Senior Olympian Sprinter

Ten more days and it is 2015.  If you have any 2014 goals to finish, you better hustle it up and finish. Linda and and I are basically done with work this year.  I have a monthly report and expenses to file next week and the year is done for me. Overall, 2014 was an OK year at work, no big projects or successes, just a lot of little things that kept me going.  The kitchen project is winding down, but I need to get some plumbing done to get it finished. Linda and I will be visiting family for the Holidays, so it will not be that restful, but we will get to see everyone and catch up on the latest.    We also have tickets to the Music City bowl which is December 30.  We could not resist getting tickets to the game, two predominantly Catholic communities coming to Nashville for a mid week afternoon game.  There will be beer flowing and foaming up and down Broadway.  It should be a real spectacle, and we will be in the middle.   The Steelers are fighting to get into the playoffs and we ar

The pantry project is crawling to a close.  I did get the door hung so the space is basically ready to use.   The floor went down last weekend and I need to do the mop board and the door transitions.  But it is taking shape.   Final trim paint will be needed, but that is pretty easy duty there.  Generally, there is a build up to the Holiday season, a natural rhythm that evolves over the years to let you know Santa is really going to find you again.  This season, the entire Christmas clock is way off  and it just does not feel like Santa is in the picture.  Why asks the curious??  I still believe in Santa, so that cannot be the deal.   This year, the season started off badly during Thanksgiving and it will not recover until we get to Chicago and see our babies.   The typical holiday season rhythm is Thanksgiving,  a deer hunt the next week in Ohio, shopping, decoration, baking, see the family and do the Santa thing, recover.    In 2014, the deer hunt was basically cancelled by so

My wife wanted me to 'remind' everyone of this age difference.   23 years is the difference between my age and the next oldest player in the alumni basketball game I played in Saturday night.  I was back in Coshocton County, Ohio for my sister's funeral and needed some fun time.   It had been a very long week and quite draining mentally and physically.  I needed to have something to take my head to a different place  and the alumni game seemed to be way to get there.   Every year, the River View High School basketball programs has a preview event and this includes an alumni basketball game and this year it also included a small ceremony to honor the 1975 AA State Champion Basketball team,   which I happened to be a member. Since I was not going to be in the area due to work commitments, I gave little thought to getting into the alumni game.  Before I left home I threw in some bball wear, just in case I could get in the game.  I do some crazy stuff on occasion.     At the

Events the last couple of weeks have demonstrated to me that life is precious and you must make the best of your current situation.  My younger sister died last Monday at age 52.  My Father died ten years ago and that was sort of expected and the family was prepared as best as it could.   He had been disabled from an industrial accident when I was 6 years old.  He spent the rest of his life in a hospital or extended care facility, unable to walk or talk.  He succumbed finally to pneumonia.  Jill died as result of cancer.  We learned of the cancer about a year and half ago and she battled hard to the end, but there was more cancer everyday and her body eventually was overcome. The end came very very quickly.  She only quit work less than a month ago. Everytime a family member that is that close to you is gone, a really big hole is left in your life.  The hole is painful and will remain forever, nothing can take its place, nothing can really help the pain.  Time will mute the pain som

Linda helped me celebrate my 58th birthday this week.   The actual birth date was on Monday the 17th, but I managed to milk the event into a several day event.   We went to see Daughtry do a show at the Ryman on the 16th,  and he was a lot of fun.  His voice is  unique and they put on a good show. He has recorded several commercial pop hits in the last 10 years and did them all.   He spent time between songs talking about the music and trying to connect to the audience and they seemed to have a great time.  Fun show.. On Monday the 17th, Linda got us a hotel room at the Union Station in downtown Nashville.  Union Station is a railroad depot/ hotel that was built over a 100 years ago and it is a gorgeous old building.  The stone building is still in great shape, with great service, and they have a very interesting restaurant where we had complimentary breakfast he next day. The central hall is really spectacular, with all the turn of the century architectural details. Check it out if

Flying home today we had an oil leak of some sort in St Louis on the SWA plane I had just loaded.    We had boarded the plane and were basically ready to hit the switch and leave for Nashville.    There was an eerie lack of activity from the crew after we loaded,   and then some pounding underneath the plane—and shortly thereafter the announcement to deplane.   There was on oil spot that someone had noticed on the tarmac.      I will give the people from the Midwest a huge amount of credit, no moaning, groaning, bitching and the expected outbursts you could expect as we unloaded.     Midwesterners take this crap is stride.   We got up,   grabbed our stuff and shuffled off the plane.      In the Eastern US, where everyone is infinitely more important, the reaction would have been chaos and some uproar.    Not the Midwest.   The Midwest  gets over looked on the news constantly,   while living thru hot summers, tornadoes, floods and bitter winters. God bless the Midwest, he blessed us w

