MRI Scheduled Soon, Training Plans and Outlook

 I amoing to uUF Health Neuromedicine building in about on hour for them to do an MRI on my brain. rMRIa tend to go well for m, although going through thnoise an sucha lengthy procedure can get t o b annoying.  I am looking forward t o my health improving, and forthe cancer in my head to beat  a hasty retreat from my life. I want  nice, long lifespan with a lot of athletic fittness equipping m me to participate...and thrive..in various middle-length-distance running races organized for this fall and winter.But before I get to that point, I'd like to attain a sense of proven confidence about completing Depot Parkrun 5kK's on Saturday mornings.  (Primarily) walking around my ,7-mile home resisdential block is transforming into a healthful, habitual routine.  I do like it when I'm going down the return street and breaking into a brief, light jog fo a couple of house lengths.     Hooray, Martinus Evans!My stated goal is to become an Endurance fitness walker, with  a trail of successfully completedraces behind me...

On Training to Cover Future Long-Distance Races

 This early Friday morning i woke up between 4;:30 and 5, and brewed a pot of caffeine, hazelnut-flavored coffee while I performed ten minutes of running-in-place on the living room rug floor...now I am writing out this blog article. i am thinking about how prepared (or not) I"ll be to completing this Saturday morning's 5K Depot Park walk..or walk/run..which will take me four laps to get through[ afterprobably 60-70 minutes.  I do have a stretegy for success here, which consists of me walking most of the race course and slow-running small s stretches that are relatively level. I'm open to the possibility of being surprised with extra energy...looking forward to the shock!  it will be the day when my dear niece Amy turns 42...she was born May 16th, 1984 and is turning 42 years old. As for myself, ii want to stretch out my days to reach 70 years in a sta te of strong physical vitality and realistic hope. Running slowly for 10K distances to 15K to half-marathons,  along with entering and finishing public races of these distances, are strong personal goals of mine.  Bring on the medals!This weekend promises to be yet another challenge as I repeat my attempts to successfully cover [by walking] Gainesville'sDepot Park 5Kcourse...andthen get back in our car and enjoy the rest of the weekendafter the volunteers time me, scan me and post my results online  As for you and yours, why not enjoy it, too...

Slowness in Fitness Recovery Tied In with Cancer Prognosis Uncertainty

My path to return to my previous level of cardiovascular fitness, as evidenced by my participation and finishing times in a number of long-distance races, has recently been slow, irregular and halting...causing some discouragement.  On Depot parkrun 5K Saturday mornings, I gradually increased my number of laps finished and, on April 25th, managed to walk the whole course.  But I only got through a single lap of their last race, feeling a bit too tired to go the whole distance on that one.  A couple of hours ago today I walked...at a reasonable pace...around my own neighborhood block.  On the backstretch homeward I would deliberately start some very brief, slow jogging.  This helped me gain some confidence about running.  Sometime around sunset today I'd like to try some slow running across our back yard, and see how long i can manage the effort.  i realize that i am being daily reminded of my medical status, and that the struggle to make progress...or even overcome...treatments for this unfortunate brain cancer condition is fraught with concerns about their effectiveness, and possible side effects.  I know that it's probably a good idea to be bold with my athletic training, and one of these weeks I'm going to let go at a Parkrun event and try running for as long as I am able to manage it...maybe this coming Saturday will work that way: if I tire out too quickly, I should be able to hobble over to Melissa and the car.  I don't like this cancer role in life i've been consigned to for a while.  I do know that my life...and my eventual passing through and beyond it...are in my Lord's loving and powerful arms...He brought me in and He's carrying me through it all!  I'd still like to be able to frame my own Earthly future in terms of relations with Melissa, family and friends, and athletic and intellectual pursuits.  And I'm still interested in what's going on in the world!  I can't properly boast about tomorrow(read the Book of James Chapter 4), or about the future in a personal, worldly sense...only God has the power to determine it all.  So instead, to the degree that uncertainty still maintains a vital role on this Earth,,.  I'll hedge my comments about the future with 'if the Lord tarries", recognizing that His timing is the correct timing...

