an ode to getting old

though the dawn still breaks
and the roads remain open
and the will still presses on

there's a toll that time takes
on aging muscle and bone
and weathering skin that once shone.

all the focus on running form,
cadence, training plans,
lactate threshold and nutrition

only weather so much of the storm,
when injury and circumstance
hinder goals from coming to fruition.

 ... and you can already tell that i'm not much of a poet.

this ode comes to you courtesy of my preparation for this week's running of the sulphur springs 50k trail race - and one ailing knee.

it could be that once again i've not given myself enough time post-marathon to recover properly.  after all, i did put out a PB effort just over four weeks ago - and i thought that taking a full five out of the seven following days off from running would provide me with sufficient rest to ease back into training for this ultra distance event.  but just about 10 days ago (following the MEC barrie race two) i began experiencing resting (as in during my sleep) pain on the anterior side of my right kneecap that would effectively lock my leg in position.  it was discernibly swollen and sore to the touch, but with some self-administered massage/rolling i was able to continue training through it.

this week i strung together two off days in the hopes of getting it primed for a solid race effort this weekend, but it still seems to be on the edge of getting funky.  i know that in terms of my year-at-a-glance planning i'd mapped out this race as more of a preparatory/training event in advance of the north face endurance challenge series 50 miler this july, but the competitive side of me says that i have more of a shot at doing well in the 50k distance - that and my main goal for the 50 miler is just to survive it.

i'm going to give it the best of what i've got in ancaster on saturday - fat loading is done, several weeks of ultra training are in the bank, and now its time to lay out my goals so that any of you who read this post can hold me somewhat accountable to them:

• 'A' goal - finish top 10 for my age-group
• 'B' goal - finish top 25 overall
• 'C' goal - finish with a sub 5-hour time.

there you have it - i'm eager to see how this race turns out for a number of reasons.  i feel like i learned a lot from jim and my experience at the limberlost challenge 56k last year, particularly in the area of nutrition.  i'm also still riding the momentum of my marathon PB.  what'll be most interesting is how my knee holds up and the fact that i'm not particularly familiar with the sulphur springs course (unless it traverses some of the same terrain that we took during the raid the hammer adventure race last fall).  it will also be great to see a number of friends who will also be at sulphur springs to tackle various distances from the 100 miler to the 10k, including my running pals rolf, dave, kathleen, steen, ashley, amanda, robin, 'fast bill' and steve.

time to kick up some dust - or eat some!

#getyourmilesin  #GOlikeneverbefore

an ode to getting old