Colorado State XC Championships 2016

It was an amazing weekend down in Colorado Springs for the Colorado State XC Championships.  All pix from Dan Valdez.

The teams headed down on Friday afternoon in preparation for the Saturday race.  We did a dinner at a local Italian place, and retired for the evening watching the World Series.  The kids seemed relaxed, happy and ready to bring their best day to race they have been thinking about since the start of summer.  Miles of runs, loads of quality workouts, hours of training in the weight room were all to come to this point – racing 5k cross country at the State Meet.

There were high expectations for both the boys and the girls squads.  But it was pretty clear that the girls 5A  team race was going to be a highlight event.  In that race there was the expectation of the slugfest that was to occur between #1 in the country Brie Oakley from Grandview and 3x time returning state champ from Fort Collins Lauren Gregory.  But the team race was no undercard to this – the show down between Broomfield and Mountain Vista was considered too close to call definitely in prerace predictions.  The Broomfield girls 1 point win over Mountain Vista at the Washington Park meet a few weeks before seemed to far in the rear view mirror, and MV had a few runners coming on strong in the latter weeks of the season.

As a running coach, you sort of realize that once the gun goes off, the affair is largely out of your control.  There is no play calling like football or basketball or baseball.  Sure, you can cheer for kids to get another jersey or to hold form on the hill or something like that.  Coaching has occurred in the months, weeks and days ahead of the race.  You have to take confidence in the work that you have done in setting the table and then let the meal play out.

The girls race started at noon.  It was pretty warm for the end of October, perhaps even hot, and the wind was kicking around the dust on the trails of the course.  I watched the start, then made my way to the west end of the course to see the race come through just before the mile and then a bit further west on the long straight before the woods to see just around 2.5 miles. 

Oakley and Gregory had already established a 20-30 yard gap over a large field when the race came through at my first observation point.  The BrHS girls were well positioned, but I could see there was a lot of white and green of Mountain Vista in the mix as well.  

I moved to my next point and within a few minutes, Oakely came buzzing by with an incredible lead.  Gregory was probably over 100 yards back, showing as a faint silhouette on the horizon as Brie powered by myself and other sole coach.  Gregory made her way towards us and then stumbled off the course and muttered something as to how she was done.  We both shouted to her to keep at it and keep going and she shuffled back on to the cinder track and made her way on. 

About 75 meters behind that came Ivy G with about a 5 meter lead over a pack that included Maddy, and then THREE MV runners.  As stoked as I was that we had runners in the 3 and 5 positions, the fact that there was MV runners in the 4, 6 and 7 positions did look promising for Broomfield.  I did my shouting thing for the ladies, trying to get some of that word that it was time to start squeezing the trigger to make things happen.  The next 5 of our squad came through and I then cut across the woods down to Bear Creek to catch all the runners again.  Ivy had built her lead and Maddy had broken ahead of the three MV runners by about five meters. 

I am not one of those guys that can look at how a field goes by and know if a team has won, particularly when there are so many close spots, in the mix.  I’d see a BrHS runner and then a MV runner.  And then a MV runner and then a BrHS runner.  It was clearly going to be close.  10 of the top 25 finishers came from these two schools.  Clearly it was a slug fest. 

How the race played out from mile to mile is best shared here.  I would not have guessed this how it would have played out given that MV seemed to be the more patient of schools when BrHS went head to head against them at Washington Park, but the girls did amazing things and got the win by a mere 7 points, with those points apparently coming in the last mile.  What a race!!

Big hat tip to Mountain Vista.  They are clearly a power house program, and as their coach said, “they bring out the best in us, and we bring out the best in them.”  The principals of the program he has there are clearly the pillars of success.  I love the process over the goal he speaks of. 

Ivy ended up third, Madison fourth … as juniors, against the #1 and #8 ranked girls in the country (who graduate after this year). 


So of course, we now know who won the race … but there is this 10 minute period after the race where it is NOT clear.  Particularly in a race that close.  That creates some anxiety.  And when you find out, there is this great relief and joy that everything these kids have trained for has actually come to light.  I think with age I have come to recognize that these sort of days are a combination of preparation, opportunity, execution and some luck … and that they don’t come easy.  So when in that moment, it is pretty exhilarating.  Especially in seeing it with athletes you have coached … this is going to be a pretty big memory for the rest of their lives.