Latest Jigsaw Puzzle, Medical Visits, Home Exercise

If you're reading this article after seeing the picture at the top, then you're probably expecting something about the jigsaw puzzle I just finished putting together.  It is a cute picture of five smiling dogs, pretending to be human, outside having a fun picnic, 500 pieces in total.  For days I had the puzzle laid out on a plastic tabletop in the living room, the pieces stubbornly resistant to my eyes and pattern recognition.  I told Melissa of my goal of finishing it this evening, after a discouraging feeling of stagnation in making progress, and she gave me a crucially helpful hint.  So I set about the task and, now you see it!  This happened after coming home from UF Health radiation treatment and a visit with Dr. Koch, my very capable brain surgeon from October 24th.  He encouraged me to be active while listening carefully to my body...very reasonable and wise.  I've also been exercising in the living room, continuing to tally up virtual-equivalent miles, today's total being 9.9 miles.  Today I made use of the YouTube Runner's Digest channel's point-of-view video of the 2024 United Airlines New York City Half-Marathon.  It is inspiring me to check out some more virtual running videos, including some from that young Chinese athlete.  I still want to build up my own running strength and endurance to the point where I feel confident participating in some near-future middle-to long-distance events...   

MIxed Walking and Running in Today's Depot Parkrun 5K

I don't like fog, but I can get through it.  What concerned me about this morning's race offerings was the forecast rain possibility around the 7:30 race time for Gainesville's Depot Parkrun 5K.  My phone weather app reassured me that I would (probably) be dry for much of today, so Melissa...although she was going to sit out this particular event...drove me down there in time for the race.  At its start, it was very, very foggy, 71 degrees and 100% humidity.  I had openly intended to lightly jog the distance, but soon after the start I felt compelled to settle into a brisk walk.  After doing this for much (if not most) of the first of four laps, I developed a strategy of alternating running with fast (for me) walking.  It worked, but it certainly was NOT comfortable.  I picked out different stretches of the race to walk and then resumed some light running.  Thankfully, all went well and by the event's final stretch I was running at a nice, moderate pace.  I finished at 42:55 and Melissa helped me with the post-race recovery before we headed down to Dunkin' Donuts for some treats.  That was fun, and it was also Parkrun #96 for me...four more to go before the next tee-shirt!  You can view the results by clicking HERE.  Last night I didn't get much sleep, which is nowadays pretty much "par for the course" preceding running race events I'm entering. I was disappointed in being largely stymied from sustaining any level of light running early on, but was encouraged by how well I had recovered by the final two laps, finishing relatively strong.  Let's see what happens in the races to come...

Thinking Good Thoughts at End of Week

Today marked the third full week of cancer chemotherapy and radiation treatments, all prescribed by the good physicians at UF Health.  Besides going to them with my sweet Melissa driving, my days and nights are more or less unstructured...unless it's me doing the structuring.  Tomorrow morning they're "forecazzing" heavy fog for Gainesville, with a chance of some rain later on.  Sunday's supposed to be much heavier with the local precipitation, but since I'm planning to stay at home all day that'll be okay for me.  I'm tired of the TV news, be it local or national in scope.  America has become grim (not great) again, and I guess it's all a part of the "master" plan.  TV-20 today devoted much time and effort celebrating their chief meteorologist Mike Potter's retirement...he'll be missed.  I still exercise some, spending time in front of the TV moving to foreign language podcasts and virtual running race videos (I'm going through the 2022 Hartford Half Marathon on Runner's Digest channel.  Still plodding on ahead thinking good thoughts...

