So, after yoga, it was to the track for 48 laps of lane 3 (7.5 laps to the mile, or 6.4 miles)
11:25, 10:57, 10:51, 10:50, 10:26, 9:57 (1:04:29). The last 16 laps (just over 2 miles) was…well.. actually work. That is sad. Weight: 185 (187.5 with shoes and shorts).
Yoga: I saw a video of a class going from crow to plank in one move; this video shows how to practice that move:
Yes, I am well aware that the Senate won’t even take it up, much less get 2/3. And frankly, I wonder if there are even enough votes in the House; Democrats in Congress say that there is little pressure from voters to pursue impeachment. And Fareed Zakaria explains why he thinks it is a bad idea:
I agree. Of course, when Zakaria starts out by saying “consider, for a moment, what the growing talk of impeachment among Democrats sounds like to the tens of millions of people who voted for Donald Trump…” and many of the liberal hot heads will tune out.
Still, impeachment IS overturning the results of the last election…it is that serious.
About lifting as an older guy: every time I get 1-2 fewer reps than my “new normal”, I wonder if I am backsliding..or if this is just the usual variation that has always been there and is always there, for everyone.
rotator cuff, pull ups( 5 sets of 10, 1 of 5), bench: 10 x 135, 3 x 185, incline: 9 x 140..could not get 10, 5 x 50 military standing, 15 x 50 seated, 10 x 45 standing, 10 x 40 standing, rows: 3 sets of 10 x 50 single arm, 10 x 110 machine, plank, etc. 6 x 30, 6 x 50 goblet squats (trying to maintain leg integrity), 10 x 210 leg press, knee stretches (not quite as comfortable with the 4 lb. medicine ball..at least early, as I’d like)
Weight: 188; kind of bloated from last night..still.
Politics Elizabeth Warren is the plan lady. If we were choosing POTUS by search committee, I’d like that. But you have to get the voters to respond to you and that is a collections of slogans, stage presence and emotions. I might be selling the voters short, but I don’t think so.
No, Trump’s numbers are not good, especially given the economy isn’t doing that poorly, overall. His numbers are roughly what Reagan’s were at this point in his presidency (scroll down a bit to see the comparison). And there isn’t enough “room” in the economy for him to be rescued by a “Morning in America” the way that Reagan was.
And to many, it appears as if the economy is top heavy; the benefits are…surprise…NOT trickling down and many are noticing. Add that to Trump’s toxic demeanor and he isn’t in great shape.
Yes, I know; the 2018 elections ..but remember that Obama bounced back from a rough 2010 (the were key differences; in 2010, you saw the effects of a rough health care vote AND many McCain CDs coming home to the Republicans).
Still, IMHO, the Democratic field appears to be a hot mess, and the D’s appear to have their knives out for each other:
I should probably just get off of Twitter. But you have people going after male candidates (now it is time for a WOMAN…ok, I happen to back one but I really, really like Amy Klobuchar and her sex has zero to do with it) people going after white candidates, people saying that owning a handgun ought to be disqualifying (no, NOT the Onion…USA Today!)
There are times when I don’t like liberals either…and this is one of them.
We can be so sanctimonious. And we are, at times, incapable of introspection. If anyone attempts an honest “ok, what could WE have done better in the 2016 general election” be prepared to be flamed online. That Russian interference and the Comey letter hurt us (at least a little) is undeniable. But to think that we didn’t play a part in the loss…OMG, what can I say.
Activists just don’t DO introspection ..any negative outcome is *always* the result of unfairness or the result because the other voters just aren’t as moral, informed, smart and principled as WE are. The idea that we might have alienated anyone or had a faulty strategy or used ineffective tactics is pure anathema!
First, I had to walk the walk..that is, just over 10 miles of walking. It took forever 2:52 but it was done at a leisurely effort, and I got the old cat call from my yoga teacher. That was fun.
I caught 1 game on Saturday (wet and chilly) and part of the first game of a double header and the second game as well.
I got to the first game when it was 7-4 Indiana State and saw Bradley not score. But in the 6’th, fireworks. BU’s bats opened up with consecutive triples and that lead the way to 3 more hits (including one double) and 4 runs; that put BU up 8-7 going into the top of the 7’th.
The opening play was key. ISU got a single …seemingly no problem but the ISU player had thought about trying for a double and then changed her mind. A throw to first was high and got just past the first baseman (off of her glove and a bit behind her..the runner didn’t try to advance but the first basemen threw to second and the ball went into the outfield..and then started to dribble past the outfielder. So the runner ran for second and the throw was just a bit high..but the runner slid off of the bag and was tagged out! Out..due to two errant throws.
