Space Art

For some reason, my brother thinks that for our track workouts, we should practice hard starts and up-on-the-toes sprinting -- in order to help me run long distances better. I'm quite sure that I will never in my life run a race of less than 2 miles, but what the heck, I'll go along with his ideas.

We did a bunch of 50-yard bursts, and I was pleased by how fast I was able to go. I even got up on my toes a bit, driving the knees -- and all the other technique things that Pat told me I ought to be doing. Of course, he still beat me by 10 yards on each sprint, but that's OK. I never ran track in school.

Back in the 1980s, though, I did have the opportunity to run on the Martin Marietta corporate track team at a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. I was going to run a 200 on a medley relay. (Coming from a swimming background, I was a little unclear on the specifics of a medley relay -- in swimming, each participant on a medley does an entirely different stroke. But as far as I knew, there was only one "stroke" in a track meet -- just plain running. But as my teammates finally explained to me, this was a medley of distances, not form.)

What was I doing on a track team, you ask? Well, for several years I had been involved with the Martin Corporate Games team as coordinator/coach of the swim team, and had worked closely with Leroy Hollins and Lori Sharp, who managed the entire spectrum of Martin Marietta participation. Well, that year, there just weren't very many people who tried out for the track team, and on the day of the competition, they still had an empty spot on the relay. Relays counted for double points, and even if the final member of the squad really sucked (which I would)...we'd still score some important points. So while the hand-wringing and worried speculation continued as the start time approached, I hesitantly volunteered to fill the empty relay slot.

Though I had quite a bit of experience in distance running, I informed my teammates that my pace for a 200 would probably be no different than my pace for a mile. They were all very kind and tolerant, but I know there was much eyebrow raising when I wasn't looking. In any case, we practiced a few baton passes and continued stretching in anticipation of taking the track.

Alas, it was not to be. As the start time for relays approached, so did the typical Denver summer storm. About 5 minutes before we were scheduled to run, the tornado sirens went off and the meet was immediately cancelled. The hailstorm arrived moments later, and it was every man for himself in a mad scramble to protect life and property. The event was never rescheduled, and I never again had the chance to run on a track in front of an audience.

So what does that story have to do with Pat's workout ideas? Well, it's this -- my legs are really sore now. Even though our total mileage was a small fraction of my normal training run distance, the intensity and differences in form were enough to torment my muscles into next-day stiffness and discomfort.

The good news is that I was able to do some good stretch-out walking at work. One of our department's highly talented artists, Bill Mitchell, was giving a lunchtime presentation on the history of artwork related to space exploration. It was at SSB, which is about a half mile away from my office on the other side of the creek that runs down the middle of the valley. Therefore, I got to stroll down the path to the creek and back up the other side. Really helped to stretch out my sore legs. It was the high point of the day.

Well, physically, anyway. Bill's presentation was the true highlight of the day. He began by showing magazine covers from the early 1950s, which were the first public images of realistic space-related science. From there, he walked us through the history of space art, explaining along the way about the process of taking real scientific ideas and translating them into breathtaking artwork. Those pictures were instrumental in translating the vision of scientists and engineers into images that we could all see and admire, giving us a feel for what was possible through forward thinking and the drive for discovery. It also gave us a better appreciation for the talent and skill that our co-workers continually apply to the aesthetic side of our business.

The presentation was an uplifting and educational experience, with more consistently fine artistic flair on display than you'd expect to see in a museum. It was a welcome break from the daily routine of our normal work, and I'm hoping they'll do more of this sort of thing in the future. Plus, I got to take another nice long walk back to the office. My legs were still stiff and creaky, but it was that "good" kind of soreness that tells you that you pushed hard without injuring yourself. It may be uncomfortable, but it still feels like...like accomplishment.

And if nothing else, having sore legs really makes me look forward to swimming. With a brain full of inspiring images of exploration & discovery, and a body that feels like it's finally inching along toward fitness, I can't wait until tomorrow. I can tell that it's gonna be a great day!