running

Enjoying the Run

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the thunderbolt bridge view from isle of armstrong

I had a very pleasant 7.24 mile run this evening after work.  It was awesome.  It was just me, the road, chirping birds and a ton of traffic on highway 80 and Victory.  Several people honked their horns as they drove past me and I flipped them the bird.  Life is good.  I really didn’t flip anyone off.  It’s not my style.  I threw rocks at them and then jumped off the Thunderbolt bridge and into the Wilmington River and swam away fast..;)

wessels and 41st street

I started the run in front of my house (as usual) but changed the course ever so slightly (from my usual course).  I ran up Wessels and instead of hanging a louie on Bonaventure Road (as I usually do) I crossed it, and kept running up.  Take a guess where I stopped for my now ritualistic few minutes stretch after five minutes of running?  Give up?  I stopped on Wessels and 41st and stretched for a few minutes.  It was a nice corner to stop at.  Hardly any traffic.  There’s a nice oak tree nearby and a fire hydrant within arms reach.  Just what you’re looking for on a street corner.

From the corner of Wessels and 41st I continued up and then turned left on 43rd.  I followed 43rd street to Downing and then caught Victory until it offically became highway 80 and then cruised up the Thunderbolt bridge and ran into and around Isle of Armstrong.  I saw lots of fiddler crabs there and, a dead, squashed snake (the same one I saw a couple of days ago).  The snake now looks like a fancy belt.  It’s still out there if you want it.  I’m sure after cleaning it up some it would make a nice Happy Father’s day gift.

I ran to the eastern shore of the Wilmington river and then cruised back over the Thunderbolt bridge and ran to the western shore of the Wilmington River.  Did another quick stretch atop of the bridge and kept on running.  It was nice.

I hopped onto Bonaventure Road and followed that to Wessels and turned right, ran around the round about and took it home.  Mr. Gypsy was happy to see me and I was happy to see him.

a stretch atop of the thunderbolt bridge

Wildlife Inventory:

  • 12 doves
  • 13 grackles
  • 4 cats
  • 5 dogs
  • 3 cardinals: 2 males, 1 female
  • 1 pigeon
  • 1 great egret
  • 9 mocking birds
  • 1 million fiddler crabs
  • 3 sparrows
  • 5 squirrels
  • 1 dead squashed snake on highway 80

this cool tree had these viny flowering plants growing up it. I had to stop momentarily and snap this picture. It was beautiful

My intention was to run 6 miles today but after seeing that my friend, Tim Waz, squeezed out 8 miles today I said oh what the heck, I’ll do 7.  It’s a good…odd number.  And, it’s a lucky number at that.  So, after the run, and saying howdy to Mr. Gypsy I jumped in my car & cruised to Publix where I loaded up on much needed supplies and before I left the store I bought two lottery tickets, one mega million and one powerball.  I’m pretty sure I’m going to win both because I ran those 7 lucky miles today.  What should I do with the winnings?  Well, first things first, – I’m buying a new pair of bikilas – one pair for me and one pair for Mr. Gypsy.  I’ll buy two pairs for Mr. Gypsy.  I almost forgot that he has four legs.

So, how do I feel, you ask?  I feel good.  My calves feel good, strong and healthy.  Tomorrow, after work I’ll squeeze out a four miler and then go partying in downtown Savannah.  That is so not me.  I’ll do the four miler, eat something, shower and then play it by ear.  I think I may want to go to Forsyth Park tomorrow evening and listen to the Lt. Dan band.  They’re performing for free at the park.  How cool is that?  Very!

Ok, thanks for stopping by.

All the best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

04/21/2011

Thursday

Ran past Bonaventure cemetery, as usual

running

Of Runs and Heat

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this is bonaventure and kansas, a common stop for me during neighborhood runs

I ran 6.79 miles through my hood.  Prior to my run I spent 15 minutes giving my legs a good stretching.  Once I started my run I again, made my now customary stop at Kansas and Bonaventure and stretched for about 2 to 3 minutes.  After that I ran to my heart’s delight.  That is until the last mile.  The last mile wasn’t very delightful.  I’ll cover the undelightful last mile later.

my 6.79 mile mapped run

Today’s run took me to both shores of the Wilmington River as I crossed the Thunderbolt bridge and did a quick loop through Isle of Armstrong.  During the run I consumed almost 30 ounces of water.  It was a pretty warm 79 degrees with humidity at 73%.

