The Hustle: Monday, July 29, 2019

 

Latigo, the climb,

Is a cyclist’s heaven

Until you’re on it.



The Harding Hustle 50k is not a destination race. It’s a race you either do as a training run for an upcoming ultra with heat and long climbs, or because you don’t know any better. In my case it was because of ego and on Saturday my ego again came out with mixed results.



Right off, I came in third overall in a time of 5:10. All things considered, a pretty satisfactory performance. It was however 10 minutes behind my goal time of breaking 5 hours. Also, the dude who came in second was 51 and broke my previous age group record (50-60) by 10 minutes. So my goal of having the best times between the ages of 50-70 were dashed half an hour before I finished the race.



I did break the previous best of a 60-70 year old by over an hour, which is something. I also defeated an old age group rival, Eric Clifton, who’s beat me in all of our previous encounters, by over an hour and fifteen minutes. Which is another monkey off my back. And it further suggests that the age group record at the Bull Dog 50k is something that should be conceivable if I train right and keep my head out the clouds.



I’d also like to think that I can still conceive of being competitive not just in my age group but as an overall competitor. I’m not fixated on winning as I realize there are many talented trail runners out there and there’s always a  strong likelihood of at least a few of them showing up at any race I’ve signed up for, but I’m hoping it’s not just wishful thinking that under the right circumstances I could sneak in an overall win again.



Soon I’ll have to stop basking in the limelight I’ve turned on myself and do a brief analysis of the smarts and dumbs I did at the Hustle. It was a challenge and an accomplishment. Any time I can keep my head in the game for over 5 hours is a win in my book.

Michael: Three Hail Mary's

Tan and white feathers
Spread majestically in flight

 Of the great Barn Owl.

 Tuesday, July 23, 2019



It’s funny what’ll trigger my thoughts about religion and why I haven’t practiced my childhood faith since, well, childhood.



Friday, it was a co-worker joking about her boyfriend doing three Hail Mary’s as penance for eating ice cream. That got me to thinking about how I had sinned against my supervisor by talking to her supervisor about how we had screwed up a guest’s request. It was one of those right after I said it moments that I wish I had kept my big mouth shut.



That got me to thinking about religion and forgiveness. How I was raised was that I could go to confession and ask a priest for forgiveness. He would give me a penance, and that would be that. All would be right between God and I.



But that’s the problem. My sin was against God, it was against my supervisor. Shouldn’t I go to her for forgiveness?



That’s a trivial example I know, but I feel much of our sins, from venial to mortal, if those categories still exist, work that way. They don’t involve God so I just say let’s leave that Big Persona in the sky out of it.

Michael: Changes

 A falling of smiles

Scattered across the sidewalk

Like leaves of sunshine.

 Tuesday, July 16, 2019



Today I looked up what the tip of the bone is that’s between the little toe and the ankle. It’s called the tuberosity of the 5^th metatarsal. Why, after going without this knowledge and not caring about it for 60 years, was my curiosity twitched enough to google this? Frankly, because it’s become an annoyance.



Odd how life works. As a long time runner I’ve always been on the lookout for better fitting shoes. And even when I find them, I’ll still try others. Mostly out of that consumer itch that grips many of my fellow Americans, but also because shoe companies keep making tweaks to even popular models.



But finally a third factor has raised it’s somewhat annoying head (or foot, in this case); my feet are changing with age. I don’t why I didn’t anticipate this. After all, so much of the rest of me has undergone a slow metamorphosis.



And now the tuberosity of my fifth metatarsal seems to be flattening out or expanding as it now has a callus underneath that I need to shave down similarly to what I do to the calluses around my heals to prevent them from irritating me when I run.



What else I’ll have to do and find out about if I want to continue to both stay healthy and compete, I’ll guess I’ll continue to discover as I go. Or perhaps AARP will soon send me a primer on the generalities of what’s coming next as one of the benefits of now being one of their constituents.

MIchael: The Women of Spam

 

Fields of golden grass

Cover the rolling hillsides

Of our daily walks.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

 


Every couple of days, in my spam folder, I get mail from various women or various websites making it clear that I am a very popular man who could easily have no strings attached sex just about any time I wanted to.



