Queen Sarah's Gentle Tirades

My North Carolina Trip

2008-12-31T09:54:00.024-06:00

(I know this post seems really long, but if you hang in there, it gets better, and there are lots of pictures!)

Earlier this month, I was supposed to run the Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte, North Carolina. My daughter was going with me, and it was supposed to be my 27th marathon. I had already bought the plane tickets and arranged for an organist substitute.

I would have preferred to run the Outer Banks Marathon earlier in the fall, but the timing worked out better for this one. Also, I have a brother, Holden, in North Carolina, so I could combine it with a visit to see him. (He lives in Lumberton, but is often in Raleigh.)

Now with a stress fracture, I was obviously not going to be able to run the marathon. But I was determined to go to North Carolina anyway. Maybe it could be a trip like normal people have. You don't have to run a marathon every time you travel. I could be a tourist.

On crutches, it would be more difficult. I was going to have to plan activities at places that were handicapped-accessible, and I knew I would have to rent a wheelchair, because there were going to be some distances involved.

I got a tourist book and started planning the trip. Our flight was to Charlotte, but I decided that we'd rent a car and drive 170 miles to Raleigh, and start our tour of North Carolina from there.

There was trouble when we arrived in Charlotte. A bad omen was that there was no wheelchair waiting for me when we landed ~ airlines usually provide that service if you ask. I could not have walked the mile through O'Hare airport to our connecting flight, if there had not been a guy with a wheelchair in Chicago. But the Charlotte airport is not O'Hare, and I managed ok. I sent Audrey to get my suitcase at the baggage claim, and I crutched myself over to the rental car counter, and got a car.

I waited and waited, but Audrey did not meet me with the suitcase. It had never arrived in Charlotte!

When we finally found the United Airlines baggage claim guy, he assured us that my suitcase was on its way. I told him that we were planning to drive to Raleigh, and wondered how long we'd have to wait for my suitcase to arrive. He told us to go ahead to Raleigh ~ he would put my suitcase on the next flight, and someone from the Raleigh airport would deliver it right to my hotel, "maybe tonight."

He seemed so confident about that. Like it was no big deal, they do it every day. So I left for Raleigh without my bag. We already had a full day of activities planned in Raleigh, and it would be good to get there. I hoped that my bag would arrive. Certainly it would be there before we checked out the next day at noon.

I was given an 800 number to call, which was another bad omen. I know 800 numbers are useless. I was uneasy about this, but I called the 800 number immediately when we arrived in Raleigh, to let some guy in India know where we were staying, so that the Raleigh airport people could deliver my luggage to the Ramada Inn. The guy in India told me that my suitcase was en route, and what time it would arrive, but he could not tell me what time it would be delivered to the hotel.

I slept in my clothes, but I did not get much sleep. The bag did not arrive. I called the 800 number again, and got another guy in India. He said my bag had been sent from Charlotte to Raleigh, and that it had arrived even before the flight from Chicago to Charlotte. I found this to be rather implausible. I was beginning to doubt that I would ever see my suitcase again. I made sure the guy in India had my cell phone number, because I didn't feel like waiting at the Ramada all day for a suitcase that would never arrive. The problem was that the cell phone battery was almost dead, and the charger was in the suitcase. I wrote "buy a new charger" on our list of things to do.

We were meeting my brother at the art museum, but first I had to go to the wheelchair rental place, and also to a Rite Aid, to buy some toiletries. (The baggage claim guy in Charlotte had not bothered to give me a toiletry bag, because he was so sure I'd have my bag that evening.)

Finally, something went right. I was not excited about being in a wheelchair, but considered it a necessary evil. At the wheelchair store, they had a scooter-type thing. That would be so much better! You put your knee on this padded platform, and hold onto the handlebars while using your good leg to propel the scooter. It is easier to move around, and you are at eye level with able-bodied people. It kind of felt like a kid's toy at first! I thought, I could even run the marathon, with this thing! (It would only count as a half marathon at most, because I'd only be using one leg. So maybe not.) After a while, it did take a toll on my knee, but the rest of my body much prefered the scooter over the wheelchair. I was like a kid with a toy scooter and a bruised & skinned knee.

I scooted over to the art museum in Raleigh, and toured that with my brother and Audrey. I was so upset about the luggage, and the lack of sleep, and my overall grungy condition, that I can't say I fully appreciated the visit to the museum.

By mid-morning, I was angry that we would have to stay an extra night at the Ramada, because there was no word about the luggage. I called the guy in India and screamed at him. I don't scream very often. The 800 guys are trained to listen to screaming luggageless women, but this guy did not know where my bag was, and I knew it. The poor guy. I almost added "And I'm having lunch with a lawyer today!" Although it was true, I knew it was an empty threat.

The lawyer was my brother's friend, Laura. She told me she could not help me with the luggage, because she is a personal injury lawyer. I argued that I am obviously injured ~ I have a broken leg! She did not agree with my logic (of course, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on!), but it was nice to meet her, anyway, and we had a nice lunch. She is very smart, and a yoga practitioner. She was extremely calm. I needed that to rub off on me.

After the lunch, and a stop at Radio Shack to purchase a new charger for my cell phone, I still did not receive word about my bag. I was not going to spend another night in those clothes! I knew if I didn't take matters into my own hands, I would never get my luggage. All my attempts to speak to a real person who was not in India had failed. We declined Holden & Laura's invitation to attend a Shakespeare play with them that evening, and drove to the Raleigh airport.

After crying and complaining to the United Airlines baggage claim lady, I learned that my suitcase was in another terminal, at U.S. Airways baggage claim. United said that it was U.S. Air's responsibility to call them. U.S.Air said that it was United's responsibility. I said "My phone number is right there on the bag ~ why couldn't someone call ME?" They all said that was not within their responsibility.

I know that there is a lot of luggage that is never "claimed," and it goes to a store where it is sold, along with the contents. When I saw this on T.V. one time, I wondered how there could be so much luggage that is never claimed. Now I am beginning to understand. I never would have gotten my stuff back, if I had not spent the day being persistent.

Sigh. That was the bad part of the trip. The rest of it was more positive, I promise. So if you're still reading, here is the fun part of the trip...

After I got my suitcase, and took a shower and got into clean clothes, I fell asleep by 6:30 pm and woke up at 1 am. We had to leave Raleigh at 4 am, to make up for lost time and do the rest of our trip. We drove to the Outer Banks, and had breakfast at this wonderful little cafe.

In mid-December, a lot of the tourist attractions are closed, but that is a good thing in many ways. There was no traffic, and no crowds, and the prices for hotel rooms were very cheap. We lucked out on the weather ~ it was clear and cool ~ in the 50s, which is balmy, for us!

Our first stop was the Wright Brothers National Monument, where we listened to a talk about the first flight.

We learned a lot about the history of aviation, and the origin of lost luggage. An often overlooked facet of this narrative is that after Orville's famous 12-second flight that day in 1903, his luggage was nowhere to be found!

I tried on a suit to go with my astronaut boot.

With my scooter, I recreated Orville's flight, in the parking lot alongside the original airstrip. I was able to do it in 12 seconds, as well.

After the adventure at Kitty Hawk, we drove up to Corolla. In North Carolina, you have to be careful how you pronounce things ~ it's not like the Toyota, but it's "Co-RALL-a." It's a little town way up north on the Outer Banks, near Virginia. We had scheduled a "Wild Horses Adventure Tour," and we got there a little early, to see some other sights, which were closed.

Here is the lighthouse at Corolla...

...and here is the Wild Horses Museum. It is too bad that it was closed, but on the bright side, it saved us some time!

The Wild Horses Adventure Tour was the centerpiece of our trip. It was AWESOME! It was so much fun, that it deserves its own post, so stay tuned! I'll write about it later!

After the Wild Horses Adventure Tour, we had the most delicious meal at the Outer Banks Brewing Station, and got a very good rate at a hotel right on the beach.

In the morning, we collected seashells and flew kites.

I had to buy a kite with a monkey on it, of course. All of my monkeys have names beginning with "S" and ending with "-ly," so we were thinking this monkey would be named "Soarly," because he would soar through the air.

He turned out to be not so well-behaved, though, and we found out his name was "Swervely." Audrey had to do most of the work in getting this monkey to fly.

Part of the problem was that I did not have him assembled correctly at first. Once we got that figured out, Swervely had a short flight. It lasted longer than Orville's, so I'd say we did pretty well.

The other kite was so easy, it was almost boring.

After the kite-flying capers, we left the Outer Banks. On the way out, we wanted to visit Roanoke Island, where the Lost Colony was last seen. They had a Lindsay Warren Visitor Center, so we went inside to visit with Lindsay Warren. She showed us a video about the Lost Colony.

There were some remnants of a fort, although this was not exactly where the Colony was Lost. They're not sure where that was. It was Really, Really Lost. Even their luggage was lost.

There was also a place called the Elizabethan Gardens, so we visited that, too. Even though it was December, there was a lot of beauty to see. They had one of those electric wheelchairs I've seen in commercials ~ the "Hovaround" ~ and I was able to ride that all through the gardens, like a queen on her throne.

Here is a statue of some rival queen ~

This is the gnarliest tree I've ever seen!

The rose garden still had a few blooms, even in December.

Although we looked and looked, we did not find the Lost Colonists' Lost Luggage. All we found was beauty.

After we had seen enough beauty, we hit the road again, and made our way west across North Carolina. I did buy a souvenir at Fort Raleigh ~ this lighthouse puzzle. I thought I had solved the puzzle, but after I took the picture, I saw that I didn't quite get it. Do you see the parts that don't match up?

Later in the day, after much driving, we arrived at New Bern. It's pronounced "NOO-burn." (Holden says that's how anyone would pronounce it, but I think he's lived there so long he's just used to it. I would've said "Noo BAIRN, because I am corrupted by speaking German. I'd expect most people to say "Noo BURN." After all, you don't say NOO-york, do you?)

I had hoped to see the Fireman's Museum, because my friend Jim is crazy about firefighting stuff. Unfortunately, the museum was closed.

So we went to the Tryon Palace, which was open, but not handicapped-accessible! So we were only able to watch a short film about the place.

After spending the night in Goldsboro, we finally arrived in Lumberton, where my brother lives. We went to his daughter's indoor soccer game.

I now have a lot of video of Nikki running around the soccer court. (Is it called a court?) The camera is focused on her the whole time, whether she is anywhere near the ball or not. Because that is what a kid's soccer game looks like to a parent or an aunt.

Holden and Audrey cooked dinner, and we got to visit with two of his three daughters while we were there.

I had bought him a Kansas City Chiefs shirt, and then found out that he no longer liked the Kansas City Chiefs. But he seemed to really like the shirt anyway. It came with a recipe for pink underwear.

Recipe for Pink Underwear

Ingredients: One new Kansas City Chiefs shirt
One package new white underwear (not included)

Wash in hot enough water until done

After spending the night in Lumberton, we drove on to Charlotte. We spent the day at the Mint Museum. (The building used to be a mint, where they made money, hence the name. Art museums probably do not make a lot of money, so there is always a box for donations, even at the Mint Museum.) I had intended to take us to the Mint Museum of Art, but we got there and discovered it was the Mint Museum of Craft and Design. So we visited that, and then drove across town to the art museum. They were both very nice. I think there is a fine line between art and craft ~ there were pieces in each museum that I thought could go in the other museum!

We got to the airport in plenty of time, and because of bad weather in Chicago, both our flights were delayed. So we got home at three in the morning. Fortunately for United Airlines, my luggage arrived at the same time. I think I would've killed somebody if it hadn't. Probably that guy in India.

I am So Dense

2008-12-30T08:27:00.004-06:00

When I had my first stress fracture (four years ago), one of the tests that the doctor ordered was a bone density screening. He advised me that my insurance company, Blue Cross, did not like to pay for this test, so I might have to pay for it myself.

I thought it would be a good test to have, so I hoped that the insurance would cover it. Who wouldn't want to know about their bone density? Maybe I had a bone density problem, and maybe that was why I had the stress fracture! Knowing this would help me choose actions that would avoid problems in the future, saving Blue Cross many thousands of dollars.

So I went for the test. And it made me Scared Straight. My bone density was not good. The doctor at the lab said that I was "on the verge of bone loss." But the good news is that this can be reversed somewhat by eating properly and taking calcium supplements.

He also said that I had a "hip axis length" that put me at considerably increased risk for hip fracture. There is nothing I can do about this, but I could take extra measures to keep my bones strong, so that I don't incur any more risk by having low bone density on top of it.

So I became a calcium junkie. I learned that the body has a hard time absorbing all the calcium you try to feed it, so it wouldn't hurt to take extra. Caffeine, especially, can interfere with the absorbtion of calcium. Well, I'm not going to give that up, so add more calcium.

From that day, I have taken 3 calcium pills a day (600 mg each), in addition to my multivitamin. I've been pretty religious about it, too.

I also learned that there is calcium in food ~ go figure! So I started eating real food with calcium and other good stuff in it, rather than the nutrient-poor foodlike substances I had been getting at the drive-thru restaurants. I haven't been quite as religious about that, but most people think I am a healthy eater. At least I eat healthier than I used to.

At the time of my Reformation, I thought "wouldn't it be nice if I could have this test again in a few years, to see if I reversed my bone loss?"

Well, I got my wish! All I had to do was break my leg again, and the doctor sent me for another bone density test, warning me that Blue Cross would not want to pay for it.

Guess what! It worked! My bones are now solidly in the "average" category for my age, and improved since the last exam. Taking calcium and eating right really did help.

I think sometimes we dismiss the importance of eating right, thinking it can't have an effect. So we go along eating our McDonalds and our pizza, and don't bother taking vitamins.

I have heard that strength-building exercise also improves the bones. That is the next thing I need to make a habit of, because I've been dismissing the importance of it. I'm determined to do everything I can to make up for having a long hip axis, so that when I am older, I will not break my hip, and I will save the insurance company so much money!!

Blue Cross needs to send me a thank you note.

I Got the Boot

2008-12-28T21:07:00.005-06:00

I've been AWOL in my posting lately ~ but I've had an excuse. The screaming pain in my right leg led me to a misguided attempt at a solution, which resulted in every runner's worst fear ~ a stress fracture.

This is not my first stress fracture. Four years ago, when I first started running, I got one by overtraining. This one is in the same leg, but I am fairly certain it was caused by trying to run a marathon in a do-it-yourself orthotic. It was desperate, moreso than stupid ~ nothing was working, and it was the only thing I could think of to try.

I ended up running a half marathon instead of a full ~ I could tell at mile 2 that I was not going to make it 26.2 miles. It was at about mile 8 that it started to feel like the sharp, localized pain of a stress fracture, instead of the generalized, twisty pain I had been experiencing due to my biomechanical problem. When it did not get better after a couple of days back home, I knew what it was, and anticipating the doctor's orders, I dug the astronaut boot and the crutches out of the closet, and hobbled over to see him.

"I concur with your diagnosis," the doctor told me, and ordered me to be on crutches for the next month.

I immediately started negotiating with him. Last time, the crutches caused my arms and hands to become numb after two weeks, and I ended up using a wheelchair to save my hands from long-term injury. (Being a musician, I cannot afford to sacrifice my hands!)

I think he could see that a wheelchair would be overkill, so he said the boot and a cane would be ok some of the time. The idea is not to put any weight on it. I negotiated that, too. So he said 10 pounds. I don't know how to measure how much weight is on my leg, so my strategy is just to try to be as good as I can.

I think I've been about 93% compliant. There are times when you just have to put some weight on your leg. I am sure that using a cane and the boot does not make me entirely weightless on one side, even if it is an astronaut boot. I can use crutches (zero weight), but when you use two crutches, you can't carry anything, and there's that aforementioned problem about the hands. You can't really use crutches in the shower. And I am not going to crutch myself across a stage to sit at the piano during a concert!

So I have chosen my sins carefully, and then I've made up for them by lying around on my tush whenever I'm not carrying or showering or under the spotlight.

I'm trying to keep a positive attitude about it. It takes a great deal more time and mental energy to go anywhere or do anything than it used to. Just getting my coffee in the morning is a challenge. I have to have coffee before I can function. I use the two-crutch system to get to the kitchen, because I have to have coffee before I can boot up. Once the coffee is made, there are a couple of ways to get it to the table. My preferred method is the "bucket brigade" ~ my furniture is lined up to pass the bucket of life-saving liquid to where it is urgently needed. I set the cup down, take a step, move the cup to the next surface, take a step, move the cup, etc.

Of course, when people see me ~ even strangers ~ they give me a look of pity, and often ask me how it happened. I pinned my race number to the boot, to help put a positive spin on the story. My usual response is to smile brightly and say "It's a running injury ~ from running marathons!" (and then, sheepishly,) "I'm kinda proud of it." If they insist on frowning and telling me that it's a bad thing, I try to console them, and remind them that it's only temporary, and could be worse.

That's what I say to people. But just between you and me, I have only had a limited amount of positive attitude. Just enough to get me through the day, and then I come home and wallow in self pity. That is why I haven't blogged. My hands are numb. Frankly, this sucks, and I've just had to get my work done, and limp through Christmas, ... I haven't felt like I wanted to go online and blog about it. It has taken this long to get the whining restricted to this one paragraph here. A paragraph which is coming to an end, so that's it for complaining.

I have a lot of fun stuff to blog about ~ I've been saving things up whilst awaiting a break in the activity (I just wish the break didn't have to be in my leg!) ~ Now that I have a week off, and happy thoughts, more or less, I'll be writing a lot of posts.

The first week in January, I go back to the doctor. I assume he is going to take another x-ray, and my mobility in the immediate future will depend on what he sees. If he sees his shadow, it will mean six more weeks of crutches. So I'm hoping for a cloudy day.

Trying New Foods

2008-11-08T07:55:00.004-06:00

Last week, I went to a haunted house that my friends put on every year. It is an extremely elaborate production. They get a kick out of scaring little kids (and big kids). The can adjust the scariness level for the visitors' sensitivities ~ Level one (not very scary) would be for a three-year-old; I suppose Level Infinity would be for the typical middle school boy.

I did not know what level they were going to use on me, so I put my hands on my daughter's shoulders and walked her in front of me, using her as a human shield. I got teased about it later, but hey, you do what you need to do.

I do the same thing with new food.

I had heard all kinds of good things about Ezekiel Bread. It's supposed to be so much healthier than regular bread. So I bought some a while back. When I got home, I stuck it in the freezer. It was unfamiliar to me. When I am hungry, I tend to reach for the familiar.

Yesterday, my daughter stopped by, and was about to make herself some peanut butter crackers, but she forgot to bring the crackers.

I said, "I have some Ezekiel bread ~ you ought to try that ~ I hear it's really good for you!"

She waved it off, knowing that my bread would probably have freezer burn. But I persisted, pushing the bread on her. "Try it ~ if it has freezer burn, you don't have to eat it."

It turned out to have only minimal freezer burn, so she ate the bread. Now I feel like I can eat the rest of the loaf. It's in the fridge right now, and I am going to make a peanut butter sandwich in a little bit, with my new kind of healthy bread. Now that I know it's safe.

I need to get in the habit of trying new foods. My eating has gotten boring lately, and I have even fallen back into eating more convenience foods, because they are easy and cheap and familiar.

Recently I was inspired by a blogger who is trying one new recipe per week. The idea has been percolating, and I am ready to take it on as a goal now. (Thanks, Lesley!)

I'm going to start with the crock pot. That's always good this time of year.

Cooking new foods is always a multi-step project, not a simple action, so I'm going to have to be organized about this. Today I will zero in on a new recipe, and make a shopping list. I might not be able to get to the store until as late as Monday, but I hereby commit to having a new food creation no later than Tuesday. And I will do this at least once a week. It's going on my Sciral Consistency right now. I will let you know how it goes! (And I won't make my daughter be the first one to taste it.)

Our Country Finally Has a Leader

2008-11-05T08:03:00.004-06:00

I feel a great sense of relief. Over the last few weeks, I had some hope that I would feel this way, and a few days ago, I even dared to start expecting that it would finally happen.

Eight years ago, when our current Resident was elected, I was in despair. I remember saying, "He is going to be a disaster of a president!" I didn't know how true that would turn out to be, and that it would go on for eight nightmarish years.

I've always voted for whom I thought was the better candidate, but there's always been a "lesser of two evils" quality about it. They've always been just "good enough." I approached this election with that same mindset, although I did think this candidate was better than the previous ones.

Now I'm starting to see Obama as more than that. He has conducted himself with dignity, spoken with thoughtful intelligence, and hasn't made any major blunders. He strikes me as someone who is not driven by his ego.

I hope that the people who opposed him will give him a chance. He seems to be very much a pragmatist, who will work cooperatively with people who hold different opinions, rather than pushing his own agenda.

This election is momentous on so many levels. Seeing so many promising signs in the days leading up to the election, I was finally able to relax enough to reflect on some of those.

It is impossible to miss the fact that he is the first African-American president, although I have been joking that I hadn't noticed that. ("He's black??! I thought he was Irish! I thought I was voting for the Irish guy! ~ O'Bama.") What is surprising to me is that "First African-American President" is not the headline. OK, I know it was the headline in some newspapers, but it was not mentioned in most of the headlines, and it is not the headline in the newspaper in my head. (My headline says, "Whew. We Finally Have a Leader.")

But when I do think about it, it is so amazing. Obama is just a year older than I am. Early in our lifetime, he would have had to ride in the back of the bus. I vaguely remember the civil rights era, and have seen our country evolve in its wake, often through violent events and ugly rhetoric. I know there is still racism. I was sure we could elect a black president eventually, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. I am gobsmacked.

But it is not just about how far we've come. Some of it is due to the fact that Obama is not just one of the "good enough" candidates. He seems to be in a different category. It struck me, during his victory speech, that he talked about the 106-year old woman, seeing the past through her eyes, and then spoke about what would be said 100 years from now. He has a vision that extends beyond our immediate lifetime. That is something that has been lacking in the leadership of our country, even in the "good enough" politicians.

I hope that he lives up to the promise of the extraordinary human being that he appears to be. I don't take any stock in the overblown expectations, or "deification" silliness that I've been hearing about. I'm just regarding the way he has handled everything during the campaign. I think if he just continues in the same manner, he will be not just good enough. He could be one of our Great Presidents.

I hope.

I Don't Get Daylight Saving Time

2008-11-02T19:10:00.002-06:00

Apparently, the idea is that you can save energy by chopping an hour off the end of the day, and tacking it on to the beginning. (And in the Spring, vice-versa).

I've never gotten that. I don't benefit from the time change. Even in the Fall, I don't get an extra hour sleep. It takes me an hour to figure out how to change all the clocks, and change the battery in the smoke detector. In the Spring, I lose two hours. And both times, I end up feeling like I have jet lag all week. I'm sure I'm losing energy, not gaining it.

