Running Heavy

Last year at the end of July I weighed 151.5.

Yesterday I weighed 158.5.

I'm no Archimedes, but even I know that's a difference of 7 pounds.

So what's that mean in practical terms. Profoundly, I'm 7 pounds heavier this year! That doesn't seem like a lot, but go out to your garage and grab whatever weighs 7 pounds and carry it around all day. See, makes your arms tired, doesn't it.

OK, it's not exactly the same, and honestly I don't know that it makes any difference. I do wonder what has made the difference, though. I don't think I'm eating differently than last year. I am still lifting, where last summer I abandoned the weights, so maybe that has something to do with it.

I complained about this in my last post, but this summer is hot, hot, hot as hell August. And dry! "Brown and crispy" is a phrase we're hearing a lot. I generally take my son camping in the summer, but we've pushed that back this year. Besides, Missouri Conservation has banned camp fires at all parks for the time being, so forget that. Camping is not camping unless you're using lighter fluid to get the camp fire going.

There is a race in Warsaw tomorrow, and I'll be there. It's a sprint distance tri, and I hear the bike course traverses the dam. Oh, that reminds me, I better see if I can find my bike.

I'm watching the Olympic road race right now, and I watched as much of le Tour as I could even though I don't get the NBC Sports channel (btw, thank you NBC Sports channel for putting the Olympic triathlon on your channel, I appreciate not having to watch that since it's one of the rare times a triathlon is actually on TV. I mean, I get MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, and of course regular NBC, but you put the tri on the one channel I don't get because it's not included in my tier). After watching these races, I'll be very disappointed tomorrow if I don't see some European dudes with flags tied around their necks running along side the riders tomorrow.

If I do well in the race tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes.

Running Hot

The last thing my neighbors want to see is a grown man running through the 'hood butt-naked. I don't blame them, I don't want to see that either because, you know, barefoot runners can be anoying. However, it's been so hot up in here I'd completely understand if, per Nelly's admonition, people started to take off all their clothes.

This afternoon I went out for a five miler, and it was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I hate running when it's that hot! I swear I died and went to slow jog hell. I could practically hear folks driving by in they cars, "What's that idiot doing?"

A couple of weeks ago I ran in the Shawnee Mission Triathlon. One thousand meter swim (nice and level), eighteen mile bike (hilly), and four point five mile run (two dam inclines). My time was worse than last year! What's up with that? Again, I blame the heat. Not at the race, we were finished before it got really blazing, but because I'm too lazy to go out and train while it's stupid hot.

In a couple more weeks I'm going to run a race in Warsaw! Yes, that Warsaw, Warsaw, Missouri. Never heard of it? I'm shocked! Well, they're hosting the first ever Warsaw Triathlon, and I will be there. Warsaw, Missouri also hosts the Truman Dam which holds back all the water in the Truman Resevoir. I think we'll be swimming below the dam, but not really sure. I'll find out when I get there.

That's shaping up to be my second to last race of the year. Lord willing I'll be at the Branson 70.3 again in September. Someone from Springfield told me this is the last year they will put on that race but I haven't been able to confirm that because I have done absolutely no checking. I hope they don't do away with it. It's the closest Ironman event to me. The next closest is the Kansas 70.3 which is in Lawrence.

As I type Tombstone is on TV. I've never seen it. There are a number of famous actors in this show. Kurt Russel, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe, Bill Paxton, Jason Priestly (uh?), Thomas Haden Church, the guy from The Terminator, Sam Elliot, that woman from that TV show from the 90s(?) that I never watched, and others! Oh, there's that guy from Lost who started out in the wheelchair.

Speaking of movies, I read yesterday that Henry Hill died back in June. Ray Liotta played him in Goodfellas. Does that have to do with anything? I don't know, but if I keep sucking on these races I enter I'm going into the witness protection program.