I’m not sure how this all came about except that before I was married, I was on some dating sites. I’m presuming one of those opened the window of opportunity for all of these spammers.



All of this mail has been quickly deleted except one, and that one I got last week. This email began Haven and in the header it said, “It’s Mary, remember me? We were friends in high school…” Wow! That took me back for a minute. Mary was the name of my high school sweetheart. We dated for two years before she was smart enough to dump me right when she started college.



This, I thought, was the most clever ruse yet and one that I had never received before; using a familiar name within a large enough time frame to have at least a decent probability of being at least vaguely accurate. But the claim that “we were friends” wasn’t going to work. It’s just not specific enough. Now if it had said, “It’s Mary. Remember me? You were that geeky little pimply faced bastard that for reasons unknown I allowed to treat me awkwardly and obnoxiously for over two years in high school.” Then I would’ve opened one of those spam invites for the first time and they could’ve hacked or infected my computer and I would’ve given them credit for being clever con people.

Michael: Coming Up Short Again

The hoot of the owl

Whistles through the misty morn

Like a withered door.

Friday, July 5, 2019



After three months of speedwork I gained approximately two seconds over my previous 5k best for the year yesterday. But I’m not going to surrender yet to going under 20.



Earlier, possibly due to age, I had even forgotten that I had run a 5k already this year in 20:22.  Yesterday, over a very similar course – a gentle rolling one – I did very marginally better.



So what can I do to make a difference and gain those 20 seconds before my time’s up? First off, be smarter in picking a course. No more “relatively flat” sign ups. I’m not going to search out a pure downhill course as I feel that would be cheating, but whatever I do is going to have to be guaranteed to be fast and FLAT.



As far as training goes, I’m just going to continue doing speedwork once a week and hope that’ll keep me in the ballpark. I’ve got too many long trail aspirations to change much else with my training.



And even if I was convinced that exchanging my two bike rides a week for some type of running would get me there, it’s not worth it to me. Cycling in the summer is SoCal is just too much fun.



I will taper a bit more and make another attempt when I’m on vacation and my legs are just more overall better rested. It’s frustrating because it seems so doable. But that’s what makes racing fun; you either put up or shut up. And if I don’t get there, there won’t be any coulda, woulda, shoulda… I promise, I’ll just keep quiet about it.

Michael: Gratitude

Like a young child

He sprints away from the start

Though the race is long.

Wednesday, July 3, 2019



I realize this is the 4^th of July but to me it feels more like Thanksgiving. I am very grateful that I’m working full time and am on a salary when my employer could’ve very easily kept me on a nervous thread and left me in a precarious position of wondering how we’d make through the two months of August and September when they move part of the operation to Europe.



As is my wife, we work for the same employer though she’s a part-timer, will more than likely receive scant hours during those summer months. But for reasons I don’t fully understand, I was made a full timer a month ago, so even though I won’t be traveling to Europe I’ll still be paid. And though I’ll be expected to work at their other location in Malibu, the supervisor there has already told me not to be shy about taking my vacation and any other time off I’d like as they’re not hurting for employees.



I’m going to meet her halfway on this request. I could use the money, but I’m also a former teacher and am use to long breaks. And though this job isn’t nearly as stressful, at this stage of the game I’m willing to trade a little bit of money for some extra down time.



Last year at this time I was a part timer and was worried that I wouldn’t be given many hours so I feel for the part-timers whom hours I may end up taking. My supervisor could’ve easily waited until they returned to make a decision about my full time status, and from a business stand point, it would’ve been the money saving thing to do. But she didn’t so on this 4^th of July holiday I’m full of gratitude and grateful to be living in Topanga with some time off from work and from the great stress of financial worries largely off my mind.

MIchael: Mixing it Up

Eucalyptus tree

Without its old curly skin

Shines like a child.

Monday, July 1, 2019



Three different surfaces and three distinct distances are going to make for an entertaining July.



The surfaces are pavement, track, and dirt. The distances are a 5k, mile and 50k.

The races are The Dos Vientos 5k on the 4^th, an all-comers meet in Carpenteria on the 19^th, and the Harding Hustle 50k on the 27^th.



