Michael: Summer Preview

The warm breeze, sunshine
And dry air foreshadowed the
Coming of summer.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Yesterday was just a bright cheerful day all around. The first day without rain in quite a while and, on top of that, it was sunny and warm all day. What a mood lifter that was.

After our morning gym workout, we went to The Roundhouse, a newly re-opened restaurant next to the gym. And yes, it is round with large windows all around; very light and inviting. And they served as close to real pancakes as I’ve had in Panama with butter and syrup. They were about twice as thick as normal U.S. flapjacks, but they’ll suffice until I can get back to a Denny’s.

And it even got better than that when, on our walk to our cottage, we saw the cable repair guy working outside on fixing the net. That may only last until the next storm rolls through and takes something else out again, but we’re  thankful for now.

Kimme and I are both dependent on the net to keep in contact with family and friends, to read and study and for entertainment. There are no bookstores or libraries in Volcan. I’ve been reading books on my tablet from Sribd, so without the net, I’ve been thumbing through some pretty well worn material. And yes, it’s fun just to goof and browse and let your mind wander through the net once in a while.

I suppose I could find things to complain about without looking very hard, but tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, and I feel there’s a lot, both great and small to be thankful for, and I’m sure as hell thankful for yesterday.

Michael: Supernatural

The roadside hawk looks
Like a small eagle but acts
More like a vulture.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

I am not a believer in the supernatural, but it is an odd coincidence that this morning is the first morning in months we’ve woken up to strong, Santa Ana like winds.

Odd because yesterday I expressed to Kimme the idea that maybe we shouldn’t look around for a place to live and just pin our hopes on being offered the land next to us. She didn’t think that was a wise idea for several reasons.

One being that next door is not a sure bet. Another is that we should see what else is out there, and finally…oooOOOOEEEEEEEeeeeoooooo…or however you indicate eerie music playing in the background, one of the main reasons we were going to look around is because it gets very windy here during January and February, and we’ve heard that just down the hill we could duck our heads out of the ghoulish Volcan winds.

Of course it’s going to take a lot more than the odd occurrence of a little wind to turn me into an occult worshipper, like if Kimme could stand by the internet receiver and make all 4 lights light up, then I might truly be astounded enough to feel there are other forces at play in this world beyond the realm of science. We’ve tried that and no such luck.

But I will make a few phone calls to look at other properties.

Michael: The Search Begins

Scavengers abound;
When life is in abundance
Dark wings will flourish.

Monday, November 23, 2015

We’ve just told a few people we’re looking for land and already we have a few interesting prospects.

One of the persons we told was a our landlord. She talked to her neighbor, a man from Spain, who is selling his house because he doesn’t have residency here in Panama so the National Bank is closing his account. He also has  homes in Chile and Florida, so he’s not hurting for places to live.

His two story house is simple, beautiful and spacious, but a little more than I’d like to pay and I have my heart set on designing my own home.

But the really exciting prospect that our landlord shared with us is that she’s going to talk to the owner of the finca who owns the land next to our cabin and see if he’d be willing to sell us that parcel. Originally, her partner was going to buy it, but he thought the asking price was a little too high. But he was dealing with a man that is much older now and doesn’t take much interest anymore in running the finca. He’s turned that responsibility over to his son, who may be more flexible in his asking price.

That would just about be ideal for us. The land’s only prominent feature is that it has a great view of the volcano, but it’s flat and is a good size for us at about 6,000 square feet. It would be the last house before the open pasture so our only immediate neighbor would be whomever our landlord rents our cabin to. And, of course, our landlord would only be two doors down.

We’re both keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll become our own neighbors for a while.

Michael: Slow Transition

Jack ass curls his lips,
Nods his head repeatedly
And brays his mantra.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

We are slowly transitioning from tourist mode to ex-pat status.

We’ve hit all the big tourists check off spots and to do’s in the highlands many times and finally we’re venturing out to places that you wouldn’t cram into a two week itinerary.

Like the small rural road to Finca La Guardia. It has no big tourists drawing points, but is a beautiful way to spend a couple of hours walking through some ranches and pastures typical of this area.

We also ate at a very small local restaurant off the main drag called Glady’s because we heard they serve pancakes. For under $4 we had two omelets, a tortilla, and something close to a pancake without syrup. No English was spoken and again it’s not a place we would’ve discovered on our own.

Now we’re being inundated with ideas for places to hike to and go spend some time at that we didn’t do in on our short tourist visit last year or so far in our extended stay this year. But we’re settling in and we’ll get there.

Michael: Friday's News

Take to the trails
Where the wild green spaces
Heightens your senses.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Apparently all it took to weave ourselves through one of the mazes in the process of building a house in Panama was a phone call to the good old U.S. of A.

After talking to Rachelle, the T.S.A. loan officer, on Thursday and telling her live over the phone that I wanted to switch the terms from a 10 year loan to 5 years, it was a done deal. I say apparently because I can see the email confirmation header using my phone as a personal hotspot, but I can’t open any mail until either our net miraculously lights up again or I go to the internet café.