As I ran I realized that with the warm weather coming quickly I will have to readjust to running in heat.  I like to run in the heat.  I do not shy away from running in 100 degree weather.  I just play it very smart when running in high temperatures.  I usually have many water drops along my path when running in heat and I also take electrolyte pills.  I’m not at the point where I need electrolyte pills but in another month we’ll be in the mid to high 80′s and I’ll need them then.  I will also need to condition my body to running in hot weather.  At first, hot weather will wreak havoc on my stomach and, I find myself running as fast as I can with my hands over my butt like a bandaid hoping and praying that I find the nearest toilet.  It’s never a pleasant situation, I assure you.  The key to not going into a code red alert when running in heat is to stay hydrated, listen to your body and adjust your pace to what the body feels like running.  And, of course, take some electrolyte pills but not too many.  For me, taking 1 electrolyte pill every 45 minutes during longish hot runs does the trick.

on the eastern shore of the wilmington river with the thunderbolt bridge in the background

Also, today’s run was a bit interesting because I saw lots of wildlife.  Yeah.  It was really cool.  I saw a dead snake on highway 80.  It was severely squashed.  I saw two jumping fish.  Yeah, true!  They jumped right out of the water.  I almost caught one as it tried to jump over the Thunderbolt bridge…Ok, not really.  It didn’t jump that high.  I exaggerated a little.  I did see those two fish jump, though.  That was not a lie.  I promise.  What else did I see?  I saw a moth and a butterfly.  I haven’t seen many of those this year – so, that was a treat.  There you have it.  The rest of the wildlife I saw is listed below in the Wildlife inventory.

a dead snake on highway 80. Not sure what happened here.

Wildlife Inventory:

  • 4 great egrets
  • 1 snowy egret
  • 3 squirrels
  • 3 cardinals: 2 male, 1 female
  • 1 orange-winged butterfly
  • 1 moth
  • 2 jumping fish
  • 13 mocking birds
  • 9 grackles
  • 3 seagulls
  • 1 carolina wren
  • 7 sparrows
  • 4 doves
  • 3 cats
  • 7 dogs

So, here’s what happened during my last mile.  My stomach began to gurgle and shake.  It began to put a lot of pressure on my intestines.  My praying became strong and pace slowed down dramatically.  I tried to follow the path of least resistance because I knew that any sudden bump or barking dog had the potential to make me lose it all before reaching home.  So, I prayed and recited scriptures…”Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of poop I shall fear no evil for you are with me and imodium is just around the corner, two blocks away.  Amen”.

Prayer works, folks!  Take my word for it!  I made it home just in the nick of time.

A few hours later, I’ve eaten, drank a beer and, imodium has held my stomach together.  A big Amen!

Ok, I think that’s it for now.

Thanks for stopping by.

All the best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

04/19/2011

Tuesday

this is my stretch spot.

running

Passover

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my parent's seder dish

Tell me: how is this night different
From all other nights?
How, tell me, is this Passover
Different from all other Passovers?
Light the lamp, open the door wide
So the pilgrim can come in,
Gentile or Jew;
Under the rags perhaps the prophet is concealed.
Let him enter and sit down with us;
Let him listen, drink, sing and celebrate Passover;
Let him consume the bread of affliction,
The Paschal Lamb, sweet mortar and bitter herbs.
This is the night of differences
In which you lean your elbow on the table,
Since the forbidden becomes prescribed,
Evil is translated into good.
We will spend the night recounting
Far-off events full of wonder,
And because of all the wine
The mountains will skip like rams.
Tonight they exchange questions:
The wise, the godless, the simple-minded and the child.
And time reverses its course,
Today flowing back into yesterday.
Like a river enclosed at its mouth.
Each of us has been a slave in Egypt,
Soaked straw and clay with sweat,
And crossed the sea dry-footed.
You too, stranger.
This year in fear and shame,
Next year in virtue and justice.

