Michael: How Many Tiendas...

Beautiful blue birds,
As common as a clear sky,
Are always enjoyed.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Again, not to age myself, but Polish jokes were very popular when I was growing up. You know, like how many Polacks does it take to replace a light bulb? Three; one to hold the bulb and two to turn the ladder.

I’m not keen on ethnic jokes but a similar format could be described regarding this small town of Panama; Volcan. But this isn’t about Panamanians, it’s about the stores here, which they have in abundance.

Unfortunately, when you’re in search of a small item, like replacement candle-like bulbs for a chandelier, it can take a lot of door to door work before you might even get a whiff of success.

In my case; how many tiendas did it take to find the replacement bulbs?
Five. And even then the bulbs were Christmas lights; one green and one orange. The sales clerk said I could remove the colors by scraping them with a knife. I used sandpaper instead, and that did do a pretty good job of removing the paint.

However, within a few hours of putting in the bulbs, one of them went out. I tried to tighten it to see if that was the problem and broke it.

A few hours later the other bulb went out.

So how many stores does one have to visit to find replacement bulbs here?
God, I just don’t know. And I’m not even going to bother to try and find out. Kimme’s promised to bring back a few bulbs from the states.

I’m sure there might be some lying around in one of the ubiquitous stores around here. But I’m glad I can put off that search until some other small watchamucallit fails.

Michael: A Hacker at Hacks

Cloud free, cool and crisp;
The morning gives no promise
Of afternoon sun.

Sunday, July 27, 2017

A ‘hack’ has had several meanings during the course of my life. When I was young a hack was someone who wasn’t very good at something they claimed to be good at. Now it means finding a shortcut to save time doing something that you thought would take considerably longer.

I prefer the old meaning. I cringe whenever I hear someone suggesting an exercise or other type of hack. To me it has the denotation of cutting something short because you really don’t want to do it and would rather spend your time on youtube looking for other hacks for things you don’t want to do.

With that being said, I’m going to charge myself with being guilty of doing a meditation hack.

Before we went to the states I was trying to meditate for at least 5 minutes everyday. Then one morning I had an epiphany; why not combine lying still with lying on a plastic spine inversion gizmo that we had recently dug out of storage? And my first hack was born.

But I suppose like many hacks, it didn’t work. And after returning to the states after a 5 week visit I haven’t gone back to using the gizmo or doing meditation either.

That’s where hack #2 comes in. I’ve just finished a book on Foundation therapy that claims many of our aches and pains are caused by our bad posture and lack of deep breathing. It claims that starting with a 15 minute routine 6 days a week we can reset our skeletal structure and reduce all or most of any pain related to our posture and lack of utilizing our full lung capacity.

I’m going to give it a try and I’m also going to close my eyes throughout and consider it as a meditation. I know it’s a hack, and as much as I hate that term, I guess I’ll live with this small hypocrisy, particularly if it works.

Michael: A Done Deal

The sun through the clouds
Imagines its veiled presence
Obscures its desires.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Yesterday Adrian and I concluded our handshake transaction of his buying my old bicycle with a brake overhaul and a ten dollar bill.

 Adrian is a Panamanian who runs his A.D.N. bicycle repair shop just down the street from us. About 8 months ago when I asked him if he’d sell my bike and split the sale with me he agreed. The next day he’d thought about it and asked if I’d sell it to him. Problem was he’d have to pay me in installments - $50 a month until the $400 agreed upon price was paid off.

No problem I thought. He’s been honest with me and he lives here.

And the great part is there’s no  “trust but verify” or “buyer beware” moral twist to the story.

One month he was short on cash and we agreed he’d just double up the payment next month. When that month came he paid me $60 instead of the $100 he owed me, but I wasn’t concerned.

The next week I took my bike in to have the brake fluid changed and the pads replaced. He charged me $30 and gave me a $10. We shook hands, smiled, and I was on my way.

A good old fashioned deal done between people who, though speaking very little of each other’s language, just felt that they could trust each other. And they were right.

Michael: Racing for the Records

Through my morning eyes
I pause to watch the stillness
Of the crystal skies.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Although it’s a year away, if the calendar of events next year is the same as this year, these are the races I’ll do while visiting the states next year; the Bull Dog 25k, the Mt. Baldy Hill Climb, the Lexus 5k in Irvine and the Los Pinos 50k. They’re all in L.A. or Orange County near family and friends, Outside of the 5k, they’re all races I’ve attempted before and, again, outside of the 5k, they’re races I have personal reasons for doing.

