Dancing with disaster

With the upcoming presidential election I got to thinking this morning about what I would do if I were elected President of the United States. Or maybe king of the world. While lying in bed this morning, I thought up a list of rules that I think would make our world a better place. Here are some suggestions I have for a better world:

• No internet

• No smartphones, smartwatches, or any other “smart” devices

• Bring back manners

• No pollution

• All restricted to two flights per year

• Wave/Solar power made success

• No large corporation companies, only family or employee owned

• No death penalty

• Legalize voluntary euthanasia, maybe try something like ethical suicide parlors as they had in Vonnegut’s Monkey House

• Melt the guns

• Organic only produce

• No political advertisements

• Politicians are selected at random like jury service for one year only

• Stop all the wokeness. I'm not saying we should discriminate against anyone or be noninclusive. Everybody deserves and needs to be treated with love and kindness. I believe in equality. However, I think we've gone too far with things like the "Black Lives Matter" movement and "Pride" month. This is doing more harm than good.

• No transgender boys (biologically born males) allowed in girls' sports

• No drugs or blood doping in athletics

• Stop cancelling road races for silly reasons (TCM 2023)

• All prisoners will work for community

• No burning books- I recently finished reading Fahrenheit 451 and now I’m paranoid

• All pay taxes

• A garden is compulsory

• Graffitists will have the same image sprayed in their house

• No boss will earn more than 10 times as much as lowest paid employee

• Remove smoking bans in all pubs, clubs, and restaurants

• Speed limit 25 mph

• One car per family

• Better yet, get rid of all automobiles and motorized vehicles

In short, I think we should just go back to the bronze age. Keep things primitive.

Go tell your stale friends

Go tell false prophets and drug traffickers

Not to try to push our bodies any faster

We’re dancing with disaster

And the first will be the last

It’s nearly Africa

Heck, I wouldn’t mind it if we completely did away with the whole timing system. Can you imagine that? Think about it. Just think about it. We could all wake up when the sun rises and go to bed when the sun sets. Nobody would be late to anything. Runners wouldn’t worry about hitting a certain time mark. We would just race for the pure fun of racing. Or as Prefontaine put it “to see who has the most guts”. This would eliminate so much stress. Nobody would know what time it is. Nobody would even care.

I really do think the world was a better place before the whole technology boom took off. It has gone too far already and it’s only going to get worse. There is something Jean Shepherd said back in September 1972 that captures the essence of this quite well:

*The hectic pace of modern life, the age of the emerging Machine, of rampant Automation, of mind-boggling space shots, of brain-numbing traffic jams, not only takes its toll of us, the hapless human beings who created the monster of Technology but also those simple innocents who have the bad luck to inhabit a planet also populated by Man. We are in the midst of a giant struggle that goes on day and night all over the world. One day the battle will be over, the machines will have won, and few will remember the early days when the victims were falling.

Also, here is a “Straw In The Wind” and Shep’s comments:

FORT WORTH, TEXAS  (AP)  The telephone rang as Mrs. F. A. Farnum was vacuuming her canary’s cage.  She wheeled to pick up the phone and—whoosh—up the vacuum cleaner nozzle went Joey Boy with one desperate “cheep!”  Mrs. Farnum jerked the bag open, grabbed out her canary and desperately shook off a little dust.  Joey Boy was still unrecognizable, so she put him under the faucet.  Then, to be sure the bird didn’t catch cold, she put him under her electric hair dryer.  “He hasn’t been singing since then,” Mrs. Farnum said, “he just sits hunched over and stares a lot.  But he’s eating well.”

Ah, how like us all, hunched over sitting, staring. But eating well. Not much singing but a lot of staring.

I’m feeling a bit like Joey Boy right now. Sitting hunched over, staring. I have a cold- the sore throat and a runny nose. The only thing that seems to make it feel any better is ice cream. I have been eating copious amounts of ice cream to soothe my throat. It helps for a little while, then my throat hurts again, so I eat more ice cream. It’s a maddening cycle.

