Chi Running

I've hit what runners call a “plateau.”  I had been gradually increasing my distance while I was running at Hoop Lake, topping out at seven miles.  I thought that continuing this path would work just as well “down the mountain” but I've found that I can’t run any further than seven miles without my feet hurting.

I land on the balls of my feet.  I have since I started running again in my forties.  It just felt right.  This is probably a fallback from my “ballerina-wanna-be” days.  The good news – my knees are just fine.  The bad news – at about mile 6 the balls of my feet just ache and the muscles on the inside of my big toes hurt.  Weird.

This is not good.  I really want to run the Salt Lake half marathon next April, but as of now I can’t even run half a half marathon without pain in my feet.  What am I doing wrong?

Several months ago I read an article about a 70-year-old woman who was running ultra-marathons using a technique called Chi Running.  Chi Running utilizes your core muscles and leverages the laws of physics to make running more efficient and injury-free.  And while my problem may be as simple as needing to replace my two-year-old running shoes (I’ll do this anyway), the idea of a better running technique is intriguing.

So I got a copy of Chi Running by Danny and Katherine Dreyer.  I’m about halfway through the book and am ready to start incorporating their techniques into my running.  The authors recommend a gradual approach to learning the technique and have laid out ten lessons which they encourage both beginning and experienced runners to do sequentially.  So starting next week, I’ll start the lessons and log my progress.  May the chi be with me.

I Voted

Today is Election Day – one of the most important days of the year when you live in a country where you have the privilege of electing those who will represent you in government.   I voted – and my vote counts. 

I grew up in a family where voting mattered.  My father was always active in local politics.  He served several terms on the City Council of our small town, and many years later was elected County Surveyor.  But my strongest memory of his political activity was the one election he lost. 

He was running for a position on the County School Board.  He campaigned hard, but his opponent campaigned equally hard, and when the counting was done, Dad had lost by three votes.  Yes, three votes.  And after he conceded the election, many of his friends told him, “If I had known it would be this close, I’d have voted.”  Can one vote make a difference?  You bet it can.

What do negative campaigning and telemarketing have in common?  We all hate it, but they keep doing it because it works.  That said, I will be so very glad when the results are in and the negativity is over – at least until the next election.  It is my fervent prayer that our newly elected officials will reach across the aisles, both nationally and in our respective states, for the good of our great country.  God bless America.

Retirees and CPEs

I am a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).  This is an internationally-recognized certification issued by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC²).   OK, way too many acronyms.  To earn this certification, you have to have four years’ experience in Information Security and pass a six hour exam.  The exam was the most difficult I’ve ever taken – ISC² should hand out coupons for stiff drinks upon completion.

When I notified ISC² of my retirement, I expected to surrender my certification.  I was delighted to learn that I could keep it, as long as I met the requirements for continuing education and paid my annual maintenance fees.

I decided to keep my certification, to keep my mind active and my options open.  Of course, it is now October 30, which gives me only nine weeks to get the remaining 20 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) I need for this year.   Yikes!  This is a lot – and not being employed by a major company has limited my access to training. 

So I called in the big guns – my former security teammates.  Many have reached out to me with books and web sites.  So far I’ve taken a webinar on the top ten application vulnerabilities, a webinar on data and IT service excellence, a webinar series on Identity and Access Management, and am in the middle of a self-study course in writing. 

I’ve always known I would keep learning in retirement – the CISSP continuing education requirement is just the thing to kick myself into really doing it.

The New Routine

Now that we’ve finished winterizing and storing the trailer, cleaned up the overgrown jungle otherwise known as our back yard, and completed road trips to Phoenix, AZ and Cody, WY, I think we might be settling into a routine.

Not necessarily surprising, it’s similar to the routine we fell into at Hoop Lake.  We wake up and have coffee and read the paper.  I run.  We go to work.

Wait – I’m retired.  What’s this about going to work?  Since coming home from the lake, I have mowed lawns, fertilized lawns, sprayed for weeds, sprayed for bugs, picked up trash, hauled trash to the dump, replaced switches, painted decks, and taken door knobs in to be re-keyed.  Whew!  I have to confess that I had completely taken for granted all the work that it takes – and that Paul has done all these years – to manage our rental properties. 

I had hoped to be more prolific in my writing once things settled down at home.  Here’s another confession – I was somewhat annoyed that the schedule we’ve adopted has me doing manual labor during the morning hours, which have always been my peak time for energy and creativity.  But I step back and realize that I should directly contribute to the business that is funding my retirement.

I also should write.  It’s what I’ve been planning to do in retirement since I was in my early 20s. 

So it’s back to the Hoop Lake schedule, and I’m writing in the afternoons.  Trying to do so without caffeine – most days I succeed.  Also trying to do so without the distractions of the Internet.  Wish me luck on that one!

Camp Hosting in Island Park Next Year?

After we left Cody on October 6 we drove west, through Yellowstone Park, to the small resort community of Island Park, Idaho.  Our mission – to see the campgrounds in the area and find out what organization manages them.

