Last Times

JULIAN PIONEER CEMETERY the final resting place of many of Julian’s early residents. Gravesites date back to the mid 1800s.

“This historical cemetery began in the 1870’s amid the clamor for gold in the hills surrounding the newly established Julian. For many pioneers, the toil of hard life ended on the hill above Julian.”


… it took sixteen men to drag a sled bearing her casket from the church up this walk ..

 

There will be a last time ..

I discovered my passion for cross-county and long distance running relatively late. I ran my first 10K at the age of 15 and tried to compensate what I lacked in talent with persistence and sophisticated training. Moderately successful, I celebrated my first 3K under 9 minutes. My most desired barrier however, I never broke; I never managed to run a 5K race under 15 minutes.

At some point all the trophies didn’t matter anymore and were left behind at one of our moves. I still have photographs from some of the races, and vivid memories of hard fought battles. However, I don’t remember the last time I ran a 10K under 32min. or even under 38min.

“There is always a first time” .. sure, and “there’s a first time for everything”. For some of those first times, you may have waited a long time and some of those first times may not have lived up to all the hype or your expectations. I really don’t want to sound dramatic, but maybe, just maybe that “There will always be a last time”, has a much more profound meaning.

There will be a last time you kiss your child good-night, a last time, you get a raise, a last time you go to work, and a last time you kissed your spouse – and not necessarily in that order.

I just returned from a 12K run and it was rather slow, considering standards I had set for myself a long time ago. Some hurt, but I still enjoyed every step …