Beware of the Mayan Mind Trick!

A newly discovered Mayan calendar claims to show that the highly "reliable" doomsday date of December 21st, may be altered, if not outright cancelled. The calendar, some 1200 years old itself, appears to archaeologists to go on for roughly 7000 years.

As many of you know, during my 46+ years as a runner, I have faithfully logged my miles (thanks, Coach Pingel). As 100,000 miles has come closer and closer, the goal in the last year or so has been to hit that mark prior to the upcoming expiration date set by the Mayans. Presently, I sit at 98,680. A mere 5.89 miles a day, and I am there!

One might think I look upon the latest news with enthusiasm, if not relief. The pressure is off. No more worrying about this self imposed race against the Mayans; plenty of time to relax and cruise the next 5800 years or so. Not so fast. I have some issues with this latest "discovery."

First, why the discrepancy in calendars from a group so insightful, organized and highly respected? And who IS the official Hallmark of the Mayan civilization, or was this the work of a Mayan Realtor prospecting for business? AND why hasn't anyone mentioned that also found on this latest calendar were drawings of half clothed male warriors in fireman outfits?

Next, need I mention this was found in Guatemala, in a tourist area. Clearly Guatemala is and was a destination geared towards people forgetting what day it is/was, not obsessing over it. Are we supposed to believe that some vacationing Madoff-like Mayan exec lamented on his resort hut wall that he only had 2.5 million days until the end of his permanent vacation? I think not.

Finally, I suspect trickery. The Mayans knew, in their infinite wisdom, that I would be closing in on this self proclaimed landmark achievement. In a very "these are not the droids you're looking for" kind of way, they planted this calendar to divert my focus. Well, sorry, Obi Wan Mayan. I didn't just fall off the historical turnip truck (or the hysterical one, either) and cannot be so easily fooled. And besides, just because I'm paranoid, it doesn't mean you're not out to get me.

I trudge on!

Calvin Coolidge and the End of a Streak

Well, I didn't run yesterday. I had the option. I was home at 6:45 pm and had plenty of daylight left AND had a treadmill even if I didn't. I decided to take the Calvin Coolidge approach and end the latest streak at 547 days.

Nope. Not injured. Not sick. Just thought it was time to go back to zero and begin fresh.

Might even take today off too!

The Run Wave and The 3 Facebook Options

I had three separate, similar moments on the running trail yesterday morning, each paralleling the  experience of posting on Facebook.

I was running on the Cherry Creek Trail and as I approached an oncoming fellow runner I did/said what I usually do/say: "Good Morning (as I wave)!" Consider that my aerobic version of a Facebook post, my status update. I am reaching out to another human being(s).

As is the case on Facebook, the recipient of my advance has three options: they can do nothing, just wave, or wave and verbally respond. Each of these happened on today's jaunt.

The first person that I spoke/waved with/to, replied "Good Morning, how's it going?" Buoyed by his response, I answered, "Fantastic. Awesome morning, huh?" In our own way, we connected, even if it was just a brief couple of seconds. 

Excited to be making friends and influencing my fellow runners, I continued my cheerful mood with the next approaching runner. "Good Morning," I said with even more enthusiasm. Response: Nothing. Not a look, not a wave. Nothing. Bummer.

Undaunted, my next target was given the same greeting, but replied with barely a wave of acknowledgement (not even a princess would have used this wave). In the end, I considered myself one for three for the morning.

The verbal reply was nice. It was the other humans way of saying "Hey, I see you out there, I appreciate you greeting me and this is me greeting you back. It's what we humans do." It was like a comment on my Facebook post; someone taking the time to reinforce my status, so to speak. A person attempting to connect with another person.

The no reply was just that - no reply. No acknowledgement of my greeting, in fact, no acknowledgement of my existence. And, hey, I get that. Not everyone is social, not everyone is having a good time on the run, not everyone likes me. I get it (and by the way, I should mention here that I was dressed appropriately for the weather and the surroundings and in no way, shape, or form would have been mistaken for some sort of deviant). The no reply is like a no response to a Facebook update.  Sometimes we didn't read the post. It got lost in all the other items on our wall of life. Sometimes we were too busy to respond at all even if we saw the post and many people in and on Facebook are like folks on the running trail, they just don't respond. I get that. No harm, no foul.

The third response was that half-hearted wave. I'm not sure what this attempt at semi-greeting means, but as the recipient, it felt miniscule. It seemed to say, "Yeah, hi, whatever," or "I suppose I should wave back," or "You're not worth my words, but take my token wave" (Okay, that last one sounds like therapist fodder). Nonetheless, the wave was barely, and I mean barely, better than nothing. This, and you know what's coming here, is like pressing the Like icon under someone's Facebook update. Generally it means, "I see ya there, but I've got alot of Like icons to push before my session is over. After all, I've got people to sort of connect with here."

