$35.00

Thirty five dollars is simply not a lot of money.  I remember when I was a kid and every thing that I wanted was about 5 bucks.  I even remember in high school when everything I wanted was ~ 20 dollars, and even when in college it seemed everything I wanted was about $100.  Either way, $35 is just simply not a lot of money.  In fact, it is a very small amount of money.  35 is a small number.  35 shingles will not cover your roof.  35 leaves will not fill a tree.  35 minutes do not make up a significant part of your day.  35 is small.  So, how is it that 35 years seems such a vast divide between my 47 years and my son's 12 years?  I figured that when he was 20 or so he would be stronger and faster and bigger than me (muscle wise... I'm sure my mid section will still be bigger), but not at age 12.

We ran home today from church.  We have run home from church several times together.  It is only 3 miles.  A straight shot East on Hwy 60.  When we first started running from church, I would have to double back to make sure he did not get too far behind on Hwy 60 and get into trouble.  I would stop at the cross streets and allow him to catch up.  After a while, I no longer had to double back for him as he made a good effort to keep pace.  Every so often he would suggest that he had a cramp or something, a stitch maybe, but he would still keep pace.

Today, he kept pace the entire time, and then decided he wanted to go faster on mile 3, so he picked up the pace.  He went from running 8 minute miles to a 7:30 mile.  I did not want to go faster, I wanted to slow it up.  He went faster.... so, I went faster... but HE WAS PUSHING ME!

In my mind I made all sorts of excuses.  One time a few weeks ago, I was nursing a calf injury.  We ran home from church and I felt pretty good.  After 2.5 miles, my calf "tweeked up" and I had to walk.  He kept going.  It was a legitimate and convenient excuse.  I was injured.  Today I was not injured, so I had to come up with another excuse.  I have been off from my injury for a while and I just don't have the cardio that I normally have.  That was one.  I ran yesterday.  That was another. I am still recovering from a half marathon one week ago.  Yet another.  I have another half marathon in one week, so I did not want to over do it.  All true.  All valid excuses!  -- But at the end of the day, they are simply excuses.  I am having to make excuses for why my son can run faster and probably farther than I can.  UGH!!!!  HE IS ONLY 12 years old.  He does not even have all of his teeth.

I am going to have to make a revision in my earlier statement(s).

$35 is a LOT of money!
Oh the things I could purchase with $35.
I hope I have $35 more dollars to be able to spend.  Maybe when he is 47 and I am 82 I will push him again.

BTW.  I am NOT going to let this go lightly.  He will have to work at it if he intends to stay up with me.  I just wanted to have that on the record.

Salt Lake City Half Marathon

It is time for my race recap of the latest race.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Registration:

Registered online again through ChronoTrack.  This race also required proof of finish time to be placed in the appropriate coral.  A link had to be sent to the organizer to the race results showing your time.

Fee:
$75
$6.06 processing fee
Total, in case you hate math $81.06

The Expo:

This expo was at the Salt Palace Convention Center.  It was very small.  There were just about ten vendors and the packet pick-up area.  I think they intentionally made it small because it was in conjunction with FitCon which was right next door.... and in your race packet there was a wrist band that was good for the day at Fit Con.  I had never been to a FitCon before, and I cannot say that I will purposefully go back to one.  It wasn't bad... it was interesting.  I had a few hours to kill, so I decided to go on in.  There were Crossfit competitions happening and Ninja Warrior type competitions happening and stationary bike competitions, etc.  They had Creatine and protein supplements and energy drinks and wheat and grass for sale and sample, tank tops and tight pants everywhere.  There were some extremely muscular men all over the darn place.  Everyone who worked one of the booths was a super large person.  There were MANY women who were wearing very little.  As strange as it may sound to some of you, I had to turn my head and increase my walking pace to avoid seeing some of the things that were there... I did not need for my mind to be wandering -- not sure if that makes any sense to some of you, but I made a conscious choice to avert my gaze and move on a little quicker.  I really only spent about 10 min in there.  It just did not FEEL like a place I wanted to hang out.