I didn’t do any running today. The last time I went an entire day without running was over four months ago, in the days following Grandma’s Marathon. That might be a new record streak. Not that I care. The reason I run is because I enjoy it. It is a fun thing to do. Running isn’t any fun when you’re sick. Nothing’s any fun when you’re sick. The weather outside is gorgeous, but I can’t even enjoy it.

Seaquake by morning

Says QUAKE-TV

Rogue wave comes high

And it breaks all over me

They may fix

The weather in the world

Just like Mr. Gore said

But tell me what’s to be done

Lord - ‘bout the weather in my head? 

A wave of futility has suddenly swept over me. I am feeling very futile right now. Nothing that I’ve said really matters. I was born and it doesn’t matter and then I die. I really am just a leaf blowing in the wind. So much of my life is controlled by things I have no input in. I sometimes think I have input, but I’m only fooling myself.

In some ways, futility can be a good thing. Because sometimes I overthink and try to over-manage everything. It would be better if I just relaxed and let life take me along. I’d probably end up in a very similar place, without continuously punching myself in the face. So I think futility can play an important role in life.

By the way, if anybody’s wondering, I’m voting Jordan for President.

Not that it really matters.

A little boy asked me should he put his vote upon the left

A little boy asked me should he put his vote upon the right

I said it really doesn’t matter where you put your vote

Someone else will come along and move it

And it’s always been the same

It’s just a complicated game   

                                    Complicated Game:

* Shepherd, J. (1972). The Ferrari in the Bedroom. Dodd, Mead & Company.

Sun, Oct 20-Sat, Oct 26

Sun Oct 20: AM. Ran 60 mins on the Capital City Trail and Yahara Riverway Trail, played a round of disc golf with Leonard at Cap Springs, then ran 40 mins back on the Capital City Trail. It was sunny and in the 50s. PM. Ran 45 min on the Monona Lake loop route to Frost Woods Beach, kayaked in Lake Monona for an hour, then ran 40 mins around the rest of the lake. It was sunny and in the 70s.

Mon Oct 21: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 59°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail at 9 PM. Shift was scheduled to end at 6. F*%k. I would've gone further—legs felt good—but want to get at least a few hours of sleep tonight.

Tues Oct 22: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was dark and 58°. PM. A 40 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and around 60°.

Wed Oct 23: AM. Ran about 4 miles with the pastry club + a couple extra with Jonah over residential streets and paths. It was dark and in the upper 50s. PM. A 65 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and in the 50s.

Thurs Oct 24: AM. Ran about 25 mins over city streets and on the SW Path to the Edgewood track, did 3x1600m (5:38, 5:38, 5:34), then ran back in ~20 mins. The sun was rising over clear skies, temp in the low 30s. PM. In Deerfield, A 35 min on-shift run around the ambulance station and in the DF business park. It was dark and in the mid 50s.

Fri Oct 25: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp around 50°. PM. A 40 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was dark and 46°.

Sat Oct 26: AM. Ran 20 mins on city streets and the SW Path to the track, did 6x800m (2:41, 2:41, 2:40, 2:40, 2:41, 2:41), then ran 40 mins on the Wingra Creek Path and Capital City Trail. It was sunny and 35°. PM. A 40 min run over residential streets and on the Capital City Trail. It was mostly sunny and in the mid 50s.

Sun, Oct 13-Sat, Oct 19

Sun Oct 13: AM. In Marshfield, A 78 min run over residential streets, on the bike path, over trails in the arboretum, and in Wildwood Park. It was rainy and in the low 40s.

Mon Oct 14: AM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. Right calf is tight. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp of 42°.

Tues Oct 15: AM. A 45 min run over residential and city streets and on the SW Path. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp of 36°.

