San Francisco Marathon - Articles - Zimbio

My Camera Sees Things My Eyes Can't See...

Mon, 8 Jul 2008 02:57:00 GMT

posted by bobcar8
Yea, yea, yea...Sunday I ran twelve miles, felt great, ran fast but decided to stop due to a painful heal. But on to better news...the camera arrived! I do have a life outside of running and that is to serve my wife and keep her happy - just kidding. No, but seriously ...it is... just joking. Seriously.

A quick sampling of me installing the art purchased at this week-end's Art Fair. Perfect for our Northern Arizona porch.

Is it straight?

A little leg and bum to my handy work.

Enjoying the success of a job well-done. A little "house proud moment", I say.

A summer celebration...our typical front porch snack -- wine and cheese.

A dog as well, Splash (a.k.a. Girldog)

Good-bye Her Little V-dub

Wed, 19 Jun 2008 04:11:00 GMT

posted by bobcar8

(To Terry Jack's, "Seasons in the Sun") Goodbye Her Sweet V Dub

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We've known each other since we're thirty-seven.
Together we drove the streets.
Never stopped at Burger King or Mickey D's
Greasy fries never found between your seats.
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to leave,
but all the SUV's cough and choke the air.

Now, little cars are everywhere.
In the bike lane we'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the gas prices climbed
and miles per gallon were out of time.
--

As a result of a successful "Bike to Work" campaign, my wife's V-dub became a casualty as we found no further need for her. She served my wife well bringing smiles when they drove together. I'm sure she is serving her new owner equally well. In the end by us working for the same employer and finding the joy of biking to work every crisp morning with mountains in the back drop, the poor German car became expendable.

Now, we're a one car family of the best car ever made -- the Honda Element. This car does everything from car camping, hauling garden supplies to even balancing our checking book. My god, there is now money at the end of each month!

With the money from the sale, we paid off credit cards and our finances are looking better by the day. Perhaps shortly, I could even purchase a digital camera and once again return this blog to it's once, albeit short, glory days!

37 days to the marathon...it will be a tough day...I no longer have hopes of achieving my desired time but will still attempt it. These past weeks have been tough for week-day runs. I hope the aerobic activity from biking pays-off.

Nine

Mon, 17 Jun 2008 03:19:00 GMT

posted by bobcar8
Hot, hot, hot! Sunday's temperature quickly reached 80 and we weren't even up yet. Flash backs of cramping muscles and heat radiating upward from the asphalt truly didn't motivate me Sunday to run, instead a full day's of landscaping with lemonade breaks persuaded me.

All day, I committed myself to the backyard hanging trellises upon our fence for flowering vines which I love. Aside, I bought an extremely large Medved print of vines covering a Mediterranean window which is now found hung in our guest bedroom. Part of the reason for sudden garden obsession was due to the guys in the back installing their patio next to our fence. Like the neighbors but I'd like a little privacy screening because you know how guys and barbecues are... next, they'll be yelling something about Johnsonville Brats and climbing over the fence.

Although it was not running, I shoveled, hammered, planted and sun-burned from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. perfecting my backyard garden where, I hope to eventually escape from a hard day's work in the smells of flowering beds, bushes and vines. I call this a well-deserve trade-off from the long runs of Lake Mary, although the schedule only showed a short, long-run of 14 miles. Next week is another 20 miler - I'll be ready and the lounge chair and lemonade waiting for my recovery in the backyard.

Back to reality...the summer series results came out and my competition is the same as last year -- Nat. In the Masters Division they have nine pairs of trail shoes to give away to the top nine finishers. Guess where I am? Number nine and on the bubble. Crap! I need a fantastic finish on Saturday's Gasp'in In the Aspen nine mile race for my average to increase above 60 percent. Nine... alot of nines in this last paragraph. There should be a Sesame Street reference here counting to nine.

"I wish I knew how to quit you!"

Mon, 24 Jun 2008 03:41:00 GMT

posted by bobcar8

"I wish I knew how to quit you!" For some reason, we gravitate back towards a relationship that soured long ago. Hope fools us to believe, "This time it will be different." Yet,after the initial pleasantries the blisters begin to re-appear. Am I an idiot to return to you? Damn Asics Kayano 14's!

Why did you change when the 13's were so good to me? I know, you had to grow, better yourself if you will, or the relationship would stagnate. But, it was perfect! I don't understand?

Yes, the relationship was perfect for me. Now, I roam the streets and internet looking for someone just like you...your old version of yourself, the Kayano 13's.

After this week-end's race I found myself actually stating, "I'm having a bad shoe relationship this year," which raised some eyebrows, yet perfectly acceptable during Pride Week. With the race only five weeks and a few days away, I'm not happy with my shoes. Tonight, once again I wore the Kayano's 14s, hoping for magic and came home eight miles short of my twenty mile goal with huge blisters -- nasty blisters that when poked with a needle, a fountain sprang forth. Sick.

Pancake Breakfast!

Sat, 4 May 2008 15:59:00 GMT

posted by bobcar8

"Do you think anyone will show? God, it would be pretty embarrassing if no one did." As we finished cleaning the house Friday night, we both had the same thoughts but the wife spoke first.

I replied, "Well, a few of the people are on vacation or out of town. I'm not sure there will be many people coming for breakfast."

Turning into the parking lot Saturday morning, only two cars were parked at Ft. Tuthill where this week's group run was scheduled on Soldier's Run -- one of my favorite 10k courses. Arriving twenty minutes early, both of us were nervous that our post-run pancake breakfast may be a 'dud'. Breaking the tension I said, "We might as well stretch," since there was not much else to do but stare at the entrance for cars to putter through on a thirty degree morning.

Today's pancake breakfast was a big day for my wife because in Louisville she had a strong social network and often had pancake breakfasts for the pure joy of socializing. Here in Flag, a new city for both of us, her personal tradition has yet to begin as well as establishing strong friendships. For her, I hoped the breakfast to be a success.

With ten minutes until eight a.m., our hope were fading. "Maybe people forgot about the new starting time from 9 a.m. to 8 a.m.?" Five minutes later, traffic starting to flow into the parking lot and, boy, did it flow! I knowingly glanced over to my wife who seemed to have the same thought, "God, I hope we have enough food and drink!" Our paranoia was finally relieved and now we could relax and enjoy the run as well as hosting the post-run festivities.

"Welcome!" Neil, the group organizer announced, who was also stunned by the turn-out, "I see you all read the internet posting about the run and breakfast. Bob, are these all friends of yours? Would you like to say a few words?"

Typically before the morning's group run, we introduce ourselves only by name but this time I extended the invitation, "Karen and I would like to invite all of you to our house for a pancake breakfast with fruit, bacon, Blood Mary's and Mimosas!"

"Bloody Mary's and Mimosas! Why bother running? Let's go now!" Amazing how the words, Bloody Mary and Mimosa, evokes an imagery of a sophisticated morning social event yet, more important, an acceptable morning cocktail. With that some twenty plus runners and ten plus dogs hit Soldiers Trail for a very fast-paced, group run.

Afterwards, I drove to the grocery store for food and beverage re-enforcements returning to a backyard full of dogs romping about and a house full of runners sipping Mimosas or clutching Bloodys with the wife at the helm of a griddle flipping buckwheat, blueberry blackjacks and talking-up a storm -- she was in her element -- political conversations.

Clearly, this was her day and I took a backseat to cooking and overseeing the event to imbibe in a few Bloody Marys, the 'conversation enabler' or after a few, 'a blithering idiot'.