Sun, Sept 15-Sat, Sept 21

Sun Sept 15: AM. A 2 hour run, most of it with MSRC group, around Lake Wingra and over city and residential streets and paths. It was sunny and in the 60s-70s.

Mon Sept 16: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and around 60°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and around 70°.

Tues Sept 17: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 55°. PM. A 45 min run around Lake Wingra. The sun was setting over clear skies, temp around 80°.

Wed Sept 18: AM. Ran 5+ miles with the pastry club over city and residential streets. It was sunny and in the 50s. PM. On the track with Tyler—did a mile, 2x800m, 4x400m (5:30, 2:34, 2:37, 73, 68, 69, 67). It was sunny and in the 70s.

Thurs Sept 19: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 56°. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 78°.

Fri Sept 20: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. Cloudy at first, then became sunny. Temp of 67°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and in the 70s.

Sat Sept 21: AM. A 40 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and in the upper 50s. PM. A 55 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was cloudy with dark storm clouds rolling in towards the end. Temp around 70°.

Consistency

Running is something that I do every day, usually twice a day. It has become second nature. I wake up, brush my teeth, and go for a run. I never plan on taking days off from running. I will take a day off, however, if I am sick, injured, or not in the mood. Sometimes I simply do not feel like running. When I do not feel like running, I am not going to force myself to run. I will take the day off and come back to it the next day, hopefully feeling refreshed and ready to go.

The same applies for writing. To get better at writing, I think it helps to do a lot of it. But right now, I am not really in the mood to write anything. So I am not going to force myself to write a bunch of words that I do not feel like writing. Instead, I will leave you with an essay by “Hawk” Brent Hawkins. I'm not actually sure who Brent Hawkins is, but I found this essay of his on Bob Hodge’s website. There are a lot of other great articles and things on Hodgie’s website and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

CONSISTENCY by “Hawk” Brent Hawkins

In all my years of running, I probably never received better advice than this, “The key to success in the art of distance running is consistency.” Now I’m talking about the consistency of training day in and day out, no matter what the weather may be, not about the consistency of your morning bowl of Cream of Wheat.

Sunny and warm weather is easy to run in, but if you have been outside at all in the last six months or so you would realize that Mother Nature has not been very kind to us. Even as I write this, the rain is pounding down, wind is whipping and it seems like it’s 38 degrees. This is not a sunny and warm day, but as every good distance runner worth his or her salt can tell you, you must go out and run anyway. This is the only weather that we have therefore we must run in it or else!

When I was just a pup on the running circuit, I ran under the tutelage of National Marathon Champion and All-American Carl Hatfield. Hatfield instructed me into thinking on a global scale rather than a tri-state scale. Just because the weather was bad was no excuse not to run. He said that we are not competing against just people in our neighborhood, we were competing against everybody in the world. Our weather may be lousy, but the weather where our tough opposition is training could be perfect. Therefore we could not afford to miss a day of training just because of a little bad weather, because our competition was training somewhere else and they may be having a nice sunny day.

About the only times I do not suggest you train is during a hurricane, a tornado, or a lightning or ice storm, other than that it is ahead full speed. Try to use the foul weather to your advantage. Take the attitude that you will not be defeated by this inconvenience and bear down just a little bit harder as you run the workout. With each drop that whacks you in the eye you get tougher…with every gust of wind that stands you up, just grit your teeth, put your head down and run harder into that wind. After a while you will see that when bad weather rolls around, you actually look forward to running in it. You need and enjoy the challenge brought to you by nature.

Now that we’ve got you running in all sorts of conditions, we must make sure that your training is consistent. Running every third day or so, or going for an occasional run is not going to do it. You’ve have to be a zealot and a Spartan and a little bit of a masochist to be successful at this sport. You’ve got to train religiously. (This does not mean only on Sunday.) That’s the zealot part. The Spartan part is up to you but the Spartans of Ancient Greece were, well, Spartans! According to Webster’s Dictionary a Spartan is “marked by self-discipline and self-denial with the avoidance of luxury or comfort.” A true Spartan is undaunted by pain or danger. Maybe those Spartans were a bit much but a good distance runner could learn a lot from a true Spartan. You’ve got to be a lean, mean running machine.