It was then a quick turn around for the boys race.  The temps had climbed to even hotter.  We knew our boys were not in contention for the title but we thought with the right execution and based on what they had done in regionals, they could get a top ten performance and from there it was a question as to how far. 

But for the boys, it was not be.  From a time perspective they seemed to have got out okay, but they seemed buried back in the pack, even early.  Two of our runners took a stumble early (but past where they would call it back) and there were some struggles to get back at it. 

It was hard to see them after the race.  They were clearly shelled, both from the physical effort but you could feel the disappointment they had in themselves in that they could not do what they wanted to do today.  So while there is little coaching one can do in the race, this is where a coach can help.   Support here may not take that sting of the recent race away, but that sting can be used in the process for learning, growth, and moving on.

It has been an incredible season with these kids, and with the fellow coaches.  I have been really fortunate to have been able to share in this journey with these kids, and these people who are dedicated to the success and the process of development with these young people. 

The head coach – Greg W – is a force.  The legacy he is building is pretty amazing.  I am so lucky to have had a front seat to it.  He brings a passion and dedication to this game every day that few could even emulate.  Glad this guy is the coach to my kids, glad to have been a part of his team, and glad to be bonded with these wonderful people.


On the boys side, nearby high school Monarch won the team 5A title.  This set up for a nice BVSD “co champs” picture. 

End of October update

My monthly total of running miles looks like what a weekly total of running miles used to look like.  At just a couple of handful of miles over a 100 for October, it is my lowest miles month by far in the last half dozen years. 

I think that shows a few things:  the hip issue was significant.  Or maybe it shows that I am less willing to fiddle with those sort of problems.  On the other hand I had the largest bike month I probably have ever had.  But I have to smirk because 420 something bike miles also represents a running miles month for me at some point in the past.

I recognize that I continue to grapple a bit with where I am and where I was.  Part of me is okay with that, because I don’t want to settle for just saying “eh I am old, I am done.”  I think once you say that, then you really are.  At the same time there is a practical side of me that recognizes that I am not going to do things I did 15 – 20 years ago when it comes to running. 

I am gonna keep plugging away with some basic training here, and see where I can move the needle in November.   The hip is barking a bit but I am trying a new thing by putting a little heel lift in the right shoe.  Of course in doing this, I recall that back in April I had put a heel lift in my LEFT shoe because of the injured Achilles.  I probably should have put a lift in both, but it was around then that I started to feel a niggle in the hip.  Duct tape and bailing wire here.

Mid week update

I ran with one of the coolest cats in the area yesterday – Neeraj.  We bopped around the Carolyn Holmberg – Lake Link loop, chatting on politics (because that is what everyone does these days), training, injuries, Strava, etc.  Awesome dude.

Later in the day, I joined the XC team for a jog.  Mostly I ran with the measuring wheel out to their typical workout space and measured out with Greg some sections for their repeats.  I got in a little bit of turn over as well.  During it, Ray jogged by. 

In looking up those links to their sites above, I realized there are like only two blogs other than this one that are regularly updated in regards to a runner using it as some sort of training log … that I read:  Brownie and JJ.  Yeah, there are a few others like Paul T’s, and some that will update once in a great while – but not surprisingly, training blogs like this are dead.

Anyway, yesterday represented a little bit of a turn around in that I ran twice in the day, and got a few decent miles.  The hip ain’t great but it ain’t bad.  It is not getting any worse either.  I no longer suspect it being a fracture but some sort of weird connective tissue thing that reflects my tilted frame.  I have come to conclude that before l let my short term memory take hold here again, I will hold off on any specific goal declaration for now.  That has not worked well the last couple times out, so I need to just focus on some consistency first.  If that plays out (and it has not in this year) then maybe I can get more specific.

