Michael: The Active Tourist

The mountainside ghosts
Glide slowly around the crown
Of the volcano.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Now that summer’s here I’m sure we’ll see a few more tourists out and about. And if I were one on of them and I were blitzing through the Volcan area as part of a tour through Central America, this is what I’d recommend:

If you had only two days to spend here, I’d start in Boquete and take the Volcan Baru trial over the highest point in Panama then down into the small hamlet of Bambito where I’d catch the bus into Guadalupe and stay at the Quetzal Lodge. The next day I’d hike back over to Boquete via the Quetzal trail. That would be a very challenging two day excursion on the two most famous trails in this area.

If I had any more time to spend here, I’d break up that trek back into Boquete with a few days stay at the Totumas Cloud Forest Lodge. It’s a stunning place with various trails in a secluded new lodge with very amiable and knowledgeable proprietors.

If Costa Rica were also in my itinerary and I was already in Volcan or Boquete, I’d consider taking the bus over the border via Rio Sereno and then take the short bus trip into San Vito and visit the Wilson Botanical Gardens. San Vito is a very enjoyable town and there are many fine B&Bs there. We really enjoy Casa Botanica, which is only a short walk away from the Wilson Gardens. The owners are great and have no problems preparing a delicious vegetarian breakfast.

I’m sure there are other highlights in the tourist guides out there, but these are the places we’d find ourselves going to again and again.

Michael: Ex-Teacher Kicked Out of School

Only the crickets
And the swirl of a lone truck
Break the night’s silence.

Monday, December 5, 2016

For the past month on Mondays Kimme and I have been heading over to the nearby school to play Frisbee on their field. I was surprised that the school didn’t seem to mind because in the states we wouldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes the first time we tried it.

But it turns out the schools here do mind, it just took them a little longer to shoo us away. Today a woman I presume was an administrator of some type very cordially told us we were welcome either before school, after school, or any time during vacation which will begin in two weeks.

Not a problem. In two weeks we’ll return and play there for the next three months. That gives us three months to also scout around and find some place else to play once school’s back in session in March.

Michael: Rain Rain Go Away

An armadillo
Clad in its gray armor
Is ready for war.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Yesterday I went for my first fairly long ride in three weeks. I thought that would be a great way to inaugurate, at long last, what I thought for sure was the beginning of the dry season.  It did rain a touch long after I got home but that’s not unusual.

But this morning the weather gods warned me that they can be rather fickle this time of year. We were just about headed out the door to go on a 5 ½ volcano jog/hike when clouds quickly appeared and it started sprinkling. We instead decided to go out for a leisurely Sunday breakfast.

It seemed to be clearing up and we felt a bit foolish for not venturing out like we had planned, but shortly after we got home it started pouring, and it’s been pouring ever since. Just like a typical rainy season day, which maybe we’re still in. But tomorrow’s another day - hopefully a warm and sunny one, that will be truly be the first of a long string of warm sunny days.

Michael: Altitude Vs. Heat and Humidity

The indigo sky
Sprinkled with sugary stars
Is a midnight sweet.

Saturday, December 3, 2016

In Los Angeles, where I spent most of my life, it could get very hot in the summer and when training for an ultra it could prove to be very prudent to throw in a little heat training. If I had enough fuel and water I actually kind of enjoyed running in the heat.

Here in Volcan, heat isn’t a problem. During the dry season it might get into the 80s tops. Here it’s all about altitude. Volcan sits at about 5k and the nearby trails provide opportunities to run up to 11k. Now that I’ve been here for two years I don’t give the altitude a second thought, except to wonder if I’d do better at lower elevation races.

I could find out fairly easily if I so chose by heading downhill into David and running there, but that place is Hell. It’s both hot and humid. In L.A. I never experienced that combination, and I have no desire to ever re-locate to an area where that occurs on a regular basis. During races here, sometimes runners will come up from David to race and I wish  my Spanish was good enough to ask them what they think of running up in the cool hills versus the misery that’s David or Panama City.

