Boldly running where I've never gone before

In the mid 24th Century, the Romulan starship Pi, a Griffin class scout ship, crash landed on the planet Galorndon Core during a covert mission after sending out a distress signal from the Neutral Zone which was answered by Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise (TNG: “The Enemy“).  What followed on that occasion was the usual drama, interspecies conflict, life-or-death struggles and moral quandary one has come to know and love from Star Trek, none of which is being celebrated today.  This is merely a bit of Trekkie trivia I could not ignore when posting on 3/14/15, known in 21st Century culture as “Pi Day” and heralded by race directors everywhere as a chance to hold a 3.1415k race.

The local middle school near my home had just such a race this morning and despite the fact that I have a cold, there was no way I was going to miss it.  Not only is it my first outdoor race in Illinois of the 2015 season but it is also the first race ever which was so close to my home that I could walk there.

Pi the number is a mathematical constant which represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter and is estimated to be over 13.3 trillion digits when spelled out completely.  However, geeks worldwide are today at exactly 9:26:53 AM celebrating the first ten:  3.141592653.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Prince-of-pi.jpg

March 14, which coincidentally is also Albert Einstein’s birthday, has been celebrated as Pi Day since established as a holiday in 1988 by a San Francisco physicist named Larry Shaw, also known as the Prince of Pi (not to be confused with the Larry Shaw who directed an episode of the TNG series).  I’m sure the prince must be a Star Trek fan as are good geeks everywhere.   But I digress….

It was a beautiful springlike morning of 40 something Fahrenheit with just enough of a chill to mandate a cheapie pair of gloves and some long sleeves when we all lined up at the local middle school.  In a parking lot amidst a few lingering mounds of dirty snow beneath a homemade sign an estimated 480 of us gathered together to celebrate Pi in the only way runners know how (by blocking traffic and pissing off drivers as we stride several abreast in one long parade oblivious to all else but our feet and our MP3 players).

The sky was blue and the crowd simmered with excitement as the air horn sounded and off we went: parents, kids, stroller moms, old people, fat people, speedsters, walkers and me.  Like I said, I have a cold.  I didn’t expect to rack up impressive numbers and I most certainly didn’t.  After the first half mile, I started to cough and thus ended up taking it pretty easy.  I’d jog a while, walk a while and even tried a few little sprints but my lungs weren’t up to the task.  It was still fun though and the 3.1415 miles went pretty fast.   At the end we were rewarded with Hostess fruit pies and slices of pizza pie, just to stretch the pi(e) theme a little further.

So the first local race of the season is done and, given the one mile walk to and from the race, I’ve already logged well over 5 miles on my pedometer with much of the day ahead of me yet.  And now it’s on to all the other cool stuff one can do on a temperate Saturday such as this.  I even made up a little poem in my head while I was walking back from the race:

The snow is melted; the bitter chill is gone.
This is my happy morning song.
The sun is shining and I’ve had a 5k run.
I can play in the garden while the day is still young.
What a contented old runner am I
As happy as a fat kid eating pie.

(OK, I’ll keep my day job.  LOL)

In the Star Trek original series there is an episode called The Savage Curtain in which Kirk and Spock are manipulated into fighting a “good vs. evil” battle so this interesting creature named Yarnek could observe and thus understand what seemed to be a purely human concept.  When the good guys won, Yarnek concluded that “evil runs off when forcibly confronted.”

As an arthritic runner, I have long regarded winter as more evil than good (although the gardener in me deems it a necessary evil) and I’ve eagerly anticipated its retreat when forcibly confronted by spring.  I used to stop running entirely during the coldest months, venturing out only during the occasional warm-up when temps might climb near 40, but always felt my fitness level suffered too much from the lull.  One year ago with plans for a spring marathon, I ran all winter long going as far as 10 miles on the treadmill but ended up overtraining myself into an injury that nixed the marathon plans.  So this year, I decided to concentrate on shorter distances, flat terrain and a 50-50 split between running/cardio and weight training over the winter in hopes of emerging fit and ready to run injury-free through the next 9 months.

At the end of January, I attended a business conference in San Diego and ran The Super Run 5k in South Shores Park near Sea World.  Leaving behind mounds of snow and biting winds to run amidst these beautiful floral vistas was pure pleasure.

Even though the day was overcast, it was a beautiful outing.

What a great way to escape the evil clutches of winter!

Surrounded by flowers and warm breezes, I took it slow and jogged along happily.

Shirt, bib and medal.

And then I got on the last flight out of town before a blizzard cancelled all travel into Chicago. What can I say?  This is the reason I don’t run outdoors around my house in the winter.

WHAT I CAME HOME TO.

So my next race was a virtual 5k called the Puppy Love Run which I did on a hotel treadmill during a weekend trip to a nearby town.  The run, which was held during Valentine’s Day week,  raised money for an animal protection society.   A virtual race is the only kind you’ll find me doing in Illinois in February.  Some of the local crazies do the Frosty 5 Miler each year but I’m not planning to join them any time too soon.

But now that it is March, the snow is melting and single digit temps have followed Old Man Winter over the hill.  With the usual unbridled glee, I will in fact this weekend return to the roads and leave the treadmill behind.

I’m really looking forward to that.

Winter leaves when forcibly confronted by Spring but I am the one who runs off.  Off down the road I go.

I’m ready.

Next up:
A 3.1415 miler on Pi Day 3/14/15.
Penguin in the Park 5k on 3/28/15.
And an old favorite:  The Rockdale Rambling 10k on 4/11/15.
Then the year’s first half marathon.

I’m so ready!