Weekend ending 31JAN2021

Friday nid day - 7.3 miles.  Just under 8:10 pace.  Not as quick as yesterday but I had a few twinges today, and still better than last week.  Borderline hot today at 55 degrees.

Saturday AM - jogged over to Kings to meet GW, and then did the Lake Link Lac Amora Loop, and then back home 8 miles.  Not fast and not feeling particularly great - and frankly probably a bit stupid - but this was the longest run I have had since mid October.  Some progress in that, but I need to keep some wit in my nimwit self and not over do it.  

Sunday AM - jogged over to track and worked some watch jogging back and forth while GW and EC did a workout.  SB was there and jogged back and forth me too.  7.3 miles.

Just a hair over 45 miles this week.  Somethun' I guess. Certainly happy that I am grinding through but also a bit realistic in what I am doing and what I can do, and that ain't as happy a picture.  

Another great Throughline. And this one too.

Latest RCPM cover.  Been pokin' at this one for a bit - trying to find where to fit the voice and finally landed on capo 4.

This morning hacked out this first cut on this original.  Really rough but feel good about the start of what this could be.  Sorta fell out.  

Did this Brandi C number with Becky G this weekend too.  

Thursday 28JAN2021

Wednesday mid day - did a 5.2 miler and somehow managed to be about 20 seconds faster per mile than I have been for the last couple of weeks.  So there is that.  Generic pain in various places but that might just be running after 5 decades.  Almost impossible for me to imagine V02 type intervals.  Guess there is that as a target then.  

Always dig seeing these sort of numbers, as they tell a story within the story.  

Thursday mid day - 7.2 miles.  Not sure where this came from but when I checked the watch mid way I was right at 8 min pace on the nose.  Feeling good about that I then found there was not a lot above that when I started the nudge home.  But this was probably the best run I have had in like 5 months.  So there is that.  

Thought provoking podcast. Hits on social media, COVID, misinformation, isolation, FUD, etc.  

Tuesday 26JAN2021

Monday afternoon - 5.2 on the Ridgeview, Lake Link loop ccw

Tuesday afternoon - 5.2 on the plowed sidewalk "trails" of Broomfield.  Yeah, a snow blew in.  

Working with a site in Central time, so I am on it a bit earlier, and not connecting up with any of the Eagles.  "Official" pre-season with COVID restrictions has started.

Interestingly some of the more acute pains I have been dealing with seem to be a bit better subsided to just general aches over the last couple of days.

Listened a bit to Joe Grant on the Dylan Bowman podcast.  Fun to hear some of those "old time" stories.  I remember when I told Joe I was going to do my first 100 as the 24 Hours of Boulder at the Res.  He shook his head as his first 100 had been UTMB.  He likened losing his 100 virginity to a beautiful French super model, and mine was going to be a cheap whore on Colfax.  That got everyone cracking up.  

Pushed up this rough cut of an original

Weekend ending 24JAN2021

Saturday AM - met GW over at the South Public road trail head on the Coal Creek trail.  We did 6 on an out an back.  Twinged the hammy again.  Oddly the hamstring insertion is now a bigger issue than the Achilles.  Same old story though, just gonna keep the low gear grinding for basic health - physical and mental.  Still a bit of an itch in there thinking I get around all this stuff and get back to full on self abuse, but fully in acceptance that is probably unlikely, and maybe not even a good idea.  

Spent a good portion of Saturday practicing a few tunes with Becky G.  Because of this I missed the six hours of Jim W attempting to break the 100k record.  Which is a ridiculous record.  And was missed by a few handfuls of seconds.  So it is amazing.  

But, can we simply agree, watching ultra record attempts is pretty much as unexciting of a race as you can get?  I mean, yeah, for those of us nerds of the sport, fine.  I have watched it (and even nuttier stuff like Race Across the Years) .... but come on. 

And it still sort of drives me crazy how we can get that sort of thing for eight plus hours but to get uninterrupted 10k track coverage for the World Champs is a challenge, and if you want to watch college races - good luck if the racer you are interested in is 10 meters off the leaders.  

Been trying to land a gig with a few different places - however it can come - with the band, with BG and me, or just me.  Ain't really coming great with COVID, but will keep knocking on the doors.

My own cover of "G&D"

Sunday AM - jogged over to the track to provide some support to GW and EC as they did a track workout.  Ended up with 7 miles total.  

