The clock has struck August, so hopefully the heat will slowly begin to dissipate. This morning was steamy with threats of light rain, so the dampness of my shirt was more due to the showers rather than sweat. I was disturbed to find that the older, slowest runner in the neighborhood passed me by on his way to what he said was another 10-miler, “unless there is lightening and then I will call my wife.” I tried to speed up but couldn’t, caught in slow motion. Like molasses, quicksand, or moving with a piano strapped to my back. At that moment, I felt very old and ready to abandon this silly streak now at 5,329 consecutive days after today’s 2.1 miles. Soon after, for some reason, he ducked into the fitness center while I continued on. A small victory? When I finished, I checked my time – 14:30 for that mile – slow but not as lead footed as I thought. 

Apparently, I was looking in the mirror at an awkward, shuffling old man on his last sporting legs. I’m no longer a spring chicken, approaching my 72nd birthday at the end of this month. Should I invest in another pair of running shoes? I guess that I will somehow continue to do this until my spindly members won’t move anymore. Two friends of mine are recovering from knee and hip replacements, so I’m fortunate to still be standing. Running is a bonus, regardless of speed. Plus, I’ve seen a lot worse looking stems at the beach. I guess I’ll keep on stumbling along. 

I’ve been reading the book, The Maid, and found that it has somehow given me a new perspective on cleaning. Despite its silly plot, in the past couple of days, I’ve repainted some of our doors, refurbished the golf cart leather seats, scrubbed some floors, and taken a little more pride in taking care of our home. Few books have had that kind of impact. I’ve also been watching the Break Point documentary on Netflix, but it has not inspired me to play tennis, racquetball, or pickle ball. I did learn that the brand new V-neck Nike “running” shirt that I was wearing this morning is actually tennis clothing with the Rafael Nadel “Raging Bull” logo. Perhaps it was designed for making sharp cuts rather than distance running and this was what slowed me down this morning – not my old legs!