The Turtle & Bunny MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Everyone knows the story of the Tortise & the Hare, where slow & steady ends up winning the race. This weekend I ‘turtled’ a bunny race…
Ultramarathon = any distance longer than a marathon. Typically, the first/shortest distance is 50km (31.4 miles) but I do know of one ‘marathon’ that is listed at 26.3 miles.

This past weekend last year I was supposed to do an ultra, both my first trail ultra & my first 12 hour race (but not my first ultra). However, the car accident/injury forced me to pull out beforehand.

I was planning on trying to do it again this year, but another injury caused me to delay signing up. It was going to be a stretch to come back from that long off to be anywhere close to good form. I’m wise & old (which means slowing down) enough to know I that I never was or will be an Olympic champion & that I’m not going to win any race against the best competition. The only person I’m racing against is me; if I can’t go out there, toe the line & put in a solid performance, why bother. By the time I decided I could enter, the race was sold out. :mad: Two years in a row? Really? I can’t do this race two years in a row because of injur(ies)? I didn’t want that monkey on my back! Do I have to wait another year to even have the opportunity to shake it off? I found another race, same day, same distance (well, time), & actually closer to home; close enough that I didn’t need a hotel room (but did need to get up at 3am).

This course has longer, but hillier loops (averaging about 90’/mile of elevation/descent), with two big hills (they call 'em bunny hills, like the novice hills on ski slopes.) Of course S/F is right off of the biggest one, meaning you both start & finish uphill (both ways, in the [del]snow[/del] heat & humidity (Day 5 {or 6?} of this heat wave! It was in the 70°s @ 6am & went up over 90° later on.)

My plan was to do the bunny race like a turtle - slow & steady. I did just that…to perfection! Got my goal distance, which was probably more than all of the other Mumpers did on Sat…combined! Got rid of the monkey, too. To be clear, I didn’t win, or place; don’t even know how I did against the competition as results aren’t out yet. What I know is how I did, which I’m very happy with. Pretty much everything below the waist is sore (& some of it was even patched with duct tape, neon duct tape), but my recovery on Sunday took me thru another milestone so within a couple of days, I’m going to start thinking about my next big one - is there a chance that this year I’ll get to write that MMP I’ve been wanting to (but haven’t yet achieved the subject material) for the past six years?
As for pre-hijack of the week, the race started early, so check-in/setup was done via headlamp & lantern; when/why was the last time you needed a headlamp/lantern/flashlight?

2

Last night. An evil squirrel (is there any other kind?) chewed through a wire on the power pole out front and the electric company had to come and disconnect and reconnect us.

Also, FIRST!

Going to bed now.

3

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 75 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 90 and a fifty percent chance of rain/tstorms/apocalypse this afternoon. That’s pretty much the forecast for the week. I was goin’ to go to the horsepistol first thing this mornin’ but JDD called last night and said he thought he’d best just go there and be there until such time as Mr. Frank is discharged and transport is arranged for him to go back to the nursin’ home which is true. I’ll go down later this mornin’ to say hello if’n he’s still there. Non-emergency transport is a contracted thing and is FUBAR. When it’s ordered they might be there within thirty minutes or they might show up three hours later. :rolleyes: Also today is cave defilthyfycation day.

Spidey congrats! You achieved what you wanted and that’s all that really matters.

As to the last time I used a flashlight, I recall Tuesday of last week when I was lookin’ in a dark corner under the desk in the study. Needed a flashlight for that.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. I suppose I should purtify a bit and then tackle spiffin’ up da cave. Rah.

Happy Moanday Y’all!

4

Last time I really needed a lantern/flashlight was several years back when Hurricane Irene left us without power for 48 hours. Yanno, it’s really quiet when the power goes out.

Congrats on the run, Spidey! When I was in the Navy, we had to run 2 miles as part of our annual PT test, and when I trained for it, on 2 separate occasions, I ran 6 miles. It was not my favorite thing to do, but I impressed myself in that I was able to do it. I figure today, I could probably walk 6 miles without stopping, so there’s that. :smiley:

Today didn’t start well. I was going to slice up a 'mater to go with my lunch - well, one of the 'maters on the counter had totally turned to mush, and another started mushing. The last 3 looked OK, so they went into the fridge and I scrubbed the mess on the counter. Then I grabbed bread to make a sammich - it was fuzzy. :eek: Luckily, I’d bought a fresh loaf on Sat, so the remains of the furry loaf went into the trash with the 'maters.

The day can only get better, right? Happy Moanday!

5

Morning, mumpers!

Congra-rats, Spidey! Good to hear that you’ve finally done what you intended so you can tick that off the list if you decide never to do it again.

Last time I needed a torch was when we had a power cut. I leave the torch in the same place in the kitchen, on top of the fridge/freezer so I know where it is. Of course, the one time I actually needed it, 'im indoors had used it and left it heck knows where. Fortunately, I have candles and matches in the same location so I was able to find an alternative source of light.

Might need on on Saturday as we’re music festivalling this weekend!

6

A couple months ago, I was walking in the dark after a rehearsal and I pulled out a mini-flashlight that I kept in my coat pocket, to see where I was going.

Also, recently, my bathroom light wasn’t working, so we used a flashlight until we got a new light.

7

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Clsoing shift tonight.

Congrats on finishing, Spidey! As far as last time I needed a flashlight, it was last leat when my store didn’t have power for 3 days after Hurricane Mathew

8

A motorcycle parts swap meet at 6am. There is a yearly small but great one run south of here operated by one of the MCs (one of the more gang-like clubs) where you can find some fantastic bargains and some that actually aren’t warm to the touch (stolen). But the secret is getting there early and looking things over as the sellers unpack them. And basically saying whadda-you-want-for-that as things are being taken out of boxes. I actually haven’t gotten much there myself but I’ve done it so long that its almost a tradition for me.

