Sweet Danger

Halloween isn't the best holiday for diabetics. Someone put a big plastic pumpkin full of tootsie rolls and tootsie pops in the break room and I can't help myself from taking a sample everytime I walk by. And in the employee cafeteria there are sugar cookies with little tombstones on them and the icing letters "R.I.P." Truer words have never been spoken.

But you gotta do what you gotta do, so I ripped off a blazing 8-mile run in 1:08 today (blazing for me) along the Pittman Wash trail under sunny skies with no wind and temps in the 60s. Perfect. Take that high-sugar count.

Back on the homefront my hot water heater is about to blow. My friend Mike Dindia came over today to check it out. It's just a small leak now but disaster is right around the corner. But he's going to help me take out the old one and put in a new one. He's sure he can do it by downloading info so I believe him I hope for the sake of my downstairs neighbors.

Looking for Mars

Are you looking for Mars tonight? Tonight the planet will be closer to Earth than it will be again until 2018.

If you look close enough maybe you'll see the two rovers: Spirit and Opportunity. Like Columbus, Cook and Lewis & Clark they're exploring unknown territory up close. Unknown to us anyway.

Back on earth, I went off on a nice seven mile run through Sunset Park. I felt great, experiencing no after effects from Thursday's 20 miler. The normal solitude was shattered by toy powerboat enthusiasts who were racing their mini gas-powered boats around the lake. At least the fish were too scared to take the fishermen's bait.

Looks like I'll have to look for somewhere quieter to run. I wonder if there are any good running trails on Mars?

 

Getting Back to Normal

As we closed yesterday's journal, there was some concern about the pesky old blood sugar. But those fears were put to rest today as the readings were 136 (am) and 109 (pm). Must have been the positive influence of the 4 beers last night.

No run today. How could I? I can still barely walk after yesterday's 20 miles and I didn't realize how swollen my ankles were until I got a good look at them in some of the postures of tonight's yoga class. Friday is the night Kim teaches with live music. The sitar player was there, but Linda was subbing for Kim. I missed Kim, but Linda gave me a big hug after class and said she liked my smile.

Although there was no run today, I drove out to check out the new 10 miles of trail way out in Henderson, almost to Lake Mead. What I saw was an asphalt path that's part of a 30-mile trail that borders Lake Mead. Now that would be a one-day challenge! Ironically the park is called Equestrian Park but the sign says, "No Horses Allowed."

20 in the Bank

Today was the day to get my first 20-mile run in as I prepare for the Dec. 4 LV Marathon. The first 14 miles were effortless but then the ankles started to hurt. But as Lewis & Clark led many journal entries, "We proceeded on." The last 6 miles, like a marathon, were the toughest. The run was out on the Old LA Highway, site of many previous marathons but not this year's, which runs down the strip.

After the run I stopped at the Gold Strike Casino in Jean for a veggie burger & fries. I expected my bs to be low after burning 2,000 calories running but it was a near-record high 259! Must have been the fries but could have been the dehydration, 30 minutes later it was 205 and now it's 160 so it's gone down 100 pts in an hour. It should be fine in the morning.

New rule: Any time I run 20 or more miles I'm allowed to have a beer. I'm sure Meriwether and William would have approved this. That only leaves 2 weeks from today -- my next 20 miler and the marathon. Now I have to go take my medicine and watch by bs drop some more.

Paradise Found

Not one to take failure lightly, I set out again for White Rock Canyon today in search of the Colorado River. In my first attempt last Thursday I jogged along a wash between 1500-foot canyon walls but never found the river that was supposed to be at the end of the trail. Today I was determined to find that damn river just downstream from that damn Hoover Dam.

Found it I did. It's only supposed to be 2.5 miles but I think that's the way the damn crow flies. It took me almost 50 minutes of running to finally get there and I'm not not slow. Saturday I ran 3.1 miles in 23:30. But that's another journal entry. It's a beautiful calm, peaceful river and there's supposed to be hot springs there too but I'll save discovery for another day.