A Day in My Life Undergoing Treatment

The time this evening has been steadily creeping onward...now it's more than a quarter past nine.  This article is more or less a personal journal entry about my voyage through this day in my life.  I'm currently about halfway through my regimen of chemotherapy and radiation therapy rounds to treat my diagnosed brain cancer.  Once that's though, probably at the end of 2025, there will be a short waiting period before medical testing to determine the treatment plan's effectiveness at stymieing the advancement of this aggressive variety.  After my radiation session this afternoon, we sat with two oncology physicians, who to me seemed more concerned about my reactions, especially to the radiation treatments.  Before the onset of pill-form chemotherapy and radiation appointments on November 17th, I was rather concerned about being able to sustain them all, seeing how adversely Melissa reacted the previous year...especially with her toxic two doses of chemotherapy.  Nevertheless, I used the remaining, somewhat effective brain mechanism I still have that provides will power to discipline myself into rock-running an effectively eleven-mile home living room virtual run while watching Alex's NYC Marathon conclusion filmed in 2022...it worked.  I feel that I have no other real choice than to follow this prescribed program for recovery and health quality and extension.  And doing it with a positive attitude goes hand in hand with that. Worst case scenarios have me leaving this world after a considerably shortened future...or this world leaving me, but I think I have some significantly better outcomes to entertain as realistic possibilities as long as I stay true to the prescribed program.  And that includes regaining the lost endurance I had the previous year when I finished a marathon to my liking and ran several other long-distance races, along with a slew of Parkrun 5Ks.  Why not just see if things don't improve in 2026.  My energy is fine...why not work to enhance it...

Weather and Personal Endurance Level Cast Shadows in this Saturday's Races

As I am writing this, the six o'clock local Gainesville news is about halfway through with weather announcer Bradley Benoit delivering his own version of the local weather, along with the "forecazz" as he likes to pronounce it.  It looks as if this weekend we're in for some stormy, rainy weather.  So regarding the upcoming Tyler's Season of Hope races on the Hawthorne Trail, 15K (9.3 miles) and 5K (3.1 miles) in length, the prospects for a dry race seem pretty dim.  This is a recurring theme for the end of the calendar year when bad weather often comes along to increase my misery index with scheduled races.  Back in Janauary 2025, the Florida Track Club organizers finally delayed by a day holding their touted Mary Andrews Marathon/half marathon race on the eastern end of the Hawthorne Trail.  So once the storms finally abated, I had to deal with very, very cold weather for this unimaginative and undifferentiated, boring there-and-back course.  I'm already dealing with my own problems sustaining running endurance for middle distances with this weight gain and brain cancer ordeal, but I frankly don't want to have to deal with race infrastructure screw-ups like not providing adequate parking...Tyler's Hope is guilty of that in the past years on a couple of counts when they marginalized us in favor of side interests like the 5K kids and "Girls on the Run".  They did mention on their website that during their races the course will remain open until the last finisher crosses the line, but my trust level on this is low...the charity running this, I'm afraid, is into the philosophy of "take the money and run". I still would like a little cooperation...please don't marginalize the Season of Hope entrants!  But I think that Melissa and I are of one mind on this...we're bypassing their event.  Instead, we'll get up early this Saturday and check out the weather and the most likely "forecazz" to come true.  Should all bode well, maybe we'll then pay another visit to Depot Park...

Walked (and Ran) This Morning's Depot Parkrun 5K

 

It's Thankgiving, so Happy Holiday!  After a night of little sleep, Melissa and I woke up early and readied ourselves for today's special Thanksgiving Thursday edition of Gainesville's Depot Parkrun, taking place just off Depot Road a few blocks south of downtown.  Although I had intended earlier to run the event, I changed my mind before the race and decided to speed-walk as much as feasible.  It was a chilly morning with high humidity when it started, and I'm guessing that well over 150 folks entered and finished it.  My walk was brisk, but apparently not enough for other walkers, one over eighty, from catching up and beginning to pass me.  That's the moment I decided to (moderately) run the rest of the course (minus the hills).  This was uncomfortable and unpleasant, but I felt I could manage the grind to the end.  At the close I finished with a time of 44:21...click HERE to view the posted results.  Melissa drove us down there, and she completed the course with me...I'm so proud of her.  This was my 94th completed Parkrun, and I'm looking forward to making a stalwart attempt to run the next one here on this coming Saturday morning.  It's looks to be an especially cold one this time around...