9

I really didn’t think in terms of power outages. For those I fall back on my 1750s style candle lanterns which, as fate would have it, I don’t use at the events very much. Most events everyone else has a lantern going or a campfire so I have enough “borrowed light” to get around. Plus moonlight and all and my habit of breaking lanterns. So I just make do and save the beeswax for times when Mr Edison lets us down.

10

I can’t remember the last time I needed my flashlight, I’m not even sure I could find it now without doing some searching. Which of course means I will need it sometime this week…

Congrats spidey on checking off another box on the bucket list. I never did like running, but if it is your thing, go for it!

swampy, hope JDD’s dad gets a smooth ride home.

FCM, do you put bread in the freezer? I sometime buy more than I can use and put a loaf (or two) in hibernation. Seems to work out alright. But yeah, nothing worse than mushy tomatoes.

Spent last week recovering from my vacation (seems like you feel great all during the trip, then get home and everything collapses). Did get a lot done, new window re-installed (the first time they measured wrong), changed home insurance, got estimates for new front and back doors, did a braunsweiger run, dropped off dry cleaning, paid all outstanding bills, got estimate for a new water pressure regulator (work to be scheduled), and in general caught up with 3 weeks backlog. So now I am ready for a new week…probably start by mowing the yard in about 90 minutes.

11

I dunno when I last had to use a torch- actually, I think it may have been to look for something in the wardrobe, 'cos it’s really dark in there when there’s just the room light on. I normally have a small one to hand pretty much all the time. It lives in my bag, which I carry everywhere.

I now have 3 places arranged to view tomorrow, and I have found somewhere to stay the night, so I don’t have to come straight home afterwards. Hurrah.

12

Blurf Howdy. I had good news this morning. My Lucky Louie had a little bump come up behind his ear and with his history of cancer I took him to the vet thinking we would have to have surgery but the vet poked it with a needle and a little pus came out so it was only a pimple. Doc said absolutely no need to worry about that any more.

Yesterday once I drank coffee my horrific headache went away. I guess I cannot skip coffee ever.

This week on Wed and Thursday it is Mini Lobster Season where we are expecting 30K more ocean rapists to descend and take lobster. The regular season opens on the 6th.

Busy week here.

13

Da cave is spiffed except I need to mop the bathrooms and kitchen which I will once I have finished my Diet Poopsie. I got thirsty. Go Me! Looks like clouds are buildin’ up so maybe rain will be in store later today. Tonight is taco night. OLÉ! Haven’t made tacos in a while so I’m sure they’ll hit the spot.

Butters yay for HRH Lucky Louie!

I have flashlights in the kitchen, master bedroom, guest room, study, and livin’ room. That way I can always find one in one of the main rooms of da cave.

14

**MetalMouse **- since we replaced our fridge, I don’t have enough space in the freezer for bread - not if I want ice cream! :smiley: I have no problem with freezing bread - I just lack space most of the time.

OK, back to work with me…

15

Got one of my cartoons used on a site. So at least one thing went right on a Monday. :slight_smile:

Yay for HRH, Butters!

16

Moppage has been completed. Da cave is hereby defiilthyfyed. Go Me!

doggio :cool:

17

No, no, no, no, no! This is not a bucket list thing to be done once & never again. This was merely a new race that I hadn’t done before; it wasn’t even my longest, by either time or distance.
In fact over half of my ultras have been done this weekend as it offers the perfect combination of things; late enough in the year that I’ve got training time under my belt, close enough to Summer Solstice that there’s still close to maximum daylight, warm enough that you don’t need to worry about additional layers in the non-sunny hours (though the flip-side is it can be heat-wave hot, as it was this weekend; however, I don’t mind the heat & humidity nearly as much as others do), & finally, it’s a free weekend in the calendar as I don’t go to any festivals this weekend. There is one that some go to but I don’t like it, which means I’m not even missing anything as some aren’t around.

While trail ultras can be tougher in terms of footing (rocks, roots, steep hills), it wasn’t until 30-some miles in that I realized how much easier they are on the legs; I still felt good, not beat up like I had in past urban ultras.

The question is do I come back & do this race next year (I liked it) or do I do the long version of the other race, which was originally in the two year training plan, culminating in one of the toughest (actually, probably thee toughest, in it’s category) races in the world. I do believe I’ve got a few months until I need to think about it. :wink:
Butters, it sounds like Louie is becoming a adolescent, with acne. Next thing you know, he’ll want you to drop him off a block from the dog park. :o

18

Spidey:smiley:

doggiooo way cool :cool::cool::cool:

GRRR, HIISSSSS. I let another manager use my community center building on the weekend and they used tape on my freshly painted walls causing peeling paint. We just cannot have nice things. I called her up and gave her a piece of my mind and sent the photos to the Director. This will need repair and repaint and it should come out of her budget. Use common sense people. All I ask.

19

Congrats Spidey! Glad you’re healing up.

Yay Doggio! I know a famous person! :cool:

Butters you sound like me talking to the kids. Common sense, that’s all I ask. :stuck_out_tongue: I hope she fixes her mess.

Pepper pup made up for her 4 am no sleep night by sleeping for 12 hours! What a good girl! :smiley:

20

To answer the OP. I keep flashlights at all desks here at irk as in the wintertime it is dark before we close and we have power outages frequently. I use a flashlight almost daily to walk the dog right before bed.