SCARY

See this photo? Scary as hell, right? Now think of your mother...nay, 4 of your mothers, in this thing, just cruising back from their girls' vacation, rolling 4 times in this thing. It WAS a Chevy Tahoe. Some of the most important people to me in the world tumbling along the highway in the middle of nowhere, Mississippi. And here I was just working away...riding to & from another annual review meeting in nowhere, Indiana.

Thank heavens, all of them and everyone that lives in them, that these are good women that have God on their side. Everyone's pretty beat up and bruised and a little broken, but they'll be ok. Not sure they'll ever feel the same driving by a semi-truck, but physically they'll be ok.

One of the most unsettling phone calls & few hours of my life. Getting the picture at 1a almost effectively ended what was already a fitful night's sleep. How do I not be mad at the guy that almost killed them? How DO I be mad at the guy - it's not like he TRIED to kill them, he just had an idiot moment? How do I not be scared to be so far away (a quick 12 hours...) if/when anything happens to my parents? But we all know that we can't live our lives waiting for something to happen to our loved ones at the same time.

So I've been a bit conflicted & haven't slept great. But I don't have any broken bones or a hole in my head...so I'm ok. Just rocked my foundation a bit again. I'm so thankful that a roll in the grass didn't do more damage to them. The truck (like the bikes) can always be replaced. Life is good, God is better. I've said "thank you" a hundred times since Monday night. I don't plan on stopping.

Training? Pssssht. I've been running. I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in Ann Arbor, MI, blowing off a run. Time to go eat a good dinner & schlep through some more emails. 'Tis the season for the annual review roadshow.

Health Reform Rant - you were warned

Warning: This is a rant. This is me, on my blog, voicing my opinion, on something that's chapping my ass. You don't like it, pick a fight with a comment, I'm game. I'll dizzy with statistics & realistic figures from MY JOB in the industry. But in the end, if you don't like it, it's not my friggin' problem. So there. (And yeah, there's some irony in what I'm saying & how I'm saying it...I get that.)

I'm getting DAMN sick of hearing all these people rant & rave about this stupid health reform. I'm getting REALLY DAMN sick of hearing so many people throw the religion card into it. They (note: "they" in this case includes everyone from the bleeding-heart Lib Christians, to the stone-throwing Atheists in their glass houses, & everyone in between that's bitching along that line) keep saying how "UnChristian" it is to not support health care. How a culture that's supposed to "love & support" one another doesn't support this health reform.

Yeah, it's pissing me off - as someone who has considered myself a Christian my entire life - I dig the Big G and the Big J & just about everything they stood for, said & represented. I give when I can (though maybe not everything that I can at every opportunity), I try to live Right & I know who's got my back at the end of the day. I may not go to the House every day, or walk the Walk every moment & I may represent myself a bit differently than some others. I believe the big Guys represented & instilled upon us free will for a reason - we make choices to do what we want (& likewise make the mistakes we need to in order to get where we're going at the end of the big show). I talk with my Leaders on a pretty routine basis, when it's good & when it's bad. So don't you DARE criticize me & my beliefs (nay, what I stand for with my life and with who I am) for something at stupid as my position on a governmental policy. Lest it be my position on a policy that directly affects my personal future in manners as broad-reaching as career, family, finance & health. Yeah, you're damn right I have things to say.

A - There's a little thing that says church and state are supposed to be separate. This is policy. Jesus doesn't live in the rotunda or either chamber (though we still trust Him).
B - People also can't be denied treatment due to insurance status (or immigrant status) in emergency situations.
C - There's a vast difference between health care & health insurance. Health care = doctors/hospitals. Health insurance = companies, risk avoidance & preventive policy. (THIS IS WHAT THE HELL I THINK MOST PEOPLE AREN'T REALIZING, NOR ARE THEY WILLING TO PUT IN THE EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND SO THEY DON'T SOUND LIKE MORONS WHEN THEY'RE BITCHING HEEDLESSLY TO THOSE WHO ARE SOMEWHAT POWERLESS TO MAKE THEIR PEOPLE LOVE ONE ANOTHER...but I digress)

If a doctor is unwilling to treat someone due to a lack of insurance, that doctor is legitimately concerned about that person's ability to pay for the service (&/or maintain their health). Whether that person has insurance or not & whether insurance will pay or not are equal factors in that physician's stance. It comes down to the cost of treatment.

