Update, and...Inspired

It's been five days since my unplanned meeting with the road. I only used my crutch for a couple of hours before I got tired of it (and the swelling in my right knee diminished).

My knees both feel pretty good now, but my left wrist still hurts. I'm still wearing the wrist brace.

There's still a little swelling and some bruising on the wrist. I can pull with my left hand, but any pushing or leaning on the hand hurts quite a bit.

As you can see, my right knee is still slightly swollen and a little bruised:

My bike, thankfully, came away with very little damage. I picked it up from the shop on Sunday, having to pay only $28 for spoke straightening and wheel trueing.

I halfway thought about taking a short test spin today, but I was feeling a little under the weather and my wrist is still a little too sore. I may give it try on Wednesday.

On to my recent inspiration. I had an old Mill Creek Running & Multi-Sport Club friend, Dan, from the Seattle area stay with us over the weekend. He was competing in the Troika Half Ironman Triathlon. The race took place on Saturday in Medical Lake, WA. There were also some other friends racing (Garrett, Kenny and Sherry), so my cheering duties were plentiful.

Dan, finishing in 4:56, 13th overall, 3rd AG

Dan was first competitor out of the water, which was both surprising and NOT surprising. He's been an elite level swimmer for a long time (he may not agree with my assessment, but that's the truth), who's also a very strong runner and a very quickly improving cyclist. I used to train with him frequently (although at a slower pace) when I lived on the West side. It was his first time going sub-5 hours in a half ironman, and his first non-Ironman distance triathlon in 3 years.

Garrett, finishing in 5:02:45, 3rd in AG

 Garrett is another very talented friend from my old running & multi-sport club on the West side. He's quite a bit younger and a type-1 diabetic (which doesn't seem to slow him down at all). I ran the Ragnar Relay with him back in 2010 (we were in the same van) and enjoyed getting to know him a little. He had an incredible bike leg at Troika (2:29:48 for 56.7 miles)!

Kenny, finishing in 5:55 in his 2nd half ironman. A 49 minute PR!

Kenny is a fairly new friend who I met through our church, where he co-leads worship (and I play bass with him & the team). He's a super-positive guy with whom I've cycled a couple of times (with more rides to come) and have enjoyed seeing him improve rapidly as a multi-sport athlete. I have no doubt that he'll crush this year's time next year.

It's nearly impossible for me to attend an event like this and not be inspired. I've kicked around the idea of doing a triathlon for several years now, but have never really committed to it. Assuming I can get this knee taken care of and back into running shape, I'll probably set a triathlon in my sights so I'll have a goal. If I can run again, I doubt I'll ever be "just" a runner. I think my body has made it clear that I need to continue cross training in order to avoid overuse injuries. Unfortunately, triathlon is a very expensive sport, so that will come into play. But I at least need to take a shot at a sprint or Olympic distance tri, once I'm able to run again (assuming I will...and I'm very hopeful).

But until then, it's time to become a beast on the bike!

Dan and I enjoying a celebratory beverage

Words

When I was a sophomore in high school, my math teacher—himself a runner—encouraged me to join the cross-country team. The year was nearly over; cross-country and track seasons both in the rear-view mirror. That summer, I spent several weeks in Florida, visiting my mom and sister. I began running laps around our block, usually in the late evening to avoid the midday sun (which provided little relief, as it was still very hot and humid, even at night.) I vividly remember the bats darting and diving above my head in the twilight. I still wasn't convinced that cross-country was for me. Nor bats.

I had run track for a season in middle school…yes, in central Florida (I moved to the Seattle area in the middle of my sophomore year), but I hadn't yet fallen in love with running. But that summer of 1983, my math teacher's words reverberated in my head.

I put in modest mileage before returning to Seattle to begin my junior year. Still wavering on what to do, athletically speaking, I thought that maybe I'd try out for the golf team. We lived in a country club, with access to a tournament-caliber golf course. I had cut my golfing teeth there, but had yet to crack 100 for a full round. Still, it could be a fun experience. But making the team was questionable. I don't remember if our golf team made cuts, but I do remember listening to other kids at that first meeting, griping about their lousy double-bogeys on the last hole, leaving them with a disappointing score of 75, etc.

Cue a skinny, four-eyed kid fidgeting, loosening his collar, acting like he forgot something in his locker and leaving the meeting before the golf coach arrived.

