Week 19 (27.8) - 5 days to ...gulp!

The collapsing financial markets have turned my world upside-down. I'll spare the ugly details. But, I was hugely surprised at how the stress manifested itself in a whole series of aches and pains - neck, back, knees, ankles...

So, after the Lehman and Merrill news (and a harrowing driving lesson with Amanda in which she got the brake and gas mixed up while backing out of the driveway) I hobbled through 5.2 miles on Monday in a woeful 45 minutes (don't bother with the math, it's slow) and with AIG about to crash and the Reserve Fund "breaking the buck", I jogged the same route in just over 42 minutes the next day. On Wednesday, I quit after 3.8 agonizing miles in the neighborhood and walked slowly back to the house. Thursday, Floyd Watson and I had a long talk about the markets and life and by Friday (thanks in part to Paulson and Bernanke's proposed bailout - don't blame these two guys, they just put out the fire) I was feeling loose enough to do 5.2 in 38:35 (felt much faster than this). I've been guessing on the actual mileage ever since my Garmin crapped out two months ago, but just bought a new 301 for $115 on E-bay.

Saturday, I did 8.4, running part of the way with Peter Gallimore and the Black Shorts . That night, Greg Thomas hosted a little Salmon grill "good luck Tahoe" get-together. Mike and Roger gave me a survival gift pack that included Red Bull, Twinkies, a first-aid kit, a gel toe protector, NBA head and wrist bands, Advil, an LCD cap light, a Ben Gay patch, Cottenelle fresh wipes and sanitary toilet seat covers. Thanks again guys. Although the Twinkies have a 40-year shelf life, I enjoyed them with a glass of cold milk while watching the Cardinal/Redskin game. It had been at least 30 years since I last ate this particular golden snack cake with cream filling.

I started a list of things to bring. So far, I have -

1) Sunglasses
2) Electrolytes
3) Band aids
4) My new water bottle (I've never ran with one of these things)
5) Camera
6) Funnel
7) Nail clippers
8) Body-glide
9) NBA wrist and head-bands
10) Advil
11) Laptop
12) "the Stick"
13) Water shoes
14) Sunscreen
15) Carbo-Pro powder
16) Chargers for cell and blackberry
17) Gloves
18) Ear muffs
19) Bathing suit
20) Ben Gay heat patch
21) Gel toe protector
22) Cottonelle wipes

Leticia and I doubled-checked hotel (3-Peaks $79 per night), rental car (Advantage $32 per day for a Malibu or similar) and air (Southwest into Reno - repaid rewards). I still need to cancel the Statesman, find someone to look in on Jack the cat and get a replacement for my Friday meals route. We won't get into Nevada until Thursday night - probably not the greatest idea in the world, but time is tight. A bonus is that the new seasons of "Grey's Anatomy" and "the Office" start Thursday and "the Amazing Race" starts on Sunday night. Although Leticia plans to try the mountain zip-line, I'm thinking TV might have extra appeal this weekend.

I may jog around the block later tonight to work off the Twinkies, but another week of low miles was okay with me. All-in-all, I'm feeling much better than when the week started. I plan on running something up-tempo on Monday (maybe a few 800's) and then five or six miles on Tuesday and a few more on Thursday morning before we fly west.

The first race starts Friday at 7:15 Pacific time. The weather at the start is expected to be near freezing, but sunny and dry. The highlight of the first day is an 800-foot climb in the last four miles. Crap.