Seems like I stumbled into another 40 mile is week.  Something I guess.

 

Friday 22JAN2021

Friday - a real careful 6 miles with GW as a handful of Eagles did some quality.  

At some point one can realize, it is all a story.  And that you have the ability to modify that story.  Certainly not infinitely modify it, but you can change it a lot.  That might mean deep work, but it can also be little things too.  It is a story.  And when you consider that, and you consider how we are all creating these stories, and the why/how we get there, that can create quite a bit of insight.  

That might sound simple.  But I find it not so easy.  I fall into stories.  I create stories.  I re-affirm these stories with other stories.   They come from the past and the create things for the future. It is all not really necessary or true.  Sometimes they can be good, but sometimes the just set up a grasping of expectations for the future.

So I try to remind myself they are just stories.  

Thursday 21JAN2021

Wednesday 20JAN2021 - 4 miles at the front of the day.

Inauguration Day.  A few thoughts:

- In 2017 when Trump took office I would often challenge people who were outraged with his installation into office.  My challenge was along the lines of questioning as to what direct action of any president in their life had any direct impact on them or a loved one?  I didn't dig Trump in office either, but I was using this as a line of thinking to consider that I (and whoever I was talking to) was not as much the negative or positive victim to someone in the White House - and that generally most of the actions of our federal government have little direct implications on our day to day lives.  

Perhaps said a different way, I don't think the president alone dictates the state of the economy (although many claim to when it is positive and they point to others when it not).  I also think that a focus on the things I can control or influence, and even more local, is a healthier consideration than doomscrolling Twitter about what is occurring in D.C.

But it is not an absolute argument.  Regardless of my personal thoughts that we as a nation has put too much authority in the Executive Branch (why do we want to return to Kings and Queens so badly) and the absolution of authority in the Congress/the Senate, it is clear that while an executive order about the Paris Climate Accords, or immigration does not impact me directly, I have to be both considerate to those who may be impacted by such things (to some appropriate degree) and at minimum - the tone it sets for our country.

I understand that some that might align with my political views and say I am understating the damage of Trump.  I think I can see what those are (see the Schiff list he put out on this yesterday).  I really wish the conversations over the last four years in regards to Trump could have been simple policy topics.  I mean it would have actually been a perhaps a bit more normal if it was just the typical ridiculous "put me in a box" conversation about gun control or abortion or even immigration.  But it wasn't that and if wishes were horses sort of thing.  It wasn't just a policy debate.  It was all overshadowed by a complete lack of character, accountability, leadership and thoughtfulness by the President.  Over and over and over again.  And frankly that is saying it lightly, cause when you add in things like disregard for science and our existing laws ... ah, well.  If you are reading this far, you are probably violently agreeing or considering me as some far left of the farm liberal.  In either case, you get it for however you get it. 

- Certainly appreciate and celebrate the inauguration of  Kamala Harris, and what she and that represent in our history.  This is also a message / tone thing and that is important (see above).  But, as I think we learned from Obama, it doesn't represent a "we're done" in that department gate either.  

- I wince a bit at those who perhaps celebrated Biden coming to the stage in a, I don't know, bit too much fashion?  I mean, it is the same thing - he is not a king and while Trump's exit is certainly welcomed, I also don't see the installation of any one man or woman as "the solution."  Again, when you consider the train wreck of the last four years with Trump, yeah - I get it, if you are a dyed in the wool Dem, you are stoked.  But no one person is some sort of super leader (Trump, Biden, Harris, Obama) that is just gonna fix all this, or move our great experiment of this democracy forward ALONE.  And so I'd suggest that take some percent of that energy that you are celebrating and direct it into local, specific action that you are responsible for to make all this a better place.  Be inspired to do, not just watch.  

- Finally, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts, challenge me, correct me.  I am game for changing my opinion if the argument is sensible and cogent.

Thursday AM - with GW, 6.4 miles.  Unhappy hammy.  

Tuesday 19JAN2021

A reminder to myself of a few topics to kick around here in future posts.

It is all a story
Alcohol use

The indirect impact of our leaders

Vaccinations

Personal liberty v. communal responsibility

Virtual work environments

Social media

Feelings v. facts

Not sure if I will actually post on that stuff but it some of what came to mind today on the jog.  I guess the take away from today was revisiting the questions of "what is your story?  what do you want your story to be?  and what are you doing about it?"