Of course I took tons of photos and this amazing run will be documented in a photo slide show sometime before the river dries up. Now it's off to my damn job. The bs was high (154 this morning). Maybe I should reconsider abstinence. A beer on the river would have been nice.

No Regrets

The two biggest fears I had this morning after breaking my beer fast last night were what would my blood sugar be and how would I do in the Danny Gans Run for the Rainforest?

My first fear was quenched when the bs registered 126. That's pretty amazing after 5 beers, a foot-long Subway Veggie Delight with all that bread and a couple of bowls full of pretzels. The 2nd fear was equally dashed when I finished the 5k in 23:30, my fastest time (by 15 seconds) in 7 years. That pace of 7:34 per mile was good enough for 2nd place in my age group and 54th overall out of a field of more than 1,200 runners.

The beer didn't hurt me but now it's back on the shelf until Sept. 13, 2006, unless I come across another surprise journal entry.

 

Beer Break

It didn't hit me until I was reading the Lewis & Clark journals today. Every day I read what the captains wrote on this date 200 years ago. I vaguely remember this reference to beer making but admit I'd forgotten it until I came across it today.

Captain Clark:
October 21, 1805

"One of our party, J. Collins, presented us with some very good beer made of the pa-shi-co-quar - mash bread, which bread is the remains of what was laid in as a part of our stores of provisions, at the first Flatheads, or Chopunnish nation at the head of the Kooskooskee River, which, by being frequently wet, molded and soured."

There it was my permission to drink beer today. After further research it's the only reference to beer or any kind of spirits from July 4, 1805 until Sept. 13, 1806. So who am I to go against history. Wasn't the design of this L&C Abstinence Reenactment journal to follow the drinking patterns of the Corp of Discovery? So with much thought I selected a 6-pack of Hefeweizen Wheat Beer. That's bread right? And it's brewed in Portland, Ore,. an area Lewis & Clark passed through. So in theory this beer could be made of water they canoed through. It was delicious! My first beer in almost 4 months. But this is the only reprise, now it's dryness until next September....unless another journal entry surprises me. Maybe they made wine at Fort Clatsop?

White Rock Canyon

Today was a day to explore a new trail. So I set out for White Rock Canyon located about 5 miles into Arizona on the south side of the Hoover Dam. The trail is actually a big wash that cuts through a canyon leaving walls that rise to 1500 feet on either side of a narrow trail. Just to imagine that water that's poured through over the milleniums boggles the mind.

The trail is supposed to lead to Lake Mohave and the Arizona Hot Springs but I never made it that far. After heading gradually downhill for about 90 minutes I figured I'd better turn around and start the uphill ascent or I'd never make it out of the canyon before nightfall. But it gives me a reason to return. It took me many attempts to complete the Grand Circle Trail at Red Rock and Mt. Everest wasn't scaled in the first try. So next time I'll start earlier and not take so many pictures.

If you check the counter this blog is nearing it's 1,000th reader. The lucky person receives a free ....(sorry out of space for today).... 

Cats Keep Me Grounded

Some people think because I live alone I must be lonely. One friend is constantly sending me links to online dating services to meet Christian Singles. But I'm never lonely or alone with two crazy cats to keep me company.

The day begins as they wait patiently for me to get out of bed and start their stay. Daisy, a 2-year-old jet black former stray, wants water and Haven, a 5-year-old domestic longhair, wants food. The funny thing is these finicky felines already have what they want, they just want it fresh. So Daisy waits by the water dish while I empty out last night's water and refill it with a chilled bottle of Evian. Meanwhile Haven is sitting by his half-filled dry food dish looking up. He won't eat until I top off his food from the bag they've forced me to keep on the top shelf in the cupboard.

After breakfast, it's out to the balcony, where they jump on the ledge and see what the birds are doing. These cats have me very well trained. Later comes a variation of naps, playtime and more eating and drinking.

Email from West Wing Star

Normally an 18-mile run would be the journal highlight, but today's run on the Old LA Highway took a backseat to receiving email from one of the stars from NBC's hit TV show The West Wing. Except I didn't know she was appearing on the show until I heard it on the news.