(Mostly) Walked Today's Depot Parkrun 5K

 

I thought that I'd probably go through some insomnia before going with Melissa to this weekend's edition of the Depot Parkrun 5K, held at that location a few blocks south of downtown Gainesville.  Weatherwise, the sky was clear and dipped overnight into the forties.  When the race started at 7:30, it was 47 with 89% humidity.  Planning to speed-walk the course's four laps, I wore a light wind-breaker a long with long sweat pants.  At the start, I found myself going all out with my walking, yet sanother walker was out-walking me.  Eventually I caught up and passed onward.  By the third lap I was jogging through sections of the path that were either level or sloping downward, and pretty much ran the final one (minus the hills, which I walked).  I had already gladly shed my jacket.  My finishing time on my watch was 43:12...click HERE to view the posted results.  I'm certain that there was a terrible mixup with the timekeeping because my time, as I KNOW it, was some 41 seconds faster than what I was credited.  In another year I might have addressed this discrepancy in a polite e-mail, but I'm looking at my primary reason for doing Parkruns nowadays and they always come down to "showing up" and then "following through".  I looked at it all, and concluded that I was honest with myself about doing a strong (for me) Parkrun and decided to let it go.  Good, now let's see how the upcoming week goes and how I feel on November 22nd...

Clemson-Louisville Football Game on Eve of Parkrun

 Seeing that tomorrow morning is Depot Parkrun  5K here in Gainesville and that, anticipating participating in it with Melissa, I usually suffer through a night of insomnia, I settled down this evening in front of the old boob tube to watch Clemson, a recently rare underdog, try to keep up with Louisville in ACC football.  Dabo Sweeney has done well to keep this rebuilding Tigers team playing together as a unit, while the Cardinals, while very talented, tend to make a lot of mistakes.  After their placekicker missed an easy extra point and kicked two makeable field goal attempts wildly to the side, Clemson somehow managed to squeak out a 20-19 road win.  Sweeney was beside himself in ecstasy as if he had just won the national championship again,   But I was tired and just muted the sound and listened to some Amazon Music.  Come tomorrow morning, I predict it to be cold in the forties when the race begins at 7:30, but to quickly warm up as the sun rises...

On Functioning Through Upcoming Cancer Treatments

This late afternoon on our Veteran's Day holiday (I guess I'd be off from work were I not already retired), it is atypically cold here in Gainesville, with temperatures to possibly drop into the upper twenties overnight.  Yet I feel warm, sitting here in this, our nearest Starbucks, sipping on a hot chai tea latte and composing this blog entry. With a delay in  procuring my oncologist-prescribed pill-form daily chemotherapy because of a bureaucratic,  technical pharmaceutical snag (I am blanketed by health insurance coverage), I'm sure that by my planned starting time on the 17th (about 51/2 days from now), it will all be ironed out and I'll be embarking on a six-week-long regimen of difficult brain cancer treatment mixture of chemotherapy and radiation sessions.  I'm not looking forward to what I may need to endure throughout those cycles, but on a deeper level I recognize that it is the responsible course of action.  My big hope (and prayer) is that I'll function adequately throughout the whole experience and will come out of it all in a generally better, more promising state of health.  I wrote earlier of my plan to replace on-the-road distance running with no-impact "rock-running" in the "long run"...for the past three days I have been doing just this.  Maybe this evening I'll do some more while watching Peter's three-year old, excellent You Tube six-hour video of his own (his YouTube channel is titled "The Manor Runs"), admittedly undertrained, initiation into run/walking the New York City Marathon.  I'd also like to see whether anyone else bothered to make a point-of-view, virtual posting of their own experiences in the Big Apple for their special 2025 event.  I have a lot left over in my life to anticipate doing, and returning to running long-distance races is certainly still on the table, right smack in the middle at this writing.  Next January the Florida Track Club has scheduled its annual Mary Andrews Marathon/Half Marathon event to take place on the eastern end of the awesome Hawthorne Trail, starting and finishing from the same spot in Hawthorne. Since their stated course time limit is six hours for the 26.2-mile marathon, I feel confident that, should I enter the race for a half-marathon and finish a bit over three hours, they would still be around to record and post my finishing time there (they'll still be around waiting for the marathoners).  My main task will be convincing Melissa to drive me there and back.  And that totally depends on how I do with my upcoming cancer treatment. Just speaking based on my current so-called "athletic" state, my speed-walking space has slowed down quite a bit within a short timespan...maybe I'll pull off a faster Depot Parkrun 5K this coming Saturday should we go down there.  Beyond this, though, there is a bigger picture for me to see and apply: tackling the approaching treatment bravely and being grateful for the opportunity to undergo it, while minimizing becoming emotionally distraught over the possible difficulties arising from potential or expected side effects. It's going to be a rocky road, to be sure..     

