I wish I was competing this fall. (An Oldtimer's Lament)

not if it would mean going to class as well.

Hey fellow Oldtimer, just get out there and find you a local club that has a Master's Program, show up for a meeting or workout and get started! The comradery at this level makes up for the lack of speed, but if you are still sporting your High School turnover, you will be near the front of your peer group soon. Just avoid any setbacks along the way by sticking to the softer surfaces and when in doubt, slow down.

Good luck

Tony

i know what you mean. as soon as the air starts to get cool i start to remember being out in the course with the wind and waiting to start the race.

For a while there, I found a club to compete for that had a similar team spirit to the old days. The only thing lacking was that back in the day, the drinking age was 18, so the post-season parties didn't have to be quite so circumspect. And, frankly, back then the distance runners were more willing to drink.

I miss running the 4x4 more than cross (I was a middle distance guy) - it's harder to find a 4x400m relay team (and a track meet!) after 30, it seems.

i agree. does anyone have a link to masters track meets in texas? any left this summer? incidentally, i'm glad i don't run cross anymore in the fall. i still dread mondays thinking about mile repeats.

So I guess it never goes away. I'm only three years out of high school and I'm in college. The grass was always cut the day before meets in high school. On a cool night when I'm running down the road and I get a whiff of that fresh cut grass the memories of high school competition come flooding back. How I started as the slowest guy on the team my freshman year and came home hurting everyday so by my sophmore year I was the fastest guy. Anyway what I really wish was that I knew back then what I know now. When I was in high school I took large parts of off seasons off. I took a lot of weekends off. I ran hard 5 days a week. I thought anything over 30 miles a week and any run over 6 miles was insane. Now I'm running doulbe the miles, and half the intensity on long runs and running tempo pace faster than my senior year race pace. I've also met some incredible people these last couple of years who have advised me and inspired me. During my freshman year of college almost every race was a PR. my times continue to get faster.

There's something in the hypothalamus that associates smells with experiences. It's one of the more archaic parts of the brain.

I'm so old that the smell of CramerGesic or AtomicBalm is what gives me the visceral flashback to high school racing.

Sadly, it's the smell of day old Schaeffer beer that takes me back to my college running days.

gotta say yes here - HS frosh. anagesic balm and dextrose tablets ... and shin splints (ozzzzz goood) on a pretty decent team - (that track season = 4 x 1 natln record). crisp air and Balboa Park and and Centinela Park (So Cal specific) Mt Sac - virtually the same today.

The mind wants what the body can no longer do. Age gracefully and let it go.