One great thing about F3 is the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. I’ve been in the Clydesdale weight class since early high school. I never really ran that much and barely know my way around the track as evidenced by my misunderstanding of track distances today. The fact that 16 guys are willing to show up for me to lead a track workout makes me chuckle a bit. It is definitely not what I pictured myself doing at the age of 43! Here is how it went down:

The PAX:

Norwood, Radiator, Xerox, Ramses, Red Dragon, Graffitti, Bobby Knight, Go Blue, Longtime, Huggies, Wolverine, Cushwa, Maneater, Wojo, Etch-a-Sketch, Mall Cop

The Setting:

Beautiful fall morning. Nice and cool. I still sweated a lot. The Mall Cop Shorts index was at a solid 3/4 soaked.

WAR:

  • Side Straddle Hops
  • Windmills
  • String Rippers
  • Quad Stretch
  • Mountain climbers
  • Short mosey through the parking lot then on to the track.

The Thang:

The plan for the thang was interval repetitions that doubled in length each time. A ~50 100 meter recovery followed each interval. Faster guys ran back to pick up the 6.

  • 4 x 200
  • 3 x 400
  • 2 x 800
  • 1 x 1600 Short on time so recovery lap

Mary:

  • 15 LBC IC
  • 10 Low Slow Flutter IC
  • 6 American Hammers because I forgot to stop at 5.

COT:

Red Dragon asked that we lift up prayers for his niece who was sexually assaulted over the weekend. We should all lift the family around her that they might be able to support her as well.

I shared the following reflection based on an encounter I had with deer this past weekend:

Memento Mori in Latin literally translates to “remember death” but it meaning is “remember that you have to die.” I’ve been studying Stoic philosophy off and on for a few years now. Memento Mori is a common theme in Stoicism. The stoic philosopher Epictetus wrote in his Enchirideon:

“When giving your wife or child a kiss, repeat to yourself, ‘I am kissing a mortal.’ Then you won’t be so distraught if they are taken from you.”

It sounds heartless but it is a reminder to avoid taking them for granted. For example, ever since my dog got really sick a year ago I’ve thought “this is temporary” nearly every time I pet her. It has helped me to prepare for the eventual day that I won’t have her anymore by appreciating each moment I have with her more now. But I think I’ve been focusing too much on one half of Memento Mori by only thinking of others as temporary and not myself.

On Sunday while running with the group training for the Cannonball Half marathon in a dark section of the greenway I was about 50 yards behind Wojo when I heard him yell back what I thought was “dog!” or something like that. I looked up and thought I saw a very large dog on the loose and for a second thought it might run to attack me. It was extremely fast and I only recognized that it was a large buck as it got just a few feet away from me. My headlamp lit up a rack of antlers that any hunter would be proud to have hanging on their wall. His head was down and his antlers were right at the height of my chest and upper abdomen as he passed by just a few feet to my left. After he passed by I could smell him.

I turned back and yelled “Deer! Deer! Deer!” to Big Sky and Nancy who were running side by side maybe another 50 yards behind me. I don’t know if he thought their headlamps were the two headlights of an oncoming car but the deer turned in front of them and jumped over a fence. I think I heard Big Sky yell out, “you’re lucky to be alive!”

When I got home and told my wife and kids what happened I found myself welling up with tears. I was still processing how close that was. The thought that I might not come home to my wife and kids after the run had never crossed my mind when I left the house. A deer can run up to 35 miles per hour. I don’t want to sound over dramatic, but had I been just a few feet to the left and been gored by him at best I would be in the hospital right now. At worst I wouldn’t be alive. 

The Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote:

“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”

That doesn’t mean to live your life recklessly, or to live in fear. Marcus Aurelius also wrote:

“Don’t behave as if you are destined to live forever. What’s fated hangs over you. As long as you live and while you can, become good now.”

The point is to live a life of virtue now because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. I admit I’ve been neglecting this. I’ve been taking my own time on this earth for granted. As I’ve reflected on this I’ve asked myself the questions, “If I am not who I want to be, then what am I waiting for to do something about it? What am I putting off for tomorrow that I should be doing today?” None of us are getting out of this alive. I challenge all of you to spend some time today, tomorrow, daily, weekly to ask yourself the same questions and to reflect on these two words:

Memento Mori.

Longtime took us out in prayer.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.