When your training becomes as constant as the tax lien on your house, you will begin to see improvement. The more your body does a certain thing, like running, the better it gets at it. The body will actually adapt itself to its most efficient gait. Your running will become as fluid as the rain. Your muscles will get toned and strong with each stride. Your body will also break down your intake of food better to aid in your running and over-all feeling of well-being.

Running on a consistent basis can also fool a few people as to how old you are. Some runners who have been at it for many years do not look their age. Take me for example…I think I look pretty good for a man of 83 years of age. And I’ve only been at this running thing for around 30 of them! I guess it's that good clean living and getting the consistency right on my daily Metamucil milkshake.

So be consistent in your training, go about it and live with zeal, watch what you eat and drink and you’ll look really good when they close your coffin, hopefully several decades from now.

Hey! Is that a funnel cloud? I gotta get my running stuff on….this could be another wet and windy run…With any luck we’ll get hail! Maybe locusts too!!!

Sun, Sept 8-Sat, Sept 14

Sun Sept 8: AM. A 45 min night run (3:15 AM) on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 44°. Worked a 17 hour shift (5:30 AM-10:30 PM) at the ironman triathlon event.

Mon Sept 9: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and around 60°. PM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail, around Monona Bay and over trails in Olin Park. It was mostly sunny and in the mid 70s.

Tues Sept 10: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the SW Path. It was sunny and in the upper 50s.

Wed Sept 11: AM. Ran 5+ miles with the pastry club over city and residential streets. It was mostly cloudy and around 60°. PM. Did a duathlon- biked 36 miles to New Glarus, ran 78 mins on trails in the N.G. Woods State Park including a 1600m on the new New Glarus track in 5:42, fueled up with Moon Mans and pizza at the Sugar River Pizza Co., then biked back to Madison (30 miles). It was sunny and in the 70s.

Thurs Sept 12: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and in the mid 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min run on residential streets. It was dark and around 70°.

Fri Sept 13: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was mostly sunny and around 60°. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and in the mid 70s.

Sat Sept 14: AM. A 78 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path and over city and residential streets, first half with Alex. It was partly cloudy and around 60°. PM. A 62 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was partly sunny and 84°.

Night Thoughts

Burning off steam— what would a blog be without a little ranting every now and then?

I am running in the night. I hate running in the night. I spent all day working. I am tired. I should be in bed. I need my eleven hours.

A late call came in forcing me to run at this ungodly hour. It has been gorgeous and sunny all day and I was really looking forward to getting in a run as soon as my shift was scheduled to end at 7:00 P.M. But no. At quarter after five, the dipshit dispatchers send me on a call to Milwaukee to transport a 350-lb woman who is having a “hypertensive crisis”. Grrr. Arrgghh. Very frustrating. Now I won’t be getting out till at least 8:30. I guess that’s what I get for being in E.M.S.

The utilization rate (percentage of crews out on a call) when the call came in was 40%. There were three 24-hour crews available who could have taken the call. Phooey.

But I think what irritates me most is the whole rationale of the call itself. The reason why the patient’s blood pressure is high is because of an unhealthy life style. Eat better, get some exercise, get enough sleep at night and you wouldn’t be in this mess. After I push the Labetalol through the patient’s IV, her BP drops back down to a normotensive pressure, but it doesn’t actually fix the problem. All the Labetalol does is relax her blood vessels and slows down her heart rate, thus lowering her blood pressure. Her blood pressure will eventually rise again. What the patient needs is a good dose of exercise. Instead of grabbing a twinkie, maybe go for some healthy vegetables or nutrient-dense meat. I see far too many people who have things like type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, etc. All of them are on a million different medications, but none of them actually cure anything. It may sound as if I am mad at my patient’s; I am not. Believe me, I love my patients and treat them all dearly. When I am in the back of the ambulance, I am pretty good at playing the role of Patch Adams. Still it bugs me. 

