More Spring

Things are looking better. There are more signs of the new season. Local folks are making maple syrup. I heard turkeys gobbling this week and saw a gobbler puffed up and showing off one day. I saw a bear when I was coming back from class one night. The ospreys are back to their nest at the high school. A pair have nested there for 7 or 8 years now. Their nest is on a pole a few feet off the track.
I have been running well the last couple weeks. I have a road run that is 26 miles with almost 2,000 feet of climbing in it. There are a couple of stores where I can get something to eat and drink. Doing this twice a weekend is good training. Combined with weekday morning track work, I'm aiming at 80 mile weeks. I have started doing some speedy laps in the mornings. If I can keep this up and not injure myself any more, I'll be ready for the season.
I did smack a knee a month ago on a jackhammer I was using. It was pretty well settled down, but I bashed it again today in the shop. I'm taking the afternoon off and icing it. I need that knee for McNaughton. I think it will be OK. I'll decide by Tuesday. No sense tearing it up this early in the most important running season of my life.
My Badwater crew has a new member, Niki. She has done some interesting outdoor adventures and will fit right in.
Gotta go tend my knee now.

It Has Sprung!!

Spring is actually here. I have seen robins. They are spread out taking territories, no longer in flocks. I saw woodchucks out, that is a local sign of spring when they come from hibernation and move above ground. Coming home from class the other night, I saw a bear crossing the road ahead of me.
The days are nicer for running. Fifty degrees is nice weather to run in. I have gotten out the last couple of weekends both days. I have a 26 mile road run that has around 2,000 feet of climbing. Four and a half to five easy hours with a couple of stops in stores for water and snacks is good training.
My running season starts April 10th. I have a 150 miler in Pekin, Il. It's time to back off and rest for that effort. I had hoped to have more miles in by now, but a nasty cold and life in general has happened. I'll go with what I have got. It will be my longest run ever. I have run several 100's. I'm not taking this lightly. Illinois is not all flat, and there are a couple small stream crossings each lap. The course can be muddy if there is much rain in the week before. Last year, there was horrendous mud conditions and cold snow flurries in the air. I'm hoping that is out of the way and this year is going to be better.
I have a huge running year planned and want to get off to a good start.

Like In The Good Old Days

My internet connection went down last Wednesday.
I don't know exactly what happened, but Verizon has been very good about doing what they could to get things back up. I spoke with technical support people who were native English speakers. They were patient and checked actual repair orders and verified that repairs were happening at 1:00 am. Right now they have arranged me a dial up connection at no cost so I can at least check email and keep in touch.
I have been adrift for almost a week. I don't count myself a techie by any means, but I get most of my news and weather forecasts from the internet. I don't have a television nor do I listen to radio much at all. I'm certainly not anti-social nor unsociable. I'm self employed and have no employees. I don't hang out in the coffee shop.
I remember buying my first computer. I can't remember the technical specifications, but now a microwave has more computer inside. At the time, I thought the kids would like to use it for homework assignments. The first one used 3.5 inch floppy discs. They were much better than the 5 inch ones. Soon came CD's. Who imagined DVD's full of information and entertainment? I remember when internet service was first offered here. I was one of the first couple dozen in town to sign up.
And the internet? It was touted as a way to swap recipes and to chat to family. Who predicted billions of dollars changing hands on E-bay?
I have benefited from the growth and evolution of the computer and internet. I can research and make better business and personal decisions. I can research and make better buying choices, both personal and business related.
One experience; I was arranging T-shirts for the Venture Crew. I phoned Stacie at the embroidery shop. She was making similar shirts for the Scout troop. While we were on the phone, she emailed me a couple of designs. I looked at them and chose the fish design, in green. She said OK, I'll make them. Elapsed time, 3 minutes. Once upon a time, I would have had to drive 40 miles, look at a book of designs, pick one, and drive home. Two hours spent, gasoline burned, etc.
In the last week, I didn't have a weather forecast. I went out for a run Saturday and got rained on. Just a brief shower. I missed an email saying a Scout meeting had been canceled.
I hadn't thought about how comfortable I've become with all this communication and information at hand. But I am glad to have it. Even as I wonder how much more can be coming and where will it end.

