I happened to run into Harry tonight. I told him about my first injury and he acknowledged this certainly does happen and he's done the same. Of course, I then elaborated I did this at NIGHT...in the RAIN...and then he replies, "Oh. I see. Hmmm."

Harry had some great advice tonight, and whenever I see the man, he always seems to share something from his experiences. What I notice, is he won't tell everything. He gives a little bit of information and advice as I explain myself. I told him I don't focus on distance but just destination and his response was even more interesting than my own. Harry replies, "Just concentrate on the guy in front of you. You don't need to take the lead. Pace the guy in front of you. And when you overtake him...pace yourself to the next guy in front of you. Like driving a car. Watching the car in front of you take the curves and going over the bumps."

Obesity Is Finally Accepted As Normal

While at the gym tonight, I was watching television, and what comes up on the screen, but a Hamburger Helper commercial. So, this lady and her kid are at this hamburger joint drive thru, and we have the Hamburger Helper hand in the car as well. Let's put it this way. She's fat. And we see her taking some bites from the Hamburger Helper meal and then we see her speed away from the hamburger drive thru to have Hamburger Helper at home instead. Yeah, this is a great commercial for families. It's sure to bring them together. Of course, they'll be so fat they won't be able to get out the door, so I guess in some way, Hamburger Helper is keeping families staying together.

Hamburger Helper has so much sodium in it, you might as well just drink from your salt dispenser you have in the kitchen. What's also interesting is I'm having one hell of a time finding the actual list of ingredients from Betty Crocker's website. Gee, I wonder if that's a mistake. So, I found out the ingredients somewhere else and of course this is enriched macaroni, with the proceeding ingredients being Maltodextrin, Corn Starch, Salt, Whey, and Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil. If you ever run out of Elmer's Glue, this will suffice. In fact, the only thing natural about this product is the last two ingredients, being Egg and Soy Flour. Since ingredients are placed in accordance with how much of it is used in the food product, there's probably a very small amount of egg and soy flour in this to the point of it being not even necessary to use at all. But hey, since consumers read the first and last of anything, you might as well have something natural at the end to reduce inquisitive minds.

On a more positive note, I spent 2 hours at the gym, and did 60mins on the upright bicycle to compensate for not doing a 925 this evening, which I would have. In fact, this is the one week anniversary of screwing up my ankle. So...let's celebrate and have cake and ice cream.

What The Hell Is Up With Portland's Marathon Course?

I was taking a closer look at the PDX 39th Marathon (being held on 10-10-2010), and I have to say...this is one of the weirdest courses I've ever seen. It seems as if an organization was so desperate to qualify for the 26-mile designation...backtracking several miles was the only to do it. I'll elaborate later but for now, I just have a headache looking at the damn thing. I mean, come one. It looks like at least 1/4 of the marathon is repetitive. A much more logical approach would have been to expand the marathon to include parts of Northeast Portland, such as the Alameda district. Northeast Portland has some beautiful sights, and it's a shame only a minor portion NE Portland is used (i.e., Interstate Ave.).

The Weakest Link

Political comments aside, I'm gonna have to concentrate on strengthening my legs and feet...and ankles. I hate to bring up the "lame horse" protocol, but I'll be honest. If my feet and ankles give out half way or even three-quarters of the way...yah might as well shoot me, folks and throw a few bales of hay on my face. Because it's over. There is no way in hell a person can come back and finish a marathon if their lower-body fails when they're over the half-way mark on a 26-mile adventure.

Maybe I shouldn't think like this as some will say it's already placing boundaries on my mental conditioning, but the longer you're out...the less come back you'll have. This has to do with movement and repetition of your body parts, over and over and over, and the weakest link of those body parts...will be your downfall eventually, because a minor irritation will become magnified several miles later. An initial minor muscle irritation has the potential to become a torn and ripped up muscle within a few hours. A simple experiment would be to do a few reps of a 5lb weight with your arms. Yeah, ok, you did great on those bicep reps.

Now do those same bicep reps for 4 hours and see how your biceps react...

I suppose it's common sense, but do we ever listen to what our bodies are telling us? Not really. Most of us ignore it. So, the focus needs to be strengthening those weak points which are failing me now.

There is a recent article in The Oregonian which states Portland is still one of the safest places for pedestrians, regardless of the recent deaths we've had lately. Well, I have to call bullshit. I guess the several thousand lives we've lost in this War On Terror means we're doing great because hey, in Vietnam, we lost tens of thousands of lives.

My point? Spin the numbers long enough and you'll come up with something which supports the most ridiculous statement ever — like Portland has safe roads for pedestrians and bicyclists. Might as well come up with a statement about Portland being the sunniest place in the US. I'm sure we have enough Portland politicians who would tell you as much without blinking an eye and would shove a mountain of paperwork into your hands, backing their statements up. Because hey, that's what Portland does best. Think too much — talk way too much — and act too little.

Portland is also regarded as one of the "friendliest" cities in the US, and I think most of us here in Portland know this is bullshit as well if you've lived here for any length of time. For every one vehicle that is polite, you have 10 which are rude and obnoxious. I don't call this "friendly". I call this a problem. And the reason for this problem, is making narrower lanes for motorists and squeezing bicylists and pedestrians into oncoming danger. Just how these statistics manage to paint Portland as an angelic city where everyone sings hymns at dawn and dusk, is anyone's guess. It's all part of a political ploy to grab federal funds and keep the general public unaware of the increasing dangers on Portland's roads.

With all the construction going on throughout the city of Portland, you'd think there was actually something being positively done. However, once again, if you've lived in Portland for any length of time, you'll discover Portland is ALWAYS in a state of construction...increasing motorist frustration...but yet nothing seems to get solved. Of course, city employees have a nice fat guaranteed paycheck from year to year, regardless of the quality of work they do, and Tri-Met (the semi-government agency) is all too eager to accept idiotic plans to increase bus stops on busy roads, regardless of how dangerous these bus stops are. For example, putting a bus stop at the corner of a busy intersection--not a few hundred feet down where it is more safe--with no special lanes for them. No, Tri-Met buses just block one lane of traffic, increasing gridlock and even parking their buses at a crude angle so bicyclists have to manuever around them, putting them into motorist mayhem.

But hey, our politicians say Portland is the best place to ride a bicycle and be a pedestrian, right? After all, I'm sure they travel the roads just as much as I do.

Cough.

Tonight, I'm heading out to the gym for a short routine. I'll do the upright bicycle again and maybe even the Stairmaster if I'm up to it. I need to keep my legs conditioned and getting into better condition.

I'm in good enough shape to take a trip to the gym, so I expect to do some abs and chest. I might try to stretch the ankle a little because letting it just sit there with no movement will result in the ankle's tendons and ligaments being stiff and I'll be prone to even more injuries in the future.

I Think I'm Going Out Tomorrow Morning

Tonight I felt rather good at the gym, and only had minor irritation with my ankle. A little over 2 hours at the gym, and I even did 20mins on the upright bicycle and 15mins on the Stairmaster. I'm quite surprised. Sunday morning I'll try to do a typical walk and see how the ankle holds up. Forward motion is sturdy, but the problem I notice is when my right ankle is pressed outward--like when my foot rests on an angle surface, forcing my ankle out and to the right. This is where I don't have as much resistance and apparently not as much muscle either, even when not having an injury. So, something needs to be done.

This injury happened because I wasn't paying attention. For those who are reading this, I can't stress enough about how important it is to pay attention to where your feet are landing...especially at night...in a downpour...on a slippery surface. Visibility is minimal, and this is where the most danger is present.

Right now I'm putting an icepack on it to reduce the blood flow to the area.