The Season is On!

Goodness gracious is it really the first day of the new year. The first day of the new "season". Time to shake off the cobwebs and get this physical machine moving again. Wake up! Wake up! sleepy legs.

Just in time my new book, a second present from the family, came in the mail yesterday. The title's a mouthful; The Fourth Edition of The Lore of Running by Tim Noakes MD. It astounds me to this day how amazingly complicated running is for an activity that "seems" so easy to get into. Just put on a pair of running shoes and run right? wrong! That will work only for a little while before you encounter issues the need to be addressed. To be a successful runner, one who enjoys longevity and pleasure from the sport, you have to be, among other things; a mechanic, a doctor, a counselor, a motivational speaker, a drill instructor and a student. Anyway what a great book. I was busy reading the "overtraining" section, how to avoid, diagnose and recover from the syndrome. I'm not going to go over the tedious details but for you athletes out there, you know what I'm talkng about. I bet the word itself brought a wince from deep down. I've suffered a mild version of it every year for the last 4 years and always towards the end of the year when it all catches up to me. It came early this past year and that was painful. Maybe this new year will be different.

So it's time for me to lace up the running shoes and put a couple of miles in the hard pavement. Not the best surface but readily available here in Orlando, Florida. Time to start a new tradition, the New Year run. It's going to hurt, the first few usually do. But these first few miles will be the foundation of a training program that I hope will net me finishes some good finishes, chief of which is the frequently mentioned "Western States 100" in June.

Here's to a fresh year. Less whining more working.