Another email header from Felipe of the Volcan Hiking Club is telling me there’s land for sale, but with a small house on it. Probably out of our range and we want to build fresh anyway. But we’ll see him today and hopefully get more information.

From yet another email header I can see that Matt at houseplans.com is wondering if I’m still interested in them creating blueprints for me. Yes, Matt I am. As soon as I can open up the email about the loan, I’ll get back to you.

Live and in person, on our way to the Friday Market we saw that a company called Iron City Park is just about ready to crank up an old fashioned amusement park. I don’t know what they call the rides in Spanish but there’s a roller coaster, tilt a world, merry mixer, scrambler, giant buccaneer swing, and a merry go round. I didn’t have my phone with me so I’ll have to go back to take pictures.

But there’s no way in hell you get me on any of those rides, not even the merry go round. It’s not that I don’t mind a good thrill now and then, but Iron City Park looks like it may have been operating in the states when I was a kid. I’ll just live off my memories, thank you.

At the market I ran into James the builder who advised me to talk to Marcos the attorney about our home building plans. I, Michael the runner, will do that soon enough.

But today, after our morning jaunt with the hiking club, it’s off to the internet café to see what’s behind some of these intriguing email headers.

Michael: The Accidental Racer

Feathery leaves crown
The ten foot tall slender stalk
Like a pharaoh’s fan.

Friday, November 20, 2015

For about 10 kilometers yesterday I was a professional bike racer.

It’s been one of my fantasies since Greg Lemond’s days to break away from the pack and lead a glorious solo charge up Alpe de Huez to victory. Although yesterday I was clearly neither in the Tour de France or in the front of the pack, it was pretty exhilarating to be part of the frenzy of a professional bike race.

Yesterday’s race was the Vuelta de Chiriqui. From a blog post I knew it would be coming through town soon, but from my web searches and questioning of ex-pat riders, I couldn’t figure out exactly when. And I had no idea I’d meet up with the race when I started off on my ride in the morning.

But on my return home, as I was approaching the main road to Volcan from Cuesta de Piedra, I  saw two riders and traffic crawling up the road which only happens if there’s an event or an accident. And when I hit the corner and turned right heading up hill and people were outside cheering, I pretty much figured the race was on.
The two riders in front of me were moving away at a pretty decent clip, and since I couldn’t see any rider approaching from behind, I figured it couldn’t hurt to stay on the road and ride toward home. I must have veered onto the tail end of the race, but if I thought I would interfere at all I would’ve dismounted and become a spectator.

As it turned out there were a few riders behind me as I was passed by number 44 a few miles outside of town and #55 within a mile of Volcan. After #55 passed me the road flattens out and I was able to keep pace with him from a safe distance behind.

In Volcan there is a T intersection where if you turn right it heads up a mild grade to the small hamlet of Cero Punta. That’s the direction the race was headed. I was going to continue straight toward home. As we approached the intersection a race volunteer was waving his arm and yelling “derecha, derecha”, but I waved vigorously indicating that I wasn’t part of the race and continued straight toward home.

But for about an hour it was a thrill passing cars, receiving cheers and shouts of encouragements from the adults and children watching outside of their homes, and riding at a decent enough clip to be momentarily mistaken for a bike racer. 

It has me dreaming again and seriously considering entering Master’s bike races in a few years when I turn 60.

Michael: Plusses and Minuses

A wash of gray skies
Shrouded the day in a damp
And dreary malaise.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

I’ll start with the minuses.

We had no sun. We have no net. We didn’t go on our usual invigorating trail run. We didn’t receive the deep tissue maulings we had hoped for. I made dinner. We watched another Columbo. It was one we had never seen before because it was a Mrs. Columbo that was included as a bonus episode on the season 5 DVD. I have been avoiding watching any other Mrs. Columbo’s  after seeing two other bonus episodes, but I was feeling desperate. However, outside of the same name, Columbo and Mrs. Columbo share very little in common. I don’t even think that’s Columbo’s dog. I’m not sure how the Mrs. Columbo series ended, but it would’ve been appropriate for Columbo to kill his wife and get away with it for disgracing the family name.

On the plus side.

We did get out for a jog. On that jog I stopped at the bike store and discovered that they sell Honey Stinger gels for a reasonable $1.50. Honey Stinger will be used at my A race next year, so now I know I’ll be able to train with what will be available at the race. On another stop on our jog, we went into the Air Box Express office that just opened in Volcan. They said switching our account from David to Volcan would be easy. That means we can pick up any packages or mail we have sent from the states right here, instead of making a day’s excursion to do it in David. I feel more shoes coming my way soon. After that we had a very nice breakfast at Mary’s. Without the net as a distraction, I had time to re-work my schedule and have now freed up my afternoons. The massage was warm and soothing. My red lentil soup wasn’t so bad and is very healthy. Puppy, our neighbor’s dog that we really like, joined us on a short after dinner walk. I didn’t have to do dishes. And it didn’t rain last night and looks like it may be clear enough today to get out on a dry morning bike ride.