Possible Side Effects of Upcoming Cancer Treatments

Well, it looks as if I'm about to embark on a series of troubling treatments for my diagnosed cancer, starting with tomorrow's facial mask fitting at the UF Medical Plaza for my upcoming rounds of radiation.  In conjunction with that future scenario, full of predicted possible side effects including fatigue, nausea and constipation, one of my physical therapists yesterday paid us a house visit.  His intentions were spot-on although I had some difficulty understanding the technical jargon he used about getting a new exercise bicycle and walking aid.  It's going to be a test of my will to stand steady in the midst of adversity.  I've already written that I'll be focusing on simple things like showing up and following through, without getting hung up on levels of achievement.  Since at this stage I'm not envisioned as a "resident" hospital patient, I'll be taking on more personal responsibility for the needed self-care that will be greatly enhanced by that which my sweet Melissa will be providing me.  Standing up, successfully navigating the toilet and cleaning (and drying) myself in the shower are basic functional activities that fatigue and stressors on my digestive system could well challenge in terms of my ability to follow through with them.  Also, staying active regarding physical exercise...including future weely Parkrun 5Ks...has been a suggestion from my oncologist.  I think it's important to "will" myself into action, at least on a short-term basis, once the effects of my treatment begin to sink in.  I don't know the exact date my chemotherapy/radiation will begin, but I hope to be ready for it as the almost certainly unpleasant routine settles in...

Today's Depot Parkrun 5K: Showed Up, Followed Through

 

After skipping Gainesville's free weekly Depot Parkrun for two weeks in a row (morning after brain surgery on 10/25, staying home as cautionary measure on 11/1), Melissa drove me down there this morning to walk the 3.1-mile course.  Meeting us there was our dear friend Kim, who is in great shape and had no trouble keeping up with me throughout the event.  It was around 60 degrees with near-100% humidity...a little chilling to begin with.  There were a lot of folks there, making it often a little tedious going down the path while trying to avoid others.  Kim is a great conversationalist, meaning that she is a great listener.  I talked a lot, but found over the span of the race that it kept me from accelerating into my current fastest walking pace.  Hardly sweating any, I finished it with a time of 56:06 with my weight gain into the 180's holding me back.  I'm guessing that I could have lightly jogged through most of it and garnered a better finishing time, but I'm also being cautious about any possible jarring to my head.  Afterward, we went to our nearby Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee and doughnuts.  I'm very glad for this experience and look forward to the possibility in going at it again a week from now.  I did notice during our walk the very noisy grackles and red-wing blackbirds, who were concentrated in tree branches in the nature section of the park.  You can view today's results by clicking HERE.  Instead of straying into too much competitiveness regarding this event, I focused on the priorities of showing up and following through to the end, which I think I succeeded in accomplishing this morning...

