My April 2013 Running Report

With the close of April comes a personal milestone in my running, albeit one that I probably won't be repeating.  I have now gone an entire year...365 days...of daily running, with no gaps.  It's an accomplishment, to be sure, but then again I'm not sure that continuing this is in my best interests.  After all, the body sometimes needs a chance to recover from the stress of workouts.  So starting in May, I plan to go back to having rest days from my running.  To compensate for that, I may be trying out running for longer distances at a time.  This past month has seen my runs cap at a relatively low distance for me, the longest run being for a mere 5.5 miles.  My total mileage for April was 120.69 miles, continuing a deliberate decline as the Florida weather heats up in the spring.  On many days I ran twice, one usually around my neighborhood and the other later on at the gym on the treadmill.

I'm thinking of taking off a week or two from running, as I have developed some aches in my right foot.  Maybe I'll replace running during that period with another activity like swimming or biking.  Or maybe I'll just give the whole body a little break time!

Too Many NBA Injuries

It is getting to be pretty discouraging, following the National Basketball Association playoffs this year. Before the the playoffs even began, some of the contending teams had lost key players due to injury.  The Chicago Bulls were missing star guard Derrick Rose for the whole season, and although the doctors have cleared him to play now, he refuses, believing that he his knee isn't completely healed yet.  Another Bulls standout, Joakim Noah, was also out but is gamely playing so far in the playoffs through his foot injury.  The Boston Celtics have had their own trouble with guard Rajon Rondo out with an injury.  Likewise is the case with the Los Angeles Lakers and their legendary Kobe Bryant, who tore his Achilles tendon near the close of the regular season.  Besides Bryant, Laker Steve Nash, although back in the active lineup, is obviously not at full strength after he had been out with an injury.  But wait...he's out again! The Golden State Warriors also find themselves in the playoffs without their star performer, David Lee.  Jeremy Lin of the Houston Rockets is out, although he's pushing to be able to play the next game. And now we come to Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that could have very well won the championship this year.  But not now, as he, too, is out with a season-ending injury, this one to his knee.  Although I had generally rooted against the Thunder, I was fascinated by their one-two offensive punch of Westbrook and Kevin Durant.  And now it's gone. Could they still win it all?  I suppose, but only if other teams lose their key players as well.

Last year, late one game early in the playoffs, Miami Heat's Lebron James, the backbone of the franchise, suddenly erupted in serious pain while grabbing one of his legs.  He hobbled out the court in the closing minutes, just long enough to pull his team to victory in a tight contest.  Afterward, to my relief, it turned out only to be a leg cramp.  But still, what if the something more serious happens to him, something like what happened to Bryant, Rondo, or Westbrook?

When I watch the NBA playoffs, I naturally want my team to win.  But I also want to see all the great stars playing at full strength.  It is very dismaying to me to see the prevalence of terrible injuries sideling these players.  To me, this seems to be an almost epidemic phenomenon.  Sure, players got injured in the past, but not like this. I wonder what's going on here...

Medical Examination Good Results, Running Continues

I just went through some serious medical examinations today, along with a consultation with my physician/specialist/surgeon, concerning a condition I had been diagnosed with since October of 2011, but actually with which I had been afflicted with since birth.  The results of these examinations are that I am continuing in my relatively good health, with no change in instructions for me until the next one, to be scheduled a year from now.  This is very good news!  So the running continues, although lately I have been experiencing some aches in my right foot that I have to continue to monitor.  The funny thing is that I don't experience any problems while running...only when sitting or walking. 

I'm still on a projection to attain 100 miles this month and am only a week away from having run every single day for a whole year.  This is now within sight of attainment.  I just might take a break afterward, though, just to give that foot a better chance of recovery (although I don't exactly believe that running was the cause of the problem)...

Still Here

Just a note to let you know that I'm still here on this blog...

Heat Shine, Lakers in Doubt for Playoffs

At the beginning of this year's edition of the National Basketball Association season, I was fully prepared to sit back and relax, enjoying while two teams I had formerly disliked, the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers, made easy runs through the regular season and then breezed through the playoffs, with the expected culmination being an unforgettable championship series against each other.  Uh, well, something else instead happened.