But the government thinks it's a good idea.

I don't like it, because it gets dark earlier now. I like to get my running done before it gets dark, especially with the weather getting cooler. I'm not a morning runner, so that's not the answer.

There's gotta be a way to turn Daylight Saving Time to my advantage for running.

So I figure, by a similar kind of logic, maybe I can get more running done, and use less energy, if I cut a mile off the end of my run, and add it to the beginning of my run. That last mile is often the hardest, after all. Might as well get it over with first thing!

In the Spring, I'll turn it around, and put the first mile at the end of the run.

Halloween Scariness

2008-10-31T21:18:00.003-05:00

This morning, my cousin sent me one of those "getting to know you" surveys. I enjoy exchanging these with my cousin, so I answered it. One of the questions was "What are you most afraid of." She responded with something about Obama. She thinks that if he is elected president, he will do nothing to protect us from terrorists. I was not surprised by this answer, because I knew she was of that persuasion.

I did not want to give a "turnabout is fair play" answer, so I thought about what scares me most. To be honest, I'm not all that afraid. I'm deeply concerned about certain things, but I wouldn't describe it as fear.

Still, if I had to answer "what am I most afraid of?" I would have to say that it is what might happen if Obama is not elected president. I have a lot of reasons for this, which I will not go into right now.

Today is Halloween, and it's a time to think about scary things. In a fun way, if possible. So here is a fun take on scary things.

My daughter mentioned that the "Joker" from the new Batman movie will be the most popular costume this year.

I told her the Joker could never be as scary as the Penguin, as played by Burgess Meredith in the original TV series.

When I was about three or four, the Penguin scared the living daylights out of me. It was his cackle, I think. I would run to my mommy, traumatized, and she had to limit my TV watching.

My daughter is not familiar with the original Batman show, so I looked online for a video clip of the Penguin. I wanted her to see what a true comic book villain was like.

What I found was this clip of the "Batman/Penguin Debate." It turns out that my childhood fear was prescient. (And I think I need to limit my TV watching, until after the election.)

Tomato Plant Requiem

2008-10-31T16:23:00.003-05:00

I am in mourning. Today, I had to face up to the fact that my hydroponic garden was going nowhere.

I had to pull the plug.

I lit a monkey candle, and am grieving the loss of my tomatoes that never were.

It's not Aerogarden's fault. I think I just didn't know enough about how to prune tomatoes. I made some crucial mistakes early on, and the poor buggers didn't have a chance.

I know that not all of this is about tomatoes. I am dealing with some roadblocks in other areas of life, and going through a rough patch. I have known for a long time that my tomato garden was a lost cause. But now would be a good time to make a scapegoat of my fruitless gardening attempt, and throw it all into the dumpster. Maybe that will help me though the other difficulties as well.

I will be sad for a while. I don't know what the natural grieving process is for broken tomato dreams.

Pretty soon, I will try again. I've learned a few things about pruning, and Aerogardening. When the time is right, I'll take all of what I've learned in the process, and try again. Eventually, I will grow a successful tomato.

But now, I will cry.

Banana Salad

2008-10-29T22:06:00.005-05:00

On Monday, the community college choir I accompany had a concert featuring a piece called "Aeyaya Balano Sakkad." When I first saw the title, I said "Oh, a song about banana salad!" and from then on, the students referred to the song as "Banana Salad."

So to celebrate their fine performance, today I made a banana salad for them. Judging from what was left (see the picture), it went over pretty well. I forgot to add the sugar, and was worried it wouldn't be sweet enough for most people's tastes, but I think it turned out just fine. There is sugar in the Jello, and also in the Cool Whip. And everyone seems to be eating Halloween candy this week, so I think we have plenty of sugar in our lives.

The song was a traditional Hindu folk song, in mixolydian mode, celebrating the Diwali holiday, or the "Festival of Lights," which takes place this time of year. I am told that it actually started yesterday. So, happy Diwali, everyone!

I am almost certain that a good Hindu would not celebrate Diwali by eating Jello, so do not mistake this for an authentic ethnic cuisine. But the students seemed to like it.

Recipe for Banana Salad:

Dissolve 2 small boxes strawberry/banana Jello in 2 cups boiling water in a 9x13 pan. Stir until the Jello is dissolved.

Add 1/2 cold water, and about 20 oz frozen sliced strawberries (I used the unsweetened kind), and 3 bananas, sliced.

Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, mix 4 oz cream cheese and a package of Cool Whip. You can also add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, but I forgot to do this.

Spread it over the Jello salad. Top with pecan pieces.

Before serving, cut up 2 more bananas, and put them on top.

Recipe for spatula, in case you forget to bring one from home:

Take three plastic forks, and tape them together in the shape of a spatula.

I hope that next semester, we can sing about lasagna casserole.

The Bishop Was Here, But You'll Just Have to Imagine the Visuals!

2008-10-27T17:25:00.006-05:00

(I goofed, and posted something that was copyrighted, and my post was removed. I'm not sure exactly what it was that I wasn't supposed to post, but I'm guessing it was a picture. So here is my post without the pictures. I also removed the links to the audio, although I don't think that was the offending content. Who knows? I wish they would have been more specific. Anyway, you'll just have to use your imagination... If I find out that the audio was ok, I'll put it back in later.)

(Later edit: I put the second musical link back in, because I'm pretty sure it's fair use. I'll be ready to stand corrected, if I get slapped again.)

(Edited again ~ I think it was the sound file after all, so I removed the link. Go figure!)

(Edited one last time ~ I added a picture I took on the day I went to practice the organ.)

Today the Bishop, Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, was in town. All of the Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of West Missouri met together at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, in lieu of having services in the individual churches.

I was one of several organists who were asked to contribute seven minutes to the prelude of the service.

This was rather daunting, for several reasons. This is the biggest organ in the Kansas City area, and I am not very well acquainted with it. With four manuals, and all those stops and pistons, I thought surely there would be a button somewhere for switching off the wrong notes, but I never did find one. So I included some wrong notes in my musical offering.

I estimate that there were about 1,200 people there, including a mass choir. This was actually reassuring, though. With that many people present, that means that at the very most, only one twelve-hundredth of it was about me. That kind of took the pressure off.

But another thing did make it very intimidating for me. Some of the best organists in the area participated in this service. I knew that they would be extremely accomplished and well-prepared. Also, I predicted (correctly) that they would select very sophisticated pieces of music that would showcase their skills.

My academic musical training was not in organ ~ I came from a small liberal arts college ~ and that was a long time ago ~ so I am not very well-versed in organ literature. I am a pianist who learned to play in the "close enough" style, mostly on the job. Recently, I've done some extracurricular study, but I am not in the same league with these guys, either in repertoire or skill.

When I made my selections, I knew that they would be "service music," in contrast to the more intricate works that others would be playing. I think this is okay. It was a service, after all, not an organ recital, and service music is where I live. I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not. The prelude would be a time of commotion, as people come in chatting and finding their seats, so I thought it would be nice to have some music that didn't challenge the listener a great deal. Something with clarity and good taste.

I played two settings of a hymn called "All My Hope on God is Founded," both by Michael Burkhardt. The tune itself is wonderfully irregular in its meter, and it is a good, sturdy tune that has become one of my favorites.

I recorded these with a cassette tape recorder at my one and only practice session on the organ, and will try to post the sound files on this blog. I have never posted an audio file, so I hope it works.

The first setting is pretty straightforward, but I did not do some of the things the composer indicated. I restricted myself to the limitations of the organ I usually practice on, and although the auditorium organ certainly does not have these limitations, I didn't feel comfortable doing anything different from what I do in practice. So the organ is huge, but I only played a small fraction of it! (A footnote on the score indicates that the piece quotes Herbert Howells' Psalm Prelude, Op. 32, No. 1. Coincidentally, the organist right before me played Op. 32. No. 2!)

The second setting is festive ~ an ornamented trumpet tune with lots of sparkly stuff and a couple of sudden modulations that could sound like a cheap thrill, but I think the composer did them tastefully. Anyway, I get a kick out of this piece ~ it's kind of a guilty pleasure.

I did feel like I stuck out a little, playing pieces like this in the midst of all that organ literature. But I think they were good selections for the occasion, and for the kind of organist I am. And although I was way out of my comfort zone, I didn't screw up too badly.

The Gospel reading was something along the lines of "whoever is greatest must be the least, and whoever is least shall be the greatest." In that context, I did great!

I Started an Online Running Journal

2008-10-25T14:31:00.002-05:00

I had been keeping a running journal in a Word document, but that wasn't inspiring me very much. For some reason, I feel that it would be better to keep a record of my running online. No one except me will look at it, probably, but just the thought that somebody could makes me think "I'd better not slack off too much."

I don't recommend subscribing to it. It's not going to be very interesting. Just facts and figures, mostly, to document my progress toward my goal (5k at age 100). But sometimes I like to look at other people's running logs, and find them informative, so here it is, in case anyone's interested!

I still plan to put the more interesting things (like race reports and philosophical musings and inspirational thoughts) on this here blog.

If you are looking for the training journal blog, you can find it by going to my profile.

1944 Pulitzer Prize-winning Photo is Now a Video!

2008-10-24T11:42:00.003-05:00

This iconic photo won the Pulitzer Prize in 1944. It was shot by Earle "Buddy" Bunker of the Omaha World-Herald at the train station in Villisca, Iowa, where my mother lives.

The soldier in the photo is Bob Moore. My mother worked for Bob and his brother Bill at the drugstore one summer. She tells me, "...but I kept asking for time off to go to Methodist youth meetings (I was a conference and district officer). They got awfully irritated, especially Bill. He did not like me using four scoops instead of three for the malts and milkshakes, either."

I think it is pretty cool to have family connections to such a famous photograph.

A lot of people in Villisca get annoyed because Villisca's other claim to fame is that it is the site of a 1912 ax murder, Iowa's most notorious unsolved crime. If Villisca gets any attention at all, it is usually because of the ax murder. An award-winning documentary was recently produced on this subject.

Ironically, five of the victims of the ax murder were members of the Moore family, close relatives of the WWII hero in the above photo. (The other two victims were distant relatives of mine, by marriage.)

Villisca was recently in the news for something really cool, though ~ When that WWII homecoming photo was snapped, Eva Croxdale, mother of the little boy in the photo, was shooting a home video. That video has now turned up in the home of Leyton Croxdale (son of the little boy in the photo) ~ and there is a very interesting article about it here.

My grandmother worked for Dr. Ed Croxdale (Eva's husband) for many years. Dr. Croxdale really liked my grandmother, my mom tells me.

I will try to put the video here on my blog, but I'm not sure I know how to do it. If it doesn't work, please go to the article linked above, and watch the video ~ it is very cool!

Homecoming revisited from GazetteOnline.com on Vimeo.

Celebrate Normal!

2008-10-24T10:33:00.002-05:00

I finished my round of annual women's health exams, by having a mammogram this morning.

Not my favorite thing to do. I hate going for these tests every year. Filling out the forms is enough of a hassle. But the whole thing is just uncomfortable. Talk about being vulnerable! There are a lot of other things I'd rather do on a Friday morning. Like working.

And so far, I've always been told "everything's fine!" I used to think, "well, that was a pain ~ glad it's over!" and go on with my day, slightly annoyed that I had to go through all that.

Last year, I decided to look at it in a new way. When you think about other possible scenarios, "everything's normal" is very good news indeed. It's fantastic. It's wonderful! It's the best thing that could possibly happen!

It calls for a celebration, in fact. We should never let these things go uncelebrated. I'm not going to throw a party, but I will quietly exult for the rest of the weekend. There was a Panera on the way home, so I stopped in and let them fix me a tuna sandwich, and I accepted potato chips as a kind of a treat. I don't eat potato chips every day, but with a clean bill of health, I figure I can indulge once in a while.

I won't celebrate with junk food all weekend, though. I started thinking about what kind of food would be appropriate to commemorate another year of good health. In honor of the mammogram, I think I will get some squash!

And the Mystery Runner Is...

2008-10-18T19:45:00.006-05:00

...my friend Eddie!!

Eddie is a brilliant man who designs GPS systems for aircraft.

A few weeks ago, he told me that he wanted to start exercising, for better health, and he was thinking about running. Of course, I encouraged him to try it! I told him that there was a couch-to-5k program online, and it would be a very realistic goal to work up to running a 5K this fall. I said, if he wanted to, I would run with him for his first 5k.

We decided on the Kansas City Marathon 5k, which was this morning. This is the second week in a row I have run with someone named Ed.

Many times Eddie has astounded me by doing things that I didn't know he could do. I was one of his music teachers in high school, and then he took my piano class in college. He was one of those students who was better than I was, in some ways (technique), so I had to keep focusing on the things (musical maturity) where I still had him outranked. Nowadays, he outranks me in just about everything!

I told him to go to organist camp (the American Guild of Organists' "Pipe Organ Encounters"), and I even drove him to Minnesota for that, because I thought he should become an organist. Now he plays circles around me.

I didn't think he could sing scat, and then he did. I didn't think he could play Brahms with as much passion as intellect, and then he did. So I stopped selling him short, and now I just expect him to do the impossible. And he does.

That is what I like about running, and since I only became a runner very recently, I am still aware of that phenomenon. When you start running, there is a certain distance or duration that is impossible. Say, two blocks or so, or maybe 60 seconds of running. And then you run it. Then there is another impossible thing. And you do it. It is a succession of impossible things, and you keep doing them! Pretty heady stuff.

So I jumped at the chance to make Eddie a runner. All I had to do is tell him about the training program, and send him to the right store for shoes. He did the rest.

And now he's a runner!

Of course, I take credit for everything he knows and does. That's one of the secrets of great teaching. Have brilliant students.

I had to pick up my packet on Thursday, because I was out of town Friday. While I was down there by Union Station, I decided to pick up my tickets for a train trip I'm taking this spring.

Union Station is the best piece of architecture in Kansas City. It is not very well utilized, but at least they didn't make the mistake of tearing it down, like they almost did!

Inside the station, there happened to be a model train set up ~ I'm sure it is a temporary exhibit. I love miniatures, and when there are trains involved, it is even better!

I saw this cute little train station, and had to look closely at the town name printed on the sign. It said "Marathon."

This part of the display had a replica of the Western Auto building, a Kansas City landmark.

Miniatures are so adorable.

Oh yes, back to the 5k. It was such a blast! The weather was 40 degrees cooler than last week's run in Chicago!

I asked Eddie about his training, and he said the couch-t0-5k was really difficult for him, and he could not keep up with it, if you go by the book. But he did keep running, or run-walk-ing, which is very sensible, and which is what I do. His mile, he said, was about 13 minutes. He was hoping to do the 5k in 4o minutes. I said that sounded very reasonable.

I have run with people for their first 5ks before, and my approach is to try to discern what their goal is ~ whether they are concerned about time, or whether they just want to finish, and have it be pleasant. Then, if they are concerned about time, I try to strike a balance. I attempt to challenge them just enough so that they do not want to strangle me.

We agreed on run/walk intervals of 2:2. I figured this was maintainable. I counseled that it would be a good idea to start out slowly ~ most people go out too fast at first.

When we started out, he was running pretty fast! I thought "He's faster than he said he was!" I actually got out of breath more than he did in those first few segments. But I think the excitement of the race had an effect, because then the pace moderated a little. When it seemed like he was having difficulty at the end of the run segment, I said "let's take the next one a little easier." At one point I said "Just run to the mile marker, and then take a little extra walk break."

I was fairly sure, by the first mile, that we would make his goal, if we could keep the pace up.

The middle mile was, I think, the toughest mentally.

It is an amazing thing, this run/walk method. Doing 2:2, we were walking at least half the time! Yet, I am absolutely sure that Eddie would've had a slower time if he had run the entire thing. Most of the people aound us were running steadily the whole time, but when we ran, we passed people like crazy. The walk breaks give you recovery time, so you are able to run faster. Along with saving wear and tear on your joints, it helps you run at a faster pace.

When I run marathons, I usually do 4:1 or 3:1. When I got my PR, I was doing 9:1 (It just about killed me.) But when I tried 1:1 (that's walking half the time!), my total time was only 10 minutes slower than usual, and I was running strong all the way to the end.

Toward the end of the 5k, the motorcycle cops came up behind us, to clear a path for the leader of the half marathon, who was catching up with us. The half marathon had started a half hour earlier, so this really fast runner was about to overtake us. I think he was Kenyan. As I said in another post, I am often ahead of those guys.

The last half-mile was downhill, and I think Eddie got his second wind, perhaps inspired by the Kenyan runner. As we were approaching the finish line, we had been running for almost two minutes ~ the agreement was to run across the finish line, even if it was supposed to be a walk break. So I turned off my beeping watch, so that it would not beep. That would be de-motivating.

Almost to the finish line, I said, "Sprint, Eddie!" and the lady ahead of me suddenly started sprinting! Maybe her name was Eddie, too.

We sprinted, and finished in exactly the same time ~ 38:32. Woo-HOO! He said "I did not know if I could do this!" (I know the feeling. Also, I know the feeling of getting choked up and almost crying when I finish a running event. He had that, too.)

So it was a big thrill to do this. I felt like this week has been so eventful, and this was the icing on the cake.

As I drove back home, I deliberately planned my route to cross paths with the half marathoners, who were still running. There was a cop, directing traffic.

I ran the KC marathon two years ago. Last year, I was registered for the half marathon, but couldn't do it, because I accidentally signed up for the Sioux City marathon the same day. Oops. Now I've done the 5k, but I haven't done the half. Usually, if there is a half marathon around here, I run it. Maybe next year, I will run the KC half marathon.

The Kansas City Marathon is said to be one of the most beautiful urban courses, and I guess you could say that is true. I can recommend the 5k as well, although there was one thing that marred it ~ the bottleneck going through the finisher's area to get bananas and other goodies. They could have set that up a little better! I don't like standing in a crowd, but I wanted my banana. I earned that banana.

Under a Little Less Pressure Now

2008-10-18T18:28:00.006-05:00

The surgery was a success.

Over the past 5 years or so, my mother was having difficulty. She recently retired from her career as a Presbyterian/UCC minister, but of course, as the sign in the novelty store says, "Old ministers never retire ~ they're just put out to pastor." So, like any good retired minister, she kept working, doing interim jobs and supply preaching nearly all the time. And she traveled overseas a lot.

But she was having more and more difficulty. The most obvious thing was that she couldn't walk normally. She couldn't seem to pick up her feet from the ground, so she would shuffle, and her balance was off. It got so she couldn't walk more than a few blocks.

I thought it was mostly arthritis, but that it could be other things that I don't know about. I know about arthritis, because I have it, from running too much. But I went to the doctor, and found out what I could do to make it go away, so I could keep running too much.

I kept telling Mom to go to the doctor. I also asked my daughter and my brother to tell her to go to the doctor. Maybe if enough people told her, she would do it. (She said she was too busy. Until there was a break in all the activity of her retirement. Then she finally went. Audrey gets the credit, because she was the last one to tell her, before she finally made the appointment.)

So she went to the doctor, and was hospitalized that day. They said she might have a brain tumor. In the hospital, they found a diagnosis that we were much happier with.

What my mom had was "Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus," otherwise known as "water on the brain." There are many things that can cause it, but it commonly happens after age 60. In fact, Billy Graham had it, and recently had the same surgery. So I think it is caused by preaching.

We waited a long time to find out when the surgery was going to be. Mom was planning to go to Chicago with us, and even reserved an expensive hotel room in downtown Chicago. But then we found out that the surgery would be a few days after the marathon, so she decided she'd better stay home and rest up. She still helped us with the hotel room, though. (Thanks, Mom!)

So the day after the marathon, Audrey and I drove to Iowa, and took Mom to Omaha for the surgery. We spent a day at the hospital, going to various doctors and anesthesiologists and lab technicians. It was good to meet these people who were going to be messing around with my mom's head.

On the wall, there were photographs of some of the distinguished physicians of this hospital, and my mom's surgeon was one of them. I told her "I'm going to take his picture!" She said I should just leave it there on the wall.

With the help of the doctor and a magazine article in Neurology Now, I think I understand more about this disease.

In the inside part of the brain, we have these cavities called ventricles. There is fluid in the ventricles that helps to cushion the brain, and deliver nutrients, and take away waste. Normally, we produce about 8 oz of this fluid each day, and it gets absorbed into the body as we create more fluid.

But with hydrocephalus, we produce the fluid faster than the body can absorb it. (I think the problem is on the absorbing end, not on the producing end.) So it builds up, and presses on the brain. This can cause headaches, trouble walking, balance problems, bladder control problems, and dementia, among other things.

Since these symptoms can look like normal signs of aging, or like Parkinson's Disease, or other things, the diagnosis is often missed. A lot of people in nursing homes have this, and it's undiagnosed. My mom is lucky, because they got it right away! (To diagnose it, you have to have an MRI or a cat scan.)

The way to treat this, usually, is to install a shunt, to drain off the extra fluid. Mom now has a length of tubing running from her brain to her abdomen, carrying off the extra water. The cool thing is that now they have these adjustable shunts, so the doctor can control how much fluid is drained from the ventricles. They didn't used to be adjustable, and people had more problems with them. (I think Billy Graham had the old kind, and he recently went in to have it replaced with the adjustable kind.)

If you drain too much fluid before your brain gets used to it, you can have bleeding complications. That's serious. So the doctor told me that they set it at a medium-high pressure at first. When she goes in for her visit, he will adjust it downward. (He just turns a dial on a remote control. It takes a few seconds!) If her symptoms continue, they will keep adjusting it downward, but gradually.

After the surgery, the doctor told me that everything went as well as it could possibly go. It went in on the first try, and he wasn't expecting any complications, or anything out of the ordinary. (But he explained what the "ordinary" complications would be ~ infection, or injury caused by overdoing it, or mechanical failure of the shunt.)

I know this guy is a brilliant doctor, because he was operating on one head, and he relieved the pressure in dozens of heads, including mine! That takes some kinda genius.

I think he raised our I.Q.s, as well. I know that Mom was very smart when she woke up. She answered all their questions correctly, and did everything they told her to do.

She was proud of her hair-do ~ she will have a Donald Trump comb-over for awhile. Immediately after surgery, she asked me to take her picture, and send it to my brother, and to her friend Loretta, and ask her to put it on Facebook! So I did. Doesn't she look beautiful?

The doctor said it would be okay for me to go back to Kansas City to work, and come back the next day. The soonest she would be released from the hospital would be Saturday ~ or Friday, maybe. Today was Wednesday. Perfect. I left some of my clothes and things in the room we were staying in (the hospital has wonderful apartment-like accommodations for family members!) Since my aunt and uncle were coming, they could stay with her for the next 24 hours, and then I could come back to Omaha.

The next day, Thursday, I called from Kansas City to see how she was doing. She said "Don't come back ~ I'm going home today!" I was astonished. She said "I woke up at 3am, and said 'I'm gonna blow this pop stand!'"

