R.A.T. (Running, Art, Tennis)

Ah, the weather has become delightful. Spring makes for some nice varied running in heat, cold, wind, sunshine, and storms. After a slew of short runs during the week, I popped a 6 miler on Saturday to shake off the cobwebs. It was a nice run that passed by quickly because I felt good and wanted to kick it a bit. I couldn't find my MP3 player and, for the first time in a long time on a solo run, I ran sans earphones. If I had been thinking, however, I would've cut the run a bit shorter and slowed down, because Chris Ford is training to place in the KS Half Marathon (no pressure when you read this, Chris), and on Sunday we went for a planned training run. The run covered all types of surfaces. I had planned a 10-ish mile jaunt that had sections on gravel, grass, asphalt and concrete.

I don't normally have tiredness issues, but after my run the day before, the Sunday run with Chris crept up and spanked me hard. I spent the rest of the day napping, watching tennis on the couch, and later, the Jayhawks making it to the round of 16.

While I'm talking about Chris, I should mention that he has an art show this coming Friday evening at the Hobbs Taylor lofts in Lawrence starting around 6pm. You can also see his work at www.urbanstump.com (a site that is still under construction but will give you an idea). The show is open to the public, so come on down.

And, while I'm talking about tennis, if you get a chance to catch the men's doubles finals from Indian Well, do it. I wax poetic, but it was possibly the greatest (and certainly most interesting) doubles match I've ever seen as Alexandr Dolgolopov and Xavier Malisse defeated Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer. On point in particular in the second set was unlike any I had ever seen. Dolgolopov, who first came to light in the Australian earlier in the year, proved he's for real, winning the first ATP title of his young career.

Running with Scott Jurek

So here's a sentence that I didn't think I'd ever write: Last Friday I was standing around talking with Scott Jurek when he invited me to go running on Saturday morning.

It is, in fact, true. Scott uses and endorses a product that one of my clients makes. The product is Udo's Oil ( www.oilthemachine.com ), and Scott was in Anaheim helping to promote the product at the Natural Products Expo West. I had stopped by my client's booth to say hello and was introduced to Scott. It really was quite a thrill to meet someone I had only read about who stands at the pinnacle of the sport I love.

As part of the promo, he set up a run with 20-30 guests for Saturday morning. So early on Saturday, I donned my shorts and sneakers and popped over to the convention center. There were about 20 other people all in running attire and, of course, Scott Jurek. I had always heard he was a nice guy, and he didn't disappoint. Before the run he hung out and spoke with everyone and even politely posed for pictures (which must get really old). During the 5K (ish) distance, he moved through the pack chatting and spending time with each runner. When the run was over, he offered to hang out and answer any questions the small group of us might have. I couldn't stay around for that because I had to run back to my hotel to shower and get ready for day 2 of the trade show.

But what a thrill! It was fantastic to get to spend real time engaging in conversation and running with one of Ultra-distance running's all-time greats.

I hope to have pictures next week.

New Trail

I found a new trail. Actually, it is not that new, just new to me. It is located in a wooded parcel that was donated to the city some years ago, and is now administered by the Kansas Land Trust. To get to it, you take 6th Street in Lawrence until you come to Folks Road. Head north on Folks about 1 mile and you'll find a gravel parking lot. The trail starts there and heads into a wooded area for between 1/2 and 3/4 mile. It is actually two trails; a white one that goes the full distance, and a blue one that interconnects and is about 1/3 the distance of the white.

I had run by this park so many times on one of my normal 3-4 mile loops that I almost blew it off the other day. But I had had a discussion about the trail with a neighbor the preceding week. We had commented on how no one ever seemed to have taken the trail. So, on Saturday as I was in the last mile of a short run I thought why not, and headed in. What I encountered was a really beautiful, well-maintained, hilly trail that offered thick brush, alternating with good views, lots of turns, and even a stream to cross. The whole experience added 12-14 minutes to my run, and was well worth the effort. And it is so close to my house that I can be there within 5 minutes. I plan to make the trail a regular addition to my shorter runs in the future.

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Season 6 of WEEDS is now out. If you're a fan, it has been worth the wait. If you're not, try watching the first episode of the show from season 1. You'll know pretty quickly if it is your cup of tea.

Finally, I watched the documentary, Which Way Home yesterday. I think it should be mandatory viewing for our kids, so they can see how lucky they are to be born here. The children in the documentary (some as young as 9) set off alone to travel over a thousand miles to get to the US. It almost defies comprehension. We should count ourselves lucky and, at the same time, show a lot of compassion to those not born here who struggle mightily to join us.

Oh, deer!