Who knows, maybe Zeus will bless us again with a lucky lightening strike and fix the net.

Michael: The Man in the Raincoat Returns

The intensity
Of the storm rolled over us
Like a crashing wave.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

For the first time in nearly two months we watched a Columbo. It wasn’t by choice, not that we don’t like the frumpy persistent dude. But his appearance no longer represents the entertaining solution to an upper class murder, but that our internet is no longer working.

The repair dude came a couple of days ago and did what he’s done in the past; swap out the splitter. Maybe 90% of the time that’s the problem, but not this time around. Whatever it is, we hope it gets fixed soon, before we end up making too many trips to the internet café, or start pantomiming Columbo episodes as we watch them. 

And this morning, for the first time this year, we may end up re-scheduling a run due to rain. It started raining very heavily late last night and has persisted at various intensities for over 8 hours now. It’s daybreak and we usually head out the door at 7:30, but there won’t be much point heading to a trailhead that would require Hoka like pontoon shoes; a shoe category I haven’t come across yet at Running Warehouse.

As the Monty Python song goes - “Always look on the bright side of life…“, and I wish I could whistle that happy little whistle they do after that…And on the bright side, at least our house didn’t have any mystery puddles on the floor like it did when we came home from the Thanksgiving Day bash on Sunday. With all the rain we had overnight we both were afraid we’d be wading to the bathroom this morning, but dry as can be.

The mysteries of Panama, unlike the murders on Columbo, continue to surprise us. 

Michael: Three's a Charm?

The morning choir
Of buses, birds, cows, insects,
And dogs needs practice.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

We have temporarily struck out. The Caja de Ahorro bank in Bugaba; the only bank in the area that will give new housing construction loans, requires that we have our permanent visa cards and our last year’s income tax before we can open an account. Right now we only have our temporary I.D. cards. We should have our permanent cards in a couple of months.

In the meantime, we’ll contact our lawyer and ask her for the letter that Banistmo requires in order for us to open a checking account there. They won’t give us the loan we need, but having a checking account there will eliminate some minor difficulties.

But it wasn’t all bad yesterday. Yes, we were crammed on the bus like standing sardines, but at least it was one of the larger buses, so I could stand up straight instead of hunched over. And we were lucky to get on the third bus that went by. For reasons unknown to us, it was unusually busy at the bus stop yesterday.

And when we got off the bus at what we thought was going to be the closest stop by our house, Berards Market, it was raining steadily. Sometimes the bus’s last stop is Berard’s and sometimes it’ll go a little further up the road. We haven’t figured out yet how to ask where the final stop will be, but that’s another story.

But just as we left Berards, a young man with two kids in the back of his car pulled up and offered us a ride. His name is Tito, and it turns out he’s our neighbor just two doors down. We didn’t recognize him because he’s new to the area. But he recognized us and very generously offered us a ride home. Like us, he’s renting and going to build his home nearby, though he’s a step ahead of us as he already has purchased land.

That’ll be our next step. And stepping in that direction, I’ll make another phone call to my TSA loan officer and hopefully overcome whatever communication barriers we’ve been having.

MIchael: Thanksgiving in Panama

One step, together;
That’s the rhythm of my walk
Downstairs in the dark.

Monday, November 16, 2015

We were very fortunate to have attended the American Flowers annual Thanksgiving gathering yesterday. They really went out of their way to make everyone feel very welcomed, which is particularly thoughtful of them knowing that so many of us will be away from our family and friends during the holidays.

Not only was the feast quite eclectic, but so were the ex-pats that gathered there. There were people from Tajikistan, France, Canada, Australia, Columbia, the U.S., and Panama. There were grandparents and newborns and every age in between. I wish I were better at remembering names, but hopefully we’ll run into many of these people again, though that’s a dubious proposition as the ex-pat community here is spread out over the large plateau and rolling hills that make up this region of the highlands.

It was comforting to learn that we’re perhaps not linguistic dimwits, as many here struggled for years to learn Spanish; and many, just like us, are still finding it difficult.

Several people also offered to defray some of container expenses with us when we ship here, if we don’t mind loading some of there contraband on board. They also suggested that we make our purchases of furniture in the States and ship it here as the prices for those types of goods are high and the quality is not up to snuff here in Panama. That’s welcomed news to Kimme as she’s a big Ikea fan. 

It was also good to hear that everyone seems very content with their decision to move to the highlands from wherever they came from.

We still don’t feel rooted to Panama, like we do to the states, and probably never will. But despite some of our current frustrations, we are going to try and set up shop here. 

Michael: Serenity Now!

The stallions were like
Muscular gray ghosts grazing
In the green heavens.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Either my communications skills are lacking or everyone is going crazy. I can somewhat understand the difficulties I’m having with the banks in Panama. There’s the language thing and everyone says that’s just do be expected here. But why the TSA loan officer in the states is having a difficult time processing my request is baffling to me.