Audrey and I wondered if she had made such a pest of herself that the nurses wanted to get rid of her. I think that is what happened.

She woke up at 3am, ready for the day. She asked if she could take a shower and wash her hair. The nurses said no, they have things they need to do at that time of night, and there are people who come in (in the day time) to help with bathing. And she really needs to ask for assistance when she goes to the bathroom! She said she could do that just fine on her own ~ she's been coping with this for years, after all, and hasn't ever fallen ~ now that she feels better, she ought to be able to handle it.

By mid-morning, the health care professionals all agreed that she needed to go home, for everyone's sake.

So my aunt and uncle took her home, along with my stuff, and I did not go to Omaha that day.

On Friday, I went up to Iowa to fill her freezer with food. I knew she had no groceries, and this was my chance to sneak some vegetables into her.

I brought all the Tupperware I had, and drove to Clarinda for groceries. Then I took the groceries to Villisca, and spent the day cooking. This is the most cooking I've ever done at one time, and it wore me out! But I filled the freezer, and I know she will have at least some vegetables in the next couple of weeks.

Winning the Chicago Marathon

2008-10-18T16:29:00.006-05:00

Yes, indeed! I won another marathon! This time I won the Chicago Marathon ~ ~ ~ I was the 27,084th winner that day. They say it is a huge marathon, one of the biggest in the world. I'm not so sure about that ~ it seems to me like it was 26.2 miles, just like the rest of them. Some people just like to make audacious claims. I did win, though.

I found out later that if I had only run three times faster, I would've won $100,000. Drat! So close! Why didn't I try harder?!

Maybe I was a little out of shape, from being on strike. A couple of weeks before, I had been protesting the hot weather we were having, when we should've been getting fall weather. The protest worked ~ after only a couple of days, the weather caved in to my demands, and I was out there running again.

I should have held out longer, though, so that I could have included Chicago in the negotiations. I didn't think I would have to. Last year, the Chicago Marathon was shut down early because of extreme heat and a shortage of water and Gatorade ~ hundreds of people were taken to the hospital, and one person died. I figured 2008 would be the year to run it, because things like that don't happen twice in a row, and even if there was another heat wave, the race organizers will have learned their lesson, and been prepared.

I was half right, my usual track record. As the marathon date approached, the weather forecast kept changing in a relentless and dastardly direction. As it turned out, it was almost as hot as last year, with the temperature at 11am around 84 degrees... but there was water and Gatorade galore! Even hose-showers, and sponges!

I talked with several runners who participated in the fiasco last year, and they said it was a living hell. That must have dissuaded many people from trying it again in this year's heat, because they had the highest number of no-shows ever. Of 45,000 runners all registered and paid for, only 33,000 showed up. That meant even more water and Gatorade for the rest of us.

I always love going to Chicago, because there is so much to do there. Of course, when you are there to run a marathon, you don't do much, because you need to conserve your energy before, and lie down in an exhausted heap afterward. But Audrey and I did go to the art museum. She is a college graduate in art history, so that's kind of a given. I didn't get to spend a lot of time there, but I did enjoy a couple of hours' worth of art, enough for a possible blog post in the near future.

After the museum, we got together with Ed, from Hawaii. I had known Ed online for about a year, so it was great to meet him in person. He eats at Subway almost every day, and has lost 70 or 80 lbs ~ incredible! I call him "The New Jared." So we met at a cute little sandwich shop across from the art museum ~ I told him "it is right next door to Subway!" I was only teasing, but guess what? He got his sandwich from Subway while we got ours at the other place. We had a nice lunch in the park.

Even though he refused to smile for the photo, we had a good time. During the marathon, I followed him for about six miles, and then I lost sight of him. According to the race results, he won, too! (The men's division, of course.)

Ed helped me find the expo, and it's a good thing! At this marathon, there is no race day packet pickup, and that always causes me some anxiety. I had to get there before it closed.

Because this marathon is such a big deal, they have to have a humongous expo. And because the expo is enormous, it has to be located in a convention center. That means you have to travel to get there, which takes time away from your sightseeing. They did provide shuttle buses, but we had to wait a long time to get on a school bus, and they packed us in like sardines. So transportation to and from the expo took a couple of hours. (Maybe I shouldn't have waited until the last minute?) I would have preferred to have no expo at all ~ just a storefront downtown where we could pick up our packets and have the rest of the day to explore Chicago. But that's not how these things work ~ the marathon was supported by lots of companies who needed a chance to sell things to us.

I don't have a lot of money, especially after all the expenses of this trip, but I did spend some at the expo. There was a booth for Marathon & Beyond magazine, and I bought myself a subscription. I have been buying this at the bookstore, but sometimes miss an issue. So I've been meaning to subscribe anyway.

So Marathon Day finally arrived, and I went to the back of the pack, to wait. I always start at the back, because I'm slow. It's better for me psychologically, if I pass other people, than if I start where I think I should start, and have people pass me.
There were a lot of people, and I expected to cross the Start Line about 30 minutes after the gun. It turned out to be about 23 minutes, thanks to the people who did not show up. It was fun to watch this guy juggle. I wonder if he juggled all the way through the marathon?

Because of the heat, I decided on a conservative strategy, and only hoped to finish in six hours. It reminded me of the inaugural Atlanta ING marathon, which I finished in 5:58. The temperature there was almost 90, and there were hills. I figured this one would be comparable, but without hills, so I had hope. I decided to use 3:1 run/walk intervals, and to take the running slow. I felt I could
probably maintain that throughout most of the event.

By mile 4, I really noticed the heat. Fortunately, the first half of the race had a lot of shade, provided by tall buildings. I also appreciated the mile markers ~ every mile was clearly marked with a couple of large signs, showing the time! I had to subtract 23 minutes for my time, since that is how long it took to get to the start line. They also had clocks at the 5k, 10k, 15k (etc.) marks, and at the half marathon point. I had my camera, so I took a picture of each mile marker, thinking I would analyze it later ~ I could find out how fast I took each mile. (I know my Garmin would probably do that, but I'm not advanced enough to figure out how yet!) When my camera battery died, I wrote down the numbers.

It was interesting to analyze. The numbers show that I ran most of the first 13 miles in 12-something. Miles 14, 15, and 16 were 13-something. This is right where we left the shady parts, and it was really starting to get hot. Then for miles 17 , 18, 19 & 20, I ran 13 and 14-something. I knew I was dragging. For the last six miles, it got easier in a way. It was still hard, because it was the last six miles. But we were getting close to the lake, and there was a breeze. I don't have the numbers for those miles, but according to my calculations, I averaged 13 1/2. Not bad, when you can pick up speed at the end of a marathon!

It was a crowded marathon, and to my surprise, it remained crowded to the end! I don't like that ~ I had to run this way and that way to get around people (and they had to do the same to get around me, I'm sure).

One of the sponsors of the event was Energizer. They were handing out Energizer bunny ears, and I saw a pair lying on the road, getting trampled. So I picked it up and put it on. It was like a foam rubber headband. A lot of the people in the crowd yelled "Go Bunny!" to me, so I wore them for the rest of the marathon. I think they gave me energy.

I liked the crowds of spectators. I think Obama was running right behind me, because I heard an awful lot of people shouting "Go Obama!" This is not the first time I have been running ahead of a Kenyan. (At the Maryville Country Classic, I run the half marathon. The full marathon course is the half marathon course twice. Usually, as I am crossing the finish line, the winner of the marathon is a couple of minutes behind me. So I'm used to it.)

I later caught up with him (or I should say, he caught up with me), in a store window, so we had our picture taken. He was not wearing his medal.

My favorite part of the course was Chinatown. There were two dancing dragons, and the people were cheering loudly and enthusiastically. It is amazing to me that spectators can have that much spirit, four hours into a marathon! This is also right about when the weather started cooling off (on account of the breeze from the lake), so I got some renewed energy as I ran through Chinatown.

Toward the end of the race, I noticed that one runner had on a shirt that said "I run because beer tastes so much better after 26.2 miles." That got me thinking about the free beer we would receive at the end, and gave me a little bit more motivation.

Overall, I feel very good about this marathon. My finish time was 5:47:30. Since I was not going to be surprised if I took over six hours, this was pretty good. I felt like I was still running fairly well at the end, even though it was very hot.

It took a long time to walk through the finisher chute. It started to catch up with me there ~ I was kind of wandering around in a daze. The race officials were being very cautious, after last year's trouble ~ a man walked up to me to ask me if I was alright. I said "Yes. Where's the beer?"

Today the Blogging Floodgates Will Open!

2008-10-18T13:52:00.002-05:00

Whew! I am finally home, for real.

I have several major things to write about, and it is going to take some time to get it all written up and posted. Each of these things deserves its own post, so that is what I'm going to do, before the end of the day.

As you may know, I went to Chicago and ran the marathon. (SPOILER ALERT: It went well.) From there, I drove to Iowa to pick up my mother, and took her to Omaha, where she had brain surgery. (SPOILER ALERT: It went extraordinarily well.) Then I came home to work, because you can't take time off indefinitely, but also drove back to take care of Mom, and came home again, and got up at 4:30 this morning to run a 5K with a Mystery Person. (SPOILER ALERT: It went extremely well.)

On the day of the surgery, my overriding concern was that it would be a successful operation. But, that being a high probability, another hope was that I could drive back home that evening, in time to play for choir practice and turn in the music for Sunday. I like to think that there are some things that only I can do, and I needed some normalcy. There was no substitute for me that evening, and the psalm was in my computer, and it was almost done. So if I could get home in time, I could save my coworkers some hassle.

Of course, brain surgery is a big deal, and although it was a procedure with a high success rate, it is still brain surgery, and something could go wrong. I was prepared to stay in Omaha if the situation called for it, or if Mom just didn't want me to leave. I know what is most important.

But I had not been home for a week, and I really wanted to get home if I could. So I was glad when the surgeon came out after surgery and told me how well it had gone, and said that it would be perfectly okay for me to go to Kansas City to take care of business, and come back the next day.

We made good time, and I got home in time to edit and print the psalm before choir practice. The mailman had left a small package from Amazon.com in front of the door, so as I opened the door and struggled with my suitcase and armloads of stuff, I kicked the package across the threshold, into the living room. I had ordered some books, and was glad that one of them had arrived. It's always nice to receive a gift, even if it is one you buy yourself.

I was greeted by the kitties, and used my gushy mommy-voice to let them know how much Mommy had missed them.

But as I walked in, I immediately caught a whiff of something nasty. One of my cats had left me a welcome home present. Great. Calliope is a wonderful cat in many ways, but when she feels neglected, she does let me know in an unmistakable way. I walked in, put everything down, and looked in the usual places where she leaves such presents. Usually it is in the same room as the litter boxes (thank goodness for small favors.) But this time, I had trouble locating it.

As I picked up the package off the floor, I found it. Yuck! I had kicked the package right into a fresh offering of feline dissatisfaction.

So there was an urgent housekeeping matter to attend to, and I took back what I said about having missed Calliope (I still missed Tripod, though), but I did get the psalm printed, and got to work with not a minute to spare.

As I discarded the poopy packaging, I discovered that it contained the book Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management by Mark Forster. I am familiar with most of the productivity books out there, but I don't read every single one of them. I have found that most of them say the same kinds of things ~ it is rare to find one that says anything revolutionary ~ and many of them contradict each other. (This is okay, because what works for one person may not work for another person. You have to find what works for you!)

But I have been hearing about this book a lot. Many people use an approach which combines GTD with DIT. If GTD devotees have honored another author's book with its own acronym, I decided I might need to look into this book myself.

I've only read a little of it so far, and I'm rather inspired by it. One of Forster's Big Ideas is that you are more productive when you clearly define your limits. So, many GTDers will follow David Allen's advice to have a complete inventory of Next Actions, but they use Forster's method of writing a "closed list" of to-dos each day. I tried it yesterday, making a list comprised only of things I knew I would complete that day. It is okay to do more than that, but the official list could not be added to.

It was an interesting experiment! I did have a more satisfied feeling at the end of the day, because I did everything on my list. (I still have my GTD mega-list, and I will NEVER do every item on it, because things keep getting added to it.)

The theory is that as you do this, you get better at it. You get used to crossing off everything on the list, and you get better at discerning what you can realistically do in a day.

Today my aspirations are fairly modest. I've already done most of the things. The only things left are:

1) do the dishes, and
2) write 3 more blog posts.

So stay tuned to this channel ~ Before midnight tonight, I will tell you 1) how I won the Chicago Marathon, 2) how the surgeon relieved pressure in the brains of several people at once, and 3) the identity of the Mystery Runner!

Stay Tuned for New Blog Posts ~ Coming Soon!

2008-10-14T22:21:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in awhile, but there are reasons for that ~ stay tuned! I am still out here, and the protest is now over ~ I ran the Chicago Marathon, and am now in Omaha, waiting for my mother's surgery. When things settle down, hopefully in a couple of days, I'll be able to tell you all about it. But for now, internet access is sporadic and unreliable, and I'm tired and a bit preoccupied. Keep checking back here, and keep your fingers crossed for my mom!

I'm Staging a Protest

2008-09-27T19:48:00.002-05:00

I haven't run since my 18-miler last Sunday (which, incidentally, was not pretty.)

At first I thought I was just discouraged because my 18-miler was not pretty. Then, I started to think I was just lazy. I have been tired lately, and when I am tired, the last thing I want to do after working through a hot afternoon is to go running.

But I've been hard at work at other things. I'm a little surprised at my industriousness, in fact. I've been able to study for hours at a time, I've stayed up-to-date in some tedious projects, and for fun, I've been reading some classics of Greek and Roman antiquity. This proves that I'm not lazy (not this week, anyway), and my fatigue is nothing that coffee cannot overcome.

I finally realized that I am in protest. It's the weather. We should not be having summer weather in the fall, when people need to be training for marathons. So I subconsciously began a protest. I cannot run, because I'm on strike, and I didn't even realize it until now.

Now that I know what is going on, I refuse to run until my demands are met, and cooler weather prevails! Until then, I will sit at home, perhaps to read about Pheidippides, who inaugurated the tradition of running marathons, when, after running 150 miles in two days, he ran the 26-mile distance to announce the Greeks' victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. "We have won!" he declared, and then immediately dropped dead.

Which is what I will probably do in Chicago in two weeks if this heat wave doesn't go away, so the unfortunate and not very rational sit-in may end, and I may resume my marathon training. The Chicago Marathon is October 12. They are going to have good weather this year. They have to. Bad things don't happen twice in a row. (Well, sometimes in presidential elections they do, but only because the election is stolen. I'm not convinced that this weather is due to corruption of that nature.) And I've already paid, so I have to go. Besides, I've already arranged for a substitute organist. That is almost more trouble than preparing for a marathon.

(My substitute is a world-renowned musician, by the way. I am very lucky to get him.)

I think my protest is having an effect. I heard the meteorologist say that a cold front is on the way. It's a good thing I did this! I refuse to feel guilty, or in any way a failure, because of my lapse in training. Sometimes you have to do things like this, to make a point. The strike goes on. The weather will be lovely, and it will remain lovely all the way to the finish line in Chicago. We will win.

During my sit-in tomorrow, I will email my substitute organist and ask him if he would be available to play at my funeral. I'm sure the music will be spectacular! I will be sorry to miss it.

Therapeutic Foot Massage

2008-09-18T19:33:00.010-05:00

This is my second attempt at posting a video to my blog. This time I will leave the video at the bottom of the post. Later on, I'll try to learn how to move it.

I would like to commend to you a method of foot massage, for relaxing at the end of the day. All you need is a comfortable bed and a willing cat. In this case, the cat is named Tripod.

She seemed to enjoy the foot massage, and she stayed relaxed until she noticed the camera. It is not surprising, with a name like Tripod, that she'd be interested in photography.

If there is another cat in the room, she might want to help you relax as well.

Calliope let me use the top of her head for finger massage.

Don't forget under the neck!

And here's the video... Hope it works this time!

I Think Everyone Would Understand if I Did Not Run Tonight

2008-09-17T21:31:00.003-05:00

It was a long day. I've been fighting a cold. (Please note that I do NOT have a cold. I do not get colds. I merely have cold symptoms, and they are going away. I'm not dead yet. I'm getting better.)

I worked hard all day, and got home at 9pm.

My feet are tired. I'm tired.

I think everyone would understand if I did not run. I would get a red square on my Sciral Consistency, but so what? What's one red square?

...But I've been doing so well. I haven't gotten a red square since September 1. (It was for not scooping the cat litter). I have a streak going. It would be a shame to ruin the streak. Running would probably clear my sinuses.

I could do a shortened run. I don't have to do the full amount, to get the dot. I could just go out there and run a couple of miles, and it would still count.

So I put on my running clothes. Sometimes if I say "You have to put on your running clothes, but you don't have to run," that is enough to do the trick. As soon as I put them on, I feel like running.

I sat in front of the computer to read running blogs, for inspiration. I learned that at this very moment, Dean Karnazes is doing a 48-hour treadmill run, to break the Guiness world record for running on a treadmill, and that it was possible to watch him on a live web cam.

So I tuned in. There he was. Let's see, he would probably be on about the 36th hour by now. Jeez.

OK, I'm going out to run now. I think I can do the full amount.

UPDATE: I'm back. I did the full scheduled distance. As usual, I feel better than I did before running.

When Harry Met Bessie

2008-09-15T17:21:00.009-05:00

I was asked to play for a funeral in Independence this morning. I used to fill in at this church sometimes, back when I was doing substitute work. But I was substituting at one church or another every single week, so I finally just took a regular Sunday job. Nowadays, I don't get a chance to play at other churches very often ~ just the occasional wedding or funeral.

It's kind of fun, because every organ is different, and has its own personality. This one is very touchy. You breathe, and it plays. You have to be very careful. If you are playing a note, and even think about the neighboring notes, you get those too. So I played more major and minor seconds than I usually do.

My daughter says it's weird that I like to play for funerals, but not so much for weddings. I told her the reason is that at funerals, the people are most likely thinking about the meaning of life. But at weddings, they are thinking about the party, and how everything looks, and all kinds of things that are not important. Besides, my track record at funerals is better. When I play at weddings, they usually don't even stay married. But all of the people whose funerals I have played for have stayed dead, so far. (I like to think my work has an impact.)

This is a historic church. It is where Harry Truman went to Sunday School, and where he met Bess.

If I go through a hallway behind the organ, I come to a little sitting room, where they have a framed picture of Harry and Bess as children. It's very sweet.

It's a pretty church ~ there is balcony seating all around. When I have been there on a Sunday, there have been people seated up there.

Right outside this church, you can see the world headquarters of the Community of Christ ~ the muffin-top building is the Auditorium, and the corkscrew building is the Temple. They have the best organs in town.

I can't help thinking about Harry and Bess every time I come to this part of town. Years ago, I read the first half of David McCollough's Truman (I have read the first part of many books), so I remember a lot of little details about Truman's early life. (Since I didn't read that part of the book, I know very little about the second half of his life, although I do remember when he died. I was ten. It was around Christmas time. I was at my grandparents' house in Iowa.) I think it's cool that he took piano lessons, even though it was not considered "macho" to play the piano. He loved music enough that he learned to play the piano anyway, never mind what people think.

One of Truman's favorite pieces was Paderewski's Menuet. (That was one of my favorite pieces, too, much to my teacher's annoyance.) Paderewski was a concert pianist who became prime minister of Poland. I think that's cool too. As a composer, he was a one-hit wonder. I only know of the one piece. In fact, it's the only thing I know about Paderewski. (Other than the fact that he was prime minister of Poland.) When I hear "Paderewski," I think "Menuet."

But when I go to the Wikipedia article on Paderewski, it doesn't even mention the celebrated Menuet. Not that Wikipedia is the authoritative source on what is important about Paderewski, but it makes me realize that I don't know much about history.

I have lived in Kansas City for 23 years, and I have never visited the Truman Library, or taken a tour of the Truman Home. I hear that they are wonderful. People come from all over the world to visit these sites. Sometime, within the next year, I promise to take the time to be a tourist (without leaving town). I will take a tour of the Truman Library and Home. I've said it before, but now I'm saying it publicly, on the internet, so that I will follow through.

(What about you? Have you visited the important sites in your town?)

This Cold is NOT Going to Get Me!

2008-09-15T16:58:00.002-05:00

I haven't caught a cold in years. I am convinced that it is because every morning, I take Air-born or Emergen-C. (Actually, I take the cheaper, Walgreens brand. It's the same thing.)

When I do get the slightest hint of a cold, I take even more ~ every 3 hours ~ until the symptoms go away. Since I've been doing this, no cold has ever gotten a germhold on me.

It's mostly vitamins. Wal-born has more fat-soluble vitamins, and Emergen-C has more water-soluble. So I feel more comfortable taking the Emergen-C, if I'm going to be taking it that much.

I'm willing to admit that it could be the placebo effect at work. But whether it is the ingredients, or my own mind, it works, so I'm going to keep doing it. I BELIEVE.

I've been hanging around people with colds lately, and yesterday I started getting the first hints. Today, it was unmistakable. I got the runny nose, the sore throat, and the general tired feeling.

So I went to Walgreens and stocked up. I've been sucking on hard candies all day (I think that's as good as the medicinal losenges for a sore throat.) Then I came home and had a can of bean & vegetable soup. I was out of chicken soup. I'm low on groceries in general.

I have three apples. If I eat one every 8 hours, that will keep three doctors away until I can get to the store.

And I had a beer. (You can see the top of the beer bottle peeking out from behind the vitamin boxes).

I'm already starting to feel better. I'm going to lie down for a short while. I still have some things I have to get done tonight, so I don't get red squares tomorrow. But I can tell this thing isn't going to slow me down. I always say I don't get colds, so now we are going to test my claim. Stay tuned to this blog in the next few days, for more updates. I'll show you. This cold is not going to get me.

Either that, or I will just have expensive pee.

Running Has Been Hard Lately

2008-09-14T21:53:00.005-05:00

I'm finding out that Sciral Consistency is a very powerful tool for getting things done. I have been using it for a month now. So many times, I have been dog-tired at the end of the day, and nevertheless have flossed my teeth, done 25 sit-ups, and worn my retainer ~ things I normally would say "No way. I'm too dog-tired to do this." I have even dragged myself down to the laundry machines or gone for a run, all because I don't want to get a red square the next day.

I'm doing really well at it! I have a few red squares, but those all date back to the trip to Wyoming. Once I got home, and got caught up on things, I have managed to stay on top of it. Because I have the kind of personality that likes to keep from getting red squares, at all costs.

