I’m normally a calm, mild-mannered person, but at this year’s Bloomsday 12K race, an incident on the race course enraged me.

I’ve become good friends with Jim Dietz, pictured above, through the Flying Irish Running Club. One of the original members of the Flying Irish, Jim is also active in other running clubs. I’ve attended many events and get-togethers over the years in which Jim was involved. He runs a business just north of Spokane called Dietz Christmas Tree Farm.

Unable to run because of an injury, I watched the race while taking photos of my running club co-members. When Jim came into view, I noticed several things he should be doing to run faster, so I yelled at the top of my lungs, “Lift your knees, Jim! Don’t swing your arms so much! Lean into the wind! Pass that guy in front of you! Put your shoulders back!”

I yelled more things but can’t remember them all. However, when Jim went by, he showed what he thought about all my helpful suggestions.

When I try to help someone, and they do something like this, I get really, really mad.

I couldn’t get the incident out of my mind. I was seething all day.

By evening I decided to take a drive out to Jim’s farm. There were going to be a bunch of trees that wouldn’t see Christmas.

However, as I was driving, I got a call from Jim. He told me how fun Bloomsday had been and apologized for not hearing a word I said. He plugged his ears because he’s sensitive to loud music.

I hadn’t thought of that. It’s a Bloomsday tradition to have bands play at several spots along the course. One was playing right by me, and they were pretty loud.

I told Jim no problem and at the Flying Irish’s next club meeting, it was like nothing had happened. Jim and I were good friends once again.

Whenever I travel, my runs tend to be more interesting and longer as I explore a new area. However, there’s one place I’ve never run – outer space. I thought it wasn’t possible until now.

With so many advances in technology and a plethora of space travel firms recruiting paying travelers, it turns out that Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, will soon be offering packages for runners who want to workout in the perfect vacuum of space.

Plenty of astronauts have gone on space walks, so going for a run isn’t much of a stretch. Thanks to a newly developed system that creates a gravitation field around the ship to keep objects from floating away, runners will be able to go outside untethered and put in some quality miles.

With just a slight shove out the hatch and by going through the motions of running, space runners can cover great distances at far faster times than on earth.

I talked to Tanisha Harrison, a SpaceX astronaut who has done testing in orbit. She says she’s had some great workouts.

“My first time I ran 30 miles in just under an hour. I was very happy, but felt I could go faster. The next day, I really gutted it out and covered 47 miles in almost the same time!”

When I asked if going through the motion of running while floating in space can make you go faster, she said that’s what it’s all about. However, she admitted asking for a stronger push out the hatch on her second space run.

When I remarked that I wouldn’t need to pack my running shoes, Tanisha said to the contrary, apparel has been developed that’s necessary for space runners, including shoes that increase “traction” during interstellar workouts. A wind breaker for solar wind is required, as is outer space sunscreen. Another important accessory is a bright, high-visibility cape to prevent runner/UFO collisions.

Plans are in the works for several fun runs, a space-based track meet, and a marathon. If all goes well, SpaceX plans to submit a bid to host the 2036 Olympics about halfway between the earth and the moon.

If you could travel back to the 18th century and spend some time looking around, how often do you think you’d see someone out for a run?

If you think never, your thinking is the same as mine.

People in the 1700’s surely had more important things to do than run for thirty minutes, an hour, or whatever just to get some exercise. People likely stayed fit just living life.

Though I enjoy running, and I’ve been doing it a long time, sometimes I think it’s not a good use of time. I like to have a purpose for the things I do, and galloping through the neighborhood seems like a lot of effort that’s misdirected.

Though I started running in high school to compete on track and cross-country teams, racing is no longer my main reason for running. I like the health benefits, the pleasant physical feeling after running, and I’m in good shape to do other activities. Being part of the running club community here in Spokane, I’ve enjoyed the social aspect and meeting so many people the last few years. You’d think that’d be good enough reason to justify running.

I almost always stretch before runnning.