I read a book earlier this year by ‘84 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Charlie Spedding called Stop Feeding Us Lies. It was a very informative read that went into detail about all the lies we are fed, such as veganism and greenhouse gasses. Charlie also explained how he used to be a community pharmacist, but ended up leaving the pharmacy profession because he was fed up with the system. Most of his patient’s were not getting any better. The drugs he would prescribe to them would not cure them, just treat the symptoms of their illness but not the cause. I can definitely relate to how Charlie feels.

Yawn.

It is late. I am tired. I should be in bed. I am going to end this run, drive the half hour back home to Madison (I am Deerfield now), catch a few z's, get up at 5:30 A.M. to run again, then save some more lost causes. What a life.

Sun, Sept 1-Sat, Sept 7

Sun Sept 1: AM. A 100 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path, over trails in the Mendota Lakeshore Nature Preserve, and on Lake Mendota Dr through the Shorewood Hills. It was sunny and in the 60s.

Mon Sept 2: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and in the 50s. PM. A 30 min run on the Lake Wingra route. The sun was setting over clear skies with a temp of 71°.

Tues Sept 3: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp of 59°.

Wed Sept 4: AM. A 60+ min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets and city streets. Last 3 or 4 miles with the pastry club. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp around 60°. PM. A 30 min run on the Lake Wingra route. It was sunny and 78°.

Thurs Sept 5: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. Clear skies, temp in the 50s. PM. A 30 min run on residential streets. It was partly sunny and in the 70s.

Fri Sept 6: AM. A 40 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was partly cloudy and 55°.

Sat Sept 7: AM. Ran the Apple Dumpling Half Marathon (Hustler to Elroy, WI). Beautiful course on a trail through the woods with an 875-foot tunnel, illuminated with gas lanterns, about five miles in. It was a similar story to last week’s race- I was with another guy for the first couple miles before he picked up the pace and I just tried to keep him in my sight the rest of the way. Finished 2nd in 1:15:34 (winner was about a minute ahead). It was kind of nice to have a rabbit to chase after, but wish I would’ve had it in me to catch him. Still a good effort. Weather was ideal—Sonny, in the low 40s and a slight tail wind.

Sun, Aug 25-Sat, Aug 31

Sun Aug 25: AM. Ran 45 mins on the Monona Lake loop route to Frost Woods Beach, kayaked around in Lake Monona for about an hour and a half, then ran the rest of the way around Lake Monona in 40 mins. It was mostly cloudy early, then it cleared up some while I was on the water. Humid out. Temp in the 70s.

Mon Aug 26: AM. A 45 min run on residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was mostly sunny and 76°.

Tues Aug 27: AM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and SW Path. Hot out— temp of 80° with a dew point of 76°.  PM. A 30 min run on the Lake Wingra route. It was mostly sunny and 86° (dew point of 75°).

Wed Aug 28: AM. Ran ~6 miles with the pastry club over residential and city streets. It was sunny and 72°. PM. On the track, did 6x400m (77, 78, 76, 74, 74, 73), then ran around Lake Wingra in 45 mins. It was partly sunny and around 80°.

Thurs Aug 29: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was cloudy and 66°. PM. A 30 min run on the Lake Wingra route. It was mostly sunny and 82°.

Fri Aug 30: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was cloudy and 70°.

Sat Aug 31: AM. In Prairie Du Sac for the Cow Shit Classic 10k. The run started off the same way it did last year—with a bunch of ten-year-olds going out like it was a 100m dash. By the half mile I had passed all the kids and was in the lead. I thought I might get an easy victory, but around 1 ½  miles into it, I heard footsteps coming up from behind me. The entire second mile is a fairly steep incline. The runner continued to stalk me up the hill, then pulled even with me at the top. It turned out to be Jeremy, the same guy who beat me in last year’s shitty race. We ran together for about a quarter mile, then Jeremy seemed to pick it up a notch and I was unable to respond. He went on to win it in 34:20, while I finished a distant number two in 35:04. The weather was pretty good—sunny, not much wind, and in the mid 60s.