Old School

Someone posted this old school picture on Facebook. It was taken on St. David's day sometime in the late 1970s (St David is the patron saint of Wales and is celebrated on March 1st). The girls are decked out in traditional Welsh dress and the boys are wearing leeks or daffodils. Can you tell which one is me?

Hint : I'm in one of the front two rows.

William Blake for Runners

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.


There is some poetry that I "just get". William Blake (above quote taken from Auguries of Innocence), Thomas Hardy, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson and of course Dylan Thomas are all favorites of mine. They touch my creative soul and release emotions, moods and meaning in the same way a much loved song will trigger memories of a particular time and place.

Of course, there is a lot of crap out there too.

But thinking through a favorite muse can be an excellent distraction when running an ultramarathon, especially one where you will be spending a significant amount of time running at night and can go hours without seeing a soul. In a race where keeping a tight hold on your mental state is key they can provide a relaxing rhythm. If you can open your mind and go with it who knows what path they will take you down. After all, when you need to think, what better place to go than the woods or the mountains? It is said that George Mallory and his companions read poetry to each other in their high camps on Everest prior to their summit attempt. A romantic notion from a bygone age perhaps, but I can understand it. Maybe I'm just an old romantic at heart.

I only hope my endless night will finish in sweet delight. And maybe some Starbucks coffee. And a nice greasy McDonalds breakfast.

8 days to go.

Zombie Runners

I recently read a news report that somebody had hacked into a digital road sign near the UT campus in Austin and managed to change the message (see above). It struck me that this sign would be very appropriate for the last loop at Rocky Raccoon.

Countdown

It's now 9 days and counting to the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler. I've been planning this race for so long I can't believe it's almost here. You can bet the butterflies will be flying in the old tummy for the next week and a bit.

Hot Food for Cold Nights

I love cast iron cooking, and it's a rare day when my iron skillets aren't in use. They are very versatile, and if you treat them right they will last for generations. Seasoned properly, they will perform at least as well as non-stick and are unbeatable for searing meats. I've made everything from cornbread to "toad in the hole" to filet mignon in them.

I recently reseasoned my old dutch oven (an easy process involving baking some shortening into the iron) and tonight I decided to bring it out to play ahead of the winter weather we've been promised. I've been browsing Ashlee Wetheringtons's excellent "A Year in the Kitchen" blog and decided to take a shot at her Hungarian Goulash. I paired it with homemade pita breads from "The Fresh Loaf" for dipping and mopping (modified to use equal measures of wholewheat and all purpose flour - much better taste and texture). I had high hopes, and it didn't disappoint. Very flavorful, and a perfect comfort food for cold nights. The best complement is that I made a full pot and it's all gone (though I managed to save some to take to work with me) - talk about pigs at the trough.

In the build up to the 100 miler at Rocky Raccoon (now only a week and a half away), I have moved on to the taper and tuning stage. My strategy for this week is to concentrate on regular midweek runs that are shorter than usual (about 4 miles or so), but at a slightly faster clip than my usual training pace. This evening I dipped into the 7:30/mile range without really extending myself, which I think is just about the right balance. A nice 10 mile run next Saturday followed by the Scenic Dr loop on Sunday, and then I will enjoy a week of easy running (maybe even no running) up to race day.

And finally, one of my friends who is on the fitness committee with me at work is a certified pilates instructor and he's been giving free "no sweat" pilates classes at lunchtime. While I've done yoga, I've never tried pilates before. He's just added an advanced after-work aerobic pilates class and asked me to come along, spread the word and help get it going. He's promised to "kick my butt" and I'm excited about trying something new (though I'll probably be really bad at it). I think it will be an excellent cross training variation.

Man v Food

Does anyone remember an old Travel Channel show called "Man v Wild"? It starred British adventurer, mountaineer and survival expert Bear Grylls. Each week he was stranded in some popular wilderness destination and had to find his way back to civilization, dishing out survival tips as he went.

Well tonight I watched another Travel Channel show called "Man v Food" which is nothing like it. Instead, host Adam Richman travels the country taking on eating challenges. There's something grossly fascinating about watching people gorge themselves past all normal limits. From the hottest curry on the planet (the chefs wear gasmasks when preparing it) to a 30" pizza to a hideously greasy 12lb combo of burgers and fries to Austin's own Juan in a Million breakfast taco challenge (see below). It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, it may make you want to puke. I enjoyed it.