I've been told the operative part of the phrase Social Media is SOCIAL. The Like button, while being a version of connection; of social-ness, is a distant cousin at best. That is why when I discuss Facebook in any of my classes, we emphasize that if your goal is to connect with those other people out there on the Facebook running trail, post real live, relevant comments . Anything else comes up short. Anything else is the halfway, non-connecting wave.

I'm not a big fan of the Like icon, but you're probably getting that. Besides, if we're going to have a Like icon, why isn't there a Dislike icon? Just wondering.  

I'm also not sure if this posting is a complaint, a lesson, or just an observation. Feel free to take it any way you like. And yeah, feel free to "Like" this post.

I Can See Clearly Now. Claritin Run?

Today I had one of those runs. It began like any other run with me walking up the hill to reach my townhouse complex entrance (no sense starting a run in oxygen debt, thus I walk to the top). From there I was off on my newly discovered seven mile hilly loop.

The morning/day was/is beautiful. Hardly a cloud in the sky, just a slight breeze from the South. One of those days in March where you become sure that Spring is on the way (and so is the Spring snowfall).

Lately, I've spent maybe half of my runs listening to podcasts from competitor.com or Daniel Pink's book A Whole New Mind (for the umpteenth time). Anything to pretty much forget the run and leave behind my many thoughts of the day, most of which revolved around a plethora of stressful, unresolved  issues.

Today, however, it was no earbuds; no escape. Bring on the thoughts and bring them ALL on.

I like to think and I really like the way I think on the run. Who knows, really, about endorphins and the elusive runner's high. All I know is that when I am running and am one with my planet, I become one with my own mind. Sounds dangerous, doesn't it?

Thoughts, at first, bounce. I struggle with this thing or that. It almost seems forced. I hang in through this part because most of what I am struggling with needs to be, at the least, acknowledged. Then, wonderfully, the thoughts begin to flow. Answers arrive and usually then, plans emerge to place those answers into action.

Generally, I twirl the answers around until they become tightly embedded in my mind (almost like screwing them into place). Once firmly in place, I begin to clearly see the new visual; the new approach; the new outcome. Once I see it, I believe it. Once belief is in place, it becomes a part of me, part of who I am, part of my soul.

I love the fact that I have found this activity that not only allows me the opportunity and the challenge of being in touch with myself and my world physically, mentally and spiritually, but also seems to encourage it.  I've stated many times that I do my best thinking; my best work, on the run. If that is the case, today on the ten scale, I was an eleven.

Yeah, I suppose I'm getting physical benefit from the run as well. Bopping along for an hour or more at an elevated heart rate is good cardiovascular work. And I know that my running has been one of the primary reasons I have avoided much of the sickness and disease many of my chronological mates deal with as we age. But as good as that may be, the physical is not the lure of the run. It's the rest of it.

There is much to do in this life and in this goofy-ass world of ours. Sometimes it seems too full of nastiness, cynicism and negativity. It's nice to have a place to go. Where's yours?

That song is stuck in my head, now: "I can see clearly now." Guess that means it was a Claritin run.

Zombies, Cows and Me

I have read stories about humans that were drawn, like zombies, into situations they best avoid. I have also heard the tales of cows walking off the edge of a cliff in a trance-like state falling helplessly into the canyon below. It is with these visions in mind, that I contemplate entry into the 2012 Bolder Boulder 10K.

I can't explain it. I've run this race eight or nine times since moving to Colorado in the fall of 1978, running well maybe twice. Back in the eighties, I zipped a 36 and change and ran pretty well and in 2000, I ran around 40 minutes two days after a 1:25 half marathon. Most of my experiences, however, were like 1994 when I wrinkled like a freshly washed linen shirt, watching everyone and their dog pass by singing and laughing (surely they were laughing AT me).

So what's the attraction, you ask? Honestly, I have absolutely no idea.

Maybe I just love crowds. Weren't there close to 50 some thousand people running through the fitness capital of the Rocky Mountains last year? Maybe it's the schedule. There is something to be said for running your race and then relaxing and watching the elites go at it. Perhaps it's just Boulder. I don't get to the People's Republic to run often enough any more. This might be good motivation. More likely is that I am growing tired of being asked the question, "So are you running the Bolder Boulder this year?" and having to tell my multiple tales of woe.

No matter the reason, it appears that I will be at the line on Memorial Day, May 28th. I'll be the one in the hypnotic state, headed for the cliff.

Still Here - Still Waiting...

I am confessing to being highly UNmotivated about my running the last five weeks or so.

Yeah, I'm still running. Hanging in at about 45 miles a week. In fact, as of this morning's run, the consecutive day streak sits at 492. It's getting up there. Fast becoming one of my best streaks. I'm even being consistent with my strength and core work. Motivational? Not really.

