Got my new MWI socks in the mail yesterday and they are pretty nice (in a pink jackalope kind of way). I have never been one for the 'taller' socks (although these are not tall boys by any means), but I will change my ways (at least for races) for these bad boys. ***Will have to make better effort to ensure the back striping is better than in the picture***
Pretty routine Monday as Deb and Marla rode some after work while Ian and I hit the SBU gym. E's got a Presidential Fitness test coming up and he has been working on his mile run and he knocked out a 7:35 on the indoor track - nice. We shot for quite a bit afterwards before heading home.
Monday night Dale and I hopped on the rigs and did an easy 1hr spin down the Frisco (with lights) to flush the legs. It worked, but also gave me frostbite (not really but felt like it) as I had no idea how chilly it was and way under dressed. Deb's hot chocolate hit the spot upon return.
Tuesday I got in a good 45 minute run (with the stadium climbs) on a chilly morning. Not that this is important, but my 'run legs' have really come around and am cruising quite effortlessly (still a good sign - bring on the rain and mud). Later at lunch I jumped on the 'drive a bike' courses at SBU and Bolivar city park for a non-stop 1:30hrs. Moderate tempo and still pushing the XS's to get a feel for the drift.
Tuesday evening we had Ian's first 4th grade 'official' practice and it went pretty good. This is his wheelhouse and needless to say he looks good. They played a little pickup with the 5th grade team and he actually should be starting for them. Afterwards I scooted to SGF (Lowe's) for the molding and finished up the wainscoting in the dining room; now to prime and paint.
Wednesday Ira, Dale and I jumped on the SBU XC course and knocked out some solid interval efforts. The motivation for the day was Dale sporting the Boss Cross Cat4 40+ leader's jersey. That leg breaking session had far greater impact then the Tuesday night dirt crits as I was dragging the rest of the day (and feeling it the next morning).
Thursday was taken as a rest/recovery with no planned fitness related work as the body told me to relax.
Late afternoon we headed to Buffalo to watch Jake and his XC crew. The course is a deceiving tough one at it has close to a 1/2 mile false flat climb that kids hit twice. Coach's plan for the kids was to blast the first mile, regroup and pack run the middle, and blast the last 800m. I was curious to see how Jake would perform after Deb's description of how bad he looked at the end of the Halfway meet (to include several days of coughing and hacking). He jumped to the front up the false flat and came thru the 1 mile at a 5:09 and pulled up for the rest of the boys (he looked pretty comfortable and smooth), they 'packed up' and ran pretty smooth together, then as the final 'blast' came Jake was completely on empty and I could tell his breathing was almost non-existant. He continued to give his all up to the finish line where he caught and out sprinted a kid at the line before his collapse. His coach and teammates got him upright, but he was in bad shape; not the kind that says 'boy I ran hard', but one that clearly showed me his season was done. It took well over 20 minutes before he was able to take a decent breath and compose himself. Deb, he, and I spent some time evaluating his health, team, recovery/repair of this body, and future (spring track) and with coach's concurrence we pulled the plug on his season in order to set him out for four months to hopefully let his lungs heal.
Jake had several tears not only himself, but for what he feels that he is letting his team down; it was (is) tough to watch. This was the year he was to dominate (after seeing his abilities and strong results last year) and qualify his team for state, but life changes and it's how you deal with it that develops character and I can 100% tell you that boy of mine has more character, discipline, and maturity than most grown men I know. It's easy to be a winner when things go well, but a champion is someone who perseveres and continues when all is falling apart and that's what he's done (doing). He got up this morning (Friday) and biked with the AM crew and will continue to be their biggest supporter. This is his current Faceook status:
"Medals and trophies will rust and fade but my love for my brothers and sisters on my team will never die. All of you ran an amazing race and I hope that everyone learned something from it. You are Liberators, you are my family."
If you don't know or have never met him you are missing out on a quality individual.
When he got back from the meet he and I drowned his sorrows in a huge Coke (big treat as he never drinks soda during season) and Master Wangs. Without a prompt from me he started talking about how he is looking forward to running for Corey (Macelhaney - SBU XC Coach) and continuing his running at the next level and that there is no way he is going 'out' like this.
After getting back with Jake I finally got around to re-gluing my tubular that rolled at Hermann UtL; we'll see if I did a better job this time...
Busy Friday (day) at the Jones Casa when it started off at 6am for me putting the final paint coat in the dining room (pictures to come once a new area rug is purchased), Deb gets her granite counter tops in the kitchen, HD upgrade on the Dish, receive new Home Theater System and TV for living room (insurance money from the camper being totalled), and I need to fit in a 2hr ride (good luck with that one and may settle for it on the trainer tonight).
Jumped over to the Bolivar Middle School track at lunch to watch Ian run his Presidential Fitness 1 mile. He has prepped (taking very serious like his big bro) hard and was confident this morning leaving for school. His buddy ran a 7:35 and was 1st in his class so E had a mark to beat and boy did he. Unlike most classmates he paced himself early while the others sprinted out lasting only 200 meters before most walked a bit. Ian on the other hand stayed on pace and gave me a huge smile and wave as he passed by me at the 300meter mark. He was the only one in his whole class to not walk a single step and in doing so ran a 6:53! His class was the last of the intermediate (3rd - 5th grades) and he by far posted the fastest of all grades. He bounced over to where I stood and simply asked "Am I fast like Jake and are you proud?"; two questions both met with one 'Absolutely.' Texted Jake his results and he was stoked; those two are bonding more and more every day.
We have basketball practice this evening and still trying to figure in a ride.
This weekend is Cross Out Cancer in Shawnee Mission (KC area) on Sunday. Since it's a single day race I'll probably race the Masters and the 2/3 events (might as well make the most of each trip).
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