Tag: running

Posted in Life

Baby it’s cold outside?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

People begin to act really strange when it gets cold in Florida. We are so used to temperate weather that any night below 40 throws us for a loop.

We scramble for coats, blankets, sweaters, whatever to keep us warm. We lament the cold, cold, cold, cold temperatures. The thing is, we all moved here from up north. At least most of us did. Where temps were in the single digits in the winter. Where we went out and shoveled snow in single digit temperatures. Where winter lasted months, not days.

I remember running when it was 20 below zero. I think I did it more to prove that I could. Tights and nylon running pants. T-shirt, turtle neck, and nylon running top. Hat, two pairs of gloves, and a scarf over my face. Plastic two pairs of sock. Four or five miles in Des Moines, IA. Actually, it wasn’t so bad. Once the icicles formed on my mustache and I was under way, it was pretty cool to be out in pretty cool temperatures. Crunch snow, bitter air — I felt alive. A survivor. Not a victim of the weather, but someone who could overcome and survive the worst conditions.

So 30 degrees in FL? Piece of cake.

Posted in Ministry

On the road again

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I tried running again today. I had taken a month off since my heel started feeling like it was bruised. I did a lot of bike riding instead. Finally, today, I thought it was better enough for a gentle three-miler. I took some ibuprofin and iced it just in case, and it felt pretty good. In fact, it felt better throughout the day than it has for a long time.

Four weeks is probably the longest I’ve gone without running in the past 30 years. I try to go out 3 times a week now. I need a day of recovery in between workouts. I just run better that way. When I was younger, I could run seven days a week. In fact, when I go back and look at some old running logs, I am shocked to see that I ran 70-100 miles a week sometimes. I would run twice a day several days a week. An easy run was 5 miles. I guess you just can’t do that forever. I enjoy it just as much even though it’s just 3 days and 9-15 miles a week.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am my most creative when I run, and I pray my best when I’m walking. I’m not sure why, but it works.

Posted in Life

5K

Posted on by William Douthwaite

Last Saturday, I ran my first race in about 4 or 5 years.  Not my fastest time, but OK for an old guy.  25:49 was good enough for 12th overall (out of 66) and 2nd in my age group (50-59).  We ran 5,000 meters out and back on the beach from the pier in Daytona Beach in a race to raise funds for Parkinson’s Awareness.  Now I’ve got the running bug again and know I can recapture some of my previous speed.  My best 5K ever happend about 30 years ago when I finally broke 18 minutes at a 1981 race around Lake Takanassee on a Monday night in NJ.

Funny, I don’t feel  that much different than I did back then.  I certainly don’t feel 51.  But I ran across my birth certificate the other day and I can’t deny that the years have passed.