GREAT BALLS OF FIRE and other Random Thoughts

Well, more like Small Balls On Fire, but more on that later.
          Some prayers are repetitive. The Litany for example, and of course, the rosary. During confession, the priest gives you penance in which you usually have to recite so many Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and/or Act of Contritions to atone for your sins. My question is: is repeating the same prayer several times when you are more or less just murmuring the words, more effective than one fervent one where you put your whole heart into it? It seems like repetition is some sort of sacrifice that “makes you put in your time” so to speak.

          During my half marathon birthday walk, I contemplated my fear of offering one of my kidneys to my brother. I had been thinking about it for awhile and it has become more important now because he may have some donor compatibility issues (his blog about kidney disease). I wish I could be courageous and just do it because it's the right thing to do. Even if I was brave enough to do it, how do you coordinate the healthcare system of the U.S. with that in the Philippines as far as organ donations go? I emailed the National Kidney and Transplant Institute customer service in the Philippines but they haven’t responded.

          I used to do errand runs to squeeze in a workout where I ran to the bank, video store, grocery store, and/or pharmacy, but ever since my ankle tendon and myopathy problems, I have resorted to errand walks. One of last weeks’ workouts went like this: very brisk walk to the bank to withdraw money from the ATM, then proceed to the 99 Cent store to buy a couple of bottles of lemon pepper seasoning, then it was off to  Rite Aid Pharmacy (well I’ll be darned because I forgot what I bought there, old age, you know), and the last stop before home was Von's Grocery to buy some oatmeal raisin walnut cookies. Then I headed back home. How did I manage to carry all the things I bought. No I didn’t bring a reusable bag with me but brought a backpack instead. Total time = 55 minutes.

          And then there was The Pepper Incident. I’m addicted to hot stuff and nary a meal which doesn’t include hot sauce (Sriracha or Tapatio), raw jalapeno peppers microwaved for a minute or so, or pickled jalapeno peppers. Well, this one time, I sliced open a raw jalapeno pepper and took out the seeds with my fingers. Then I scratched or rubbed my forehead, after which I went to the bathroom to pee. All that without washing my hands first. Guess what happened? My forehead was burning, my eyes were burning, and worst of all, my cojones were burning. Despite repeated washings of the areas, they remained aflame for several hours. No, I didn’t have any milk which I hear relieves the burning better. The experience gave new meaning to the Jerry Lee Lewis song - Great Balls of Fire. Lesson learned. I now wash my hands right after handling peppers. Goodness Gracious, I hope you weren't expecting any pictures!

          I understand that sometimes workers have to listen to music or watch videos to relieve boredom during the night shift. What I don’t understand is why they have to use earphones in both ears so as not be able to hear patients knocking on the door or commotions on the unit. Just common sense -it is a safety issue.

          Flies, flies, and more flies, and not the dumbbell workout kind either. I began to have a gathering of flies inside my screen windows last week and they didn’t fly anywhere inside but rather just stuck themselves to the screen. My first thought was that – did anything die indoors? I didn’t smell anything rotten. Then I checked my pulse just to make sure. Turns out, one or two managed to sneak through tiny holes on the screen and invited their friends to the party. Only they couldn’t find the way back out. A little bug spray did the trick along with patching the holes. It seems to have worked. Now to deal with occasional spiders, ants, and cockroaches… Jeez, what’s next? Locusts and pestilence?

                And lastly the consequence of last year's traffic ticket. Remember my blog about being No Longer A Traffic Ticket Virgin? Well, that moving violation didn’t only cost me a $400+ fine but also a $200 increase in car insurance rate for at least the next three years! As if I didn’t have too many expenses already…

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National Running Day and Birthday Walk - 2013 Edition

          So what does one do on National Running Day when one can’t run? Well in my case, I gave it the old college try. Running was not planned that day, but with so much internet posts about it, an attempt would have to be made. It would have been preferable to do it outdoors of course, but I had to keep it on the treadmill so as to soften the blow on my brittle muscles and joints. Slowest speed possible: check, 1 percent incline: check, legs and ankles ready: question mark. Keeping my strides as light as possible, the treadmill belt moved underneath me while I kept anticipating a jolt of pain which never came. I kept going, and jogging, and slogging until I reached 45 minutes and figured that enough was enough. I had kept my National Running Day obligation for another year, albeit indoors on a treadmill. A purist might say that shouldn’t count, but having been unable to run in any way shape or form for several weeks, I’ll consider that a run. Who knows when I’ll be able to do it again or at all?