“Passover,” by Primo Levi

 

Have a Happy Passover!

peace,

dh

04/20/2011

running

Prayer Flag Project Slide Show

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[fgallery id=3 w=600 h=500 bg=ffffff t=0 title="Prayer Flag Project"]

 

Here’s a slide show of the prayer flag project which is located in the old Roberd’s Dairy Farm in Savannah, Georgia.  This particular prayer flag project started as the prayer flag annex.  The original prayer flag project is at the end of the rails to trails in Savannah.

I stopped counting prayer flags at the pfp that’s at the rails to trails when it reached 500 prayer flags.  The flags at the rtt are still there but they are in desperate need of maintenance.  The rtt prayer flag project started in the summer of 2009.

The prayer flag annex was started around the beginning of 2010.  The prayer flag annex eventually became known as the prayer flag project in the Dairy farm.  The last count I did at the dairy farm pfp was 750 prayer flags.  The prayer flags at the dairy farm are weather beaten as they are more exposed to the elements.

To me, the prayer flags at the dairy farm are more touching and the location where they are at the df is more magical and hallow.  Almost every day I go to the prayer flags at the dairy farm and maintain them.  When there is no more rope to clip prayers to I’ll string more rope.  I also provide blank prayer flags for who ever wants them.  I’ll mail them to who ever asks me for them at my cost.  I buy the fabric at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics on Eisenhower.  I go there so often to buy fabric that the ladies that work there know me and know what fabric and colors I’m going to purchase.  It’s pretty funny.

these are the colors i’m using for the flags. each flag is 7″x7″
What the colors represent:
* Blue (symbolizing sky/space)
* White (symbolizing air/wind)
* Red (symbolizing fire)
* Green (symbolizing water)
* Yellow (symbolizing earth)

Any way, if you want some blank prayer flags just leave a comment at the end of this blog entry and we’ll go from there.

The dairy farm is a very special place and with the prayer flag project there it becomes magical, a refuge, a place of rest for the soul.

Thanks for stopping by.

All the best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

04/17/2011

Sunday

 

running

A Pleasant Run on a Beautiful Sunday

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On the eastern shore of the Wilmington River on Isle of Armstrong

It was an incredibly beautiful day today.  It would of been a crime had the sun gone down & I had not squeezed in a run.  So, I ran 6.4 miles this evening before sunset.  It was a very pleasant, slow run.  The temperature was 67 degrees and humidity was at 54%.

Today’s run was a typical neighborhood run except I crossed the Thunderbolt Bridge and did a loop around Isle of Armstrong.

As I ran I could feel both of my calves working hard but the left one never flared up.  That was good.  I did make a stop at Kansas again and stretched for a few minutes.  This may become a habit.  On my run this past Friday and today, my stop at Kansas was .54 miles from the start and four minutes and some seconds into the run.

Another calf stretch stop at Kansas

Both of my achilles were tight today.  After the calf stretches at Kansas I felt good and loose.  Also, this time around, there were no mosquitoes – major plus!  Friday, I was running down Bonaventure Road with my arms flying all over the place swatting mosquitoes away.  I’m sure I freaked out drivers and caused multiple car accidents.  But hey, mosquitoes were all over me.  In situations like that, you do what you gotta do, right?  Right.

On the pier on the western shore of the Wilmington River I saw this guy catch a stingray. Are they edible?

Wildlife Inventory:

  • 2 carolina wrens
  • 7 mocking birds
  • 8 dogs
  • 10 great egrets
  • 3 crows
  • 6 sparrows
  • 2 squirrels
  • 11 doves
  • 12 grackles
  • 3 pigeons
  • 3 seagulls
  • 1 stingray

During the run today I decided that I’m going to take my time building my base back up.  For the next few weeks my longest runs will be seven to nine miles.  I have to strengthen my calves more.  I need to build up my calves endurance.  Those muscles are just too weak.  If I continue doing these fast runs and jumping from a 6 mile run to a 12 mile run suddenly, I’m going to continue these chronic calf problems I’ve been having the past couple of weeks.  So, for the next few weeks I’m going to run six days a weeks at a pace between 8:30 to 9:30 with distances ranging from 4 to 9 miles.

