The First Taper Begins

ORN: 23.1 miles, 4:10:55, R3/W1, 10:52/mile

As the summer ends over this Labor Day weekend, so my attention shifts to the fall marathon schedule. Three await, the United States Air Force Marathon coming up first, a mere three weeks from today.

Which means my last long run was this morning. Out the door at 6am, I saw the sun come up and had a marvelous run. 4+ hours later, I was done. Man, it was fun. Just go and run. And run. And run. I could well have gone another 3 miles…in fact my last two miles were almost exactly the same time as my average pace. It is long training runs like this that remind me why I enjoy this sport so much. I found myself smiling a lot over the last five miles. No way I can explain that to anyone else but runners will understand.

Two fun things from the long run.

To get in 23 miles, I have to add a loop through Purdue’s campus. With no football game today, the campus was quiet as the dedicated young scholars all remained asleep. I did run past the dilapidated old house I lived in for two years as an undergrad. The place was pretty rickety back in 1972; I’m stunned it is still standing. But, as they say in real estate, “Location, location, location.” I was temped to knock on the front door and ask if the kitchen cabinets were still rusted.

A little later, I talked with long-time friends Dick and Marilyn. Long retired, now in their early 80s, the two of them are in great health, marvelously upbeat and wonderfully involved in the community. To wit: each Saturday morning they go on “eco walks,” strolling along the running path picking up litter. A small public service, indicative of just who they are. I wanna grow old like them.

So, now we taper and in the absence of high mileage, I’ll share more of the plans for the fall over the next couple of weeks.

While we persevere, as always.