Since I am back to school (but on my own), I added a task to my Sciral program: "Journal Day's Academic Progress." That means that every day, I have to write down in my beautiful lavendar notebook what steps I took to get my little scholar of a self closer to union with my masters degrees. I have to write something each day, even if it is "I didn't do a damn thing today." So far, I haven't had to write that. In fact, I am pretty pleased with what I have written. I've made a good start in this three-semester marathon of a project. I realize I've only gone a few steps, but it's early, and I'm on pace.

Since running has been hard lately, it's been kinda nice to have another Big Project, because I can use that to avoid having to run (just as I have used running to avoid having to do research or study). Yesterday, we had thunderstorms, and then it was humid. I was nice and cozy, inside, with my smart glasses on, doing a lot of reading. I knew I should be running. I had only done one short run all week, and there were only two days left in the week.

I have rules about running, and I was in serious danger of violating two of my own rules. I schedule four runs per week ~ two short, one medium, and one long. The first rule I was thinking about breaking is that I may skip one run per week, and it has to be one of the short runs. The second rule is that the long run is absolutely sacred. I can only skip that if I have a medical excuse, and then I have to worry about whether I can do the marathon.

So, as Saturday went along, and I was doing so well on my studying, it got to be 8pm, and I finally got my gear on and got out there, intending to do my long run ~ 16 miles. It was raining lightly, but then the rain stopped and it was just humid.

I got 4 miles out, and started rationalizing. I reasoned that if I turned around and made this an 8-mile run, I'd get home at a reasonable time, and I could call it a medium run, and I would be guaranteed to do a long run tomorrow (because the long run is sacred.) But if I continued, and made this the long run, I would get home at midnight, and would almost certainly not do a run the next day. So by running less for this run, I would end up running more. If I ran more this time, I would end up running less.

I turned around and made it an 8-mile run. It turned out to be the right decision. The rain came back, and it was rather heavy, and I stepped in a deep mud puddle, and it just wasn't pleasant.

So today came, and I was obligated to do the long run. Physically, running has been very hard in recent months, and psychologically, it has been even harder. The prospect of this 16-mile run felt like an ultramarathon. It really isn't all that far ~ but sometimes things seem more overwhelming than they actually are.

When you have a long run, there are ways you can make it seem more doable. Here are the things I did today. The run was still hard, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I was making it out to be.

1. Make sure there is good weather. This is the most important thing I did ~ I ordered nice weather. Just kidding. I was really, really lucky. It was perfect ~ around 60 degrees, and dry.

2. Pick a route that inspires you. Sometimes I am in the mood to do out-and-back, instead of looping around all over the place. I have about 3 miles of runnable terrain to the south, and 5 miles to the north. But I didn't want to do one loop, come back to the starting point, and do a second loop. That felt like two runs! So I drove down to the 3-mile point of the south loop, and parked in the hospital parking garage. From there, I could run 8 miles out, and then back. An added benefit is that it was uphill (mostly) for the first three miles, and therefore downhill for the last three! That helped!

3. Break the run up into segments. In the first mile, I mentally did the math. 16 miles breaks up into five segments of 3.2 miles each. Three-point-two is not very far! I just had to do that five times. I decided that for the 2nd and 4th segments, I would listen to music, and for the 1st, 3rd, and 5th, I would just listen to my own thoughts. That gave me intermediate points to aim for.

I further broke the 3.2-mile segments into 5-minute units. I used the timer on my watch, and had it beep every 5 minutes. When it beeped, I took a walk break of up to one minute. That was a good run/walk ratio for me. Even if I didn't feel like walking, I walked a little anyway ~ I really think it is the reason I have not had injuries. Most of the time, though, I wanted to walk ~ in fact, every time I started running, I thought "only 4 minutes until my next walk break." 16 miles is a long way, but 4 minutes is something I can handle.

I always have a plan when I set out to run. This time, I planned to run from the hospital to the place where I teach ~ that would be about 8 miles. But as I always do, I changed my plan during the run. I see a road, and I think "I wonder what's down that road?" and I take it. With a Garmin Forerunner, you can be spontaneous, and divert from your planned route.

I have never run down this road before, because of narrow shoulders. But it was still light out, and not much traffic, so I took the road. I thought this scene was kind of pretty.

My father-in-law said that they were going to outlaw this kind of round hay bale soon, because it was bad for cows. "A cow can't get a square meal!" he said.

To get to the 8-mile turnaround point, I had to run into this neighborhood, which I don't normally see.

Hey! Someone tell McCain! I think I found one of his houses! It has his name on it! I wondered if he knows about this one?

But then I saw another, and I realized I was in the Republican Ghetto. I'm just not used to seeing this kind of sign, and it confused me.

The new-to-me road also took me 'round the other side of a cemetery that is a site on my regular runs. I just haven't seen it from this angle. It's kind of pretty from this perspective ~ I'm not in a hurry to see it from underneath, though. This is mile 7.5, and I saw it again at mile 8.5

And here, at mile 11, is the view I usually see of this cemetery.

At about mile 12, I took an extra walk break, about 6 minutes, and took some time to read my email, and appreciate this gorgeous sunset. I wish I had my better camera!

I was glad to get back to my car. It was not an easy run, but parts of it felt easy. It was only during the middle miles that it felt as difficult as I had been thinking about it in my head. And that was only a small portion of the total run.

Back to School

2008-09-11T21:17:00.005-05:00

I am in my eighth year of graduate school.

It's not quite as bad as it sounds. When I finally finish, I will have two masters degrees in music (musicology and music theory), instead of just one. I'm getting two degrees, because I couldn't decide. (Actually, I think the two disciplines are artificially divided ~ I don't think you can have one without the other ~ and since it had been about two decades since I got my bachelor's degree, I felt I needed to immerse myself in both, to make up for lost time).

And I have been doing other things, besides being in school. I have two part-time jobs in music (teaching piano at a community college and serving as a church musician), I've taught piano and music theory privately, I've achieved two levels of professional certification from the American Guild of Organists, I've worked as a TA, and I've run 24 marathons in three years.

I finished my coursework about a year ago, and now I "just" need to take my comprehensive exams for each degree, and write a thesis. It will be one big thesis for both degrees, rather than two theses. Not quite a dissertation, but a "super-thesis."

When you are taking courses, there is a structure already set up for you. A professor hands you a syllabus, you meet at specified times, you have certain assignments due at certain times, and you have a classroom of peers for a support group.

But when you are studying for comps and writing a thesis, you are kind of on your own.

Especially at my university. I am enrolled in a place that is so seriously understaffed that it took almost a full month to get them to enroll me this semester. It was a reality check. I am afraid that this is the way it's going to be from here on out. I will have to be creative and persistent in order to get people to respond. I have heard horror stories of people going through the process at this school, and having to enroll in extra semesters because it took so long to get their dissertations read.

And I know it is not the fault of these people I need responses from. They are nice people. They are not the type of people to blow someone off. They are just overburdened, because things at the university are not the way they ought to be.

It is like being one of 23 children in a family. Large families are great, but there is no way that one parent can give enough attention to one child, when there are 22 other children to take care of. Everyone ends up being neglected.

Not to mention the poor mother. I'm thinking of Dr. Seuss's poor old frazzled Mrs. McCave. There is a picture of her, sprawled in front of her house, completely overrun by a stampede of children named Dave. The story implies that a flawed naming policy is to blame, but I question the wisdom of having 23 children in the first place. At any rate, something went wrong there, and the poor woman had no chance. My university has a lot of people in Mrs. McCave's position, for whatever reason.

Did I ever tell you that Mrs. McCave
Had twenty-three sons and she named them all Dave?

Well, she did.  And that wasn't a smart thing to do.
You see, when she wants one and calls out, "Yoo-Hoo!
Come into the house, Dave!" she doesn't get ONE.
All twenty-three Daves of hers come on the run!

This makes things quite difficult at the McCaves'
As you can imagine, with so many Daves.
And often she wishes that, when they were born,
She had named one of them Bodkin Van Horn
And one of them Hoos-Foos.  And one of them Snimm.
And one of them Hot-Shot.  And one Sunny Jim.
And one of them Shadrack.  And one of them Blinkey.
And one of them Stuffy.  And one of them Stinkey.
Another one Putt-Putt.  Another one Moon Face.
Another one Marvin O'Gravel Balloon Face.
And one of them Ziggy.  And one Soggy Muff.
One Buffalo Bill.  And one Biffalo Buff.
And one of them Sneepy.  And one Weepy Weed.
And one Paris Garters.  And one Harris Tweed.
And one of them Sir Michael Carmichael Zutt
And one of them Oliver Boliver Butt
And one of them Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate...
But she didn't do it.  And now it's too late.

Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss), “Too Many Daves” from The Sneetches and Other Stories (New York: Random House, 1961).

I think this is partly why I found it so easy to neglect my academic life last year. No one handed my a syllabus, and said "Here ~ your first assignment is due in four weeks ~ here are the guidelines ~ now get to work!" It was a big, undefined blob of undoablity. So I enrolled in thesis hours, and let the professors attend to all the other Daves, while I got busy with other things that were already structured and defined and calling to me like a siren song. Amazing feats. Big accomplishments that changed the trajectory of my life. You see, I'm not discounting the importance of these things. But they did not move my Bodkin Van Horn any closer to graduation, and if I keep getting drawn into other projects, it will be my Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate never to graduate.

So this year, I set about the task of defining my academic work, as any good GTD practitioner would. I have spent a lot of time this week figuring out what my next actions are, and setting up my system. And I decided that I would graduate in December of 2009. That gives me three semesters and a summer. I think I can do it.

I'm actually not starting the thesis from scratch. I have a topic, and a piece I want to analyze, and a methodology. I have already presented two papers at conferences on this topic. My thesis has not yet been formulated into a well-articulated proposal ~ it's kind of a Soggy Muff ~ but I've done a great deal of work around the periphery of it.

One of the things I contemplated this week was what kind of tools I plan to use. Am I going to use index cards, or a 3-ring binder, or some kind of computer software? I found a website called PhinisheD, where people can go to discuss all manner of things regarding their thesis or dissertation. It's a support group. I think I will probably join up, so I won't feel like a Weepy Weed, so all alone in this. Browsing through the site, I got a lot of good information about how other people organize their research (and their time, and their energy...)

I have never written a paper longer than about 20 pages, so I think it is important to organize everything in a way that works with my brain. I like technology, but I have found that I need the immediacy of paper and pen. It is always available ~ I don't have to carry a laptop everywhere I go, or wait for it to boot up, ~ and I like being able to thumb through physical paper pages of notes, rather than searching for invisible, digital files. So I decided that I would keep all my research notes in a 3-ring binder, with graph paper pages. All my notes will go into the binder. I can use highlighters to color-code things, so I can find information when I need it. When it comes time to write, I will refer to my notes, and mindmap my ideas on a gigantic pad of paper, and then linearize it by writing at the computer. I plan to purchase a software called Endnote, and put all my bibliography information into that ~ it automatically puts it into the correct format to insert into your document. Technology does have its place.

So yesterday, having decided on the tools, I went to Office Max. Anyone who knows me knows that I have an unnatural lust for office supplies. It's called "productivity porn." So I really enjoyed my trip to Office Max. I chose a lavender heavy-duty binder, and pocket dividers and mechanical pencils in lovely pastel shades that coordinate with the color of the binder. Most importantly, I got several notebooks of graph paper. I like grids. They give me guidelines to keep my writing straight, but I can write either horizontally or vertically, or ignore the lines completely, and go crazy all over the page. And I got a ruler, because it was on sale, and I can never find my ruler. And just for fun, I bought a package of humorous sticky notes.

So that's it. I'm pulling myself up by my Paris Garters, and am going to be a Hot-Shot graduate by the end of next year. I just needed a kick in the Oliver Boliver Butt.

True Confessions of an Unwitting Internet Thief

2008-09-08T15:59:00.004-05:00

My internet is not working.

This is not a new situation ~ but I can usually get it to work by going in there and clicking randomly on things, and making semi-educated guesses about what will appease the Internet Gods.

This time, however, I think the gods are fed up with me, and I had to call the cable guy. He won't be able to come until Friday morning.

I think this is what's been happening: Every time I have gotten it to work, it is because I have been using my neighbor's internet. I'm not sure about this, but I think so.

I have a router that says "Netgear." When I click on "View Available Networks," I have always seen "Netgear" and "Linksys." I naturally assume that mine is "Netgear," because that is what it says on my router. So I select that one.

When I do this, it says that I am connected, and that the signal strength is as strong as can be.

But I can't get any webpages.

So I try the one that says "Linksys." The signal strength does not appear to be quite as strong, but it's good enough. And voila! I can get webpages. I don't know what I am doing ~ I only know when it is working and when it is not working. I never have trouble getting connected in other places, like hotels or internet cafes when I travel ~ the only place I've had trouble getting the internet is at home, where I am actually paying for it.

So Linksys is what I have been using at home. Who can blame me? Given the two choices, most people would choose the one that worked.

However, I've always had the nagging sense that I am using my neighbor's internet connection, while paying for one that does not work. I don't know this for a fact, but I am highly suspicious that I am a thief. It wasn't a sudden realization, but something that has been dawning on my gradually, in my random semi-educated clickiness.

Last night, linksys suddenly disappeared. I feel an internet-size void in my life, and I believe Linksys is gone for good. I don't know of any neighbors moving out, but it's the only explanation I can think of. So my free ride is over, and it's time to make use of the internet I've been paying for.

After spending the requisite two hours on the phone talking to a friendly computer who sounded remarkably like a real person, and then on hold, and then talking to a friendly real person who reminded me of a computer, I finally got an appointment for someone to come out and get my internet to work.

Meanwhile, I'm going to have to be very organized. I depend on the internet for a lot of things ~ to communicate with people, to pay bills, to purchase things I need, to do research, and most importantly, for entertainment. So I made a list of all the things I need to get done online today, and I packed up the laptop, and headed over to Panera for an early dinner. Panera is the most laptop-friendly place I know. I'm going to be eating most of my meals here until Friday, I am sure. I have a little mobile device that I can use for quick emails, and limited web browsing, but it can't do the heavy lifting.

It wasn't very long ago that I didn't even have internet. Now, take it away, and I can't function. Isn't progress wonderful?

Panera is nice. Try the soup.

I Went to Iowa to See my Mother

2008-09-06T21:28:00.002-05:00

I went to Iowa today to see my mother. I've been meaning to do that, because she has had health problems lately. I haven't been very good about going up there to visit, unless there is some sort of "event." I'm in contact with my mother every day (in fact, she reads this blog ~ Hi Mom!), but she will probably not tell me if there is anything I can do for her, and I will have a better chance at discerning if there is anything she needs if I go up and visit a little more often on the weekends.

It's about a 2 1/2-hour drive. I enjoy getting in the car and driving ~ it gives me a chance to listen to lectures from The Teaching Company, or just enjoy the silence. (I chose silence on the way up, and ancient literature on the way back. I now know more than I did about Gilgamesh and the Torah.)

Yesterday I found out that a fellow Where's George hobbyist works at a restaurant in a nearby town, so that gave me the idea to take my mom out to dinner at that restaurant.

It turned out to be a very lovely place. I was expecting more of a small-town diner atmosphere, but this was a bit fancier than that. It still has the small-town feel, but it's the kind of place people go for special occasions.

In fact, the moment we walked in the door, my mother was greeted by someone she knew. She recently served as interim pastor for one of the Presbyterian churches in this town, and one of her former parishioners was there to celebrate a family birthday.

The lady asked how Mom was. Mom said, "Oh, I've been better ~ I'm going to have brain surgery!" --and the lady responded, "Well it's ABOUT TIME!" I love that kind of sense of humor!

One of the things my mother has to do, to prepare for the surgery, is get her blood pressure down. The first thing she ordered when we sat down at the table was a big plate of onion rings! I should not have let her get away with this, but evidently, it is a specialty of this restaurant.

We didn't eat all of them ~ and the rest of the meal was fairly healthy ~ we both had salmon, a salad, bread, and green beans.

How I'm Using PocketMod with my Amish PDA

2008-09-06T12:43:00.004-05:00

I've always thought the PocketMod was the coolest thing. It's a little 8-page pocket booklet that you make with a single sheet of paper. You can even use paper that's already been used on one side! This is how I recycle the old papers that have gone through the printer ~ the misprints, the papers I don't need anymore, and the flyers that end up in my mailbox at work ~ ~ any old sheet of paper that is still blank on one side.

I have the folding and cutting instructions down pat, so it is really easy to do.

I started by using the templates that are already available on a couple of different websites, here and here. You can create calendar pages, various lined pages, graph paper, music staves, guitar tab, even games like Sudoku. You configure your PocketMod with whatever you want on each page, print it out with your printer, and fold & snip, and you're good to go.

But you don't have to print any pre-designed forms. You can just use blank paper, if you know how to fold it. (When I do this, I first make an extra fold in the paper, lengthwise, and then unfold it ~ then I know where to make the cut.) I recently had a bunch of stuff printed on one side of some 11x17 paper that I didn't need anymore, and rather than throw the paper away, I made up a bunch of "Super PocketMods" ~ little folded booklets of blank pages, but twice as large as the regular PocketMod. These will be handy to use taking notes while reading, and I can use the Super PocketMod as a bookmark.

Recently I read this webpage, which listed the top 10 cool (and hopefully, productive) things you can do with paper. That led me to read about how one clever person made her own custom-designed pages into a PocketMod, for logging her travel information and workout routine while on the road. That inspired me to figure out how to make my own calendar pages, with my appointments already printed, so I don't have to write them out by hand each week. I never like the one-kind-fits-all kind of planner page. I want mine to say "Dance Card."

So I finally figured out how to do it.

Now I am no longer limited to the pre-designed templates I've found on the web! I have mastered the ability to print up whatever I want, and make it into a PocketMod.

If I could shrink my entire life into eight pages, I could use this as my planner, and not have to use an Amish PDA. This would be great! Life would be so simple. I'd just have to be careful not to lose it! Unfortunately, I can't shrink my world that much, but I thought maybe I could still use a PocketMod in conjunction with my PDA.

So I made up a PocketMod with a week of daily planner pages ( my "Dance Cards"). I did it as an 8-page Word Document. I discovered that you have to use a pretty large font (over 20-pt), or it will shrink so small you can't read it.

On the "cover" of the PocketMod, I printed up a chart of my "SuperFoods" covering the entire week. I am not sure how well this will work, because there isn't room to keep a food log, as I've been doing, but maybe all I need is a checklist. We'll see how it goes.

The rest of the pages are "dance cards" ~ one for each day of the week. Since many of my appointments remain invariant each week, I do not have to keep editing this document a whole lot. Each weekend, when I do what passes for a "Weekly Review," I can open up the last week's Word Document, change the dates, and make any necessary adjustments in the schedule.

My work has me in two different locations, mostly, so I color-coded my appointments. The things I do at the college are in blue, the ones at the church are in lime green, and everything else is in pink.

I also printed some times in pale pink, to indicate that there is a window of time available during which I might get something else done.

At the bottom of the Dance Card pages, I have printed my "runs this week." In the one shown above, I am planning to do four runs ~ 5, 8, 5, and 16 miles. When I have done one of those runs, I cross it off, on all the remaining pages for that week. ( Probably on Monday, I will run five miles, so I will cross one of the fives off on each page, leaving me with 8, 5, and 16.)

Converting the 8-page Word document into a PocketMod is an easy procedure. First, it has to be converted into a .pdf document. (I use "ClickToConvert.") I guess if I were really advanced, I would compose the document as a .pdf to begin with, and I think there is some free software for that, but I haven't explored it yet.)

Once it is in a .pdf format, you can run it through the "PDF to Pocketmod" program, available here. This automatically shrinks it down to one page and puts it in the right configuration to print for your booklet.

Once it is printed, you do the folding, make one little cut, and you're done!

Any appointments you make after you have printed it can be added using a pen or pencil. And I figure that if I have too many things to fit on a schedule this size, I am just too busy. It keeps me realistic.

To use the PocketMod with my PDA, I get the hole-puncher out, and punch a hole in the lower left corner. Then I apply a durable tab labeled "Next Week" so I don't get confused. The PocketMod for this week has a yellow durable tab labeled "TODAY," which I stick on today's dance card page. I keep two PocketMods in the planner at one time ~ this week's, and next week's.

As I go through the day, I usually make little journal notations of what I did that day. Then I can archive my old calendar pages in a 3x5 box ~ having a journal like this can come in handy sometimes.

I have also made two PocketMods for the "monthly calendar" section of my PDA. For that, the pre-designed templates were good enough, although someday I might find a reason to go to the trouble of making my own.

I am sure I will continue tweaking this ~ I am a tweakaholic, and the danger is that I spend too much time tweaking, and not enough time doing ~ which defeats the purpose of having a system in the first place. I am aware of that, but I allow myself to have fun with the tools on the weekends, and the tools help me get stuff done the rest of the week.

Yeah. I'm a Maniac.

2008-09-04T19:00:00.003-05:00

Today I got this shirt in the mail. It is a singlet, for running.

It arrived in the middle of the day ~ I was about to drive my daughter to the airport, and I checked the mail on the way to the car. I was not expecting the shirt to arrive so soon. I had her open the package while I was driving. It's my Marathon Maniac shirt. Cool.

Not everyone can have one of these shirts. You have to be a Maniac. And for that, you have to qualify.

As I mentioned in the post about the Wyoming "Run With(out) the Horses" marathon, I had been meaning to join Marathon Maniacs for some time. I've seen these shirts at marathons, and I have met some of the maniacs. I was told by two of them that I should join, because I certainly qualified for it.

To be certified "insane," you have to do more than just run a marathon. There are different levels of craziness, with different criteria. When I first looked into this, last year, I was shocked to see that I qualified, not just on the basic level (which they call "bronze"), but on the silver level.

So this month, when I finally got around to having myself committed, I was horrified to learn that it was even worse than that. I had leaped right over the "gold" level, and was now insane at the iridium level. I didn't even know what iridium was! I had to look it up. It was running 10 marathons in 2007, that did it. I only needed nine, to reach the fourth level of the craziness hierarchy.

I will never be as far gone as some of these guys. The really crazy ones are certified at the tenth level ~ the "titanium" level, by running 52 marathons in one year, or some such stunt. So I remain humble, as well as keeping somewhat connected to the world of common sense. (In comparison, that is).

(Don't tell the Maniacs, but I think there should be one more criterion for insanity ~ if you run a marathon, immediately hop in the car and drive for 13 hours straight, arrive home after midnight, and go to work in the morning ~ that should figure into the diagnosis in some way!)

It's good that I joined now, before it gets even worse. I was happy to see the email from the nice young men in the white coats, telling me that I was in.

I got my daughter to the airport, and dropped her off, and proceeded hastily to the college, to teach for the rest of the day. A pretty easy day, but I was tired, and frustrated because I have been knocking my head against various academic brick walls, without any of the walls budging one bit.

