I figure something is wrong, but she just chats about my nephews and my sisters and my sister’s dog and such. Then she asks me if she can talk to me about something personal. My stomach knots, but I say, “sure”. There’s no one here in my office but me and she’s not on speakerphone, so it’s no big deal.

We last had seen each other mid-January out in Southern California for my aunt’s (my Mom’s younger sister) funeral. Both my mom and dad had come out and we shared a hotel room. There were two beds in the room, but my dad had them bring up a COT for me. But I digress…

We only stayed two nights and on the second night, my dad noticed a bracelet I wear on my right wrist. He said it looked very nice and asked where I got it. I thanked him and absentmindedly told him the name of the website where I bought it. He read the inscription on it out loud, but I didn’t really pay attention; hell — I already know what’s on the bracelet.

So I flew back home to Florida and they to Colorado and all was well. Except it wasn’t. Keep in mind — this was two months ago. Apparently, Dad was concerned about the inscription on my bracelet. He told Mom about it and they have spent the past two months trying to figure out a way to speak with me about what it means for me and my life.

Below, you’ll see an image of the bracelet. It says, “TRANSCEND”. It’s my running mantra. It reminds me to rise above; to overcome and it really does help attitude-wise when things get tough. I look at it while I’m at work a lot…

Endorphin Warrior - Transcend Bracelet

So, you're probably asking why this bracelet got my parents in a tizzy. Why did they spend two months trying to find a way to lovingly and tactfully approach me about this bracelet and what it meant?

Well, probably because my father doesn't read very well upside-down and/or doesn't read very well period. Dad also apparently doesn't know what dictionary is -- as he thought the word inscribed on the bracelet was "TRANSGEND"... which is not even a real word. However, due to what he thought it said and meant, my parents believed it was possible I was going to do a Chaz Bono on them. They'd been working toward letting me know that whatever it was I decided, they would support me and would always love me. Sweet.

Look, I'd already put them through a version of this back when I was in high school and I came out as a lesbian to them. It didn't go over so well and when they look back at that, it makes them feel badly for hurting me. So I can understand why they'd want to handle it a bit better this time around; and I love them for that.

Hence my Mom's call to me at work yesterday. When Mom told me what Dad thought he'd seen on my bracelet, I lost it. I told Mom what it really said, she did a double-take and said, "WHAT?" And I told her again. "It says, 'TRANSCEND', Mom -- rise above; overcome. It's my running mantra". She then laughed so loud I thought my eardrum would implode.

So, yay! for Dads that care and the fact that they can so easily misread one letter in a word and then create a new word that never before existed. And that this never-having-existed-before word can then make me realize how much my parents love me.

I did make a backup of it and just recently went on a trip down memory lane to read some of my most early posts — while they were still fun and enjoyable (to me at least). A few posts were about the different types of workouts we’d try (we went through a phase) and the ensuing chaos that followed. Here’s one from September of 2002 entitled, “We Workout for Our Health”.  (Back then, my partner was known as “The Princess”… I guess she still is. And yes, we’re still together!) Enjoy!

…

New Years Eve day (2011), while putting away Christmas decorations, I fell through the ceiling in the garage. Yes, I was in the attic. No, I didn’t fall to the ground. Yes, I tore the shit out of my right arm and shoulder. Yes, I had some fantastic bruises to show off for a while.

Your Life Flashes Before Your Eyes...

Anyway, since then I've developed symptoms of Climber's Elbow and Frozen Shoulder. A very heady and crappy mix! Especially since it's my right arm, which I use a lot and which I use exclusively at work on my computer with the MOUSE -- use of which exacerbates the Climber's Elbow (yay).

Running has been at a lower mileage level the past few months; usually two times a week instead of three or four. And I've been running on the trails (not paved ones) exclusively, completely ignoring the roads. My left hamstring has been doing great -- no more high hamstring tendonopathy issues -- and I credit that to my running on dirt instead of asphalt.