Many rich don't have insurance = they pay outright to mitigate their own costs & risk. They bet on themselves to stay healthy vs paying the premiums in case they get sick. So who, exactly, is unChristian here?? Is it the insurance company making a sound business decision using actuarial tables to mitigate their risk (because they are looking at numbers - people are numbers in business, they aren't people & this is business - that may be inhuman, but that relieves it from the realm of being UnChristian) or the doctor denying coverage because somone is incapable of paying for their services?

Why isn't there mutiny towards the water & power companies - they shut off service if people don't pay for it. Where's the Christianity & warm-fuzzies in that?

And the atheists? Where the hell do you get off throwing stones at MY house? Saying I don't believe what MY God was preaching & what MY God laid down as the rules? YOU DON"T EVEN BELIEVE IN MY GOD!!! Lest ye throw stones at my glass house - I hope it bounces. Hypocritical bastards, you don't even know what you believe except that you believe in nothing!

I love people, I love human nature in it's simplest form. God created big & small (through a creationary process - sorry G - I've got to give something to science here...we'll compromise?) - the Lion & the Lamb. He created the process by which the bigger, faster lion catches the weaker water buffalo (pick a prey...). He created capitalism in the animal kingdom, why the crap wouldn't that apply to humans & everything else He has led us to as well? The faster, smarter hunter got the kill & fed HIS tribe - his family. He didn't go over the river & feed the other tribes competing for the same meat, too. God created us, we have created what we have become.

I run 3x a week, swim 2x a week and try to ride my bike in there, too. I play softball, try to eat somewhat healthy foods & try to live my life by Right & Just standards. Until you (be you Christian, atheist, Buddhist, Jewish, etc.) are doing as much as me to maintain your health & your career & your lifestyle, YOU DON'T GET WHAT'S MINE. I'm sure as shit not willing to pay for your obesity surgery, your irresponsible kid's abortion (though I believe in her right to get one), your drug-addled cousin's methodone OR YOUR FRIGGIN MORTGAGE.

I support health reform = PEOPLE GETTING HEALTHIER & THE SYSTEM BEING REFORMED RESPONSIBLY IN A WAY THAT DOES ME NOR YOU NOR OUR CHILDREN & THEIR CHILDREN FINANCIAL OR SOCIETAL HARM. And no, I don't believe that this is the way God would lead us.

So the Stomach Flu & I went for a walk...

I told this flu I wasn't happy about it being around. It showed up halfway through a vanilla milkshake (the rare one I allow myself) & started with just feeling icky. I plowed through a couple of errands, got back home & ate half a sandwich & watched the boys work on the floor for awhile. In reality I was already doing the slow breathing & focus things when I'm trying not to throw up. I keeled over on the couch and slept for about an hour...amidst the pounding of the boards, the saw, the boy-banter, all of it...I just zonked. Then I moved to the bedroom so I could spread out a bit more & be closer to the bathroom & went back to sleep......with the exceptions of two quick dashes into the bathroom followed by some intense core exercises, whimpering & teeth brushing, I stayed in that same spot from about 4 to 10:30 (remember what amounted to 2 hours on the couch, too). I was bribed to go take a shower (during which I curled up in the floor for a few moments) & promptly died back into bed. Fever was up over 100*, my body was so achy that my skin hurt & I was left with nothing but tears. I made a bargain that if I was still feeling puky & fevery I was only going to dash into the office to grab my computer & return home to the sanctity of my own germs....that's exactly what I did. I threw on enough clothing to be decent, came downtown & got the computer & returned home. Didn't really focus on much other than trying to drink water & not be queasy. Promptly went back to sleep until about 1. Watched tv & popped open the pc until about 3. Cory got home with some chicken noodle soup (the good old Campbell's condensed kind...it's the only thing that even sounded palatable). I ate the soup then keeled back over on the couch about 4:30 until almost 6.

For those playing along at home....I was awake for 7 hours between Sunday at 2p & Tuesday at 7:30a. I lost 5lbs. I'm quite dehydrated. Went to sleep with a fever around 99.2. I woke up today & am at least slightly more functional though my chest still hurts & I'm still kinda queasy. I've forced down some sweet potatoes for dinner last night, a pop tart & half a serving of biscuits & gravy for breakfast. But...the kitchen floor looks great!

