Runalong

I finally uploaded pics from some recent runs. The first is Boulder Creek Falls. If you notice that nice log sticking out over the pool at the base of the falls, I might warn you to be careful if you decide to walk out on it. The second picture is taken as I am falling off its slippery surface.



And this is the view of the Sacramento River from the cool new Hornbeck trail in Redding that I ran a couple weeks ago...

The Dipsea is a famous and popular 7.1 mile race from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach each June. It includes nearly 2500 feet of ascending and descending and is so steep that there are 676 steps built into the trail. The Quad Dipsea, as you might guess, goes there and back and there and back. Having run 20 miles, including a 6 mile race, on Thursday, I wasn't out for a fast time, just to get some good hill training in before my upcoming 100 miler in January. Before the race Dave Combs asked me what my expectations were and I answered, "Have a good time, take some pictures, finish in under six hours." At this race I met all my goals! (You can see the official results here).

I finished in 5:55, putting me safely in the top third of entrants, and had a fun and enjoyable, almost even easy, day. My split times for the four legs of the race were 90-90-89-86. My Quads were sore on Sunday and Monday, but not too bad, indicating that I should be able to handle HURT's 24,000 feet of descent in 8 weeks.

Someone took a video of runners crossing the river: pretty boring unless you know some of these folks, but that's me stopping to take a picture at 7:23 into the video. The picture I took is just below. Yes, at mile 2 I was already seven minutes behind the leader, Eric Skaggs, who finished the race in less than four hours (eight minutes per mile average!)- amazing considering how slow the stairs are- both up and down.

At the Quad Dispsea I saw a girl of about 18-20 years hobbling down the long steep steps toward the beach, crying and wincing everytime she put weight on her right leg. It reminded me of this amazing recent story and video.

...for this guy. What an amazing story!

I'm starting to take a fresh look at him after reading this article.

... and here I am trotting with the turkeys!

I ran the "six" mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving with nearly 700 other folks, including my middle daughter and Mrs Runalong. The babes were just hoping to break 90 minutes but they ran sub 12 minute miles and both finished in 1:08 and change. I was shooting for 45 minutes, having run it in around 43 minutes, several years ago. It's been a long time since I ran a race shorter than a marathon.

It was fun for about a mile and the rest of the way I just wanted it to be over. I was talking to friends when the gun went off and started near the back of the pack, forced to walk and pick my way through several hundred recreational runners for the first (slow) mile; then I picked it up to about a 7:40 pace. At the mile 5 marker I realized I would have to run the last mile under 6 minutes to break 45 so I eased off a little. Imagine my surprise when, as I approached the finish, the clock read 45:03... 45:04...

Turns out the last "mile" was only 0.75 so I could have broken 45, albeit on a short course. I also ran to the course and back home again for a total of 19 or so miles for the day. Ted snapped my pic at the finish:

Our daughter is a short-term missionary in the Black Forest. She recently bought some new winter clothes and painted a flower on her wall. She doesn't get her talent from me!



And here's the dorm where Becky works and lives (view from the back):

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)
You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
-- Kristen, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
Both don't want any more kids.
-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
-- Lynnette, age 8

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OK TO KISS SOMEONE?
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
- - Curt, age 7

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
-- Anita, age 9

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?
Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.
-- Ricky, age 10

A new trail just opened northwest of town. I came across it by chance and checked it out (8 mile loop with nice views of the Sac River) and that left me running back to my car via the power line roads around dusk. One of the few local residents saw me and told me to be careful, they've had mountain lion problems in the area. Did I make it out alive? Tune in next week to...

OK, not much suspense, eh? I don't know why, it always works on "24" even though we always know Jack is going to survive.

Anyway, no cougars, but I did see a bear as I neared civilization.

I've done about 500 miles in the last 9 weeks, a lot for me (hard core ultrarunners would laugh). I'm feeling good and looking forward to the six-mile Turkey Trot this Thursday (my first "short" race in years) and the 28.4 mile, 10000 feet of climbing (and 10K descending with a total of over 2500 stairsteps) Quad Dipsea next Saturday.

My house is torn apart, in a manner of speaking, as we are putting in new flooring in the kitchen, living room and dining room (aka "Blogging Central"). Thus, not much blogging until all the king's horses and all the king's men do their thing.

16 RULES THAT TOOK ME NEARLY 60 YEARS TO LEARN by Dave Barry

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age eleven.

13. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

16. Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes; and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

One of our favorite places in Switzerland was Lugano (near Italy) and one of our favorite hikes was the hike up Mount Bre. We took the funincular part way up and climbed from there. It was a big long loop on a warm day, but worth it! Afterwards we had a meal at the most beautiful cafe in the world (IMHO).

The ultrarunners group got into a rare discussion of spiritual issues recently. I stayed out of it until some misconceptions about "spirituality" vs "religion" cropped in. I wrote the following and to my surprise it had its intended effect as numerous runners wrote back to thank me for giving them a new perspective to consider...

I've been trying to stay out of this, but one small factual correction. This is a common misconception:
Spirituality is a goal. Religion is a means to it.

Spiritually and religion both have the same goal: a right relationship with God/god (however defined).

The difference is this:
Religion is when you do it in community, with others (think: Francis of Assisi)
Spirituality is when you do it by yourself, your way (think: Frank Sinatra)

America is highly individualistic and thus Americans tend to prefer "spirituality". Numerous sociologists have analyzed this phenomenon. We tend to look at various belief systems, pick and choose different elements like at a buffet, and create our own customized personal religion: this is spirituality (as distinct from religion). A little Buddha, a pinch of Jesus, a cup of Ayn Rand, a smidge of yoga, a dollop of Oprah, a bowl of organic food and there you go- your own personal faith-system! Spirituality generally makes no claims to present universal truth about anything (God, humans, right and wrong, etc); it's about "what's true for me" and what makes me FEEL spiritual. If any parts of it ever start to make you feel uncomfortable you can just chuck them and replace them with others (unless it is a nice warm "spiritual" sort of uncomfortableness).

Religion is messy. You have to deal with other people. It's called "organized religion" (disparagingly) because doing things with other people always requires a certain amount of "organization" - easily avoided if you keep your spirituality as a strictly private matter. Common and shared beliefs and practices require not doing everything your own way, submitting to ancient traditions and teachings, etc. "Submission" is historically at the very core of religion and is probably the main reason most Americans don't cotton to it. The beliefs of religion are considered by believers to be either universally true (as in Christianity) or at least binding on the community of faith (as in Judaism). Within religion, personal spirituality is considered a subset, not a substitute.

The HURT 100 mile race is in January with 24,000 feet of climbing and just as much descending. Historically only about 25% of those starting the race have finished and only a half-dozen or so in my age group have ever finished. There are roots and rocks and mud and steep hills and drop-offs, and frequently rain, but what trips most people up isn't the roots and rocks but the 36 hour time limit.

My training is going well, October was my third highest mileage month ever (though at 239, not that high by ultra-runner standards) and I got some speedwork and hill training in. I'll be looking to do more miles, more hills and more speedwork in November. The Quad Dipsea should help with the hillwork.

I don't like this blogging program at all. It has been slow and buggy since I started using it. I much preferred iBlog, but when it got all weird on me I couldn't get any technical support to fix it and so switched to RW. It just "ate my homework" again after I spent half an hour doing this week's entries. Maybe I'll just have to switch to Blogger.