I wonder if I could still do it as well
as I did it 15 or 20 years ago.
That thought's been occurring to me
while running recently, so let me explain. Like all people who
engage in any kind of athletic activity, I've had my share of aches &
pains over the years, perhaps more so in the past few years because,
as much as I'm loathe to admit it, I'm getting older. But this year,
for some reason, I haven't had those aches & pains. My foot
feels fine, my hamstring is cooperating, and I (think) I can run like
I did 20 years ago.
It's kind of nice, if I have to admit
it.
I've never been a competitive athlete.
I'm just not that good. I don't care to measure myself against other
people; after all, I know how I'll stack up. But for a couple of
years I did take part in one organized athletic event, and that was
the annual Superior 5K, which used to be held the weekend of the old
Seafood Fest. I didn't do it to test myself against every other
runner. In all honesty, I did it for the T-shirts and cups they gave
out to the runners who crossed the finish line. But I did always use
my result in the race to see if I had progressed over the past year,
to see if I had gotten better. And by the last time I ran the race
(which, I think, was the last time they held it), I wasn't doing too
bad. I ran the five K in 22 minutes and 30 seconds, which actually
placed me among the top third of the people in the race.
Not that I was measuring myself against
the other runners, though.
Since they stopped holding the race I
haven't run another, nor would I want to. But the one thing the race
did provide me was a benchmark on where I stood as a runner. I have
no idea if I became better or worse after I stopped running them,
although I'm pretty sure it's the latter. After all, I'm not as
young as I was then (insert ironic chuckle here), plus I started
accumulating all those little aches & pains that seem to
accompany non-natural athletes as they try to push themselves beyond
what their bodies would naturally allow. But as I've spent this
summer & fall running pain-free, going up & down the hills of
Marquette with what feels like youthful abandon, I've been
wondering--
How would I do if I ran the old
Superior 5K route? Could I run it at the pace I ran it 15 years ago?
Would my healthy (albeit older) body allow that? Or would I look at
the stopwatch in embarrassment, coming to the realization that even
without aches & pains I'm 15 years older than I was the last time
I ran it, and that no one (especially someone without any natural
athletic ability) should expect to do something they did when they
were (gulp) younger?
I don't know. I don't know that I want
to try, nor do I know if I even have the courage to try. But if I'm
ever gonna have a shot at doing it, it's probably now. After all,
despite my best attempts, I ain't getting any younger, and if I'm
gonna do it I should do it while my body is in pretty good shape,
free of those nagging aches & pains. But do I want to do it?
That's the question I've been asking
myself, one that I'll probably keep asking myself every time I run.
No comments:
Post a Comment