When a PR is no longer possible... a friendly rival will do!    Perhaps you have wondered about the meaning behind the teasers which have recently appeared on this webpage--Felix "Six More Weeks" Makilong. The meaning is to be found in the same strange physiochemistry that causes Berrie Straatman to remark, "Mick's running today...now I can't take it easy. I'm going to have to work harder at this race." My encroaching mortality confronts me daily, as my once well-muscled and efficient physique has quietly and steadily been going the way of all flesh. Gone are the days of PR's. My mitochondria have maxed out. My lactate threshhold is lower than my plantar fasciitis and lactose intolerant as well! My VO is maxed by the simple exercise of getting out of bed for the morning race. I'm adrenalin allergic and my warmups for the races now take place during the first mile of the race itself. Struggling with my obvious decline I groped for a solution to running motivation. I needed a new goal. I stumbled upon the answer gradually and almost by accident. During the first 5 1/2 years of my newborn son's young life, I cut back my running and focused mostly on being Dad. I continued to do road races, but not as well as previously. I also quickly discovered that I could no longer beat Felix Makilong. (Felix, by the way, is a very consistent trainer and excellent mid-pack runner). A twinge of regret washed over me, but I shrugged it off reminding myself of the great time I was having being a father. I further consoled myself with the thought that eventually my son, Chris Kelly, would be older and it would be possible to train harder again and get back into better shape and faster times. But something quite unexpected happened in the five years that passed: I got older!...and slower and my shape was taking on strange dimensions. New PR's don't even have a prayer. Doing the Cross-Island 10Mile run in 1 hr and 15 minutes may never happen again. But just when I thought things were unbearably bleak, I began catching Felix on the 5K's. A spark of hope re-ignited the old flame. Then came the day I actually passed him and I realized this was the answer I'd been looking for: a friendly rival of roughly equal ability experiencing the same degenerative effects of aging at the same approximate rate as me! I graciously gloated and Felix graciously congratulated me. The next time out, I passed him again and, as I did, I heard Felix speaking to the thin air, with feigned disgust, "Should I trip him?" I chortled on by in a new burst of speed, bouyed by this backhanded compliment. After my next victory, Felix said, with disgust that was less feigned, "Next time I know I'll trip him!" Then came summer vacation. I lost a mile per minute for each week I was off-island (6 1/2 weeks) and my abs turned to jello! Upon returning to the island a 5k became a Long Slow Distance run for me. And, Felix was beating me again. Ah, but now I had a goal. I knew if I trained harder and lost the abs, I could revel in the possibility of passing my friend once more. I told Felix, "Felix, I won't be any danger for a while, but in six more weeks watch out, I'll be a veritable force of nature. Then I'll start giving you grief again!" From this came the jibe "Felix 'Six More Weeks' Makilong". I haven't beat Felix yet, but I have four more weeks to my goal. I really made him sprint at the Navy Ball 5K on the Admiral Nimitz Golf course. Startled by my stealth approach from behind Felix really turned on the jets. He was untouchable. I was beaten, again, but the gap is narrowing and I'm four weeks ahead of schedule. (Honesty compels me to mention that Felix had run another 5K race that same morning. And I did request that as a matter of courtesy I would appreciate it if he would always run a prior race on the same day before challenging me). So, when you cross that invisible line and move into the netherworld of vanishing PR's, declining times and the expanding middle, choose a friend who is making the same journey at the same proximate rate of descent as you are and foster a friendly rivalry! At this stage of my life, I'll choose a friend over a PR anyday. In it for the Long Run, Neil "Mid Pac" Culbertson, GRC Prez   Webmaster's note: If you have a humorous reflection on a running-related incident or a special experience with a Guam Running Club race, consider writing it up and letting us publish it on our site. Include a jpeg photo and e-mail it to us by clicking this link: Running Briefs