Running With Dogs.

I did not run today.... Because of rain.   But yesterday!   I ran 6 miles and felt Great!  With a Capital "G".   

I ran through the Parkside Petrified Springs.  I did not stop for Mushrooms... But I did stop for Dogs.  ( At least the dogs would would let me pet them.) And that go me thinking....

In the Petrified Springs park,  there are many dog walkers along the path.   And even though I try to focus and not stop for any distractions while on a run,  I will stop to pet a tail-wagging dog whenever I get the chance.  Sometimes I even talk to their owners.  

Kind of weird.  I mean,  A total stranger approaches you while you are walking your dog and stops...  Pets the dog.  And then continues on his run.  Sometimes barely knowing your even holding the other end of the leash. 

Not having a dog,  I wonder ( usually after the fact)  what that must be like.   I mean,  Dogs are family!  Right?  You probably would not let a stranger walk up and hug your kid while you are right there with them... ( at least you probably Shouldn't!)  Perhaps you can get away with that behavior if you are a little hunched over, gray haired lady with a walker.  But NOT if you are a Male...  Between the ages of 35-55... walking through a wooded area... Alone! With Glasses!

He's wearing  GLASSES! 

OK, maybe the glasses bit is a little over the top.   And with Glasses on adults being ubiquitous,  it seems like adding them into the mix  would not add any character.  Glasses  already have enough stereotypes categories to fill.   Glasses  = Nerds!  Glasses = Academics.  Glasses = Old people.  Glasses = scientists.  Adding in :  Glasses = "Creepy Person!"  Doesn't seem to set you apart very much.  Especially since Nerds, Scientists, "College-educated Librarians" and Old People are already Creepy  enough!  But I digress!

Cute items temper the mean look...

I solidly fit within the "Serial Killer" demographic.   And I am painfully aware of this fact every time I go out in public... alone...  Without my "lovely Item" to temper the "Creep factor."   But some how... People let me pet their dogs.  Why?  

Try wearing these!

Perhaps for the reason that dogs, unlike small children, come with a healthy face full of teeth!   And they bark...  Usually very loudly.   Sure, kids can scream and cry, but lets face it.   Kids are always doing stuff like that and after crying "wolf" so many times, non-parents tend to tune them out.   Therefore,  Parents are far more vigilant when it comes to protecting kids.   But not so much for dogs. 

Um...Guys?   Ice cream trucks?

Or perhaps it could be that dogs are a better judge of character than kids are. Give kids some candy and they will jump in the back of your ice cream truck to who knows where!  But dogs are a little more cautions when taking treats from strangers.   Believe me!  I have tried.  (Giving treats to Dogs... Not kids!   I better get to my point before this gets too dark!)   

He just wants to get to know you.

Dogs have a secret weapon called a nose.   I think in addition to smelling fear, ( and bacon!)   they can also smell if a person is "good" or not.   ( Or at least if the intentions are honorable)  At least that is what I would like to think.   Then again, there are always those dogs they simply do not like me.  And I don't have the time on my runs to make the effort to make friends.  ( otherwise, I would!)  

Bottom line,  Dogs are great!   Man's best friend!  And I love them all!  Even the ones that threaten me and bark like Banshees ( Do Banshees "bark?")  Loud noises! You get the drift.  I don't believe there are any evil dogs...  Only bad owners that have mistreated them in some way. If given the chance,  Dogs will become loyal companions and faithful friends.  And Family.  

Just ask anyone who has ever owned a dog in the past. 

As for me.   I will continue to stop and pet the pooches whenever they allow me.  Not only because I love to share the love.   But it also gives me a legit reason to stop on the long runs.  And I will give all of the dogs the credit for helping me out on a long run.  

Thanks for stopping in.

The Wisdom Gained By Running A Half Marathon.

There is much!  But I'm sure, as with many things, it varies from person to person,  since everyone will have a different experience and unique perspective. That being said, Wisdom comes in many forms, as life teaches us lessons about "Life"; and with those lessons, we can use them to take on an uncertain future.  

So what did I learn about Life while running a Half Marathon today?  

Well, actually,  I think I learned a bunch of stuff.  Some small.   Some rather profound!  And some things may end up being useful to me in some unwritten future.  

First:   I survived!  No injuries, no heart attack, no blisters, no chafing, no broken femur(s).  No mental break downs or unexplained fits of profanity.  I just ran the entire thing.  Pausing only once for a pee break and slowing down for water. 