I was thinking of throwing in the Devil Dog Duathlon, a race I’ve done many times in the past and would really like to see how I could do at 60, but this is where I feel I ought to make a concession to age if I want to do well in the other events. I’d have to gear up for that after the 5k, which wouldn’t be a problem, but that would mean some bike focused training leading up to it and then only a week to wind down then gear up for a very challenging 50k.  So that, and a few other events, are going to have to parsed out over the following years.

Bull Dog is a race I would do just about every year when I was living in L.A. It’s my wife’s favorite. And it’s a race where I’ve only beaten my arch enemy, Ron Paquete, once. He holds the 50-59 age group record with an outstanding 2:02. The record for the 60-69 age group is 2:19. I’m pretty confident that both of us, if we’re healthy, can go well under that. Of course there’s always the possibility that some other age group ace will show up and kick both our butts, but that’s always the way it is with racing. You can only control your race and not get caught up in who might or might not show up. Except for Ron, I want him to be there and I know he’ll be there if he’s still got two healthy legs underneath him. It may be the last chance we get to race against each other and I’d like it to be memorable for us both.
So I believe it’s realistic to shoot for 2:10.

Regardless, the following year I’ll move back up to the 50k where the age group record is 4:57. Again I believe a time that is well within my grasp. I’m imagining being the only Bull Dog runner who simultaneously holds both age group records in the 25 and 50k. But there’s just too many variables over the course of two years to worry about that just yet. And beside that, I’ll first have to run faster than Ron next year, which is a huge obstacle.

Over a week after that on Labor Day will be the Mt. Baldy Hill Climb. I’ve only done that race once before and came in third in my age group. Now that I live at elevation, I’m curious if I can maintain or improve upon my performance.

The 5k I’m throwing in there a week after that just to test the zip in my legs and keep it short before relaxing for a week then tapering for my revenge match with the Los Pinos 50k. That’s a race I DNFed at two years ago while I was nursing a badly bruised foot bone suffered in a bicycle accident. Eventually, I’d like to go back and finish any race I DNFed in.

Los Pinos is tough but fun in that it challenges the conventional wisdom of going out conservatively. It’s held in inland Orange County and it behooves one to motor it along at the start to avoid as much of the oncoming heat as possible. But how fast? That’s all part of the joys of figuring out how to devise and stick to a smart race plan. That can turn out to be either a validation of one’s training and smarts, or a very humbling I.Q. and reality check if  you screw it up.

I’ll throw in some other fun stuff here and there, but those are the races I’m really looking forward to training for and getting after.

Michael: Test Runs

The earth’s slight wobble
Creates those long summer days
Of lazy sunshine.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Last month concluded a pretty successful test run of races in the states. At 59 I wanted to see if I could string together a mix of trail/road races within a few weeks and perform at a high level. If the experiment was a success, then I’d feel good about my training plan and also be charged up about stringing a set of 4 races together next August/September in the states when I’m 60.

First up was one of the Renegade runs in Irvine, Ca. a rolling 5 miler. That was a speed check and would be used to gauge what tweaks I’ll need to make to be competitive in either a 5/10k next year. I came in 14th overall in 35 minutes. Not bad, but I’m hoping with a bit more consistent speed work that on flat ground I can average better than a 7 minute mile for a 5k. It seems reasonable to aim for 19 minutes on a fast 5k course.

That was on a Thursday night. That Saturday I ran a trail marathon in San Diego; the Peak Marathon. In that event I came in 4th overall, 2nd male and first in my division. Briefly, during the second half of the race, I was the first male, but I faded badly over the final few miles and came in 2nd by a minute. The fade was a bit disheartening. No doubt next year I won’t warm up to an important race with another race just a couple of days before.

It was also hot and I lost over 6 lbs. But after reading a recent article in Runner’s World and Jason Koop’s ultra marathon training book, it doesn’t seem atypical.  According to the RW article, on average, the faster the runner, the higher percentage of body weight that was lost; contradicting the claim that a loss over of 2% leads to a decline in performance. But that doesn’t mean I can neglect hydration and it won’t hurt to look into how I’m balancing my needs of water, sodium and fuel.

