Senior Olympian Sprinter

Linda--aka Grandma Allen and I made it to Wauwatosa for the first visit with our spanking new grand daughter and we had a really fun weekend.  We got to see three kids, our  grand daughter and daughter in law and the  two grand dogs.  That sounds like a lot and it was, it was long weekend and I am tired.   June took it all in stride and followed her routine of eating a lot of milk, wanting to be held a lot and making some wicked wind.   But, she is really just a darling and Linda had a lot of holding time that they both enjoyed.  June does prefer the left shoulder, every time we put her on the right side, she was just not happy and fussed until it was corrected.  I think she is going to be left leaning!   And that fits into this family quite easily.     The Moms are doing pretty well.  Betty is back to work and Linsi will take a few more weeks off before heading back to the hospital...

Last weekend the Tennessee USATF held an event at a local high school and the local talent was out in force really getting it done.   Some the times posted are in the top 5 globally, this season!!! We ran at Whites Creek High School--home of the Cobras.  The track surface is less than a year old and was fast.   I ran in the 60, 100 and 200 meter events.   I skipped the 400 in this meet to get a time in the other events.   The running order was 60, 400, 100 and if I ran the 400--the other events would suffer.   I really needed to get a time in the 100 and 60 so I could see I how compared in the 60 year old category.   The timing was electronic and my meds change was complete, so it was time to step up and get some legal times in place for this season.   I had never run the 60 meters in competition and I had no comparison.  I ran a very quick 8.29 seconds.  There was not wind indication...

    If you leave the airport in US Virgin Island, look to your right and this beach will be right behind the thin line of trees and shrubs.  The beautiful water gets to you quick.   The water in the Virgin Islands is quite clear and plentiful.  Linda and I recently spent a week on St Thomas and enjoyed the weather, people, beaches and food.  We 'won' a trip last year at a fundraiser for the Nashville Rep Theatre and this is the trip we collected.  It our first trip to the Islands and we enjoyed it and would go back if given a chance.    The island we were on is really dependent on the tourist trade and the cruise ships are a large part of that equation.   Everybody that works on the island knew the ship schedules.   We went to a beach on the North side of the island and arrived before a boat docked on the South side of the island.  One hour after that boat docked, 1500 more people arrived at Magen's B...

I have been on my new meds for a couple of weeks and finally had a chance to test my speed at the local track this week. I have gained a couple of pounds--but I have had a very robust appetite. Med related???    I have been running only once a week and that makes for a lot of energy from the legs. I ran some 50 meters from the blocks and felt pretty good.  I did  a couple of stop watch runs without blocks and the numbers were pretty good and I think I should be able to get into the USATF bronze or silver award range in the 60 meters.  One of my fellow Sr. Olympians gave me a heads up about a USATF masters event on May 6.  I  will sign up.  I have not gotten an official time in the 60 meters and will definitely run that and the shorter sprints.   I think three races in on day are enough.  I do need recovery time and getting hurt now would be just stupid.  I think the 'rest' period that I have been enjoying ...

  I discussed doping my last post and I have continued to work on getting clean for racing.   I have successfully changed my blood pressure meds with a totally different active.  The follow up visits with my doctor have indicated that the BP is in my normal range and that change has been OK.   I have been experimenting with different actives for my allergy medication.   I have used Allegra D 24 for years and it is not legal for meets, but is OK during the rest of the year.  Tricky medicine to get out of your system as well.  I have calculated it would take around 72 hours to get clean after a dosage.  This pill is encapsulated for timed release and it makes getting the actives much more difficult to clear. I was in Canada a couple weeks ago and bought some Claritin and Allegra D 12 hour medicine to "trial".   The Allegra D 12 was effective while in Canada and not nearly as strong as that neutron bomb I had ...

I made some interesting discoveries this week about my daily medications, one is a banned substance and the other is only banned during competition.   USATF does do drug testing and there is a long list of no no's and also a list that are no no's during the meets but OK the rest of the year.  It makes it pretty messy to stay legal.  I went to my doctor today and we worked through the scenarios and we have changed my blood pressure medicine to a legal active ingredient.   The old drug was basically a diuretic and they do not like that stuff in your system because it will mask other illegal actives by changing the urine.   I will start my new BP med this week. My allergy medicine is a whole other kettle of fish.  I use Allegra D and the D is the bad boy. D is the antihistamine and it really works to dry up my sinus and keep me from becoming a snot factory--literally. The pseudoephedrine is the bad boy in this medication and it is le...

Last weekend I experienced for the first time a USATF National event and had a really good time.  Earlier this year I ran in an indoor USATF event and really enjoyed the meet and also met some interesting people that encouraged my to give the Nationals at shot in Albuquerque.   They were correct about me enjoying the event, it was a lot of fun and the best Masters athletes in the world are there to enjoy.  # 4 bib.  The meet is  in the Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque and the elevation is about 5100 feet at the location.  The thinner air does make for less wind resistance, but recovery is tough for the longer events.  I struggled after my 400 to recovery.   More about that later.  The track is portable and has substantial banking in the curves, which are a fun to negotiate at speed.  It is a quick surface and design. I arrived on Thursday from a call I had made in Canada and did not get on the track until F...