Forest Thinking

I note it is a thing to use a social media platform to express concern about how social media platforms and posting of events (running) has taken over just enjoying oneself.

Things that resonate with me this morning: https://zenhabits.net/drained/. The point on being drained brought this out of my stack of things to read, but what I am working on is #5:

“What do I need to do to get myself to where I’d like to be?”

I am a little put off about the short time frames, but as I approach the one year anniversary of the beginning of what turned out to be an unplanned year and change in life force … I am thinking about steps to take in the direction of where I want to go.

That leads me to outside, and the forest.

Unexplained phenomena: I find the most fun in the fact that part of my regular loop, the very first part, makes it super hard to get started. Other parts are just fun for familiarity. Why run a regular route. To make it easy on myself to take a small step in the direction I want to go and when I am more ready, I will run more unfamiliar trails and locations.

Reading: Home is a Mug of Coffee

I have spent many hours this summer working on my household coffee ritual. I have added a dosing funnel and learned to use a paper clip to remove hidden voids by stirring the freshly ground coffee in my portafilter.

Some steps forward I have made with the advice of Peter, some I have made on my own.

Some have been planned, and some, like relocating the entire coffee setup and adding a knock box, came about serendipitously as a result of other projects such as painting the cabinets.

It is odd that the coffee beans I am currently using are a bit dark and sometimes OK, and sometimes too much for me and through it all I get the sense I am moving along in a successful manner.

And so this article I ran across today resonated with me. I am similar to the author in that I find myself in my journal writing ” I never feel like I am doing enough” but more importantly, I know my journey is the same ” to learn to love each day”.

The author’s subtitle is “it takes a lot of percolating to become your own person” …

Agreed

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Categorized as Coffee

Eating Healthy v Vitamins

I ran into recent prescription and treatment medications including a COVID OTC test which had trouble with my B Vitamins which were a fairly normal OTC combination. Nothing unusual or fancy. It did get me to thinking and I tossed out those and I am now running through the remainder of my D and C Vitamins and then going to focus on eating healthy.

So this outline from PamperedChef crossed my RSS reader and got me thinking: HERE

Sugru Starts Smiles

Sugru Stops Sound Bar Hanger fr Gouging Wall

Sugru starts smiles because no matter how much my life has changed being a Maker is always satisfying. I don’t have the same shop or living space, but the need to make hacks to improve everything is always present.

One step in organizing my Living Room TV mess was to install a generic sound bar hanger. It works great and like any maker it wasn’t long installing before it was determined that mounting the unit as described wasn’t the best method. It might have been the FKT for discarding instructions.

No matter whether one follow the direction or not, the end result left a small sharp end from the hanger which gouged the wall each time the unit was tilted, so every time the TV is used.

I purchased this pack of Sugru to mold my own bumpers to solve the problem. I absolutely appreciate Sugru.

12 Types of Trail Runners

Training is lonely. With a plan. Without a plan. Track Nights. Speed Workout. Tempo Runs. Long Slow Distance. Recovery Runs. Stair Workouts. Hill Repeats. Intervals. You do these often by yourself. Sometimes with a running buddy and conversations are then held under the cone of silence rules.

Then there is the Group Run.  These are some of the folks you will undoubtedly meet there.

1. The ROUTE MAPPER

 

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They read maps and grok elevation profiles like everyone else does Game of Thrones.  The know the Gorge, the Coast, and especially Forest Park like the partner it is.  Any picture, any season, they know where they are. They leave piles of rocks and rumor has it have Hansel and Gretel memorized.

If you show them the picture above they know exactly what trail it is and how many miles you cut off the Wildwood by using the shortcuts, and they have run all of it.  They know it is Balch Creek, the proper name is the Witches Castle (not the Stone House), they know where the Giant Owl is mounted on a tree, where the wood teepee is maintained as well as the trail closure web page.