Suddenly, cross-country sounded like a good alternative. The season had already begun, so I wasn't eligible to race until the second meet. Working to get into shape, I had two "DNF's" (Did Not Finish) that season; partially due to rolling an ankle, and partially due to not being fit. I trained hard, but wrapped up the season with less-than-impressive times.

I improved slightly during track season but, again, I was still working on not only getting faster, but building a base. By the end of the season, I made about a ten second jump in my mile time.

My senior year cross-country season was much improved, thanks to a summer of consistent running. I recorded roughly 400 miles during summer vacation. Still not high mileage, but most of it was quality (i.e. probably too fast.) This contributed to much faster times than the previous year. I always felt like I was trying to catch up to the level of the faster guys, so I usually trained very hard—probably too hard—most of the time.

But my coach took notice of my efforts. He took a small group of runners from our team to Canada for a small invitational cross-country meet. I was still a JV runner at the time (I cracked the varsity lineup late in the season), but due to my seriousness about training, I was one of the five guys he decided to include.

As I was growing up, my dad had always emphasized the importance of doing your absolute best in everything. Of course, being the best isn't a guarantee, but there's no excuse for not putting forth a 100% effort, whatever the task or event may be. As a typical teenager, I'm sure I fell well short of that advice many times. But when it came to running, I took it to heart.

Once the season was over, we met for the post-season awards banquet on a very cold and snowy night in November. The expected guys and gals won the expected awards. But when my coach announced the winner of the "Most Improved" award, it caught me by surprise.

"This award goes to a guy who, if we weren't meeting here tonight, would be out running in this blizzard…Colin Hayes."

He likely forgot those words shortly after he spoke them. Even today, over 28 years later, they hit home.

I've never managed to record impressive times, at least compared to many of my fellow competitors. I don't consider myself a talented runner at all. The only thing I'll tentatively take pride in, speaking as a runner, is my dedication and determination. My coach saw that in me and recognized me publicly in a very meaningful way.

My "Most Improved, 1984 Cross Country" plaque still hangs on the wall in my garage with other ribbons and medals. It's still my most cherished.

Yes, simple words can make a profound impact in peoples' lives. In this case, they still do.

'Here' vs 'There'

I just got back from a Florida vacation, and boy is my checking account tired!

But seriously, folks...it is. This may have been...no, it definitely was...the most expensive vacation we've ever taken. Twelve nights of boarding our dog, airline tickets, condo fee, food, theme park passes...

But I digress.

We were in St. Petersburg, FL for 10 days (minus 3 nights we spent in Orlando) visiting family and celebrating my mom's 70th birthday. I managed to run exactly twice while we were there. Both runs were at night, when it was 'cooler.' 'Cooler' being eighty-four degrees with high humidity; a tad more palatable than the hellish daytime conditions. But I gave it a go anyway, as I always do when we visit there. It wasn't pretty. Living in the Seattle area has done nothing to prepare me for running in hot, liquified air. After two jaunts, I shut it down the rest of our stay and worked on another physical goal: seeing if I could do more than 1,000 pushups while I was there (I managed 1,230). Then, I went for a single-week PR and did 1,005 in a full week (half of it in Florida, half back home), totaling 1,530 in two weeks. This week, I'm working on my pullups. As you might suspect, I'm big into the bodyweight exercises currently. I'll get back to the free weights eventually.

Something I wanted to write about was an observation I made, having spent time in Florida recently. It's an observation AND a comparison. I'm sure it will seem condescending and arrogant to some.

What is it? Generally speaking, people in the greater Seattle area are in better shape and more fitness-minded than those in the Tampa Bay area. There, I said it. I can't quote the source(s) off the top of my head, but there's a reason that Seattle usually ranks near the top of the various 'Most Fit Cities' lists found in various publications. Go for a 45-minute drive around Seattle-area neighborhoods and see how many runners and cyclists you see. Do the same in St. Petersburg and you'll be lucky to see any.

I know, it's hot and humid this time of year down there...but I ran (albeit at night, and only twice) and I never saw another fellow runner. The few cyclists I saw while down there were mostly commuters...and none of them wore cycling gear. Not that you have to do so to be considered a 'real' cyclist (or 'cool'), but you get the point.

Now, to get out of the corner I painted myself into. The message I want to relay is that, wherever you are, be that person who gets out and lives the fitness lifestyle. Be the one that others see as they're driving around. You very well may inspire them to do the same thing. It always inspires me.