It’s ostensibly
set to explore these reverse-aging practices of mine: running, reading and
writing.
But during these
bizarre socio-political times, the blog has veered to reflections, some
straight talk on the issues of the day.
That, I’ve found,
cannot be helped.
But now, it’s
crunch time. On Sunday, May 5, I will be running in the Pittsburgh Marathon for
the first time since 2010, and my first 26.2-mile race since a sweltering day
in Nova Scotia in the summer of 2014.
Readers know that
in 2015 I suffered what seemed to be at the time a race-ending knee injury that
sidelined me from running in the Brooklyn Marathon that year.
But I’m back at
it, all right. On Monday (April 29), I completed the last of my longish training
runs … About 65 minutes, 7 or so miles.
No pain on that
one. In fact, the body feels (sound of wood knocking here) as race-ready as ever.
Since the days leading up to the Nova Scotia Marathon, in fact.
I have until this
moment not checked on qualifying times for the Boston Marathon. But I did
today, and if the conditions are right, I feel I have a slight chance of
getting there. In 2010, if I recall, I managed a 3:47 marathon in Pittsburgh.
And guess what? The Boston qualifying time for my age is 3:50. (New York
Marathon is a pipedream at 3:34. That amounts to my personal best time back in
2012.)
Pittsburgh is a race
of beautiful bridge crossings, where garage bands come to the curb playing rock
classics to help the runners motoring ahead – to the right you will see a photo of my
daughter, K, who was there in 2010, urging me along.
I simply can’t
wait. If you are looking for a marathon that has it all, consider Pittsburgh.
Which for me is only days away!
Running for Your Life: Killing Commendatore by
Marathoner-Novelist Haruki Murakami