Good thing too as the next batter doubled..but ended up stranded.
Then came game 2; it was a pitcher’s duel for a while until BU tied it up with a solo shot. Then came a 4 run barrage …a grand slam, in fact. Indiana State got one run back in the top of the 6’th, but in the bottom the Bradley bats opened up again, this time for 5 runs in the bottom of the 6’th, which was capped by a 2 run home run by the 3’rd baseman, who hit two in Saturday’s game. That made it 10-2, triggering the 8 run “mercy rule” ending.
Yesterday’s game: was moved to 3 pm..and was played just right as it opened up. It was a back and forth affair..each team getting the lead and the other team getting it back. Final was 8-7 Bradley in a slugfest.
This time I was 47:39 at 4 and 47:43 for the second half; 14 minutes for the 1.25 leg. I wore my new shoes. Gray, chilly but dry and I wore a sweat shirt. But I did have a “speed” workout two days ago. Still..the legs didn’t exactly bounce me up the hills.
187.0 prior to running on the house scale.
Yes, I know, I am talking a LOT about Joe Biden, and he isn’t even my candidate. I support Amy Klobuchar, who represents my values and has a highly competent record in the Senate.
But Biden being in the race has caused some shake up.
I will explain.
I remember seeing this back in 2015 and thinking “you know, what Trump says about political correctness will resonate with many and not just with Republicans.”
Notice the applause after the “politically correctness” remark.
Seriously, people really are sick of it. And yes, that includes 33 percent of Democrats and yes, this includes a fair number of liberal intellectuals. And yes, this includes me.
Now in my case: I reject scolds of all varieties, including the right wing religious scolds.
And well, I am sensitive to this as I think it harms dialogue; all too often discussions between people devolve into shouting matches, with the competing sides being unwilling to try to see it as the other side(s) see it.
And yes, the right wing bears much of the blame (“if you disagree you are UNAMERICAN, evil or stupid”) but they do not bear ALL of the blame; far from it.
No, no worries: my state will almost certainly vote for the Democrat, and no, I am not voting Trump, no matter how distasteful I find the hyperwoke. And Trump’s act is right wing political correctness, on steroids.
And no, I do not approve or racial slurs, sexual harassment, etc. The things I am talking about are things like, say, the politically motivated attacks on Steven Pinker and his work in The Blank Slate, deplatforming based on disagreement with views, and yes, even some of the unfair attacks at Rep. Omar. (much from the right wing, but not ALL of it came from the right wing)
But along comes Joe Biden, and, well, he isn’t going to grovel. He isn’t going to exaggerate “past sins” to placate the self-appointed gatekeepers of liberal morality. GREAT.
Oh, the woke are clamoring at how HE is out of touch with “the base”. Of course, it appears to me that when many say “the base” they mean “people like themselves and those they swap twitter hashtags with”) and many of them become indignant when you point out that they don’t represent everyone.
Oh yes, Joe Biden has his issues. I’ve pointed some of them out. But, this article gets it right:
Biden, whose smile is Jack Nicholson’s without the naughtiness, is not angry. His sporadic attempts at seeming so are transparently, and engagingly, synthetic. Neither, however, are most Americans angry. Rather, they are embarrassed and exhausted. Biden has a talent for embarrassing himself, but not the nation, and he probably might seem to weary voters to be something devoutly desired: restful.
And the political science professor behind Gin and Tacos..someone that I often disagree with (re: boomers vs. millennials cultural wars) makes an interesting point: (damn..can’t find the reference so I’ll attempt to paraphrase from memory): much of the Midwest is stuck in a time warp from the mid 1990’s, and that is Joe Biden’s politics. Therefore, he might do well there.
So, I will watch and wait…is it time to resurrect the old dinosaurs? Or do I feel this way because I am an old dinosaur?
Note: I posted this back in 2008 when these were called the McNaughton Trail runs. The new name is Potawatomi Trail Runs, but the course is virtually identical. The name of the park is the John McNaughton Park.
I’ll talk you through one of the 10 mile loops (note: in the 10, you do one loop; in the 30 miler you do 3 of these, 50 miler you do 5 of these, 10 for the 100, and 15 for the 150 and 20 for the 200 (yes, there is one of these)).
UPDATE: erosion has taken its toll; some of the “once grassy meadow” sections are now basically dirt road sections and can be very slick when it is rainy. And one field is now called “the field of wet dreams” because it is, well, swampy instead of grassy.
