Monopoly

Definition -

1. exclusive control or possession of something; "They have no monopoly on intelligence"
   
2. dominance, ascendance, ascendancy, control — the state that exists when one person or group has power over another.
   

I’ve been thinking a lot about Monopoly. That could be because I played it with my children a couple of times over the weekend. That is an exercise in patience, arithmetic, deal making and decision making; all in an attempt to gain as many monopolies as possible to take control and win the game.

I suppose if you have multiple personalities that you have control over, you have a monopoly over yourself. That is what I am going to strive to achieve. While I do not believe I have multiple personalities in the classic sense, I do wear many hats that require different aspects of my personality – husband, father, athlete, employee, etc. If I have complete control over every aspect of my life, then technically speaking I have a monopoly on myself.

One thing I need to get control over is my running. I am suffering from wicked shin splints in my left leg and I need to make a change that will let me get the problem under control. I am a hard heel striker. My coach advised me to shorten my stride, which will hopefully cause me to land more towards my forefoot.

Starting out my run with a new form wasn’t the only thing that was going to be different today. My daughter decided that she was ready to ride her bike with me while I ran around Prospect Park. I was very happy and excited to hear this. She has said for a while now that she would one day ride alongside me while I ran.

It worked out as good as can be. She was able to keep up with me or stay ahead of me over the hills and 6.5 miles of riding. Absolutely no complaining and only one snack break. I asked her if she wanted to try some of my vanilla Hammer Gel. She did, but did not find it to her liking. She decided to stick with her bite size tortilla chips, while I downed some gel and a swig of orange Heed.

I was amazed at how fast the miles passed with her. I would have liked her to keep me company for longer, but I knew she was tired and ready to go home. We stopped at a local pastry shop for a well deserved slice of chocolate fudge cake. I dropped her off at home to enjoy it and I continued for the remainder of my run.

By now my soleus muscles were pretty sore. I went back to my old stride and my muscles couldn’t take the new form any longer. Now that I was alone, I decided to incorporate a trail with that had a long stairway built into it. It was very enjoyable and allowed me to get in a few extra hundred feet of climbing for my run.

In total I ran approximately 16 miles in 2:21:55. All totaled it was a perfect day all around. I had great weather (go global warming), great company and a satisfyingly completed scheduled run.