Over the years, every so often I’ve wondered if I was squandering my time. I’ve wished I could find a way to have a simple lifestyle that gives me plenty of exercise and free time. I’d enjoy living in a community of like-minded people who are mutually dependent on the basic skills and products needed for everyday life, sort of like how life was before the industrial revolution. But how can you make that happen in this day and age?

I’ve read of intentional communities and religious orders that have many of the characteristics that appeal to me. However, nearly all have a religious component that is their raison d’etre, which doesn’t appeal to me.

I’m not sure many people share my preoccupation with trying to make exercise a by-product of everyday living. Perhaps one day I’ll figure out how I can make my dream lifestyle happen.

When you have your portrait taken, usually your face is the main feature. However, since runners are so dependent on bipedalism, a portrait of the legs is appropriate.

Not often do you see a photo of just the knees. It’d be unusual to have something like this hanging on the wall of your house, but maybe I should do it anyway. What do you think?

I’ve never had a photo taken of just my achilles tendons. Even though you can see a sock pattern imprinted on my skin, I’m thinking of making a poster size copy and hanging it on the wall, next to my knees.

My legs are nearly always photographed together, so I got the idea to do a solo portrait of them. Each leg is a unique, fully individuated limb, not half of a two member team without self identity. Each has its special qualities beyond being just right and left. I’m thinking of adding the two photos below to the wall as well.

Though I’m very proud of my leg team, these photos are starting to creep me out. They look separated from my body.  I need them together and attached.

There, I like the above photo better. Legs need to be side-by-side, operating as one unit. Forget what I wrote about being individuated and having self-identity.

I have slender feet and my raised veins are obvious. I don’t know if that’s a common feature among runners, but I’ve gotten comments about the veins on my forearms and hands. I’ve deduced that because of my thinness, my veins have been forced out because there’s little room for them inside.

You may notice that the right foot is slightly larger than the left.

My foot started hurting the last time I ran – a couple weeks ago. The pain hasn’t eased and nor has the swelling, so I suspect a stress fracture. To the doctor I go next week, and my hopes for the Bloomsday 12k on May 4th? I’ve changed my role from participant to photographer/observer.

In a previous post, I wrote how I converted my front yard from a lawn into a natural landscape with many types of native plants, and how trails I’d constructed made it possible to run in a natural area yet never leave my front yard.

When I go for a run in my yard, it’s so nice with the fragrant plants, scenery and untamed, 100 ft x 120 ft wilderness. However, I’ve realized something’s missing.

If you go running in a natural area, sometimes you catch a glimpse of a wild animal. I’d like to experience the same thing in my front yard. I’ve decided to mimic one by releasing native wildlife in my yard.

Of course, I want everything to go smoothly, so I hired a consultant. I wrote previously how I met Ruby Redpepper, who owns a company called AFS (Animal Fulfillment Specialists). She flew into Spokane, and when we met, she gave me information I never would have considered.

I so much wanted a bear in my front yard, but she said it wouldn’t work. She advised that my habitat is suitable for a pair of coyotes, at most, to occupy the top of the food chain.

In the below photo, a small, catlike animal native to South Africa is instantly attracted to my natural landscape. Ms. Redpepper uses this animal as an indicator of the quality of habitat. It was a very good sign.

In addition to coyotes, I’ll have marmots, a badger, rabbits, ground squirrels and plenty of smaller rodents. Though it doesn’t seem like it’d work, Ms. Redpepper says I should have a small colony of bats, a medium-sized owl and a red-tailed hawk. She assures me they will stay in my preserve because of its concentrated diversity.

I’m so very especially looking forward to this ecological development. Ms. Redpepper tells me if the populations thrive, I can eventually add a moose, two deer and a bobcat.

I like animals. I dream of an animal kingdom right outside my front door.

In the movie Chariots of Fire, British runners in white shorts and shirts run en masse along a sandy beach in bare feet. It’s a pretty cool opening scene, and the music really adds depth and intrigue. Since it won four Oscars including best picture, I like to say it’s because it was about running, specifically, running in sand.