The Miami Heat, a "super" team composed of great players like Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Ray Allen, and Chris Bosh, did indeed fly through their regular season and will finish with the league's best record.  They also enjoyed a phenomenal 27-game winning streak at one point.  Being the NBA's defending champion, other franchises sought out ways to compose their own unstoppable "super teams", chief among them the Lakers.  During the off-season they signed my favorite player, Steve Nash, from the Phoenix Suns as well as Dwight Howard, who left the Orlando Magic.  With standouts like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, winning the Western Conference seemed like a sure bet.  But a combination of injuries that kept circulating through the team and poor coordination between the superstars (especially with Howard) caused them to falter badly in the first half of the season.  To their credit, they rebounded and are actually at this writing in a position to inch into the playoffs as a conference eighth (and last) seed.  But Nash is still out with another injury, another starter Metta World Peace is out for the season injured, and, dammit, now it looks as if Bryant is out.  Unbelievable.  Well, if after all this they still make the playoffs, that will be a minor miracle in itself.  But I don't expect them to go very far.

If the Los Angeles Lakers don't make it, there are still plenty of teams for me to root for.  The "sleeper" team that could win the conference title (but would still most likely to lose to Miami) is the very, very fast Denver Nuggets.  We'll just have to see, should be exciting to watch these playoffs...

Visit to Cedar Key

Yesterday Melissa and I drove out to Cedar Key (about 60 miles from our home), had dinner, and then walked around the place a bit around twilight.  The place we ate at was Tony's, which boasts of being a "world champion" something-or-other, but which I'm satisfied describing as a pleasant seafood restaurant.  The dining room was cramped and small, but the food was fresh, well-prepared, and delicious.  I recommend it to others.  Afterwards, we strolled around the fishing area overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, and then made our way, as the night fell, down the strip of restaurants composing this small town's "night life".  We stopped at a place (downstairs from a well-lit restaurant called "Steamers") for some ice cream, and I peered at the TV inside another (ignoring the live singer/guitarist there) at the close of the NCAA Final Four game between Louisville and Wichita State. Melissa, on the other hand, enjoyed the musical performance.

Other than have a seafood dinner there, we didn't have any special agenda for our visit other than just enjoying the ambiance and each other's company.  A very, very, pleasant experience.  Here are some sometimes blurred photos I took there...

NCAA Final Four Men's Hoops Start Tomorrow

Tomorrow the NCAA men's basketball tournament will feature the first Final Four round.  Heavily favored Louisville faces off against upstart Wichita State while, in a more evenly paired up contest, Michigan squares off against Syracuse.  I am rooting for Louisville to win it all, so although that game may not be all that close, it should be fun to watch the Cardinals, with their standout guards Russ Smith and Peyton Siva demonstrating why they will be the clear favorite to win the championship game on Monday.  As for their opponent (I know, Louisville has to first get by Wichita State, but...c'mon!), although I have no clear preference between Michigan and Syracuse, that game should prove to be close and exciting.  In any event, I like the Final Four field, even though the Florida Gators just missed out on it, and for the third year in a row...

Public Service Announcement About Stroke

There is a very compelling, stirring public service announcement on the radio about the dangers of stroke, and how it disproportionately affects the African-American population.  As a matter of fact, as the announcement reports, it affects this demographic group at twice the rate of the general population.  So there is a very legitimate concern here that needs addressing.  And the way the announcement was produced, with a speech-impaired stroke victim describing his plight, made a big impact on me.  Yes, this was one of the best-done PSAs I've heard.  But I have a qualm with one claim made on it.

The announcer, immediately following the stroke victim's words, stated that the odds were that he was black, since this affliction affects that group at twice the rate, as I have stated.  But wait, blacks are only 13% of the general population, so at even only half the stroke rate of the African-Americans, the "others" with strokes would still easily outnumber them.  So the odds WOULDN'T be that the stroke victim was black.  But the point that WAS validly being pressed was that, if you belong to this high-risk group, then you need to be especially careful about both getting medical screens to detect any stroke warning signs as well as engage in a more healthful lifestyle.  But then again, this applies to EVERYONE, not just one group with a higher prevalence of stroke...