It is a role that falls on a veteran member of the group, they’ve run every one of the routes many times.  They will let you get lost if you are having a good time, and they will point the way if you sound tentative, and they watch the front and the back of the group.  Measure how good your group is by these runners.  Great ones check to make sure you get back and go back and get you when you are lost.  A GPS or a trail sign are a wonderful thing, but hold these runners closer than that.

2. THAT STRAVA NUT

pause-my-garmin

If it isn’t on Strava, it didn’t happen.  They wave a hand in the air like a pink flamingo raises a leg.  They won’t budge until the satellites lock in.  Their annual bucket list includes a run where the Strava route draws a shape.  They also have the best run titles and will loan you a file when your run doesn’t record.  It won’t bother them you look identical.

The technical ones know where the why your phone records differently than a Garmin, and can spend hours discussing the waypoints different watches and phone operating systems utilize.  They can be spotted with a smartphone that isn’t playing music as it is secretly recording and one or more wrist devices as well as a heart monitor.  When the apocalypse happens they will be purchasing a Garmin for their dog who is well behaved and has their own Instagram account.  They never turn on Beaconing.  They could get lost in the running store.

Then there are the hunters, who are not the sheriffs.  They run whatever pace it takes and sprint like mad over a segment to prove something and you hear from them over post race coffee.  If you are tempted, save it for your training runs.

3. The ROAD RUNNER

Speed blur

They are fast on road runs.  Concrete.  They run so precisely they slow when they step on lines on a track.  On a trail they go nuts.  They are easy to spot as they look constantly at their watch and are sure that real running happens at faster speeds.  They struggle uphill and run downhill like a Prius.

They will catch on, they are runners.

Until then they are a pain in ass.

4. The KLATCH

 

This is usually a sub group, running slowly near the back of the pack if in touch with the group at all. If there is a regroup point, they can’t make it before everyone is shivering and needs to move on.

They are friendly and buzz with conversation amongst themselves.  You will not get to know them: you weren’t dancing with them last night, weren’t injured at the same time, didn’t do the last race with them.

You may not see them again, even at a post run coffee or beer.

5. THE ANIMAL

This one has never run with a group or held a conversation.  They run the group run like a training run and go as hard as they can.  There may be people with them; however, they are so far above Tempo they can’t talk.  They compare Strava times at the end and freeze while everyone else comes in much later.  They show up to a group run for the social connection.  They are fun after a beer.

6. The ULTRA RUNNER

 

Announces themselves as an Ultra.  Thy are insulted when you call them a runner.  Mentions that they shouldn’t have done those hill reps before the group run.

They measure runs in hours.

They usually run a Half to get to the run, and you will never see them again.

7. The DOCTOR

They know exactly what is wrong with your running mechanics that caused the problem you are having.  They have had it before, repeatedly.

Not to be confused with the ER Doc or DPT who is running with the group,  these folks have no idea what salt is for but have a portable rolling device for whenever you stop.

 

They are up on all the latest treatments, methods, and shoes and you will have to probably let them tape you up.

9. The always late RUNNER

 

 

 

This is what waiting looks like. (Credit: Jesse Wild)

Try telling only them that ride starts at 8.45 when it really starts at 9. Their sixth sense for lateness will probably leave you waiting til 9.20 anyway.

10. The WOUNDED

 

 

 

Leave the big rings to Roger

Just because you’re riding a 54×42 chainset around the South Downs, it doesn’t make you Roger De Vlaeminck.

11. The TRI

 

 

 

Leave the big rings to Roger

12. The PACK

 

 

 

Leave the big rings to Roger

 

14. The FAST GUY

 

 

 

Leave the big rings to Roger

 

15. The LANTERN ROUGE

 

 

 

Leave the big rings to Roger

 

Inspiration for my bit of group humor from Cycling Weekly.  I hope they accept it with grace for all the group rides I have done.

I am sure I left off your favorite, contact my legal department.