Running your way through life

I think it was David Letterman who said it best: When you borrow an idea, you're not necessarily ripping them off. You're merely paying tribute.

So I'm going through the post-masters-degree let down of returning to the routine and ordinary, and I'm watching friends of mine (Bob Rebach, Theoden Janes, Bill Borden) report their latest athletic accomplishments on Facebook.

So, as a way to get through the doldrums of a still-sour economy and a weak book market (anybody reading between the lines?), I'm getting through it all by paying tribute to them.

I've returned to the "gym," and my 5-mile time has dropped from 40 minutes two weeks ago down to 37:44. It's not the time I ran when I was 17, but I would have been happy with that when I was, oh, 24, 34, 38 etc.

The time is a little skewed because I'm doing it on a treadmill, and I can regulate when or when not to sprint (or, as runners call it, "kick"). But there's nothing better than slamming that red "stop" button, seeing a time that's 10 seconds faster than what you did last week and wiping off the sweat machine.

Oh, there is one thing that's better - posting it on Facebook and reeling in the compliments from shocked observers who can't believe that a 42 year old can still run like a 24 year old.

That's nice.