Another Good Weekend

I drove up to Maine to visit my son last weekend. He lives near Portland. I drove briskly up on Thursday, taking 9 hours. He had invited me to attend his Aikido class. I study Hakkoryu Jujitsu and wanted to see what Aikido was like. Mike earned a black belt, which is "Master" or teacher, level in karate in college. When he moved to Maine, he visited several dojos or training schools to find one that he liked to continue training. He wasn't impressed with the first several schools he checked and pretty well gave up his search. He happened to find this school and has been pleased.
I got to Mike's just before he got home from work and we headed to class. I found a clean, spacious, well lit practice area with a huge mat room. Mats on the floor make for nicer throws and rolls. I took part in two classes that evening and we went back Saturday for more. A regular class plus a sword class. I had never done any weapons training and was pretty clumsy with the wooden sword.
I found the fundamentals the same in Aikido as Hakkoryu. Both are purely defensive arts using off-balancing techniques for throws. The names, in Japanese, for the techniques are different. The teaching methods are different. But the two arts are very similar.
Mike is a cyclist and cross country skier. He loves Maine because of the snow they get there. The country around Portland is rolling hills and is great for cycling as well. He has helped me with some of my runs as a crew member and pacer. He hated running in high school and wasn't sure he wanted to do any more. I'm glad he gave it an honest try in order to help me out. I'm also glad he has decided maybe it's not as bad as it was. Trail running is very different than fast track sprints. He has a dog that needs exercise and running in the woods is a good way to do that.
We got out to run together Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday. Mike told me he found a steep hill to run on. No kidding!!! Saco Mountain is the higest point in York county, with 800 feet of climbing in a little over a mile. It is topped with two radio towers. There is a paved road that leads to the towers. It leads through a stone quarry where we can see the layers of granite they are blasting off. We drove over to the quarry gate and ran up and down twice on Saturday. That is a real killer hill. We ran from home to the mountain and back Sunday. That made a 15 mile run with a thousand feet of climbing. We ran it at an easy pace in 2 1/2 hours, just a nice run.
It surprises me how few wildlife I see in Maine. The area is old farm land with scattered houses. Swamps and wooded areas outnumber the fields. We saw 2 deer this time and a dozen turkeys, the first I've seen there. There are reports of moose in the area, but we've never seen one. The big score, however, was a bobcat we saw on Saco Mountain on Saturday. He crossed the paved road about a hundred yards away. When I said "Look!" the cat turned around and ran back across into the woods. He was a pretty reddish color, not the tawny I have seen. Imagine the odds of seeing 2 bobcats in 2 states in the same week.
I intended to drive home Monday. Monday had other ideas. We woke to a foot of heavy wet snow and no power and things pretty well shut down. I had told Mike he ought to have his camping stove there instead of leaving it at my house. "You just never know" We fired it up on top of the kitchen range and cooked breakfast. We had the woodstove for heat, so we were just fine. The family that owns the house Mike is in, came up from their house next door. We cooked for them and we all shoveled the driveway. Around noon, the power was restored. The folks in Maine are used to this and it was no big deal.
It got colder through the day Monday, into the low teens that night. That froze the new, wet snow and made for some fine skiing conditions Tuesday. The farm Mike goes to had groomed the trails Monday afternoon and made them smooth and fast. I'm not a skiier, but can make forward progress, mostly upright. We had a good time in the morning. Trail conditions were super, nobody else was around and the weather was about perfect.
In all, another fine weekend.

I'M IN!!!!!!!

"Hello Steve!
Congratulations! You have been accepted to compete in the 2009 Badwater Ultramarathon, presented by AdventureCORPS, Inc. You are part of a select group who will participate in what is recognized across the globe as the world's toughest footrace."

I applied for the Badwater Ultramarathon in January. I knew I met the posted minimum qualifications. I had crewed for a runner there last July and knew I was capable of running the course. I had been awed by the talented runners I met there, the names everybody knows, Dean Karnazes, David Goggins, Charlie Engle, Pam Reed, Lisa Smith-Batchen.
I wasn't sure I fit into that category. I knew I wanted to run there, very badly. I was prepared to run on my own as a solo runner outside the official event.
I first ran in Death Valley in 2006. I absolutely love that place. It is the absolute opposite of northern Pennsylvania. Here is green and hills. You can not get a half mile from a road or a water source. There is brown and mountains and space. There is no soil on the ground, the sandy gravel crunches under your feet. Polar opposite but equally beautiful. Starry winter night and warm June sunrise.
I went back in 2007 and ran the marathon again. This time I spent a few days exploring and seeing more. So many times, I didn't even try to take a picture. Some things just don't fit on film.
When I came home in 2007, I posted my availbility to crew for the Badwater Ultramarathon 2008. I was contacted in a few days by Kelvin Marshall. Kelvin is Australia's best known and most prolific ultrarunner. He asked me to be part of his crew. It was a big blind date on both sides.
I agreed to meet two strangers in Las Vegas and then share a van with five people I'd never met. We would be bound together for a week. A week of 110 degree weather and the tension of a race. It was a good match. We bonded into a good team. We got Kelvin to the finish line in good time and healthy. We have kept in contact since then. Most of the teams scatter, like a one race stand.
I the time since, I have run more races. I have gained more experience and found some people who made a good crew for me. I was building toward my own Badwater run. I knew there was a selection committee that reviewed the applications. I had heard of some good runners that didn't get accepted. I applied, but I also made backup plans to run outside the official race in case I didn't get invited in to the big party.
Now how do I feel?
Like a dog that chases cars. Like I've got a tiger by the tail. I've put my name out there. Now it's time to walk the walk. Or run the run.
It's a "What have I done?" feeling.
It's a graduation, an acceptance into the big kids's lot. I was a shy, clumsy, socially clueless kid growing up. I was the last to get picked for teams in gymn class.
It's a "YEEEHAA!!!! Go for it!!"
It's a humbling feeling to have my crew members and crewmates say they know I can do it.
It's a motivator to do the work, the training, to be the most ready I can be.