It’s  beginning to become one of those “but ours goes to 11” scenes. She keeps telling me I need a GFE for a 10 year loan and I keep writing back that I don’t want a 10 year loan anymore. I’ll go with the 5 year loan that doesn’t require a GFE.

I called and left a message yesterday, but got the same email reply back later that afternoon. I sent another email trying to explain my request change along with the attached document with a BIG X on the 5 year box. But I’ve done that before as well.  I’ll follow up with another phone call on Monday if necessary. Hopefully, eventually will find a medium that is conducive to our communicating with each other.

On the bright side of life, on one of our bus rides we met up again with the bus assistant who recognizes us runners and seems to really enjoy seeing us. He shook my hand. A form of communication that I greatly appreciated. 

Michael: Alice in Panamanian Bank Land

This was just a calm
Bright day with the whistling
Birds greeting the sun.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

If I would’ve had $300 in my pocket and my landlord’s phone number  Wednesday, I’d have a Banistmo checking account. So yesterday when I returned to the bank I thought it was a slam dunk. Wrong.

Initially, the agent who helped me told me that my Bank reference letter from the states was too old. He consulted with another agent who said that the letter was no longer necessary since I had my Pensionado visa (at the moment a temporary card). But now I would need a letter from my lawyer containing her I.D. and indicating that my permanent card was being processed.

Before leaving the bank, just to be on the safe side, I asked this agent what were the requirements for obtaining a new construction loan. She said Banistmo doesn’t make those loans, only conventional mortgage loans. She was kind enough to tell me there is a bank in Bugaba that does construction loans.

Instead of checking their website, which seems to be pointless here, after all Banistmo’s states that they make construction loans and says nothing about needing a lawyer’s letter, I’m just going to go to Bugaba on Monday with all the paper work I have and hope for the best. 

Michael: Goals

The sky’s wonders of
Abstract forms and changing hues
Is everyday art.

Friday, November 13, 2015

With two months to go in our first year in Panama, I’m pretty pleased with our progress in most areas, though I definitely have room for improvement.

Financially, we’ve done a very good job of living within our budget. The bicycle was a costly splurge, but we’re still on course to buy land, build a home and get back to creating a business.

Socially, I’d give us a C+. We’re introverts and getting involved with other people or social events isn’t comfortable for us. We do go to the Friday Market and chat. We also take the bus everywhere, which for us is a kind of mingling. But we should make a little more concerted effort to be social.

Health-wise we’re on course. We’re working out everyday and our diets have also improved.

Mentally we’re challenging ourselves and trying to stay sharp. We’re both working on our Spanish, and reading, writing and drawing just about everyday.

Spiritually, ah… that’s a problem for me. Not in the sense that I feel I’m immoral or am need of redemption, I just don’t have any spiritual or ethical goals in the same way as I do for other aspects of my life. I will continue to be more loving toward Kimme.  I will continue being a vegetarian. I plan on continuing cleaning up the trails. But I don’t have any concrete steps I can envision to improve my spiritual outlook. Maybe that’s the nature of the beast. Maybe that’s just my nature. But it does feel odd that this is the one area of life that I don’t have any goals for. 

Michael: Step Two Accomplished

Young men in a group
Are as cunning and vicious
As wild hyenas.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Yesterday I was able to open a checking account at a Panamanian bank and should receive the checks next week. The checks are pretty inconsequential at the moment, but opening up an account is crucial. That means we can qualify for a new construction loan for the house we want to build here.

Exactly what the conditions for the construction loan are I’m not sure of. The very cordial representative who helped me open the checking account didn’t speak much English. I’ll inquire about that tomorrow.

Now I’m waiting for my USA TSA money to get back to me. If and when that loan funds, we’ll begin seriously looking for property.

In the meantime we have two exciting events happening soon. We’ve been invited to a Friendship Day gathering by a very nice ex-pat couple who help run a very large farm; kind of a Thanksgiving supplemental gathering since many of us won’t be with our families for that holiday.

And the Velo de Chiriqui is going to spin through town. I haven’t seen a group of professional riders ride in person in quite a while.

Otherwise, we’ve still been able to get outside and enjoy the mornings without getting our hair wet.

Michael: Another Holiday?

The storm approaches
With the pallor of death and
A ghastly howl.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Yesterday turned out to be another holiday in Panama, the Gritos de Los Santos. Los Santos is a small town near the central coast of  Panama that is distinguished by being recognized as the first place to declare their independence from Spain.

Relative to last week’s parades, the Gritos was a pretty laid back affair, and if most of the shops and the banks weren’t closed, I wouldn’t have known it was a holiday. So today it’s back to the bank.

In the states today is Veterans’ Day. What’s more meaningful is that it’s my mom’s birthday.  I always thought it was pretty cool that my mom’s birthday is 11-11, my sister’s is 6-6 and I just missed out on the numerology at 5-4. Everyone else’s birthday in my immediate family is also pretty easy to remember as there is one birthday a month beginning in March and ending in September. We skip over October and then my mom is at the end in November. I can still remember who’s birthday it is every month, but the exact date and their age has become a bit fuzzy over time. Sorry family.