Today's jog was rather nice.  While there was some low level pain in the Achilles and the hamstring, it was actually at a "meh" level for the first three miles and then it only slightly toggled up after that (when I was in the rollers).  5.1 miles on the Ditch Ridgeview loop counter-clockwise.

Monday 18JAN2021

AM - six miles, out and back from Kings to the ditch west, and then out through Interlocken.  The relatively new foot bridge over the railroad tracks at the end of Quay Street is wonderful.  

Weekend 16-17JAN2021

Saturday AM - 7 miles, around the Lake Link loop, Sterns Lake with Greg.  Rubber bands didn't feel so hot but it was manageable. Perfect morning - 30s, clear, and no wind.  

Mega practice (5 hours).  So. much. fun. with that.  

Here is a clip of "Mountain Time" from that.  

Also post, BG did a cover of "Majorie" by Taylor Swift.

Sunday AM - a little tune I have been working the cover on.

I absolutely need to work on the sound capture so that it does not sound like I am on an 1974 AM radio. 

Sunday mid day - 6.3 miles.  Arguably the right hammie has become more of an issue than the left Achilles.  So there is that.  Gimped through the run in typical fashion.  Somehow managed to tick over 40 miles this week.  

Friday 15JAN2021 "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" cover and other blah blah blah

Latest cover.  "Denton" or the "The Best Ever Death Metal Band Out of Denton" by the Mountain Goats.  And re-covered by Laura Jane Grace (of Against Me!)  The true end lyrics to that tune are "Hail Satan," apparently to be sung in a Beavis and Butthead fashion. While it is a joke, I recognize it might age well and so I changed it to "Hail Rock and Roll." Gonna look to get another original up by the end of the month.  And I'll see if I can run a cover a week on the music front.  

Thursday was a long work day, my hammy was barking and I was not especially happy about it.  I really didn't want to run and I wanted to mire in that a bit.  So that is exactly why I got out for 4 in the dark.  It was the quarter mile up to the middle school track and then laps in the opposite direction on the outside lane.  It was not fast or comfortable, but I was better off for doing it.  I watched Orion rise a bit, and noticed how my eyes got better accustomed to the dark.  

I am probably the least run fit I have been in perhaps all my life.  There is some very minor frustration about that, but at the same time, I am truly good with it.  My running now is not about the training for some race or an event but it is really a space I need more for the weak muscle on the top of my neck.  I don't rule out racing again, but there are not any itches to scratch there now.  

Friday I got out early and jogged with GW.  The regular Eagles did some light quality work.  The actual season for those kids won't start until May, so nothing super crazy or specific at this point - really, just touching the gas a bit to keep in touch with that, prepare for later preparation, and not just do the same thing everyday.  It is pretty inspiring to see them putting it in day after day.

 

Wednesday 12JAN2021

Tuesday (yesterday) AM - the regulars at a workout, and I was slow jogging.  6.6 miles.   Right hammie is bit barky today. 

Looong work day.   One of those ones where I did a lot but at the end of it felt like I sort of accomplished nothing of significance at all.  Got to be careful about those sort of days.  

Wednesday (today) AM - windy (like Front Range windy where we are going to get 70mph gusts later in the day).  5 miles with GW along the ditch.  Gracilas is now pissed again.  Obviously the whole kinetic chain is a mess.  Might mean a few days off.  

I support use of the 25th amendment in light of current events, as well as impeachment.  I also will take the vaccine when made available to me.  Have a nice day.  

Monday 11JAN2021

AM - chilly, but sunny.  One of those mornings with the snow encasing everything with bright blue skies.  6.1 miles.  All this is super slow, with no care about the pace.  

Some of my initial "welcome back to jogging" soreness has subsided, but I am still mucking through some of that.  Still trying to stay on the pull-up, push-up, crunches, squats train - in the past they have tended to drop as I have picked up running.  It is the old adage of not letting great be the enemy of good.  Some is better than none.  No need to be perfect but inch the ball forward.  

Sunday 10JAN2021

AM - 4.3 miles in the snow, some of it with Rage the dog.  

A New Year's resolution of sorts ... I am going to look to avoid the "old" conversation.  It is really easy to fall into the "well cuz I'm old" trap, because it is everywhere.  But while it is one thing to be reminded by it by your failing vision or creaky body, there is this community drumbeat that unnecessarily reinforces age as some sort of excuse.  I am not looking to outright deny the physiology of aging, but I am seeking to eliminate it as a song in my head that potentially programs a set of expectations, typically lowering them.  

