Run time! No, this is not the run time for my computer. This is my personal running time. I have been running regularly for 45 years. On the average, I run about 4 times a week and about 3 to 4 miles each run. I am still waiting for the runners “high” where I can feel nothing but blissful peace. I really enjoy running but through the years, there have been numerous pains and hurts to overcome. It seems to get harder running in the winter. I suppose running is a great deal like life, it has its ups and downs and it only gets better when we keep working at it. There are no magical highs (except for temporary ones on drugs) but in general, the pleasure I get from running outweighs the pain. I no longer try to increase my running speed or my distances. I will not be an Olympic marathoner nor am I training for my 101st marathon. I like to say I am a “maintenance” runner. That is my schedule is set up to maintain my present level of fitness. For my age, I am in reasonably good health. I am five foot eight inches tall and I weigh about 148 lbs. I feel good and I pray it will remain the same for the next ten years.
What does running have to do with time? I find that by doing “maintenance” running, I notice my running times go in cycles with the seasons. I run more in the late summer and fall and less in the winter and spring. At first I was worried about these dips in my “maintenance” schedule. Then, I read that it is natural to go with a cycle and that it lets my body recover. Just like winter allows the earth to recover before it starts to bud out in spring and emerge more glorious in summer. As each year progresses, I find that I am running farther and farther and enjoying it more and more. As winter sets in again, I slow down and with the shorter days, my runs become shorter and shorter. Spring is when I start feeling like increasing my runs and distance, though I feel sluggish after the long winter in Wisconsin. My body and running seem to respond to the same cycles as the earth.
Questions to Reflect On:
Have you ever found a cycle to your life? What activities or efforts in your life seem cyclical? Do you fight your cycles or do you allow yourself to “go with the flow.” How have cycles made a difference in your life? Would better managing your natural cycles improve your life?
Aging Capriciously 
May 10, 2023 @ 07:39:03
Reblogged this on Aging Capriciously and commented:
My running times have been running down since I wrote this blog 13 years ago. I am still running but mixing it up with hikes and walks. I have given up running the mountain trails. Too many falls. Broke my finger last year on one fall and decided that I would stick to trails and runs that were somewhat less technical or at least rocky.
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May 10, 2023 @ 13:17:07
😊 With running, until I had to stop a year ago due to my arthritic hip, I actually most loved running in all seasons but summer! Love the very cold, cold, and cool, but not heat. The reset of a cycle that comes to mind for me is the beginning of the school year. Regardless of age or how long it’s been since we’ve been in school, it seems like the time to set new goals and follow through on them. I love that feeling! 😊
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May 11, 2023 @ 14:30:51
Hi Jane, Karen used to run as well until her knees and hips started bothering her too much. She always tells me how much she misses it. I also loved the cold weather season the most. Karen’s idea to come to AZ. Not much I like when it gets over 85 degrees. Much prefer it below 32 but I figure I will adapt. Have never thought about school cycles. Funny, I do not associate school with goal setting. Hope all is well. John
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May 11, 2023 @ 17:52:47
Are cycles the same as routine? I ask myself this…. I don’t run but I maintain a routine daily. One may think it’s robotic, however, I like to think of it as “maintenance”, “cycle”?….
the routine varies, depending on season or mood or time, nevertheless, the routine is part of my daily cycle of life…
This makes for a cycle in life right?
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May 11, 2023 @ 18:42:42
I think so. I guess routines could be cyclical or linear. Like every birthday, I have a party and gifts. That I think would be more linear. Although there is a year cycle in there. Hmm, Have to think about this some more. I think I have a linear routine when it comes to fixing things. A process of linear being inputs, change and outputs resulting in my finished product. Cyclical could create a link between the final outputs and the inputs to start the process all over again. Like in a company process, they can be linear, cyclical or massed. Reactors are massed processes. Linear is making a car or some other manufactured product. Cyclical would be waste treatment or some chemical processes. Stuff I remember from my management consulting. John
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