I also wish there was an online index that compares heat and humidity training to altitude training. I would hope that altitude would win out, but even if it didn’t, I’m staying up here where it’s nice and comfortable. On one of my bike rides I dip my toes into the sea level altitude, but I don’t hang out there and head back up into the cozy climes of the hills as quickly as my spindly little legs will carry me.

Michael: And Speaking of Diet

The blended edges
Of white foam and blue water
Surge toward the shore.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Kimme and I are two weeks away from our very challenging race in Costa Rica; the TNF Ecogreen Cerro De La Muerte. And for me, even after 40 years of racing and nearly 10 years of doing ultras, race nutrition is still a puzzler.

Recently, there seems to be at least two conflicting theories making the rounds. One is to cram as many calories (still predominantly on the carb side) into you that you can comfortably digest during a race to stave off glycogen depletion and shut down. This theory posits that unless you keep stoking the fire you’re bound to run out of muscle glycogen and then you’ll come face to dirt/pavement with the dreaded bonk monster.

The other theory is to eat as little as you can so as not to divert vital oxygen carrying blood away from your muscles and into your stomach. This theory holds that you don’t really need all that much glycogen to keep you going, fat’s there to do that job at endurance pace.

Theoretically, I tend to side with the latter, though under race conditions I’ll  sometimes get nervous and over indulge.

Moreover, I subscribe to this theory not so much because of the muscles’ glycogen requirements, but because I believe that selfish bastard, the brain, is behind the glycogen demand and if it senses that it’s sources are in jeopardy or it won’t be able to spur the muscles to make a run for it in case a perilous situation arises (And isn‘t running already a stimulant that something‘s up?), it’s going to slow the whole operation down and send signals out that it won’t allow the body to pick it up again until it can trust it’s transportation device to get it some food.

Naturally, training is a great place to test this out and see which end of theory your body handles better. Also, the evidence out there is mounting that the brain can be tricked, up to a point, and that just taking something that leaves a sweet taste in the mouth will satisfy the brain that it’s sugar demands are being met. I personally, haven’t pushed this placebo effect to the point of using nothing but sugar free candies or a sweet tasting sugar free drink like Nuun, solely as fuel on runs over two hours, but I am trying to take in less as opposed to pushing the maximum I can into my gut while I’m training or racing.

Michael: The No Car Diet

A brow’s deep furrow
In the green hilly farm land
Holds a tear for us.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Here are the keys to the No Car Diet.

1. Don’t have a car.
2. Buy just enough of a treat to allow for a decent portion size once everyday.
3. Live an uncomfortable walking distance away from any convenience store or coffee shop.

That’s it.

This diet has no studies supporting it nor was a great deal of research put into its development.

It was frustratingly developed through the life choices that brought me here where I now have nothing to eat but a couple of pieces of fruit or vegetables and my 4 small squares of chocolate which I’ll eat after dinner.  

Michael: Marching In/Marching Out

Sitting with her hen
Like it was an old pet dog
She pats its small head.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Today was the 4th holiday of the month; Volcan Founding Day, which means the last parade has marched into the horizon and tomorrow hopefully the dry season will quietly walk in wearing a big sunny grin on its face.

Finally, after a very dreary month, we got a good indication that sunny days may be here again. For one, it was clear and warm this morning. When the clouds are behind the Volcano, like they were at dawn today, it’s a pretty good indicator that there won’t be any rain until at least noon. Which was  right on the money.

And at that it only rained off and on for a few hours before clearing up again. That’s not quite a bright warm typical dry season day, but it’s as close as we’ve been in quite a while.

Which means tomorrow, for the first time in three weeks, I’ll probably go on a bike ride. After a few weeks of miserable rain, I’m hoping not to round a sharp descent and come across a sink hole in the road. For that reason alone I’m sure I’ll be a bit nervous until I’ve been over my usual routes again. In fact, I’m probably going to take a bus on the one road that’s taken me down a few times before I saddle up.

Ahhh, the sun. Make yourself comfortable and stick around for a while.