Shirt:
The shirt was another wicking, tech shirt.   I am amassing quite the collection.


Race Day:
Saturday

Race Start Time:
7:00 am.  We started right on time.  I was in Corral B, which was just behind the elite athletes.  We went off 30 seconds after the initial gun time.  I found it kind of funny because a few of the guys who were next to me in Corral B were anxious to get started, so they ran over and under and through the rope that the volunteers were holding to separate the waves and ran on to takeoff with the elite athletes.  I wonder how many of them took off too fast and lost it quickly?  Especially considering there was this massive hill at the very start.  I had no intention of going off fast in this race.  I really should have been in Corral C or D, as my intent for this race was to finish well and not hurt my calf again -- which as you read, you will learn that I accomplished both of those goals!! YAY!

Course Map:


As I looked at this map before the race, I thought to myself that it would not be so difficult.  The elevation at the start was only 4800ft or so.  That does not sound too bad.  Then it mostly goes downhill.  There appear to be some minor elevation increases, but they look minor.  Well, let me tell you they were not minor.  Holy cow, who knew that a simple 200 ft elevation could be so brutal.  Maybe it was the altitude.  Maybe it was that I was/am out of shape.  Maybe it was the 40F weather.  I am not sure, but the steep hills were killers... the ones at the beginning anyway.  I ran the first few hills up to mile 6 and then I walked every other hill.   I was really concerned about my calf and re-injury, so I decided to walk the hills.
Race Type:
This was all road race, with some hilly sections.  The roads were in good shape and it was rather scenic.


Yes, those are mountains in the background.

Accommodations:

I stayed in an AirBNB basement apartment.  It was 1.5 miles from the start and about the same from the finish.  There was a kitchen and a bedroom and a living room and a bathroom.  Everything I needed.  The ceilings were very low, only 7.5 ft... but that did not bother me.  I watched a few movies on the Amazon Fire Stick in the living room and I ate the freshly baked banana bread and fresh fruit that they provided. 

Transportation:
I took a Lyft to the Convention Center from the airport and from the room to the airport on the way home, but I walked everywhere else.  The room provided enough food for me that I did not have to go out and get any dinner or breakfast anywhere, but I walked to the race and from the race.  It took me 47 minute to walk to the race and 2 hours to walk back... AFTER the race.  (My phone died and I did not have GPS.  I knew I was on 300th street, but I was not sure if it was N,S,E or W... and yes, there was all four.  Not only that, I knew it was 1060 something which meant I needed to be at the 1000th street cross street, but again was unsure if it was 1000th N,S,E,or W.  So, I started off in one direction, then back and around and back again until I finally made some sense of the mountains and their location, then I limped my way back to the room.)  I am now going to buy a back-up battery to carry with me for this reason.  I use a lot of battery life, as I have Pandora radio on and Strava running GPS.  They both eat up my battery life... then I can't find my way home.

Weather:

The weather was cold.  It was 40F at the start. It warmed up to 50F, but I could not feel my fingers until mile 8.  It was not a biting cold though.  I just felt like I wanted to run with my hands in my pants.  I tried warming my hands on my belly at one point, but it was just as cold, so it did not work.  I wish I had had some gloves to wear for the fist 8 miles.

Race Morning:

I walked in the dark toward the race start, through the University of Utah campus.  It was a nice, although cold walk.  I got a little warm-up just walking over there as it was uphill the entire way.  Truth is, I was winded just from walking up 300th street which was a very steep hill.

Race:

Every time I have ever been to Utah (to ski) I was struck by how nice the people were.  The chair lift operators and the waiters and hotel staff have always been nice.  I assumed it was just a mormon or LDS thing.  The people here... at least the racers... not so nice.  It was not that they were mean per se, but they sure did not care about anyone but themselves.  I am pretty sure someone cut me off at every water station.  One guy in particular ran in front of me, took the water that I was reaching for,  and then abruptly stopped.  I ran into the back of him.  Did he apologize?  Uhmmm, NO!  I think he was bothered that I bumped him.  Some of the races that I have run have had water stations on both sides of the road.  I like that much better so that not everyone gets all bunched up... especially toward the end (after the halfway point) where people have a tendency to walk and/or stop at the water stations.  This one only had water on one side.
The start was a little unorganized, but I think that was simply because a few of the guys did not want to wait their turn.  Otherwise it went off nicely and the rest of the race was smooth.  The course was well marked and there was good police presence.  The roads were blocked off nicely and I noticed no traffic concerns.

