Ode to the Oval
“What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes.”
― John L. Parker Jr., Once a Runner
There’s something about the track. All the suffering. I can’t push the pace anymore, but when a friend texted he was going to be doing slow, recovery laps while his daughter was at soccer practice, I couldn’t resist the chance to run on a track again.
I know I’m romanticizing it. I hated running around the track in High School. Even as an adult, I preferred the trails over the track. It was just so boring. So difficult. But now that I can’t physically do the intervals, I miss them. And I’m nostalgic. And I’m a romantic. So here’s a poem about dirt.
Ode to the Oval
The legs are slower now
nearly twice as slow
but I can still hear the dirt
under sweat-worn shoes
light feet crossing a
line where suffering becomes
floating. It echoes, those
thousands of steps kicking
dirt back behind the legs
in clouds of dust
muscles loose and straining
at once and
breathing so hard
the dry cough will last for days
and even now I hear the
crunch of footsteps behind me
moving closer always
Some housekeeping.
I don’t understand all of the settings on this platform. There was an option that I have since turned off that allowed people to pledge money in case I wanted to go to a paid subscription model. A few people pledged money (thanks Mom), and I don’t want to charge anything or put anything behind a paywall. I have a few hundred subscribers here, and I truly appreciate you all reading what I have to put out there, but I feel like if I set up a paid subscription thing it would take the fun out of writing. I definitely wouldn’t be posting poems and watercolors. That said, if you want to support the writing, feel free to buy me a beer (or a soda or your preferred vice) using the link below.