Looking Forward to My First Walking Parkrun Following Surgery

As I tackle each day in my post-brain surgery life from early morning onward, I find that I always have choices about how I live.  For example, today I got up and dutifully engaged in about one hour of zone one cardio level while listening to foreign languages on TV.  Later, Melissa and I together did a moderately-paced 1.4 mile walk around the adjacent block in our home neighborhood.  Throughout this time, I felt quite fit enough to walk a 5K event.  That's interesting because, the way I've been seeing it, my medical providers have lately been taking an overcautionary, almost enfeebling approach when it comes to giving me the "OK" for publicly-available racing events such as Parkrun.  They are held each Saturday morning (two locations in the Gainesville vicinity) and stress attendance and fitness over competition and eliteness.  Under pressure for the sake of my medical state, I skipped this past Saturday's Parkrun although I was confident of being able to complete the course without negative repercussions.  This coming Saturday morning will also have Parkrun, and I'm hoping that my health provider won't stand in my way of participating in it.  My intention is to simply walk the Depot Park 4-lap course at a reasonably brisk pace...no running to happen here anytime soon.  Also, my planned ventures are confined to Parkrun events and will exclude others conducted the the Florida Track Club and Tyler's Hope.  We'll see what happens... 

My October, 2025 Running, Etc., Report

Long before October, 2025 came around, I had written much of it off regarding running and speed walking, at least in the context of participating in public racing events.  Melissa and I were gone on our cruise on Saturday the fourth and eleventh, and looking back the only available day for me last month turned out to be on the 18th.  That was the time I walked three fourths of the Depot Parkrun course, running the final lap.  And then a medical emergency slammed into my life, with the following available Parkrun Saturday taken up by me recovering from intense brain surgery, bedded down in the hospital's intensive care unit.   My brain, it seems, is doing fine right now although I don't know which direction we're going with it in the longer run.  I'm not driving (although I feel fully capable), depending on Melissa to transport me around as per our understanding.  I'd like to participate in Parkruns this month, starting on the 8th, but that depends in large part on how she's doing with the idea when the opportunity arises.  The Florida Track Club is holding its annual Tom Walker half-marathon out on a revised course featuring the Hawthorne Trail...that may be a little too rough of a task for me to take up.  As for my fitness, I can work out at home or do neighborhood walks.  But with these my body is more or less hostage to the outer events taking place around me.  So I guess I'll be exercising some in the house while trying to avoid getting carried away with heavy activity.  Oh, by the way, that NYC Marathon is set to begin early tomorrow morning, for the 50,000+ entrants who managed to scramble aboard in it.  Who knows whether I'll ever be in it. I need to focus on the present and avoid letting things get ahead of me...

Skipping Today's Parkrun 5K

Last night my sleep was fitful, with my FitBit watch registering the experience at a "poor" 53.  Had Melissa and I arisen at the same general, normally-early time and concurred on attending this morning's Depot Parkrun 5K...just a few blocks south of downtown Gainesville...we'd have suited up and walked the event's four laps, getting our barcodes scanned and finishing (walking) times posted online...to view them click HERE.  To be sure, I was already outspokenly confident that I could easily cover the 3.1 miles...it was just a matter of "how fast".  Well, we skipped it and enjoyed breakfast together at home.  Later I checked the posted results, noting how similar they were to previous trends even with today's much cooler temperatures in the forties.  We just came back from our neighborhood walk: 2 laps totaling 1.4 miles in 26:23 (not that I was racing).  Earlier today a registered nurse doing physical therapy visited our home and we sorted out the facts of my ongoing condition.  Hopefully, by early Saturday morning on the 8th, Melissa and I will be ready to resume our weekly Parkrun adventures.  In the meantime, I'm stuck with overhyped college football games on TV: I don't care who wins or loses, but I'm sick and tired of the loud, overemotional hype and stupid commercials presented in hip-hop.  This evening, baseball's World Series finishes with the deciding Game Seven between the LA Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.  I have nothing at stake with the outcome, so whatever. Later on this coming week, my scalp's staples should be removed, allowing for a tighter sealing of my skin on my head.  My appetite's good, digestion seems to be working, and I'm very happy to NOT be expected anytime soon at work. I would just like to enter a phase in my life in which I can establish some regular routines without "special events" imposing themselves on me and interrupting my initiative and actions. Oh, one other thing.  The Democrats in my Gainesville area installed a ballot initiative for voters to decide on whether the local public utility should be locally-run instead of by the dictator-DeSantis-controlled state government.  The fascists sued to keep it off the ballot (they don't want my vote to count for anything), but this Tuesday we can go down and vote on the measure, for all the good that will do if it passes.  When I walk into the voting room, I expect to be thoroughly scrutinized and harassed by hostile, partisan poll workers...