Too bad C is now in bed & wracked with fever, chills, pukes & aches so bad even he's whining. Poor punkin. (Hope he doesn't think twice about bringing me soup next time...)

Great way to start a week. This little thing effectively put on hold all workouts...but I'm going to TRY to swim tonight....we'll see.

Danger!

Went through the motions last night to get out on my own feet for a run. C was in class, N had the girlfriend still in town, it was a bit chilly but not raining & with daylight savings time it's lighter later....I had to do SOMETHING. So I grabbed the capris, threw on the new jacket & away I went. Figured I'd do the jaunt over to the Monon, mosey around to the north end and loop back to the house. Figured it would be between 6-8. Wound up being 7.85 total. Run was 1:21 for a 10:20-something pace. There were fast spots and slow spots, I walked a bit at the turnarounds just to loosen up a bit. Overall, not too bad. Was nice to get out and just be in my own head for awhile.

Had some fairly intense pain show up in the area of my anterior tib...a new one for me. Seems to hurt on impact, but a dull ache a bit throughout, too. Here's the kicker, it's still hurting today. Seems to be a bit more random though, but I can definitely find it when trying. Not really thrilled to have something pop up at this point, but hopefully it can be managed easily. Running through it didn't seem to be too bad after around 4-5...so that's good. Plan to hit the icing and toe-tapping (JKL said that would help) & see what happens. Intend to swim tonight & do a shorter, speedier workout around 5mi on Wed....so we'll see.

Not Worrying & Being Happy

I'm SHAMELESSLY stealing from Mark Remy's blog. I think it's a message that we all should re-read. I know I needed the message.

There are real stressors. Last night's run (5.8mi, 1hr) started out kind of painful. So did Monday's. I rushed home both nights, immediately changed clothes & away we went. It wasn't too terribly relaxing, for the first 30 minutes or so. They both ended ok, last night's core work at the gym (where our run ended, we walked from the gym to the house afterwards as a bit of "cool down") wasn't as hard as it's been in the past & it'll all turn out ok. But the looming Pig & Costa, the race a couple of weeks ago & the fact that I'm still not really looking forward to getting on my bike....well....they're kinda stressful if I let them be....so I'm going to take Mark Remy's approach.

But you know what? I’ve decided not to worry anymore. I’ve decided to be happy.

My inspiration for turning this particular corner: Mr. Bobby McFerrin, who turns 60 years old today and who is probably celebrating by relaxing in some loose cotton pants as he rocks gently back and forth and hums his trademark tune, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”
The Don’t Worry, Be Happy approach has lots of real-life applications, both in running and in, well, real life. For instance…

This weekend’s long run is going to be so long. And hilly. And hurt-y. I’m already feeling it in my quads.
Don’t Worry: Relax. It’s nothing you haven’t done before. And that hurt means you’re making progress and getting stronger. It’s called training, champ.
Be Happy: Won’t it be nice after the run to take a shower, make some pancakes, and plop down with the Sunday paper? Ahhh.

I’ve been training so long for this race. What if I miss my goal by a lot? Or, worse, by a little?
Don’t Worry: Relax. There will be other races, and other goals. And any goal that you’re guaranteed to attain isn’t much of a goal, is it?
Be Happy: At least you’re healthy and strong enough to be racing in the first place. Many, many people out there are not. You’re one of the lucky ones.

Isn’t this blog post awfully similar in structure and tone to that treadmill one from a few weeks ago?
Don’t Worry: Relax. Stop living in the past, man.
Be Happy: Uh… Hey, look… cute puppies!

A hint of Spring...

Irish Spring? C got new soap...so yeah, a hint of Irish Spring, too, every time the bloke takes a shower and opens the door. Was the last thing I smelled last night before I fell asleep. Gotta say, not too bad! Was much better than how we both smelled before the shower excursions began....

Segue?

We went for a bit of a run last night. I zipped home from work (a smidge later than anticipated, but it was still at least somewhat daylight), changed like lightning, found the guy all decked out in running gear starin at the computer screen and said "lezgo!" Ran down to the new little extension from 146th to the Monon, up that dandy little trail to 146th & back home. A nice little 4.3 jaunt. Was quite dark when we got home (that's what happens when you LEAVE for a run at almost 7) but was nice to have company. We felt like we ran kinda quick but the time wasn't so much...about 46:00. But we still felt pretty good. My post-tibs tightened up quite a bit but ok.