Water/Food Stations:
There were water and Gatorade stations every1.5.  But, all I saw was water and Gatorade.  One "unofficial" station outside some kids' house was serving shots of alcohol.  "FREE SHOTS" read the sign.  I thought that was interesting.  I saw some halfed bananas at a couple of stations.

Scenery:
The scenery was mountains and downtown salt lake city.  It was pretty.  We rain through a park of some sort at one point which was nice.  In all it was a pretty course.  I was able to enjoy some of the scenery this time.

Race Entertainment:
I only noticed a few bands on this race.  The entertainment did not seem to be a big focus.  It seemed as if it was more about the course and the race.  Maybe there was a big after party?  I did not notice.

Finish:
The finish was on the other side of town from the start, which is the reason that I chose a AirBnB in the middle... but as I mentioned, without a GPS, I got a little confused.  My Garmin was pleased with my step count for the day.  At the finish there were bananas and protein bars and water and Gatorade, and some fruit cups.  I did not pay much attention to whatever else was going on.  I imagine that there was entertainment and other after party "stuff", but I did not notice any of it.  
  It is likely hard to tell, but I am seriously trying to smile for the photo in this picture.  I made a sincere effort.


Bling:

The finishers medal was smaller than I expected.  It appears to be in a bag tag theme as the race was sponsored by Alaska Air.


Misc:

It was a nice race.  I did not run as fast as I had hoped, but walking the hills will kill your time.  I am happy that I did as I am not injured-- again.  I have my next race in Indianapolis in just one week.  I enjoyed the scenery and the good roads.  I did not enjoy the hills, but if I were not just coming off an injury, I think they would have been fine.

Post Race:

As I mentioned, it took my two hours to walk back to my room, but it was a nice walk.  I was a little tired though.  It took six days for them to post the race photos, but the results were up right away.  I have not received any emails or solicitation from them yet post race -- unlike the route 66 marathon in Tulsa.  I still get emails from them about weekly.  Next race, next weekend in Indianapolis.  Calf seems good.  Cardio seems poor.  Running out of time.

Hills and altitude

I ran the Salt Lake City half marathon today. I will give a race recap later, but for know I will fill you in on the race from the airport.

Hills and altitude. The race was 4700 feet up at the start. And finished a couple hundred feet below that. I was expecting some uphill sections, but these were not hills. They were mountains. And for the record, there are mountains high enough -- to keep me away from you. (It's a song... or at least my version). These hills were pretty steep and couple that with a higher altitude than I am accustomed to, then you have a recipe for exhaustion.

As you are aware, I have not been able to train too much in the last several weeks. I was only able to run 20 miles in the last four weeks when I had been averaging 20 miles per week.   I was also still a bit concerned about my calf. During the last race in Little Rock I re-injured it. Then laid off for several weeks and then started training maybe a little early and injured it again. I was afraid that I would continue to injure and reinjure over and over. I have another race in just two weeks in Indy. So, I decided to take it easy on this one. My goal was to finish uninjured -- which I did!!  YAY!!  Of course I also wanted to put up a good time, but in the end I opted to walk the steep hills so that I did not hurt my calf again. It apparently worked... but DANG... walking will slow you down.

In all, I am pleased. Pleased that I fiaished in decent time and pleased that my leg is better. Now I can begin to train again. I am looking forward to getting back in shape.

Race recap next -- we are boarding the plane.

This is Ridiculous

I have decided that this injury business is just plain ridiculous.  The treatments are ridiculous.  The resting is ridiculous.  The worrying is ridiculous.  The stretching and massaging and oiling and soaking and icing and abstaining and stopping... all ridiculous.  I decided I was going to act like I was 20 again.  I don't care what my orthopedic surgeon has to say.  I am going to run and play racquetball and run and jump and exercise and act like I am still invincible.  SO I HAVE!

