Fast Eddie

Fast Eddie Rousseau visited with me at the store last night. He was a Mass City boy who now lives in Minneapolis. I didn't think to ask his permission to mention him on my blog, and I don't want to sound too gushing, but he is my running hero. You can read about him here or here. (At the very least, click the first link to see an awesome picture of him passing a younger runner; Ed is gritting his teeth, giving it all he's got, while the kid is clearly wondering where the hell the old man came from.)

My run today was three miles. I had Chuck drive me 2.8 miles out, then I ran a quarter mile past our house and walked back. I am fortunate to live where I do; plenty of country roads, no traffic, beautiful views. At just over a ten minute pace, I was going nice and slow. I always go slow. I read training schedules that talk about running in different paces; 5k pace, 10k pace, marathon pace, tempo pace, etc. I have three paces: jogging, running as fast as I can (which I can't keep up for long), and walking. At this point I've been running for less than six months, so I guess I should expect to still be slow. Trying to be encouraging, Raechel pointed out that the slow and steady tortoise won the race, to which I replied, "Yeah, but the snail wasn't even invited!"

I may be slow, but damn it, at least I'm out there trying. And maybe in a few years when I'm able to run faster and longer, just maybe I can inspire somebody who wants to run but has too many excuses. Reading about Fast Eddie two years ago, I thought, "If he could do it, so can I." Well, if I can do it, so can almost anybody.