Posted on by wzwiener

Ditch Lilies

One thing that I have seen a lot of during my many years as a runner is ditches.

I have spent countless hours running alongside of them on sidewalks and shoulders of the road.

I can’t say that I’ve seen much in the way of beauty in these ditches over the years, as they have a way of collecting runoff, roadkill, trash, and other unsightly things.

Back when I lived and ran in the country I’d come across the occasional discarded appliance or piece of furniture in the ditch, along with the occasional porno mag that I’m guessing was tossed there by a teen or husband  who didn’t want to get busted by their mother or wife when they got back home.

Something else that I came across in a ditch while running along the dirt shoulder of a country road was a badger. I heard some rustling in the grass just a few feet to the right of me, only to look down and see my home state of Wisconsin’s mascot.

Needless to say, the sight of a badger that close definitely put a spring in my step.

Most of the time, though, there’s not much going on in ditches. Except, that is, during the middle of summer here in west-central Wisconsin.

That is when flowers start to pop up in ditches along rural roads.

While I don’t know the name of most of these flowers there is one that I am familiar with—lilies. They are the biggest and brightest of these roadside flowers, which is probably why I got to know them.

They are officially known as day lilies and their blooms come in a variety of colors, the main ones being orange, yellow, red, pink, purple, and near-white. Orange is the main color that I see in the ditches here in west-central Wisconsin.

Seeing lilies and other flowers in full bloom this time of year while running or driving down the road is a welcome reminder of how summer has a way of bringing even drab things like ditches to life.

Posted on by wzwiener

Runners & Walkers Welcome

Among the news coming out of this year’s Boston Marathon—besides all of the fast finishing times–was a controversy created by a sign put up at a Nike store near the finish line of the event that said “Runners Welcome, Walkers Tolerated.”

Apparently the sign drew quite a few complaints, among them being that it was “pace-shaming” and exclusionary.

I first heard about it from a co-worker of mine who is neither a runner nor walker. He said he took no offense to the sign and thought that those who did so were over-reacting.

I have to say that I see my co-worker’s point. After all, Boston is a running not a walking event.

Not only that, it is a running event that you have to run a time standard to qualify for. The emphasis at Boston is on speed, so what’s the harm in using the occasion to poke a little fun at walkers?

At the same time, what’s the point of doing so? Walking may be done at a slower pace than running but it’s a great form of exercise.  Not only that, there are way more walkers in the world than runners.

Why run the risk—no pun intended—of offending such a large segment of the population by displaying such a sign? Especially when you’re a sporting goods company that sells gear to them?

I guess only the sign-makers at Nike know the answer to that question.

Apparently they thought better about their message after getting quite a bit of backlash about it. They took the sign down and issued an apology for it.

I mention all of this not to call out Nike—whose shoes and storied running history I’ve always been impressed with — but to share a few thoughts about walking. Because the older I get the greater the appreciation I have for it.

A big reason for this is that walking is considerably lower impact than running. It’s estimated that we land with about 1.5-times our body weight when walking compared with about twice that when running. That’s an important consideration as our bodies age and become less capable of absorbing the extra impact.

I’ve been running on a near-daily basis for over 30 years now and consider myself lucky to still be able to do so relatively pain-free. But the pounding definitely produces a few more aches and pains now than it did back when I was in my 20s and 30s.

Not only that, the pace keeps getting slower and slower.

A couple of years ago this slow-down bothered me a bit, but not anymore. Now I’m grateful just to be moving.

In recent years I’ve seen loved ones lose their mobility to age and it’s been heartbreaking. It also has given me a new-found appreciation for walking.

When my running days are over I’ll consider it a blessing if I’m still able to walk.

And when my walking days are over maybe I’ll tell myself what I told my canine buddy Caleb during the last months of his good long life (nearly 15 years) when his rear-end had become paralyzed.

“Walking and running are over-rated buddy,” I’d tell him. “Let’s go sit outside and get some fresh air.”