Island Park boasts the longest Main Street in the nation.  The area is absolutely beautiful, with mature trees lining the streets and log cabins dotting the hillsides.  From the north end of the city it is only 20 miles to West Yellowstone and the west gate to Yellowstone National Park.  Recreation opportunities include fishing, boating on Island Park Reservoir, ATV trails, and river rafting.

Our hosts, longtime friends Kevin and Roxanne, put us up in their summer cabin and guided our tour.  The National Forest Service campgrounds in the Island Park area are on two rivers, the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River and the Buffalo River.  They sit at around 6500 feet in altitude.  The sites are improved, with tent spots in every site.  Several are large enough for the mega-trailers people are bringing camping these days. 

Cell phone service is available at all but one of the campgrounds, and – get this – the Manager’s site in every one of them has electricity.  Whoo hoo! We’re ready for something a little less primitive, especially if we are planning to move further from home next summer.  Island Park is about a 5 hour drive from Salt Lake.  There are several medium to large cities between Island Park and Salt Lake.

The Island Park campgrounds are managed by Audi Campground Services.  They also manage campgrounds in Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah.  I emailed the area manager from Island Park and received a reply within the hour.  “We will probably have openings in Island Park for next summer.  The application is online.  Need one from each of you.  Call if you have questions.”   That was easy.

Island Park has definitely made the “short list” for consideration for next summer’s adventure.

The Thrill of Victory

“You’re going for the win, aren’t you, Mom,” my son asked after I asked him to help me put together a fast-paced playlist for my iPod. 

I had never thought when I started running that I was terribly competitive.  Turns out – I am.  I trained all summer – at high altitude, no less – for the 4^th Annual Run for Hope sponsored by Soroptimist International of Cody, Wyoming.  Running this race meant a lot to me.  The race raises money for the Lainey Cole Memorial Women’s Cancer Fund, named for a Cody Soroptimist who lost her battle with cancer five years ago.  The fund provides assistance to women undergoing cancer treatment.

I knew Lainey Cole.  I bonded with her when we sang “I Hope You Dance” together at a karaoke night.  It was her favorite song.  I still get teary-eyed when I hear it. 

This year was the first time I've had the time to drive the 456 miles to Cody to run the race.  We arrived at the same time a huge cold front from the north drove temperatures down into the mid-30s.  We woke on the morning of the race to sunny skies and 25 degrees.  Brrrrrrhhh!  Traded the shorts for sweats – I guess I need to break down and buy those cool running pants that the serious runners wear.

By race time it had warmed up into the 30s.  I was given the honor of singing the National Anthem at the starting gate (check another one off the bucket list), and then off we ran. 

While it’s true that as runners we primarily compete with ourselves, there’s something to be said about hearing your name called out to come to the podium to receive your ribbon and prizes worth dollars.  I was pretty excited when they called my name as first place in my age division.  My first 10K and my first win!

 

Reality has since set in.  There were only 28 runners in the entire 10K race, five of which were in my age division.  I need to keep working on speed if I expect to ever make as good a showing in a race in SLC.

The real winners of the Run for Hope are the Soroptimists of Cody.  At last count they had raised over $11,000 for the Lainey Cole Memorial Women’s Cancer Fund.  I am honored to have been able to play my small part in such a worthy cause.

The Bucket List - Ute Football Road Trip

Paul hates to fly.  It’s not the actual flying part that gets him; it’s the fact that you turn control of your life over to the commercial aviation system from the moment the automatic glass doors shut behind you.  They tell you what you can carry, what you can eat, what you can wear and when to take off your shoes.  We both agree that this is a small price to pay for the safety of the American skies.  Paul’s solution is – drive, don’t fly.

We’ve been tailgating at the University of Utah football games for several years, and our group goes to at least one road game a year.  Paul’s dislike of flying combined with my limited time off work had conspired in previous years to make it so we couldn’t go on the road trips.  Retired now – no more scheduling around work!  We purchased our tickets to the Arizona State game (September 22) in May.  We left for Phoenix on September 19, stayed two nights in Mesquite, Nevada and met our traveling Ute cheering section in Sedona, Arizona.  We drove into Phoenix on September 22 and arrived on campus in time for the Ute Tailgate Party.

We thought the tailgate party was great fun!  The food was good, the beer and wine were free, and the Ute marching band and cheerleaders ensured the school spirit was high.  Our more experienced friends said the tailgate parties were normally a lot more rowdy, but since this one was indoors it seemed a little more sedate to them.  An indoor tailgate party?  It was 105 degrees outside – we were grateful for the air conditioning!

Our heartfelt thanks go out to the Arizona State parking system.  We parked in the disabled lot closest to the stadium, where a golf cart was waiting to take us to the tailgate party.  After the party we hitched a ride on another cart that took us to the stadium, where we were able to catch yet another cart to take us to the nosebleed section where our seats were.  Paul was able to get in and out of the game with limited walking – yeah!  At 7:00 PM under dark skies it was still 101 degrees outside.

So we made it to the game – what happened to our football team?  It seemed like the Arizona State Sun Devils scored with every possession; the Utes couldn’t stop them.  Of course, every time ASU scored they set off fireworks.  Paul and I caught up on the fireworks displays we missed by being in the mountains on July 4.  A disappointing finish to a great road trip – but, oh, well.  There’s always next year.