I got home, and took some aspirin for the headache caused by the brick wall impact, and ate a very unhealthy "meal" of two pieces of fried BBQ chicken. I was really tired and defeated, and I didn't feel like doing anything. I turned on the TV, but it was just a bunch of Republican speeches. I tried NPR ~ same thing. I don't want to hear that tonight, so I turned it off. I opened my Sciral Consistency, and it said I have to do one load of laundry, or I will get a red square tomorrow. Just one load. I can do that, if it's just one. I'm tired, but I can do one load.

And then, my email buzzed. It was a brick wall. It budged. It's not knocked down yet, mind you ~ I still have some more head-banging to do ~ but it budged.

I looked up, and saw my Maniac shirt hanging up on the other side of the room. I decided to blog about it, because I needed to turn my thoughts to some kind of accomplishment. Writing a blog post forces my brain to stop and ponder the meaning of the yellow shirt. I got it because I ran 24 marathons. Every one of them made some part of my body feel a little like my head feels now (on account of the brick wall).

The news about the brick wall moving a tiny bit made me hungry for more, so that is why I am writing about the shirt. The good thing is that the human brain is very stupid in some places ~ it doesn't know the difference between running 24 marathons and making a brick wall move a tiny bit and crossing "do one load of laundry" off a to-do list. They are all wins, and they all need to be celebrated. The brain will celebrate it, if you tell your brain "It's done! Party time!"

Now I feel like I can do a few more things on my to-do list, and I think it's because I took some time to appreciate the wins. There are always wins ~ you just have to focus on them. It doesn't matter, to your brain, how big it is ~ it's still a win.

(Disclaimer ~ I also had some coffee. That probably helped some too.)

Using Flat Tires to Help Me With My Running

2008-09-03T08:57:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I was at work, and the priest came in and told me I had a flat tire. I denied, at first, that it was my car. Sometimes if you deny things, they go away. But not this time.

Fortunately, I was about a block from a service station that fixes tires. So I drove it very carefully to the garage. The mechanic had already gone home for the day. I said that's okay ~ I didn't have to drive anywhere the rest of the day, and as I remembered, I didn't have to be at work the next day until 11am. So I left my key there, and as I signed the paper, she said "you are promising your first-born child." I said, "Great! I'll send her right over! Will you take the second-born, as well?"

(My daughter protests this bit of humor. They are both past the difficult teenage years by now, but the lady at the service station didn't know that, so it was still funny.)

When I got home, I looked at my calendar and realized I had a 7am dental appointment, and a 9am appointment at UMKC. Darn! I hated to cancel either one of these!

I called the dentist's office, and got their answering machine. I tried to leave a message to cancel my appointment, but there was a glitch with their answering machine, and it wouldn't record my message! I had just confirmed, that afternoon, that I would be there for my appointment. I hate when my students stand me up ~ I can just imagine getting stood up at 7 in the morning! So I started thinking about how I could get there.

As I said in another post, the bus system is lousy. I could have my kids give me a ride, but I had just signed them over to the lady at the service station, so that wasn't an option.

I wonder if I could run to the dentist? I had just been complaining to myself about my schedule ~ I get really busy Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and so I tend to put off my running and bunch it all up on the weekends. It doesn't always work well, to do it that way. Not all running routes are safe, but if it's runnable, it might be a good way to get a run in.

A quick check on Mapquest/Google showed me that it was indeed runnable. It would be a little over six miles, round-trip. A six-mile run was on my training schedule for this week. Perfect! I would get up at 4am (for reasons mentioned in previous posts, I need at least two hours to prepare to run in the mornings. It sucks.), and take advantage of the cool weather, get my run done, and not miss my dental appointment.

It was raining lightly when I set out, and completely dark out, and about 62 degrees. When I run in the dark, I wear reflective arm bands and red lights on my shoulders. I had determined that the course was fairly safe ~ mostly two-lane roads ~ no sidewalks, but adequate gravel shoulders, for the most part. I actually think it is safer to run at night than during the daylight hours, because with the safety gear, I am more noticeable to drivers. I run on the left, facing traffic. And I am certainly hyper-aware when it is dark out, and can jump out of the way if a car doesn't see me.

These pictures were actually taken on the way back, because it was light then! Kansas City is a sprawling metropolitan area, and during its growth, it swallowed up a number of small towns and rural communities. I ran through one of these towns. There were several kids and teenagers waiting in the rain for their bus. Some of the roads were a bit narrow, but nothing terribly unsafe. Sometimes there was an accommodation for pedestrians, like this footbridge, above.

When I walked in the dentist's office, all sweaty, dirty, and wet, I said "My car had a flat, so I ran!" They were completely impressed. That was my plan. As we know, winning the approval of dental health care professionals is what I live for. To top it off, I bragged that I have worn my retainer and flossed daily since my last visit, last month!

They were very glad to see me, because the other people who had 7am appointments failed to show up (and didn't even call!) They wondered where I found the "motivation." When you think about it, the flat tire was actually an opportunity in disguise. I got to improve my cardiovascular and dental health all in one shot. (Not to mention the all-important approval). They seemed to think I should get some further reward on top of that, but I didn't correct them. I suggested a discount, but they didn't bite. They countered with an offer to let me play with the kiddie toys. (I should have asked for free floss. I might have gotten somewhere with that!)

I got the tooth fixed, and set off for home. It was raining a bit harder, but not too bad. I got confused and took a wrong turn, so I got even more opportunity for cardiovascular health.

If I hadn't taken the wrong turn, though, I would've missed these lovely views from the bridges.

I cut a couple of tenths of a mile off the return trip, by cutting through the parking lot of the Democratic headquarters. They were closed, or I would've stopped in and bought a bumper sticker.

I got home in time to call UMKC about my 9am appointment. Running to that would have meant an ultra-marathon, and that was not on my schedule this week. I suggested that we try to do the meeting over the phone. (It occurred to me that I could have done that with the dentist, too. He could've said "Okay, now take the drill, and ... " Never mind.)

So I called back at the appointed time, and guess what? No answer! I even called two different numbers. I have been trying for three weeks to get UMKC to take my money, and I've had absolutely no luck! Fine. They don't want my money today. I'll keep studying, and get ready to write my thesis, and maybe they will take my money tomorrow.

Using Public Transporation to Help My Running

2008-08-30T23:09:00.005-05:00

While I was fiddling with gadgets to add to my blog today, I played with the Kansas City links thingy, and started looking at bus schedules. I've never gotten very far in thinking about riding the bus, because the public transit system in Kansas City is pretty sucky. (For example, I would like to take public transit to the Country Club Plaza or UMKC. It would mean a couple of transfers, taking about an hour longer than it would if I drove, and the buses leave no more than once an hour, and not at all in the evening. So it really isn't practical.)

But I noticed that there is a direct line that goes from where I live to one of the places I work five miles away. Again, it's only one bus per hour, but if I don't miss that one bus, it would work with my schedule most days.

On Mondays I was not able to schedule any piano students, so I only need to be there during the noon hour to accompany the choir. I had been pondering running the five miles, accompanying the choir, and running back home. I think splitting the run would be kind of hard, and I would be all sweaty at the piano, but it would be a way to get my running in. When I told my colleague the idea, she looked at me funny.

So tonight, I was running, and I had a brilliant idea! I could take the bus to work (wearing my running clothes), and run home after work! Yeah, I'd still be at work in my running clothes, but I think people would understand. I'd be setting a good example for health and fitness. As the weather gets cooler, it wouldn't be such a bad thing, because I'd be wearing long pants instead of shorts.

And, expanding on the brilliant idea, what about taking the bus just to help me with some of the longer runs? I could get on the bus, and get off at some point, a certain number of miles away, and run home! I think it would be a nice change of scenery, and a way to support public transportation. (If lots of people would use it, maybe it would get less sucky.)

So I think I'll be taking a closer look at bus schedules.

Getting Back to Good Running

2008-08-25T23:59:00.004-05:00

It was good to have a quiet day. Saturday was a 25-1/2 hour day of being awake, including the marathon and the drive! Followed by two hours of sleep, and then going to work on Sunday. I didn't even take a nap Sunday. Needless to say, I slept well last night!

I was resigned to struggle through the 3 difficult marathons in the last 5 weeks, and I did. Now it's time to plan for Chicago. It's a flat course, and unless it is very hot, there is no reason I can't get one of my better times. I would like to get back to the level of fitness I had for the Kentucky Derby Marathon last April. Of all the marathons I've done this year, that is the one that felt the best ~ in fact, it was the only one that felt really good. I was running strong throughout, got a good time (for me), and was not very sore afterward.

In order to recover that ability, I need to stick to a good training schedule. The long runs, as always, will be sacred. But I have to devote at least one run per week to speedwork. I don't do that enough ~ I think that will be the first key to feeling the way I did in Kentucky.

My usual practice is to schedule four runs per week: two short, one medium, and one long. If I allow myself to skip a run, it has to be one of the short ones. I'm going to try not to skip them very often in the next few weeks, though. That's easy to say ~ we'll see if real life cooperates.

I'm going to devote one short run to speed bursts (fartleks ~ I feel funny saying that word!), and another to a steady fast pace. The medium run will be a hill workout, and the long run does not have a special purpose other than just being long.

Here is the plan:
Aug 25-31 ~ Recovery week ~ 3, 5, & 3 ~ easy runs, no speed or hill work required
Sept 1-7 ~ 4, 6, 4, & 12
Sept 8-14 ~ 5, 8, 5, 16
Sept 15-21 ~ 5, 8, 5, 18
Sept 22-28 ~ 5, 8, 5, 9
Sept 29-Oct 5 ~ 3, 5, 3, 8
Oct 6-12 ~ 3, 3, W3, 26.2

Run With(out) the Horses Marathon ~ Green River, Wyoming

2008-08-24T14:26:00.019-05:00

I am happy to say that I have now finished marathon #24 in state #24 ~ the "Run With the Horses" marathon in Green River, Wyoming. It is called "Run With the Horses" because there are a lot of wild horses in this area, and marathoners sometimes see these horses during the marathon. For me, it should be called "Run Without the Horses," because I was not lucky enough to see any of these critters. Actually, I didn't run the whole time ~ I walked quite a bit of it ~ so maybe it should be called "Not-Run, Without Horses."

Whatever it's called, this was not the usual urban marathon or small-town event. It's out in the middle of the high desert, and not an easy course! Since I am not in the best condition after having run two other challenging marathons in the last five weeks, I even considered not going. Fortunately, I am very stubborn and not very smart ~ I had paid the entry fee, and dagnabbit, I was going to do this marathon!

The difficult thing about this course is the elevation. It is basically plateau-shaped, with the first five or six miles mostly uphill, the majority of the course on "rolling hills" at around 7,000 feet altitude, and the last six or eight miles mostly downhill. I have never run a course quite like this before ~ I did not know whether the downhill part would be as tough as the all-downhill marathons I have done, or if 7,000 feet would be any comparison to the Estes Park Marathon, which was even higher.
The downhill turned out to be not much of a problem. Of course, that late in the marathon, you are pretty tired, so I really felt the pounding of it, but I appreciated the downhill slope, and my quads still had a lot of strength left by then.

In fact, I am not very sore at all, the day after the event. The difficult thing about this course was definitely the elevation! I just read that at 7,000 feet, you get 25% less oxygen, and with this kind of aerobic activity, you really notice it! Under normal conditions, I have no problem running for long stretches ~ I usually run through three songs on my Ipod between walk breaks. By the time I got to mile 6, the top of the plateau, I could rarely run through an entire song.

I woke up at 3 am, did my morning rituals, and we drove to Green River. The marathoners got on the buses at 5:15, and they dropped us of at the start of the course. This was a very small event, so there were no frills ~ no chip timing, no big fancy start line ~ not even a big fancy finish line! ~ just two people waving you in, one to give you a medal, and the other to write down your time. There were two porta-pots at the start area, but as usual, I did not use them. I did not want to wait in line in the cold ~I stayed inside the bus! (I usually go potty at about mile 6, because the portapots along the course are not as stinky as the ones at the start!)

It seemed to me that all of the runners on my bus were 50-State people. I did not meet a single local runner, or any first-timers. These small marathons often attract the 50-Staters. The bus driver was very friendly, and couldn't believe that we came from all over the country "just for this!"

It was sunrise when we started. I always start (and finish!) at or near the back of the pack. For the runner on the right in the above photo, this was his 50th state! He will be receiving a special trophy from the club.

These two guys (above) are my heroes. Burt (on the left) is 82, and this was his 298th marathon. Charlie (on the right) is 71, and has run about half that many. He is now working on his second round of the 50 states, and running all of them while in his 70s. Both of these runners were at my last marathon two weeks ago, and they each have run at least one marathon in between. We have about the same pace, so I have been lucky enough to meet both of them and run with them a little bit. Burt was the one who finished right after me at the Paavo Nurmi in Wisconsin.

The marathon course was on a scenic road, and there were several markers explaining the geographic features and some historical facts. How often have I traveled to places, and not stopped to read the markers? I photographed each one during the marathon, and while I did not always take the time to read it at the moment, I've enjoyed reading it from my photographs. Digital cameras are so cool!

We were very lucky with the weather, I think. For the first half of the marathon, it was in the 40s and maybe low 50s ~ perfect running weather ~ and nice cloud cover. I even felt a few light sprinkles. Then I felt more sprinkles, and realized the cap to my bottle of Pedialyte was not completely screwed on.

One of the dangers of high altitude running is dehydration. I really felt this last year at the Estes Park Marathon, and despite my best efforts to stay hydrated, I had to walk most of the second half, just to make sure I could finish. So for this one, I decided to bring a bottle of Pedialyte, which my dear daughter bought for me. I used to give it to her, when she was a baby and got sick. This is the best thing you can drink, when it comes to running in extreme conditions ~ forget Gatorade, and go for the best. It is sickly sweet, so I wouldn't use it for normal conditions, but I think it really did keep me going during this run.

I'm not sure the pictures really do it justice. The beauty of the scenery was in the broad vistas, so it was difficult to photograph. There was rarely a "focal point," and I couldn't get everything I wanted in one shot!

There were several places along the course where we could see the towns. Rock Springs was where our hotel was, twelve miles from Green River.

An interesting thing about this marathon ~ It was one of my slowest (maybe even THE slowest ~ I haven't checked the results yet! ~ If you haven't guessed, I am not overly concerned with my finishing time!) ~ but despite the fact that I was out there for so many hours, the time between miles seemed to fly. The scenery for most of the course was pretty much the same. There were very few notable surprises as I went along. I would expect that this would make it seem to take forever! But the opposite was true. For most of the marathon, almost every time I came upon a mile marker, I thought, "already??!"

Maybe that is because when the scenery is "busy," there are more objects, causing more visual "friction," like speed bumps, slowing down the perceived duration of the run. In this landscape, there was nothing to slow down my perception of the passage of time.

Pilot Butte was a major landmark, visible for almost the entire run!

There was even a marker telling me about the wild horses I didn't see. A runner had put some items on the marker, because he needed to readjust his cargo. When he saw that I was taking a picture of the marker, he started to pick his things up, but I said "No, leave them there ~ it's part of the story!"

At the halfway point, the weather changed. The sun came out, and while it was not hot, the sun can have a major effect when you are at that altitude. I used a lot of sunscreen in the second half. At this point, too, the running became much harder. I would say it is about four times harder to run at 7,000 feet than it is at sea level. You feel very out of shape, and running for just a short distance makes you breathe very heavily!

We need a little Christmas. Right this very minute. This is just one of the many mirages I saw out there in the high desert.

By mile 17, I often start feeling weary during any marathon, but especially this one! I started taking pictures of mile markers, just for something different! (It also helps me remember approximately what point in the course each photo is from).

Green River, Wyoming was established when the Union Pacific Railroad was built, I believe. The railroad is still there, a major presence in the town.

There were water stops every two miles, and this was my salvation! I drank at least one cup of water at every station. I didn't drink the Gatorade, because I had the Pedialyte, Skittles, and Sports Beans. I have to be careful what I put in my stomach before and during a marathon. It doesn't take much to make me sick, so it is difficult for me to get enough fuel for 26.2 miles. My guts were relatively kind to me for this one!

The volunteers were kind to me, as well. Most of them were not runners themselves, and some of them were very curious about this whole running thing. I really appreciate that people are willing to sit out here for hours to give us water! There is no cell phone signal out there ~ at least my phone didn't work. One lady said "Oh, I like the solitude ~ they can't find me out here!" I said "You must be a mother!" (She was). All of the volunteers were wonderful. Some of them were getting caught up on their reading.

As this man passed me, he told me this is his 97th marathon. He said "the heat is really making it difficult." I agreed.

Mile 20 is always a welcome landmark. When you make it to mile 20, you usually feel like you can make it the rest of the way.

They produce a lot of "trona" in this area. I had never heard of it, but it is a mineral that is used in many everyday products.

The last six miles were very much downhill. I had been worried about this, but now I know that downhill is not so bad at the end of a marathon ~ it is only brutal if it is downhill for most of the course. Don't get me wrong ~ the last six miles were still ~ you know ~ the last six miles! They are never easy. But I was glad to let gravity help a bit. It also helped tremendously that we were getting into lower altitude. By mile 18, the end of the high portion of the plateau, I actually had a little pain in my lung when I was running. Just kind of a little kink in my chest. (Therefore, I walked!) It wasn't anything to worry about ~ I knew it was just the altitude, and it went away as we started the descent.

These last few miles were some of the prettiest part of the course. You could see the rock formations close up ~ it was like running through a canyon.

Mile 24 was right before we ran (or walked) into town. There, I finally saw some horses! They were not wild horses (but maybe they used to be? People sometimes adopt the wild horses.) That morning, there was a horse race event going on during the marathon, using part of the same course. So I had seen plenty of evidence of horses, but no actual horses until now.

During the last mile, my support crew (Audrey) was there to run (or walk) with me to the finish line. Our cell phone/email connection had failed, and she had no idea when to expect me. At one point, she saw two runners running together, and recognized the woman as Paula, whom I had run/walked the Estes Park Marathon with last year. So she asked Paula if she knew approximately where I might be. Paula said "I didn't know she was going to be here!" And as it turns out, the man she was running with was Ray ("MacGyver"), whom I had run the Arizona marathon with last January! It really is a small world on the marathon circuit!

When I finally got to Audrey, she said she could run with me, even though she was not wearing running shoes. I said, "No, I want to walk. I could run a little ~ but I'm just being lazy!" Actually, I was slowing down on purpose, because I really wanted a chance to chat with Charlie and Burt before we left. I didn't know how far back they were, because I hadn't seen them in a few miles, but I didn't think they were too far behind me. I'm starting to see how these marathons are kind of like reunions of old friends, and I'm always amazed and surprised to see people I've met at other marathons!

The last mile was through town. We thought this house was cute.

And some of the old buildings were really interesting, too.

Finally, the last "hill" ~ a pedestrian overpass. At this point, we saw Burt coming up behind us, running strong.

Here is Burt, coming down the overpass. When he passed me, he said, "You're not going to let an old geezer pass you, are you?!" I said "I would be honored to get beat by you! It would be my privilege!" After all, I am a "geezer in training."

At the finish line, it was great to see Ray again. (See my account of the January marathon in my blog). He is a member of "Marathon Maniacs," and I had promised him that I would join that club too ~ I am proud to be eligible, so I'm not sure why I have not gotten around to joining yet. (I think it has to do with the "I am not worthy" syndrome. I will never be able to live up to the craziness of some of these guys!) I am sorry that I did not get to talk with Paula ~ I don't know what was wrong with me, but I think I left a few brain cells out on the course, as usual, and I was in such a hurry to get on the road. A 13 hour drive is pretty serious business, even with help, so I really did have to leave quickly.

Before I left, I did make sure to chat with Burt. He won his age group award, and also a special trophy for being the oldest runner. It is a placque mounted on trona! I didn't get to see Charlie, but I know I will see him again at future marathons. I will see all of these people again, if I'm lucky!

The drive home was a marathon in itself. Audrey drove the Wyoming part, hoping I would take a nap, but I wasn't a bit sleepy!

We noticed these funny fences ~ they are all over Wyoming, it seems. I wondered what they were for, because they didn't enclose anything, so they couldn't be useful for keeping cattle confined, and they were a strange "leaning" design. After doing a little Googling, we concluded that they are "snow fences." They must keep the snow from drifting onto the highway. The only way to be sure is to come back in the winter, I guess. Or maybe somebody can tell us if we guessed right?

I drove the Nebraska stretch, because I wanted another chance at not taking a wrong turn on Highway 2 south of Lincoln, like I did last time. Don't need to see that cornfield again! By the time we got to Nebraska City, it was way past midnight, and I was starting to get dangerously sleepy. At that point, Audrey took over, and drove the Iowa/Missouri part. We got home at about 4am. What a day!

Now I have one more medal to put up on the board. This one is very shiny, and it has three horses ~ one brown, one tan, and one black ~ and two runners, male and female. (Using the "female as auxiliary" model of representation.) If I ever see a medal depicting just a female runner (and it is not for an all-woman race), I will know that we have finally made it.

Nothing says "Wyoming" Like a Cajun Shrimp Boil

2008-08-23T04:31:00.004-05:00

I knew I forgot something. I forgot the little thingy that connects my camera to the computer, so I can't post any pictures until I get home. I might not get a chance to blog again until late Sunday or even Monday, so I will add the pictures then, and give you a full marathon report. (UPDATE: I have now added some pictures!)

It is 3:30 am, and I have to be at the bus in Green River at 5:15, to ride to the start line. I called a week in advance, but still could not get a hotel room in Green River, so we are staying 12 miles away in Rock Springs. That is a bummer, because my daughter will have to get up early, too. If I had gotten a room in town, I could walk to the bus!

We arrived in Green River last night in time to pick up my packet and get in line for the Cajun Shrimp Boil. Yup, that was the strangest pre-race pasta meal I've ever had ~ there was no pasta. Just a lot of shrimp, potatoes, and corn on the cob. And some really good beers on tap to choose from! They are having a festival all weekend in Green River, and the marathon is only a small part of it.

There was an art contest.

In this area of Wyoming, there are a lot of wild horses roaming around. Two of these horses were up for adoption at the festival.

We sat on the grass and ate our shrimp. It was on "Expedition Island," so named because this is where John Wesley Powell and his men set off in 1869 to explore the Green and Colorado Rivers (including the Grand Canyon) for the first time. They went through many hardships and dangers during the three-month venture. Powell had lost one of his arms during the Civil War, and was a geology professor in Illinois before this important expedition.

There was a band ~ they played a wide variety of music, and they were pretty good. The woman on the left has a washboard strapped to her.

