Trail Run and Library Thoughts

Yesterday I had a chance to trail run through Discovery Park before work, taking in the sunny weather as the first days of spring have arrived. What a great way to start my day, to get my blood flowing and settle my thoughts. My usual route, the Loop Trail, is a 4.25 mile trail around the park, through the forests, down the bluffs, and onto the Lighthouse beach. Because spring has arrived, however, there were Seattle Parks Department workers clearing and maintaining the trail (thank you) so I had to diverge and explore some other trails that zigzag through the park. It was fun hitting up those trails for I haven't visited them much lately, primarily because I have been sticking to the outer edges of the park.

Today we had a branch staff meeting, so I had to work the morning rather than have a full day off. No matter to me really, because after the meeting was over I had a lot to ponder over and I needed a place to think. Off the Discovery Park I went and with a lot of time to spare.

I ran the park trails twice and had to resist going for a third. I have a hard time holding back because there is just so much beauty in that park and it is so calm and serene that no matter how I am feeling I always leave feeling at peace. Now with spring here, a lot of the plants are starting to bud and the forest is getting denser and filling up with life. This was the first run I've had in weeks that the route was relatively dry too; I had hardly any mud on my legs.

At the Seattle Public Library, we are gearing up for the launch of our new Strategic Plan, a plan that will guide us and challenge us to be the best at what we do. It is an ambitious plan, but it must be otherwise what's the point really. If you don't set goals, if you don't challenge yourself, then really are you striving to be the best? Library work is all about service and innovation. This plan puts down on paper our motivations for why Librarians do what we do. And this is the kind of thinking that will keep us relevant. If we succeed in this Strategic Plan, it is easy to believe that libraries would be around for many years to come.

Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon 2010

I woke up this morning, earlier than you should ever have a reason to, and put on my race number and running shoes. Gobbling down raspberry yogurt, a banana, an orange, and toast with jam at 4:30 am is not an easy feat, not when your body is screaming at you "Go back to bed or at least give me some coffee!" It was time for me to embark on a journey, one that would take me 26.2 miles over 4 hours and 16 minutes.
I made my way downtown where there were shuttles taking runners to Tukwila's start line. Once I navigated the maze of road closures and was on the shuttle, I started getting the little 'day of race' nervous feeling, which is such a strange feeling. I am not concerned with how I will do; I will simply give it my all as I always do, so why the nervousness. Who knows?

A retired school teacher sat next to me on our little field trip. Wow, she was sure chatty at 5:30 am. I think I can write her memoir, if only I could recall her name. She was really sweet actually. One of the first things she did was pull up her pants to show me her scares from a recent knee surgery, one that has enabled her to move better than she had in years. You could just see the sheer joy in her eyes as she was telling me these things and I couldn't help but be inspired. It turns out she is an avid book lover, former high school tennis coach, and voracious audio books listener. Sounds like my dream girl right, only 40 years older :) She was running the half marathon, having only recently run her first 8 miles with her new knee. I wonder how she did for she was truly delightful.

Fast forward (you don't want to hear about all the waiting in lines and pre-race stuff).
I am in my corral. Corral #20. There are about 500 other runners in there with me, all with the goal of running a 4:30 marathon (that is about 10-12 minute miles but I eventually didn't like that slower pace so I ran harder and made my way to the 4:15 group, hence my time) The gun went off at 7am sharp, and off in the far distance I could see the trickle of people stripping off their layers and tossing them into the clothes donations bin as they start the race. It would take 25 minutes for the trickle to reach my corral. At 7:25 am I started running. I never stopped.

The Rock 'n' Roll Marathon sold out months ago and had 30,000 participants from all over the country and all of whom have a penchant for running (well that may not be entirely true, let's just say most of them do). I met some girls from Massachusetts, a man from Florida who was loving the cooler 65 degree weather, and some other girls from Canada. This is something I love about these sorts of races; the opportunity to meet people from all over and from all walks of life.

Oh by the way...I am sitting in a coffee shop in my dear beloved Ballard, sipping that Tall Americano I should have had hours ago.

At mile 12 I saw my favorite Josie St. Peter! Love her! That was wonderful and I sort of surprised her too even though she was looking for me and her friend Erin. Despite my sweat she gave me a wonderful and loving hug and well, it just felt nice.

Most people know that I always smile. I can't help it. It just happens. So of course I am smiling all race long and several spectators commented on this as I ran by them. I heard one woman laugh at me saying "that guy is actually enjoying this." I found that so funny because it is true. I was enjoying it. So I waved at her. I mean, why in the world would you put yourself through this if you didn't enjoy it right? That just seems crazy to me. I find that smiling puts me in a different frame of mind...I don't think it is possible to be smile and not be happy. So I smile.

Each mile had a different band playing. I am pretty sure I heard 'Don't Stop Believin' like 3 times. Don't get me wrong, that is a great song and it is the universal karaoke song, but 3 times was plenty. I loved the energy the bands gave off, as well as their time and support. I didn't really have a chance to truly enjoy them but the little glimpses I got were good enough. As one band faded from view another appeared over the horizon. It was lovely.

For all my barefoot runners out there...I saw 3 pairs of Vibram Fiverfingers. Yay. Two girls and a guy. I didn't wear mine today, since I was not on a trail, but I was envious when I saw them.

People often ask me what I think about when I run. Usually it is my time for reflection. I think about a lot of things. I think about my family back in California and about Angela and Jason here. I think about my friends Sarah, Ian, and Sylvie and how they are all leaving so soon. I think about Jimmy and Josie and how they are leaving even sooner. I think about Portland (not the city). I think about Portland (this time the city). I think about how nice it was having a cat and if I ever got a new one I would name him or her 'Stevens' and refer to it as 'my cat Stevens.' I think about how nice it is to be able to run and how I should be grateful. I am grateful.

So now I am done. Post race I took my photo, had a free beer (which was god-awful MGD and made me gag, bleh) and hoped on the bus back to my car. Once I got home I took a shot of celebratory Tequila, hopped in the shower, and tried to nap but really I just laid there thinking about what I had done. It was worth it.

ps. please don't worry about any grammar or spelling errors. I just ran a marathon. Cut me some slack :)

Barefoot Running

Barefoot running is going through a sort of revolution right now. This is partly due to the recent success of Christopher McDougall's book "Born To Run," which is still on Best Sellers Lists' and circulating wonderfully. In addition to this, the release of Vibram's Fivefingers has torn apart the running shoe business, stripping it back down to the basics; a place where it should be.
The idea behind Fivefingers is a basic running shoe. You don't need all the cushioning that is prevalent in modern running shoes, which is overkill and also flat out wrong. We already have all we need when it comes to running...we have springiness and elasticity in our legs, both things that absorb and naturally cushion the impact of the ground. Your feet need to spread out when you run, reaching for the ground to stabilize your stride.
As a child I used to run around barefoot on my parent's property. I loved the way the earth felt under my feet and how I felt more in tune with nature. It just made sense. Having grown up it only makes sense to re-live that feeling. Once again, now when I run I run with a smile, a smile that was absent when I would wear modern running shoes because all the sensation was lost in the shoe.
It is funny how, as a Capitalist society, we are drawn towards the latest new thing. I admit that I fall victim to this sometimes too. Sometimes what we need we already have but it isn't until there is monetary value that we forget about it. People have been running for centuries barefoot while running with modern running shoes only since the 70's. What changed? Well, the business of running was born.
All I can do now is fight against this by running barefoot and running barefoot with a smile; a natural smile, a natural run.