Literally, all over the map.    Linda and I drove to Green Bay, WI about 10 days ago for my oldest daughter's wedding.   We stayed in Merrillville, IN on the way up to split up the trip.  Linda's new knee gets stiff if we do not stop regularly and move about.  The next day we stopped at Betty's place-- the bride elect-- and dropped off some dining room furniture and discussed any last minute details for the big event on Saturday.    Then it was on to Green Bay.     While in Green Bay we stayed at one of Linda's cousins house while she was out of town.   The house is gorgeous with a lot of bedrooms and space to sleep 10 people if needed.   I liked the Viking appliances and we got to try some of them out.  The dishwasher is SILENT ! and the cook top with griddle is to die for, really nice stuff in this house.  It was a real gift to use, because it was a Packers home game weekend, and hotel rooms are pricey for home games.  It was like staying at home in many respects. 

If you were wondering, yes, we are making progress on the kitchen remodel.   The electric is roughed in and the two new lights are hung, the framing and sub flooring are also complete.    The wall coverings and dry wall are coming up next.    I ran two new circuits to supply electric to the pantry.  While I ran these circuits, I added a light and outlet in the basement crawl space--I have spent enough time down there, I might as well make it 'nice', and added some power to Harry Potter's House so we can have some lighting in that space as well.  The new circuit job was as expected--frustrating and quite physical.    An old house with no provisions to get to the spaces where you can run electric wiring is normal and you have to get creative.   I muttled through, but now I a new access hole in the wall below the breaker box, I fixed the access problem with a circular saw.  Next time, the wiring work will improve smartly.  The dirt removal from the crawl space also made thi

Today the Greater Nashville Sr Olympians met at a track near the Cumberland River to run our district qualifier for the State Finals in 2015.    Very nice day to run, sunny with very little wind and pleasant temperatures, nice.  There was a heavy dew still on the soccer field in the center of the track, so I, like every one else warmed up on the syntethic track.   I got a really good, warm up and was ready for the 9:00 AM start with the 100 m dash.   I felt about as good as I felt in weeks-- the gout medical has been pretty effective.    They were getting the heats arranged when the meet was suddenly called off!!  There is a juvenile detention center close by and there have been an incident of several inmates ( I guess that is what they are called) overpowered a guard and one got loose.  So, they meet was cancelled for our safety.   We would all qualify for the events we were entered in, so no harm no foul.   This is similar to the flood year, you are all in, meet cancelled.   I doubt

If you like before and after pictures, here is a good example of our kitchen Saturday morning and Sunday morning.    We had discussed a remodel and finally the under the house work was far enough along to do the above floor work.  Access under the house was impossible and I have removed 16 yards of dirt to improve the access.   We removed a set of steps which were incredibly steep and a brick facade on the fireplace.    Once we started the work, I noticed some odd looking construction and finally figured out that the fireplace brick work was all a facade to the original--which is yellow and brick colored in the bottom picture.   We had not planned on removing all the added brick work, but until the dust starts flying, you have no idea what is going to appear.     In the end, it turns out we will have significantly more room than we had anticipated from this job.  The corner where the stairs were will be a kitchen workspace/ storage that we will close in with some new walls. The

Last weekend Linda I traveled to Lexington, KY for their State Finals track meet.   The weather was perfect temperature wise, but a stiff breeze was blowing down the finish straight and fast times were not going to happen that day.  I would call the meet frazzled in term of organization.   It started on time, but the heat races were all intermingled and you had no idea who was in your class.   Also there was almost no rest between the different heats.  It was 50, 100, 1500 --some resting--200, 400, 800.  I ran the 50, 100, 200 and skipped the 400.  I would have had about 5 minutes to recover from the 200 and was still gassed.  I wanted to run the 200 as fast as I could and finished second by 0.03 seconds, had it won and it slipped away in the last 15 meters.  In the 50 and 100 I finished 6 th in each!!  We did not get the results on race day, it was electronic timing and they had to sort the classes out and they it plenty tangled.  I found out about my finishes the next day when I chec

Next Sunday I will be running in in the Kentucky State Finals.  Kentucky is fun event, no pressure to qualify and the field has a lot of people from surrounding states, so you get  really good competition.   The lack of pressure makes a big difference, pressure can kill a great performance.     I made some changes in my training and want to see how it effects my speed-- I have worked a lot more on fitness and less on speed and strength.  I am looking to break 27 seconds in the 200 m which would be a personal best with electronic timing.    I will work on starts and a little speed work this week and make sure I do a very complete stretching routine each day.   I do have a couple of minor dings on my left side.  My hip is sore and and my left foot has the beginning stages of turf toe.   Neither will be a factor in what I will be running this weekend, but long term I will need to address them.   I will have a lot of tape on my feet to hold them together for a couple of races.  Now the

