Workouts: Sunday: 2 mile walk; deadlifts with the trap bar: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 230 low 4 inch: 3 sets of 5 x 300 Monday: 1 mile over lunch; it was coming down in buckets. pull ups: 6, 6, 10, 6, 6, 6, 5, 5 bench (Swiss) 10 x 134, 4 x 154, 6 x 150, 5 x 150, 5 x 150 high incline: 3 sets of 10 x 94 curls: 3 sets of 10
Tuesday: 10k course in 1:30:03 I was barely chasing 15 minute miles up until the end. Then a lunch stroll with B
Chiefs baseball:
In Saturday’s game with Tracy, the Chiefs rallied with 3 runs in the bottom of the 7’th and got strong relief pitching in the 8’th and 9’th to win 7-5.
Sunday’s game was a slugfest: they used a 4 run 3rd inning to help them to a 10-1 lead. The Kernels cut it to 10-6 in the 7’th but the Chiefs came back with 2 in the 7’th and 4 in the 8’th to win 16-6. The sun drove the center fielders nuts; there were 3 dropped fly balls early in this game.
Here you can hear Tracy talking about a retirement home experience during the game:
Today: so far, Indian buffet with B. She got a bit dizzy while shopping and so I brought her home. She’ll skip tonight’s game but maybe make tomorrow’s instead.
There is quite a bit of construction on Moss (when isn’t there?) and so I took an unusual route out and back. I am going with 10.6 miles (Garmin: 10.4, Strava 10.8) I took Knoxville back, Kumpf out. My route takes you through inner city life. I felt fine; used some sports replacement drink.
Game tonight: with Tracy; Barbara will pass. Maybe tomorrow?
Back of the Pack at races
First, two more photos from the race:
The first is from the start where I am creeping, big time. Later in the race, I did look as if I were walking but not here.
Second: in the background you see two figures: this is Meredith pacing me in.
Here, I am showing walking form, albeit not great form.
So, I DID walk this race, though I would have been illegal early in the race, before I had warmed up.
Back of the pack I was chasing the red head in one of the photos. He is FORTY years younger than I! That’s reality: age plus walking means “way back in the pack.”
And the attitude now-a-days is different.
Many participants do them just to do them. When they boast, they say “I’ve finished X number of half marathons or Y number of marathons.” They do not mention time.
And that is ok. It benefits me too: there is no way in Hades I’d have been allowed to finish during the 1980’s running races. Example: at my second marathon, the time limit was 5 hours. In my third, when I showed up fat and out of shape, my 4:24 put me deep in the rear of the pack. (1983)
But the other side: when you are as slow as I am (2:54; my previous post-COVID halfs were 3:05, 3:03, 3:01), those around you are likely to be the “just finish” types who clown, mug take selifes and just generally party along the way. Very few who are near me are trying their best, and these are likely to be, well, age peers or older.
So, in a sense, it is lonely. At smaller races, even with long cut-offs, you ARE alone. And at the larger ones, very few around me are actually racing (i. e., doing their best)
And so it goes. I mourn for what I can no longer do (run the half in 1:34). I am grateful that I can walk it at all without that “icepick in the butt” feeling. I am grateful for the long time limits. But I am still lonely in the back.
But that’s life, isn’t it? It is having a mixture of things to be grateful for and to mourn.
My last post was on Monday. Now it is Friday. And so my boring life goes.
Workouts: Tuesday: 10K course (Bradley Park) in 1:25:42 (13:49 pace) Wednesday: 5k of commuter walking (two parts). The weights: got 50 plus pull up reps, bench was 10 x 134, 10 x 134, 5 x 150 Swiss, low trap bar: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 225, high incline: 10 x 94, 2 sets of 5 x 105 trying to keep things even. Thursday: 10k course in 1:27:44 (14:08 pace); pretty day, but not much going. Today: 3.2 worth of commuter walking. Pull ups: 6, 4, 6, 6, 10, then 4 sets of 5 including 2 of chin and 2 of mixed grip bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 154, 4 x 154, 6 x 150, 5 x 150 high incline: 2 sets of 10 x 94, one of 5 x 105 curls: 2 sets of 10.