[I have heard from my mom, and they didn't do the lumbar procedure yet ~ they attempted to, but it didn't work, so they are going to wait until the specialist can be there. My mother has normal pressure hydrocephalus, and we expect she will have a "spinal tap" today, and later on, probably surgical implantation of a shunt. (That will be the more involved procedure). We just found out this diagnosis, and are relieved, because it explains the difficulties she's been having in recent years, and now those difficulties can be addressed. Until yesterday, she had told me the diagnosis was "encephalitis," and I was confused, because when I read about that ailment, it didn't quite match her situation. I'm glad it's this instead! This sounds more treatable!]

The marathon is going to be unlike any I have ever done ~ it is out in the middle of nowhere, at high altitude, and I might see wild horses. The course is a big plateau ~ the first 5 miles go steeply uphill, and then it's rolling hills. Starting at mile 18 or so, it goes downhill, and the elevation chart makes it look like a sharp drop. Maybe I'll just jump the last part! I don't know what to expect, but I don't think it's going to be easy. I'm sure to have a 6-hour or even close to 7-hour finishing time for this one, because it is on the heels of those other two marathons. I will walk as much as I need to!

Then, the drive. 13 hours home ~ my daughter can do some of the driving, and that's a big help! There is a time zone change not in our favor, so I think the driving part will be harder than the marathon.

Hotel Sweet Hotel

2008-08-22T02:17:00.002-05:00

This will just be a quickie post, because it is after 2 am, and we have just arrived at our first hotel (of 2) for the trip ~ in Grand Island, Nebraska. We still have another 8 hours to drive to the marathon. I wanted to check in briefly, for those of you who are following along on your road atlases at home...

We took a bit of a detour, because my mother is in the hospital in Omaha. She is having surgery tomorrow, so it was a little hard to figure out whether I should go on to Wyoming, or cancel the trip. I hope I made the right judgment call (or the right guess, you could say) ~ I am being optimistic, and assuming everything will go as planned, and maybe she will be able to go home on Monday? We had a nice visit with lots of joking and laughing, so she is feeling good and is in good spirits, even though she had not planned this turn of events.

After the marathon, we will drive the 13 hours back to KC, arriving well after midnight. I will get up and go to work until noon, and then I'm planning to drive back to Omaha. Send good vibes full of energy ~ I will need that, in addition to the caffeine...

Vitamin Supplements

2008-08-20T21:19:00.005-05:00

It's always better to get your vitamins from food, but who eats a perfect diet every day? I eat pretty well, but I know I miss some things on a regular basis. So it doesn't hurt to take supplements.

When I had my stress fracture, I got a bone density screening. (Thank you, Blue Cross!) It was a reality check for me, when I discussed the results with the doctor. He said I was on the verge of bone loss.

I am not ready to be old and brittle, so I asked a lot of questions about bone loss. He said it can be slowed down, and even reversed somewhat. I would have to eat right, exercise, and take calcium supplements.

My ob/gyn asks me every year if I am taking a multivitamin and calcium. My answer has always been "sometimes, but I'm not very consistent." Ever since the bone density screening (and the whole stress fracture episode), I have been very consistent about vitamins.

My vitamin regimen sometimes changes, but here is what I am doing now.

First thing in the morning, I drink an Emergen-C or a Wal-borne. These are products that you mix with water to make a fizzy drink. They contain a lot of Vitamin-C, and other vitamins. Emergen-C is mostly water-soluble vitamins, and it tastes better, although it doesn't stay mixed very well. Wal-borne is the Walgreen's version of Airborne, and it is very similar to Emergen-C, but it has more fat-soluble vitamins. It tastes like crap. When I take it, I try to take it with a bit of food.

Later in the day, with meals or snacks, I take a multivitamin, Glucosamine & Chondroitin, three calciums (with Vit. D), and some over-the-counter remedy for my G.I. problem.

I asked the orthopedic surgeon about Glucosamine & Chondroitin, and he said "I think it is a good thing to take." So, even though it is not proven, I'm taking it. Just in case.

The multivitamin is One-a-Day for women, although sometimes I purchase a package of more expensive, fancy supplements that includes fish oil capsules. For now, though, One-a-Day is okay. My stomach is a little sensitive, so I always take it with my biggest meal of the day.

I am taking 3 per day of the calcium. That is 1800 mg, spread throughout the day. One of the things I learned is that calcium is very difficult for the body to absorb. You can't metabolize more than 600 mg at a time. Also, caffeine makes it even harder to absorb the calcium. If I were really good, I would stop drinking caffeine. But I figure it's okay to have one bad habit, so caffeine is my chosen vice. I could do a lot worse than that.

It would be impossible for me to remember to take all these pills if I had to keep getting out all those bottles several times a day. And I would forget whether I had taken it that day or not.

So every week or two, I put the vitamins in these little zippy plastic baggies. They are re-usable, and you can write on them with a permanent marker. I found them in the pharmacy, but I've seen similar things at craft stores. They fit nicely in my purse. Every morning, I put that day's baggy in my purse before I leave for work. They are hanging on the front of a kitchen shelf, secured by binder clips.

On the rare occasion when I do forget to take the supplements, I put the forgotten pills into a little baggy labeled "emergency vitamins," and I keep that baggy in my purse all the time. That way, if I forget to bring the day's supply, I have a backup.

Even on the days that I don't run, by taking the calcium & other vitamins, I figure I am doing something to prepare for my Big 5K in 2062.

90% of it is Mental ~ the Other Half is Physical

2008-08-18T18:42:00.009-05:00

I have been trying to adjust my attitude a little bit, for this upcoming marathon on Saturday.

This is the third marathon in 5 weeks, and the first two just about killed me. I'm a back-of-the-pack runner anyway, and there were several factors which added to the difficulty, so those two runs kicked some of the stuffing out of me. I thought about giving up on the idea, and not going to Wyoming this year, but I can't do that, because I've paid my registration fee, and I'm a cheapskate. So I've been looking toward this third piece of the summer triumvirate with the modest goal of survival. Just finish it. Punt. Get the medal and the T-shirt, and try to recover in time for Chicago.

But as Yogi Berra said, 90% of it is mental, and the other half is physical. (Did he really say that? He also said "I never said half of the things I said.")

So I'm trying to focus on things that will give me a boost in the mental department. My brain needs a kick in the pants.

It gave me a boost that I'm running a 5K with Mystery Runner (who is buying running shoes today!) ~ I registered for that today. I'm excited.

The renewal form for the 50-states marathon club has been sitting on my coffee table for months. Seeing Charlie and others at the last couple of marathons has reminded me that I need to send that in. (In fact, Charlie asked me to write up an article about my Big 5K in 2062, and that is why I blogged about it recently.) Why am I procrastinating?

Today, I thought it would give me a boost if I stopped procrastinating, and filled out the form.

So as I started filling out the form, I realized why I had been procrastinating. I don't feel worthy to be a member of this club. That is not rational, because everyone I've met from the club has been nothing but welcoming and supportive.

The renewal form asked me all these hard questions. About all my marathon accomplishments. I don't have a lot of amazing exploits, like some of these people do. Incredible feats of marathoning are usually described in terms of fast finishing times, or overcoming extraordinary hardships, or running hundreds of marathons and ultramarathons. I've only run 23, and no ultras, and never faster than 5:18, which is considered slow, by most standards, and I'm not even interested going faster than that. (When it looks like I might PR, I slow down on purpose. I don't want to raise the bar.)

One of the questions was "best medal?" And that reminded me that I haven't been carefully displaying my medals lately. I have a three-part folding decorator screen, and I attach the medals to the screen with wires, so that it's the first thing I see when I come in the door. It really looks pretty. The marathon medals are in the left and center upper panels. In the right-hand upper section, I have medals for my half-marathons and other races, including two age-group awards (a rare occurrence for me!)

It's not that I've been coming home and throwing them into a junk drawer, at least ~ I've been hanging them on the corner of the screen, and I had about six or seven of them hanging there, waiting to be taken off their ribbons, and displayed in their own little diamond on the panel.

So I took a few minutes to organize my medals today, and try to decide which one was the "best," so I could tell the 50 states club.

The first one that came to mind was the Georgia ING medal. It has a "spinny" center, which is cool, but it also has the orange (not peach) color, which makes it probably the most garish. So I guess I thought of that one because it screams the loudest and is fun to play with.

I looked really closely at the San Antonio medal, maybe for the first time. It is probably the most aesthetically pleasing. Classy.

The Paavo Nurmi is cool, with the cut-out space around the edges, but there is that loud orange again. The Crater Lake medal is the most lame ~ but that is appropriate, as I was pretty lame when I received it. And the gorgeous scenery of the marathon overpowers the unspectacularness of the medal. When people ask me my favorite marathon, Crater Lake comes immediately to mind, for the beauty of it. So I have to like the medal, even though it is kind of skimpy.

My daughter nominated the Leading Ladies' medal, because it was the only one that depicted a solo female runner. I found a couple that depicted a male and a female, and some others that were abstract enough that it could be interpreted to be either. But she pointed out that on all the other medals, if they showed one runner, it was a man (or a stylized abstraction), and they only showed a woman if they showed two runners, male and female.

(When I was a little girl, I noticed these things, too. "Male" is depicted as normative, and "female" is considered a secondary variation, or an auxiliary of the norm. It doesn't bother me as much any more, because I'm used to it. But maybe that is why the Leading Ladies' Marathon, which is an all-woman race, was so special.)

Some of the medals are colorful, and some are monochromatic, with an antique brass look. I kind of like the non-colorful ones ~ they are more elegant. But at the same time, I wouldn't want them all to be one color. It's nice to have the splash of color here and there. And I know from making quilts, sometimes it's the ugliest, brightest fabric that gives the quilt its sparkle. Some of the medals are big and substantial ~ others are lighter and smaller. This Estes Park one is particularly hefty.

I finally decided that I can't decide. I can't pick one and call it the "best medal." What I like about the medals, is the aggragate of them. It's like a quilt. It's not about the individual pieces ~ it's about the collection. I needed to do this today ~ it was good to gather and organize the medals so that I could see the totality of my accomplishment so far.

When I look at individual races, I don't see the glory of it. In some cases, I see a middle-aged woman struggling to get to the finish line before they close the course. It's not very pretty, and sometimes it's even a little embarrassing, when I look at it that way.

But when I look at my little wall of medals, I see it differently. Twenty-three marathons (and a goodly amount of other races) in three years! Not too shabby at all, especially for a person who's only been running for four years. It shows what (someone who thinks she's) a "non-athlete" can accomplish.

Even better, I see a bunch of open diamonds, where there is room for other medals. I counted the openings in the marathon panels ~ there is room for 54 marathon medals. It makes me want to go out there and get them, to finish the quilt.

I feel better now ~ I'm going for a run!

My Son, the Pirate

2008-08-17T20:06:00.005-05:00

After the hootenanny, I went to my son's game. He plays in an adult recreational softball league, and he is on the Pirates team.

He got a base hit.

He scored.

Usually, he is playing right field, but today he was catcher.

And thrower.

He is on the right team, because in real life, he is a professional pirate.

Show You Give A Hootenanny

2008-08-17T15:38:00.005-05:00

At the church where I work, the Peace & Justice Committee is trying to raise money to receive matching funds to participate in a microlending organization called Kiva.org. Today they held a "hootenanny," and I hope they raised the amount they needed ~ I'm sure they at least came close.

I have heard good things about microfinance efforts. I'm sure it is not perfect, but it sounds like a promising way to help people in poverty. It is a way for individuals (or churches, I guess) to extend small loans to people who are not in a position to obtain a bank loan. The individuals, many of them women, are able to start a local business, and eventually repay the loan. The lenders gets the money back (in most cases), and can reinvest in another entrepreneur, if they wish.

I'm Running a 5K with a Mystery Person!

2008-08-16T22:37:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited! I'm going to run a 5K with a Mystery Person! This person is a friend of mine who has never run before, and who wants to try running for health reasons, to see how it goes. I'm going to help by giving training tips and moral support, and we will run the 5K together in October.

Since it's this person's first run, nobody knows about it except me, at this point. The Mystery Runner wants it that way.

It is so exciting to do something that one has never done before. This is going to be fun!

I haven't done a 5K in awhile, and was just thinking that I'd like to do one this fall.

I suggested the Kansas City Marathon 5K ~ it is one week after my Chicago marathon, and very close to this person's birthday. As soon as I get the final go-ahead from Mystery Runner, I will register for the 5k.

Managing Recurring Tasks

2008-08-16T08:01:00.004-05:00

Every six months, I go to the dentist. Every time that date approaches on my calendar, I go through an inner struggle that makes Martin Luther's look like inner peace. I haven't been wearing my retainer. More importantly, I haven't been flossing every day. I'm a miserable failure at dental hygiene. This realization inspires a two-week effort to be more consistent about doing these things. My teeth are never so clean and straight as the day I visit the dentist. Knowing I will see the dentist and the hygienist and be subject to their judgment causes me to flog myself into obedience. I want to get a good report card.

And then, as I leave his office with my passing report card and my goody bag of free samples of toothpaste and floss, I know I will soon fall back into my old ways.

This is not very grown up or rational. The real reasons for taking care of my teeth have to do with being healthy and pain-free for the duration of my life. Winning the approval of dental health care professionals twice a year is a silly reason, so it is frustrating when that is the thing that motivates me the most.

There are a lot of things that need to be done every day in order to have the kind of life I want, but I have a hard time summoning up the enthusiasm and energy to do them. Woo-hoo, time to scoop the cat litter. See what I mean?

That is, if I can remember to think about these tasks in the first place. I'm the kind of person who will forget to scoop the cat litter, because it's in another room, and I don't go in there every day. There is nothing to remind me, until, a week or so later, I walk in the door and the smell gets my attention. Or the cat herself gets my attention by thinking outside the box. She's a pretty smart cat.

There are some things I remember to do automatically, because the "yuck factor" is impossible to ignore. I do not have to be reminded to brush my teeth, because at least twice a day, they feel gross. I know my threshold of grossness, when it comes to tooth-brushing. But I don't "feel it" when I don't floss. So there is nothing to remind me to floss, and I forget, for days at a time.

I know I should do sit-ups. I know I should take my vitamins. I should water the plants. I should do a host of things at various intervals, or my life will get out of control. I may not notice it until it is too late ~ I'm old and flabby and malnourished, surrounded by dead plants.

People like me need a reminder system, to nag us to do these things at the appropriate times. But this can get complicated ~ I don't need to water the plants every day ~ how do I remember when I watered them last? Some things need to be done every three days, but they could be put off for up to five days without the world coming to an end. Some things need to be done every two or three months ~ how can I remember that??

For some people, a "tickler file" does the trick. Other people set up electronic reminders on their PDA or other device. I've tried both, but for one reason or other, these methods aren't compatible with the way my brain is wired. A simple checklist is nice, but only if I can remember to look at the checklist. And if I have to think very hard when looking at the checklist, I will resist looking at it. ("Which things on this list really need to be done today?")

Here is something I've used in the past, and it works wonders for me, so I don't know why I ever stopped using it.

It's a cool program I downloaded years ago for $25, called "Sciral Consistency." This won't work for everyone ~ a reminder has to be in your face, in order to work. It's not good if you need a reminder to look at your reminder.

I have my computer on every day, and I am constantly checking it. So if I open this program when I turn on the computer, I will see the reminders right there on my screen throughout the day. The reminders are there, but they're not nagging me.

The program allows you to set up your tasks with varying ranges of acceptable frequency. For flossing and wearing my retainer, I have decided to be very strict ~ this must be done every day. But as for scooping the cat litter, every one to three days would be OK. (This is subject to revision, if my cats override my decision).

You can probably see from the picture, how this works. Every day, I have the opportunity to put a black dot in a box. (I love checking things off! I guess I'm easily amused). If the box is yellow, I have to do the task that day. If I don't, then the next day, the box will be red ~ that means the task is overdue. The object of the game is to get as few reds as possible. (In the above example, you can see that this person is a vacuuming-procrastinator). If the box is green, I have a choice ~ I can do it, or put it off ~ and I can see at a glance just how long I can put it off before it becomes red. If the box is blue, I don't even need to think about it!

I've started using my Sciral Consistency again, and it's been working great. I have kept my list short for now, because I know if I try to reform too many habits at once, I could be setting myself up for failure. After I get the flossing and the cat litter and a few other things under control, I will add the sit-ups. There is no reason to flog oneself. Even Martin Luther's Reformation didn't happen in a day (and he never did achieve inner peace).

Staying healthy and pain-free for the rest of my life is a wonderful motivation, but it is a little hard to wrap my mind around that when it comes to the day-to-day stuff. So if I need a little outside motivation, like putting a black dot into a box, that's OK. Whatever it takes to make me a healthy, old, pain-free person surrounded by green plants.

A Cool Map Website

2008-08-15T22:01:00.002-05:00

I found this free website where you can create a map of the U.S., with states colored in the way you want them. It was really easy to do. I made a map of my 50 State Marathon Bingo game. Blue is for the 23 states I've already done. Red is for the states where I am already registered for an upcoming marathon. I could've added up to four other colors.

I seem to be running out of states within driving distance.

Training for a 5K in the Year 2062

2008-08-14T17:47:00.004-05:00

"The value of a future goal is the present change it fosters." ~ David Allen, Ready for Anything, p. 78

I was never an athlete. I hated P.E. class, and was proud of the fact that I have always had better things to do than go out and get all sweaty. That might be OK for some people, but it didn't sound appealing to me at all. I never did anything physical, and I seemed to be getting away with it, so why go through what looked to be a lot of effort?

Then one day, at 42, a random thought occurred to me ~ "What kind of 76-year-old do I want to be some day?" I don't know why I thought that all of a sudden, or why I picked the number "76," but the question had been posed. And the image that appeared in my brain was that of a 76-year-old me, running a road race.

Well, that was weird. I couldn't run a race now ~ so how could I possibly do that when I'm 76? The last time I had tried running was when my daughter and my best friend were running a half marathon together. I was impressed that they could run 13.1 miles ~ I couldn't even think that far! ~ so I went to the race as a spectator, and waited for them to run past. As they approached, I started running alongside them. I got two blocks before I couldn't go any further. Not that I had wanted to ~ but I had tested my limits, and my limit was two blocks.

Now that I had the image of the future 76-year-old me in my head, I could not avoid the fact that the future I was envisioning for myself was not the future I was preparing for. I was off course. But all hope was not lost ~ I had 34 years to train for this road race. It didn't have to be a marathon. It could be a 5K. I could do it, if I started right away.

So I bought a pair of running shoes that day. With my daughter's help, two blocks turned into three, and then four, and pretty soon, I was running a mile, and then two. It is easy to become addicted, in the beginning stages, because every day, it seemed, I broke a PR. Each new distance was impossible, and then I ran it!

At some point, I decided that I would run a marathon. It was not a smooth path to the marathon, because with all the over-enthusiasm of a novice, I ended up with a stress fracture. We will skip that part of the story for now, but I kept the marathon as a goal, and eventually, the next year, I made it.

On the eve of my first marathon, I was sitting at the pasta dinner, chatting with other marathoners. I was astonished to learn that several of them had as a goal to run not one, but 50 marathons, in 50 states ~ and that there was a 50-state marathon club that people could join. I loved listening to the stories of their favorite marathons ~ what a great way to see the country! I realized that I was about to accomplish a goal that had previously been unthinkable, and that I might be in for a psychological letdown if I did not have another goal in place, once this one was done. So I decided right then and there, to run 50 marathons in 50 states.

Before I got to my 20th marathon, I started thinking ahead ~ what am I going to do after I finish the 50? By then, I had met several people who had done in excess of 100 marathons, and had gone around all 50 states more than once. As much as I am in awe of that, I don't necessarily think I will be one of those people. The marathon is tough, and I'm not one of the super-talented runners. I don't even think it is that healthy, to run so many hours at one stretch. It puts a lot of wear and tear on the body. And I enjoy most of the marathon, but I have to admit, I don't always enjoy the last six miles! I am testing my limits, and my limit might very well be 50 marathons.

But 50 marathons won't be the end of my running, and now that I have been a part of the marathon world, I see that running at 76 was not a high enough goal for me. Shoot, there are lots of runners older than that!

I'm going to be running when I am 100.

But a good goal should be specific and attainable, so I have formulated a goal for myself. On March 4, 2062, I will complete a 5K. That is the first Saturday after I turn 100 years old. I don't know where the race will be, because the race organizers have probably not been born yet. I hope to run, but if I can't run, I'll walk. It will be a good way to kick off my third half century.

So this is the event I'm training for. All my marathons are just training runs for my Big 5K.

Put it on your calendar! I want everyone to be there!

It may seem outrageous, to stretch the idea of a "long-term goal" this far. The race is 53 1/2 years off, and there is certainly no guarantee that I will still be alive at that age, let alone able to perambulate three miles. Because of this, some people have thought I was delusional, or at least joking, when I told them about my goal. In fact, it started as a humorous idea in my head, but I set the goal anyway.

And a funny thing happened, once I had set the goal. I started living differently. I found myself making food choices according to what would nourish my body long-term, instead of what was cheap, delicious, or available. In fact, healthy foods started tasting more delicious, and junk foods were more often just gross. I was running differently, too ~ I used to run downhills and take my walk breaks on uphills ~ now I found myself running uphill for the cardio work, and taking it easy on downhills, to save my bones and joints. Most importantly, I found that my relationships were expanding. I have always been drawn to older people, perhaps because I was a youngest child. But now I started nurturing relationships with younger people, because more of them are going to be around to see me in my Big 5K.

Now when I run, and the running is difficult, I think "Imagine how difficult it will be to run three miles when I am 100! It might be pretty tough. If I can do it when I am 100, I can do this, now." The future me can only be an inspiration to the present me if I stay on course for creating that future me. It's kind of a science fiction time-loop story, but it works.

So when people express skepticism that I will ever actually run that 5K when I am 100, I smile, because they don't get it. It doesn't make a bit of difference whether I make my goal or not. To be honest, the skeptics are right ~ I probably won't live that long ~ the odds are against it. But I keep thinking of the quote by David Allen ~ "The value of a future goal is the present change it fosters." I might live until I'm 100, but no matter how long I live, I'll be in much better shape physically, mentally, and psychologically because of the changes I've made as a result of having this goal!

There are no 53-year training programs for 5Ks, so I had to write my own. (OK, I know Jeff Galloway's latest book is called Running until you're 100, but that book wasn't out when I formulated my goal! I'm going to use it as a resource, though. He guarantees that you can run until you're 100, so we'll see if he's right.)

My program begins with the 50 marathons in 50 states. I figure I should finish that in my early 50s (I'd love to finish it when I'm 50, but the travel logistics might make that impossible.) Then, I think I will run 50 half-marathons in 50 states. I might sprinkle in a few marathons, just to keep in shape. If I take 15 years to do that, I will finish well before I am 70. Then it will be time for 50 10Ks in 50 states (perhaps with a few half marathons thrown in as well). that will take me into my eighties, and with shorter races, I might even be able to take in a few tourist attractions and enjoy myself on these travel adventures. Finally, for a couple of decades leading up to the end of my first century, I will run 50 5Ks in 50 states.

