Adventures of an Awkward Athlete: Chapter 10 — The Long Run
The alarm went off at 5:30 and I hit the road at 6:15 for a leisurely long run. My legs and body felt strong but I had a slight burn in my left IT Band. That’s from tight back and leg muscles — mainly from sitting on my butt all day. I stopped and stretched a few times. I also took a bunch of pictures because the sunrise was particularly stunning.
I did something today that I couldn’t have done 30 years ago — I ran 13.1 miles. That’s worthy of note. Getting old is in the mind. Yes, there are days when I feel my chronological age. But for the most part, I feel better now than I did when I was 25.
So here are a few of the things I saw today:
1. An alligator. He probably was eight-feet long and was floating out near the boat docks near Cock of the Walk. I waved. He smiled back.
2. The sunrise. I mean the exact moment when the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. I caught a photo of it as it winked at my favorite oak tree.
3. Several friends out on the trail. Jackson has a great running community.
4. An egret.
5. A man sitting on the shoreline meditating and praying.
6. More of the shoreline. The Reservoir is down quite a bit because of the drought.
7. A lone sailboat sail toward the sun.
8. A deer running through the woods.
9. The world slowly wake up.
10. My smile from the satisfaction that I ran a half marathon in training today.
13.1 miles. Not bad for an old man. Not bad for a guy who’s going to stick around for the long run.