And the winner is...
Gas-powered leaf blowers and weed wackers whined and screamed. My tight grip on sleep loosened as the cacophany got closer and therefore louder. Toolio, super chill cat, bailed before me. Finally, its like 9:30 AM, enough is enough, I immediately escape into the yoga studio: AKA yoga sanctuary. Close three red curtains - one for each door. Blast the radio. I now have my bubble of sonic protection from the onslaght of noise. Sounds like a chainsaw war. Thus I am able to practice yoga and tai chi and succeed in my goal of relaxing on race day.
My motorcycle decided that it did not want to start unless pushed today. It may be time for a new battery. I rode all the way up to Meyer Mount today. Sat in the shade of a tree. Stared thru the cloudy haze unable to see the Channel Islands. Then back down the steep hill, taking it relatively slow due to dirt and dust on the steep turns and a rear tire needing replacement. Some road work being done on this road. Several orange people run around with signs - "Stop", I stop - then flip it to "Slow", don't worry, all the dust and dirt is adequate warning but thanks any way.
Next activity involves some Star Wars video action with Will. Time for a superfood, coconut oil, raw caco smoothie. Race begins at 7:00 PM - three and one half hours away. I mosie to the spare t-house and nap - this one is out of the sun at this time and consequently is much cooler. Toolio follows me in and squints his eyes like cats do, stretches out on the rug and we snooze together. I read some of Gibson's "Pattern Recognition" - this book is his best hands down, it gets better and better every page.
6:00 PM - Time for yoga, tai chi and a little didj. Then I am off on the bike that only starts with a push. As I pull into Nordoff High School, I can see Gunnar and Devin running around the track. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Gunnar was a last minute entrant. He called me on the phone just after Bill informed me. The spirit of competition roped him in like cowboy in a rodeo - Yee Haw!!
On your mark... get set... go! And we are offf! I take the early lead for the first 200, establishing what feels like a 75 second pace of the first 400. As we complete the first 200m, Devin passes me and quickly has a 15 m lead. I can hear Gunnar's labored breathing behind me. It sounds like he's trying to stay with me. I allow Devin to keep his lead. I do not think he can keep it. My first split is called out by Bill - 72 seconds. Uh oh, I think, that's too fast. I keep thinking that Dev's gonna hit the wall and I'll be able to catch him. After another 200m, my fast pace catches up with me. Devin is about 60/70m ahead. The third lap begins, it is all a haze now, I remember trying to make a move but there is no juice, I can really just maintain what I am doing. The fourth lap - I am resigned to a second place finish. Gunnar is more than half a lap behind me, Devin is a hundred meters in front of me. Devin wins easily 5:19, then me 5:38, then Gunnar 6:10.
After the race, Devin confesses that he has been training doing intervals. He says he was trying to break 5 minutes. I am just happy to get under 5:40. I only started running three and a half weeks ago. Before that I'd had next to none cardio vascular workouts for the past 18 months. I plan on continuing to jog. My competition with the clock continues.
The audience consisted of Walter, Dayla, Sienna, Jennifer, Eliza, Will, Tony, Eric, Kira and Jules. We all ate Thai food at a restaurant afterwards and Bill picked up the tab.
Congrats to Devin. A great time and a gracious winner. Thanks Bill.
My motorcycle decided that it did not want to start unless pushed today. It may be time for a new battery. I rode all the way up to Meyer Mount today. Sat in the shade of a tree. Stared thru the cloudy haze unable to see the Channel Islands. Then back down the steep hill, taking it relatively slow due to dirt and dust on the steep turns and a rear tire needing replacement. Some road work being done on this road. Several orange people run around with signs - "Stop", I stop - then flip it to "Slow", don't worry, all the dust and dirt is adequate warning but thanks any way.
Next activity involves some Star Wars video action with Will. Time for a superfood, coconut oil, raw caco smoothie. Race begins at 7:00 PM - three and one half hours away. I mosie to the spare t-house and nap - this one is out of the sun at this time and consequently is much cooler. Toolio follows me in and squints his eyes like cats do, stretches out on the rug and we snooze together. I read some of Gibson's "Pattern Recognition" - this book is his best hands down, it gets better and better every page.
6:00 PM - Time for yoga, tai chi and a little didj. Then I am off on the bike that only starts with a push. As I pull into Nordoff High School, I can see Gunnar and Devin running around the track. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Gunnar was a last minute entrant. He called me on the phone just after Bill informed me. The spirit of competition roped him in like cowboy in a rodeo - Yee Haw!!
On your mark... get set... go! And we are offf! I take the early lead for the first 200, establishing what feels like a 75 second pace of the first 400. As we complete the first 200m, Devin passes me and quickly has a 15 m lead. I can hear Gunnar's labored breathing behind me. It sounds like he's trying to stay with me. I allow Devin to keep his lead. I do not think he can keep it. My first split is called out by Bill - 72 seconds. Uh oh, I think, that's too fast. I keep thinking that Dev's gonna hit the wall and I'll be able to catch him. After another 200m, my fast pace catches up with me. Devin is about 60/70m ahead. The third lap begins, it is all a haze now, I remember trying to make a move but there is no juice, I can really just maintain what I am doing. The fourth lap - I am resigned to a second place finish. Gunnar is more than half a lap behind me, Devin is a hundred meters in front of me. Devin wins easily 5:19, then me 5:38, then Gunnar 6:10.
After the race, Devin confesses that he has been training doing intervals. He says he was trying to break 5 minutes. I am just happy to get under 5:40. I only started running three and a half weeks ago. Before that I'd had next to none cardio vascular workouts for the past 18 months. I plan on continuing to jog. My competition with the clock continues.
The audience consisted of Walter, Dayla, Sienna, Jennifer, Eliza, Will, Tony, Eric, Kira and Jules. We all ate Thai food at a restaurant afterwards and Bill picked up the tab.
Congrats to Devin. A great time and a gracious winner. Thanks Bill.
posted by Dij at 9:38 PM
1 waves:
I was pullin' for ya, Didj.
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