To some high school students, Saturday morning means sleeping in as long as possible. For others the call of money gets them up and going to their job. Cross country runners are usually headed off to a meet or putting in some LSD. If that acronym confuses you, you don’t know distance running.
Long, slow distance provides the basis for serious distance runners. Muscles and their supporting tissues become stronger and more resilient. The critical process of oxygen transport improves. Through the gradual accumulation of miles the body becomes hardened and more efficient.
It is a critical element of training that is time intensive, yet not totally unpleasant. In fact, it is the part of competitive running that many keep in their daily routine even beyond their racing years. The process of running at a pace that is comfortable and at which extensive mileage can be covered is relaxing, cleansing and cathartic. This is because it is the pace at which life should be enjoyed – your own. This morning was a perfect example.
Andrea, Jess and Corey joined me for an early morning apple orchard run. By 8:00 AM when most of their best friends were rolling over to catch another hour of sleep these three were already pulling into the driveway then heading off to do a short warm-up jog. This was just the motivation to try my first real run in a month. Though my plantar faciatis is still present it hasn’t been debilitating. Following the crazy/sage advice of my daughter – “If it hurts, run on it hard. If it doesn’t get worse you’re OK.” – I figured it was time to check things out.
So, to their surprise I joined them in stretching. The morning was a perfect blend of coolness and quiet, a heavy mist hanging in air, dampening both the ground and the sounds around us. In the stillness we watched chipmunks play on the stonewall and discussed the coming run. A last minute change in plans switched us from a “Big Apple” run to the “Phantom Farm” run. Though the distance changed from 5 to 3.5 (thus changing LSD to MSD) it gave us a much better hill workout at the end, something we’ve been lacking on our injury depleted squad.
Over the curving first mile of country road we fell into common step, Jess leading us. We talked of fields and recognized the strong smell of wild grapes, which helps define the beginning autumn in this part of New England. After the first mile we started to separate slowly, poor race strategy but it helps them feel their connection with nature on these runs. Andrea was either being the good captain or had chosen the short straw because she stayed with coach and endured the random stories that flooded into my mind.
Out ahead Jess stayed just within sight, effortlessly bounding along in her own world, that of constant movement, occasionally checking her index card “cheat sheet” describing the turns she must take along the way. Corey dropped back no more than twenty yards, assuring her that she wouldn’t have to hear stories about the old “Grannery” runs but still keeping us in sight.
The second mile is a slow descent first into Plainville and then Arnold’s Mills. It is a mixture of desolate road and country homes, eventually opening up onto Rt. 120. The pace quickens naturally as gravity drags us onward, faster than intended.
At 2.5 miles I pushed Andrea ahead to face the hill alone (hint: it’s much longer when you run it alone for the first time). Without a partner to help dissociate it makes the runner concentrate on what it’s like to attack a hill despite fatigue. I’ve done this run many times and even I get fooled thinking the crest is just around the corner, only to find another stretch of even steeper climb. By the time I arrived at Phantom Farms we were all there except the leader. Two minutes later Jess came jogging in with a smile having taken one small wrong turn but having accumulated the greater mileage her body craves.
After some picture taking (see accompanying shots) we went inside to get muffins and a gallon of cider. As we relaxed on the outside deck conversation turned to college hopes, running goals and a rehash of where we are and where we’re headed. Fatigued but happy, there really aren’t many better ways to spend a Saturday morning – it even beats an extra hour of sleep.