The Portal

That's what this illuminated doorway looked like to me when I ran by it yesterday morning. Not the portal of "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here," but the portal of "Change Is Here and Turning Away From It Won't Save You So You Might as Barrel On Through the Door!" I saw it as a marker for this day, this remarkable day when, if only for one day, the optimists of our nation, sick at heart from years of fearing, face the future and bravely say, "Bring it on."

* * * *
I'm contemplating my own (minor) version of change in this blog. I want to remind myself and my readers that it is first and foremost a running-related blog. If some of my running activities have served sometimes as metaphors for other, more general human activities, well, that's just gravy.

So for a little while, until some other direction looks inviting to me, I'm going to focus on my running-related activities. I'm looking to the major mags for inspiration. They have to come up something to say about all different aspects of running, and they have to do it every month. (No wonder they sometimes end up looking silly--see, for instance, the big spread recently in Runner's World on the growing popularity of running skirts. Big yawn, I'm sorry to say--it should have been a sidebar.)

So what do the professionals turn to when it's time to get another issue on the stands? Here are some common topics, in no particular order.
  • Nutrition
  • Gear
  • Strength training
  • Cross-training
  • Speed
  • Hills
  • Injuries
  • Favorite routes
  • History of running
  • Setting goals
  • Training for a race
In my years of running, I've developed some opinions about all of these topics, and because this is my blog, I can put present those opinions here if I want. The idea of corralling my thoughts enough to articulate my take on these various aspects of my sport is challenging.

Let me know if you have any other topic suggestions or what you think might be the best place for me to start.

Comments

Sunshine said…
Well, this seems like an especially good time for you to think about aspects of running... you are going to do the Ave in May, aren't you.
7:04 PM
Anonymous said…
I plan to, although my current training level is a bit low for a May marathon.
8:51 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trying to Make Lemonade

Image
What am I meant to learn from the challenges being thrown at me these days? That I am strong. That I am loved. That life goes on and can be good. My favorite nephew congratulated me for making lemonade when I'd been handed lemons--not sure his belief about me is justified, but I deeply appreciate the notion. Plus, I have an actual lemon tree in front of the house, so I've been practicing my tangy-beverage making. My ribs have healed up well. I'd say I'm at about 95%. I'm glad my minor medical matter is clearing up so I can turn my energy to a more major one: Z is scheduled for big-time surgery on March 31. He is calm; I am calm. Aaaaaaack! Oops, I meant of course I'm serene. The procedure he faces, which involves patching up some crucial circulatory parts, is a common one, and the success rate is high. But still. Send good vibes our way, if you'd be so kind. In other matters, I did run 10 miles Saturday. The run itself went well--I went down to the Bay Trai
Read more

By the Numbers

Image
10.62 -- Number of miles run (per MapMyRun) 16 -- Number of Miniwheat biscuits consumed for pre-run breakfast 3 -- Number of red lights waited for 159 -- Number of days since hip injury 5.5 -- Number of backyards along trail being eaten alive by morning glories 2 -- Number of couples arguing as they walked along 1 -- Number of chocolate Clif Shots slurped on run 12 -- Number of dogs being walked 4 -- Number of songs playing in my head at various times 10 -- Number on a scale of 1 to 10 representing my happiness over being healed
Read more

Where's Elizabeth West?

Image
Elizabeth will be back someday, perhaps as the author of a best-selling novel. As part of a New Year's campaign to be more accountable, I've decided to abandon my nom de guerre for the purposes of this blog. Yep, Elaine is me--now you have the Full Monty . To borrow from Stephen Colbert , may this be the beginning of many posts of truthiness. As your reward for reading this post, here is the special gift of an image I captured today from one of my favorite webcams . Note that in the image the time is 9:13 am. I believe I've posted a Chita image previously (maybe a couple of years ago?) but I wanted to do it again. Chita is in Siberia. Chita is always cold and usually dark. Its citizens, who carry on their daily lives as if they are living someplace reasonable, are for me the embodiment of courage, so I love watching them lurch around as the camera updates the scene every eight seconds. As you enjoy our current chilly weather, just realize that if a Chita native came here t
Read more