So, with that plan, it isn't so outrageous to think that I will be able to cross the finish line at my Big 5K.

And I'm going to win an age group medal, too!

So Many Books, So Little Time!

2008-08-14T15:39:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I took my car in for its scheduled maintenance. The car place is located in the vicinity of the book store, so I took the opportunity to see if there were any books I couldn't live without.

Now that I have glasses, I can see. Much to my despair, in recent years I have read less and less, and spent more time on stupid things, like "The Bachelorette." I didn't realize it until I went to the eye doctor, but it was not because my attention span was diminishing, or because I was getting dumber, although both those things might be true. It was because I couldn't see. Thank you, Eye Doctor.

First of all, because I am new to this whole blogging thing, I decided to look for something that might help me with the technical stuff. I found a couple of books on blogging, but they were aimed at people who wanted to blog for a living. I was only vaguely aware that people did that! These books gave advice on things like what your blog should be about. I don't need that kinda advice. I'm just gonna write about what's on my mind, and I figure my readers (all ten of them) can read what interests them, and skip over the rest.

What I needed to know about is how to make it so the words don't run into the pictures, and the pictures don't overlap -- things like that. And I needed it explained in a way that a third grader would understand. So I found Creating Web Pages with HTML Simplified. It has lots of pictures and cartoony-stuff. That should get me started (but don't look for professional-looking blog entries anytime soon. I'm a slow learner).

Mission accomplished. Time to leave the bookstore.

Except, while I was there, I might as well go look for books by Martin Buber. While I was listening to those lectures, I had identified that as something I would like to explore further, so time to put my money where my mouth was.

I already had his I And Thou book, but I found several others, of which I grabbed The Way of Man; Ten Rungs and On Judaism. OK, that's three books; I'd better get out of the store.

Walking past the philosophy books, Introducing Existentialism caught my eye. It's one of those fun, cartoony books. I don't know about you, but visual images help me grasp difficult subject matter, and hold it in my brain better. So this would be good to have in my library. Four books.

But I didn't even make it out of that aisle, because another book flew off the shelf and hit me in the head. It was The Religious Case Against Belief by James P. Carse. This author is amazing. Every one of his books has blown my mind, and I had no idea he had written another one. Of course, I had to get this one, and put it at the top of my reading list. (You'll be hearing more about this soon, unless this is one of the kinds of things you like to skip over in my blog). Five books. Time to check out.

But wait! I had been waiting for Dean Karnazes's new book to come out, and I knew it was going to be sometime this month. He is the guy who recently ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, and that is how I first heard about him. A few months ago, I read his first book, which made me realize that the North Face Endurance 50 is probably not even close to the hardest thing he's ever done, but it would still be a good read, so of course, I have to get it. So off to the running books.

Yup, it was there ~ 50/50: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days - And How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!

That's six new books.

It's not as if I am hurting for books to read. I'm not even halfway through with John Adams by David McCullough, plus at least a half dozen other books that are on hold because I can't remember where I put some of them.

So I left the bookstore ecstatic and eager to start plowing through these books. I had to go teach a piano lesson, and get some work done at the office, but after that, I raced home, fixed some dinner, and nestled in for a long, cozy evening of reading.

And what did I do first? I watched "Wife Swap."

Don't worry, it was only a temporary lapse. As soon as that stupidness was over, I read. I've now absorbed the first 100 pages of Carse, and the first dozen pages of Karnazes, and if you come back in a few days, I might be able to tell you more about that.

Reflections of a Jewish Intellectual History Freshman

2008-08-12T14:35:00.009-05:00

I like to listen to lectures from The Teaching Company when I am on long car trips. Listening is not my primary mode of learning; my learning style is more strongly visual and kinesthetic. I do better if I’m in a classroom, seeing the professor, and taking lots of notes. But if I’m in a car for a long time, I can concentrate if the speaker is compelling enough.

Not all of the courses I’ve bought have been spectacularly interesting, but some have, and I haven’t regretted any purchase so far.

What I do regret is that the information and ideas that I am so inspired by while I am listening don’t always stick. The above advertisement is a bit silly, unless you are a much better listener than I am. To really get the benefit of these courses, I need to review the printed outline, listen to the lectures more than once, take notes, do the recommended reading, and further explore anything that strikes my imagination and interest.

On this last trip, to Wisconsin, I listened to Jewish Intellectual History: 16th through 20th Century,12 hours of lectures by Professor David B. Ruderman. This has been my favorite course so far, and I am going to do some of those things that will help it stick. (Regrettably, I cannot do all the things, or even most of them. I will not even attempt to read all twelve volumes of Graetz. But I will re-listen, study the outline, and explore certain subjects with more reading.)

I’m cautious about (literally and figuratively) buying anything about religion, because it is so common for the author’s particular bias to color the truth of what they are reporting. But religion is one of the primary areas of interest to me, personally and academically. When I look at the list of courses about Christianity, I recognize some professors who have a bias that I strongly disagree with, and other professors whose bias is similar to my own. While I like to hear other people’s points of view, I don’t want to listen to (and pay a lot of money for) hours and hours of someone who is only going to raise my blood pressure. And everybody has a bias.

It is very frustrating to me when anyone characterizes Christianity in a particular way, as if it were a monolithic body of people who hold the same set of beliefs and practices. It is so diverse that I do not even like to call myself a “Christian” unless I can qualify it with a complicated definition. (So don’t ask me about my religion, unless you want to have a three-hour conversation!) I know that Judaism has the same spectrum of diversity, and I wanted a course that would look as broadly as possible at modern Jewish thought.

Rabbi Ruderman promised to explore Judaism through several approaches, and to acknowledge the strengths and limitations of each approach, and that is exactly what he did. I am not Jewish, but I feel that he presented many different perspectives in the most nonpartisan manner possible.

Previously, my knowledge of Judaism has been very sketchy, even though some people very close to me are Jewish. As a musician, I knew that Moses Mendelssohn (grandfather of Felix) was the most important Jewish philosopher of the eighteenth century, but I have always been curious about his life and the content of his work. As a person who is attracted to existentialism, I was familiar with Martin Buber, and now I have a much enhanced understand of him. And I had not appreciated the impact Spinoza had, particularly on Judaism.

My understanding is much less “sketchy” now. Of course, I am not an expert, and I never will be, but now my mind has a skeletal structure of information, ideas, and understandings about the subject. I plan to listen to these lectures several more times, to strengthen the structure, and I already know some branches that I want to explore further, to build the framework in different directions. If you have ever thought about purchasing a course from The Teaching Company, I highly recommend this one!

Ducking Last Place in the Marathon ~~~~~~~~~~ Almost "The Story About Ping"

2008-08-10T15:58:00.016-05:00

I just finished the second of three very difficult marathons over five weeks. I try not to pick the tough marathons, but in my quest for 50 of them, each in a different state, I am running out of events that are within driving distance. Another limiting factor is that I am a church organist, and I need to get back in time for work on Sunday. (I do take a Sunday off now and then, but it is sometimes more work to get a substitute than to play the service myself!) Typically, I will drive as far as 13 hours away on a Friday, and get very little sleep before running a Saturday marathon. Then I will hobble to the car and get home after midnight, so that I can play in church the next morning.

So at the end of July, I found myself at the Deseret Morning News marathon, knowing that I had no business being there. Slow runners are especially conspicuous at smaller marathons, and most of us are too intelligent to attempt this one. At about 3:30 am, they bus you to a place high on a mountain, and at 5:30, you begin running the steep downhill course. You end up in sunny Salt Lake City, in 90-something degree heat.

A less experienced runner might assume (as I did when I was less experienced) that running an all-downhill marathon would be easier. I knew that the opposite is true. Downhill is brutal, and this one was quite steep. I knew it could be the most difficult marathon I’d ever run.

But this event is held on Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday, and this year it happened to be on a Thursday. Perfect! I could run the marathon, and take two days instead of one to drive the 17 hours home ~ and even have a day to recover!

I am not an athlete, but I run marathons anyway. I never ran until I was 42, and I am slow. I typically finish in 5 hours and 30-40 minutes. When considering whether to run a particular marathon, I always look at previous race results, to see if there are many people who finished the course in over six hours. I don’t want to enter a race if I know I’m going to be last! I have come in third-to-last (Crater Lake Marathon), and when I finished the Bismarck Marathon in 5:18, I was fifth-to-last. I didn’t care ~ it was my PR! No matter how far back of the pack I have been, I’ve always been able to say “at least I didn’t come in LAST!”

Adding to the difficulty of this Utah marathon, there was a death in the family the previous week, I had not been feeling well, and because of a heat wave, I had not been training as well as I should. I knew that there was a better-than-usual chance that I could finish last. I somehow felt that this would be humiliating. The whole world would then point at me and say “She had no business running this marathon!”

So I thought about my strategy. I wanted to start out conservatively, with plenty of walk breaks, to save my muscles for later on. I started at the back of the crowd, as I always do, but kept looking back to make sure there were two or three people behind me. I didn’t dare stop and use the porta-pot until I could build up some distance between me and the last runner, because everyone would pass me, and then I’d be out there all alone!

I kept thinking about The Story About Ping, a children’s book I had read as a child, and had also read to my own children.

In this story, Ping is a little duck who lives on a boat in China with some other ducks. Every morning, they would get off the boat, and go do their duck things, and every evening, they would line up and get back on the boat. The last duck would always get a spank on the bottom, so Ping tried very hard not to be the last duck.

Well, this was really an unjust system, I thought as a child. Even if all the ducks were on time ~ even if they were early! ~ someone had to be the last duck, and someone had to get spanked. A spanking represents the worst possible punishment, to a child.

Back to the marathon ~ It was a pleasant run/walk, in many ways. I did more walking than usual, owing to the fact that I met a first-time marathoner who had injured his knee. He didn’t know if he would be able to finish ~ he could walk, but not run without extreme pain. So I walked with him for several miles. Another fellow joined us, and regaled us with stories of marathons he had done all over the world. After awhile, I decided to start running again, and I met up with a few more runners and had some good conversations.

One of the runners I met during my walk breaks was Charlie, an older gentleman whom I had seen at other races. (Did I say "races?" I try not to use that word.) He is 71, and has run over 140 marathons. He was planning to run another marathon in Massachusetts the following day! And he was also signed up for my next two marathons ~ in Wisconsin two weeks later, and in Wyoming two weeks after that! It is fun to see the same people at these marathons. I walked with him a short while, and then ran ahead.

This marathon was extremely punishing ~ by mile 22, I had been in the 90-something heat long enough, and I had blisters, and my legs were hurting in a thousand places. I knew at that point that I’d be walking the rest of the way. By mile 23, I was crying ~ I wanted it to be over! At mile 24, my daughter joined me and walked me the rest of the way to the finish line.

As I crossed the finish line, they were starting to take it down, and it dawned on me that I might have been the last runner. Later, I checked the results online, and sure enough, there was no one listed with a longer time than mine ~ 6 hours, 20 minutes. I knew Charlie had been behind me, and I was kind of worried about him. A guy like that does not quit unless he has a serious injury or something.

It was an emotional spanking. I had come in last.

I felt horrified ~ for about 20 seconds. Then, I smiled. I had come in last ~ and it was not nearly as humiliating as I had thought it would be. I finished! And aside from worrying about Charlie, it was actually kind of cool. ...REALLY cool. I like to joke about being a half-fast runner, and now I had a new way to joke about it. I won the marathon!! The idea is to be the person who can run the longest, right? I outlasted them all!! Forget about the elite runners ~ anyone can run for two and a half hours ~ it takes a special kind of endurance to run for over six! The first shall be last, and the last shall be first ~ I finally came in first!

That’s how the storybook ended, too. Ping got into some sort of misadventure, and in the end (ha ha) he got a whack on the tush, and it wasn’t such a bad thing after all, because he was glad to be back on the boat.

So yesterday, I was back on the boat, lining up again at the start line of the Paavo Nurmi Marathon in Hurley, Wisconsin. I was glad to see Charlie, and eager to find out what had happened in Utah. I brought up the subject by saying brightly, “I met you in Utah a couple of weeks ago ~~ I came in last!” And he said, “No, I came in last!” So he did finish after all! His name was not on the official results, but they assured him that it would be added later.

So I had been stripped of my title. That’s okay, I will give it up, for Charlie. It is an honor to run in the same marathon with someone like him. I will just have to keep trying, and maybe I will be lucky enough to claim last place in another race someday. I will start saving jokes now.

At the Paavo, I noticed they were allowing some of the slower runners to start an hour early. I didn’t know about this! It would sure help me to start an hour early, because I had an eleven-hour drive afterwards, and I had only gotten 2 1/2 hours sleep. I was already worrying about the drive home! To have a shot at getting home by midnight would be a huge relief.

I asked a race official if there was any way I could have the early start, too. She said “only if you can guarantee that you will finish in over six hours.” Shoot. I’ve had three marathons that were over six hours, and they were all especially difficult. There was a chance, but I couldn’t guarantee it, in all honesty. I thought this one would be a bit easier. So I cheered as Charlie and several others took off.

An hour later, I was also off and running. I was not entirely recovered from Utah, and had done very little running in the two weeks since then. There were some aggravating conditions ~ besides the lack of sleep and the sub-optimal training, I have a gastro-intestinal condition that had been acting up, and my TOM had hit hard, but the weather conditions were perfect, and the course, though hilly, was not what I would call tough. So I was hoping for my usual 5:30-5:40 finishing time.

I had my internet gizmo thingy with me, and it has a crappy camera, so I took some pictures. I might start taking my good camera, because it’s kind of fun to see the pictures and share them on this blog!

The course was lovely ~ it went through several small towns, some of them unincorporated. Hurley, and for that matter, this whole region of northern Wisconsin, has a strong Finnish heritage ~ that is why they have honored Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish runner, with this marathon weekend. This was the 40th year of the “Paavo.”

I thought this little “Badger Motel” was cute, and typical of the kinds of places along the course.

I took this picture, because it represents what most of the route looked like ~

I saw a lot of pine trees that looked like this ~ a lot of the greenery was missing, except at the top of the trees. At first I thought they were a different kind of tree, with the trunks exposed like that. I wonder if it is due to some kind of insect damage, because of climate change.

A couple of times, there was a firefighter there to hose us down. I really appreciate this during marathons ~ it can be a life saver, if it is very hot. The weather was only in the 70s this time, but even so, you get sweaty, and the water feels good. I took full advantage of it.

I took a picture of the fire truck, for my friend Jim. I thought about asking for a shirt, but I really didn’t want to run a marathon carrying a shirt! Sorry, Jim!

The picture doesn’t do it justice, but this was the most beautiful stretch of scenery up to this point.

About mile 20, I started to feel it. I’ve done enough marathons that I can tell how I’m doing by comparing it to how I’ve felt in previous marathons. I usually feel better than this at mile 20, so I could tell I was getting in trouble. And I had passed several runners, so I knew I wasn’t last, but if I hit the wall, they could conceivably pass me, and I would get the dreaded spanking on my psyche. A spanking which I knew wasn’t so bad after all. So I smiled a couple of miles later, when I saw the duck signs. “Welcome Runners to Mile 22.” How did they know to tap into my theme?

Just after that water station, there was this beautiful “Ducks Unlimited” wetlands preserve. This was my favorite sight of the course, even though my body was screaming in agony by then.

There was a large VA presence in Hurley ~ in fact, the Veterans had sponsored the pasta dinner. I thought this was quite a memorial, so I photographed it. The child’s mother said “Get out of the way so she can take the picture!” ~ but I wanted the child in the picture!

I was pretty sure I would not be able to run any of the last four miles, because I was having some severe cramping. (I hate my guts. I want new guts. Half of the time that I am walking instead of running, it is for the sake of my guts.) I even ate a half of a banana, and I usually can’t run after eating, when it’s that sensitive. But actually, I did run a few more stretches. I finished in just over six hours, I think. (I haven’t checked the official time). It was one of those undignified finishes, when I start crying, and try not to let it become heaving sobs. It was over. I finished.

A nice touch at the “Finnish line” ~ they served “mojakka,” which is a Finnish stew. It was great comfort food (not to mention a good mix of carbs and protein!)

Charlie had finished in about the same time span, but he had started an hour early. He waited around to see me finish, knowing that I had said it could possibly be six hours. That was so nice of him! He helped me find the place where we picked up our finishers’ shirts and medals. I think I came in 3rd from the last. Behind me was another hero, a man in his eighties. I expect to see him again, at other marathons. I didn’t get a chance to chat with the lucky duck who came in last ~ he slunk out without really talking ~ Perhaps he was smarting from the spank, and it had not yet dawned on him, that it was actually a cool distinction to have won. I hope he does appreciate it, someday, at least.

More About My Amish PDA, and How I GTD

2008-08-06T15:50:00.001-05:00

I’m on a “break” between semesters, so this would be a good time to update this blog. I’m going to try to write more blog entries, and am cutting back on some other things, especially online things, so with any luck, my life will be more streamlined this year.

I really like how my PDA has been working! I particularly like how I never have to recharge the battery! I did have a problem with the “Real Simple” cover ~ it did not withstand the constant use, so I had to figure out something else.

I ended up buying a package of “Impact Presentation Solutions” Premium Rigid Covers. They are intended for business reports & presentation documents. (But I have a binding machine, and sometimes need that kind of cover to bind articles I print off the internet, etc. So it will come in handy for that, too.)

I like the thickness & texture of this plastic, and it turned out to be just perfect for my PDA. It can be cut to the right size using a pair of scissors. I cut the back cover wider than 3x5, so that about 3/8” would extend on the right-hand side, to accommodate my Bic Four-Color Stylus. I punched four holes along that edge, with a hole-puncher, and put a hair elastic in the bottom two holes, to hold the pen, and looped a gigantic rubber band through the top two holes, to use as a way to keep the PDA closed when not in use. (These huge rubber bands are available at an office supply store.)

Another change I have made is to put the metal ring through the bottom left corner, instead of the bottom right.

For the most part, I use David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” method, although I have adapted it to my own needs, as everyone does, and I could be better at it, in some areas. But here is how I use my PDA in my implementation of GTD:

For a ubiquitous capture tool, I have some 3x5 notepads in pretty colors, and I put a few sheets in the very front of my PDA. It doesn’t need to be as durable as a 3x5 card, because it’s just for jotting things down to process later. I actually don’t need this very often ~ most information goes directly into my T-Mobile Sidekick Gizmo (such as names & addresses, book recommendations, etc.) Information that I know I want to keep for a long time goes in there. The 3x5 paper would be for very short-term information, like directions to a place I’m going that day, or anything else that I might want to process differently than into the Gizmo.

The page I look at throughout the day is the daily “Dance Card” page (my schedule of appointments). I have about a week of those in the PDA at any one time. As I go through the day, I also write down what I have done, so that it is kind of a short-hand journal. I archive these pages in a 3x5 file box. On the opposite page is my SuperFoods list (see an earlier blog entry about that), and in between, on a colored, folded 4x6 card, I keep my all-important Next Actions list.

I have always struggled with the best way to use a Next Actions list. This is an area where David Allen’s methodology doesn’t work for me, if I use it “by the book.”

I tried having the list divided into separate contexts, because that seemed to make a lot of sense. But my work life differs from many people’s, in that I do not automatically find myself in the contexts where I need to get things done. One of my jobs (at a church) can be done on my own schedule, and I found that having my actionable items on a separate list didn’t work. I would not be in that context, so I would fail to look at the list. But I had no reminder system to tell me to put myself in that context often enough. Now, I put everything on one list, and the list is in my face every day. So I see the things I need to do at the church, and that reminds me to go there and get those things done!

I was worried that this would make my Next Action list long and unwieldy, but that has not happened. Sometimes I write “GS” out in the margin if I need to be at the church to do it. And if it is an Errand, I write “E” in the margin. This is enough organization ~ I don’t need separate lists! When I am running errands, I can quickly see the “E” items, and when I am at the church, I can see the “GS” items without having to read through the whole list.

Another thing that keeps my Next Action list from becoming long and overwhelming and scary-looking ~ If I am sure there is no reasonable chance I will get around to this task in one week, it doesn’t go on the list. It goes on my “Sleeper Projects” list. About once a week, I look at this list, and if the time is right, I can activate the project by putting a Next Action on my Next Action list. I don’t like to use David Allen’s term “Someday/Maybe,” because that wording arouses my skepticism. “Yeah, right. Someday, maybe I’ll do this.” I prefer to be more hopeful about it. “The project is only sleeping ~ sleep is good! When the time is right, it will wake up!”

Having the Next Actions on a 4x6, folded, gives me lots of room ~ enough for a whole week of actions to be added & crossed off. When the card is full or too messy, I rewrite the uncompleted actions on a new card, and start over. (That is good motivation for knocking off some of the quicker actions, especially ones that I’ve been avoiding. I don’t want to rewrite them week after week!)

On the “inside” page of the folded card, there is room to keep a running shopping list ~ any groceries or other items that I need are written down here, as well as errands. Not all errands go on the Next Action list ~ only the really vital ones. But it’s nice to have a more complete Errands list, because when I’m out doing a Vital Errand, I can see that there are other places I might as well go, as long as I’m out.

In the next sections are my weekly and monthly pages, printed from DIYPlanner.com ~ I currently have the weeks up until January ’09. When I need to write something on the calendar, the rule is that if there is a daily page for that day, I write it there. If not, then it goes on the weekly page. And if it is for a date beyond what I have weekly pages for, it goes on the Monthly pages. I might write them on all three, but if I do, I have to remember that the Daily Page has the most authority, then the Weekly, then the Monthly. It is good to see all formats, so you can brace yourself for what is coming at you. I have two marathons about to hit me in the face, and I can only see that if I look at my monthly calendar!

The next section is my Projects ~ I keep lists of current projects, sleepers, and recurring tasks that I should be doing automatically. At the weekly review, I can add to these lists, and make sure I have Next Actions written down (on the NA list) to move the projects forward, if they are active, and to wake up any sleepers that have slept long enough. That is also the time to see if I have been remembering to do recurring tasks. If I’m not doing well (which is often the case), I will put it on my Next Action list. “Floss teeth” is one that I find I neglect to do. If it is on my Next Action list, I am much more likely to do it! (I keep it on there for a week, and don’t cross it off.) But if it is happening without that prompt, I don’t clutter up my NA list with it.

The next section is particular to my work ~ I plan the music for an Episcopal service each week, and it is good to have that information at hand, so I can see what is coming up, and know what to practice. Like the “Dance Card,” and the “SuperFoods Card,” this is a form I have made on Microsoft Word, and I print them on my computer. I currently have services planned through August, so now it is time to select new liturgy music, and start planning fall services.

