might even get in the Guinness book of world records for longest distance run while banjo-ing."

Answer: This guy already set the bar too high for me.

EZEthan empathizes with my recent bout of roid road rage: "I actually found myself hoping that my snack would get stuck in the vending machine the other day just so I would have an excuse to violently shake it!"

Answer: I suppose that's better than shaking a baby.

Xenia gets all Obi-Wan Kenobi regarding my quest for peace: "The saying 'you can have it all' is bullshit. It took a long time for me to realize that and to let go of the frustration and anger I had because of it. If you want to get anything done, you have to prioritize and that means not doing some things you want/feel obliged to do. So now I follow my mom's advice -- 'if it's not going on your tombstone, don't worry about it.'"

Answer: Well, what does go on your tombstone?

Happy Hour is nearly upon us, teammates. Have a finely brewed weekend. Run well and drink well. Cheers!