My work has changed significantly; I'm still working for the same agency, but instead of being a contractor, I'm now a full-fledged employee (after 14 years of working for them as a contractor). My work schedule changed as well, starting a half hour later and ending a half hour later. I'm also working at a different location which is further away from home. It's amazing what a major difference it makes in my day and what I need to get done when I get home -- the traffic is heavier then, so I actually get home a lot later, which puts my runs closer to sunset. Sunset or running after dark on the trails is not an option. It's too dangerous. Not just from the creepy stalker standpoint; but really from the wild animal standpoint. We have bears, boars, cougars, bobcats, gators -- you get the picture.

So that's where I am now. Luckily, we have a workout room in our home; I can use an elliptical, do strength training, pull-ups, push-ups, yoga and any manner of indoor workout possible. So it's not like I've been sitting on my ass (although that's pretty much what it feels like I do all day at work).

The pups are doing well, as is the cat and so is my partner. More to come!

Anyway, I drove out to the trails and kept the BEX Runner in a cooler with ice packs to keep it from melting before I even got out there. Walking the quarter mile to the trail head, I held it by the strap so my hot hand wouldn’t cause it to melt either. Once I was ready to take off, I put the BEX Runner on my left palm, made sure it fit comfortably and off I went. It lasted for a total of 14 minutes and 50 seconds before it was completely melted down. I flipped it over so it was now on the back of my hand per the instructions, and went on. At the time it melted, it was 90F (105F heat index) and I wasn’t quite halfway through my run. So all things considered, it lasted a decent amount of time — who seriously runs in that kind of heat anyway? (besides me)

I don’t know if it was mental or a placebo-effect, but I have to admit that while it was still frozen, wearing the BEX Runner actually made me feel quite comfortable. I actually ran faster (I could tell by my splits), even though I was running uphill. Once it was a soppy blob though, I definitely felt less comfortable and the heat started to adversely affect my run, even when running downhill. Obviously, unless I have friends stashed with coolers and BEX Runners throughout my route, using this device for long runs isn’t feasible. But I can see where using it after T2 in a sprint triathlon would come in very handy. It would also do great for 5k road races, which are typically scheduled for early in the morning before the real heat kicks in. In locations where it doesn’t get as hot and humid as here, the BEX Runner would logically last longer.

On a cool side note, the BEX Runner is the “official cooling sponsor” of Conrad “The Caveman” Stoltz, 5x World Champion Triathlete.

So all things considered, I really like the concept and the performance of the BEX Runner and will continue to use it. Most likely, I’ll use it mainly during my early morning runs out on the road during the summer. It’s 78F at 7:00am with 8,530% humidity; I can use all the cooling I can get.

For those of you interested in getting a BEX Runner of your own, use this coupon code to get a 10% discount: CAVEMAN (tell them ChariD at Intrepid Athlete sent you!)

ETA 07/13/2011: Wore the BEX Runner late yesterday afternoon for another trail run. It was 94F(105F heat index) and a cloud cover came over just as I took off running. This time, the BEX Runner lasted a good 20 minutes. I think the cloud cover made a difference in the thaw time of the device. Direct sun definitely affects the speed at which it melts.

Note: This post may be updated over time as I use the BEX Runner more. These updates will be time-stamped for reference.

When I run on the trails in the afternoon, I wear a FuelBelt Helium with 2 bottles and carry a microfiber hand towel (to sop the sweat from my face). Hydration is important when you’re literally sweating buckets, but not over-heating is just as significant; especially when you’re miles away from a paved road and easy access to help. Obviously, one of my concerns with regard to the summer months is performance, which is pretty crappy when the air temp is 97F. My mileage goes down as does my speed. Add in humidity, and you’re looking at a heat index of over 100F.  So when I read on one of my favorite running blogs about a product that could possibly allow me to lower my core temp a bit while running or during recovery, I had to check it out.

