Today’s workout was nothing special; this was a weird 5 mile walk: The Barbara plus a lower Bradley park loop: 5.2 at 15:04. I felt it may have been slightly faster but it is hard to tell.
But where reality hit home is when I saw my finish pitchers for the half marathon:
That does NOT look like this guy:
And the reality is that this second guy has nothing in common with the first guy: 24 years, 1 operation and several chronic condition flare ups have elapsed between these two photos.
Yes, I did better in 2018 (2:29) but the reality is that from 2020-2023 I was dealing with flareups of chronic conditions that stopped my walking for a while (back, piriformis), stopped by running for good (knee), and greatly hindered my lifting..even stopping it for a good long while (shoulder)
So, in 2022 I was a beginner all over again with respect to running, and my strength was never quite the same after recovering from my shoulder problems. Some of it was leverage, some age, and some shoulder.
And that is how “regression in performance” has gone for me from 1997 (late 30’s) onward. I’d reach a level, get injured, come back but not to the previous level. 1999 (Achilles), 2001 (Achilles), 2006-2008 (piriformis/back), 2009-2010 (knee, shoulder), 2016 (back), 2020-2022 (back/piriformis, shoulder)
So, I need to keep that in mind. I really am a beginner, again: an OLDER beginner.
Chiefs baseball: what a game! The night came up cool and misty and the Kernels (tied with the Chiefs for 2’nd in their division) were the opponent.
The usually good starter gave up 2 in the 1’st and 4’th and so it was 4-1. The Chiefs cut it to 4-3 in the 4’th only to fall behind 5-3 in the 8’th. But then came the bottom of the 8’th when the Chiefs found the range on the second relief pitcher. 4 runs at it was 7-5 and the Chiefs put in a closer for the 9’th.
Oops; first batter got a hit and it looked as the second batter got a hit as well. But the Chiefs star second baseman had other ideas:
That was spectacular!
There weren’t many there due to (relatively) chilly temperatures and mist but they missed something!
Harry had gotten up to get nachos.
Life of an old goat 