A great weekend.

I had a good weekend. I got out to run Saturday on the hill behing the shop. An hour and a half on the log road and the pipeline was enough for that day. I saw lots of tracks in the dusting of snow. Deer, turkey, grouse, squirrels, fox and coyote had been traveling.

Today, Sunday, I went to run with Doug on the hill behind his house. It was a clear, sunny morning, about 16 degrees, just nice for running. Overnight, a bit of new snow had fallen, so the ground was a new sheet. As we climbed, we saw tracks of deer, porcupine, fox, rabbits, squirrels and a pair of bobcats. As we descended on the side toward Westfield, we actually saw a bobcat. The tracks showed that a pair, most certainly the pair whose tracks we had seen on the other side of the hill, had rested in the sun alongside the log road we were coming down. We could see where they had laid beside the road long enough to melt the snow under their bodies. They must have been sleeping, because they are usually very alert and we weren't being quiet. We were chatting and jogging along. Doug said he had only seen a couple other bobcats in his life. I have seen 5 or 6. Bobcats are on the increase in Pennsylvania. February and March is the mating season. Usually bobcats are solitary. I had seen tracks and other sign in this area before.

Later in the afternoon, I went back behind the shop for a few more miles. I put in another hour and a half that included half a dozen trips down and up the pipeline. I came home pleasantly tired, not thrashed.

I am now a Diver!!!!

Had a terrific time on the cruise. Things didn't go according to the original plan, but everybody had a good time. I and my best friend flew to Mobile, Alabama Friday and stayed overnight. I got out to run Friday afternoon and a found the municipal park a couple miles up the road. It had paved paths to run on. I got in another run Saturday morning, before we got on the cruise boat. It was a couple hours late getting in. We found out why. The ship had two engines, but was running on only one.
There were about 80 people in our group. It was a Scout trip for the troop and my Venture Crew. 18 Scouts and the rest families and friends. My brother and sister-in-law, my sister and brother-in-law and their friends and friends of Scouts. We all had travelled separately. Everybody was set to relax and we all did. We ate well, wandered about and talked with each other and strangers.
We were supposed to stop in Costa Maya to visit the Chichen Itza Mayan ruins. Because the ship was slow, we missed that stop. I had seen the ruins and they are amazing. The Scouts were all disapointed. We got to Cozumel late in the day and had a couple hours to get off the boat before dark. Cozumel is noted for the shopping, especially for silver jewelery. The other thing to do there is to scuba dive or snorkel. Eleven of us in the Venture Crew had earned our scuba licenses for this trip. We had chartered a small boat for our group. The next morning we got off the boat at 5:30 and caught a taxi to the dive shop downtown. It had been windy in the night and we could see the waves were high. The dive crew arrived at 6:00 and looked at the water and at each other. After a consultation, they decided to go out. The dive boat was about 25 feet long and the waves were 3 and 4 feet. It was tough getting into the pitching boat. On the way out I lost my breakfast. A couple of the boys looked pretty green.
When we got to the dive site, we hopped in. A few feet under the surface, the waves didn't exist.
It was our first time in salt water. We had trained in a pool and the river here. The water was so clear, we could see 5 times as far as the river we had learned in. We dove to 45 feet and travelled along a coral reef. There were bright colored fish and camoflauged fish. There were coral growths like vases and like bowls. This was a marine park and we were warned not to touch anything so as to leave it as we found it. Forty five minutes went by too fast. We came up and went to another dive site. This one was within sight of our cruise boat. On the way, we passed the rest of our group on their snorkel excursion. We all waved. The second dive was as good as the first. It was like being in a huge aquaruim full of tropical fish. Imagine that!
One of the most fun parts of being under water is that you can move in 3 dimensions. Left and right, front and back, also up and down. Properly weighted, you are at neutral bouyancy, just like being weightless. You can do front somersaults, rolls, stand on your head. Just too much fun!!!
The second dive was all too short and we had to get back in the boat for a rough ride to the pier. We thanked and tipped the divemasters. Back on the cruise boat, we showered the salt water off and chowed down. Diving is hard work, but I can't wait to do it again.
The trip back to Mobile was without incident, a bit of rough seas one night. We got in 5 hours late, but our group all managed to get home without much trouble. We are working with our travel agent and negotiating with the cruise line about how to make up for our missed stop and scramble to get home. Maybe we'll get a tremendous deal and get to go again soon.