Sidelined

Little did I know when I went running and showered this morning it would be my last run and shower for four days. After a minor procedure at the podiatrist this morning I was told not to run, do yoga or shower till Monday. This is bad. I need to burn carbs. Well somehow I'll survive.

So instead of running I watched a bunch of huskies run in the movie "Eight Below." It's a Disney film just out on DVD. I rented it from one of those Red Box kiosks for a buck a night. It's an exciting animal adventure set in Antartica. I would watch it again tonight if it wasn't Red Sox vs. Mets. Schilling vs. Glavine. Should be a good game on ESPN.

It's a good thing I have medical insurance. Today I made no less than three appts and left five prescriptions to be filled. In addition to a repeat with the podiatrist in 2 weeks, I made a date with an optomologist (I spelled that right without spell check) and my regular doctor for a quarterly review. Not that I've put you asleep with my boring medical life I close with another quote:

Life shrinks or expands according to one’s courage.  -- ANAÏS NIN

 

Late Entry

I've been informed my journal has fallen behind. This is true. Blame the photos.

Today featured a 5:25-6:02 am run along the RR tracks out back. Work 7-3. Ayruveda yoga 6:40-8:10 pm and a tape-delayed viewing of the Red Sox 10-2 win over the Mets.

2 quotes:

"In the misty blue haze,
jagged peaks appear as if
joined. When will I climb
and set foot there, to gaze
on all the world below?"

--CHIA TAO

Paradise is where I am. VOLTAIRE

 

North to the Future

We've arrived. After almost nine months of planning, we've finally set foot in the 49th state. Dad & I came in from Las Vegas, connecting through Seattle. I was regally served in the first-class cabin, while Dad sat in the back of the plane with the low-life commoners. It's amazing we made the Seattle connection with less than 20 minutes to hike from the two furthest most points, we plopped in our seats just as the jet was backing out.

Amy got in from the same Seattle airport, after visiting a friend and I picked her up with our little Chevy Cobalt rental car around midnight. It was still light out!

We came back to our cozy little Downtown Anchorage Hotel where Amy's single room was three times larger than the double room assigned to Dad and me. It was still too early to go to bed so I downloaded and emailed some photos and finally dozed off to a deep sleep 20-some hours after Leaving Las Vegas.

"Just living is not enough...one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."
--Hans Christian Anderson

Day 2 -- La Madre Springs

No mercy for the 75-year-old padre. Up before dawn for a round-the-country journey that took him from Buffalo to Atlanta to Las Vegas, there was no time to rest upon landing.

First we made sure my seldom-used bike had properly inflated tires for our ride/run the following day. The last time it was used was when the Senior Ham rode it along the LV Marathon course while the younger Ham ran.

Then it was off to tackle another challenging Red Rock Canyon Trail. This time it was La Madre Springs. Cutting the old man no slack, we proceeded on, up a rocky, hilly road. As Dad began to run out of gas he turned back and I ran ahead to the springs. That was almost the bitter end. Our paths were not exactly in sync on the return route and we almost missed each other. But as fate would have it one trail led to another and we made it back to the trailhead without setting off an emergency search and rescue effort.

To reward Dad for his strenuous effort I cooked him a pasta and sausage dinner and as a bonus the sausage was not actually sausage but a spicy soy substitute.

Paradise is where I am.--VOLTAIRE

Day One of Two Week Vacation

There's not too many things in life that are better than the first day of a two week vacation. With Alaska still three days away and Dad not arriving till tomorrow, I proceeded on to explore a new trail. Although I was very familiar with the Railroad Tunnels Trail from the Visitor Center toward the Hoover Dam, I had never taken the section that heads up to Boulder City. As expected it was a wide flat grade with the rails and ties removed. The trail meandered in a big figure "S" as it headed uphill. Some frightened jack rabbits fled in terror as I loped along. The trail eventually led to a very exclusive neighborhood where multi-million dollar homes overlooked Lake Mead.

The rest of the day I was free to pursue my pleasures (Vanilla Soy Latte at Starbucks) and take care of a few things for the trip. After going weeks without a wrist watch I finally broke down and had the battery replaced. I figured with airport connections and rendezvous with my traveling party of Dad and Amy I better have a time piece.

Now all I have to do is figure out what time zone Alaska is in (I think it's the one between Las Vegas and Hawaii) and most difficult of all -- figure out how to change the time on the digital clock. I thought vacations were supposed to be stress free?