Saturday 09JAN2021

AM - met up with Bob and Shad over in Superior and convinced them to go slow with me for a bit (as a part of their longer runs).  5 miles.  Significant therapy via ridicule and sarcasm.

Talked Tacos actually, as I am a relatively new owner of one of those.  The entire trailer, camper, pop-up, build out, slide in, topper, cover options were all on the table for discussion.  

Friday 08JAN2021

Got out last night for four miles in the dark after a pretty long work day.  Five this AM along Ridgeview with GW.  9 minute pace stuff here.  So there is that.  

I had a pretty lengthy conversation with the doc regarding the MRI, etc.  Tears in the Achilles tendon, a nice spur of 17mm.  Not great stuff.  Not rushing off to do anything surgical at this point, as I'll give how to approach it a bit more thought.  PRP was suggested.  Will also seek a few other professional opinions. It is 100% dumb that I am jogging on it but with the 6+ weeks off, and the slow short stuff I am doing now - I can keep this discomfort to some sort of manageable level.  

I ended up with 30 travel nights in 2020.  That was a huge drop from the 115 I had in 2019.  Obviously the drop was because of the pandemic.  When I got off the plane back from Irvine on March 13, I was at 28 nights at that point in the year.  

Anywho ... if there is a silver lining to the virus, I think it has helped open our eyes a bit more to what we can do "virtually" and also to some extent what we shouldn't do in that regard.  Frankly a bunch of what I have done can probably go without me traveling to the location.  But here is the rub - there is a "soft" element of being in the room with someone to build that relationship, trust, and understanding.  That can be done virtually but it is often significantly harder.  

I pushed around the idea of zero travel nights (at least for work) for me with with my team and that was not really well received.  It is more the idea of "no unnecessary travel" and therefore - being clear in the intention when traveling.

Plus airports and hotels kind of suck after a bit - even if the end location is grand.  

Achilles MRI report

 So, got the report.  Partial tears of the Achilles tendon.  Not surprising.  Need to sleep on a bit the next steps (but almost certainly will not be immediate surgery).

Inch it forward

When this blog when "quiet" I was asked by someone why.  My reply was that I had nothing really to say and so it seemed unnecessary just to blog that I had run some short slow amount that day.  

However, events like yesterday's in D.C. have often made me think I have something to say.  I hesitate to say much because I am fairly sure what I have to say is not unique, and I don't believe it has the merit to change anything.  And unfortunately, such statements seem to only create strife and more division. And so, I have tried to seek to reset my focus to the circles I can influence.  This typically means smaller and more local focused efforts vs. being concerned about what is outside that.  

This does not mean I seek to ignore what is occurring in our nation or world, but instead I have a goal to channel my energies and efforts towards the people and communities that I think I can help versus being disproportionately spending that limited time and energy what I can't, or at least what I think I can't.  By way of example, I think my involvement with young people on the local XC team or in Scouts is time better spent than restating on some obscure blog or other social media how ineffective a leader our current president is (or how our Congress has abdicated much of their authority to the executive branch and the judicial branch over at least the last two decades).  

This is not a judgement of anyone that does spend their time on those things.  Generally, I am glad there are those who do.  Arguably, in the right setting, I am likely to challenge those I know who seem more concerned about that if they can name their mayor, or ward representative, or  even their own state senators.  As you may guess, more times than not, people cannot.  

Part of the "re-start" of the blog after the recent short hiatus was that I recognized that by writing on whatever, is somehow helpful to me.  It was not so important that I had something thought provoking or life changing to say to anyone else in as much that leveraging this process of typing thoughts moves my ball forward in some way.  Of course, any interaction it might create with others also helps that, but that dialogue is an additional benefit - and not as necessary.  

I saw it stated yesterday, "sorry, I can't talk today, I am watching the season finale of United States."  Indeed.  Obviously that is a joke, but events as they are at our country's federal level are more impactful to our minds and hearts than I can ever recall.  My light reading of history makes me believe this is not the only time it has been like this, but I speak of my half century of life.  Perhaps it was before and I was just not paying as much attention, or perhaps my attention was not grabbed as effectively as before.  

So yeah, all that ... I guess I am saying a way too long fashion that I am likely to blog more here about these things.  

