Tornado Watch...Really?!

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...

My alarm went off at 3:45 this morning.  I lay around for a few minutes and I gradually realized that it was pouring outside.  Was today's workout going to be a total washout?  It would all depend on whether this was just rain...or if it was a massive storm.  I don't mind going out in rain...but I avoid lightning at all costs.  I had a 3 hour run planned, so I would have to plan ahead.

I got up...had my coffee, and then checked out the weather forecast on the internet.  I usually check out a couple of sights to see if they are both saying the same thing.  This morning there was a weather alert...passing storms and a Tornado Watch!  High winds, driving rain, and the possibility of funnel clouds.  Great.  It looked like this storm would end soon, and then I would have two hours before the next storm came by.  This would mean I would just be out in the rain for an hour.  If there was serious lightning I could always dodge for cover under any of the nearby condos I pass along the way back.

I headed outside just before 7am.  It looked nice out!  It usually takes me about 25 minutes to jog to the beach.  The sun was rising above the ocean and not a funnel cloud to be seen!  I headed south down the beach.  What a beautiful day!  Running in the sand is a great workout, but I always have the mountains in my mind.  I keep thinking about the irony of training at sea level for a race in the alps.  Crazy.

Speaking of crazy.  I pass through a nude beach on my way down south.  At this time of day there were only a few people out.  I try to keep my eyes glued to the ground in front of me...but you know how that goes.  I saw a guy walking straight toward me and he had a sweatshirt on over a T shirt to keep warm in the early morning hours.  But he wasn't wearing any pants...go figure that one out!  I don't understand the attraction of nude sunbathing...but each to their own I guess.

The only obstacle along this route is that I have to go over a "hill" to cross the inlet.  This cat seemed to like being on camera!

I continued on down a tree-lined path.  So far I had passed Sunny Isles beach, Haulover Beach and was heading toward Bal Harbor.  Who knew there were so many separate beaches...and all of them with names.  Before I moved here I was familiar with Fort Lauderdale Beach and that was about it.  But there are hundreds and hundreds of named beaches.  I have run along many of them.

After an hour-and-a-half it was time to turn around and head back North.  Again, what a beautiful sight...and no storm seemed at hand.  They were supposed to be rolling in from the West but I didn't see anything coming. 

I am trying out a new watch for my upcoming race.  The Tor des Geants (www.tordesgeants.it) requires you to have an altimeter on you.  I have always worn a Timex Ironman watch...so it seemed like a no-brainer to buy the Timex with the altimeter.  I really like this watch.  It is simple to use, easy to read, seems to be pretty accurate...and was fairly cheap!

I crossed over the last bridge before home and decided that I really had to try out this new sports bar that has opened up on the water.  What a great place to hang out!  The only problem is finding the time...maybe in late September?  No, I had to get out before that...come on...a person has to have some kind of life apart from training!

My poor nose ran the entire time....it is really annoying.  I can't just blow it because it is still so sore and I have stitches.  So I have to very gently wipe it with my sleeve.  It is a little niggly problem that begins to grow on you...and you have to call into play your mental toughness to just ignore the constant drip, drip, drip. And I still can't breathe through it.  The smallest things can begin to drive you nutty when you are running.  But it is always good to be tested I guess.

But...when you live in Miami...how can anything bother one for long...Life is a beach here!

Post Op Workout

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...


It is forecast to be a nasty weekend with Thunderstorms and possibility of Tornadoes!  Nice weather to be heading out in to begin training again after my surgery!  I am supposed to work in a two hour ride today and a 3 hour run tomorrow. 

I was up at 4 am and hoped to squeeze my ride in between passing bands of storms.  What I am still getting used to here in Miami is that it can look absolutely miserable out...yet still be in the high 70's to low 80's.  In Canada when the skies are a mean gray and the winds are howling the temps are usually low and it is freezing out!

I headed to the workout mecca of Miami...Key Biscayne.  Athletes of all kinds gravitate here for many reasons.  First and foremost, it has the only hill in the area...the William Powell Bridge!  Cyclists power up and down on this and runners come out to train here.  You have Ironman athletes, triathletes, cyclists, marathon runners, joggers ... you name it...all slogging up and down the bridge!

One storm had just ended so I arrived here and prepared to get in my ride before the next storm started.  My plan was to bike to the end of the key and take some side roads to put in my two hours.  This ride was mainly to loosen up my muscles and tendons for tomorrow's run.

I passed Jim who was dragging a sled behind him weighed down with a tire.  He had a cop following along behind him getting video of him dragging the tire on his cellphone.  Hopefully this is not against the law!

My route took me past the Miame Seaquarium, which is a huge tourist draw, but just beyond that is my favorite stopping point...This Banyan Tree.  This particular tree is my favorite tree in Miami.  It is just magnificent!

Look at the branches, the trunks, the roots.  This tree is positively alive with personality...it is straight out of Lord of the Rings.  I love the roots...they are huge and snake their way along the ground.  I stop here every time I ride to admire this tree.










This bike is set up to memorialize three cyclists who have lost their lives riding along this route.  It is just horrible.  Their have just been some nasty accidents along here, and I am alway aware of that as I ride.  I just can't believe that there are some cyclists who will speed along here with earphones in...it is just not safe.

At the end of the Key, you can look out over the water and see Stiltsville.  This is actually what it is called.  There are 7 buildings here that just hover above the water, supported by stilts.  It looks like a mirage, because they just seem to float out there on water!  It really is amazing.

Once I turned around and got back to the bridge, I pushed up hard and this is what you can see from the top.  There is the Rusty Pelican Restaurant where you can grab some good eats, or you can continue on down the bridge and head toward downtown Miami.  It really is a spectacular view of the city.

