Once a Runner

It’s been a tradition to do races on the 4th of July for years. After my health issues brought on by my races in June I didn’t think it was going to be possible this year to pick it up again after a two year Covid hiatus. The last time Smitty and I met for breakfast we talked about the possibility of doing Butte to Butte again along with his traditional blueberry pancake breakfast on the river after. I signed up knowing it would have to be a day of decision.  I got to the race and was still not sure I felt good enough to do it but after getting out and moving around for a while I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did. It was good being out there with the running community again. My time was a slow 49:49 but it was my second fastest of eight races this year.  After the race I drove to Starbucks to get coffee for the breakfast.  Then I went back to the race in time to see Larry and Smitty finish and also to congratulate and get a picture with Ben Blakenship the new record...

Had I not had to cut my trip short I wouldn’t have been able to attend this meet so I guess that was one plus about having to come home early. It was a great meet with some of the best performances of all time including a world record by Sydney McLaughlin in the 400 hurdles. This is my fourth time getting to go to the USATF Championships since the Olympic Trials here in Eugene in 2016 as well as the Trials here in 2021 and the meet in Sacramento in 2017. 

I guess the best news about the trip home is that it was uneventful. The bad winds all across Wyoming didn’t really affect the drive. An advantage of not driving a high profile vehicle. I didn’t stop at any of the places we’d stopped before for pictures since nothing had really changed and I wanted to get home. I did stop and take a picture of Devil’s Slide in the canyon on the way to Ogden. It’s an interesting natural feature.  To celebrate my final night on the road I got a Little Caesar’s thin crust pepperoni, a four pack of small Cabernet and Charlie and I rested up for the last push home.  Forgive the fat 😂. Here’s what my stomach still looked like 10 days after my last blood thinner shot that I got in the hospital. 😳 We made it home tired, disappointed that I had to cut the trip short but still happy to be back in Oregon. 

And then the wheels came off. I started thinking about another 10 days of hotels, travel and racing and I was questioning if I could physically do it. Add to that I was feeling worse than I should have been and I decided I needed to call the rest of the trip off. I didn’t want to be even further away if I got sicker.  It turned out to be the right choice! Friday night I had a deep chest cough and was really sweaty all night so the next morning I figured I’d better take a Covid test. It was negative so I was happy about that but it didn’t make me feel better physically. I took another test that night and it was also negative.  When I got back to Stacie’s on Sunday it was early because I only left myself about 3 1/2 hours to drive. I basically just went to bed to see if resting would help and took another Covid test that was negative.  The outcome? A trip to the ER that evening because my oxygen levels were low and not improving. I wound up having a few tests and then being...

The purpose of this trip was to get the last seven states I needed of the Lower 48. It was going to be 3 of the 5 states in the Independence Series and then 4 of the 6 in the New England Series.  Despite questioning myself before breakfast the one morning I was confident that I would be able to reach my goal of all 7 states. I had already made all of my reservations for the entire trip with the exception of possibly going to my Aunt Isabel’s one night and staying with Bob and Donna O’Connell one night. In both cases there wouldn’t be a race the next day.  I was able to stay at the same place in Delaware for the first two races. In Newark by the University.  The first race went pretty well I jogged very little but tried to fast walk as much as possible. The course was two loops with minor hills and was in a pretty place. All of the races were very humid but because they all had a 6 am start time they didn’t get to warm by the time the 5K was done.  My friend, Aysha dr...

Tuesday, May 31, 2022.  Hagerstown, Maryland 7:30 a.m. EST I’m lying here in bed, in a Sleep Inn in Hagerstown, Maryland asking myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”  I know the short answer is trying to get my last seven states and when I think about it during the day the answer makes sense. But when I wake up in the middle of the night and allergies seem to be kicking my ass the bigger question is, “Why”? It’s now Tuesday morning the last day of May and actual races start tomorrow morning. Then I race three days in a row. Im hoping once the actual races start I can be a little more sure that it’s worth it. Right now after my second day driving and second night in a motel I seem to have more doubts than answers.  Oh well enough pontificating. Time to go get breakfast and see what the day brings.  Tuesday, June 7,  2022. Grover, Missouri 10:17 a.m. CST Well it’s been a week since that last post and to say a lot happened since then would be an understatement....