Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Perfect weather for a run

I have been spending a lot of time training at night. Mostly between 10pm and 6am. Yes often all that time but mostly in 2-4 hour blocks. It used to be because it was excellent cold weather training for the Death Race coming up in June. Now its just damn nice temperatures.

This morning I went for a longish run. I started at 0430. I timed it to finish at my neighborhood park just after sunrise, okay I really wanted to time it for sunrise but I was a tad slow today. When i got there I  went through a circuit of those crazy exercises that parents normally don't let their kids near when the park is full during the day. By the time i get home I usually have an assortment of pine needles and rocks on my back, grass stains, gravel rash and ripped clothes on the front. Hopefully also soaking wet or even better, muddy.

Running at night has been a pure joy. The weather perfect, no distractions. Well around 2-3am you wonder if the guy driving towards me is drunk and going to try to swerve towards me to make me jump, it's happened, but otherwise yeah, no issues. Well one time I was running with a full ruck and some other heavy stuff and a cop drove by me. He pulled over at the corner and asked what I was doing. About three minutes in he was laughing and we were swapping stories from a shared background in Combat Arms.

Get out an run when the weather is good. When your spring hits. It goes away far to soon.


Monday, April 29, 2013

My take on a solid Goodbye

I hate saying "Goodbye". Probably because to me a Goodbye is a "Never see you again" kind of thing. I prefer a good hardy, "See ya later" to whatever sized group I'm with and walk out the door and onto the next thing. Also when you say goodbye, especially at a party or function, its like your expected to go around the room and shake hands and give hugs and promises to do this or that. The only one that really should get any real special recognition is the person who is the host. Hey that person did a lot of hard work to get the function going and everyone having a good time, that cat deserves solid praise for the effort. Otherwise, "See ya next time."

The exception is my kids. Whenever I leave the house, for work, a ride, a run, a trip to the store, I make a point to make eye contact with them and tell him I will be back. We have a routine but it is mostly that I am letting them know I am proud of them and to be good till I get back. That way, if I don't come back, the last thing they didn't hear me say is, "Take out the trash...put your shoes away...give the dog food and water."

I don't like pomp and circumstance, odd phobia for a former drill instructor. When it came to awards and accolades in the military, I was more of the opinion, to just give me the damn thing in the back office and let me skate off to the side. I don't need to be lined up and pinned and shake a hand for something I did because of who I am. I know who I am, and what I did and its cool to be recognized but those ceremonies are not for the person getting the award. They are for the people in the audience to see that they to could rise to the occasion, that they could be rewarded too.

Back to Goodbyes. Actually to "See you later."  There is a lot more hope in that statement. it means, 'hey look, i expect us to see each other again."

See ya later.