Note: on race day, the course is very well marked with bright yellow tape and glow sticks.
Note: if the course is muddy, it can become a gigantic mud bath. Here are some examples:
See here for more “mud” photos.
The start is near where the McNaughton Park blacktop road runs out. Note: there is a red arrow pointing to the right (as you look toward the end of the road loop). This is the start of the 7.5 mile “red trail”. If you want to do the trail course, you look left. You’ll see a wide, somewhat muddy trail heading down hill. Start there.
You go down hill and empty out into a field. Starting in 2006, the course turns left and you go around the field, hugging the outstide.
The race course has a “short cut” marked; if you go all the way around you’ll add a couple of minutes to your loop time. Stay around the field (don’t follow the horse trails out!) and, at about .8-.9 miles into it, there will be a small entrance into the woods; that leads you up your first climb.
The entrance can be hard to see during the summer; remember it comes at “almost 1 mile” into it. You go up this hill and empty out into a grassy field.
You can see the start of the course on your right and you head straight across the field toward the woods (near where the woods get closest to the road). This is where the “red trail” starts. Again, this entrance can be hard to find when the course isn’t marked. Here is a summer and a spring view:
Now the trail goes through the woods and you’ll go over several “dipsy doodles” (mini ravines). You’ll also cross several mini streams and possibly pick up some mud. Note: recently, a couple of cool foot bridges have been added. Eventually you’ll turn right and go up your second good uphill
and face another field to cross; this one has a foot path and features tall grass on either side. You’ll cross under some power lines.
You are closing in on mile 2. Then you’ll head back into the woods for some more single track; here you’ll encounter 3-4 more mini-ravines and perhaps a small stream. The footing is mostly good but the ravines are momentum killing. Eventually, you’ll come to yet another footbridge and that means that you are close to exiting this woodsy section.
This takes you to the totem pole aid station, and I have a hard time believing that I don’t have a photo of that. Here, you are at mile 2.5, and this is the first aid station.
Here is Jerry Davidson’s:
From this station, you head out following the red trail, for a little while. Eventually, you break away from the red trail:
Note that the red trail moves off toward the left; to follow the race course you go to the right of the tower that you see. This takes you past a bathroom and through some open fields.
Though this stretch, you might encounter some fallen limbs, maybe a stray root and some gopher tracks/holes. But mostly you can make good time.
When I am out on my own, I always get lost here (and so I usually just follow the red trail). But when it is marked, you can see where to cross the first small rectangular field (short side), and go between two trees into a footpath through the woods. You empty out and follow another field going along the long side of the rectangle, then when the field jogs right, you turn left thought the woods again, and move up over a tiny grassy hill.
Then you hug the field and then turn left through some woods
and this path connects to a very sandy path; you turn right on this path and head downhill.
The down hill area is called “the beach”. Stay on it and then go uphill to leave the sandy area; the path becomes packed dirt again. Then downhill to the first major creek crossing:
Note: during the summer, this crossing is sometimes dry:
And you are about 1/3 of the way through the loop!
Across the creek, you turn right and follow the dirt path. Here (when it isn’t marked for a race) it is easy to get lost and miss that first uphill section; you don’t want to miss that! 🙂
This first post-creek uphill takes you about half way up the bluff that you are about to get familiar with. Then you go down, take the dirt paths that run along side the creek and stretch out those legs getting them ready for the bluff section.
You eventually head toward the bluff and go along side of it for about 100-200 meters until you then make a hard right turn right up the side of the bluff: welcome to golf hill!
You are at about 4 miles into the loop. This hill has a rope during the race.
This starts you on an interesting 1 mile section where you repeatedly go up the bluff and almost all the way back down it:
You do have some flat stretches along the bottom of the bluff. The third uphill is the longest though not the steepest. You have one up-down part on this third uphill,
but eventually you’ll come to the end of this section where you will see this:
That is the signal that you are about to take a long downhill toward the creek. Note that this has been changed this year; no more screaming downhill but rather a more reasonable, gentle downgrade.
This bridge is just a hair shorter than half-way! On the other side, you’ll have a minute or two more of a few minor dipsy-doodles
prior to crossing another small foot bridge and emptying out at the base of a hill, where you will turn left and go up a long uphill, which features a wide trail and another wooden footbridge.