This is just plain ridiculous, I tell you.  I have now run nearly 17 miles and played racquetball twice... multiple games each time.  I ran 6.6 miles in Seattle, 2.4 miles on Monday, 2.6 mile on Wednesday, 3.3 miles on Friday, and 2.6 miles today.

There is some tightness and soreness and a twinge of pain here and there, but I am choosing to not be held hostage anymore.  I am going to pretend that my doctor told me it was tendonitis and there is nothing I can do about it,  except settle for inactivity, but I am not choosing inactivity, so what are the consequences?  Pain!  The only consequence.  It will hurt, but not create further injury.  (This is what the doctor told my daughter when she went for her ankle and her wrist).

So, this is the choice I am making.  I have decided and that is that.  Tendonitis be darned!  Torn or pulled muscles -- Pshaw!  Not interested!!

I have a race on April 22.  Then another race just two weeks later.  I am going to get back to my regimen and get myself back into shape.  This is ridiculous!

Cardio stinks right now.  Run times stink right now!  Endurance stinks right now!  Enough is enough.  I am a not gonna take this anymore!  I am determined to get back on track.

Here I go!

Thanks for "listening".

Psycho - logical Warfare

Psycho - logical.  It just not seem to me that these two words go together... and No, for those of you who are wondering... I am NOT crazy!

I HAVE often wondered, though if one WERE crazy, would they know it?  Do crazy people think they are crazy?  My bet is they think WE are crazy.

I seriously doubt that any of you are unaware that I have had a bit of a calf injury.  It has caused me to be sidelined for longer than I wanted to be, prevented me from training the way that I should, decreased my level of performance at races, and increased my level of whine. -- as you well know.

I have been taking it real easy and making a concerted effort to not re-injure myself.  I pay close attention when I am running and "listen" carefully to what my leg is telling me.  I have been told that it is OK to talk to yourself, just as long as you don't talk back.  Although I mentioned that I am not crazy, my calf has been talking to me and I have been talking back, or at the very least doing what my calf is telling me to do.

Most of my runs lately have been shorter distances and I have allowed a couple to several days in between.  I fell like I am getting better each time.  I ran the other day in Seattle.  6.6 miles around Lake Union.  It is only 6 miles, but I made a wrong turn and made the run a bit longer.  I felt pretty good.  I could feel the tightness in my calf the whole way, but it was not painful.  I simply shortened my stride and tried not to "push-off".  It worked nicely and I did not have pain afterward.  These are good signs that I am getting better.

Today the plan was to run 5 miles.  I was running along at about 7:58 per mile.  It was hot -- 90 F.  I could feel the tightness in the calf, but again, no pain.  Running pretty good, paying close attention.  Then what do you think happened just after mile 2?  ... ???  .... ???? ... ??  Nope!  The tightness completely resolved.  I felt nothing.  Nothing.  It did not hurt and it was not tight.  It was as if you had had a "stuffy" nose for a few weeks and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the air just flowed freely and you could breathe.  Or when you have a pain in your neck or back and you move a certain way and hear a quick pop and the pain just disappears.  I was excited... until .... the calf got warm.  Just in that one spot.  It was weird.  So, the psycho - logical warfare started.  Was that blood pooling up?  Had it quit hurting because I tore it completely?  Did I cause some nerve damage?  Or is it just miraculously better?  I know people have been praying for me.

So, I got a little nervous.  Decided it was not worth the risk and walked the rest of the way home.  I am still not in pain, but I think I will ice it and live to run another day.

This is some crazy business.  All my life I have used the "walk-it-off" mentality.  Work through the pain.  But now, I am just old I guess and I am told I am not 20 anymore (from my orthopedic surgeon) -- two problems with that.  One.  I have an orthopedic surgeon.  Two.  He actually said to me, "You're not 20 anymore."  -- UGH!

Oh Well.. I will let ya know how it goes.