I started an enormous posting, but have put that on hold - I might actually have the makings of a novel. I want to think about it before sticking it up on this site.

Anyway, my week was pretty much a downer until the weekend. I'm never too worried about age. Well, maybe I am. Turning 45 kind of threw me for a bit of a loop. I think I had my mid-life crisis (if I live to be 90, Hah!) in a period of about 48 hours. No, I didn't go out and buy the sports car, divorce my wife (which would've been hard to do since I'm single), or quit my job and join an ashram. But I did have a few 3 a.m. panic attacks consisting of the what are you doing with your life variety.

Friday, I started to recover by having dinner with a few close friends. I also ran into the best friend I ever had in my youth. We hadn't seen each other in 7 or 8 years. It was really wonderful to be surrounded by all my great friends, newer and older.

Saturday, I popped out for a morning run (I did run every day last week, but hadn't hugely enjoyed them until Sat). It was a muddy affair, but I finally fell into an easy rhythm and cruised. In the afternoon, I watched the KU game at a neighbor's house. The picture above is of 7 of the 14 deer that appeared in their back yard (you can see them in the center through the trees). It was a bit nuts. I live on the other side of the neighborhood, and get some deer and coyote that cruise through the high school lot, or up the ravine behind my place. But I had never seen that many deer in one place before. They also get a flock of turkeys and the obligatory coyotes as well.

Anyway, so Sunday I set off for a run at 10 a.m. I wasn't really feeling it when I took off. The route I was taking was so shrouded in fog that it was hard to tell exactly where I was. As I neared the SLT trail, a deer cruised out of the mist in front of me. It kind of freaked me out, because it was a pretty big animal, and in a collision I wasn't going to be the one emerging unscathed. Well, the animal cruised in front of me from right to left and then stopped next to the path, watching as I ran past. It was such a beautiful critter, made more so by the softening lens of the fog. I felt fortunate to have encountered the animal.

Anyway again, I had planned to just do a 4 miler. But when I came to my turnaround point, I was starting to feel OK. So I thought I'd just push ahead to my 10k turnaround. But funny thing, when I reach that turnaround point I also felt pretty good. So I figured why not just go to my 8 mile turnaround. And, you guessed it, at the 8 mile turnaround I figured that since I was already out that far, I might as well do the whole circuit; so I pressed on to the 10 mile loop. I had no problems to report. It did occur to me about mile 7.5 that I hadn't brought and energy shots or fluids because I hadn't planned on such a long run. But then I put it out of my mind and simply pushed on. And you know what? The run turned into one of those zen-like experiences where it seemed to be more of an up and down motion than a forward motion experience. The fog certainly helped that feeling, because I had little idea of my progress. But an hour and 21 minutes after I had begun, the run came to an end at my back door. The challenges of the previous week had been vanquished and balance restored.

Crazy Run Times

My birthday was on Tuesday. I wasn't feeling all that great - a bit of malaise - so I took the day off. After getting a haircut in the early a.m. I popped over to the levee to have a run. Again, I wasn't feeling it, but I put in a run that lasted exactly 41 minutes. My pace didn't completely suck. I wasn't too tired, but I never got into the groove. All in all a disappointment.

So Wednesday, on my way home from work, I again stopped at the levee. I had running gear in my Element, and the day was nice. I decided to try the exact same run as the day before. I set out feeling a bit better. I fell into a comfortable pace that didn't strain me physically or aerobically. I finished the run and looked at my watch: 34:33. I had just cut 6+ minutes off of my time from the day before. It was pretty odd.

The lesson to learn is that you are never as bad or as good as your last run. Mind and body can have dramatically different responses on different days. I can't explain how a difference that large occurred over a distance that wasn't too long. But it was the most interesting running event I had this week (so far).

Historic Site and It Pays to Run

If you haven't had the chance to visit the Brown v Board of Education national historic site in Topeka, I would recommend the stop next time you are passing through the Capitol City. Located a couple of blocks off of I-70, the site is housed in the old, formerly all-black Monroe School Building. The permanent exhibits are inspiring, and the current temporary exhibition about school integration in South Carolina is very moving.

I had not been aware that Brown v Board was really 5 lawsuits brought by courageous individuals all over the country that had been rolled into one that was to be heard by the Supreme Court. Reading about the personal sacrifices that pretty seriously marginalized people had made to better their lives, their children's lives, and those of generations to follow, actually brought a tear to my eye. And the videos of adults screaming, pushing, and espousing vileness at little children and young adults who were simply trying to enter buildings to gain knowledge, made me ill.

I also hadn't known that in the early part of the 20th century, Asian had not been allowed to own property in the US. Japanese people were not allowed to become citizens (not forgetting that once they were granted citizenship they were subjected to being put into concentration camps in the US during WWII).