But enough about me. Happy Gritos, Panama. Happy Veteran’s Day, vets. And a very happy birthday to my dear old ma.

Michael: Try, Try and Try Again Day

Soft edges and wisps
Of white and grey brush into
The sky blue canvas.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Mondays are an extra cup of coffee day. Just a day to get through and try to re-establish routines and figure out what needs to be done in the week ahead. That seems to be true even though I haven’t worked for a few years.

But today is Tuesday so it’s time to try and get some old business completed and maybe launch a new project.

First on the list is trying to open a bank account in Panama. Now that we have our Pensionado visas, that should be possible. Today we’ll find out.

If we get the affirmative head nod with the bank account, I’ll resubmit part of my loan application to the TSA loan officer in the states indicating that I’d like a five year loan.

Then I’ll try to wait patiently for their reply. Assuming I get the thumbs up, I can start planning on shipping our goods over here. I’ll also contact houseplans.com to get cranking on our blueprints.

On the more mundane household front, I’m suppose to take over dinner duties on Wednesdays, so today I’ll shop for  the ingredients for whatever soup I decide to give a try. If nothing catches my eye quickly on the net, I’ll fall back on the carrot and apple soup I made last week which is healthy but pretty bland.

I’m also going to call and see if we can get our first massages here in Panama. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a deep tissue massage. Hopefully any stress that’s relieved from the massage will be solely related to my physical training and not due to customer service misunderstandings or  strains I go through while preparing dinner.

Michael: When is too much not enough?

Slow steady breathing
Creates the conditions for
Complete surrender.

Monday, November 9, 2015

After reading Brad Beer’s book, Running Pain and Injury Free, I have learned, yet again, that I’m not doing enough.

The problem is I already feel I devote too much time recovering from my last run and preparing for the next. Six days a week I do a set of Achilles strengthening exercises, a massage ball and stick and foam roller routine, and a series of lower back stretches. Now Mr. Beer is advising me to add in a series of hip stability exercises.

I suppose I’ll give them a go. Why not?, my nightly choreographed moves across the floor could use a few new twist and rolls. Maybe a new ending will make it both bizarre and comical enough to get me an audition on So You Know You Can’t Dance. 

But that’s it. I’m also going to stear clear from reading any exercise related books for a while. Back to philosophy and exercises that’ll screw up my mind. My body can’t take any more.

Michael: Good Faith Estimate

The lettuce truck bathes
Its overflowing crates with
Rusty clouds of smoke.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

Apparently my money is hesitant to believe that I want to borrow it to purchase a home and is now requiring that I fill out a Good Faith Estimate or GFE as it’s known in the biz.

I’m new to the biz, so until my TSA loan officer told me I was missing a GFE in my loan request, I thought I was going to get away with simply checking a box on my loan application stating that I was going to use the loan for the purchase of my primary residence.

But no, now in order to loan myself money for 10 years I would have to have a seller fill out the GFE form. But since I want to use this money to buy land there is no home seller. Consequently, I’m moving on to plan C. I’m going to check the other box on the loan application and ask for a five year loan. That payback period has no requirements (that I know of yet) pertaining to the use of the loan.

Of course a shorter payback period would mean a much higher monthly payment, so I may reduce my loan request slightly.

In some ways, I suppose, it’s comforting that my money is so cautious, but it still hurts a bit that it doesn’t trust me enough to leave out third parties that have to vouge for my intentions. 

Michael: The Holidays End with a Ring

The grey winged heron
Glides effortlessly over
The quiet waters.

Saturday, November 7,2015

Traditionally this is the start of the holiday season back in the states that begins with Halloween and ends with New Years. Here in Panama the schools and many of the businesses were also closed to kick off a week of festivities.

Monday was Dia de Muerte which sounds comparable to Halloween, but is a much more somber affair in Panama. The “treats” are flowers and the “trick” is a quiet visit to the graves of relatives.

Tuesday was Independence from Columbia Day. In Volcan that meant a parade down the main street.

Wednesday was Flag Day which meant another parade down the main street. Naturally, just like the 4th of July in the states, many flags are out. But outside of the drums from the marching bands there weren’t any other booms or flashes. Later in the month Panamanians will celebrate their Independence from Spain. I’m guessing that’ll mean another parade.

On Friday Kimme and I serendipitously became involved in the celebratory spirit. We were returning from our run and on our way to the Friday Market, when we noticed a small display of jewelry set up at the Mercado by a local vendor. We promised ourselves that every year for our anniversary, which is in February, we’d wear a new ring. This being November, our time was running out on this year.

We’ve been keeping our eye out all year, and this being our first year in Panama, we wanted to find something here, but nothing had caught our eyes. Everything just seemed so touristy. But this woman was selling very simple stainless steel bands very much to our liking. So for only $10 for two rings, we ended the holiday week here in Volcan with our anniversary rings for this year.

Michael: Dominoes

The white cows trotting
Down the road glanced back at me
With large concerned eyes.