You empty out into a field for about .5 miles worth of easy running or walking: (update: this grassy section is now a bit like a dirt road and instead of providing relief from the mud, can provide a source of more mud)
Along the edge of the field you’ll pass a small family cemetery. Then you’ll pass an easy to miss (when not marked) clearing on the right. This is about 5.8-5.9 miles into it and is called “Heaven’s Gate”. Turn into this clearing and you’ll be at aid station number 2 and 3, as you pass it twice. Head towards the end of the field and you’ll see an entrance into the woods. Follow it, but then when you get on the foot path, take your first right (easy to miss) If you go straight, you’ll cut off about .5 of a mile.
This takes you down toward some woodsy paths that run along side the creek. I call this the slalom course as you frequently twist and turn between the trees. Eventually you empty out into a grassy field and follow that for a while. Update: this is now “The Field of Wet Dreams” section. It can be very swampy if there has been any recent moisture at all. It USED to be a reprieve from the wet and the mud. No longer.
Off to your right, you can see the mile 8-9 section of the loop.
Eventually, you head back through the woods, up hill
and back into the Heaven’s Gate field. You exit that, turn right, and head out along the outer perimeter of the field; you have about 3 miles left in your loop.
Here it gets a bit tricky again if you are not out there when the race course is marked. Keep going so long as you see the red markings on the trees. Update: more dirt path stuff now..grass is mostly gone.
You exit the field to the right and go along a wide grassy clearing.
You keep going until you see woods off on your left, and at about 7.25 miles or so, there is a small opening into the woods:
Yes, that one:
And that takes you through just about a mile of small ups and downs, with perhaps one good sized hill.
You pass over one small footbridge, and at about 8.1-8.2 miles you’ll see a larger one:
Turn right when you cross this bridge; this takes you on a bit more of path which empties into yet another field and a downhill.
Here you get easy grass running/walking for about a quarter of a mile.
When you come back toward the woods, there will be a right turn that you do prior to moving toward a field (where you first went downhill at the beginning of the loop. Turn right and after about 200 meters you’ll find the third steam crossing.
yes, that is Andy, the race director, and on the other side you see where the trail picks up again.
You go up a steep hill and past a hole in the Disc (Frisbee) golf course; don’t be deceived; you still have about 1 mile left.
You go through some woods, alongside the creek again, and then back into the woods on a steep uphill.
This part is the most mentally taxing for me, as it appears that you are finally about to get out of the woods, but then you are directed back into them again. The uphill is followed by a downhill, then two more minor uphills and downhills.
The downhill which has the wooden marking post signifies the end of the last wood section; you then empty out onto the disc golf course!
Turn right, follow the red signs on the trees. This takes you across a field, to a path where you go right. The lake will be on your right as you go past. Then as you see a big uphill on your left, take the hill and go through the clearing. This is the last hill of the loop.
Then as soon as you are on the top, turn hard left and follow the treeline. You’ll go through a clearing toward another “hole” of the golf course, but then turn right through yet another small path.
That path empties you out into yet another field, where you will be able to see the start of the course.
Congratulations; you now have another 4-9-14 of these to do. 🙂
Update: this shows what things can get like if it rains hard:
Note the tape on the tree to the right; that is the kind of tape that is used. I see this as a very bright green but perhaps it is really yellow? 🙂 (re: Brian’s comment)
Here is another photo showing a muddy course and the tape:
Both of these, I believe, come from the stretch between the last stream crossing and the disc golf course.
From here. Note: she worked on some serious stuff; these were not post-offices getting named.
Yes, this is pre-Biden entering the race.
Speaking of Joe Biden: I am seeing some heads exploding. Oh, never mind that he was vetted by Obama..he just has a terrible past, I tell you.
Yes, he has weaknesses: age, gaffes, ..and perhaps you just want someone else. But a monster he isn’t.
Speaking of gaffes: this is one of my favorites:
Yes, Hoover was POTUS during the 1929 crash, and there was no TV; it was all radio.
I had the luxury of walking a 2.2 mile course in the afternoon..I was getting so sleepy at my desk.
Weights this morning: rotator cuff, pull ups: 10-10-10-10-5-5-5 bench: 10 x 135, 3 x 185, dumbbells: 10 x 70, decline: 10 x 165, military: 15 x 50 seated, 10 x 45 standing, 10 x 40 standing, rows: 3 sets of 10 x 50 single arm, 10 x 110 machine, planks, knees: 6 x 30, 6 x 50 goblet, 10 x 210 leg press, knee stretches (getting down here a bit more).
Near the end..trying to get it all in without waving my hands too much (that is, without skimping on rigor).
Life of an old goat 