Second:   You can't drink water effectively while running.  Unless you want to wear it.  And as cold as it was, I was not about to douse myself with water to "Cool Down."   The wind and air temps were doing that just fine already. 

Third:  Cold weather makes you run better.  Mostly.   Sometimes?  Well,  I was given a throw away towel to wrap up around my legs or shoulders to stay warm while in the coral.  It helped just enough to get me over the start line and ready to begin generating my own heat.  Once you start heating up, the cold weather comes in handy.

Fourth:   Stale Donuts suck as pre-race fuel!  And Coffee seems to over-hydrate you. 

Fifth:   Small Dogs are ADORABLE! 

Sixth:  I learned to pee in the drain pipe of a small Episcopal Church!  There's a handy skill to have!  Useful when it comes to long lines at the port-a-jons and minutes before the race starts. And a great way to make friends!   At least our area was slightly secluded, as many of the women were holding up towels and peeing by the large trees on the campus lawn. Special thanks to Cheryl for that one....  

Where was I?  Ah yes!  That pretty much sums up the early morning, pre-race lessons that I learned.  With no camera on my person, there were not many pictures to show off.   Then again,  who wants pictures of my skillful "Drain Aim."  (Limited splatter, no puddles... No church bishop to ask us what we were doing....) 

Seven:  Cheryl Is FAST!  And Super Human!  

As for my race?  It was LONG!  And hard.   But I met at least one of my goals in that I finished it.   And I never walked!  Hey!  That's two goals met!   As for the two hour goal....  Well, five minutes over that is not terrible. 

And ultimately, I proved that I could do it.   And not suck!  Hurray for me!

Perhaps the best life lesson I personally discovered for myself is to NOT run a full marathon.  I already felt like a Humvee racing in a NASCAR event.  Not build for speed!  Too wide for the lanes!  Build for hills, not straight-aways! Drinks too much fuel!   And ultimately not in the environment it was meant for.   

And then there is the pain.   Aches and pains in my legs, hips, and feet.   I will be gimping for a few days after this one.  Instead of reversing time, I feel like running makes me look and feel Older!  All that is missing is the cane.  

And then there is Cheryl.   Who ran a new PR for the Marathon ( full!)  and somehow managed to miss any age group awards or recognition for her efforts.  Another life lesson I can learn from!  "When doing your personal best, and Achieving an impossible goal... Don't expect the world to recognize you for your supernatural efforts."  

Well, I recognized it.  And gave her a hug and kiss at the finish line.   A person who can truly appreciate the Herculean efforts required to pull off such a time over such a distance.  While I'm wining about my slow pace over half the distance, she pulls off a monumental time.  

She achieved a new PR and got to ring the bell.  

 Come to think of it.... So did I!  

 SO we ended up ringing it together.   

And that was it.  I survived the race!  And am a little wiser for it.   I believe, for me, there is no further reason to run such distances competitively. I have proven that I can do it if I had to. And I no longer feel the urge to push the boundaries in this specific field of exercise. Similar to driving my Subaru into a brick wall at 35 MPH just to see if the airbags work.   Yes!  They do!  But now you have a broken car.  

So now I get to settle in for the continued lesson of pain.   Any satisfaction that might have been gained will soon be overwhelmed with that wonderful feeling of pain.   But you have to be alive to feel pain, right?   And I guess I am alive after all.  Thanks for stopping in.

Adventures in Toledo, Ohio!

 Remember when I said I was running a Half Marathon in Cincinnati?  Well, that was not entirely true.  In fact.  It was pretty much wrong!  I guess I'm running in Toledo!   ( Good thing I checked!) So here I am in Toledo, Ohio, preparing for my heroic victory or humiliating defeat as I attempt to run my first Half Marathon.  Hurray for me!

Oh!   I decided to bring Cheryl along.   So she could run the Full Marathon.   And give me a ride in the Bean Subaru.  It helps to have a designated driver... Especially when you don't know where the Race that you are supposed to be running is actually located!  But here we are now...  Ready to face the trials and trails of life together tomorrow.  (Was that sentence too complicated?   Did anyone get the joke?) 

So where do I begin?   It was a fairly long day filled with much adventure.   But I guess it really started yesterday with the long carpool through Chicago.  I linked up with Cheryl in Joliet and parked the Silver Bullet Subie in a safe place next to the bus stop and Penitentiary. A few reasons for that:  It is only $1.50 parking fee per day.  And what Criminal will be committing a crime that close to the State Pen?  We shall see if the theory holds true, as this IS seriously close to Chicago....  ( Be safe Subie.... ) 

Arriving in Toledo,  We camped out and Prepared for the Expo,  which was today.  We were one of the first people in the door and picked up our BIBS and checked out the expo.   Cheryl posed for a bunch of pictures by the giant  26.2 numbers. You could also write and sign the numbers to leave your mark on the experience.   