There is a 10k coming up the first weekend of May.  It’s the Crimestoppers 10k in downtown Savannah.  I love that run but I do not know yet if I’m going to do it.  If I do this race I’m obviously going to push myself hard to finish it in at least 40 minutes.  If I do that I may risk another injury.  I don’t know if that race is worth injuring myself especially since my real goal is to train for an ultra this summer.  There’s a 50 miler in Hilton Head on July 30th, 2011.  I would really like to do that race.  The race is called Cremator.  This will be a good test run for Badwater which I intend to do next year.  So, since my main running goal is to train for a summer ultra, this Crimestoppers 10k would be a distraction that could possibly injure me.  I don’t know yet, though.  I’ll let you know in two weeks if I’m going to do the Crimestoppers 10k.

Well, I do believe that is all for now.

Thank you for stopping by.

All the best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

04/17/2011

Sunda

running

A Slow Cautious Run

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A pretty church I ran past yesterday. I stopped momentarily to snap this picture

I ran 4.64 miles yesterday through my neighborhood. I started off in front of my house and headed up Wessels to Altman to Bonaventure Road. I ran up Bonaventure but quickly had to pull over for a stretch break in Kansas. My left calf was feeling a little tender and tight. I stretched at Kansas and Bonaventure for a few minutes, long enough to get a dozen mosquito bites. The mosquitoes are getting pretty nasty in Savannah, I’m afraid.  You’re kind of forced to run fast swatting the air all around you to keep from getting bitten.

My Kansas stop and stretch spot

The short stretch I did in Kansas which was about a half mile from my house did me a lot of good.  By the time I had reached the two mile mark the ache in my left calf had disappeared but the fear of inflaming this injury again was strong enough to keep me at a slow pace (9:00ish minute pace) for the remainder of the run.  I’m cool with that.  I’m not in competition with anyone nor, am I trying to set any new pr’s.  I just want to run and enjoy that run.  So, despite my turtle pace I enjoyed my run.  Today I intend to run again at this very pace.  I just hope to add a little more distance to my run today than yesterday’s.  I think, though, that the 12 miler I had hoped for this weekend is out of the question.  That’s cool too.  I still have plenty of time to log the long miles.

Wildlife Inventory:

  • 2 squirrels
  • 9 grackles
  • 1 red-winged black bird
  • 3 dogs
  • 2 cats
  • 3 doves
  • 3 mocking birds

my 4.64 mile mapped run

Oh, here’s an interesting thing that happened during my run yesterday, – I was chased to a screeching halt by two dogs.  Yes, that’s right!  Two dogs bolted from their front yard and ran me down!  I wish I could say that I was scared but unfortunately I laughed the fear right out of me.  Their feelings were hurt, I think.  Poor little guys.  Their owner had to come and rescue them along with their pampered egos.

The dogs that chased me were little rascals.  I’m not sure what breed.  They were small.  I thought both were puppies at first.  And, they definitely had the little man complex.  In their own eyes they were ravenous pitbulls.  In my eyes, they were two fuzzy, football sized Gizmo looking wanna-be-dogs.  Their owner ran up and scooped both up in her arms and apologized for them “messing up my run time” – those were her words.  I laughed it off.  As I ran off I gave them one last look .  They proudly gazed at me from the secured perch of their owner’s arms.

The papaya I bought yesterday at Publix

Later this morning I’m going to Fleet Feet where there’s a free injury clinic hosted by Ledesma Sports Medicine.  I want to talk to someone about my left calf problem and about a lump I have on my right knee, just below the patella.  The lump doesn’t hurt at all and it’s semi-hard.  The lump is about the size of a quarter.  I just noticed it a week ago.  I’m not sure what’s going on there but it’s definitely not something normal.  Perhaps I’m mutating into a rat.  There’s no telling.

A run is in the works some time later today along with a blog afterward about it.

So, thanks for stopping by.

All the best to you and yours.

peace,

04/16/2011

Saturday

 

kilimanjaro 2011

My Kilimanjaro 2011 Trip Picture Gallery

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Here are some of the pictures from my trip to Tanzania and Kilimanjaro climb which I did this past March.

This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I had dreamed of going to Africa since childhood. This trip to Tanzania was planned out for three years.
The people I befriended on this trip are some of the most interesting and culturally rich people I’ve ever been around.
Climbing Kilimanjaro was a dream come true. The people I befriended during this trip were a great gift and blessing to me.
I may not correspond much with you all but you are all always in my heart.

All the best to you and yours.

peace,

dh
04/15/2011
Friday