Square peg
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Eat the Damn Cake
Sunday, April 3, 2022
The mile is my marathon
Friday, February 25, 2022
The importance of "me do it"
It is the nature of small children to be trying to do things themselves. I remember when my kids were little and I would be trying to get them dressed and off somewhere, for example. and they would insist "me do it". I often let them, which resulted in some of the most interesting outfits ever created, but I digress.
What I didn't realize, is that though I can't speak for other adults, it is also MY nature to want to do things for myself. This came as somewhat of a surprise to me. For a long time I have been more focused on doing things in service of others....students, family, etc. I often thought, I just wish someone would wait on me. Be very careful what you wish for.
When I was first diagnosed with cancer and started chemo, I would get so tired...some of the meds drove my blood sugar through the roof which added to the effect. And I was grateful that when I ran out of steam, there was either my wife or a family member around to help me.
Then, out of the blue, I had an arterial blood clot in my left lower leg and had to have emergency surgery to repair it. While they had me on my feet, getting to the bathroom and sort of shuffling down the hospital hall within hours, my mobility had (has) been seriously impaired. This came as quite a blow for someone who was doing races only days before.
Needing help to get out of the chair and hobbling back and forth to the bathroom as my major form of exercise got old VERY fast. Relying on others for most everything else, though I appreciated the help and they did it gladly, made me feel whiny and demanding.
The PT at the hospital told us the best way to to get the strength back was to walk (with a cane or on a bad day a walker), but it was sore and it seemed SOOOOO hard. Still, I have been an athlete and I knew that nothing ventured, everything lost. It just doesn't do itself.
What could I do? Motivation was hard. Well, first of all I asked for PT...which my oncologist actually ordered, though the vascular surgeon would have done so at the next visit. They were in quite close contact. By late the afternoon that the order was put in I had a PT who is also a teacher/researcher at UW and who works with some complex cases. He helped me learn how to understand the ups and downs in strength and ability that chemo and crazy blood sugars will cause.
Monday, February 21, 2022
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
It has been a while since I have written here, and in the meantime I signed up for a Wizard of Oz themed challenge group....so I seem to be thinking in terms of Oz when I think of things lately. And with what I am going to share here, I suppose I could also be talking in terms of twisters and flying monkeys, too. But Lions and Tigers and Bears and a dark and scary forest seem as good a metaphor as any.
Now let's back up to the very last day of 2021, which was intended to come in more like a lamb than a lion.
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD...
“We do not learn from experience … we learn from reflecting on experience.” --John Dewey
I believe that Dewey, an education reformer and philosopher, was correct. And I feel like my triathlon season this past July and August is rife with lessons...but now I need to do the work of learning them. So this is my reflection on the 5 races in 6 weeks that comprised my multisport season in 2021.
Races and Highlights
Lessons learned
Sorry, not sorry...but not again!
Monday, August 2, 2021
A season of slaying dragons
What are my dragons?
For me, a dragon is something I consider "unfinished business." For instance, the biggest one I have probably ever dealt with is my Ph.D. My daughter had her accident about halfway through my course work and I ended up taking a leave of absence with no expectation in my own mind that I would ever go back. I assumed it was over, but after about a year and a half I went back (oddly, Glenda and Melanie both always assumed that I would finish..I did not). I didn't meet my goal of a degree by 50, but I was only a few months late.
That was huge...but there have been other little dragons. Most recently they have had been athletics related. There are only 3 races that I ever started and didn't finish: A half marathon in San Antonio, The Door County Tri and the Screw City Du. San Antonio never became a dragon for me, for reasons I won't go into here. But those other two...or more particularly, PARTS of those other two became dragons that popped up to taunt me now and then.
Why did they need slaying?
Well, strictly speaking, I don't suppose they had to be slain. There is some virtue in just letting it go. Oddly enough, though, only some of my unfinished business becomes something that needs finishing...but when something does get in my head, I do need to get it done.
The two races that were stuck in dragon mode were both multisport. At Door County on the first try, I had been pulled from the swim, finished the bike strong and blown up on the run. The conditions were not great in the swim that year and many people were pulled...that didn't bother me particularly. But not finishing the run, even though it was the right choice for that day, just bugged me. I needed to know I could finish a run after such a relatively long bike.