Of course I'm referring to my one-time yoga teacher, weekend anchor, weekday reporter and fill-in weatherperson Kerstin Lindquist at Ch. 3. Today she gave me a personal forecast for my run out past Jean. She even told me the best time to run to avoid the blustery rainy weather that surely came. But later, I learned Kerstin has a role on the West Wing. And she still takes the time to answer my insignificant email. It must be the yoga that keeps her grounded.

The run went well, despite the wind and rain, I'm a little sore but I'm getting some serious mileage under my belt. Maybe Kerstin will do a story on me. "Diabetic runner conquers marathon with the help of Lewis & Clark Abstinence Reenactment." Stay tuned.

Downstream on the Columbia

200 years ago today the Lewis & Clark expedition dipped their canoes in the mighty Columbia River for the first time and headed down stream in the final leg of their westward journey to the Pacific Ocean. For the first time since they left the Mandans April 7, 1805, in present day North Dakota, they were back on the map. An American ship captain had "discovered" the Columbia River just eight years earlier.

Clark wrote on this date in 1805: "After getting safely over the rapid and having taken dinner, set out and proceeded on seven miles to the junction of this river and the Columbia, which joins from the northwest."

Back in the 21st Century, I attended Cypresse's Sunday Sunrise Yoga class. It's very church-like on a Sunday morning and Cypresse is very profound. She says we don't need to seek love because we are love and we don't need to seek peace because we are peace.

The Bills grabbed a share of the AFC East lead by beating the Jets 27-17. 

50 Cents Per Mile

For the first Saturday in 8 weeks I didn't have an organized run so I slept in till 6:30am. First I checked my bs which was down to 138 from the worrisome 205 of last night. Must have been the 5 mini muffins I had at Sweet Tomatoes (blueberry and cranberry with walnuts are the best). I keep forgetting that despite running more than 40 miles a week I still can't have all the carbs I want.

Just because there was no race on the slate didn't mean I wasn't going running. So after reading a little more of John Grisham's The Testament and knocking back 3 mugs of coffee I embarked on a 10 mile run that took me through the Pittman Wash Trail and Sunset Park. Along the way I found a $5 bill so I figured I earned 50 cents per mile.

This morning I got a surprise phone call from childhood chum Mike Allen. We went to grade school and grew up together but I lost track of Mike in 1982. Well 23 yrs later he stops by Dad's house in Buffalo and gives me a call. Today he and his wife live in Boulder, Colo.

 

Solitude

For the second time in as many days I found solitude and serenity running in remote and beautiful areas. Today it was the old 1930s railroad tunnels trail at Lake Mead. While most of the country is suffering with miserable wet weather it's still dry, warm and clear in the southwest desert.

Today's run was less than 5 miles. That hardly seems worth it to drive 52 miles round trip but it was. There were only 4 other hikers on the trail and about as many boats in the water. Some people think summer's over but I passed a time/temperature clock in Boulder City that registered 93 degrees.

After all this driving the last 2 days I just didn't have the energy to fight rush hour traffic and go to Kim's Friday night yoga with live music on the west side. I hope she forgives me but I think I'm going to replace it with Cypresse's Sunday Sunrise Yoga. Less traffic, less stress, more better.

My blood sugar was at a very high and unusual 205 tonight so I better go for a nice long run Saturday and get it back down where it should be. It is what it is, what else can I do?

  

Miles From Nowhere

Returning to the deserted stretch of highway between Primm and Jean that once linked LA to Las Vegas, I enjoyed a 9-mile run in peaceful solitude.  The motorist who passed me going 90 mph didn't notice the "Road Closed" sign. He was waiting at the dead end as I was arriving to park & run. "How do you get back on the highway." I pointed back 5 miles to Jean. He'd have to drive 10 miles total for ignoring the sign.