While that was a small victory in my own personal running yesterday, really much of my mental focus for running as of late has been geared towards the HS team.  The teams head to state this weekend.  It has been a great joy of mine for the last several months to be a part of this process in working with the kids, considering strengths, weaknesses, head space … It is great that the kids are talented enough and have worked hard enough that they are going to the State meet, and are contending for some hardware.  But really, the joy in this is all in the process that creates growth in the young people.  And the laughs I have had with the other coaches over this season have been a frosting on this great cake.  I am lucky dude. 

I may need to be careful how much I let working at home impact me.

Couple of easy runs today and some gym work… I am really ready for fall to start now.  It is just been hot and dry for too dang long.  My legs were pretty heavy today but that is not surprising.

Interesting read.  But I agree that ultra running is not that hard compared to the other sports.  But running really fast is.

Not looking for a new tribe

TZ and I went for a walk for the dogs, and we elected to head over to Flatirons to check out Shad at a cyclocross event.

It was fun to watch, cheer for Shad a bit and check out the game.  TZ asked if I was going to get into this and I was quick to say, “no.”  I enjoy getting out for a ride to compliment or supplement my running, to get some air, and to explore a bit, but there is no itch to scratch from a competitive perspective with bike racing.  Sure, I will nudge myself on rides, but I am not pinning on a bib. 

There are a least a couple of reasons for this.   First, it seems cycling requires a lot of gear and it ain’t cheap.  Second, I am not really looking to get into another tribe.  Each of these sports have a tribe that comes with its own pluses and minuses.  In running there are even tribes within the tribes:  road racer, trail guy, ultra runner, paleo diet person, etc.  I am not against tribes like this – I think they are natural to occur but I just don’t have the time or energy to do another one.  Third, I am not really looking for something “new” to do.  I see a good number of folks who get into a something like running or cycling or climbing 14ers.  They throw themselves at it for a few years and then they are done.  They move onto the next thing and it might not even be an outdoor endurance thing.  They are just looking to do something different.  I don’t have that itch.  I am pretty content bopping along as a runner.  I get my jacked frame and hip might force me to look for something else but I am not necessarily looking for that. 

All that said, I did enjoy a good ride with JV in the afternoon. 

Separately it seems that the transcontinental run record is going to go has gone down.  That it is if Pete K can navigate curbs (tune into the last 90 seconds, h/t to Brett W).

JZs recent pumpkin creation.

I biked and ran today.  That is still an interesting feeling for me.  I jumped in with the BrHS XC kids and even though there was a bit of hip bark it seemed manageable.  The kids are in week before the State meet so it was a light workout for them.  I jumped in four rolling quarters on full rest.  All were sub 80, and really not bad. 

It might get stupid …

So I ran yesterday.  And the day before that too.  And I ran today too.  These were not fast or long runs.  In fact, they were short and slow with the purpose being to assess the hip.  And I learned pretty quickly that my hip is not a 100% clear of being ache free.  But I also learned that these runs don’t seem to be causing any other harm.  That might be a complete lie to myself but in my personal subjective assessment of it, it could be true. 

So this jogging back on it might be a completely stupid endeavor.  I might crack something outright.  But the desire to get out and enjoy the leaves, the air, the season, and … running … it was strong enough that I put the bike down for a few days and decided to go for it. 

The bike however did leave an impression.  As an old guy I might actually incorporate that game occasionally.  I can see its benefits physically as a complimentary exercise.   I’d love to say that even while running regularly I would do it at least one day a week instead of running but I am pretty sure that is a lie I am not willing to commit to yet.

In more positive news, I continue to be blessed in be a part of the BrHS XC experience this year as a volunteer coach.  On Friday, the girls won the regional meet, scoring 25 points (an incredible score in a multiple school meet) and put six girls in the top 15.  The boys, who were seeded fourth (which would eek them a state qualifying spot), outperformed expectations and got second on 62 points to Poudre’s 55, but beating state contending teams like Fort Collins (basically the 1-2-3-4 predictions went 4-3-2-1!).  What a fun day. 