Wed Oct 16: AM. Ran 5+ miles with the pastry club on residential and city streets and on the SW Path. It was sunny and in the low 30s. AM2 On the track, ran 20,000m in 1:20:00 (6:28, 6:28, 6:28, 6:29, 6:30, 6:21, 6:24, 6:21, 6:20, 6:20, 6:19, 6:18, 3:09), ran a loop around Lake Wingra in 45 mins, then ran 10,000m on the track in 37:20 (5:59, 5:58, 5:57, 5:59, 5:59, 5:58, 88). Running total ~40k in ~2 hours 44 mins. Felt pretty good until the last couple miles. It was sunny with a temp in the upper 30s at the start and low 50s by the end.

Thurs Oct 17: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp around 40°. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over residential streets. It was dark and around 60°.

Fri Oct 18: AM. A 67 min run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, and SW Path. The sun was rising over clear skies, temp in the mid 40s.

Sat Oct 19: AM. An 80 min run over trails in the Mendota Lakeshore Nature Preserve. It was sunny and around 50°.

Sun, Oct 6-Sat, Oct 12

Sun Oct 6: AM. In Palmyra (or Eagle, WI?), A 2 hour 15 min run over trails in the Kettle Moraine State Forest. It was sunny and around 60°.

Mon Oct 7: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail and on the SW Path. Nice out- the sun was rising over clear skies, little wind and around 40°.

Tues Oct 8: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and 43°. PM. In Deerfield, ran 20 mins worth of loops around the station at end of shift. The sun was setting over clear skies with a temp of 60°.

Wed Oct 9: AM. Ran 4+ miles with the pastry club over residential streets. It was sunny and in the low 40s. PM. On the track, did 5x400m (68, 67, 68, 68, 67). It was sunny and in the 60s. PM2 A 52 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and around 60°.

Thurs Oct 10: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and 41°.

Fri Oct 11: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was dark and 57°. PM. A 33 min on-shift run doing loops around the ambulance station. It was partly sunny and around 70°.

Sat Oct 12: AM. In Amherst for the River Run 5 mile, won it in 27:46 (~5:33/mi). The race was pretty much a time trial— I led from the start and just turned on the cruise-control. Felt strong. Weather was good. Mostly cloudy with a temp around 50°.

Night Thoughts

Falling into the void

I am lying here flat out in the sack. It’s about two, maybe three o'clock in the morning although I don’t really know what time it is. But I’m lying here flat out and for some reason or another I have regained consciousness. I have crawled out of that void, dragging my knees over the wall until finally I’m peeking into the sunlight of consciousness. But I’m lying here flat out and it’s maybe two or three o'clock in the morning and I’ve got a wad of cotton in my mouth and my throat is dry and I’m just lying here flat. Without thinking I slowly ease the covers back, but it’s kind of cold. It’s not exactly cold, it’s more of just a chill in the room. I feel around with my feet looking for my slippers until finally I get them on. I don’t want to turn the light on because when I turn the light on that is officially saying I’m awake, I’m officially up. I drag my way to the door, out into the hall and finally I find the john. I’m looking for a glass of water. I turn the faucet on. I don’t want to run it too long to make it cold or anything, I just turn it on and I start rinsing my mouth and yaghgaghhh—it’s brackish, warm even. I turn it a little more. Still warm. I drink. I feel a little better. I’m slowly coming even more to the edge of that bright sunlight of consciousness. I drag myself back into the room. I start to ease back into the sack and I hear a rustling sound outside in the street. Kind of a strange rustling sound. Now there’s plenty of traffic out on this street so I don’t really pay much attention to it. I ease myself into the sack and I lie there flat. But still I hear that rustling—sshhsshshh—a kind of rustling sound that doesn’t sound like a car, it doesn’t sound like tires or anything really. It’s just a rustling sound. I get out finally and I go to the window. The Venetian blinds are half open. I peer out the window and at first the street is dark. Nothing. I don’t see anything there. I sort of turn to go back to bed but something catches my eye. My eyes are beginning to focus. There’s a dark mass moving along the street there. A dark mass… (What is that?) And I look closer. I’m fully awake now. And I see that the dark mass looks like a long snake. It’s kind of crawling along in the street. It’s going from right to left. A long snake undulating, moving. Slithering. I look closer and I see that it’s a mass of humanity moving almost in utter silence. They are moving down towards the end of the block. I look down there and I see where the line is ending. One by one they are climbing into a manhole. Huh. Thousands of them. They’re wearing bathing suits. Old men, young boys, elderly women, young girls, kids, chicks. Nobody is saying anything to anybody else. And they all appear to be carrying luggage bags of some kind. Weekend travel cases? They are climbing into the manhole down there at the end of the block. I look down the other way and I can see that there is an endless line of them jostling towards me. They’re coming from the east, they’re moving west. Countless people. I look out across the street. There are no other lights lit. Nobody. I’m the only one. Well… (What’s going on??)

