Dispatches from the middle

I tried something new running the Edmonton Half Marathon yesterday. When racing, I generally (perhaps now intuitively) subscribe to a strategic throwback from my early marathoning days – start slowly (sometimes VERY slowly) and pick up the pace as I go, to whatever extent I can. This tends to make for consistent – and, more importantly, comfortable! – performances. It does not generally lead to anything impressive. In light of my recent commitment to getting faster, however, I reasoned that the standard method would no longer do. Why leave anything in the tank?

So I started faster than I normally would have. I pushed a little harder a lot earlier than I might otherwise have. I didn’t find a comfortable place and settle into it for the middle 15km of the race, looking to ride it out. I RAN the whole race. Kilometers 17 – 20 were less than pleasant, but on the whole, I am much prouder of my performance than I would have been had I simply cruised through most of it and kicked at the end. I also ran a new PB – 1:47:53. Just a few seconds faster than my previous best, but run on, I think, far inferior training. Which gives me hope! I’m excited for the next race (should be in about three weeks), for another opportunity to try this again. And to push a little harder still.

It’s mind-boggling that it took so long to build up the necessary confidence to take this step. Wahnsinn.

Day 4: I just found a (mostly) dead beetle sprawled – to whatever extent anything with an exoskeleton can really sprawl – on its back next to my dresser. I assumed it was dead, picked it up, discovered it was not quite dead, and so headed for the balcony instead of the garbage. Plopping the little guy outside, I got to wondering what it is that beetles die of. What renders them sprawled and mostly immobilized on my carpet? (I know what renders me sprawled and mostly immobilized on my carpet, but somehow I doubt that particular causality is transferable.) Do beetles die of:

a. hunger (I would like to think my apartment isn’t THAT dirty…and this is assuming they feed off of what I would consider “dirt”); b. beetle diseases (the specifics of which I cannot, at the moment, fathom); c. old age (and what might that be?); d. congestive heart failure (do beetles actually have hearts, as such?); e. lovesickness (this strikes me as the most likely answer)?