Struggle with New Work Hours

I am about halfway through my fourth week at my new work shift, which has me essentially working (11pm-7:30 am) when I used to be in bed sleeping.  Now I get off from work, go home, and sleep for the late morning and early afternoon.  It doesn't feel right, with this change, but I didn't think it would...at least for a while.  All I can do right now is focus on seizing each moment as it comes and making deliberate choices that foster good habits of time management.  Two things I am doing:  (1) blocking out specific times for specific activities, and (2) making a daily "shopping list" of things to do, crossing out items as I accomplish them.  Still, I tend to find days going by without me achieving what I had planned.  It is a struggle right now, but the main thing is for me to press forward, have a positive attitude, and keep my focus.

Bohannon Refutes Ideological Guest

I was at work on my graveyard shift last night, which gave me some opportunities on late-night talk radio listening that I formerly wouldn't have availed myself of.  One show, Jim Bohannon, was on and he had as a guest a Republican anti-union businessman.  I mean, this dude was REALLY anti-union, above all else.  Bohannon, for his part, went along with his guest's rants, not necessarily agreeing with them...but I sensed that they both had a similar political philosophy during the interview.  Until something happened that brought me new-found respect for Mr. Bohannon.

The GOP losers in last year's elections have put out just about any reason they could as to why they lost...especially Mitt Romney to Barack Obama in the presidential contest.  Any reason, that is, except the obvious one: the American people rejected the Republicans' ideas in favor of the Democrats.  This show's guest was naturally also in denial.  He claimed that Obama won not just because they had a better "ground game" on election day.  The oh-so-evil labor unions were apparently intimidating voters to vote Democrat.  When Bohannon pressed him on this, he gave an example of a woman who was given a ride to the polling station by local union workers and given a sheet of paper describing how they thought she ought to vote.  After the election, this woman publicly came out and claimed to feel intimidated by the union's actions. So what, Bohannon posited: she could still vote any way she wanted after getting into the voting booth.  As a matter of fact, he continued, anyone who really felt pressured in a negative way like that would be more likely to vote AGAINST the prescribed ballot handed to them...and how would anyone really know for sure how they voted anyway.  The biased, union-hating guest said no, that didn't apply here...but couldn't refute Bohannon's argument.  In closing, Jim Bohannon laid out the closing kick to his argument.  How could this woman, who supposedly "felt" intimidated by imagined reprisals from the union if she voted wrong, then boldly go public in the media about it?  No answer from the guest.

From this point in the interview, it became apparent that this guest and Jim Bohannon had diverged.  Not in the sense of their similar general outlook, but rather in the sense that the latter was fair and reasonable about analyzing things while the former was completely ideology-driven.

Sadly, too many folks in the media don't practice the common-sense, decent type of fair, reasoned analysis of the news that typify Jim Bohannon's approach.  He truly does stand out alone in this respect, at least on the radio.  Find me someone else like this in this medium, I challenge you. I often disagree with Bohannon, and sometimes he is rude to callers.  But he does operate with a clear mind and doesn't seem a slave to an ideology.  How refreshing...

Florida Gators Lose in Elite Eight Round

The University of Florida men's basketball team, anxious to make the NCAA Tournament's Final Four after being eliminated in the "Elite Eight" round in each of the last two seasons, once again fell...this time to a surging Michigan team.  The Wolverines had mounted an improbable last minute comeback against top-seeded Kansas in the previous round and defeated them in overtime.  They obvious carried on their momentum to the game with the Gators.  Unfortunately, Florida didn't, missing shot after (easy) shot, repeatedly turning the ball over, failing to cover on defense, and falling behind quickly 13-0.  It was a blowout, with Michigan trouncing them by 20 points.  But still, I think the UF fans generally came away from this negative experience with a sense of finality: they really didn't deserve to be in the Final Four after all.  The previous two seasons had the Gators losing heartbreakers, leaving lingering "what if" scenarios in their distraught fans' imaginations.

The NCAA tournament began with 68 teams and is now down to four.  That means that 64 games have already been played, with 64 corresponding losers...disappointing ends to what in retrospect should be considered successful seasons by each of these teams.  Besides these were many, many more who felt that THEY deserved to be in the tournament but were slighted by the selection committee.  And three of the four top seeds in the tournament didn't make it to the Final Four either.

Sure, Florida and its fans, coaches, and players will feel a little down for a while.  But looking back, they should feel good about about extraordinarily well they did this year.  I wish those graduating Gators the best with their futures and for those staying on...there's always next year!