We have come a long way, but we are not more than a generation or two removed from these types of thoughts and behaviors in many parts of the country. Many people in the videos are probably still walking among us. I am hopeful that their feelings have changed with the understanding that by lifting one segment of our population, we really elevate us all.

Anyway, the site takes about an hour, is free, is open 9-5 every day, and serves as a reminder of a dark part of our history that we should not forget.

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Now running... After powering though deep snow on the river trails last week with my buddy, Chris, my other buddy, Eric and I decided to try them out again on Sat. The bike clubs had requested that the two-wheeler types not hit the trails in order to avoid creating ruts. That left the trails mainly to runners. Both of us had hit the bottle a bit the night before at separate parties/gatherings, so we weren't going to set any land speed records. But the run turned out to be beautiful. The ground had that kind of moist, solid feel that is easy on the knees and leaves very little imprint on the trail. It was a lovely little jaunt.

On Sunday, I donned shorts and a t shirt (it was 73F on Feb. 20 for goodness sake) and took off running in a very strong wind. I tried to pick a course that move primarily perpendicular to the gale. The run felt good and uneventful, with Joe Jackson and Lucinda Williams blaring in my ears. On my way back, still out in the country, a $5 bill blew in front of me. Without even a slight alteration in pace, I scooped up the Lincoln and continued my run. I did look to my right to make sure no more greenbacks were wafting my direction, and alas, they weren't. So five dollars richer, I finished my Sunday run.

Snow Day Running

Another cold, snowy week led to a lot of indoor running. When I run indoors I usually try to go three miles, hit the rowing machine for 5 min, do some sit ups and push ups and call it a day. After several straight days, it gets a bit old. But I still dutifully laced up, and descended the stairs to my basement for the grind each evening.

The KC Trail Nerds were having the Run Toto, Run event yesterday. I had thought about doing the 10 miler. My running buddy, Chris, and I had left the plans for it loose. I did a short outdoor run on Friday in preparation. When Saturday rolled around, however, Chris and I opted to try and do the full circuit of the river front trails instead of making the drive into the KC metro area. We waited until 10:30 so that the temperature would be climbing into the high 30s - low 40s.

When we arrived at the trail head, there was a lot of snow, some ice, some slush, and some mud. We figured we'd do what we could. So we set off on a trail that was mainly snow-packed. Every now and then there would be knee high drifts. It became quite a workout, but we pressed on. We pretty much had the trails to ourselves. Several times we weren't actually certain we were on the trails.

The riverfront trails are the ones that my running buddies and I are all most familiar with. However yesterday, large chunks of the run seemed fresh, as a coat of white had descended over the familiar green and brown hues that normally populate the run. We saw a magnificent owl and a whole lot of tracks, but no other animals or people (who, I guess technically are animals as well).

As we ran, I commented that my shoe could not possibly have more snow in it. Then I mentioned that, being the optimist, that I should probably describe it as being half-full. Chris corrected me by pointing out that in that instance the optimist would actually describe his shoe as being half empty.

So after several deep conversations like the preceding, we reached the turnaround point. The run had, to that point, been alternately wonderful and easy coupled with a study in brutal backwoods slogging. After running back a bit on the trails, we opted to make a break for the levee across a field that was a lot larger and more snowbound than it had looked from the trail.

After a foot drenching jaunt, we arrived at the summit of the levee. As it turned out, there was a pretty good wind that we hadn't noticed on the trails. I put my hat back on, and Chris donned his jacket. We had some miles in the wind atop the levee. I should say here that I love to run on the levee. I like the tight gravel surface. I like the feeling that I get by bouncing up and down as I run that puts me into the zone. Chris, however, hates the levee. He feels as if there is no progression, and that the objects off in the distance never seem to get closer.

Because of these two contrasting points of view, our speed increased - mine because I was on auto-pilot, and Chris' because he just wanted the damn thing to end. And end it did, with both of us clocking a pretty good pace as we knocked out the final few miles of the run.

It turned out to be exhilarating for both of us. I love training runs where you actually feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in what you have undertaken. The only issue I had were cold toes and a tiny blister on the side of one of them.

Chris is looking at training to place again in the Kansas Half Marathon. He's such an irritatingly good runnier, that he probably will. I haven't committed to doing the race again this year. I'm still in the run for running's sake mode, and have no plans outside of some Trail Nerds races.

But running with Chris keeps me fast. I'm always honored when he asks me to do the long training runs. I'm not quite fast enough to win my age group (in most races), so I always bask in the reflected glory of Chris' wins. I'm both kidding and not kidding here. I really do love it when someone I run with wins....