Lancaster Road Runners Club - March/April 2008 - (Page 4) Miles To Go Before I Leap By Sil Simpson Karen and Miles Sandt – Saginaw 5K La Paz Bolivia By Peter Belanger Happy 25th Anniversary To Me or The Decline Of A Mediocre Runner By Sil Simpson ‘Twas in another lifetime April 10, 1983 was the occasion of the event that I consider the finest athletic achievement of my life. On that cool and cloudy Sunday, I ran the Baltimore Marathon in 2:57:54. The old Baltimore course was legendary for its difficulty, and it featured Satyr Hill, a staggeringly steep ascent. My run that day really came from nowhere. At the time, I was training for a triathlon, and the marathon wasn’t even my focus. When I woke up that morning, the rain was heavy, and I considered skipping the race. Fortunately for me, I decided to go. The rain stopped before the race began, leaving us with an excellent day for racing. Everything went well for me, and I wound up with a PR that I haven’t approached since then. The only explanation that I’ve ever had for that aberrant performance is that God must have been pinch-running for me that day. I’m sure that many of you who know me now can’t believe that I ever ran 2:57, but it actually happened 25 years ago. You could look it up. So, Happy Anniversary to me. I know that I may never run under 4 hours again, but I’m still running, and that’s what really matters. At any speed, running makes life better. I have a curious athletic goal for 2008. I want to touch the rim again. When I was a high school basketball player, like every other player, I wanted to dunk. Before I could do that, of course, I had to touch the rim. I was never much of a basketball player, but I did get up pretty well, and eventually I touched the rim and dunked. I never dunked in a game, but I did dunk in practices and just playing around in the gym. But I’ve lost the spring in my legs, and it’s not an accident. I haven’t played competitive basketball since 1984, and I haven’t even played pickup games for a long time. My legs have literally forgotten how to jump. And they’ve gotten a lot older, too. So, the rim looks a lot higher than it did in 1984. And when I try to touch the rim, I don’t even come close. Not only do I have almost no spring, but I have to relearn my approach and my takeoff. Muscles have memories, and my jumping muscles’ memory is now blank. So, I must do my jumping and my jumping exercises every day. I’m at least 6 inches short of the rim, and I’ll need a lot of work to get there. The best part of this quest, surprisingly, is that it will make me a better runner. I set all my running PRs when I was playing basketball regularly, and the hoops served as excellent speedwork. So, why am I boring you with this? Because I want your help. I want you to ask me, “Have you touched the rim yet?” on a regular basis. Your inquiries will be my motivation. So keep asking. I have miles to go before I leap. Lancaster Road Runners Club As I sit here on the balcony of my villa overlooking the snow capped Andes, I can see the wonderful running trails that wind up and down the mountain sides. The panoramic views are spectacular, as are the trails and rocky terrain. It is absolutely fantastic to run and train in such a challenging and beautiful environment. The clear mountain air is always pollution free and invigorating. Traders from the surrounding towns load goods and foodstuffs on their llamas and transport them to market using the same trails I run on. While running on the trails, I have found that it is important to mind the llama “apples” that appear periodically on the ground. They can be quite slick and messy. As I write this letter, it seems odd that much of Lancaster, except for a few old close friends and lovers, is but a rapidly fading memory. I have made several good friends here already, including the local constable. In a recent conversation, he informed me that he had arrested and was holding a peculiar looking American by the name of Dog Chapman. I was told that the main charges brought against this man are unreasonable stupidity and corrupting the morals of some innocent llamas. A trial date has been set for late September, 2014. 4
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