All together, not much. I did take Barbara walking a bit: Costco, and a couple of short (.5-.6) campus walks; the latter was half without the rollator.
Baseball: I could not make the Wednesday game. I made Tuesday and Thursday; latter had almost no one show up.
Tuesday: 7-2 victory, powered by a grand slam!
A GRAND return for Anyelo Encarnación!
In his first game off the IL, he blasts a grand slam for his third 💣 of the year. pic.twitter.com/GuYhjHVeU8
Thursday: a 12-10 slugfest that featured several home runs and, well, not great pitching. That the Chiefs held on to their 12-10 lead in the 8’th was a relief.
Ian Petrutz lifts one up and out for his first home run of the season!
This afternoon, I didn’t have my best day at teaching, though I avoided false conclusions. Workout notes: 2 mile commuter walk, also Pull ups 5 sets of 6, 10, 5 chins, 5 chins Swiss bench: 10 x 134, 5 x 154, 5 x 154, 6 x 150 high incline: 10 x 94, 5 x 105, 5 x 105 (possibly a 3rd?) curls: 2 sets. Still doesn’t seem like much.
And yesterday: 7.1 miles in 1:52:18 followed by a Dozer Park mile. I saw the rain delayed end of the Bradley vs Southern Illinois game (10-1 loss) and the first 6 innings of a 6-2 loss (it was 4-0 when I left). The game was marred by a broken ankle from a second base slide.
This morning: 2 miles of walking and some light deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 230 low, 10 x 260 4 inch. I was all good.
Then after Indian buffet I watched Bradley go out to a 4-2 lead only to lose 13-5. The game got away in the 6’th and again in the 9’th.
Workout notes: Thursday: ho-hum 5 miles (out and back) at about 15:35. Very low effort.
Yesterday: 2 commuter walks totalling just over 5k. Weights: pull ups 6, 6, 10, 8, then 4 sets of 5 Swiss bench: 10 x 134, 6 x 150, 5 x 150, 5 x 150 (bailed on set 2: then pin pressed 134) high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 5 x 105 (trying for an even bar) curls: 2 sets of 10
This wasn’t a great walk but it wasn’t supposed to be. 7.27 by Strava, 7.04 by Garmin. Call it 7.1: it was the extra loop course. But the day was pleasant.
Let’s just say that it is good to talk it over. Workout notes: pull ups: 5 sets of 6, 10 sort of sloppy, 5, 5, 3 chins sort of strict bench: 3 sets of 10 x 134 high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94, 5 x 105 (trying to move the bar up evenly) trap bar: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, then 10 x 244 4 inch.
I swear, this past half took something out of me, and it was only a half! Monday: got off to an early start, and even walked 2 miles before class. I did some fiddling with the schedule and some soul searching on how deep to go with the Laplace transform algebra.
The weight workout: 5 sets of 6, one of 8, two of 6 (last 2 were chin sets) bench: Swiss bar: 10 x 134, then 3 sets of 5 x 150 high incline: 10 x 94, 5 x 110 (ragged), 5 x 105 (better), one set of curls.
The fun: helped B stretch her hamstrings via hinge squats
Today: easy 4 mile (4.16) Corn Stock course at 15:22. The walk served its purpose. I drove B for her blood work and helped her rollate .72 miles over lunch.
I know it was just a half marathon, but it was a good effort for me. But that means disrupted sleep patterns. Next time: I have to take care of hydration and rest.
Yesterday: I did some light weights: (trap bar: 10 x 134, 10 x 184 low, 10 x 244 4 inch), walked 2 miles and went to Indian buffet. Later: Game with Barbara. The Chiefs lead 4-3 in the top of the 9’th when the Cubs hit a 2 run home run to win the game 5-4.
The night before: the Chiefs gave up 8 runs in the 7’th to lose 9-3.
Life of an old goat 