I was going to enter the Napa Valley Marathon and thought that might be the key to a surge in focus and drive. But I didn't. Really not motivated enough to spend the money to run casually slow with the masses.

I thought the Olympic Marathon Trials would help. It was an awesome spectacle of America's finest distance runners and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But no, no long lasting effect on my own get up and go.

I spent a week in Southern California and thought that would help me bounce back. The warm climate, the sea level bounty of oxygen... Unfortunately outside of a couple of decent runs around the Mission Bay area, it just didn't do it for me.

So, I'm out the door. Excited about the morning run?

Not so much. But it's coming. Run on! (Well, maybe the exclamation point is a bit much)

Thanks Al Gore! Stick it, NBC!

The Olympic Marathon Trials were today and like many participants, this spectator had a difficult time staying with the race plan. The original idea was to stay busy all morning, not go anywhere near my computer and watch the delayed coverage with fresh eyes. I lost contact with the plan right from the gun.

I blame Al Gore, Twitter and Runners World. I'll take those in reverse order....

The live coverage on Runners World was very good. Amby Burfoot wrote as the men's race progressed and Scott Douglass handled the women's version. Both did an outstanding job, especially considering they were slaves to the video feed. They were accurate, had good observations and both delivered a few yucks along the way (my favorite was when someone wrote that the coverage would be better if THEY were doing the job. Scott responded that the comments would be better if he were in front of that guy's computer :)). The suspense was palpable and the comments of fellow stream watchers was fun!

Some of the best action was on Twitter at #houston2012. The reports came from EVERYWHERE. People on the course, people at their homes, not to mention several other world class tracksters following the action. At a rate of close to 100-150 a minute, it was too fast and too furious to absorb it all. But mostly, a huge gathering of marathon fans from everywhere!

Then there is Al Gore. If he had not invented this whole internet fad, none of this would have ever happened. If it were not for him, same day delayed coverage would have been a treat and NBC's cold disregard for the running community would have been largely ignored. But, it CANNOT be ignored.

NBC fashions itself to be the Olympic channel. Consistently, however, the show themselves to be just another network prostitute for the four "mainstream" sports. Fortunately for me, I DVRed the race and will watch it without the commercials, hopefully never having to know who helped sponsor NBC's non-relevant and much-too-late network "coverage." Unfortunately for all of us, we are stuck with them covering this summer's Olympics (and the Track Trials in June). That's too bad.

On the bright side, it was an awesome race and five of my six predicted qualifiers made it (no way I would have seen Abdi getting the job done. Also: felt terrible for Ritz and Amy). On to London!

Move Over Tim Tebow: Trials Marathon Predictions OR Whatever, Galen Rupp.

Ryan Hall, the favorite

While many of my Tebow-infected, Colorado brethren are anxiously awaiting Saturday nights playoff game between the Broncos and the New England Patriots, this guy is ready for the highlight of the day......... wait for it ........ the Olympic Marathon Trials. While football games are a dime a dozen, every four years the best American distance runners vie for three tickets to the Summer Olympic Games, this year in London.

The Men's race for the Olympic Marathon Trials Saturday took a major step backwards when Galen Rupp withdrew from the competition. Rupp, a 25 year old from Oregon and the American record holder at 10,000 meters was to be running his first marathon. 

Frankly, I'm extremely disappointed for several reasons: 1) the race has become VERY predictable now as Rupp could have been a very interesting wild card, possibly even chasing Ryan Hall if he had a good day 2) It is time to make the move. In the olden days runners moved up to the marathon in their very late twenties. Today, many Kenyans and Ethiopians enter as young as twenty-one or two. Fresh off his amazing 26:48 10K, Rupp was primed to move up. Unfortunately for American Olympic hopes, we can wait another four years when he won't be as fast. and 3) I was really looking forward to it (and this IS about me, you know)!

So, my tainted prediction for the Men's race becomes simple: Ryan Hall wins by as much as he wants, followed by the only two other world class marathon runners we have, Meb Keflezighi and Dathan Ritzenhein. Meb's been injured, Ritz is endlessly injured and so both are tenuous at best. Hall's worst marathon performance is still better than most of the other "players." The problem is that after them, there is little upon which to hang your hat. Each Trials seems to have a surprise, but this time I don't see it. Maybe Mo Trafeh, Brett Gotcher, Nick Arciniaga, or Jason Hartman could have great days. Anyone else would be a BIG surprise.

The Women's side is much more interesting with a host of viable placers and potential medalists in London. The top of the field is Desiree Davila and Shalane Flanagan (given alphabetically, because while I know these two ladies will be the top two, I'm not sure the final order). Both are very tough, like to win and have the ability to do so. Davila has the faster marathon time and a bit more experience. Flanagan has the fact that she is Shalane Flanagan and that makes her hard to beat in this country.