At the bottom of the bridge I paused for a bit to watch the windsurfers play...I have got to try this someday.  You can rent these here, or try kayaking, jet skiing... you name it, they have it.  I talked to the owner of the shop here, and I am going to come back and try out the paddleboards.  It looks like a great workout for the abs!

Everything seemed to feel just fine following my two hour ride.  My nose is still running like a sieve though, which is very annoying.  It just seems to continually drip...I wonder when this is going to stop?  Tomorrow I am going to go for a 3 hour run and see how the legs are doing.  The days just keep ticking away toward the Tour des Geants...no rest until the end of September!

More Oxygen Please!

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...


The surgery is over with and I am feeling well enough now to write about it!  I went into the hospital at 9am on Thursday morning.  I was ushered into the pre-op area and had to change into one of those hideous hospital gowns that opens in the back...Yuck!  I lay down and Dr. Morse came to visit me.  He is well aware of my running and we always chit chat about training.  He was wearing his new pair of black Asics which he was happy to show off to me...nice! He went over the procedure and put me at ease about the surgery.

Next came the nurse with the IV.  She was really great about it and although the needle does hurt a bit going in...it is never too bad.  I am actually used to this part, having had to receive numerous IV's in the past due to dehydration issues in some of my desert races.  At least you don't get a penalty for getting an IV for surgery!  In some races you get a time penalty if you request or need an IV.

Then they add some medication to the IV bag to help make you sleepy.  I wanted to be awake heading into the operating room because I wanted the staff in there to get my picture before I was knocked out.  No such luck though.  It was lights out before I knew it!  I had my camera resting on my stomach though, and they managed to take a few pictures for me!

The surgery only took about an hour and I was in recovery before I knew it.  It took a couple more hours to get released and I headed home.  I probably slept on and off for the better part of the next 48 hours.  I was really out of it and medication always hits me hard.

I was supposed to be training again by Monday, but no such luck.  I was just really in some discomfort with my nose.  I felt like I had a severe case of the flu after being punched in the face.  I was slightly dizzy, my ears felt plugged, my nose was constantly dripping, my lips were dry and cracked, my throat was sore from where the breathing tube was during surgery, and my eyes felt really sensitive to the light.  God, I make a really bad patient don't I?!

Anyway, I did manage to make it through the whole ordeal, and can't wait to reap the benefits!  I am going to be able to breathe through my nose!!!  What a concept!  I am going to need every advantage for this race coming up in Italy.  Now onto the next challenge...how to acclimate for the high altitude in Italy coming from sea level in Florida.  I am working on something now and I will let you know the outcome!

Scared To Death!

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...


I am heading into the hospital this morning for nose surgery.  I am scared to death.  I have only had surgery once, and that was years ago.  But I have decided to bite the bullet and go through with this procedure.  Why?  Because some people will do anything to gain an advantage in racing and I am now joining their ranks!  If I am going to run a high altitude race in the Italian Alps this September, I am going to need every ounce of spare oxygen I can get!

For as long as I can remember I have not been able to breathe through my nose.  When I race I am always breathing through my mouth.  I have never felt that I was getting enough oxygen into my system when I tried to breathe through my nose...it has felt like I was trying to draw up air through a tiny straw.

This has made it difficult to sleep at night as well.  I have to breathe through my mouth, which causes me to snore sometimes.  It gets really bad when I am stage racing.  When you sleep for a week out in the desert with lots of other runners...people are getting up all night long to pee.  To get some shuteye, which is essential to having a good race, I have resorted to taking sleeping pills.  When I take the medication, then I really snore up a storm!  My tentmates are ready to pitch me out at times.  Although I have to say even in this area, I have competition!  You can hear people snoring all around the campsite.

I booked an appointment with a nose specialist about a month ago.  I had an MRI done and the results have confirmed that I have a deviated septum.  The cartilage that runs down the center of my nose is crooked.  I remember I was hit in the face with a ball when I was very young and I think this was when my nose was affected.  I also have soft tissue blocking my nasal airway.  This has all combined to prevent me from breathing properly.

So in about 2 hours I will be going under the knife!  I am very nervous.  I don't know why, but I am.  I don't like the idea of being put under.  I guess you hear so many stories about people going into surgery for simple procedures, and something going terribly wrong.  But for the last week I have been working myself into a tizzy, thinking this may be the last time I do this...or the last time I am doing that!  For the last two days I have been eating my favorite foods, and drinking my favorite drinks!

And if I do make it through this procedure unscathed, I am dreading the pain.  I have a high pain threshold, but this is not going to be fun.  But I do like my Doctor...Dr. Morse...and he has been very good explaining how this is going to improve my running.  Hey, I'm in!  He is going to have his team get some pictures while I am in the operating room, so I will post them for you.

They are going to put me out, and then the Doctor is going to cut out some cartilate and soft tissue.  Apparently it is quite gory.  Maybe they can get some good close up shots...I'll see what I can do!  So they are doing two procedures...a Septoplasty and a Coblation Turbinate Reduction.

I won't be able to work out for a few days, but the Dr. says I should be able to start training again next week.  So I will have this weekend off, but Coach Cal has me doing a 6 hour run next weekend up at Sugarloaf Mountain again.  I wonder if I will notice any change in my breathing by then?  I need results!!!

By the way, do you want to know what the worst part has been so far?  I have not been able to eat or drink since midnight.  In the morning I usually have three expressos, and so this morning I am really hurting without my usual hit of caffeine.  I love my coffee in the morning!  I admit it, I am a caffeine addict and I am going through withdrawal right now!

So, wish me luck.  I will let you know how it all goes, and will hopefully have some good photos to show you.