In Rochester

I am the product of artists.  Growing up, many weekends were spent driving to some rural location so my parents could paint.  Thinking back, it occurred to me; my parents didn’t practice drawing or painting.  There were no drills.  They just painted.  Their practice was their art.  There were no mistakes, just bad choices.  That approach is so different from what I have experienced.

There is a song we sang during family road trips when I was a child.  It went:

I've got a mule, her name is Sal, 
15 miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal, 
15 miles on the Erie Canal

We've hauled some barges in our day
filled with lumber, coal and hay
And we know every inch of the way from 
Albany to Buffalo.

I have been in Rochester, NY this week and will be for one more, returning to Denver on the 18^th; about 36 hours before the start of the Colfax Marathon.  About 2.5 miles from my hotel is an access point for the Eire Canal.  There is a nice path that runs adjacent to the canal and I ran ten miles along it.  I passed a running club of about 50 athletes.  It reminded me of running on the Highline Canal, except that this canal is about 80 feet across and at least 20 feet deep.  The lilacs are in bloom.  What a beautiful sight. 

When I registered for the Colfax Marathon in January I committed to it with the intent of making it the focus of my spring training, not knowing what the future held.  I could be injured.  I could be out of town.  Those were the risks.  So, here I am at low altitude for two weeks.  When I found out I was going to be here, I was a little upset.  I thought about the adverse affects staying at low altitude for two weeks would have on my performance.  Then I realized it really didn’t matter.  All I can do is show up and run to the best of my abilities.  Regardless of how I perform, the experience will help me grow as an athlete. 

I am aware of the limitations of age.  There is nothing more important to an athlete than the preservation of fitness.  My strength and aerobic conditioning are in decline so I must work with what I have to make sure I maximize my training.  Every run I start, I am a beginner.  Each time I run, I challenge myself to be better. 

We are amateurs.  If you are in it for the races alone; if you are in it for the medals, you are in it for the wrong reasons.  If you presume to love something, you must love the process of it much more than the end result.  My life as an athlete has been about the drills, the practice, the sweet drudgery of putting one foot in front of the other.