I recently was watching a David Chapelle comedy show.  In it, he describes how the tragic murder of a young black man helped spawn the Civil Rights movement.  I hold hope that yesterday's events, a set of events that are clearly traceable to the words and actions of single man, can in a similar fashion move us to recognize or re-recognize our short comings and what we strive to what we can be, and therefore lift us.  While I hold that hope, I recognize it is unlikely in a day or a week, or even come January 21.  But I'll look to keep inching my ball forward in that way.  

Wednesday 06JAN2021 Inch by inch

 AM - 6.1 miles, jogging over to Kings, giving the kids a wave and then off and back with GW towards the Josh's Pond (except we went out towards the spur instead).  Really slow this AM but I was fine with that.  Typical stuff.  I am pretty sore still.  Not quite post PPM sore but closer to that than I'd like to be for easy runs.  

I probably put on 10 pounds over the holiday, as a result of not being as regularly active, and the nature of the season.  Looking to address that of course.  I have generally come to subscribe to the thought that you can't out run poor diet choices.  In other words, a 3 mile run might help with overall fitness, and it may even contribute to some weight loss.  But, generally only 3-400 calories are burned on such a run.  That is not a lot.  If a pound is about 3500 cals, then that sort of run could mean about a pound lost over 10 days, but the an unfortunate truth is that many may end up increasing their caloric intake when they run because they feel compelled to "fuel" (overly so) post run.  300 calories is pretty easily off set with a yogurt.  

Spent an hour today dealing with a fraudulent credit card application in my name and unravelling that.  Fun.  No.  Not really.  

Little cover of Tyler Childers "Lady May."  I have found that just going through the process of recording this bits makes me perform the song better itself after I have posted it.  I look at it even a week later and I am better at performing that song then when I did the video of it.  Be sure to check out actual version at 6:30 into this vid.  

Been working on writing some of my own stuff.  It is simultaneously easy and hard.  I get tripped up on lyrics, seeking "perfect" versus getting something down, anything down to inch the ball forward.  I'd like to have about a half dozen of my own tunes ready for the playing (whenever, where ever) by the mid year.  I do have a scattering of them already in the works, but only a maybe one that is actually formed.  

I put those two paragraphs next to each other to remind myself that the process is the path.  I recently saw a post someone put up that said something to the effect of if they only ran when they were motivated to last year, they would have only run some 30 times (versus 300).  I need to remind myself that the pursuit of perfection does not start with the perfect, other than being consistent in looking to pursue it one inch (if that) at a time.  

Tuesday 05JAN2021 MRI day

Afternoon - 7 miles via Ridgeview, Commons loop.  Sort of laughing at my sorry self in how my thoughts were bemoaning how out of shape I am.  

MRI today.  Got over to the facility in Lafayette for a 7AM session.  I had never had an MRI so it was a new experience to me.  Part of the fun - 950 cost with insurance and 600 without.  Figure that one out kids. 

Oh yeah, MRI's are loud.  Like really loud.  As in your should wear hearing protection when next to one.  And you just lay there for a half an hour.  I napped a bit.  The thought crossed my mind there could be some leftover shrapnel in there from the lawn mower accident from over four decades ago and that metal would be amazingly ripped from my ankle and through my flesh by this giant magnet machine.  No such luck.  

I got the CD of images - there are a lot. And a lot of ways to look at them.  My untrained eye has no ability to discern what problems there may be with this.  I expect the physician read later today or tomorrow.  

Monday 04JAN2021

 AM - 4 miles, out to the Lac Amora gate and back while the Eagles were in flight.  Same status on the wheels and pins (achy and sore) but s'all right I guess.  MRI tomorrow AM.  

I'll keep edging into running unless advised not for medical reasons or I crank the pain on the heel back to a point where I am struggling through the remainder of the day.  It is not ideal, but I am sort of done with the alternative for now.  It truly feels that running is more for basic mental health than a physical benefit these days.  

I attempted a half hearted tune out of most of the social media channels for let's say all the typical reasons, but I have not been highly successful in completely dropping it.   I have to keep on top of Linkedin for some content related to my work.  I tend to hit Twitter a bit to get a sniff of news and running related content.  I have pretty much dropped IG.  Facebook is still used for the XC team, and a few other projects/things I am involved in.  And I went ahead and created a space for music endeavors (mostly) back in May, but I still am not feeling great about using it.  

Been tuning into the Throughline podcast.  Really enjoyable, thought provoking and educational.