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closeHenry James has a full plate, and you get the sense that he wouldn't have it any other way.
The 50-year-old Bellingham man has coached youth soccer, including the WFC Rangers, for 13 years. His day job is providing software support at Dealer Information Systems Corp.; he says he's usually on the job by 5 a.m.
James also is an avid runner, and a high-level one at that. Last week in Spokane, he competed in the USA Track and Field Masters Outdoor National Championships,
Against runners in the 50-54 age group from Canada, California, Minnesota, Texas, Arizona, Illinois and Colorado, James won his preliminary heat for the 400 meters in 55.94 seconds. In the finals, James took second in 54.71, his best time this year.
James doesn't run the 400 often, as he's more likely to run longer distances such as the 800 or even a half-marathon. His training schedule has been inconsistent in recent months, he said, because he's struggled with some various nagging foot injuries - "the price of getting old," he said with a grin.
"I tried track and the 400 for the first time in 2004, and since then I've been injured most of the time." James said. "I've only done six 400s since 2004. This was the first year I was really too injured to do it - (but I feel) healthy enough to compete enough to feel like I could be competitive."
Last year, James was limited to one half-marathon and one 400 race.
"Over the past several months, I've been nursing injuries, so I really cut back on my running," he said. "It's been a month of training, two months off, three months (on), that kind of cycle."
James was presented with the opportunity to run in the Masters when the meet was held close to home, so he took advantage, he said.
"This year it just happened to be in the Northwest," James said. "It travels around; typically it's on the East Coast, so it was nice to have the opportunity to go.
"I was hurt most of last year, then my goal this year was to try go to nationals. So everything I did this year, in terms of rehabbing, most of my training was cross-training - bike, in the pool, elliptical, that kind of thing - was to try and minimize the injuries and stay healthy enough to get to nationals. So I haven't done anything other than 400s this year, where I typically would do other types of racing."
The competition is but one benefit of running, James said, especially when he was healthy enough to run several times a week.
"It's hard - because I like running - to take time off," James said. "There's that balance of trying to perform or run injured, to keep your fitness level up or your endurance level up, and backing off enough to let it heal."
He has great praise for the group with which he runs, and said that was one of the key elements he missed when he wasn't able to join them.
"There's a group of friends I run with, usually on the weekends, and I haven't done that in almost a whole year," James said. "I really miss that group camaraderie, also. It's fun to interact - we talk about kids and all the other things - and you miss that group activity."
James is originally from Everett, but he came to Bellingham in 1976 to attend Western Washington University.
He admits that taking time off from just about anything simply isn't his style.
"There have been big chunks of time, where I've taken three, four, five months off, and it kills me," James said. "In the first couple of months, you see people running by, you go 'Ooohhh ...' "
Reach Craig Parrish at craig.parrish@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2279.
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