Similarly, the first time I attempted the Screw City Du I got through the first run...and it was soooo hot and miserable I stopped there and dropped to the 2 mile run category. I wanted to go back this year...not to do the whole race but to run more than 2 miles for sure. Technically there was a 2 mile run division so I finished the first time, but it did not satisfy me, I wanted to finish something there that I actually set out to do. So I set out with different expectations.
How did I do it?
In both cases, I chose to close the book on this unfinished business...to slay these particular dragons...by setting out to finish relays. And I did them just 8 days apart! It was my short season of slaying some old dragons.
When I did Door County the first time in 2019 as I mentioned above, I was pulled from the swim (I didn't argue, the conditions were not good for me, and several people were pulled that day). I went on to have a really good bike, and I'm proud of that still, but in the end I pulled out of the run about 1.25 miles in. Partly that was mental (having been pulled from the swim I couldn't claim a finish so it was hard to care enough to push through) and partly physical (I had biked frustrated and pushed too hard). I didn't feel any need to do the swim again, so I signed up for a relay. Glenda swam and I biked and ran.
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
Live Races are Back! And so much more!
Catching up
It has been a long time since I last wrote here and sooo many things have happened!
Moderate travel returned for us before we were really ready, due to family issues. We had planned to visit Glenda's family in October. We had barely determined to suck it up and go (while being very careful) when we were told that her father was ill. At that point they had thought it was a sinus infection and cough that just wouldn't let go. Of course we were concerned it might be COVID, but he had a negative test and the doctors were quite sure that that was not the case. And we felt we definitely had to go.
It was clear that my father-in-law, Robert, was quite ill. A week or so after we came home we got a definitive diagnosis, sarcomatoid mesotheleoma (lung cancer). We went back to help with some things in early November and Glenda went again by herself around Thanksgiving. Several days after this third trip, in early December, Robert Adams passed away. From an active 80 year old who travelled the world and shepherded young boys through all manner of projects when volunteering to run the boys' club at church, to gone....in less than 3 months. We went back to St. George, separately and together, a number of times since then...for the funeral, to help with some clean-up projects, and just to visit Glenda's mother, Janice. And of course Glenda did the St. George Half Iron in May.
Winter was rough. Within a few week's of Robert's passing, my mother's last remaining sibling passed and my son's family lost a beloved pet (a puggle named Drucker) rather suddenly. Right before Christmas my daughter was diagnosed with COVID-19. She did reasonably well despite being one of those people who tested positive (with no symptoms) for months. Spring couldn't come soon enough for us!
Running continues...virtually and in person
We were what you might call "early adopters" of the return of in-person racing. Our first one was a trail race in late October. However, it was different from earlier races. Masking was required when near others and start times were broadly spread out to ensure maximum social distancing. Still it WAS a race with other people. What didn't change was our penchant for costumes!
Pleasure travel is back
Given the rate of our travel before the pandemic got in the way, we were beyond eager to do some traveling. A brief winter weekend visit to a cabin an hour from home helped, but by Spring we really wanted to get away a bit. Sooo, even before we were vaccinated we signed up for the Mackinac Island Fort to Fort 5 mile race and made plans to stay isolated and masked up (the race itself already had a good social distance plan).
Fortunately, by May 15, the day of the race, we were both fully vaccinated, making the trip even safer (though we definitely had qualms on and off). So off we went on a road trip, and some fun adventures. Highlights included a spur of the moment trip to Kitch-iti-springs (Big Springs) in the Upper Peninsula and, of course, the race. (Fort Mackinac played a role in the War of 1812 and our costumes were based on uniforms from that era).
Well for one thing, we've gone back to live racing...carefully. And we have further plans for that.
Glenda has retired at the grand old age of 54, and I will be retired (again, ha!) by the time I publish this. So there will be new and different adventures.
My daughter Melanie is "between places" in a respite nursing home setting, and what's next for her remains to be seen.
My son and his family built a house and got a new puppy during the height of the pandemic...and I'm sure there will be more stories and adventures from that quarter too.
Glenda's sister is going through some life changes, part of which involves her moving further from their mother. So I'm sure there will be plenty of issues, stories and adventures for us (and them!) too.
In other words, I am unlikely to run out of things to talk about. And so, until next time......