I went to (a) run and a race broke out

Golden Flyers 5 and 10 Mile Runners

It's been an interesting and slightly different week on the streets, what with Thanksgiving Day and all. Usually the timelapserunner heads to the LSU Lakes area to get in his training but this week found him running the Tuesday and Thursday workouts in the neighborhood rather than near campus. We learned after our 17 mile run some weeks back that the timelapserunner's body and spirit flag during the week after the long run. So, he was on alert for this effect this past week following the 20-miler. Not to be disappointed, Messrs. Mental and Physical Fatigue showed up, right on schedule.

Two digits and the first one is a 2

Another milepost logged
(Courtesy jshyun @ Flickr)

We're not talking sissy runs any more. No more 4-milers called long runs. We're now emphasizing the word long. In the timelapserunner's brief but exciting history of running, no workout has ever measured its distance in two digits, the first of which was a two. Admittedly, long runs in our marathon training schedule are logged at a modest pace, typically 13 minutes plus per mile. Still, any workout that has you on the street for more than four hours without stopping is not a trivial pursuit. At twenty miles, we're starting to talk about things like hitting the wall. I don't know about you, but the phrase hitting the wall does not conjure up exchanging pleasantries or sipping mint juleps in my mind (not that I've ever had a mint julep - come to think of it, I don't think I'd like mint juleps - I don't care for mint ).

Miles and miles

Miracle Mile in Daytime
(Wiki Commons)

There are all sorts of miles. Miracle Miles. Longest Miles. Green Miles. Miles to go before I sleep. And Magic Miles. Clearly, not all of them are 5,280 feet in length. Not all of them can be easily visited. Not all of them are our own cup of tea. Still, the mile continues to hold a special allure in literature, film, song and sport. Even in a world where eventually all of us are doomed to measure distance in kilometers. No matter how prevalent the metric system becomes, there will be those who will forever hold onto the nostalgia that is the mile. Indeed, they will bring it back from the dead, if needs be. The mile will forever continue to be magic. Take yesterday's, for example.

Signs of the times

One of three interesting signposts
on the LSU Lakes route

Sometimes we head out to run with our heads clear and our thoughts focused. Sometimes we're lucky to get out the door with most of our gear. Sometimes we run early in the morning to beat the heat, sometimes later to avoid the cold. Most of us plan our route before we take that first stride. Others of us just take off and go wherever our whims carry us. It's fun to run in a new and different location on occasions - that newness puts a freshness in our step and in our attitude. But it usually helps to know where you are at any point in time. Sometimes signposts help with that; and sometimes they don't.