It’s the BEX Runner. Essentially, it’s a freezable gel pack you strap to the palm of one hand. Apparenlty, like a dog’s foot pads, humans have blood vessels in their palms that help to regulate the body’s temperature. These blood vessels are called arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs) and they bring hot blood to the surface to allow outside air to cool the blood. This cooler blood is then circulated back into the body, helping to keep core temps cooler. The folks at Cool Palms, LLC have come up with an idea to enhance that cooling process - by creating the BEX Runner, which you wear (frozen) on the palm of one  hand during exercise or during recovery.

BEX Runner in Package

Naturally, being the research junkie I am, I read up on the product and decided I HAD TO HAVE ONE.

When he heard of my enthusiasm and interest in his product, Brett - the inventor of the BEX Runner (he’s also the President and Founder of Cool Palms, LLC) – offered to send me one to try out. Not being one to look a gift horse in the pie hole, I readily accepted. Full disclosure – I did recieve one Women’s BEX Runner from Cool Palms, LLC at no cost in return for an honest review of the product. Honest means that if this doesn’t do crap for me, then that’s what I’ll be tellin’ y’all.

The Women’s size is a smaller version of the Men’s size. Both cost $29.99 each plus shipping. I have pretty big hands but the Women’s still fits comfortably. When wearing it, the instructions state that it should be secure enough that I don’t need to clench my hand to keep it on. The device needs to be kept in the freezer for at least 4 hours or until frozen before use. Brett also advised that if I plan on taking it out to the trails to wear while I run, I should put the BEX Runner in a cooler with ice until I’m ready to use it (great idea; I’ll also put some small, damp towels in with the ice to assist with cool-down).

BEX Runner on Palm

BEX Runner and indifferent Chihuahuas

The pups had to check it out while I was wearing it. They sniffed a bit and then went on their merry ways. It felt comfortable and I didn’t have to secure it too tightly to get it to stay in place. It wasn’t frozen yet - so I still can’t speak to how well the device works - but I am interested to see once it is frozen if my performance improves at all while wearing it running in the heat. I want to see how long it takes before it thaws enough so as to not be effective anymore, and I also want to test out if it improves recovery if used after a run in the heat.

Check back soon for a separate post on how well or poorly I found the BEX Runner to perform for me.

So, a few months ago, I conned convinced about 20 friends to sign up for the Champions Mud Bash. I told them it would be a day of mud, fire jumping and free beer. It turned out to be a day of dry field/trail running, dodging literally tons of large cow turds in various phases of dryness (some new – ick), climbing over way too many hay bales, FIRE JUMPING, slogging through dirty water and ONE free beer. OK, so I guess I probably exaggerated a bit when I got  my friends to sign up — in all honesty, I was going by the fantastic publicity the Champions Mud Bash folks and their web site offered. Truly, I hope that if they do survive this first year and decide to come back for a second annual Mud Bash, that they listen to all the criticism they’ve recieved and realize that 99.9% of us want them to succeed. Just add some real mud (a lot), add more obstacles (a lot), add more free beer (a lot), add more things to do throughout the day (a lot) and lower the price to particiate (a lot) — oh and for shit’s sake, add more aid stations; one is not enough in heat like that.

My group was in the 10:30am wave; one of two waves that completely sold out. We had over 400 people in our wave alone. It was good fun; as with anything, it’s all what you make it. We as a group decided long ago that anything we’d do together would be fun, damn-it. Here’s our group photo before the our wave took off (click it to enlarge):

Get back now!

I’m on the bottom, far left. Don’t we all look mean?
After we finished, there were two tanker trucks filled with water on which they had connected fire hoses. This is where we went to “clean up”. We stood in line and each got hosed down one at a time. When I got up there, a short woman holding the fire hose asked me, “do you want me to spray your head?”, as she shot me in the face. Nice. After I was done, my friend was next, and again, the short woman asked, “you want me to spray your head?”, as she shot my friend in the face. They aim to please!
All in all, we had a great time — our oldest member won his age group, our second oldest member got 2nd in her age group and we all made it out alive with little to no injury. Side note: don’t dive into the “mud pit”; it’s only about 12 inches deep.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun -- and Beer

Everyone except two of us in our group was a newbie to racing (running). The girls promptly decided that we were going to do the next mud run that comes anywhere nearby. Watch out!

