Cool Hand Donald

“Sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.”

-      Luke (Paul Newman), from Cool Hand Luke (video clip after post)

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For the past few weeks, doing nothing has been a very cool hand indeed.

I make it a habit to take a pretty extended training break after running a 100-miler, and sometimes that promise of extreme laziness is the only thing that motivates me through periods of extreme fatigue during the training and racing season.

No writing.  Hardly any running.  No ridiculously early alarm clocks or constantly aching legs or falling asleep at the dinner table.  You get the idea.  It’s the kind of thing I could get used to – you know, if I didn’t also happen to gain about 5 pounds per week while doing so.

It’s actually kind of a good thing that I’m not in training mode, because here’s where I’m spending the vast majority of my leisure time lately:

This fall, my wife and I have become bona fide water polo parents - a distinction that isn’t quite as popular as soccer moms or NASCAR dads, and one that requires a remarkably high threshold for watching your kid get pounded. 

The good news is that I’m really becoming a fan of the sport, and don’t really mind spending all day watching consecutive games at a tournament somewhere.  The bad news is that with all the time he’s spent in the pool, my son has developed a much better tan than me.  I thought I’d be OK with this … but apparently I’m not exactly there yet. 

With the number of workouts he’s doing, it may not be long until he’s a faster swimmer than me as well – so it's probably time for me to start getting in the water or hitting the trails at least every now and then.   Which means it’s also time to get the blog rolling again as well. 

I’ve got some product review posts that are piling up, as well as the other assorted odds and ends you’re accustomed to finding around here.  I’ll also indulge a couple more backward glances at last month’s Leadville 100 – starting with my next post, which will be a responsive effort to answer a variety of questions and comments I received after my superlong race report.

In between, there may be also be some prolonged periods of nothing … but rest assured I’m still out there doing something pretty cool.

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"A Real Cool Hand," scene from Cool Hand Luke (click to play):

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