Before going to Cypresse's yoga class, I relaxed with John Grisham's The Testament. The lead character has just completed a 4-month stay at a $1,000-per day rehab clinic. Three days later he survives a small plane crash in the Bolivia jungle. Returning to his hotel he cleans out his mini bar of 4 beers in short order then buys two full-size bottles of vodka and almost drinks himself to death. That reminds me, I've made it more than 3 months without a drink and I didn't have to pay $1,000 a day. And 11 months from today I'll be entitled to a frosty beverage, but I don't think I'll ever drink like I did before. Certainly not like Grisham's troubled character. BS 105 after run & yoga.

  

It's All Good

Nothing spectacular to report today but no complaints either. After a brief period of high bs readings the last three have been: 127, 128 and 132. I'll take that. Nothing like a 16-mile run to get it under control. Today's run was only a 5 miler Paradise Rd, Sunset, Eastern Ave & Warm Springs in 45 minutes. Not bad.

Today's highlight had to be receiving email from Ch. 3 News anchor Nina Radetich. She was in last Saturday's 10k race but I didn't even know it until I saw the results online Tuesday. So I sent her a congratulatory note today and she responded in kind.

Well it's my weekend now and you know that means lots of yoga and outdoor running so here's a quote from Sierra Club Founder John Muir:

"Only by going alone in silence, without baggage can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter."

16 Miles

Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to complete the Dec. 4 LV Marathon after all. Today, I ran 16 miles at Freedom Park and it went very well. It's 1.4 miles around the park. So I just parked my car and stopped for water and Gatorade as needed. It went very well. Sure I'm a little sore after my longest run in more than 5 yrs but I feel a lot better than I did after last week's 14 miler. So the plan is to run 18 next week then 20 each of the following weeks, then either a half marathon or a 10k on Nov. 19 then taper off until the marathon.

Just because I didn't have a journal entry Sunday doesn't mean nothing happened. I went to Cypresse's Sunrise yoga class. It was great. No traffic. Who needs to be stressed out by heavy traffic before yoga class? And the Bills ended their 3-game losing streak with a 20-16 victory over the Dolphins. That's a great day!

"If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path."
-- Buddhist saying

48 Minutes, 18 Seconds

My goal today in the Northern Exposure 10k in the City of North Las Vegas was to break 50 minutes. I was chatting with my friend Lindsey Sheer when the gun went off. So I forgot to start my watch. I don't know what my split times were but I felt pretty good.

Lindsey, 28, who had beat me by 34 seconds in a 5k five weeks ago, jumped out to a fast start. I trailed until I passed her after MM1. Going up a steep hill after MM2 she passed me. I went by her again about MM3. As we turned downhill I thought I was putting her away but as we went by a school just before MM5 she took the lead for good. I told her it was a school zone and she was supposed to slow down but she ignored me.

She beat me by 15 seconds in 48:03. Her fastest 10k ever. I also improved dramatically to finish in 48:18. That's an improvement of 5 minutes in 2 months. My yoga teacher Kim finished in 1:03. She still can dance and bend better than me. There were cash prizes that brought out the top runners. I was 65th overall in a field of more than 200 runners,  7th in my age group. I'm still satisfied with the results. Now if I could only beat Lindsey some day.

 

Lost Key -- Lucky Me

The exhilaration I felt after finishing a fast fun 5k run today disappeared quicky when I noticed my car key was missing from the secret pocket in my shorts. I was at Paseo Verde Park, about 8 miles from home. Retracing my steps I found the key about 1/4 mile from where I started. But I was never worried for a moment. Why? I keep a hide-a-key in a magnet box hidden under the frame of the car. But still...

As I was racing downhill at the end of the training run I couldn't help but think of Lewis & Clark, who 200 years ago today, where heading downstream for the first time in their expedition as they put the canoes in the Clearwater River and headed west to the Columbia River and eventually the Pacific Ocean.

Speaking of downhill and downriver that's where the Red Sox season ended today as they were swept by the White Sox in the AL Divisional Series. But my spirits were quickly lifted by Kim and her live music-backed yoga class and a bs reading of 112. You gotta take the bitter with the sweet.

