Sipping Maple Syrup

Both of you that read this blog on a regular basis have probably noticed that I regularly comment on how slow I am. This is true. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of people that finished the half marathon before me on Saturday. On the other hand, there were probably at least as many that finished after me.

The baseline for speed that I use to gauge my own running ability is, I believe, based on how fast I think a guy like me ought to be able to go. Compared with the average 6'2", 190 lb, 32 year old, male, with a fairly substantial amount of running experience, that I have created in my head, I am quite slow. But this "average" person that I have created doesn't really exist. Given enough data it probably would be possible to create a profile for an "average" person that meets those characteristics, but he might or might not be even close to what I have imagined.

I think in life we tend to compare ourselves to people that are so different from us that the comparison does nothing but harm. It's like when my brother poured himself a glass of root beer and got a shock with his first sip. It was the worst root beer he had ever tasted. That's because it was maple syrup.

In the month or so prior to the race I encouraged a friend of mine to run it. He had very little experience with running. I told him often that he was going to beat me. He always protested and said there was no way. He thought I was being modest. Last Saturday as I ran down the road toward the turnaround I saw him coming the other way. I yelled a quick hello and he greeted me back and then continued to leave me in the dust.

I had no doubt he would beat me but I don't feel bad about it. He is much better built for running than I am. He is shorter than me (shorter people tend to do better running long distance than tall people), leaner than me, younger than me, and has better biomechanical form than me. About the only things I had going for me were more time training and racing experience. I knew that wouldn't be enough.

I don't feel bad that he beat me because I am root beer and he is maple syrup. We don't compare to each other but are pretty good at making the most of what God gave us.

And in the end, root beer is pretty tasty and goes better with pizza.

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Speaking of root beer, while not really a dessert, it contains sugar and since I make the rules on this blog I say it belongs here. I like normal root beer but, like most things, nothing beats homemade.

Homemade Root Beer

Ingredients

5 gallons water

5 lbs sugar

5 lbs dry ice
1 bottle (2 oz)root beer concentrate

In a large beverage cooler combine the sugar, water and root beer concentrate. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add about half the dry ice, having first made sure that there is enough room in the cooler for it. It will bubble and fog up a lot. The kids love it, and it's perfect for Halloween because it looks like a witch's cauldron. Set the lid on top to stop some of the splattering but do not seal the top. After about 5 minutes you can start drinking. The longer you wait while it's still fogging, the colder and fizzier it will be. When the fog begins to reduce put in the rest of the dry ice.