Today’s observations

I got another 2 hours on the bike today, exploring down to the south east a bit further than I had gone before, again exploring “bike paths” and concrete ribbons of the bike commuter variety.  I found all sort of connecting trails that I had never seen before.  A few observations …

… there a lot of these trails.  Some connect very very well.  Some don’t.
… getting across streams and canals and ditches is no problem .  Getting across rail lines is not an easy trick.  Rail lines are almost always a major intersection crossing (at least “legally”) where a creek / ditch can be crossed almost anywhere.
… there are a lot of folks in parks burning something that creates an “earthy smell.”  As in I don’t think I went through any public park without getting at least a few whiffs … and then a good amount coming from homes bordering the concrete ribbons.
… there is a lot of variability in the “trails” from pretty solid concrete to broken up asphalt that I have to assume at one point was a road.  There is an observable correlation between the trail quality and the “neighborhood quality.”
… I did not know there was going to be an “N” line coming up here for light rail, but that is probably because my eye has been on the ridiculously botched “B” line.
… this was an impressive site today: 
… I might be getting a hair better at this.  I can at least get on a good stretch of time of making the legs ache a tad versus folding like a wet noodle in a few seconds.
… I bike as well in Keen sandals as I do running shoes.
… about 175 miles of biking for me this week.  Monday was essentially a zero though as I flatted out 15 minutes into it.
… I was tempted to run today but I better judgment took hold.  The hip is not fully in the clear but it is progressing.  I am pretty sure if I run on it, I am going to send it back a week very quickly.  So I just need to ride this one out (haha, ride it out, get it?  Good one GZ).  The warmer temps and the longer window I had today made this a pretty easy call.  I am not sure I would have held on another cold rainy day … I probably would have found a grass field to jog.

The Gap Year

The boy went and “dun good” in a recent FBLA competition.  His team got second, and that was good enough to land that team enough shekels that I told JZ that he was buying dinner that night.  Show me the money.



In the comp, they had to come up with a local business problem, define how they were going to resolve it, define the business prop (as in how they would make money on it), etc.  JZ’s team decided to create a local job board on the web for teens, allowing local businesses to post jobs and teens to search for them based on various criteria.  JZ took on the web site creation, and his prototype was pretty cool.
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JZ also finished the XC year in the league meet this past week.  He was pretty focused on PR’ing one last time and breaking a number barrier that would get him the varsity letter standard.   It was going to be close to do that, and unfortunately the weather was uncooperative … almost maddeningly so … it was cloudy and overcast for the period just before the races, the clouds broke for the races and the temps slipped into the mid 80s … and then as the races finished, the clouds came back in again.  I was bummed for him, but he kept perspective:  he is happy with the season he has had, he can see the gains he has made with some dedication, and he has eyes on what he can accomplish in the future.  His formal season is done but he is saying he is likely to continue training with the XC varsity squad (who is prepping for state) to see if he can bring together a solid fall race.

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The hip is coming around.   Or at least I think it is.  Maybe the discomfort in it is becoming less or maybe I am just getting used to it.  Given it has been a slow heal (almost two weeks now), I am thinking that it is probably some sort of stress fracture.  Or I don’t know – maybe not. 

I am not really interested in heading to get it imaged to tell me that … that just sounds like shelling out bucks for an expensive picture that will a.) tell me it is a fracture and that I need to rest, or b.) be inconclusive and I still can’t really run anyway.

With the slightly better feeling to it, I am very tempted to run on it but I recognize I ought to sit tight a while longer.  Which means probably another week or two of the bike. 

The bike.  I sort of dread it but I am also thankful for it.  I dread it because it is not my thing … I am not good at it, I have nearly killed myself by nearly taking out prairie dogs that decide to bolt in front of you on the trail when you are buzzing at a good clip, it makes my neck hurt, I don’t think I am getting the same sort of workout from it, and I have gone through three tubes in the past two weeks because of damn goat heads. 

Based off the reaction of folks who have seen my ride up close, I am doing some sort of “old school” thing.  Here’s a vid of the setup:

Here is a shot of the 6k and the 8k.

Despite the dread there is an appreciation I have for it.  It gets me outside, and I have been able to get to see some stuff that I don’t normally get to.  It gives me the time I usually appreciate in running to reset and reboot.  It can make me breathe hard and make my legs ache.  I have been enjoying exploring the various strips of concrete ribbon that connect towns together along drainages.  Until they stop for no reason …

… but it is fun looking for the connections, and seeing how far I can get along a stretch before I need to find something else.  And trails I have never heard of … like “Hall Grange.”