In San Diego, I did have two salt tablets on me and I’d been training with taking one on the hour every hour after the first two hours of a run, but in the excitement of racing, I completely forgot about them. If that was a costly mistake, I’ve got to focus more and not to repeat it.

The following week in Michigan, at the Grand Island 50k I came in 3rd overall, 2nd male and again won my division. Yet again I faded badly over the final few miles. The weather in Michigan was perfect so I doubt dehydration was involved. So I’m a bit puzzled at this point and will definitely be looking into how I can avoid fading during the my next series of races.

Still, performing so well in these three races in the space of three weeks, leads me to believe that my training is on the right track and it’s not unreasonable to aim for strong performances in 4 races over a month’s period of time next year when I’m 60.

Michael: The Annoying and the Painful

The blue eyed island
Gazes over the deep lake
Into the soft night.

Thursday, August 17,2017

For the Peak Marathon and the Grand Island 50k I raced using relatively new shoes and a waist pack instead of my usual vest. The shoes were the Nike Terra Kiger 3s and the waist pack was the Fuel Belt Uno. They worked, but not perfectly. The shoes I’ll use again racing. The pack will definitely be relegated to training runs.

I decided to switch over from my Hoka Challenger 2s to the Nikes, even though they had comfortably seen me through two 50ks in Costa Rica.  Shortly after those races and with only those events and a few training runs under their belt, parts of the sole were becoming unglued. I also felt I could use a shoe with deeper lugs.

I was considering the Hoka Speed Instincts or the Altra Superior 3s, but the Nikes got great reviews and on sale were quite a bit lower in price than the other shoes. Also, given that I haven’t raced or even trained in Altras, I was reluctant to give them a shot. One of these days, though.

For the most part the Nikes worked great up until the 4 hour mark. Then I was struck with heel pain that felt like bruises had developed under my heels. I could still run if I modified my stride, and to be fair to the Nikes, this wasn’t the first time I’ve suffered from this type of pain, but it has been quite a while. I’m hoping it’s just a break in problem, but even if it’s not, they’re very comfortable for up to 4 hours which will get me through a lot of runs and races. If I need to look for a new 50k+ shoe, so be it.

The Fuel Belt Uno worked great for what it is and I feel it’s very intelligently designed. For racing you can remove the front phone pocket and still have a 16 oz. bottle, a zippered pocket for a few small items, and a web pocket on top of that that easily holds a 5 oz flask in a secure yet easily accessible position.

My problem with it is I wanted it to ride on my hips but it insisted on moving up to my belly button. Once I gave up the fight and let it ride where it wanted, it worked fine. I’ll use it for training or for short hikes where I can make use of the phone pocket attachment. But for racing it’s either back to a vest or on to a new waist pack system. I’m once again going to abstain from traditional waist packs for racing. My memory kept me away from them for at least 5 years last time around. We’ll see how long before I get suckered into trying them again this time out.

Fortunately, I hope, there does seem to be the promise of waist belts, or bands, that look promisingly different. (I know…that’s the point of marketing), and I’ll admit I’m probably being suckered again, but come on, these really do look like they may have solved the riding up off the hips problem.  What I believe to be the most versatile of what I’ve seen out there is the Naked Band. But this time out I’m going to give it an extensive run through over many training runs before I trust it to work in a race.

Michael: New and Blue

Falling to the ground
After a night in heaven;
Where do I go next?

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my plan was to run the Peak Marathon in San Diego in my underwear. At the last minute though my bashful side caught up with me and I decided to go conventional and I went to the New Balance outlet in San Clemente and picked up a matching outfit consisting of blue two in one shorts and a running t-shirt. I’d gone from daring skin tight racer man to gray haired blue boy.

But though the outfit no longer was on the cutting edge, I was breaking conventional wisdom by racing in a completely untried outfit and a pack and shoes that were barely tried out on short runs the week before the race. And not only did I live to tell about it, but outside of a bit of heel pain the last few miles, I was quite comfortable. The outfit worked great. The pack and shoes I’ll go into more depth soon.

Was it wise? Would I do it again? No and probably. All these words to the wise serve a purpose, yet sometimes it’s a sneaky pleasure to throw a little caution to the wind by trying something new on race day. I’m not a pro. The race was short enough to where I wouldn’t suffer for long if I began to chafe a little. What the hell. Though I’d still like to do a race in some tried and true underwear.