My goals for the 5k are to go under 20 minutes. I failed in two attempts last year. It’s been even longer since I’ve run a mile on a track; all the way back to high school 43 years ago. It would be delusional to believe I could come close to what I could do back then, so I’m hopefully being realistic in shooting for under 5:30. It wasn’t nearly that long ago that I run the Harding Hustle in under 5 hours; 2012 to be exact. I’m hoping the weather cooperates and allows me to hit that benchmark again. 



Naturally, outside of the running challenges; training, outfits, gear, nutrition, hydration and pre-race rituals come into play. Though there really won’t be much difference in any of these aspects of racing for the 5k and the mile outside of hopping on the track once or twice to test out my new spikes so I don’t stumble from the start of the mile. And although the 50k requires a bit more thought be put into all these aspects of running, for me at least, the process always starts from the ground up.



For that event all probably go with the shoe that’s been very reliable for me this year; the Hoka Torrents. I’ve only run one trail race wearing something different this year and that’s because it was only a 10k and I had a pretty good feeling I could get away with a lighter, less cushioned shoe. But for all my long events I’ve been very, very happy with the Torrents.



Yet…I’m always on the lookout for another well cushioned shoe to alternate with the Torrents, particularly in long events like 50 milers and 100ks where I use two pairs of shoes. I do feel the Brooks Caldera’s work well, but I’m a variety is the spice of life kind of guy and I’d like to try a zero drop platform just for the hell of it. Altras just haven’t impressed me enough yet to give them a go. Lately the Inov8 Terraultra 260gs have caught my eye. And now that they’re on sale at Running Warehouse, I may give them a go. They’ve been getting very good reviews and I like the color way. I’m hesitant to believe they’ll get the 1000 miles that Inov8 claims they’re capable of, but on the other hand, I’m not overly concerned with durability in a race shoe. If they’re comfortable and last a good six months through a few long races, the price (so long as it’s under $130) will be worth it.



Three different surfaces and three distinct distances are going to make for an entertaining July.



The surfaces are pavement, track, and dirt. The distances are a 5k, mile and 50k.

The races are The Dos Vientos 5k on the 4^th, an all-comers meet in Carpenteria on the 19^th, and the Harding Hustle 50k on the 27^th.



My goals for the 5k are to go under 20 minutes. I failed in two attempts last year. It’s been even longer since I’ve run a mile on a track; all the way back to high school 43 years ago. It would be delusional to believe I could come close to what I could do back then, so I’m hopefully being realistic in shooting for under 5:30. It wasn’t nearly that long ago that I run the Harding Hustle in under 5 hours; 2012 to be exact. I’m hoping the weather cooperates and allows me to hit that benchmark again. 



Naturally, outside of the running challenges; training, outfits, gear, nutrition, hydration and pre-race rituals come into play. Though there really won’t be much difference in any of these aspects of racing for the 5k and the mile outside of hopping on the track once or twice to test out my new spikes so I don’t stumble from the start of the mile. And although the 50k requires a bit more thought be put into all these aspects of running, for me at least, the process always starts from the ground up.



For that event all probably go with the shoe that’s been very reliable for me this year; the Hoka Torrents. I’ve only run one trail race wearing something different this year and that’s because it was only a 10k and I had a pretty good feeling I could get away with a lighter, less cushioned shoe. But for all my long events I’ve been very, very happy with the Torrents.



Yet…I’m always on the lookout for another well cushioned shoe to alternate with the Torrents, particularly in long events like 50 milers and 100ks where I use two pairs of shoes. I do feel the Brooks Caldera’s work well, but I’m a variety is the spice of life kind of guy and I’d like to try a zero drop platform just for the hell of it. Altras just haven’t impressed me enough yet to give them a go. Lately the Inov8 Terraultra 260gs have caught my eye. And now that they’re on sale at Running Warehouse, I may give them a go. They’ve been getting very good reviews and I like the color way. I’m hesitant to believe they’ll get the 1000 miles that Inov8 claims they’re capable of, but on the other hand, I’m not overly concerned with durability in a race shoe. If they’re comfortable and last a good six months through a few long races, the price (so long as it’s under $130) will be worth it.