Friday, November 6, 2015

This whole aging thing is turning into a double edged sword. In order to continue to be healthy and a competitive athlete, I’ve already conceded that I should get more rest and not work out as consistently hard as I use to. On the face of it, nothing too terrible about that. But the downside is since I’m not burning as many calories, I’ve had to modify my diet.

Just like aging, this has been a slow, creeping along almost unnoticeably subtle process. Long ago I cut out soda and chips. To make up for some of the sugar deficit of dropping soda, I substituted chocolate and trail mixes from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods that contained chocolate and dried fruit. But since we’ve been in Panama, I’ve cut back on my chocolate intake and now my trail mix consist only of raisins and nuts. And instead of gobbling down some chocolate pastry in the morning and half a Ritter bar at night, I’ve cut out the pastry and I’m down to 4 measly squares of Ritter per day. It’s hard to imagine that I have the will power to allow a single Ritter bar to be in the house for four days.

For chips I substituted pretzels. I love that crunchy texture and salty flavor. They do have Snyder pretzels here, but I’ve decided to give celery with natural peanut butter a try. It’s worked for two weeks, but I can tell I’m going to regress now and then. Two steps forward, one lunge for a small bag of buffalo wing pretzels once in a while, or something like that.

When will all this madness end? At what point do I say the hell with it and go back to having Reese’s cups and brownies for breakfast?

Michael: Concessions

The warm afternoon
Ends with the beginning of
A gentle drizzle.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Kimme and I listen to a lot of pod casts about running and almost all of them suggest that as an older athlete, I should strongly consider doing less and getting more rest.

Though, honestly, many of the coaches we’ve listened to are advising younger athletes as well to tone it down and consider working out an 80/20 split. The 80 being 80% light and the 20 being 20% intense. While I’m begrudgingly beginning to feel there may be something to this “rest” concept, intuitively I know I’m not ready to go to the 80/20 extreme.

But I have started to take it easy on Monday and Tuesday and not ride or run, and I do feel a lot more spry on Wednesday trail outings.

Even on my long Sunday road runs, I’m trying to tone it down and consider the advice of running at a conversational pace. I suppose, since I’ve pretty much run by myself all my adult life, I could draw a face on my hand and talk to it as I run. I don’t want to look like an idiot just babbling to myself out there. Is there a company marketing blow up running partners? You can’t just slap on a pair of shorts on those erotic dolls. Their form would look terrible and again everyone would think I was semi-insane.

This age thing is baffling. I don’t like the concept of needing extra rest as I get older. That sounds so geriatric. But I am willing to concede that  scheduling in some extra rest is improving my performances during hard workouts and brightening my mood when it comes time to gear up and get out the door. 

Michael: The Sycamore 100K

Garden weeds are as
Green and as full of wonder
As any flower.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

The next ultra I’ll attempt is the Sycamore 100k at the end of February in San Diego, California. We’ll be in the Southern California area anyway visiting family and arranging shipping to Panama, so why not break it up with a nearby 100k?

My success rate in races over 50k isn’t very good. I’ve had a few great races, but more often than not, I’ve dropped out. But I am determined to conquer the puzzle of long races and the Sycamore, with it’s quirky format, should be a great testing ground to figure out my difficulties with completing long ultras.

The Sycamore is run on a non-technical single track 7 mile figure eight loop with approximately 1000 ft of elevation gain each lap. That’s means completing 9 laps to finish the 100k race.

In high school, I would beg the coaches to let me out of the 8 lap 2 mile track race near the end of every meet. We didn’t need the points. I had already run the mile, and 8 laps on a track was just a bore.

Of course, if I go a bit further back into my past, I remember having a figure 8 slot car track and watching those little cars zip into each other at full throttle was pretty exciting. Maybe if the Sycamore allowed you to bull rush other competitors off the trail at the figure eight intersection it would add some excitement and a new twist to trail racing. I haven’t read over the rules yet, but that’s not a highlighted feature on the home page and I’m sure they’d play that up if it was part of the race.

All right, so if loops are such a bore, why do it? Because it will give me the chance to test everything and figure out how smart and/or how tough I am.

Presuming I don’t get into another freak bicycle accident and I train properly, running a race where every 7 miles you can stop, make planned adjustments or try and fix whatever’s not working sounds pretty enticing. And, of course, the decision as to whether to stop at all or how often and why becomes part of the mental challenge and planning process of both pre-   race preparation and under the gun problem solving.

I’ll delve into the specific aspects of how I’m going to approach this great racing and learning opportunity once I’ve solidified my planning. The race is still over 3 months away. Now I’m focusing on gearing up my training and trying to get over the fact that I’m so excited to do a race that consist of 9 laps.  

Michael: LSD

There are no fat dogs
In Panama, perhaps that’s
Why they bark so much.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Here I am at 57 about to try LSD for the first time.

Why? For two reasons: One I don’t feel I can avoid it and expect to do well in the 100k trail race I’ve set as one of my new challenges for next year, and two, I’ve never trained that way before and am curious what the results will be.