The “Students” section is for my piano teaching, both at the community college, and private students. I have a card for each student. With the college students, I have their contact information and a record of their lessons, so when it is time to figure grades, it’s an easy job. For the private students, I should jot down when they pay, but I’m not very good about doing that (unless I notice that they haven’t been paying me! And that has happened!)

Finally, there is a “Money” section, which is simply my checkbook register. That is also a form from DIYPlanner. Nothing special to say about it. It’s just a checkbook register.

I keep the sections easy to find by using Durable Tabs. I found that Divider Cards made the PDA thicker than it needed to be.

I have tried to do GTD for many years, with more-or-less success. But this current setup has given me more success with it! A good system is one where you get things done without having to think too much about your system. Especially with the addition of the 4x6 Next Action card, I have had more “stress-free productivity” than I used to.

My Amish PDA

2008-06-08T13:55:00.000-05:00

I love gadgets and electronic toys. I used to have a Palm Pilot, and I had great fun playing with it. It was not very useful to me as a productivity tool, however. There is something about pen and paper that is more immediate. When I need to write something down, it is easier and faster to download my brain onto a piece of paper than an electronic device. And it is easier to flip through the pages and see what I need to see. So I decided to build my own PDA, and I call it an Amish PDA, because it does not use the latest technology. [I'm planning to add a picture to the cover ~ a small graphic, showing two Amish people kissing. (Get it?)] The technology I used is no more complicated than it needs to be.

PDA, in this case, stands for "Parietal Disgorgement Apparatus." It is a tool for getting things out of your head, especially things like "what I'm supposed to do today." I'm a big fan of David Allen and Merlin Mann, and other productivity gurus. Most of my ideas for my PDA came from other geniuses. I steal a lot of ideas from the internet. I have spent a lot of time looking at pictures of other people's planners and systems. I love this stuff. "Office porn." (If this were truly an Amish PDA, it would say things like "milk the cows," and "make bread," and "finish the quilt.")

Here is how I built my PDA. The cover is from a thing I bought at Target ~ a "Real Simple" 3x5 card wheel. It has a hole drilled in one corner, and there was a bolt that I had to unscrew. I took out all the 3x5 cards, and I'm using a hinged metal ring instead ~ much easier to open and close, so I can take cards out and put cards in. I like this cover, because it has an elastic loop attached, to hold my PDA together when I'm not using it. I tried using it with the hole at the top, but have found it works better for me to have the hole at the bottom left corner.

I made some of my pages using Microsoft Word, and stole some of them from DIYplanner.com. I print them directly onto 3x5 cards using my printer.

The page I look at most is my daily "Dance Card." It has the hours of the day in a column on the left edge, from 7am to 11pm. This is where I write any time-specific commitments. If there are things I want to get done that day, but not at any certain time, I can jot them on the right side of the page. This page has my "marching orders" for the day, or my "roadmap" through the day ~ but I decided I don't like any of those metaphors. Most days, I'm just not a fighter, so "marching orders" sounded too military. And some days are not like a journey through physical space, so the "map" idea didn't inspire me. But a dance card! I like that. These things are not appointments or things to do ~ they are things that want to dance with me if I choose. I am popular! I am the belle of the ball! (Don't laugh ~ it works for me, and I have been known to get a lot done in a day!)

On the opposite page from the dance card is my list of SuperFoods. This is a list of foods that I want to make sure I eat almost every day, if possible. It is inspired by the book SuperFoodsRx: 14 Foods That Will Change Your Life, by Pratt and Matthews. When I eat these foods every day, I have a lot of energy, and am not hungry for junk food. It helps to have a checklist, so I don't have to think too hard about what to eat. I just check off each food as I eat it, and try to get it all checked off each day, if I can. It is not necessary to count calories or points, or follow a complicated diet plan.

I have the planner divided into different sections. There are weekly and monthly calendar pages, and a section for my GTD "Next Actions," a section for each of my two jobs, and a financial section. I keep some blank index cards in a section labeled "Potentiality."

For divider pages, I used plastic dividers originally intended for a 3x5 card file. I trimmed them slightly, and used a labeler to label the tabs. I also use durable tabs (labeled with my label maker) for pages I turn to frequently (like my next actions, and my errands, and a few other things.)

Teeny-tiny binder clips are wonderful for clipping pages together, or holding a loose sheet of paper, or whatnot.

I also decided I needed a pen loop, so that my four-color pen would always be handy. For that, I cut out a piece from a plastic folder and clipped it to the back cover so that part of it would stick out the side. I punched four holes in that part, and threaded a hair elastic thingy through that. It is perfect for holding my pen.

Aerogarden Adventures

2008-05-31T12:07:00.000-05:00

I started an Aerogarden last week. It is a contraption that grows plants without soil. I am addicted to healthy vegetables, and have trouble finding tomatoes that don't taste like they are made out of styrofoam. So I thought, this device might be good to have around.

I first researched this product about a year ago, and I had some reservations about it. I read product reviews, and there were some concerns about the motor being defective. I also had concerns about certain practical matters ~ I read that it puts out a lot of light, and might be noisy, and where am I going to put it, to keep it away from my cats? Also, when I was first considering the product, it came with an herb kit, and used proprietary parts. So if I wanted to grow tomatoes, I would have to order a tomato kit separately. So I didn't buy it.

But now my tomato craving is getting too strong, so I went ahead and bought one. I was pleased to find out that the parts are now re-usable, and you use your own seeds. So I went out immediately and bought various kinds of tomato seeds, and planted them on May 23.

Now, eight days later, my tomato plants are about 4 inches high!

I am happy to report that it is not noisy ~ I hear a little trickle, kind of like a Feng Shui fountain.

It does put out a LOT of light, and the light stays on for 16 hours at a time. I could time it so that it goes off during the 8 hours I might be lucky enough to sleep, but the light is not in a place where it bothers me. (It's on top of the refrigerator).

Another concern is that it uses a lot of energy. I don't want to destroy the planet so that I can have tomatoes. But the booklet assures me that it doesn't take a lot of energy, so I'll take them at their word. The promise of juicy tomatoes makes me easy to convince.

Comic Relief in My Reading

2008-02-02T14:11:00.001-06:00

I had a dream the other night, that I had traveled to somewhere, perhaps Arizona, to run a marathon, and it was an hour and 20 minutes past the start of the marathon, but instead of being at the start line, I was watching an Andy Griffith movie.

Dreams are really strange, and they seem to make sense when you are dreaming them, but when you wake up, they are patently absurd. There are many logical incongruities. For instance, I was watching the Andy Griffith movie on a television set out in a green field, and it didn't look like Arizona at all.

But even though the images in the dream are colorful and amusing, sometimes it is obvious what the dream is trying to tell you. (In this case, it meant I needed to get signed up for thesis hours ~ the semester started a month ago. I am done with my coursework, and now need to get some information from my advisers, so I can get started on studying for comps, so I can get past that and get my thesis going. The marathon had started, and I wasn't even at the start line yet.)

While my academic work is stalled, I've been trying to concentrate on reading some literature. I am halfway through Toni Morrison's Beloved, and it is a fabulous book, but I am such a wimp. I can only take so much misery of the human condition in one sitting. Or even in several sittings.

In the Vonnegut book I recently read, he says, "Do you realize that all great literature -- Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, A Farewell to Arms, The Scarlet Letter, The Red Badge of Courage, The Iliad and The Odyssey, Crime and Punishment, The Bible, and "The Charge of the Light Brigade" -- all are about what a bummer it is to be a human being? (Isn't it a relief to have somebody say that?)"

He is right, of course, but I am still planning to finish Beloved, and then go on to more wretchedness.

But I needed to take a break, so I read a short story, "The Nose," written in 1832 by Gogol.

It is about a fellow, kind of a pretender and a womanizer, who suddenly finds that his nose is missing. Then, strangely enough, he finds his nose running around in the form of a civil servant, a gentleman of higher rank and social status than himself. In an effort to get his nose back, he files a classified ad. The Nose is later apprehended while trying to leave town, and is eventually reunited with the man's face. All of this is related as though it were perfectly logical ~ just the way it would appear to your brain if you were dreaming it.

This is a very funny story. Of course, it is Serious Literature; there is a lot of symbolism involved, including phallic imagery, and it ties in with religious issues, as well. (In 1927, Shostakovich wrote an opera based on this story. Which gave me the idea that I might be able to use this in my thesis, a document which now exists only in dreams.) Gogol ends his tale with some remarks about the absurdity of the situation, and of his writing about it:

"But the strangest, the most incomprehensible thing of all, is how authors can choose such subjects. I confess that this is quite inconceivable; it is indeed...no, no, I just can't understand it at all! In the first place, there is absolutely no benefit in it for the fatherland; in the second place...but in the second place, there is no benefit either. I simply don't know what to make of it....

"And yet, in spite of it all, though, of course, we may assume this and that and the other, perhaps even...And after all, where aren't there incongruities?--But all the same, when you think about it, there really is something in all this. Whatever anyone says, such things happen in this world; rarely, but they do."

So even though the story made me laugh, and provided much-needed comic relief in the midst of the heaviness I was reading while not working on my thesis, Gogol is making an observation about the incongruities of life, and the spiritual crisis, and yep, (Vonnegut is right!) the suckiness of the human condition.

Running and Weight Chart for January

2008-01-28T11:12:00.000-06:00

I intend to write soon, more about my train trip, and what I've been reading lately...

But here is an update on my Running and Weight chart, at the end of January. I have a training schedule written out for the coming months leading up to the next marathon. Hope for good weather, so I will be more likely to follow it!

Not shown on the chart: I've been doing strength training at least twice a week, and I did a 34-flight stair-climbing event ("Vertical Dash for Diabetes") ~ both new accomplishments for me!

Vonnegut

2008-01-19T12:20:00.001-06:00

This morning it was wickedly cold, and instead of driving to Topeka and running a half marathon in zero degrees, I decided to indulge in a morning of reading. I think I made a good choice.

I read this Vonnegut book, which I picked up at a used bookstore in Flagstaff.

If Vonnegut had a blog (which he wouldn't have), it would be something like this, but not as good.

I read it in one sitting, which wasn't necessarily the best way to read it, so I will have to read it in other ways later on.

This made me laugh out loud:

I am going to sue the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company, manufacturers of Pall Mall cigarettes, for a billion bucks! Starting when I was only twelve years old, I have never chain-smoked anything but unfiltered Pall Malls. And for many years now, right on the package, Brown and Williamson have promised to kill me.

But I am now eighty-two. Thanks a lot, you dirty rats. The last thing I ever wanted was to be alive when the three most powerful people on the whole planet would be named Bush, Dick and Colon.

The book is sometimes funny, and sometimes hopelessly depressing. I agree with Vonnegut about most things, so I will probably become hopeless at some point, as he did. Right now, I still think there is hope that the human race will start caring, and turn things around, but that is probably because I am naive and in denial.

Humor is a way of holding off how awful life can be, to protect yourself. Finally you just get too tired, and the news is too awful, and humor doesn't work anymore.

I hope I die before I get too tired.

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

2008-01-18T20:51:00.003-06:00

(Thanks to my friend in Clarinda, for this recipe!)

I had never cooked a butternut squash before, so I was a little scared to try this recipe. There are many things that will scare me away from cooking. One is an ingredients list with things I have never heard of. Some ingredients can only be purchased on Mars, I think ~ I've never seen them in a Kansas City grocery store. But I thought I could handle Butternut Squash. I've cooked with butter, and I'm a little nuts, and I enjoy squashing things.

Another thing that causes me to give up before I've started is when it tells you to do extra things that you don't really need to do. This recipe said to peel and de-seed the butternut squash. Well, for one thing, I keep reading that peels and seeds are actually very healthy for you. And when I looked on the internet for "how to peel a butternut squash," I got a lot of web pages telling me it is tricky! Even trickier, because I don't have a vegetable peeler, or even a very sharp knife. So I decided to cook this recipe, peels and seeds and all. It turned out great! So don't make it harder than it is ~ defy authority ~ eat the peels.

[LATER EDITED TO ADD ~ Ok, the first time I made this soup, I didn't bother to remove the squash seeds, and they turned out to be tender- no problem. But the second time I made the soup, the seeds did not soften up, and I had to remove them from my mouth as I was eating the soup. Very annoying. So I recommend scooping out the seeds, but cooking the peels. You still get the yummy pumpkin seed goodness, so you won't miss anything!]

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 leek, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled & chopped. (I used about 5 garlic cloves. I like garlic.)

Saute the leeks and garlic in the oil for a few minutes, in the soup pot. Then add 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, be chopping the following goodies: (If you are like me, and don't have sharp knives, put the potato & squash in the microwave to soften them up a little, to make them easier to chop.)

1 sweet potato
1 butternut squash
2 carrots (or a bunch of baby carrots)

Put the chopped goodies into the boiling pot, along with

3 vegetable or chicken stock (bouillon) cubes

Bring it back to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer 30-45 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

Add

1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 large fresh sage leaves, finely minced

Cook another 5 minutes, uncovered. Use a potato masher to mash it up while you are cooking it.

Garnish with pumpkin seeds. Yum!

Reading

2008-01-17T09:11:00.000-06:00

While I was on the train, I read The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton.

I don't read as often as I'd like. It takes effort to read, especially the classics. But whenever I make the effort, I'm glad, because I am exposed to Great Thoughts beyond my little world. (It's kind of like exercising. I never want to do it, but often I enjoy it, and I'm always glad I did it.)

I have collected some lists of the "100 greatest books," and am planning to read as many of these as I can before I die. I figure I have about 60 years, more or less.

A couple of weeks ago, I took all my spare change to CoinStar, and cashed it all in for a gift certificate from Amazon.com. I had $57 in pennies, nickels, dimes, and one quarter (I save my quarters for laundry, but one got away). I'm going to spend this on books (mostly used, probably, to make it go farther).

I also have a collection of pictures of women reading. Most of these come from The Reading Woman calendar. Every time I finish a book, I'm going to take one of these pictures and frame it, so that I have visual images that remind me that reading is something I value.

I easily sink into mere absorption of what other minds have done, and I should like a whole life for that alone.
~ George Eliot, in J.W. Cross, ed., George Eliot's Life as Related in Her Letters and Journals (1884)

My Dad's Tree

2008-01-16T21:16:00.000-06:00

After the marathon and a shower, I drove over to Glendale Community College to see my dad's tree.

On August 28, 2002, the first anniversary of my dad's death, the Arizona Green party planted a tree in his memory.

He was their candidate for U.S. Senate in 2000. He taught English at Glendale Community College for many years, before his retirement.

At first, I couldn't find the tree. There was a lot of construction, and I was confused about where it was. I was afraid that, with the construction, they decided to remove the tree. (I would've been upset!)

But eventually, I found it. There was fencing around it, but I found a way in, and brushed some of the mud and debris from around the plaque, took some pictures, and collected a few leaves to put between the pages of a book.

Arizona Rock'n'Roll Marathon

2008-01-14T09:41:00.000-06:00

I completed my 19th marathon in my 19th state! The P.F. Chang's Rock'n'Roll Arizona Marathon took place January 13, 2008, in Phoenix, Scottsdale (where I grew up) and Tempe. I have done all 19 marathons within the last 26 months!

The weather was beautiful, of course, and I had good company -- I met a fellow nicknamed "MacGyver," who was running for about a 5 1/2 hour finish, which is my usual time -- so we ran together. MacGyver is a member of Marathon Maniacs, and is acquainted with Industrial Bellybutton. I promised that after this marathon, I would join the Maniacs.

A little after the halfway point, we met another new friend, Kara from Michigan.

Unfortunately, Kara, who was a first-time marathoner, was having IT-band trouble. I don't know much about this injury, but MacGyver had had this trouble before, and knew what to do. MacGyver and I stayed with her, to help her get through the marathon. It did add to our time, but who cares about that? It was so much fun to experience a "first marathon" again (vicariously), and being in the company of these folks made the marathon a memorable and positive experience!

He showed her a few stretches, and we stopped several times to do them. We even caught the attention of another runner who was having IT-band trouble, and MacGyver had both of them doing stretches!

A Visit to My Old Neighborhood

2008-01-14T09:12:00.000-06:00

After the pizza gathering, I visited the neighborhood where I grew up. Here is my elementary school, where I enjoyed 3 happy years ... out of the 9 years I attended school there.

I went to see the house where I grew up. It looked like someone was living there, so I didn't go inside. :-)

The neighbors had a sign in front of their house...

The church courtyard looks nice, and there is a new playground with an awning over it.

I lived in Scottsdale from age three to age fourteen ~ that seemed like a huge chunk of my life at the time, but now it's been 32 years since I moved! Am I really that old??!

Where's George Pizza Gathering in Arizona

2008-01-14T08:51:00.000-06:00

Immediately after the meeting with my running & weight loss buddies, I went to a pizza gathering of people from Where's George ~ I had never met these particular Georgers (other than online.)

I have always wanted to meet Industrial Bellybutton, because he is a marathoner. In fact, after the pizza gathering, he went to dinner with the Marathon Maniacs, a group I have been thinking about joining. More about that later ~ I'm glad I had put off joining Marathon Maniacs, because three restaurant meals in 5 hours would've been too much for me!

The Queen and her Court ~ Clockwise from left: Quarterman, Samurai918, Industrial Bellybutton, Queen Sarah, AZgeek, Ryzilla, Dave in Tucson.

PeerTrainer Gathering in Arizona

2008-01-12T20:53:00.000-06:00

Today I arrived in Phoenix for the marathon. After picking up my packet, I met two of my PeerTrainer buddies for lunch. Molly and Kendall (and Kendall's sister Michelle) and I met at 101 Bistro in downtown Phoenix.

(That's Kendall on the left, me in the middle, and Molly on the right. Michelle is in the stripes.)

It was great meeting these ladies in person, who are a support and inspiration online!

Ironically, I did not eat healthy food, even though this group is all about healthy eating! I saw the nachos with the guacamole and sour cream and melted cheese, and that is what I wanted to eat! I think there was a bean or two in there somewhere amongst the greasy chips. Beans are a SuperFood! :-) Fortunately, I have an opportunity to run it off tomorrow. It's not what you do once in awhile that will make a difference -- it's what you do consistently! So the nachos were a rare treat that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Running and Weight Loss Chart

2008-01-11T15:20:00.001-06:00

I like to keep track of my progress by making it visual, and one of my favorite ways to do that is to create a colorful chart of my running and weight loss. It is the beginning of a new year, so the chart isn't very colorful yet, but I will keep updating it as I go along.

Each week of the year is another column on the chart.

When I run, I color in a square for every mile. My goal is always to run 20 miles in a week, in at least 3 separate runs (exception: if there is a marathon, that would usually be the only run that week, and I would run about 9 miles total the following week.)

This helps me see my total mileage, and how many times I got out there to run!

At the same time, I want to see if all that running is having any effect on my weight.

When I track my weight, I know it goes up and down as much as 5 lbs in a single day, and there are normal monthly fluctuations as well. For that reason, I weigh myself whenever I feel like it (more than once a day) and write down ALL the weights. That way, I don't freak out if it is up a few pounds, but if it bounces too high, I will notice! I did this last year, and watched the entire range go gradually downward over time.

There is a horizontal line on the chart which indicates 20 miles for the running -- my goal is to get up to or over that line every week. Except post-marathon weeks. The same horizontal line indicates the upper range of what I want my weight to be. So I want to get the running OVER the line, and the weight UNDER the line. I think that will happen in a month or two!

The yellow highlighted area at the far left is my ideal weight range, for my height (5'7", medium frame).

I don't feel like working out.

2008-01-08T21:41:00.000-06:00

When I really think about it, I never feel like working out. Or running. There are a lot of other things I'd rather do.

Today, I felt like I was coming down with a cold, and I didn't really have the time, and the weather is yucky, so maybe I'd put it off til tomorrow.

When I feel like this, I put my running clothes on.

99% of the time, this works, and I get my workout in. It's my best trick.

And I no longer feel like I'm coming down with a cold, and I'm glad I worked out.

Political Agreement Quiz

2008-01-08T21:09:00.000-06:00

I've been keeping an eye on the political news, and have had trouble figuring out which candidate I agree with most. It is hard to sort out, because I believe it is time to have a woman president, and I also believe it is time to have a black president. Both are overdue. But what if the white guy is the one most in sync with my political beliefs? I don't want to form my opinions based on gender or skin color, or personality. It's just hard not to be influenced.

So I took an online quiz, to get an objective view. I was a little surprised at the results.

The candidate I agree with the most? Hillary Clinton. (75% agreement)

Dennis Kucinich, not surprisingly, came in second with 73% agreement. But he does not have a chance, so let's move on.

Moving on down past the list of candidates who don't stand a chance, I found John Edwards and Barack Obama tied at a measly 60%.

Now I feel I can take a closer look at their positions. This quiz is not very accurate, because it does not take into account how important each issue is deemed to be.

But so far, the verdict is this: Hillary Clinton comes the closest to having the correct positions. (I can say it that way, because this is my blog. Of course, I would be the best president, but I'm too busy being Queen.)

(All the Republicans were heaped at the bottom, with some guy named Duncan Hunter at 0%)

Playing with Scraps

2008-01-07T23:23:00.001-06:00

I keep a pile of fabric scraps by the TV, and sew them together sometimes when I watch movies. I just like to keep my hands busy.

It's a good thing to take with me on trips, or whenever I think I might have time.

Productive fidgeting.

I figure if I keep doing this, I might end up with a quilt someday.

I'm not an active quilter right now, but I probably will be eventually, so I'm practicing.

I have had this pile of scraps for about 3 years now, and I have enough for a quilt, if the quilt is only about 3 square feet!

Here is what it looks like when you put them together.

Accomplishments in 2007

2008-01-07T10:45:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it seems like I'm not making any progress. I think it's a good idea to write down one's accomplishments of the previous year, sometime around New Years. It helps to make it visible.

So here are my accomplishments for 2007.

I completed 9 marathons, and several half marathons and shorter races.

I delivered a scholarly paper at a music theory conference.

I was awarded the "CAGO" (Colleague) certificate from the American Guild of Organists. (This is a professional certification program, and this level is said to be equivalent to the abilities of someone with a bachelor's degree in organ performance).

I established healthier eating habits, including 10 fruits & vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, etc., and have maintained these habits for 3 months. I lost approximately 15 lbs in 2007, and am almost to my goal weight range.

deleted post

2008-01-06T00:09:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking about starting an online blog

2008-01-05T23:50:00.000-06:00

I'm writing this as a sample, to see how it looks, and how it works. I don't know if it can be edited, or if posts can be deleted, or if other people can access it (if anyone would ever want to!)

It looks like I can put words in bold, and use different fonts and sizes.

Look, I added a picture.

I got a digital camera for Christmas, but I am still learning how to use it. Once I get that figured out, I could post pictures of my cats and friends and other beautiful things.