But I managed. I did swim this past Tuesday! Yay me for finally beginning to train for my triathlon that will be in TWO months. I’ve been stretching every.single.day to get my back un-stuck (and so I could at least walk without groaning) and to get that damn hamstring looser. It’s all still a bit twingy, but I have a 10k tomorrow that I have been looking forward to for quite a while. I’ll be damned if I’m not going to at least try to finish it. Oh hell — I *will* finish it. It’s been almost 30 years since I’ve run a 10k. The last one I ran was in 1983 (I almost typed 1893 – shut up), when I was in the Marine Corps. We were out at El Toro MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) in southern California, in the middle of the desert. I remember throwing up immediately after crossing the finish line, I was so dehydrated — stupid me just blew by the aid stations, in ZERO humidity. They handed me a yogurt drink (eww) at the finish and I sucked that thing down so fast I almost lost a hand. Of course, it curdled the moment it hit my parched stomach and retreated the way it had come. Landed right on some volunteer’s foot. Oops.

Anyway, I finally found a use for all those KT Tape samples that I kept getting in my race packets. My lower back and hamstring will be all taped with a lovely light-blue tomorrow morning and I will hit the road and get me a new PR. Hell, technically since PRs only last 2 years, no matter what time I finish it’ll be a PR.

So we’ve got several wild fires out here in Central Florida now; the largest of which is over 17,000 acres in size. It’s supposed to get even bigger today as the wind begins to pick up with 25mph gusts possible. Since this wind is blowing in from the east, the metro Orlando area smells like a campfire. There’s also a light haze of smoke hanging close to the ground. Basically, your eyes sting a bit, you can feel a bit of heaviness in your lungs and everything stinks.

Listening to the radio on the way home from work yesterday, I heard them talking about a rumor as to how the fire was spreading. According to one of the talk show hosts (this is a local program — number one in its timeslot), she’d heard that bunnies were catching fire, running across roads and then catching the other side on fire when they arrived. She also heard that due to this horrible natural disaster of EPIC proportions, they had hired a bunny sniper.

Let that one sink in…

Flaming Bunny of Death

Now living in the South, I have no problem visualizing something like this happening*. Well, maybe not the flaming bunny part, but definitely the possibility that some local jurisdiction hired a bunny sniper just in case said rabbits were in fact spreading the fire with their singed fur. Just blow ‘em up before they reach the other side, y’know?

Running in the haze, smoke and stink is quite the feat. They’re warning folks with breathing issues to stay indoors and there I go — running off into all that crap. There was one other guy out there today, so at least I’m not the only ding dong. My voice got a bit raspy today, but overall aside from the smell it hasn’t bothered me today like it had a couple days ago.

Before I head off into the smokey sunset, I just wanted to leave you with Cooper as she channels our favorite manic celebrity, Mr. Charlie Sheen:

Yes, I”m very proud of her. The photo was not-retouched; those red eyes are just Cooper, the method actor.

*And no, there are no bunny snipers and no flaming rabbits spreading fires… at least not yet.

The entire race, I ran behind a guy who looked like the “Commish” (in his later episodes), who was dressed head-to-toe in black (with yellow stripes) adidas gear and black knee socks. In all honesty, it looked like soccer gear; not running. His gait was painful to watch and looked as though it would take an enormous amount of energy — and yet — I only caught up to within two feet of him ever. It was as though he could sense when I’d try to move on him and he’d gallop off ahead again. So, I turned my attention away from him and set my sights on the old dudes.