 

Thirteen Miles Plus One for Good Luck

Journal entry from a laptop, take two, Well it's a little easier today but I still don't know how people work without a mouse. With the Anchorage Half Marathon just a week away I was a little concerned I hadn't built up the proper mileage to cover the 13.1-mile distance, so today I headed out to the Old LA Highway, aka the Old LV Marathon course for a 14-mile run.

 For some reason the hottest part was the start, it was uphill and into the sun, but on the seven-mile stretch that took me south towards LA I had a cool breeze. When I turned around at the old starting line with more than 10 miles under my belt and less than four to go I feared facing the sun again but it wasn't too bad and I felt great. Delirious maybe, because I was entertaining thoughts of running the full marathon instead. But after I passed 13 and struggled with the final mile I came back to reality.

Although I felt pretty good when I was done (in about 2 1/2 hours) the calfs were a little sore. Next week I'll be able to take advantage of the free massage after the race. Now I'm just going to take it easy with the confidence I can finish another Half Marathon in Alaska. Five years ago my time was 2:05 this year at the halfway point of the marathon I was 2:21, so I'll shoot for 2:15. What a great way to spend a relaxing vacation!

Journal Entry From Laptop

As journal entries go this is nothing special but how it was entered is the main thing.

About six hours after I rented this laptop, I've downloaded my digital camera software, taken and emailed this photo of Daisy, saved all my favorite files and figured out how to write journal updates from this laptop. Now I think I'm finally ready for Alaska. And best of all loyal readers will be able to keep getting updates while I'm in the 49th state.

The keys are a little harder to use and trying to work without a mouse is like threading a needle with mittens on. But this will play CDs, DVDs, help us with directions on Mapquest and enable us to lok up any other info we need.

How did Lewis & Clark ever cross a continent without a laptop? 

Almost Road Kill

Just got back from my 9-mile run. It was only 93 when I finished. But it really didn't bother me. I embrace the heat. Anything under triple digits is OK with me.

 

I was running across a crosswalk with the light in my favor when this old lady in a white Cadillac (it could have been Grandma) cut me right off so I had to come to a dead (almost literally) stop. I pointed to my green light and she sped by. Lucky for me (not her) there was a Highway Patrol car at the light that saw the whole thing. He turned on his flashing lights and after a low-speed chase of about three blocks pulled her over. When I caught up to them first I thanked him for looking out for me then I was going to offer to be a witness but I could tell he'd let her off with a warning when he said, "We're all squared away here." I wonder if he would have let her off if she hit me?

 

Paradise is where I am.

VOLTAIRE

National Trail Day

Did you know today was National Trails Day? What trail did you hike today?

Red Rock Canyon guide Linda Nation led a group of seven hikers including myself on the Old Spanish Trail. The trail was first used in 1829 or 1830. Historians debate the exact date. But what is agreed on is the trail began in Santa Fe, New Mexico, meandered through Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California and finished near Los Angeles.

 The trail was used long before automobiles or railroads by Spanish and Mexican traders. They brought woolen goods west and traded for horses they brought back east. The trail was in use until 1855 but many sections, including the one we hiked today near Red Rock Canyon, still exist and are protected as historic sites from further development.

Linda pointed out scratches in the rocks that were left by iron wagon wheels over 150 years ago. She said it takes up to a 1,000 years for a trail to completely disappear. We even saw two adult burros and a new-born foal along the way.

 

Discontent

Just now I'm slowly coming out of the fog. The Game 7 loss to the Hurricanes was just as devestaing as Wide Right in 1991's Super Bowl XXV and No Goal in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals. To come so close to ending Buffalo's 0-for-the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 21st Century for World Championships was devestating. Especially when I stood to win nearly $500 with a Sabres victory. Ouch!

So I drowned my sorrows the best I knew how with an 11-mile run Thursday and a 6-mile run in blazing heat Friday. I don't know if it's my kapha dosha or I've just acclimated to the searing heat but whatever it is the warm climate doesn't bother me anymore. In fact I embrace the heat. With just two weeks to go until the Mayor's Midnight Sun Half Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, I feel I'm ready for the 13.1-mile distance no matter what the weather person has in store.

To get over the Sabres' loss and recent lapses in humility I've embraced this Zen mantra:

"All the harm, fear, and suffering in the world are caused by attachment to the self: Why should I hold on to this great demon?"--SHANTIDEVA