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So as I have noted here before, KZ is in a program that has brought her to Germany for a year.  She started there in June, has been in a German language immersion school, taught some English at a camp, been in a German HS, and soon will start a program of various internships.  In short, it is a “gap year” program, meaning that she is taking this path rather than a “traditional” path from high school directly into college.

I put “traditional” in quotes because a.) I am not sure that a path from HS to college is truly traditional and b.) I am not sure if KZ will follow that so called traditional path anyway.   Her gap year is providing her an opportunity to explore Europe, learn some (specifically the German language) and figure out what she wants her next steps to be. 

It dawned on me the other day that I too am having a gap year of sorts.  I have left a corporate job of nearly two decades, and am in the midst of getting a new business off the ground with my partners.  It is not “rocket surgery” to own your own business, but there are big differences than working for someone else.

My running has taken a back seat as I have worked through (and am currently working through) a couple of injuries that are probably outcomes of age and decades of bouncing on a tilted frame. Mileage is lowest it has been, racing is the least it has been, and days off are the highest they have been in probably 10 years.  2015 left me skidding at its end and it took me a bit to get back on track in 2016 … and I might not be on track yet. 

I have become heavily involved in the local high school cross country team as a volunteer coach, and spent more time helping out with my son’s Scout troop. 

In a similar fashion to KZ, I am exploring, learning, and figuring out what the next steps will be.  Of course there are significant differences between our “gap years” other than location, but I do see some similarities.

Mark Plaatjes

Mark Plaatjes, the 1993 World Champion in the Marathon (Stuggart) came and spoke to the BrHS XC team today. 

Mark spoke to the kids about the championship mindset.  It dawned on me that most of the kids didn’t know the amazing part of his story and the adversity he faced with Apartheid, the ban against athletes from South Africa to compete in the Olympics, his becoming a US citizen and what it meant for him to win that race. 

It was a cool, misty day today.  I don’t think it broke 50 degrees but it felt cooler than that because of the wet.  I biked for a couple of hours but I was freezing.  Not pee on your hands freezing like I have heard some talk about but pretty cold for a bike.  For running it would have been majestic.

A Wee Day Out

Two and half hours on the bike today.  I learned the bike is called a rockhopper.  I took some video so you can see how it went.

XC PRs and Zurich

Big day for this kid on Friday – he PR’d over the 5k distance by 30 seconds.

His bump in performance reflects the steady process of his work over the fall.  Getting on a course that was not going to eat the racers up (like heavy grass courses) and a nice weather day (it was 70 rather than 80 plus) certainly helped too.  It is awesome to see him realize the rewards of his efforts.

Nonetheless, he is dealing with the typical runner’s curse – and that is while he set a PR, it ain’t quite meeting the target and goals he wanted.  Had he run about 4 seconds faster he would have landed a time that met the varsity letter standard for the team.  He has a shot again this Friday at that target.  Any seasoned runner has been here … you have had the big PR performance, but … gosh you look at that performance and you are wondering if you can eek out a few more seconds to get through that silly numeric barrier.  A 3:59 mile is more than 2 seconds faster than a 4:01 sort of thing.

Regardless if he meets his goals or not, I have a deep appreciation for the process he is going through and a strong belief that it adds to the foundation of his strong positive character.  I really think it is life changing.

While I understand that there is a focus on times for these kids as a measure of how they are improving, and I even can see how I contribute to that focus, I think there is a bit too much emphasis placed in XC on it by kids these days. There is such variability in XC courses that times from week to week ought to often not be compared.  XC instead is about placing but I think that view has been lost.  We can all see on the internet instantly how such and such competitor did in this race.  There are few dual meets left, so the dropping of a 15 on another team is a concept kids don’t even have an awareness of.  All courses are 5k so there is a natural inclination for to compare.  I think almost every course I raced in HS was somewhere from 2.5 to 3.5 but the distance was different every week.  The only time that you sort of compared week over week was your home course time.  Certainly putting a letter standard out there in terms of a number puts a focus on it as well.  I think kids at altitude focus on it a bit too because they see these super zippy times from kids at sea level and so a meet like Liberty Bell or a trip to sea level becomes a bigger deal because that is a number you can shop with a prospective college. 

