MRI Results

March 17, sunny and 23 degrees.  Too hot to run!  Seriously, 23 degrees?  Mid-March in Creemore is usually when the snow banks go above 8 feet.  I'll try to dig up a picture of my old Integra against such a snow bank in mid-March.

Ran 5K yesterday.  I'm not going to push it for now, but would like to ramp up to a short race, such as Pick Your Poison 25K.  During yesterday's run, I found 2 garbage pails that had gone MIA during a wind storm.  Lucky to find them!  But it meant a half K of running holding on to two pails - not so simple!

I spoke with my sports doctor on Thursday about the result from my MRI the previous week.  Torn cartilage.  A bit of a relief, as it can be "trimmed" with arthroscopic surgery.  When I had the cartilage in my left knee worked on in 1973, they took the whole thing out!  Sports medicine has come a long way.  In fact, if I can find a video, I might do the surgery myself.  My close-minded doctor thinks it's a bad idea, and that some surgeon should perform the operation, but how hard can it be?  I've already got a chainsaw (incision) and a Dremel tool for trimming.  I just need to find a small camera.  Perhaps the one in my wife's old cell phone.  I could duct tape it to a Bic pen and prep the pathway with the Dremel tool.  I figure it would be a 4 black russian project...

Maple syrup:  Very very very very bad.

I tapped 250 trees.  I was expecting between 180 and 220 litres of syrup.  This year is simply the worst on record.  I started boiling last Sunday and tomorrow will be the end of it all.  I should pack it in today, but I am going to pull all the sap out of the sap pan tomorrow and feed it into the finishing pan.  While the finishing pan is boiling, I will need to add an estimated 400 litres of water to the sap pan, to avoid burning the sap pan...  Maybe I should do my knee at the same time.

So far, I have 24.5 litres of maple syrup.  This year's investment (I'm adding taps as I approach retirement) including new equipment, cutting firewood, repairs, bottles, jugs and rum, was $800.  I don't have enough syrup for the CVC race!  Lee Anne has agreed to make 16 extra bowls.  I will give the AC winners an option of syrup or extra pottery.

I was foolish enough to mention that I wanted to bottle 200 - 250 ml jugs for the race kits.  That is what likely jinxed the year.  Mother nature has a perverse sense of humour when faced with presumptuous maple syrup producers.

Using the same tactic in reverse, I have officially scoffed at the north wind.  I called it lame, spineless, timid in the face of a superior southwest wind.  I must have below freezing tonight or tomorrow night, or the season is over.  If we get 4 feet of snow over the next week, I'm sorry for spoiling your beautiful Spring, but I will be rejoicing!

OUS Spring Warm-up:  Lee Anne has agreed to make a few extra bowls, to replace the non-existent maple syrup prizes... Sorry.  I plan to take a course on altering the climate, once I find said course.

Running:  The plan is to slowly ramp up to 25K and attend PYP.  Plan B is to volunteer at PYP for the morning.  I am prepping for a wedding with my chainsaw in the afternoon.  Yes, the wedding involves ultra runners, how did you know?

That's it.  Shortest sugaring season on record, or at least since I started making maple syrup in 1972.  My running will improve this year, and I am secretly and guiltily enjoying the warm Spring.