On Monday morning I was in my garage getting ready to jump on my motorcycle and head out to work. I heard a large bang and immediately ran out to the front yard. Across the street I found my old neighbor lying on the ground. “Help”, she cried out! She had fallen and could not get up!
The heavy set woman was trying to push out her garbage bins to the street and she lost her balance. Normally my neighbor does this task for her but he was in Nepal trekking the Himalayas. Thus, this very stubborn yet able women attempted to do it herself.
This wasn’t the first time that she has fallen. About a year ago I heard her yelping cry. I found her in the hallway of her house on the ground. In both cases, other than a bruise on her knee, the lady was fine.
After confirming that nothing was broken, I assisted her to her feet. <~Ouch! I pulled a muscle or did something horrible to my back. I hid this excruciating pain from her and gave her a hug. However, this injury has been tormenting me all week!
In addition to the soreness in my back, I must have pulled my groin? It’s indescribable. I can barely mount my bike and whenever I feel like a rolly polly olly when I am laying down. What and the heck is going on with me? With no health insurance and a mulish state of mind, I guess I will just deal with it…
Day #636 * Hike #750 * New Track #620
Sunday August 12, 2012
Selling Fruit in the Hills of Via Ondulando & Colina Vista
Camarillo Eagles Fundraiser
My Tripometer: 2 Hours * 2.0 Miles * 400 Feet
The day before the injury, I hiked the streets in the neighborhood on the next hillside with Alyssa and Ayden. We were selling avocados, grapefruits and oranges from our trees. The goal was to raise money for Alyssa’s soccer team. We just found out that she will be competing in a tournament in Dallas next March. We are already booked for a Vegas and Utah tournament as well. This is in addition to the many other travels around Southern California. To say the least, this is Expensive!
We did well with the fruit but we’ll need to keep going out to raise the money needed. Although we sold out of avocados, I have another tree blooming and we should have several hundred ready to go within the next few weeks. I have four orange trees and we have picked off about 80% of the fruit. They seem to always come back when we need them so I am not too worried. Regarding the large grapefruits, well, I have hundreds and they are not real good sellers…
In the heat, the hike on the street was more exhausting than the comforting dirt trails. I am not fond of hiking on pavement but it was a good cause and counts as a new trek in a new place. I spent the remaining hours of the day drinking beer and chilling at our pool…
Day #637 * Hike #751 * Duplicate Track
Monday August 13, 2012
Snakes in Arroyo Verde
My Tripometer: 1 Hours * 2.0 Miles * 325 Feet
It just occurred to me. I have less than a year to reach 1000 Hikes! By my calculations, I should be on Mt. Whitney on August 11, 2013!
I took it easy today. I felt crippled from the incident earlier in the day yet I mustered the might to complete a hike. My wife ran ahead with the dogs seeking a full blown workout. She came across three rattlesnakes in three different locations. I guess one of them was way big! Others were taking pictures but my wife was pestered by the sight. In fact, she refused to hike the hills back up and instead went out to the Foothill and walked up our street.
The dogs were beat from the heat, which is a good thing because otherwise they may have encountered the snakes first. Needless to say, these encounters will make it even more difficult to convince my wife to hike with me. That sucks!
Day #638 * Hike #752 * Duplicate Track
Tuesday August 14, 2012
2-Mile Run at T.O. High School
My Tripometer: 30 Minutes * 2.0 Miles * 0 Feet
My injury had not gotton any better but I promised my coworker that I would run with him. Larry once weighed around 400 pounds. Years later, he has naturally lost the weight by eating right and working out. He is now down to around 215, my weight! He’s taller than me so now I feel stupid!
His goal is to join the Navy next year. Based on his age, he will need to run a mile and a half in 12 minutes (an 8 minute mile pace or 2 minutes per lap). Larry has been running on a treadmill and today was his first experience on an actual track. The 100 degree conditions were not real inviting but this wasn’t going to deter us.
Thankfully, Larry is not up to speed yet so I was able to run comfortably with him. I wasn’t sure what he had in him so I advised him to run the first lap and then I will set the pace for the next 6 and then sprint the final lap.
After I said GO, I knew Larry was in trouble. He ran his first 200 meters in 51 seconds. I was anticipating a 10 minute mile pace so he should have clocked the 200 meter in 1.15. On the back stretch, he stopped to tie his shoes. From there, it was jog, walk and stop for water. Here are the official lap times:
2.04.70
2.28.57
2.32.80
3.17.93 10.24.00
3.26.93
3.43.08
3.24.18
1.21.03 22.19.22
I kept pace with Larry the entire way and then opened up my stride for the final lap. I pushed passed the groin pull and ran a decent final quarter. Larry left it all out there and chugged to the end about a minute and a half after me.
I plan to go out with him again to help him out. I will pace him at a slower rate which will help build his stamina and speed. I look forward to watching him improve.
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