As for me... I added my catch phrase to the numbers,  even though I was only running the half Marathon. 

 

There were a number of posters that the local school children made for the event.  Honestly, I shot several dozen pictures of the artwork and could have spent the day inspecting the future artists of America rather than doing all that running stuff.   Some of the kids were incredibly talented.  If you payed any attention, you could see how the age of the kids helped display their skill levels.   And even among a single grade,  there were several students who broke away from the mold.   

How I view myself

How I am really....

I liked this kid... Not only did he share my name, ( There were several posters by "Ethan." ) but he also shared my aptitude for art at an early age. I never thought I was anything special when it came to art.

 

Cheryl at the first Mile.

Cheryl after 26 miles.

But I did notice that many of my fellow class mates were not on the same level as I was.  Not bragging... just an observation.  ( Not that I did a heck of a lot with that Art skill in my adult years....) 

We also did a little shopping and picked up some swag for the experience.   The deals are there if you know what to look for!  I scored a tumbler for under $20 and a tech shirt for  only $5!  Cheryl bought gels, socks and a headband.  But eventually...  we saw it all and left for the next adventure. 

The BEACH of Lake Erie!

That's an has an eerie sound to it.    Especially when they try to convince you that the beach is toxic or something.   Sure, there was that moment in the 70's when the lake caught fire... but that was years ago!  I'm sure it is perfectly safe now...

 Did I mention Lake Erie is the Walleye capitol of the east?   East of the Mississippi at least. the lake is far from dead... It's ALIVE!  With blue green algae.   But don't be fooled by the blue or the green....  The algae comes in a number of fun and fine colors. 

Like Purple, Pink, Gray...

And Brown!

We were not there to swim, but rather to beach comb for oddities in the surf.   Beach glass being one of the cool things we found in Lake Michigan several weeks ago when Cheryl stopped in to Kenosha.

What we found were shells.  

Lots and LOTS of shells! 

 

In fact,  Finding beach glass at this beach was a rarity.  We did find some, but most of them were large and not fully rounded off. 

 

 

There were also a lot of Fossils in the large break wall rocks.   Once again, there were so many, I could not possibly post all of them on this blog post.  We wondered if they were ancient corals or petrified wood.   A nice find along with the endless shells.  

There were so many shells there that at one point, we could not find any sand or small pebbles there. 

We walked up and down the beach until we felt we could find nothing else and then headed to the nature center, located in the same park. It was a typical nature/ learning center with many kids outside fishing in the small trout pond.  Again, I took lots of photos, but most of them will not make it to the blog posting. 

And finally we are back in our hotel room, waiting for the early 3 am wake up call to get the ball rolling.  Only this time, I will be an active participant, rather than a highly skilled, but passive spectator.  I doubt there will be many pictures, as I will be running the darn thing and will not want to lug my heavy camera around for 13.1 miles.  ( Yes!  Heavy!   Anything is heavy after 13.1 miles.)   So my next blog post will lack many of the "action shots" that Have made me famous in previous blog posts.  

So what do I do in the mean time?   Well, I took a long shower and shaved off all of the hair on my head, face, and other body parts to make sure I am as aerodynamic as possible. Who knows if it will help, but why not eliminate as many variables as possible?  Remember, I'm not aiming for speed,  but I would like to reduce as much drag as possible. 

And then there is this blog post.   Usually these guys take me three to four hours to complete.  And I have an early bed time scheduled tonight!  So...  I will hurry up and finish this post while I make a few more memes of myself and the half marathon.   Cheryl said I should have titled this post: " Half Marathon Man!"  Or the "Hero of the Half Marathon!" There is a joke there somewhere....  ( "Half a man... But the BEST half possible!"   Or " Where are the legs? Man. ) I like the hero part, as long as I don't fail terribly.  And I have set the bar pretty darn low for myself.   Besides, I look like a heroic Lex Luthor in a cape and running shirt.  Perhaps Marvel fans will see the contradiction better than most.   But in the mean time, I will attempt to channel that "Hero Spirit" to get me across the finish line.  If I survive,  I will tell you all about it. Possibly tomorrow...  Wish me luck!