Miles of musings on the road to Marathon #8. Running, teaching, and bird sightings guaranteed.

Monday, July 31, 2006

The Law of Weekend Warrior Succession

The law of faunal succession in Biology says that first there are colonial organisms that cling to the rocks and begin to break them down into soil (think: Fungus). The soil becomes home to things like Grass, the grasslands become home to sun-loving plants like Shrubs, the shrubland evolves into a forest as tall plants grow above the shrubs. Over time a series of trees grow and develop from pines to hardwoods depending on the location until a Mature and stable stage is reached. At which point the location is so idyllic that a developer will likely clear cut it and put in a condo complex. But I digress.

I think that something similar (save for the clear cuttting (I hope)) happens in the life of the weekend warrior.
We start our lives with post-collegiate jobs and a little dough in the pocket and we still full of energy take on active and exciting pursuits, we rock climb, sea-kayak, whitewater raft, backpack the White Mountains in winter, Road trip to faraway places and camp in squalid conditions and live to tell about it.

Then over time with weekday burdens growing we look to pursuits that can be done closer to home perhaps even during the week. We take up cycling and running. Sure they're hard, look at the tour de france, but we can do it without getting too banged up or dirty. To up the ante and to be sure to be able to keep our membership in the Weekend Warrior Club of America we run Marathons. Look we're still tough, we're still hip, we run alot.

After piling on a few marathons and a few other things the weekend scene changes again. The miles put behind the lawnmower outnumber those out on the pavement. The new battleground for the weekend warrior becomes, the softball diamond. Yes, I think that Rec League softball is the pinnacle of a mature weekend warrior life cycle. It can only be headed for clearcutting after that.

Well, gotta go, we're playing the fire department and I need to find my glove.

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