This is my friend Greg and myself after completing one of my favorite training loops in Seattle. Greg is the real deal when it comes to professional running. He is incredibly humble and a self professed 'slow' marathon runner completing his last 26.2 miles in 'only' under 2.5 hours. (For comparison, my last marathon was just under 4 hours.) At a young age, Greg realized that his real gift lay in ultramarathons of 50 miles or more in which he routinely places in the top three.
Over the last several months he's been humoring me on our bimonthly runs around Seattle. One might imagine the story of the tortise and the hare, but Greg in his graciousness will run one step behind and let me set the pace. None-the-less, I always feel an added surge of adrenaline knowing we're on the clock as he keeps track of our progress on his stop watch.
I've never been one to keep track of times, much preferring the reward of covering distance and enjoying the natural scenery go by. Perhaps this is a concession to my lack of raw talent and incompatible height for running of 6 feet 4 inches. Still, with his clock silently ticking away the seconds, I've come to see the appeal of keeping track of times and striving for personal best's.
Here you see me pointing to my newly acquired Greg-inspired watch having completed our 9.5 miles in a 7:40 minute/mile pace. As Greg put it, "I'm afraid running might never again be as fun for you!" But I beg to differ, it's just fun in a new way.
Follow this link to Greg's Blog "
My Track Record" to see his own musings on running.
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