Speed-Walked 3/4 of Today's Depot Parkrun 5K

Early this morning just before sunrise, the temperature was a cool 55 degrees with a high 94% humidity.  Such were the conditions for today's Depot Parkrun 5K, held there just south of downtown Gainesville.  My focused intention for today's event was clear: walk briskly for the distance, no matter what my finishing time is.  I got down there, and for the first two laps I gave it an honest, good effort...but my "halfway" time was only 22:17 and I was starting to feel a little tired.  Still, I stuck it out walking the whole third lap. It was that final .7 mile for the last lap when I broke into a moderate run, picking up the pace as I approached the race's end.  I finished with a time of 43:09...you can view today's results by clicking HERE. Later on this morning, starting at ten, some local political malcontents are going to stage another anti-Trump protest rally, which I've heard erroneously equated with "democracy in action": the fools! I'm not going there, choosing instead to take a little break at my nearby Dunkin' store before heading back home to rest a little bit.  And then begins the rest of the day. As for today's Depot Parkrun, there were a lot of participants, and it all went pretty smooth.  The main thing is that I showed up and gave it a strong effort.  I wonder how many people attended today's West End Community Park Run: it's usually a lot fewer (and was, at 60)..

My Running/Walking/Swimming Report for September

I continued steadfastly training with speed-walking and running throughout September, but pretty much skipped out of going on swims.  This past month I participated in Parkrun 5Ks each Saturday, one at Depot Park and three at West End Community Park.  Except for last Saturday's race, in which I volunteered as a Tail Walker, I mixed up walking and running in the other three.   I think this is the pattern for future races, especially those longer than 5K. Of the four Parkruns I went to in September, three were at West End Community Park and one was at Depot Park. My emphasis, both with training and races, is showing up and completing the event instead of fretting over fast finishing times.  Early on next month Melissa and I are going on a week-long Caribbean cruise.  This will serve as a recovery break in my training, while I'll still have opportunities to exercise in the ship's fitness room on the treadmill or practice a little swimming, if that's available.  On October 25, the little south Georgia town of Boston is holding a half-marathon race that I intend to enter, otherwise there's that Parkrun on the 18th.  Most likely, upon returning from the cruise I'll be scheduled to begin some radiation treatment to bring my PSA level back down to an acceptable level.  Through it all, I plan to remain active and as athletic as feasible.  And maybe, just maybe, the temperatures will start to cool off as well...

Volunteered for Today's West End Community Parkrun 5K

On a soggy, muggy morning I drove out to West End Community Park and volunteered as Tail Walker for their Parkrun 5K event today.  My only concern with this role is if some runners or walkers arrive and begin late, behind me...and I'm supposed to be the last finisher!  Except for one straggling walker who was clearly challenged by the 74 degrees and 97% humidity, I had nothing to be concerned about as I had no difficulty maintaining a moderate pace while stopping from time to time to pick up flags and signs from the course for next week.  During the second half another volunteer joined me as we finished clearing the course...and I finished, with a time of 1:04:13.  I liked getting both volunteer credit and credit for finishing a race, so I'm getting closer to that 100-finish milestone.  The field was light, and about halfway through my walk it began to lightly rain, staying that way through the end. For the next two Saturdays I'm registered with Melissa to go on a Caribbean cruise, and then maybe I'll try another Parkrun after returning.  As for the rest of the day today, a cold front is passing through our area, bringing with it rain and some storms.  Hopefully, it all will help to steer to the east a developing tropical depression that seems destined to eventually be named Imelda...we'll see what happens.  If you want to view today's results, click HERE...