Senior Olympian Sprinter

I have traveled the last two weeks, one trip to Mexico City and the other trip to Tulsa.  I flew Delta to Mexico City and Southwest to Tulsa.   The trip on Delta was older planes that were completely full and the flights were basically trouble free.   The only delay was in Atlanta when you go thru customs and then go thru the Atlanta Airport security line, it is always a 20 to 30 minute wait at the TSA security area and there is no PreCheck.  Atlanta does not give a shit about you and never will.  The only airport like it in the world.  The Southwest flights were only about 2/3 full and I decided to travel in the back of the plane instead of the exit rows.  The rear seats are three wide and only had one passenger in each.  When you give people a chance to spread out and they are not cramped or hurried, it makes for a lot more relaxed travel.  It was absolutely glaring the difference between cramped travel and the planes that ar...

Last year I ran a 5K on Thanksgiving as a test of my conditioning and I did it in 30:53 minutes.  I was trying to beat 30 minutes, which I have been trying to do for the last several 5 K races I have raced in the last 5 years.  I have run 3 5K races in the last 5 years.  I just struggle in these "marathons".  I signed up this year for the Grace Works 5K, which is run around the Cool Spring Galleria at 8:00 AM on Thanksgiving morning.   It was about 60 degrees at race time, pretty nice for this time of the year.  I was up early and put on 10 pieces of KT tape.  I put a tape job on both feet and knees and wore my best support wear to keep from getting any cramps or knee problems.  My knees have been getting a little loose lately and have on a rare occasions gotten twisted and that is a real annoyance.  I was taped and compressed to withstand anything that was to come.  Last year I struggled at the start because I g...

    This is my back yard entertainment this year.  If you spot some antlers, you are looking in the right spot.  Looks like an eight pointer is using our yard as his local hook up spot.      This is what he was after today just before dark.  Pretty good buck bait. Both pictures were taken at very low light.       I know the rut is in full swing now in Brentwood.  Deer have been everywhere and the bucks are 50 yards away--like this one-- and they are basically fearless of humans.  We have a nice buck in our backyard and I may have to get a crossbow so I can take he out.  he has ruined a lot of trees with his antlers and that is not why I planted them.     I ran a warm up for the 5K I plan on running on Thursday.  I ran my hilly course in 30:30 for the distance.  My goal on Thursday is less than 30 minutes and I should be close to getting under that time. I will rest my legs ...

I am getting a handle on the moles and now there is a buck white tail that is using my small trees as the his personal antler polish.  It has been so dry lately, I have not been mowing the yard and I have not had chance to see all the trees around the property. The other day I was walking around and two trees in the front of the house were torn up  pretty good.   I bought some 4 Inch drainage pipe to protect them, but several are in pretty bad shape and will probably need to be removed.  Deer and beaver are not my favorites in this area.  It is very frustrating to plant trees and keep them alive and then some idiot buck just shreds your work!  I am signed up for the Nationals next summer in Birmingham, Al.   The meet will be 5 days and they will run all the ages in those 5 days.  It is going to be crowded and busy.  In the past, the 65 and up ran a separate meet the week before the youngsters arrived.   That is a lot of ...

I live an area where moles enjoy just tearing thru my yard and enjoying life. Things have changed in the last two years for the little miners.   Where ever they have tunneled in the yard in the past has died out the following weeks and has made the yard a little unsightly.   I am not the biggest yard nut, but I do like to have a relatively smooth surface that has an even cover of grass.  The moles had become a problem and I needed to act in early 2015.  I mow over 1.5 acres total and about an acre is subject to mole damage.   I do not want to eliminate the grubs with pesticide so I have to address mole control a little differently. There several old tree root systems in the yard and from trees removed and trees that are still alive.  There are a lot of places for the grubs to survive and the moles know this.   The moles have a lot areas in which to find food and there is a lot of food available.   Last year I trie...

I have been really busy and have not followed up with the Chattanooga race results which was held over two weeks ago.  The conditions were very good for sprinters with a very light wind  and a very fast blue surface down by the river at the Girls School.   I ran in two races, the 100 and 200 meters.   I ran within 0.1 of my personal best in each race and the speed increase due to weight loss is real.  In the 100 m, there was no one ahead so I ran my own race and finished with a 13.39 hand timed.  In the 200 meters, there were three runners.   William Yelverton was in lane 4 and I was in lane 2.  He decided to run the race at the last minute and I was glad to have someone to pace me--so to speak-- or someone that I would try to catch. Bill race 24.89 and I ran a 27.39 and felt great.   That was the second fastest time in the 200 since started the Senior thing at 53 years old.   This time was faster than my Nat...

Linda has a new knee and now has a matched set of Zimmer knees that should last her a really long time.  The knee surgery recovery is going very well.  Some other pain that was developing before the surgery is causing some problems with back pain that she does not need!   We are going to address that soon and hope to cure a lot of pain problems very quickly, that is our hope.     So in the meantime, a lot of ice and cold packs are getting used.   The freezer is half cold packs and they are constantly in motion.   Linda is improving daily and can walk without her walker after 7 days!   Progress! I tested some new shoes this week.  These models by Asics and New Balance are supposed to be targeted to the 400 meter runners.   Both have very aggressive and are built with a quite stiff fore foot which feels great and they both have great traction with Omni Lite 7 mm spikes.  The NB does have a much...