So I get all the focus on the numbers, but I try to drum at the kids the focus on the process of training, and racing.  The times, the outcomes will come.  I probably could learn a lesson or two myself from these philosophies.

Meanwhile in Zurich …

Victor Pack Burro Race 2016

I have never done the Victor Pack Burro Race.  And even though I went down there yesterday and covered the entire course, I still have not done it.  I headed down with Bob (who raced Alice) and I cycled the course while the race took place. 

Before yesterday, I had never even been to Victor.  It essentially sits on the west side of Pikes Peak, a touch south of Cripple Creek.  You have to burn a bit of time and fuel to get to this place that appears to be a cross between Ward, Idaho Springs and forgotten America.  The location is beautiful, but the town seems to sit more as a movie set in the mountain west than a recovering mining town.  Unlike the Triple Crown events that parley their burro races with a weekend fair, their was nothing else really going on in town.

I decided to continue to rehab my hip and not run.  I asked if the course was bikeable and I was given the nod on that so I decided I ride the course and get some pics while the regulars like Bob and Justin and newbees like Matt Curtis raced with the donks.  Jack went with one of the Wann children.

About a half mile after the start, a runner lost his burro and it bolted ahead of him.  I chased it down on the bike, helped collect it and then got it back to the runner.  I made my way back up to the front of the field to watch that part of the race.  On a steep climb up Beacon Hill I lost contact with the lead group because I had to go to hike a bike (wheels were spinning under me on the loose gravel).  As I crested the hill I could see across the way the lead group was heading into the woods but being chased by some horses!  I have never seen that in a burro race!




I was biking a lot of stuff above my ability and probably my 25 year old bike.  There were no long ups and downs but there was plenty of steep and technical stuff.  This course was no joke for burro racers (apparently only 12 of the 30 something field actually finished).

After swing back up into town I could see the leaders coming from a little out and back leg.  Fairplay winners Courdkamp and Mary Margaret had a slight lead over Vincent’s mini contingent.  Bob and Matt were about a quarter to half mile back.    I circled around them and as we came back to the road with about 2 miles left there was confusion about the course.  I could see the three leaders coming back up at me from town, and then Bob and Matt coming from behind me.  There was a volunteer showing up.  The guys coming back from town were pissed as they knew they missed a turn and had headed back into town and this now had allowed Bob and Matt to catch back up.  The volunteer pointed them to the trail through a nearby trail access parking lot, but there was tape heading back up another road up a hill.  The teams took to the parking lot and the trail, but after about a minute the volunteer could see a guy at the top of the road hill calling for the runners.  I called all the teams back and they were none to happy about the misdirection.



Once we got them on course, as I was now ahead I decided to buzz up to scout if there were any other possible places where they could get off track.  I waited at the last couple of turns into town to direct them and five teams came in essentially together for the last quarter mile.

Here is some video from the finish.  It was unclear to the racers where the finish line was and the volunteer at the finish was not able to declare a clear winner.

My phone video suddenly became a way to determine who had won, but apparently a tie was declared.  There was a bunch of back and forth conversation, debate … and then out of the blue JT showed up on his fat bike.  I am still kicking myself for not getting a picture with him.  Always a crazy day at a burro race even if you are not racing it.

Another couple hour bike ride for me.

Hip update

I have not run since Monday.  On Tuesday I had the school trainer do a few tests to determine if I had a stress fracture.  While not definitive, he did not think his tuning fork or ultrasound tests indicated as such.  There is still some discomfort in the hip but it sort of so-so seemed like it was getting better. 

Beautiful fall day out … and so I decided I’d see if running on it had changed significantly.  In the midst of my ride today I did a mile on a HS track I came onto.  I had the added fun of going from the bike to the run, aka the so called brick – a feeling I am not regularly working through. 

The bad news is the pain and discomfort hip is about the same.  The really bad news is that I can run on this thing meaning there is some pain, and I know something is jacked.  But I can run without gimping.  I am left wondering if I just treat this like any other ache or pain and run on it until something actually stops me from running on it …  or it goes away.  It should be an easy decision but it is one of those classic head / heart things.