The weather finally gave us a little break.   Last week the humidity was off the chart and it was rough to do anything outside--like run.   The humidity has finally given way to clear skies and lower humidity with a slight breeze--the beginning of the Fall feel.   Fall is my favorite time of year, clearing and less humidity, football and harvest time as well.    This year I have two meets in the Fall, The first Sunday in September in Lexington, Ky and later in the month the Greater Nashville District Qualifier will be held near the river in Nashville.  Last night I started to work on some of the speed work required for the sprinting.  I went to one of favorite spots at Crockett Park and ran on the soccer fields.   I ran several 100 m sprints on the grass with spikes to find my pace for the 400 m.  My pace was pretty solid at 14.6 to 15.0 seconds for each pass.   I will continue to work on the speed work till race day in Kentucky.    I am continuing to experiment with compression wear

    Linda picked some of our sunflowers and set them up in her little vase that greets anyone entering our back door.  I kinda looks like a Dr. Suess scene of happy little flowers singing a song of joy.   Everybody has their hot buttons and other environmental influences that from time to time can cause distress.   One of my worst causes of stress is being unsure and not knowing what sort of outcome is expected in a certain situation.    I had exhibited this behavior since high school.  For example, when I was in athletics, before each meet or game I was a total wreck in the locker room or just prior to the races because the race or games were up for grabs. Would I be able to perform or just stink the joint up? Self doubt was ridiculous.    I would go the bathroom 5 times in 30 minutes and of course nothing happened of any consequence, but I would get that wound up over competition.  I am getting better now, but not much. I have been wearing a Nike wrist band for a couple of

Summertime in Brentwood is painting time.   The front fence was in dire need of a paint job.   The last couple weeks, Linda and I worked on the rail fence, each gets a side and off you go, works pretty slick.   I recently finished up the gate and changed the caps on all the posts.   They previous caps were flat pieces of treated lumber that were going to be junk in a very short period of time due to warping and splitting.  Paint was  not enough to protect the tops.     I searched the internet and could only find one supplier of metal caps for a 9 x 9 inch post, so I replaced them all with copper.  I was hoping for something less expensive, but these numbers should outlast the fence and look pretty snappy.   I took the pictures as soon as I was finished, because accidents do happen with mailboxes.  I was hoping that someone would not run thru the fence with a vehicle before it was done.    For example, many years ago in Ohio I replaced the post that held up the mailbox at my rural r

Nashville is the Music City in more ways than one.    Linda and I went downtown last Friday night to get some dinner, one of those situations where you just see what happens.   We were going to eat at a little restaurant in the new Omni Hotel which is right smack in the middle of downtown.   Parking was a piece of cake, give the keys to the valet and the restaurant comps your parking.  Katy Perry was doing a show next door at the Bridgestone, so the place was pretty lively around showtime and a lot of hustle was headed to the arena.   Dinner was fun, we had some southern food done with a little twist, quite good.   Although,  the strawberry -rhubarb pie could not hold a candle to Linda's or Lillian Beeler's.    Linda makes great pie with the lard crust and  some zing to it and Lillian made pie for me while I worked on their farm doing college.  You feed a college kid, he will work his ass off.   Lillian only cut the pie in to 4 pieces!! Get ready for some yum,  the L's both

I had a lot of positive feedback from the latest post about the race and I appreciate that.   I am happy somebody actually  reads these posts.  Linda is my biggest cheerleader and I thank her for posts and links that let a lot of people know how the meet went and the results.  Thanks Honey!! After the race, I had a chance to look realistically at my performance and I am quite happy with the times in the shorter events.  The 400 was a little slow to be competitive at Nationals.    As a result, I am going to work on a little different training regiment to see if I can get that time a little lower.  I have not broke 1 minute since I started this Sr. Olympian and that is still a goal.  I did a 61.03 in 2010.   I have two meets in September that I plan on participating--TN District Qualifier and the KY State Finals which this year is in Lexington.   I will use these events as a way to test the different training and see if there has been any time improvement.   KY is an open meet to all s

 Eleanor is why the Senior Olympics exist--hope for everyone to achieve their best.   She participated in the 800 and 1500 meters events at this last weekend's Tennessee Senior Olympics State Finals. She spent 20 years in a wheel chair and finally had both knees replaced with artificial joints two years ago.  During her recovery, her trainer-- that she hired , encouraged her to get into the Senior Olympics.  Here she is, going round the track in stifling heat, loving it.  I heard her yell out " these zippers in my knees are coming loose" and knew she had knee replacements.  I told my wife about her and they had a good cry together.  Compete?  Why not, Evelyn is living proof.    In the middle is George Speros and on the right is Charlie Baker.  I am not sure about the gentlemen on the left.  George does most of the track events and gives maximum effort the entire event.  He is the classic bulldog that is not gonna let go.  I just love watching and yelling for him.  

