141/365 - Old is Good

141/365 - Old is Good, originally uploaded by panodanno.

Steve Larsen, a very talented cyclist and mult-sport athlete from Bend, OR died during a workout this past Tuesday. He was 39. The cause is not known yet, but it apparently was more than just a heart attack.

We're talking one super fit individual here. He placed as high as 9th in the Ironman world championships in Hawaii. But that was not enough.

Steve's death is a loss to the community and devastating for his family (including five children). Our hearts and prayers go out to/for them.

So, on reflection, I'm good with these wrinkles. No botox or face lifts needed here. Old is definitely good.

I'm not too sure I'm happy with those crazy eyebrows though...

139/365 - Going Gold

139/365 - Going Gold, originally uploaded by panodanno.

I finished my run at the peak of the "golden hour" of the day. 8.2 miles in Memphis at a perfect 72 degrees. It would only be better if I had been home on the Mountain with Lori and Cookie.

Ouch!

Physically, this has been a hard weekend. Yesterday I had planned to run a bit on the Dipsea to scout the trail and measure a couple of possible shortcuts (it's a point to point race with some flexibility in the course you run). But I didn't do that.

Lori had a 3-hour bike ride she needed to do (her coach is demanding isn't he?). She was struggling to find the right ride, so I decided to help her out by suggesting a bombastic ride through Central and Western Marin. I couldn't do that without agreeing to join her.

The course turned out to be 55 miles with 5500 feet of climbing. Oh yeah, and the temperature ranged from 90 degrees at home to 100 degrees on the last climb back up the mountain. Lori did great.

I got dehydrated and started feeling like I was going to cramp in both quads and/or hamstrings (depending on how I was pedaling) with about 10 miles to go. I never fully locked into a cramp, but it was touchy. Lori ended up dropping me and then waiting for me in Stinson. I managed to keep up with her on that last climb (but had to bum a water bottle from her), and survived the last few miles to home. I was whipped for sure.

So, today I still needed to do my Dipsea preps. We had to give Cookie a little run (and she is not allowed in the state and national parks which is where the Dipsea is), so we did a quick 3 miles with her. Then it took 11 more miles of slogging up and down the hills of Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpais State Park to accomplish my goals. Plus, Lori spanked me for a while on the last leg to home before letting up. I got the last laugh though and didn't slow down -- trying to maintain some self-respect after letting a girl make me hurt like that! Oh boy, were we ever tired when we got home.

As a result of all that fun, the yard work plans were scaled back. The jeep got washed (tons of red sand and gray mud from our trip is now in the driveway), but that was about it this afternoon.

Lastly, a picture of the cherry tree. Another couple of weeks and we will be Bing city. That's good because I'm out of homemade cherry jam. Nice thing about the Bings is it takes almost no sugar to make the jam. Oh yeah, and their a blast to pick. "One for the bowl, one for me, and every other one for Cookie". Cookie is funny because she runs around and eats all the cherries that I accidentally drop. You can imagine what happens to a little dog's stomach after she eats her weight in cherries! That's not the funny part -- just ask Cookie!