Okay, a shot of guys running in sand wasn’t the reason it won an Oscar. I use this as an example of using soft running surfaces to prevent injury. Foot strike is about as soft as can be in sand, and if you do it day in and day out, barefoot, you’ll also save a ton of money because there’s no need to buy running shoes anymore. The downside is that it wouldn’t take long to get real tired of sand running.

When I lived in California, my apartment was very close to a beach. I ran there from time to time, and occasionally I’d remove my shoes. But it was more a novelty, and I didn’t put in lots of miles training in sand. In the photo below, the only painting I own hangs over my bed. I like it because it’s so similar to a section of beach called Oxnard Shores that I used to run along.

When I went through a period of recurring stress fractures, my legs were particularly sensitive to running surfaces. I discovered that a hard-packed dirt surface that looked about as springy as concrete was noticeably easier on my injured leg than a sidewalk.

Because of my many injuries, I try to run on the softest surface possible. I no longer have a beach nearby, and since I live in the city, this means the best running surface I’m going to find is grass. Many of my routes involve running from one park to another, and I tread on the edge of lawns to get to them.

I often run on those grass strips between the sidewalk and the street. I appreciate the homeowner keeping the grass short because running in deep, thick grass can rival running in sand.

And with Spokane’s biggest race of the year, Bloomsday, coming up, I’m re-familiarizing myself with another surface that brings back memories of tough, punishing workouts.

Though running and vomiting isn’t a strong pairing like flowers and bees, it used to be a problem for me. Maybe some readers have similar experiences.

Have you pushed yourself so hard that it caused you to throw up? It used to happen to me, and it lead to a personal policy I still hold onto – I don’t eat inside of three hours before I run. If I know I’m going to run hard, four or five hours is better.

When I was in high school, I once won our track team’s weekly athlete of the meet award because I qualified in the mile for the district competition at the all-city meet, threw up my school lunch in the upper corner of the grandstand, then qualified in the two-mile an hour later.

One summer while on a fast, early morning eight-miler, a buddy and I were pushing hard over the last half mile when I stopped and doubled over. Though I hadn’t eaten since dinner the day before, I had a serious case of the dry heaves.

It has been a long time since I’ve thrown up. Perhaps my stomach has matured by not showing its displeasure with a little physical distress.

My most regretful vomiting moment happened when I was a high school senior. The morning of the state cross-country championship meet, coach urged everyone to eat breakfast even though the race started at 10 am. I balked, but he told me to have something, suggesting some dry toast and orange juice. I didn’t want anything, but I followed his direction.

After finishing the race, I could tell the food was coming up. I was in the finish chute, right in front of the packed grandstand and couldn’t leave, so I turned away. Standing right there was our school’s cheerleading squad. I blew my cookies right in front of them.

Originally I wanted to title this post, Running Fantasies, but if you read the two previous posts, you know that the word fantasies sidetracked me, and the topic turned into sexual fantasies. I pledge that I’ll stay on track and keep smut off my blog.

There can be two types of running dreams – ones that you have while asleep, or thoughts of great accomplishments while awake.

I don’t have running dreams so much these days, but earlier in my career there was an unpleasant one I had repeatedly. In it, I was trying to run faster in a race, but the harder I tried, the more resistance I encountered. It was like running underwater. I felt very frustrated in the dream, and if I really made an effort to increase my pace, the opposite happened, and I slowed even more, as if the water changed into a fluid that was way thicker. This dream was real enough that in the middle of it, I was trying to discern whether I was dreaming or this was really happening.

Sometimes while on a run, I’ll fantasize that I’m in a race, and I’m at the front of the lead pack, or pulling away to win. I usually do this when I want to push a sustained fast pace or finish a training run hard. It seems to help and I like the small, but noticeable thrill of excitement I get thinking this way.

Here’s another fantasy that might make you chuckle:  When I was in high school, my early, minor successes at running made my head swell to the point that I thought I could accomplish anything. I told my mother that I would win the gold medal in the 800 meters at the Montreal Olympics. Of course, this fantasy didn’t come close to materializing, and fortunately I mentioned it to no one but my mother.

What dreams or fantasies of running have you had?