Whirlwind

Whirlwind.  There is no other way to describe my 2016 so far. So much good running stuff to talk about including time trials, a new running watch, Strava, and more.

The big news, though, is that I have a new job and I am moving back to Indiana from South Carolina. My wife and I have been living 681 miles apart for three years, so we're just a little bit excited about all of this.  

My last day at Otis Elevator after 22 years is tomorrow. More about that tonight and more about the new job next week. 

Stay tuned.  More soon.

Carpe viam. 

New Year and New Name

Very happiest of new year wishes for all.  I truly have a good feeling about 2016 and I hope yours is off to a good start.

Just a quick note to highlight that I have changed the name of the blog.  I have always used "Carpe Viam" (Latin for "seize the road") as the sign off to my running writing.  So, I thought "Carpe Vitae" ("seize life") would be a good name for the blog.  I wasn't alone.  There are quite a few Carpe Vitae blogs out there.

So, since the majority of my musings are about running, I decided to use that for the name of the blog, as well.  I know it is not terribly important now, but it will be when they make the movie.  Plus, it is not only my running that is a journey down a long road, but also life, of course.  

I hope you will join me on both roads once in a while.

Carpe viam, indeed.

Happy Holidays, Dear Friends ...

Thank you for all you did to make our 2015 a special year.  We can only hope that we will be able to brighten your 2016 in the same way.

Very best wishes for a restful and reflective holiday season.

With love,

The Goss Family

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Treadmill

Some of you may have noticed that this blog is no longer headed by the 80s style appellation "Blog".  I am now calling it "Carpe Vitae" which is roughly "seize life" as I intend to share more than just the running thoughts that I typically sign off with "carpe viam" -- which kind of sort of means "seize the roads".

I should probably call the blog "Christopher Works Stuff Out in Public".  (You'll have to do your own Latin translation on that one.)  I am getting the sense that I might use this space more for confessions than anything else.  So, the divulgence I am making today is that I do a lot of running these days on the treadmill.  When I was younger, I wouldn't run on a treadmill if I was on a submarine for a month.  Only "joggers" ran on treadmills.  As with my previous post (and I am sure many more to come), this just reveals (probably testosterone and ego driven) stupidity that I have finally been able to shed as I have matured.

I am not going to repeat all of the benefits and challenges about treadmills here.  Plenty of pixels have already been spilled on the topic.  For me, the two things that matter is 1) treadmills help me get more miles in, and 2) they sometimes keep me from breaking myself when I get that little twinge in my calves or hips.  

Tonight was a great example.  I had hoped to get out of work by 5:00 to get a quick 5 miles in while it was light.  5:00 turned into 7:00 and while no one closed the roads, it was then dark and I didn't have warmer stuff with me to wear.  I went to the gym and was able to get the 5 miles in at just over 7:30 pace with the last half in under 7:00.  That is pretty good for me.  I know it is not the same as running outside in the wind, but they were legit miles that will help me in that next race.  (The flatness of the treadmill doesn't really matter as there are no hills in this town anyway.)

I can also push the pace on a treadmill knowing that I can shut down immediately if something on my perpetually tight back side (calves, hams, butt) starts talking to me.  Another confession:  On more than one occasion when I am several miles out, I have tweaked my calf and convinced myself that I could keep running to loosen it up.  Next up?  Three weeks of rest.  When that happens on the treadmill, I just stop.

Given the choice between a decent day outside and a treadmill inside, I'm on the roads or trails every time.  But when it's cold and dark and damp, the evil couch monster sometimes creeps in and that is when the treadmill rise to the challenge to save the day.

Carpe viam.

Back in the Saddle

I can't tell you exactly why I haven't raced in over ten years.  I can try to blame it on following all of the kids' activities, but they have been out of high school more than three years.  I can tell you that I haven't really made any running friends since I have been down here in South Carolina, but that is my fault and there is a good running community here.  I can push for sympathy for my hip and plantar fasciitis injuries this past summer, but every runner gets hurt here and there.  

If I am being honest, I think I was scared.  That, however, is even harder to explain.  No one cares about how fast I may or may not run out there.  My friends and family would just be happy to see me back on the roads.  Our egos are funny things.  I think I was scared that this vintage of Christopher could not compete with that guy from long ago that ran lots of marathons.

At this point, you are ahead of me.  Yes, this is completely stupid.  The only saving grace is that I am not the only one that feels this way and that, more importantly, I finally did something to fix it.

On Saturday, November 7, I stopped the drought and run in my first race in a very long time.  So long that I am not sure that I remember the last one.  I do know that it is more than a decade ago.  I didn't even plan to race.  The night before I ran a hard 4 miles on the treadmill at about 8:00.  I just woke up on Saturday morning and decided it was time to race and the Florence Pecan Festival Run Like a Nut seemed to be the right place to start.

Out of kindness to those that have indulged me this far, but mostly out of embarrassment, I won't go into the details of the race or tell you how many mistakes I made.  I will share that the end result was even a bit better than I had hoped - 6th place out of 44 with a 48:13 (7:47 pace) for a 10K.  I even scored some glassware for winning my division.

I genuinely do not know how that compares to the last time I ran 10K and I am not going to look it up.  I was not out there to race some kid from my past.  I was there because it keeps me working on making my now the best it can be.

Carpe viam.

Photography samples

I didn't have access to all of my photos over the Thanksgiving break, but I did find a few and posted them here on my photography page.  I'll try to caption some of them later this week and will also try to get a few more favorites up.

Please feel free to comment on any of the photos here.

First

It has been a long time since I have blogged regularly.  I am looking forward to sharing a few thoughts here and there about photography, running, leadership, engineering, reading, music, beer, and anything else that strikes my fancy as I slip around on this mortal coil.