Just Running

Poetry Piątek #61

The 1st K:
warming up my muscles,
my body informing me I'm not
eighteen anymore. Then,
I just run.

An approximately middle-aged man, of whom there is a bit too much, I need to do some exercise. So, I run. It’s easy: get on some running shoes, step out of your home and run.

I have been running on and off for a long time. Sometimes a bit more serious, and sometimes a bit, well, not. I think the best period was about 10 years ago. It feels like another lifetime. I can remember running my rounds in the Parc Monceau in Paris, or Kronvalda Parks in Riga, or later in the Lintorfer Wald near Düsseldorf. I ran regularly then. And a decent distance at a decent pace. In my memory, around 10K with an average speed of 5m30s per 1 kilometer.

Am I Getting Old And Slow?

Now, I felt that I needed more exercise to get back to that level. If ever. I am, now, roughly 10 years older. After quite a good run the other day, 12 kilometer with an average speed of 5m30s, I decided to dive a bit in my stats. I have been keeping stats for a very long time. Actually, I can check back to 2011. So I did.

Turns out, I am currently faster than 10 years ago, and I run longer distances. If I ever have had an average speed of 5m30s, it was for shorter runs. About 5K. For the longer runs, most of them under 10K, I clocked a slower average speed.

Conclusion? Well, maybe this. Just go out and have fun exercising. You might be ageing, but that doesn't mean you can’t move anymore. And regular exercise, keeps you fit. In my case, that’s needed. As an approximately middle-aged dad of two and a husband, you need to be in shape to keep up.

How about you? What are you doing to keep fit?

PS: in the photo above, just across the water, is a little roofed structure. I use it as the finish line for my runs.

---

Poetry Elsewhere

Last week I told you about the wonderful poet-family I found on the platform Medium. I have abandoned that platform, but that was not because of the people publishing on it. The poets from The POM are not only gifted poets, but also kind people. One of them is Samantha Lazar. She currently runs the community of The POM and is doing an amazing job, there. Her poetry deserves to be read, and you deserve to read it. Get your copy of her book Reaching Marrakesh here:

And, of course, you can read more of her work on her Medium profile.

---

#BTLP Update

For my Bigger Than Life Project, I’m working on a manifesto. I have eight values now, that I think are important. The manifesto will have nine in the end. Obviously. So, I need to find one more. Can you help me out by giving me some suggestions? What is something you think is important? Let me know in the comments. The Eight Values of the Trpplffct Manifesto are in this picture:

Don’t forget the October playlist!

---

Did you like this? Help others find me. Here are two things you can do to help.

1: If you like this newsletter, why not tell the Substack community about it? Share your love for poetry and empathy with them here:

2: Share this newsletter. With your family, your friends, your coworkers. Whomever. Via Facebook, via email, via Twitter. Whatever you think works best. Thank you!

---

The poem on top is a tritriplicata, a poetic form I created. If you want to know more about it, click here to find answers to some of the questions you might have.