Week ending 26JAN2020

The week started with a significant amount of concern over what was going on with me internally.  I was so wracked with pain on Saturday and Sunday last week that I spent significant portions of time writhing around on the couch or passed out.  It led to speculation that I was dealing with a kidney stone, renal failure, a gall bladder gone bad or a blood clot from the long flight back from Singapore.  I stubbornly refused to go the ER given the costs, and that I'd have periods where it seemed I was "getting better."  On Monday I tried to schedule a doc visit but the soonest they'd be able to see me was on Tuesday.  Given I already had a routine appointment set for Wednesday anyway - I decided to wait until then.

My doc was pretty certain it was not a gall bladder issue (when palpating my abdomen I had no pain), and that it was not a blood clot given there was no issues in my calves and that I was breathing ok.  We set up for the typical annual labs and we agreed to also add a D-Dimer test.  If it came back high, it could be considered a marker for a possible clot and then I'd need a CT scan "stat" (I wondered what stat is all about and it comes from a Latin word meaning immediately).  Around noon I got a call back that it had indeed tested out high and so I went and got the scan.  Within 30 minutes my doc called me and shared the good news that I didn't have a clot ... but instead I had pneumonia.

Uhh ... okay, great.  I guess the side pain may also be a related to that.  There is some speculation I may also be dealing with a pleurisy or some deep muscle strain from coughing associated with that.  In any case, I am now on an antibiotic regimen (the "Z-pack") to deal with the pneumonia.

All this is to say ... it has been a week of "training" that wasn't training at all but just jogging for head space more than anything else.  I tried to listen to my body and not push anything - and frankly that was easy because I felt like physical garbage most of the week.  Ah well.  Better now than later I guess.

Other fun update was that as I have now completed 5 decade of life that routine physical also set me up for scheduling a colonoscopy.  For some reason, my children, father and even the referring physician have all found this to be news to snicker at when it is discussed.

Mon - 7.4 miles
Tue - 5.4 miles in the AM with Greg, PM - 4.7 with the Eagles
Wed - 5 miles with the Eagles.  Shortened day because of CT scan
Thu - 10 miles in the morning that included a couple with TZ and then a couple with GW, travel to PHX in the later evening
Fri - in PHX, AM - 8.6 miles along the canal.  Dark.
Sat - AM, flying with the Eagles.  Did a ten minute threshold effort at 6:20 pace.  I was fine but doing much more than that with the pneumonia, the antibiotics and just a handful of hours of sleep would have caused me to crater.  I called it while the birds flew on.
A little later another 5.2 along the ditch with a couple with TZ and KZ
Sun - on the Mall, 8.6 miles.  Legs a little tired from the travel to DC.





Song I did as part of the 20 City Project, this go in Singapore.  As a side note, this got me held up in TSA Precheck security this week:

Best part was that I could see they were staring at the capo on the Xray.  Guy in line next to me asked if I had a water bottle in my bag or something and I replied, "nah, they just don't know what a capo is."  The TSA officer heard me and got pissed.  "Sir, I do know what a capo is."  I got polite and apologetic.

She then came over, looked in my guitar bag, pulled the capo out and asked "what is this?"  And so I showed her.  Good stuff.  Pew pew bang bang.

I had a couple of hours in the PHX airport on Friday night before coming back.  As a part of a music project thought goal I have of playing my own gig, I have been building my cupboard of tunes.  I have about 25 in the can at this point.  I played through about 20 of them in the airport.  Part of this doing this drill is just straight up guitar practice ... but it is also playing through the tunes to see what goes together, what balances from song to song, learning from that and shifting up for next time.

I found a corner near my gate, but away from most folks.  Nonetheless, there were a few folks that came up and commented - an older couple, some kids taking video of me with their phones, and another six string troubadour.  All good.  I did something like this in Singapore, and one of the lessons I learned is that my voice is not really strong enough to hold it out for two hours of playing.   I got to about 45 minutes there and I was done.  So ... work to be done.

I have long eyeballed the Gibson ES-335 but have never laid hands on one.  I did as little test driving this weekend.

The arch tops there are a 235 (the black one) and a 275 (the rose one) and they are pretty dang sweet too.  I found the 335 with the Bigsby to be a bit oddly weighted.  In any case, I'll keep trying them out.

Week ending 19JAN2020

A week in Singapore.  The challenges are the work, the upside time zone (Singapore is +15 hours from CO) and the humidity.  Got in some running but was definitely feeling the regular 85-90 percent humidity zapping me. 

Monday AM - 6.1 miles
PM - 4.3 miles

Tuesday 6.2 miles in the AM

Wednesday - 7.3 miles in the AM
PM - 4 miles.  Found a hill in Pearl City Park.  Just felt heavy legged the whole time.  But it is to be expected

Thursday - 8 miles

Friday 7.2 miles



Most runs were in the cover of darkness in the early AM or later in the evening.









Started travel back Friday night and because of the IDL (and the wind currents), left Singapore at 10:30PM on Friday and landed in San Francisco at 9PM ... on Friday night.  Over nighted at SFO and then back to CO On Saturday AM.

Saturday - back from SFO - 5.1 miles.

Sunday - slept like crap with pain in my back coming in unexpected waves ... from fine to to falling apart.  Pushing the hydration and the Tylenol.  3 easy miles with TZ.

When I went to bed in the hotel at SFO my back hurt pretty bad.  I assumed it was because I had sat too long and that I was in some weird position on the plane.  But since then I have concluded that there is something going on with my kidney, and given the symptoms I think it is a kidney stone.  Guessing it is an outcome of getting too dehydrated in Singapore.  Not fun.

Week ending 12JAN2020

Oddball week of training for me.  But I think inching fitness forward.

