How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Remember in the old days when the elementary school teacher would make us sit and write an essay on what you did over summer vacation? I wonder if they really read all those papers? If so, did the teacher get jealous or sad, or think we lied?

Between third and fourth grade, after my father had received a promotion at work and I guess a significant raise, we went to Disneyland in California. We also bought our first color television (yes that makes me old), a Zenith. To top it off we moved into a newly built house. I'm guessing the teacher probably found that all too much and thought I was telling tales.

Last week Jan and I were on vacation. We didn't go anywhere for a night away. We began the week by running the James Francis cross-country race, a 5k at Black Creek park in North Chili. It was a well organized, well marked race with about 220 finishers. Jan finished first in her RROY age group earning ten points and I picked up seven points, in fourth place. Sometimes it's all about picking the right race. We can't control who shows up to participate.

On Sunday we drove to Canandaigua, looked at a cottage we aren't going to buy, swam 1.6 miles in the lake, then had great burgers and beer at a local brew pub we had never been to before. It was a good day.

Tuesday we worked out and then spent our 37th wedding anniversary at the FingerLakes race track and casino. We spent several hours there and came out pretty much even-steven. We began with each having $10 in free play money which I turned into $40 before losing all of it. But it wasn't my money to begin with so that was okay. I also won around $20 on the horses. Jan lost a bit on the machines, but not much.

The sad news of the week was taking our vehicles in for inspection. The $21 fee for each turned into $1500 in car repairs. That wasn't an expected expense. Did I ever write about how I hate cars? Why didn't I take auto mechanics in school? Or plumbing? Or become an electrician or welder? Bah.

And so you have it, my summer vacation in a nutshell. Running, swimming, weightlifting, eating, drinking, gambling and auto repair. I was never bored though.

World Track & Field Championship

The track & field championships begin Friday night, from Beijing, China, in the “Birds Nest” stadium, the sight of the 2008 Olympic games.

If you are into free gambling, try the Letsrun.com contest. They have each athlete currently scheduled for every event, along with some of their results over the past few years, in a table. You simply pick the top three finishers in each event for the chance to with up to $20k/year for 10 years, along with many other significant prizes.

Think of the contest like selecting winners at a horse racing venue. How recently did they win? What are some of their recent times? How do they perform under pressure? Any injury issues? 

I did pick local Olympian Jenn Suhr, our pole vaulter from Roberts Wesleyan College, to finish in the top three. I also picked Usain Bolt not to win a gold medal, I think Justin Gatlin will beat him out this year in the 100m and 200m races. I  think Galen Rupp will medal in the men’s 10,000 meter race and Evan Jager will win the first gold medal ever for the U.S. in the Steeplechase. Molly Huddle, from the southern tier of NY (Elmira) will medal in the women’s 10,000 meter race. 

Television coverage of the championships is spotty, with most of the events on Universal Sports, which Time Warner doesn't offer without paying an extra $9/month.

A Good Cleaning

Last week I had the opportunity to have my second colonoscopy. My first one was about eight years ago and was supposed to be repeated after five years. As a person who is not a fan of visiting doctors I put it off until my doctor told my wife I really needed to man-up and get it done. What ever happened to patient confidentiality?

To prep for the colonoscopy I took the day before off from work even though I didn't have to begin the cleansing process until around 3:00pm. Unofficially I began the process with a cup of coffee and a nice six mile run. I had my last solid food around 9:00am. By 11:00am I felt hungry just because I wasn't supposed to eat solid food again until the next day. Don't ever include me on a hunger strike, I'd never make it for more than four hours. 

The procedure was in a small clinic instead of the hospital, which was nice and less stressful. I got checked in at 7:30am and was leaving around 9:30am. Jan even rewarded me with breakfast at the local diner for being such a good patient!

The doctor gave me a color photograph of my colon after the procedure. Why did I need this? It's not a body part I'm particularly fond of. This is similar to having my truck repaired at the local shop and the mechanic bringing out the bad parts that got replaced. The mechanic can explain all he wants about how this doohickey is mangled and has burrs, was oily, warped or bent. I have no idea what I'm looking at or even if it really came off my vehicle.

The same is true of my colon photograph. I guess it looks clean or whatever, but really, do I need to keep this? Does the doctor have a supply of these photographs and give the same one to everyone? I should have had him autograph it. If you come to visit my house should I include the photograph with my family photo slide show? I'm thinking this is not a good idea and may turn off my guests.

Thankfully I am healthy, but in five years I'll have to go back for another visit. Or maybe it will be stretched to eight years, unless my wife and doctor team up again, ugh.

I Can't Handle the Truth

The truth is I'm fat. I was already in a sourpuss mood Sunday morning when I heard the news, the news that I'm a fat athlete. Jan and I were experimenting with my new skin fold calipers and kept coming up that I was around 24% fat. This didn't (still doesn't) seem possible. Usually I weigh in around 175lbs and I am 6'1". Yes, that is a solid 10+ pounds over my best running days but still I didn't consider myself fat. Men use the calipers in three spots, quads, near the chest and to the right of the belly button. The total measurement is then calculated into your BMI.

I have a daughter who is studying nutrition at UAB so I gave her my statistics for her formulas. Apparently I am 92 lbs of water (after running 8 miles I'm probably more like 86lbs of water, my shirt, shorts, socks and shoes are another 6 with my copious sweating). Andrea figured out I am about 23% fat, a little better than my caliper measurements showed. But ideally I should have a fat mass of 18% at my age and weigh 165.

According to statistics men between the ages of 41-60 average 11-22% BMI. I want to see those men. Other than the ones I run with on the canal path I think most men aren't close to those figures. I see lots of big bellies, fat butts and huge necks. I didn't recognize a lot of men (and women) at my 40th high school reunion last year because of weight, not age. I believe the ideal BMI should be in the 11-22% range, depending on musculature, but not the average.

According to the Center for Disease Control 35% of adults in the U.S. are obese. The CDC also says I am 2% being away from overweight! Yikes! But here's the thing, yes I am up to 175lbs but I'm also lifting more weights than I have in years. I can bench press more now than I have in 35 years, so am I really fat?

Maybe I am and I'm just not ready for the truth. My quads are like rocks, chest pretty solid, the bit of flab Jan grabbed around my belly, well, I guess I need some work there. Ouch, the truth can hurt!