Inspiration:
Last week Sunday while riding the bus home from work an older gentleman sat down next to me. Now, for my those who don't know the English, in England it is not common to talk with random people you meet on the bus, or even to greet the person next to you (much different then my hometown in WI) but this man seemed different then the multitudes of other Englishmen that I have met while living in the UK, perhaps it was his slight insecurity or shyness that caused me to want to make him feel more comfortable. I greeted him and realized he wasn't English he was Scottish! He asked if I was Irish, so he wouldn't lose face I told him my mother was of Irish descent but I was American. He started to tell me about when he toured the states back in the 70s the conversation then turned to American Football and then distance running. It turns out this gentleman used to run a 4.17 mile when he was much younger and later did marathons annually for years. My inspiration came today when I met the same gentleman on the bus while returning from work. He started by asking me if I have raced yet, last time I told him that I was preparing to race again since I am making a comeback into distance running. He then asked what my mileage was up to, and he told me about how he believes in the importance of speed work... and then are conversation was cut short because it was his stop. At this moment a had an epiphany as well as a feeling of guilt; here was a man who used to be an animal on the track and for years did marathons and now he had to take the bus to go a mere third of a mile (give or take)! A distance that most people would not take a bus for. Yesterday I missed my run because I spent 15hours correcting a fellow student's 107 page 18,000 word dissertation that is part of her master's course. I realized today that this man was able to re-live his youthful days by chating with me about distance running, this made me appreciate my youth which allows me to do the type of training that I am doing. All of us runners have heard this quote many times over, including me, but today I really appreciated the meaning in it
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." -Steve Prefontaine
Today's run
time: 42 min
weather: typical English weather, 5C and sprinkling (in England the would say, "spitting")
Last week Sunday while riding the bus home from work an older gentleman sat down next to me. Now, for my those who don't know the English, in England it is not common to talk with random people you meet on the bus, or even to greet the person next to you (much different then my hometown in WI) but this man seemed different then the multitudes of other Englishmen that I have met while living in the UK, perhaps it was his slight insecurity or shyness that caused me to want to make him feel more comfortable. I greeted him and realized he wasn't English he was Scottish! He asked if I was Irish, so he wouldn't lose face I told him my mother was of Irish descent but I was American. He started to tell me about when he toured the states back in the 70s the conversation then turned to American Football and then distance running. It turns out this gentleman used to run a 4.17 mile when he was much younger and later did marathons annually for years. My inspiration came today when I met the same gentleman on the bus while returning from work. He started by asking me if I have raced yet, last time I told him that I was preparing to race again since I am making a comeback into distance running. He then asked what my mileage was up to, and he told me about how he believes in the importance of speed work... and then are conversation was cut short because it was his stop. At this moment a had an epiphany as well as a feeling of guilt; here was a man who used to be an animal on the track and for years did marathons and now he had to take the bus to go a mere third of a mile (give or take)! A distance that most people would not take a bus for. Yesterday I missed my run because I spent 15hours correcting a fellow student's 107 page 18,000 word dissertation that is part of her master's course. I realized today that this man was able to re-live his youthful days by chating with me about distance running, this made me appreciate my youth which allows me to do the type of training that I am doing. All of us runners have heard this quote many times over, including me, but today I really appreciated the meaning in it
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift." -Steve Prefontaine
Today's run
time: 42 min
weather: typical English weather, 5C and sprinkling (in England the would say, "spitting")
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