I had a high school cross country coach, Coach Johannes, that wore a “Try LSD” t-shirt after school to our practices, but I wasn’t ever sure he really meant it. The longest runs he ever sent us out on were 10 milers and those were more like mini-races than LSD training. I’d always finish those runs right around an hour, and even in my prime, I’d consider that pushing it along instead of taking it easy.

Once in my high school years, I challenged myself to run around the local Marine base. That was 14 miles. That’s the longest I’ve ever run on the road.
After college I started competing in short course duathlons where the longest run was a 10k and once I turned to trail running, outside of duathlons and road races of a half-marathon or less, I started doing my speed work and tempo runs exclusively on the treadmill. All my long runs were done on the trails.

But the trails here, as beautiful as they are, are not very conducive to LSD training. They’re just too difficult for that. So I’m turning to the roads and LSD training for the first time in my life; very exciting stuff.

As far as the other type of LSD goes…I’ve always enjoyed the philosophy espoused by Alan Arkin’s character in Little Miss Sunshine. He plays a grumpy old grandfather who figures when you’re older, why not? What’ve you got to lose? That’s the time to experiment. I don’t feel I’ve reached that point yet. But I am willing to give that “Try LSD” approach printed on my coach’s shirt a go.

Michael: It's a Treat

Sunshine and rain drops
Intermingle in a bright
Morning jubilee.

Monday, November 2, 2015

After an 11 mile test rolling hill road run yesterday, I’m hopeful, with a few caveats, the Nathan Speed belt 2 will be accompanying me on all of my long road training runs and many of my races, both road and trail.

Why will this belt work for me when so many waist packs have let me down in the past? Because it stays in place. And that place is around my hips and not at my waist. I’m sure this is due to the fact that it is a limited stretch wide belt that uses Velcro instead of a buckle system. Buckles around the hips have just never worked for me.

Everything else about the belt works fine. The bottles don’t leak. They’re easy to holster one handed without looking. The mouths aren’t bicycle water bottle wide but they are wide enough to fill easily and the valves easily open and close. Of course two bottles take longer to fill than one large bottle, but on the upside they do allow you to fill up with two different fluids. At races where my stomach has started to feel queasy from ingesting too much sugar or electrolytes, it’s nice to have a bottle of plain water on hand to ingest as an alternative. That’s always brought me relief and has kept me from writing any vomit stories in my exercise journals.

However, with only 20 oz. of hydration carrying capacity, refill stations will need be no more than a little over an hour away for me. For most road runs and even many trail races, that shouldn’t be a problem. But on longer outings, I’ll reach for my Osprey Rev. 1.5.

The small auxiliary pocket that sits in between the two bottles has a key lash, a small inner nylon pocket that will hold an I.D., credit card and a few bills and closes with a small Velcro tab, and an outer pocket of stretch mesh that easily held my 5 oz. gel flask.

The large Velcro closure on this outside pocket is very easy to access and close. It could also hold my I-phone, but not both the phone and the flask. That’s not a problem during a race, but is problematic during training runs. To resolve that dilemma, I used a small Gossamer Gear pocket in the front of the belt for my phone. That worked fine. When I carry a phone I prefer the phone in the front for ease of access for picture taking. Why all companies don’t come equipped with their own detachable pocket is beyond me. Maybe pricing? Trying to sell additional belts - one for training and one for racing?

The front of the belt has a very small water resistant pill pocket. I put a salt tab in it and it was still in one piece after two hours. This is a very nice feature for me as I’m debating switching to pills for the Sycamore 100k. I like Nuun and Osmo, but for racing they’re both a little awkward to carry and use. Naturally, I’ll train with pills first to see if my stomach will give them the thumbs up.

Like an auxiliary phone pocket, I do wish this belt had a lash up-front for gloves like their Trail Mix belt does. But this is a small gripe. I’ve always found a place to stash gloves, but now that I’ve seen this feature on other belts, I want mine to have it too.

But I do appreciate the stripped down go fast aesthetic of the Speed Belt 2. If it were loaded up with additional features, it would be another belt. Again pros/cons for a company I suppose. Complicate a great belt with detachable features and drive up the price, or sell different belts for different purposes? The only company I know of that is going at the detachable mix and match route full force is Ultra Aspire. At some point I may give that system a try, but so long as the belt works on the Speed Belt 2 and comfortably stays in place at my hips, I’ll remain a loyal and happy customer.

Michael: Halloween Treats

The rust winged hawk soars
Over the valley with a
Treacherous beauty.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

While we were in Panama City each of us picked up a Halloween treat for ourselves. Kimme got a long foam roller and I got the Nathan Speed Belt 2.

The reason for the small waist belt is to start training for my A race, the Sycamore 100k, with a small bottle pack. I brought a small bottle pack here from the states, the Hydraquiver, but Kimme also likes it and, being the gentleman that I am, she uses it when we run.

Hydraquivers are on the expensive side before the added cost of shipping and duties, so I had already decided to go with a what I could find in Panama. As far as bottle packs go in the shopping centers we covered in Panama City, that meant a few limited choices of waist belts.