2 hours on the bike again.  About 120 and change miles on the bike in the last six days.  When the weather changes I might be regulated back to the rec (wreck) center for a while.

Post script update from Monday – so it seems it feels a bit worse today.  It sort of does not matter if it is a stress fracture or not.  I need to treat it as such and just wait to run until this thing is in the clear.  Race plans are pretty well scrapped for now and I will focus on trying to get a regular couple of hours on a bike or equivalent a day.  I will need to look into a rec center option for the changing weather and the option to go early in the day.

Thursday 06OCT2016

Love the debate with himself as to if he should go for the RT as he crests at the North Rim.

Some video highlights from the Shootout. 

2 hours on the bike.

Sunday’s time lapse and stuff

There are also a bunch of good photos here.

The most exciting ultra news I have seen a while:  Walmsley sets a FKT on the R2R2R.  Mind you there are about 5000 people who find that exciting.  Maybe 10k.  That is not even how many people that attend a HS football game in TX on a Friday night in some parts.

Good podcast by Magness on “Mimicry vs. Mastery.”

Listened to ATC yesterday while on the bike.  I sort of hate the bike over running but I do appreciate the getting out it provides to me.

They hit on a variety of side topics that I find more interesting than V02 max, stretching and hormones.  Like Mars.  Check out the Elon Musk presentation on how we are going to get to Mars and how Elon’s presentation completely sucks. 

They also touch on the presidential election as well, well … without touching on it.  Lucho reflects a general disgust that a lot of us have I think, which I think is how people have put discussion of this election at the front of everything they talk about.  Like it has to be in your face sort of thing. 

It bothers me that so many people know more about these folks who are selling a snake oil of how you have been wronged, victimized, and set back and how those people can supposedly correct it – while most of us probably don’t know our own mayor, council people, governor, state house or senate rep, US congress person or senator.  

I was considering this for the umpteenth time in my life on my ride yesterday.  I got a flat tire.  I happened to be near the Louisville Cemetery.  I was not really sure that is where I was, but then it was really really really clear.

I came across the Finding Mastery podcast, and this interview with Assaiante is excellent (there are a few hokey moments in but it is still good). 

About 2 hours on the bike yesterday and today.

Delayed again

I have been messing around with this hip since at least last Tuesday.  I can run on it but it gets pretty angry as I do.  The pain is on the top of the right hip, just at the illiac crest about the size of a quarter.  Some quick research says that it is unlikely that it is a stress fracture, but that is a possibility.  I guess with my “bent frame” I could have done something but this is a bit of a new one for me.  The fact that it has not got better in few days has me thinking if it is muscular / connective, I did a pretty good job on it.  I hope that it is that rather than skeletal of course.

In any case, I will give it some rest for a few days to see if it clears up.  I’ll see if I can do some biking without aggravating it.  Hopes are that all will mend up in a couple of days and then I can back at it so that I can be waiting at the finish line on October 30 in a win over JT.  Frustrating of course as it seemed that I was getting back on a good training regime but I need to accept this and get it right.

Postscript – 830PM – the HS athletic trainer did a check on me.  Given the suspicion of a possible stress fracture, he did two tests to check that.  First he hit a tuning fork and then placed it on the area where I can feel the injury.  The buzz did nothing – meaning the bone was at least solid enough to not react to that.  Apparently this can be rather painful if there is actually a crack.  He then did this test as well with an ultrasonic wand.  That felt a bit weird but it also did not light me up.  Given this it might not be a stress fracture but the trainer thought he might feel some additional calcification on the hip.  So, some time off, but nothing definitive that says I need to take a bunch of time off.

Monday 03OCT2016

Love that kid.

I had some errands down in Aurora today and they took me past the dorm I lived in as an Airman about 30 years ago now.

The slug we used to drive the corner posts in yesterday … it started out about twice as long. 

Got one of those notices that some Strava segment that I had locally was snagged.  So I took the bait and went and snagged it back.  Sooo stupid.

The right hip is a bit hot.  My in depth research of this affair on the interwebs has me thinking it is either some strained illiac crest or or a stress fracture.