Okay, I am possibly the only person who considers the diagnostic as good news, but compared to what I was expecting, it is quite pleasing. Still not confirmed (I go for an MRI in March), but Dr. Bowman suspects a torn ACL. Simple scope surgery (I might do it myself) and I am back on the trails. Okay, I'm not even considering a hiatus to running, but if I did, it would be temporary! Although some runs are accompanied by a sharp pain on every right heel strike, it does not come close to what happens when my back gets ugly, so I will continue running, but defer any Himalayan style ramp-ups until after the medical dust settles.
CSR: Tried to run the course yesterday, but was very tired and weak and only made 2K. I have been supporting production this week by racing (sorry Honda, "driving") cars into and out of assembly frame repair. Work starts at 16:00 or 16:30 and ends at 01:00 (WGR: I am beginning to understand some of your challenges!). I get to bed about 02:00 each morning and due to a biological clock that has been conditioned to getting up at 05:45 every morning for the last 22 years, I am also studying severe sleep deprivation, without the nap option (there should be some small print here, somewhere). Today was not much better (read slow as molasses in January) but completed the 7.2K course. It was quite runnable, with few deep snow spots, no flooding and a deliciously treacherous ice crust. It certainly gave the lateral muscles a workout! I must admit, if we get 6 - 12 inches of snow, it would make the running a little easier. Don't worry, I am very careful with what I wish for!
So my schedule this week has me working from 15:30 until midnight on Friday, then 06:30 until 15:00 on Saturday (physical inventory - my real day job in the last fiscal quarter) but I have some surprises in store for "them"! I will work from 13:30 until 22:00 Friday (called a split shift), then show up late on Saturday. at Honda, "late" means starting at 08:00. Woohee! I am such a radical! If they don't like it, they can (hopefully) fire me. For those of you out there entering the twilight of your careers as I am, there comes a point where getting fired has some appeal. This is not quite how events would unfold (remember, this is a dream) but if I was fired now, the standard separation package would pay me until my pension kicked in...
Other running events are starting to unfold. Lee Anne is starting to get nervous about running the Mont Tremblant Ironman one week before her inaugural Copper Kettle Dash. The CKD is a 5K run and walk and a 10K run. I think the realities of an over-stimulated schedule will reveal itself to Lee Anne very soon!
Also on the horizon is the Ontario Trail/Ultra Series Spring Warm-up. If you are toying with this event and don't mind spending $35 to support the Ontario serieses, I would suggest that you are in for a surprisingly fun day. This is the only event where I can run with friends, as opposed to race ahead or behind them. You can also run with some of the OUS leaders, who somehow find low gear and socialize with us mortals. The course is either affirmation or a nasty surprise for those who hibernate from the trails during the winter. Why make the warm-up easier than the races? Yeah, I get some flack over this one! The latest rumour is that the SW might be up north in 2013. I am struggling to envision what trails look like near Huntsville in mid-April. Attending is without question, but I'm bringing survival gear!
For the Creemore Vertical Challenge, I will attempt something I have been toying with for several years. I find adding a coffee sampler to the race kits a bit lame. Also expensive ($600 / $3 per runner). I added a new maple sap mainline last year, with 35 taps. My plan is to make 200 maple syrup samplers (200 ml) for the race kits. I should know better than to broadcast this change until I have 200 jugs in hand, but it looks doable in theory...
Cheers!
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