It's called "persistence hunting"

First, the recap, now that I’m fully recovered from my semi-exhausted, thoroughly sweat drenched, and slightly dehydrated state from last night.

 

Yesterday I set out for a 3.5 mile run.  I decided at the turnaround point to take it an extra couple of miles (I had already gone nearly 4 miles, so 5 or so shouldn’t be too bad) and run to the next mile marker on the White Oak Bayou trail.  Besides, it was still light out and an extra mile or so wouldn’t do me too bad.

 

I missed the mile marker.  A fat family was standing right on top of it, and I just kept running to the 6 mile turnaround point—the railroad tracks just north of 34^th.

 

Sooo…  I went the full 3 miles to the turn around without a pause.  I caught my breath on the tracks, then started chugging it back home.  About ½ mile in, I saw the mile marker.  Right about this time I noticed it was starting to get dark, and I only had another 2 ¾ miles to chug.  I don’t like running certain parts of my routes in the dark, but I figure that even in my slightly tired state there’s enough testosterone coursing through my veins to allow me to good and flip out on someone if I had to.  At the very least, I just keep running and if they want to steal my shoes (about the only thing of value I run with), they’d have to keep up with me or knock me down.  Regardless, I motored on home, pausing only 1 time along the trail where there wasn’t a red light or cross street with traffic, and made it home with a time somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 hour.  I still don’t have a watch (and may not get one), so I’m not sure.

 

However, in the course of 7 days, I’ve gone from 2 miles to 6 miles.  I’m ready for my PR at the RTW tomorrow.  Can’t wait.

 

Ok, now for this “Persistence Hunting” thing.

I’m almost done with my runner’s porn “Born to Run”.  The underlying thesis of the thing is that man is a highly evolved creature.  A creature highly evolved for long distance, endurance running.  We are so well evolved for it, in fact, that man can outrun a horse over 50 miles.  We are so well evolved for distance running that a human man can run down an antelope until it keels over from exhaustion and dies.

I’d SO totally love to see that.  A pack of marathon runners, in the middle of a sunny summer afternoon, zeroing in on an antelope in the high savannah, and then BAM!! Taking off after it as it darts away.  10 or 15 k later, the thing is keeled over dead as a doorknob.  That would be BEAUTIFUL!!

 

So, I googled “marathon hunting” and found “persistence hunting” and found a handful of videos.  Totally righteous.  We are not only born to run, we are highly evolved creatures that are designed specifically to run, and run for long distances.  That’s why Neanderthals died out, and we won.

 

I am man.  I can outrun an antelope.