Evening races wipe me out. I stay up late. Don't sleep well (wake up every hour) and so end up very tired the next day. So I'm taking the day off.

Monday's Senior Games 5K was hot at about 80 degrees, the warmest afternoon/evening of the summer--a good 12 above what we have had on average. I was aiming for 17:40 or faster but finished 17:59 (near even splits though 8:58 at the turn around), which was enough for 1st and a new age group record. New course at the Chena Lakes recreation area--mixed review. The first mile on the bike path was nice but when we got the section that parallels the road it was a straight open stretch, and flat--you could see the aid station crew at the turn around, so it was a long 3+ minutes each way.

The 10K on Wednesday should be better, as it follows a slough, and it is expected to be cooler.

(white hat, kneeling in front row)

Here are my thoughts on depression.

It doesn't have much to do with being in a developed country versus undeveloped country.  It is largely biological.   However, if you are hungry, and need to take action and move yourself to eat, and have a social structure around you that is forcing you to engage, then just the activity of getting up and moving alone can help activate the faulty neurochemistry that has sunk you into a depression.  There is a huge difference between clinical depression and just situational depression, and it is biological.  Bipolar depression, which is the cause of 50% of suicides, is a clinical depression that really has nothing to do with social circumstances (case in point - Robin Williams).  Medication, exercise, and the right amount of sunlight can help offset the imbalance.  The tragic thing is, any kind of depression doesn't last forever, but when you are in it, you think it will and you lose hope.

On a nicer note!  I had my second date with Mr. Clooney.... I have cooled my jets a bit, but we are on for a 3rd date tomorrow.  He actually ran a full marathon once in 3:45.....He did that time apparently when doing a very beginners training program - ie one 20 miler.

ROBIN WILLIAMS - RIP

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/robin-williams-had-deep-running-roots

Redwoods HS,1969
. . . 440 yards - - - - 52.3
. . . 800 meters - - 1:58.8
. . . half-mile - - - -1:59.4
. . . mile relay: school record.
. . . Dipsea (1984)
. . . AVID cyclist
. . . .Escape-from-Alcatraz Triathlon.
. . . . Challenged Athletes Foundation - triathlons with double-amputee Rudy Garcia-Tolson
.  
"One of my favorite runners of all time was Abebe Bikila.
He was an Ethiopian distance runner, and he won
the Rome Olympics running barefoot.
He was then sponsored by Adidas.
He ran the next Olympics,
he carried the f?-in’ shoes!" ***

.  
“I love running cross-country … on the track I feel like a hamster.”
.
runners world video clip shows Williams explaining how running a marathon delivers a cheaper high than drugs (with some explicit language).
.
RIP to an unparalleled actor, comedian, humanitarian, and runner.
 = = = = = = = = = = =.
***^{Though Adidas provided running shoes at the Rome Olympics in 1960, as was pointed out by the wise one in one of his running quizzes, they didn’t have Abebe’s size so he ran barefoot to a world record.  He broke that standard four years later in Tokyo in Pumas, not in the Tigers that had been presumed by some.} 
.

 

Holly, I had to look up Canton City Marathon. Ok, so my geography isn't that great. But nowhere on the main page does it say what state that's in!! I find that so annoying about marathon web sites. Like they assume everyone knows where it is.

I have found that, also, that race sites often make finding the location so difficult.  Canton is about 3.5 hours north of me, here in Ohio.  Not a new state, but a new race, and a chance to go with friends.

A Trackrat - congratulations!

Mariposai - I feel your pain re: weeds.  I am having the same difficulty keeping up.

Enke - keep us posted!