There were three of them who kept hovering around my running space — the area I like to keep clear of other runners so we don’t collide — and they were beginning to bug me. The first mile came and went pretty quickly, but the second mile took forever to show its ass up and by then, I was ready to kick these geezers in the butt. They’d speed off and I’d accept the fact that they were going to beat me, and then suddenly, there they were again, right in front of me. It was the constant speeding up/slowing down thing that was pissing me off. Just like the adidas dude, they seemed to sense when I was going to make my move and they’d totter off and leave me behind.

As the race went on, I kept speeding up steadily. I believe in running a consistent pace, but speeding up as each mile passes. This helps me keep from being one of those guys I see who blast by and then end up sheepishly watching us all go by as they walk off a cramp. See, I’m a 9:30 – 9:50 runner in most races. I have been working on speed lately — and I can see that just doing that has helped my pace. I also self-seed at the start of a race in the correct location; I”m not saying I’m wonderful, but hey — if you can’t run a 9 minute mile the entire race, don’t sit your butt in with the 9-minute milers at the start. Where was I?

Anyway, when the 3 mile marker was in sight, I sped up to an 8-minute mile. I felt like projectile puking, but by god, I was going to pass the old coots and catch up with adidas dude. And, I did pass the old coots! Adidas dude finished just ahead of me. There was a younger woman who came running up on my left and tried to pass, so I sped up again. We raced side-by-side as her husband cheered her on. About 50 feet from the finish line, I kicked it again and left her behind. Yay for small victories!

Another small victory? Not puking after crossing the finish line. That was Extremely Difficult.

The SO was trying to record a video of me the last .10 mile to the finish, but I went by so fast, all she got of me was from behind. Probably good; not sure I’d want to see what my race face looked like at that point, what with dry heaving and all.

Trackshack still hasn’t contracted with any professional sports photographers for their races; a few races ago, the company they previously used went out of business. Since then, their staff has been taking photos during races and posting them on their Facebook page. Nice, but NO! All this to say — I don’t have a race picture to share. And haven’t had one for the past three races. Whiney-whine-whine.

That’s it, that’s all I know.

Anyway all that to say: I got nothing, folks.

Oh except (let me rant here) – Thursday morning when I was running at 6:50am, it was tremendously foggy. I mean like you could see maybe a quarter mile in front of you. My RoadID firefly was attached to my waistband of my shorts, flashing its bright, blue light, and I felt pretty safe. That is until I saw how many vehicles out there didn’t have their headlights on. WTF, people?

While I realize that a lot of new cars these days have automatic headlights, it appears that some owners of these vehicles lull themselves into a false sense of security that these marvels of technology will have some common sense (which the driver obviously lacks) and will always “know” when to turn themselves on. Automatic headlights can’t sense FOG, people. They sense light — or the lack of it. And although I’m sure you’re a bursting bag of wonderfulness and can light up my life, you still can’t cut through the fog and make your car visible, Special K. So turn the damn headlights on, OK? Headlights will not only allow us to see YOU, but they will allow you to see ME and my reflective gear, which requires a modicum of light bouncing off it to make it REFLECT. Assmonkey.

Last Saturday I did my first attempt at actual training for my upcoming sprint triathlon. After cycling 4.5 miles, I pulled up to the house, took off my helmet, put on my visor and armband (need my tunes) and off I went to run two miles. My legs, at first, were two sausages, gorged with blood (isn’t that a disgusting visual?). But by the time I hit the first mile, I felt pretty normal. It still felt like I was running pretty slowly, though. Doing the 2 mile out and back only took me around 19 minutes! It came out to a 9:27 mile, which is relatively fast for me! Considering this was my first attempt at a brick workout, I’d say I did damn good. The weather is starting to get warmer; we’re at 80F for the end of this week and the beginning of next week. Water temps should start to get warmer as well, so I can start doing some swim workouts soon.

Tomorrow, I have a 5k — the House of Hope Run Around the Pines 5k in Winter Park. Wish me luck. Maybe I’ll beat that 70 year old race walking dude again.