Altogether a good thing. Good night. Asleep by 10p.

A weekend report

I. Am. Lazy.

Sure, I have athletic tendencies. But I also have what appears to be an overwhelmingly lazy bottom line. If given the opportunity to bail on a run - even if it's the prettiest weekend in ages - I will do so. AND (you thought that was it?) I will do it repeatedly...as in two, TWO, gorgeous days in a row. There are things I love about myself, but there are a couple that I don't like. This laziness? Yeah, that's one of them.

We slept in Saturday. Just plain ol' slept in. Got up, watched some tv, flopped around the house some...we had grand intentions of getting up, running, going to look at cars and then doing whatever. Instead...we managed to avoid running altogether, get around to going to look at cars at about 3-or-4-something, wandering around Target for awhile then bailing on bowling (2hour wait...at 10p...yeah, we're THAT old) and just renting a movie with NC.

We ALSO slept in on Sunday. Finally pried ourselves out of bed to find NC tapping on the thermostat. No WONDER we were all cold yesterday.....furnace = kaput. SO I called the guy...said it'd be a few hours. Debated running then, would be home in plenty of time to still get cleaned up and wait....but wasn't sure and definitely didn't want to miss him, so I waited. And waited. And waited. Turns out other people's issues were as wonky as mine. So he finally gets there. C orders pizza (as he was just trying to make the princess not lose her mind screaming again..yeah, again. It was an ugly day.) & the guy tinkers in the laundry room.

Guy wrangles furnace into submission for a little over $500 & I get a "maintenance contract"...win, win?? Hmmm.

No run, no workout. Did I mention I was a schlep on Friday, too, & managed to fenagle my way out of a workout? Wow....I. Am. A. WORTHLESS. Athlete.

THE Trip together...

So we survived our first trip...almost a "vacation"...or a quick weekend trip in which we ran a half marathon. But it still involved over 24 hours of driving....between Friday afternoon and Monday evening...so yeah, surviving it is still a big damn deal.

And I think we had fun (except miles 8-13 of that half-marathon thing....) too.

More on that running thing later...I owe 1 race report. Duly noted. Still fatigued...going to bed.

Rock N Roll Mardi Gras - Race Report

About this race: Inaugural race in New Orleans. Both full and half-marathon courses. Courses separate and come back together a few times. Course winds through some historic areas, starting down by the convention center just off the river, running through the Quarter, around some gorgeous homes and ends in THE huge city park. Roads are questionable, at best (bad eyesight - or poor attention spans - with weak ankles need not apply) but manageable if you're moving slow enough. Volunteers are awesome and hilarious. Bands along the course - it IS a Rock N Roll event - are awesome as well. Course provides some shade and not too many open areas. Weather was perfect. It's about as FLAT as you can get, though there is some slight elevation change, it's totally unnoticeable. All-in-all - a GREAT event.

We drove from Indy to Decatur, AL (catching some family time, bonus points) on Friday after work. Rolled in about 10, hit the hay fairly quickly. I gotta say, I loves me some family time. I'm keeping him AND the family. There's NOTHING like hearing "Ya'll want some breakfast?" early in the morning & knowing it's going to be good food. Not to mention seeing parents proud of a son getting ready to take on his first half marathon! So after an extra hour we rolled away, full from a great breakfast, sun shining, wearing just jeans & sweatshirts! (Did I mention we left a couple inches of snow in the forecast at home? Here's to seeing sunshine!!)

If you've never had the pleasure of driving through Mississippi...you're not missing much. It's kind pretty, but there's really not much to see. A quick 6 hours of driving later, a few sing-alongs and some obnoxious radio later, we get a little lost rolling into NO - little did we know this was a trend to be continued...maybe one could say a "theme" to the trip. We met my Mama at the hotel, sat for a few minutes to catch up on the news in Chile then headed to the Expo. C's first expo....possibly slightly overwhelming. I could've done a better job prepping that one. Picked up some socks and some new Zensah's (which I didn't wear in the race...because I'm an IDIOT). Walked down to the Quarter to take in a bit of sight and had dinner at Brennan's. (Everyone should eat at Brennan's once. It's amazing. I had a filet-something - Lucy maybe? - & we all enjoyed it. Thanks Mom!!!) Headed back to the hotel to grab some sleep. Got lost - of COURSE we got lost on the way back. Slight detour, deuling GPS units, annoyed.