Fifteen minutes later I am putting on my swim trunks. I am packing a suitcase.

Twenty-five minutes later I am climbing down into a manhole. Ha ha ha ha ha! You’re not going to leave me alone! They’re not going to leave me alone! Part of the gang! I’m in with the in-crowd! Ha ha ha ha ha!

Ohhh but it’s cold in here. With just my swim trunks on. And they’re all around me. Thousands, maybe millions of them.

Fifteen minutes later I am slowly dragging myself to consciousness again and then I’m slowly falling back into the void. What a relief.

John Lennon - Whatever gets you thru the night (Happy birthday John!)

Sun, Sept 29-Sat, Oct 5

Sun Sept 29: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and around 60°. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and in the upper 70s.

Mon Sept 30: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny and in the low 50s.

Tues Oct 1: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was sunny, windy and in the 50s.

Wed Oct 2: AM. Ran 3+ miles with the pastry club over residential streets. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp in the 40s. AM2 On the track, did 4x3200m (12:00, 12:00, 11:54, 11:54). It was sunny and in the 50s. PM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and 70°.

Thurs Oct 3: AM. An 80 min run around Lake Monona. The sun was rising over clear skies with a temp of 54°.

Fri Oct 4: AM. A 60 min run on the Mendota Lakeshore Path to Picnic Pt. It was cloudy and in the 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 78 min run on the Glacial-Drumlin Trail. It was sunny and in the 60s. Put a hole in the tire of the ambulance at work. There were no other rigs available and the tire wouldn’t be able to get fixed until tomorrow morning. So got out a few hours early- yippee!

Sat Oct 5: AM. On the MGHS track, did an 800, 800, 1600, 800, 800, 1600 (2:48, 2:47, 5:26, 2:49, 2:48, 5:27). It was partly sunny, windy and in the mid 50s. PM. A 60 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was sunny and in the upper 70s.

A leaf in the wind

I am sitting here on a bench in front of Lake Mendota watching the waves crash into the shore. It is very windy today. Leaves are blowing all around me.

Life has been crazy and hectic and there’s about 20 million things that have been eating at me, really bugging me lately. Everything is out of control right now and I feel like there isn’t a thing I can do to fix any of my problems. I will spare you the details. Sitting here watching the waves and the leaves and just listening to the wind howl seems to help put my mind at ease. Relax. Forget about life for a little while.

Maybe I’ll write a poem. Yes, that sounds like a good idea. What kind of poem shall I write?

Hmmmmmm…

How about a haiku. It’s been a while since I’ve written one of those. And haikus are easy. Only seventeen syllables. Five in the first line, seven in the second line, and five in the third line.

Okay. Let me think.

Ummmm…

Uhhh…

Okay. I think I got one.

