My Lucky Hat

The field in today’s Vancouver Fall 5 Miler was lucky; the rain poured down before the race and picked up again afterwards. Conditions during the run were good, no real rain, no real wind, just lots of wet leaves cushioning the path.

I had a bit of extra luck today, too. I got a blue ribbon. That’s always fun.

The course was flat, two loops through Marine Park and out along the riverfront past zillion-dollar condos with zillion-dollar views of the Columbia R.

I started too fast and drooped the last couple of miles. I’m still learning to pace. “Still learning” means I stink at it.

Last night, I reread the chapter called “Mental Training” in the racing book Don gave me. After reading this, I was determined to have a steely enough mind to make up for my lack of speed conditioning and running talent. This really didn’t work.

It did succeed in giving me monkey mind for the rest of the night. I tossed and turned, trying to come up with affirmations and anything else that might help with the discomfort of trying to run fast. Finally, I gave up on that and switched to inventing affirmations for falling asleep.

I’m still learning how to suffer (see above definition of “still learning.”) I’m getting a little better, I think. I tried to push through the discomfort and not let fatigue take too much of a toll. Don calls this “paying the price.”

For what it’s worth, I have a raw throat from gasping for breath. At one point, I thought I would puke. I told myself, unless I really did puke, I wouldn’t slow down. I think the imagery of that distracted me for a couple of seconds. Probably lost some time there.

I finished in an OK time, though. My pace was about the same as my 10k pr from a few months ago. A bug got lodged in my eye.

I’m always freezing after I run, so I piled on my sweats, parka, and a hat I knit last fall. I think it's just fine to wear stupid-looking hats. The stupider, the better, really. I feel satisfied that I’m able to combine a running post with a knitting FO post.

My hometown

I few weeks ago Don and I took a trip to Port Townsend, WA, where I grew up. Half my childhood was spent walking on this beach. I've no idea who that mystery guy is in the black, but the seagull and rock are old, old friends. The other half of my time was spent wandering around downtown among those old buildings pictured in the header. (The third half was wasted parked in front of the T.V. watching bad 70's shows.)
Here's the inside of one those old buildings, the Palace Hotel. The hotel was great, but didn't have a hairdryer, therefore, my head is lumpy. I think I'll start carrying a fan as a prop during photo shoots. The thumb-hooked-in-pocket is getting really old.
Here's the paper mill where my father and grandfather worked. It's not as smelly as it used to be. If I ever run for public office, this mill will figure heavily in my self-narrative: "I'm the son of a mill worker. I know what it means to work long, hard days, to come home at night stinking of pulp and paper and grease, to ache from the never-ending, backbreaking labor that sucks the life out of a man before he's 30!!!...or, at least my father does..."

After drifting away from P.T. on the Keystone Ferry, we headed to Bellingham for a couple of days. I found a used copy of E.Z.'s Knitter's Almanac for $3.75 at Michael's Books. Very satisfying.

And, we ran in the Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15k. I didn't feel prepared for the distance, but ran better than I thought I would. I finished in 1:17:51, by my watch. The chip-time added 9 seconds. Screw the chip! Don's watch agreed with mine.
Even though I tried my best not to die on this hill around mile 9, an older man passed me on the way up. That's his elbow in the foreground. Later, when his name and age were called out as the winner for his age group, I learned he was 70. (Do you think I should buy a 5x7 print of this photo for $10?)

Here's my latest project. Someday soon it will be a hoodie. But right now, it's mainly just a thorn in my side because of my tendency knit slower than rust.