Monday - 10 miles.  Just crunched it out in the AM solo.  Felt sort of tired.

Tuesday AM - a few with TZ and then a little less than a handful on my own.  7.3 miles.  Legs were feeling a bit beat.
Tuesday PM - with Greg and Syd, out and back towards the J-Pond.  5.8 miles at a respectable easy run clip.

Wednesday AM - got talked into going for a run with Greg the night before.  Met up and did 400s.  I really didn't want to do them but figured that is exactly why I should do them.  I thought I'd be moving at 90 plus pace but managed 85 for an average.  I am clearly uncomfortable at that speed and doing "track work" so 8 x near 90 seconds (on 200m rest except after #4 where it was 400) on the oval was as good a workout for above the neck as it probably was below it.  6.4 miles
Wednesday mid day - met up with Bob and Shad over at Davidson Mesa for a couple of loops of that.  8.1 miles at a fair clip.
Didn't run with the team at practice but did an hour in the weight room.  Pretty well trounced post that.

Thursday AM - slow wake up jog of 4 miles before calls started for the day.


Thursday afternoon - I was dragging but plugged through 6.1 miles.

Friday AM - I was to head out the door at 5AM to catch my flight to SFO to SIN.  I seriously considering getting up at 4 "just to get a few miles in."  I succumbed however, and didn't do it - rationalizing that I'd get little benefit out of it other than ego.

Of course, heading to Singapore means a lost day on the week because of the international date line.  And given it takes about 26 hours of near continuous travel to get to it ... well a day is lost.  I left the house at 4:45, flew the 2+ hours to SFO, made a short transfer there and then did the 16.5 hour flight to get to Singapore - or at about 8:30PM on Saturday wheels down.

After checking in, etc ... I got out for a little jog.  It was only 7AM mountain time so why not?







You might think with a day of rest, I'd feel great.  Coming off the plane always leaves me a bit wonky, and feeling a bit uncoordinated.  And running in 85 degrees with 85 percent humidity makes it more like a swim for me.  At some point, I can feel the challenge even with breathing that water laden air.

Sunday ... was up early and so I headed out along the river path.  Beaut of a run.  I was hoping to beat the heat but the humidity had me soaked anyway.  10.3 miles getting cooked.








Was able to successfully cool off however in a post run pool soak.


63.7 miles on the week on six days and 9 runs.  Good workout on Wednesday and then worked it a bit with a bit more volume on the front of the week.

I'd be remiss in this post if I did not mention the passing of (who I think of as) the greatest rock drummer of all time - Neal Peart.  I got turned onto Rush as a 12 year old.  First being exposed to "Moving Pictures," I quickly picked up all their albums to that point.  And I fell for all of it.  The big anthems of "2112," the fantasies of Dionysus and Apollo, the star journey to the black hole "Cygnus X-1," and being lost in the "Subdivisions."  It (along with Led Zep) drove me to the guitar.  I still love their music (and I still covet a Gibson ES-335 just like Alex).  Neal was the the brain behind it all, and while I can occasionally fathom copying a riff of Mr. Lifeson - the things that Neal did on the kit still blow my mind.  This is the best read I have come across on the guy.

Wandered around a bit in the afternoon with Tom and checked out Chinatown and a few other places in the city.

Week ending 05JAN2020

Monday - 6.5 with practice in the AM
PM - 3.5 miles

Tuesday - 10.2 miles out into open space, feeling pretty good.

Wednesday - GW was talking about doing 20 and it seemed like a novel idea to start the new year.  Gabby and Terry joined us.  We started fine, heading south and east out of town and getting down onto the Big Dry Creek Trail.  Once we turned around at Metzger we were getting kicked around really hard by the wind - one of those winds where you can't even talk to the person next to you.  Gabby and Terry finished at a dozen plus and Greg and I did loops behind the wind break of the King Soopers until we got to two hours.  15.1 miles.

Thursday - Achilles was a piece of turd today.  Kept it easy with 6.1 miles.  Went into the shoe shop as the outsole of the Levitates I had cracked.  Got a replacement set of Nikes (yeah, I am a sellout).  Took a peek at the Vaporfly things.  Crazy shoes.  I didn't get these.



Also went over and checked out the new Wildwood Guitar facility and geeked out for a bit.  Then I got on their website and perused the offerings.  You can lose you mind looking at guitars that cost more than cars.

Friday - 10 miles.  Did 5 x 2 minutes at threshold - so not really hard but enough to shift gears - in the middle with practice to mix it up.  Felt pretty okay.

Saturday AM - did 8 x 30' hills with Greg, Braun and Terry on Main Street.  Nothing awesome but just rolling the legs a bit.  We hosted an alumni run post at the HS.  7.7 miles.


A little later in the AM, 2.5 getting the dogs out.

The hills and harder work left my Achilles fairly thrashed and I was noticeably gimping later in the day.  I spent the later afternoon/early evening managing it to some semblance of happiness.

Sunday AM = got out with Shad and Bob on the Coal Creek trail.  Nice jog, and it has been a while since I have got out with those guys.  It was fun to catch up Saw a lot of crews on the trail, including the Mines distance squad.  12.4 miles.

Really nice training week for me.   74 miles with some quality.   Of course, while it was a "work week," this time of the year is only a half-hearted approach to that by most (and will be probably until mid next week).  I also head off for biz travel towards the end of next week so that will put a wrinkle in there.

Good music week for me as I am managing a few new tunes, and working a bit more specifically to some of my own lyrics.  Playing some of my own stuff at a mic in 2020 is a slight goal of mine.  Got a bunch of hours in practicing and played with software related to the Fender G-DEC amp I have.  Still figuring out that rabbit hole of tech with that amp - as it hooks up via USB and has all the pedal effects, etc.