  

Searching the Skies

Keep looking up. After leaving Cypresse's yoga class tonight I glanced to the southwest sky. It was about 30 minutes after sunset and low and behold there was the planet Venus and the crescent moon! What a treat. If you missed it tonight you can catch it again Friday at dusk.

The highlight of tonight's yoga class was a free shoulder massage at the end of class. You don't get that in every yoga class. Very relaxing.

A little relaxation was in order tonight because earlier in the day I ran a swift 6.2 miles over Saturday's Northern Exposure 10k course. After registering for the run I figured why not check out the course? And what better way then to run it. All the miles and turns were already marked so it was a great trial run. I covered the course in just over 52 minutes. That's a minute faster than my last 10k race in August. My goal on race day is to break 50 minutes. That's 8 minutes per mile. Very doable. Now back to the stars.

 

Highs and Lows

It's hard to explain. How can my blood sugar be 197 in the morning and 101 at night? Whenever it gets high like that I know a good run will do the trick. So I dashed off on a quick 6 miler around Sunset Park, skipped the pastries and was back in the healthy zone tonight. I think my blood sugar is manic depressive. The highs are too high and the lows are too low.

For some reason yesterday I was thinking I still have 3 months to go to the marathon, but after further review (counting on my fingers), I realized there's only two months to go. Am I ready? Not today. My long run has only been 15 miles. I need to get a couple of 20 milers under my belt to really feel ready. I just dare my pesky blood sugar count to raise it's ugly head after a 20 miler. Impossible.

Today's sports news was also high and low. High: Sabres won their 1st game in 18 months beating the Islanders 6-4. Low: Red Sox lost again to the White Sox 5-4. At least my weekend is underway. Hooray!!! 

Equinox

The autumnal equinox may have been two weeks ago but today is some kind of  equinox for me. Three months ago today I started this half-insane L&C Abstinence Reenactment. So far. so good. So very good. I've exceeded expectations as far as the positive side effects of mimicking Lewis & Clark's lack of grog for 434 days. Better diabetes readings, faster running times and lower blood pressure have all been benefits of this crazy devotion to a couple of 19th Century explorers.

That was 3 months ago this started and it won't be over until Sept. 13, 2006, but three months from today is the Las Vegas Marathon. So that's where the equinox comes in. Get it? If you do please explain it to me.

"I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want to own."

-- Andy Warhol

14 Chi Miles

Feeling I was due for a long run today after taking yesterday off from pounding the pavement, I headed to the Pittman Wash to apply my Chi Running techniques.

The trail is 4 miles from one end to the other, so if I went out and back twice that would be 16 miles. That was the original plan. There's a water fountain at the 3 mile mark and I can hit it again on the way back (5 miles). After the first 8 miles I was feeling so good I decided to repeat the urban asphalt trail. I revived myself with some Propel Fitness water I'd stashed in my car and set out again. When I got to the water fountain (11 miles) I'd been running for 2 hrs. I said enough was enough and turned around shortening the distance to an easy 14 miles (2:32). That's enough for a work day. But I felt great and feel right on course for the Dec. 4 LV Marathon.

I believe a blade of grass
Is no less than the
Journey work of the stars.

-- Walt Whitman 

Chi Running Really Works!

Today's Run With the Scouts 5k at Mountain's Edge was one of those out-of-body experiences that every runner dreams of. Normally it's not a good idea to have a hard trail run at Red Rock the night before a race and expect good results the next day. But now I'm a firm believer that with Chi Running anything is possible.

With more than 100 runners in the race I started slow (I thought it was slow) on the uphill out-and-back course. But with the Chi Running techniques I've learned, right after the start I began to pass  runners like they were standing still. It felt so easy but the results were at first incomprehensible. I finished 14th overall (out of 115 runners) and easily won my age group in 23:43. That's 7:38 per mile.

This improvement is partially related to a heavy racing schedule that has seen me in competition 6 of the last 7 weeks and my Lewis & Clark Abstinence Reenactment. But by adding a few Zen principles I've become one of the top runners in my age group in Las Vegas!