          In keeping with a birthday tradition of doing a long run which in recent years have now turned into a long walk, the day after National Running Day, I did a trek around my neighborhood. I didn’t venture too far because in case my joints and muscles failed me, at least I was close to home. Believe me, even when I woke up that morning, I was undecided on whether I should do it or not, or which direction to go (drive to the beach or El Dorado Park, or walk down Del Amo Boulevard going east and see how far an hour and a half will take me?). Instead, I kept it around Bixby Knolls and mostly in the Virginia Country Club area where I did my training for the Los Angeles Marathon a couple of times maybe a decade ago. Meanwhile, I had been thinking if it was it time to give up on this annual exercise. The reason why I had doubts was because the mental toughness I developed while training for marathons is no longer what it used to be. Why would I want to do 3 hours or more of this workout when 30 minutes to an hour on the stationary bike or a treadmill hill walk would suffice? Well, mainly because I wanted to prove to myself that it's still doable in spite of my ankle and thigh/hip problems.

          Armed with my cellphone, keys, wallet (in case I had to pay for a cab), some cough drops to keep my mouth moist, and listening to KIIS-FM on the radio-equipped phone, I stepped out into the June gloom and started walking in an unhurried pace. While I moved, I contemplated on what I was going to do. Shall I keep it to 2 hours, the time I used to do when I was still running, or walk for 3 hours regardless of what distance that took me, or go for the usual 12 miles regardless of how long it took me? Last year it took 3 hours and 11 minutes to cover that distance.

          The first hour felt easy mentally, the second hour almost felt likewise until I reached 1:45 when it felt like time slowed down. On the third hour, I tried not to check my watch too often, and that helped a lot. During the walk, I saw a lot of houses being remodeled (the economy must be getting better), gardeners mowing lawns and trimming bushes, squirrels scampering up trees and crossing overhead electrical wires from one post to another. In Los Cerritos Park, there was a smattering of walkers and other exercisers doing their thing. In the middle of the walk, my phone rebooted for no apparent reason so I had to reset the radio station I was listening to. The first cough drop lasted for an hour and 57  minutes and the second one lasted until I finished the walk. It was mostly a no rush walk of about 16 minutes per mile (I didn’t want to pressure myself with pace) until the last 30 to 40 minutes. As I was getting close to 12 miles, I picked up the pace and thought that I should go for something extra and try for a half marathon instead. Well I did manage to do a GPS based half marathon to celebrate my 56^th birthday when the sun never emerged from the June gloom. The pace was faster than last year's 12 miler because there were no hills. After 3 hours, 17 minutes, and 33 seconds, 13.11 miles at 15:04 pace, and 2 bathroom breaks, I had done what I set out to do even with the initial doubts. Not only did the walk prove that I was still capable, but also that I can finish a half marathon without a training plan. That was the plus side. On the minus side, despite the distance, the workout didn't really hit the pleasure areas of my brain like running would have done. But I already accomplished the pleasure the previous day when I ran on the treadmill on National Running Day. Thus ends this year’s edition of my crazy traditions. Same time next year?

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My Own Private Half Marathon

The solo half marathon I planned for but didn’t finish on a dreary day last Super Bowl Sunday, February 7th (http://noeldlp.blogspot.com/2010/02/running-unfocused.html), was finally achieved on this sunny Saturday morning on an out and back flat course. In fact I exceeded 13.1 miles and finished 13.5 miles with an unbelievable 10 minutes per mile pace, on an unassisted solo long run, despite having to break stride to pick up a crisp one dollar bill left behind by someone who apparently didn’t need it. I thought my pace was about 10:30’s. Let me make it clear that this was a 4 minute run with 1 minute walk break all the way, so the 10 minute pace was darn good. The mantra was “lose yourself in the run”, which worked when the going got tougher. With 4 miles to go my stride started to get ragged, and with 2 miles left, it felt downright ugly. This is a danger zone for me because when I start losing control of my stride, that means my muscles are tired and my ankle tendons bear the brunt of my weight. Indeed, I felt sharp pains on my right inner ankle where my PTTD is in the last 4 miles but I was able to hold on and finish. Otherwise it would have been a long, limping walk back home.

There were not too many water fountains along the way and the first one I stopped by to drink from was in the office of the Camp Fire Girls (kinda like the Girl Scouts). I only knew it was there because when I was still able to train with my neighbor Katherine, we used to stop and drink there. By that time I was already past 6 ½ miles into the run. The other water fountain I knew about were full of kids playing Little League Baseball and it would have been difficult to navigate my way around the kids and their parents. I looked for the last possible water fountain I knew at a small park two miles from home but it doesn’t exist anymore. Oh well, another dehydration run.

 Oh my goodness! I just checked my post run weight and I lost 5 pounds of fluids. I started at 118.2 and ended with 113.2. I’ve never weighed that low before even when training for the marathon last year. Time to chug the Gatorade. No wonder I felt ragged towards the end.

As I finish this entry, I’ve treated myself to Chinese food for lunch, and I am continuing to rehydrate my tissues, plus ice and brace my ankles. Now I have a decision to make. Should I or should I not sign up and run the Palos Verdes Half Marathon two weeks from now?

Postscript: I diverted from the out and back course slightly on the way home because I espied a new street named Worsham at a soon to be developed piece of land called Douglas Park. So I ran on that street until a reached a roundabout (rotunda) then ran around to return to the route I was running in.

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