Alarm went off a bit too early (it's always too early). We had some tentative plans for parking near the race start...we had NO IDEA how well the detour would work when we couldn't get on the interstate and wound up parked about 2.5 blocks from the start line. Too bad that was about 4 miles from the finish line, but that's why we had multiple cars. We ran a bit tighter on time than I would've liked, but managed to find NC and PW in the chaos as they headed to Corral 1 (yeah, ONE, right behind the Kenyans. Wow....& they didn't even lie on the finish times...) C & I back in 11-12. Quick porta-potty stop as the lines were moving and away we went. (Note to self: Rock N Roll event announcers = annoyingly loud)

Miles 1 - 6 were fairly uneventful really. We went out a bit quick, but were hanging right around 9:30 - 10 pace probably....settled in quickly. Good entertainment between others running and the course itself. People watching from their porches, having a good time. My chest was a bit tight, some dull aches - all too familiar - coming & going. (Note: I'm beginning to get annoyed by this, as well as a smidge concerned. Will start paying more attention.) My legs were kinda dead from all the sitting & driving, but still was just having fun. Started taking water at the second aid station - I think I pretty much hit most every one after that for a little something.

THE side stitch showed up around 5.5...I've learned to not be surprised by them, even if I haven't had to deal with them in our long runs at home yet. I've not really had one that hung around that long or was that persistent in awhile, but considering the situation of my body (not enough sleep, too much travel, red meat, UTI, antibiotics, slight cold) the week prior, I'm not surprised. Still, running with a side stitch for about 12 minutes SUCKS.

Took a Gu just shy of an hour - just as the side pain went away. (I think they might be slightly related, though this is unconfirmed.) That put a bit o' pep back in me for awhile. My wheels started to fall off at around 7mi. Post-tibs and shins started to get a bit achy. I ignored that for awhile but it just kinda progressed. Why I didn't wear the calf-sleeves I don't know, but it was a stupid decision. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful, just plugging along with my legs growing weary, C next to me chugging along (feeling great, the bastard) pushing me through it. They play this really EVIL trick just before mile 12...you run along this canal while seeing everyone running back on the other side, you see their 15K sign, you hear faint sounds of the band at the finish line....but then you turn AWAY from it. It's only for about 300yds or so, but that damn-near killed me. I was in fairly bad shape at that point with the legs just not happy. We brought it home with a decent last mile, crossed the line together. C survived his first 1/2 in FAR better shape than he thought he would. Could've gone much faster (bastard) than our meager 2:21, but he gets credit for hanging with me & enjoying the scenery. Post-race we all (NC, PW, C, me, mom, P's uncle) staked out our area in front of the stage to catch some Sister Hazel. Grabbed our 2 free beers & flopped down on the space blankets to soak up some much-missed sunshine. Made friends with some around us (Go Vancouver girls!) & got almost-drunk on free light beer.

Made our way post-race to Cafe Maspero back down in the Quarter. We inhaled some jambalaya, gumbo, mufaletta's & shrimp sandwiches. Again, just enjoyed the scenery for a bit. Checked out Big Muddy on our way to the car, took a quick pic (Right). We headed back to the room - yup, got lost again - Mom headed home, we cleaned up & napped a bit, watched the end of the hockey game (damn Canada) & a movie. Headed back to the Quarter to have dinner with NC & PW. Coop's Place = awesome. We were told about Coop's on Saturday by some local. He said, "Ambiance sucks, service is adequate and food is AMAZING." He was dead-on. PW & I had jambalaya that almost soaked through his shirt. I could only eat half...but loved it. C had a drool-inducing cheeseburger. Stopped by Cafe du Monde (per my adamant insistence - it was either Sunday night or Monday morning on the way out of town....I figured to-go beignets would work...I was right) for a doggie bag of powdered sugar.

A quick 12 hour ride on Monday left us back where we started a scant 72 hours after leaving, but over 900 miles later. Altogether, a kick-ass weekend, a great race (albeit far more painful than it needed to be) with good friends & great food. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, even if it means sitting in that tiny car for that long again.