Waist belts and I haven’t been the best of friends in the past. I want them to ride low on my hips, but they always want to ride up to my belly button. Once there, I either have to tighten them uncomfortably and feel constricted while breathing to prevent them from bouncing, or live with an annoying bounce.  I’m hoping the Nathan, with its broad limited stretch elastic belt, will stay put.

Today is test #1 of my appropriately colored black new waist belt. Keeping my fingers crossed I haven’t tricked myself this Halloween.

Michael: Around the Horn

The afternoon air
After a tropical rain
Is heavy with sweat.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

These are a few small observations from our recent visit to Panama City.

We stayed in the Cangrejo district at the TRYP Wyndham Central. It’s a very nice area within easy walking distance of shops and restaurants and the Metro de Panama. The hotel is clean, quiet, comfortable and affordable and the staff were happy to answer any questions we had.

The Cozy restaurant down the street from the hotel was a major find for us vegetarian types. We had a salad there every night. Odd that the salads’ had all English titles while all the ingredients were in Spanish, but we figured it out easily enough.

Using the subway system, the Metro de Panama, was a great alternative to using a taxi. But it is only a one line system at the moment. I don’t know if Panama has any expansion plans, but the route through the center of the city that terminates at the Albrook Mall, served our purposes well. We walked 5 minutes from our hotel to board and 4 stops and less than 10 minutes later we were at the Albrook Mall.

The Albrook Mall is as monstrous and modern as any mall I’ve been to in the states. We walked around it for 5 hours and I’m sure there are wings of shops we didn’t see.

Kimme found a can opener at the Reys grocery store in downtown Panama. Unbelievable that we couldn’t find a hand cranked one in either Volcan, Boquete or David.

It was also very nice not to get bitten for a couple of days. It’s not like we’re being attacked by vampire mosquitoes every night here in Volcan, but we have come to expect a small bite every couple of days. Panama City was a nice reprieve.

Our internet this month has been so reliable this will be the first month we didn’t watch on old Columbo DVD. I kind of miss the old frumpy dude, but he needed the vacation.

I’m not a singer and even if I were, I wouldn’t sing “I’m a little bit country, and she’s a little bit rock and roll,” but Panama City is a fun place to visit and a big contrast in almost everyway imaginable from the small mountain .
town of Volcan.

Michael: The Cart Before the Horse

The repetition
Of  simple everyday
Tasks is rewarding.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

As soon as my loan funds, the first thing I’m going to do is contact Matt at houseplans.com and ask him to walk me through the steps of working with a designer to modify my house plan.

It’s probably not the first thing I should spend the money on. That should probably be land for our house, but I’m just too excited to wait, and the house is, after all, the desired result of the loan process. 

I’ve talked to a few people that believe you should be able to design a plan yourself through an online program, but I think that’s like believing because you can build a model car from a diagram, you could design your own car. I don’t know anything about plumbing or electrical plans or specifications just like I don’t know much about a real working engine schematic. So I figure working with an architect is going to save our house from looking like one of my model cars and keep a lot of that funky glue off of my fingers.

Naturally, the design process isn’t free. If I stuck to the plan I like as is, blueprints would only cost a very low $200. With modifications it’s going to be more like $1700. But that’s still way under the average costs and well worth the expense of having professional plans a contractor can use.

Michael: My New Traveling Companion

The sheet lightening
Flashes on the horizon
In soft white patches.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Before we returned from the states, we were walking to the internet café on a regular basis, which meant I had to lug an old Dell laptop with me. It’s about the size of a small briefcase and, according to Kimme, quite outdated. For my birthday, she decided to update me with a Nextbook; a 2-1 notebook, that I just started becoming familiar with using.

This thing could become dangerous. Because it’s so small and light, not only will it travel better, but I can lie in bed and read with it, check my email, or browse the web. If I moved the bed into the kitchen and kept a charger nearby, the only time I’d have to get up and move would be to go to the bathroom.

But that doesn’t mean the old Dell is going into the trash heap. I still prefer it’s larger screen and keyboard over the Nextbook. But I do have a decent desktop computer in the states in storage and when that gets here, it may be time to erase our memories and to depart with my old Dell traveling companion.

Michael: My New Traveling Companion

The sheet lightening
Flashes on the horizon
In soft white patches.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Before we returned from the states, we were walking to the internet café on a regular basis, which meant I had to lug an old Dell laptop with me. It’s about the size of a small briefcase and, according to Kimme, quite outdated. For my birthday, she decided to update me with a Nextbook; a 2-1 notebook, that I just started becoming familiar with using.

This thing could become dangerous. Because it’s so small and light, not only will it travel better, but I can lie in bed and read with it, check my email, or browse the web. If I moved the bed into the kitchen and kept a charger nearby, the only time I’d have to get up and move would be to go to the bathroom.

But that doesn’t mean the old Dell is going into the trash heap. I still prefer it’s larger screen and keyboard over the Nextbook. But I do have a decent desktop computer in the states in storage and when that gets here, it may be time to erase our memories and to depart with my old Dell traveling companion.