Tonight was the final work out before the meet this weekend. I went back to the same track for the third night running and did my usual warm up and ran 8 sets of parachutes runs of 150 meters each.   Parachute running help me get my running form correct with great arm swing without going real fast and minimizes any injury threat.  It is also fun, because of the exaggeration of the running form.  I did not do my usual taping of my right foot and I did notice that I was carrying that leg a little differently while running. So, the KT is still a necessary part of my running equipment.   I was just an old guy at the track,  running some parachutes with sweat dripping off every part of my skin.  I was listening to Kacey Musgraves sing about trailers, bad relationships and being a poor waitress and really enjoying the workout.  As the workout progressed, I was getting into my own little world.  Kids were playing soccer next door, the groundskeeper was running his weed eater and the old

Tomatoes and corn patch The Farmer's Almanac predicted a hotter than normal summer this year in the mid South-- yep they were right.  I am in Kentucky this week and it is really hot and really dry here.   The Almanac was right on the money again.   I put in the water pumping system to water the garden and yard because of their predictions for this season.  With the temperature in the mid 90's and the sun beating pretty hard without a cloud anywhere, getting in some afternoon running has been a challenge.   Plus the track is black rubber. I have been running closer to sunset and just some jogging really after a  lengthy warm up period. My overall workout intensity is down about 35% on the calorie counter.     On Monday and Tuesday I worked on my leg soreness.  Quads were sore today and the hammies yesterday.   I ran hard on Sunday morning, as well.  I did a 200 meter in 28.6 seconds with spikes and ran 4 really hard 50 meters in the mid 7's.   The 200 meters and 50 tim

One more week until the Tennessee State Finals, which is the qualifier for the 2015 Nationals.  I ran this morning to simulate the time schedule for next week end.  I felt pretty good and had a good run as well.  On Saturday next week I will run the 400 meters in the morning and the 50 and 200 the next morning.     Today I had a very good warm up and and asked one of the Ravenwood track athletes to do me a 'massive' favor and time my 400.   She agreed, and  I ran a 68.4 with my rubber shoes, no spikes, and felt pretty strong all the way.    I looked at the National qualifying rules again and if you finish 4 th or better in your state qualifier, you can go to Nationals.   I should be safe with that time, I only know two guys that can beat it.  I will probably run again tomorrow morning,  to do it back to back and see how much soreness has developed and how big a deal warm up becomes.   The different approach to training this season has been a much safer route and I feel health

I have been getting to the track at least 3 times a week the last 3 weeks.   I have been working on  endurance and speed, running some shorter 50 meter hard sprints and more leisurely ( more painful )   400 and 600 meter distances to get my wind and endurance.   This is a little different type of training for me this year and it is designed to prevent the last minute injury that plagued the previous years.  I am sprinting up to 95% speed in the short stuff and doing the 400 at 85% pace currently.  I ran today in the heat of the day just to get used the sun beating down.  I was at Ravenwood which has a black track.   I lasted over an hour, but I could feel the heat and an hour later it is still trying to get out of my body.  I plan on running again tomorrow as well.  My legs have been holding up pretty good.  My heart rate has been at 100 to 105% at the last 100 meters, but I have not been binding up and running right through to the finish. That is a great feeling to still be strong a

The state meet is fast approaching and I am working on getting my body ready for a two day meet.  This week I ran two days in a row at a very nice high school track in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.  The football field is brand new sports turf and the track is a very nice synthetic that is open to the public.    On day one, I worked on the first speed work of the season, I did several 50 meters sprints at 95% with spikes and spikeless running shoes.  After the 8th one, the right hammie was starting to whine and that was that.  The next day, I ran on the field at 80% to make sure the hammie got some work but was not too mad.    I worked hard on stretching keep the legs as loose as possible.   For the first part of the workout I did run barefoot which is always  a thrill.   The new turf was a little too prickly and I had to get the shoes back on.  Day three I rested and traveled home and will work out today, which will be day four.  I am going to run on the track at Ravenwood and get in some

                                  This weekend,  I did the final connections for the new irrigation system that will supply creek water to the gardens and yard this summer.   As the picture demonstrates, it is a long way up the hill to the house, and the digging was an adventure due to rock and limestone shelves that hinder any efficient trenching.   But, it is all done except for the backfilling.   My old trailer that I used to move dirt and debris around, has finally died and when my new trailer gets to the dealer, I can pick it up and finish the job.  I am using some old roadway dirt/stone to backfill and using the nice silt from the trench that is displaced to improve some yard up in front of the house.     I am getting closer and closer to be a snobby yard person.  A lot of trees and unwanted yard stuff has been removed and we finally can have a nice yard space.  I now have a very low cost water supply and can irrigate to my heart's content get some nice green grass.