Amy Hastings at the Bolder Boulder

After the top two, it gets absolutely fascinating. I believe that as many as SIX women could compete for the coveted third spot. Kara Goucher would seem to have an inside track due to her times over the past couple of years. To buy that, however, you have to discount the comeback skills of Deena Kastor (one of the two greatest female American marathoners of all time), the experience and racing savy of Magdalena Lewy-Boulet and Jen Rhines and the rising stars of Amy Hastings and Stephanie Rothstein. And the best part of this competitive scenario is that any of these women would be a great addition to one of the most competitive Olympic Marathon teams in American history.

Okay, so quit stalling. On to the predictions:

Men's Race:  1) Ryan Hall  2) Dathan Ritzenhein 3) Meb Keflezighi 4) Brett Gothcher

Women's Race: 1) Shalane Flanagan and Desi Davila tie ala Frank Shorter and Kenny Moore circa 1972 (yeah, right!) 3) Kara Goucher 4) Magda with Amy Hastings closing fast.

As a passing note, coverage for the Olympic Trails will be tape delayed and two hours long on NBC. REALLY, NBC? You are supposed to be the Olympic network. Surely you can do better than this. And if that's not bad enough, there is no live streaming video during the race. NBC has shown once again that they really don't care about anything but the cutsie-ass human interest part of the Olympics, and of course football. Having said that, with there being well over 50 million runners in this country, we are the poorest lobby for our sport. If we shouted, NBC would have to listen.

Fortunately, for NBC, we are not shouters, we are runners. Instead of protesting Saturday morning, we'll be sneaking in a run before the mediocre coverage begins.

Partial Do Over!

After a week of careful self examination and contemplation, I have set my running goals for the year 2012. Mostly, I have decided that the "failures" of 2011 (and there were several) will be incentives for 2012.

So, without further jibber-jabber and/or needless pontification, here are my goals for this year of elections, Olympics and an extra day...

1. Run every day. This was one of the goals I accomplished last year. I'm proud of my streaks because they indicate two very important things: health and dedication.

2. 2500 miles. After nearly 2800 in 2011, you could say I'm backing off or wimping out (that's okay, you really CAN say it). Actually, I'm simply trying to be a little more relaxed. PLUS all I need to do is get to 100,000 total career miles by the Mayan Calendar deadline and we'll see after that (need 2195 miles for that).

3. Races. Simple: 3 marathons (would love it if one is New York but that's a crap shoot and a VERY EXPENSIVE crap shoot at that), 1 Half Ironman, a 50K+ and 10 other assorted runs of varying length (time to hit the 5K - Half Mar circuit).

4. More weight loss. Dropped 32, ended up with 26 net loss last year. Need that much again to be lean and mean. And don't worry, I still won't be mistaken for an East African by any means.

5. Strength and Core work. The goal is 120 days of S & C.

So there they are, my goals - set in stone. I'm excited. And by the way, it's Leap Year. We get another day to run! NICE!!!

Unsatisfactory Assessment.

Back in December of 2010, I set my running goals for 2011. There were eight. Assessing the past year, I find that I didn't quite accomplish many of those targets. Here is the recap:

Goal #1.  I will run every day in 2011. This one was successful. I ran everyday, with the shortest run being 3 miles and the longest being 22. The streak is presently at 462 days, my fifth longest streak (I have another year and a half to surpass the longest). My best week was 78 (week #41) and the best month (October) was 299.

Goal #2.  2700 miles. Accomplished as well! Finished with 2788 which is the tenth best of my 46 years of logging runs. That brings my career count to 97,802 which should place in in a great position to get to 100K before the Mayan calendar stops.

Goal #3.  Three Marathons. One. Napa Valley, run easily.

Goal #4.  Qualify for Boston. Not even close.

Goal #5.  To FEEL like a runner again. I got close to this one. I lost 32 pounds between Jan 1 and Thanksgiving (have put on five since then though). It'll take another 20-25 to get to feel lean and mean.

Goal #6.  To connect with a plethora of new running friends and to reconnect with many old ones. Didn't happen. Ran alone almost exclusively.

Goal #7.  Half Ironman. Nope. This became mostly a financial issue.

Goal #8.  Times.  HAHAHA. Ran ONE race. There were no times.

I suppose I could be discouraged, but I'm not. The most important goals which have to do with commitment and dedication were the ones I met. The rest were extra.

So, I'm like many of you, am looking forward to 2012. It's going to be a great year!

TIE-ing Down The Holidays

TIE-ing Down The Holidays

My Holiday Video on the link below...

http://tinyurl.com/TIE-ingDown