Here I go…

Leaves blow in the wind

Sometimes that’s all I feel like

A leaf in the wind 

   

There. Not great, but not half bad. And hey I really do feel like a leaf. Some days I am a tall, strong immovable pine tree. Nothing can get me down. But not today. Today I am a puny, weightless leaf. Let the wind carry me.    

Goodbye September. I will miss you.

I went for a run this morning along Lake Mendota out to Picnic Point. Many of the leaves on the trees are starting to change colors: reds, oranges, yellows. The sky was mostly clear. The songbirds were happily chirping to each other. Everybody I passed had a smile on their face. But there was a slight chill in the air. An October chill. Today is the last day of September. I am going to miss you, September. You are one of my favorite months. September is a bittersweet time of year. But I think it is more sweet than bitter. September is always so pretty. The weather is nice almost every day. The apples on my apple tree become ripe and tasty. It is my Birthday month. The football season begins. There is definitely a lot to be excited about. It is bitter though, because September spells the end of summertime and a long, cold winter is on the horizon. Yes, I really am going to miss you September.

Michael Franks - If I Could Make September Stay:

Summer retreats now

Green Kingdom’s end

Why can’t I make

Time suspend?

The hummingbird would hover by me

And never fly away

If only I could

Make September stay

In every blossom

She hides a song

Sunshine me mine

All year long

The hummingbird would hum beside me

Her journey south delay

If only I could

Make September stay

If I could just confuse the moon then I

Could make September stay

Or imitate the Warbler’s tune then I

Could make September stay

Sun, Sept 22-Sat, Sept 28

Sun Sept 22: AM. A 78 min run on the Capital City Trail, the Wingra Creek Path, Monroe St, and on the SW Path. Steady downpour for most of it. Had fun splashing through the puddles. Temp in the mid 60s. PM. Ran 30 mins over residential streets after the Packer game. Felt tired and bloated. Must’ve had too much to drink. It was cloudy and 64°.

Mon Sept 23: AM. A 48 min run on the Capital City Trail and over trails in Olin Park. It was mostly sunny and 50°. PM. A 30 min run on the Capital City Trail. It was dark and around 70°.

Tues Sept 24: AM. On the track, ran 20,000m (50 laps) in 1:16:32 (6:18, 6:19, 5:47, 6:17, 6:19, 5:47, 6:18, 6:17, 5:46, 6:18, 6:15, 5:44, 3:02). The hardest part of this workout was just trying to remember which lap/mile I was on. It was partly cloudy and in the 60s.

Wed Sept 25: AM. Ran 5+ miles with the pastry club over residential streets. The sun was rising over clear skies, temp in the 50s. PM. In Deerfield, A 30 min on-shift run— loops around the station. It was mostly sunny and around 70°.

Thurs Sept 26: AM. A 45 min run on the Capital City Trail and around Monona Bay. It was sunny and around 50°.

Fri Sept 27: AM. On the track to pace Aggie to a 5:45 mile (actual was about 5:51). Went out probably a little too quick (Sorry Aggie!)— 82 sec first lap, 2:51 at the half. Nice morning- sun was rising over clear skies, no wind and a temp in the low 50s.

Sat Sept 28: AM. O my God! It’s my birthday! I’m 26 years old! Arghh!!! Eeekk!! Neeyaahghhg!! Good grief!! What’ll I do? Run 26 miles that’s what —There! Ran the Madison marathon course for 26+ miles. Aggie biked with me for the first half, then Scott, Jonah, and Alex joined me on foot for the second half. It was sunny and in the 50s-60s. 

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 lifestyle. 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 sitting on the couch watching TV all day, go for a walk outside. Eat natural foods that come from a farm or a fishery, not highly-processed junk from a factory. Rather than 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 being judgemental or mad at my patient’s, I am not. Believe me, I love my patients and treat them all dearly. My job is to help people. 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. I don't know. Maybe everything I said was just a bunch of rubbish. Go ahead and do what you want. Eat your twinkies and stare at the boob tube. I'm not your mother. Why should I care? 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.