Mt. Nebo Half Marathon Race

Okay so I have been slacking in my blogs lately... Sorry about that. Time to do some catching up.

September 5^th 2015 I ran in the Mt. Nebo Half Marathon. Needless to say it was rough, I gained some weight and had some troubles with Achilles tendinitis.

I was half way tempted (pardon the pun) to sign up for the full Nebo Marathon since it was only a ten dollar difference. I decided to shoot for the full marathon in a year. I think that full marathons are crazy, but I at least want to say I experienced one.

Anyway back to my experience with the race... They made us all rendezvous at the Payson high school at a ridiculous hour of 4 o'clock in the morning so they could bus us up the Nebo loop. The bus dropped us off at a chilly campground where we had to wait an hour and a half for the race to start. I do not know why they did that to us.

The race was okay, I liked it because it was all down hill. Check out my over all results for the race.

Spontaneous nunchuck lessons Part 2

Nunchaku, often casually known as "nunchucks," are a traditional Okinawan martial arts weapon that is made of two sticks that are connected by a rope or a chain on one end. The Nunchaku make a great training weapon, which can help you improve your posture and develop quicker movements of the hands.

As I mentioned before my gang and I decided to have a night out with spontaneous nunchuck lessons. We asked a nice sensei who was very generous to let us use his dojo and training equipment. He was also generous with his time.

Yes, I brought my homemade nunchucks with me. I made three pairs but I was the only brave one to train with them luckily everyone else used foam chucks.

The following photos are the most well known way to hold nunchucks right before you combat with them

When you are not intending to fight someone but you would still like to intimidate them you hold them crossed in your arms but still visible

A less intimidating hold is where you hide the nunchucks behind your arm

We started very slowly with some basic over the shoulder, and then catch it with your other hand under the arm technique like so:

Then we tried something more aggressive. We would whip the chucks over the shoulder, wave the chucks in front of us in a figure-eight motion and then bring it back to this position.

Some of us got more confident and faster as the night went on. This was not wise for a beginner. 

I feel like the lesson was a success. What cool and spontaneous things have you done with your gang?

Spontaneous nunchuck lessons Part 1

My gang and I decided to take a crash course in nunchuck lessons. 

I wanted to make sure we all had nunchucks to practice with… so I made some!

Step one: find an old broomstick

Step two: saw it down into 11-12” sticks. I was able to cut six out of this broomstick.

Step three: Go to home depot and by a cheap designer chain: 

and some screw eyes:

Step four: with a drill and some pliers you can attach the chain to the broom stick handles. My sensei told me that the shorter the length of the chain the better it is for a beginner.

Step five: begin lessons! Stay tuned for next week’s blog on training with my gang in the dojo!

Voilà! Just your own homemade assault with a deadly weapon product!

This project only cost me $1.35 to assemble. Did you know I was so thrifty?

Donating plasma

While going to college I heard of and participated in the local plasma center which gives you money for every visit.

This is what happens when you donate at the plasma center: you enter and take a number, and then you sit and wait and watch a movie in the waiting room. After about 30 minutes they call your name and ask you to enter a small concealed booth where a representative educates you about AIDS and interrogates you to make sure you have lived a lifestyle free from the virus. They then proceed to take a blood sample and take your vitals. They then excuse you back to the waiting room to continue watching the movie. About 25 minutes later they call you into the room where the procedure will commence.

They sit you down in a funky chair and a certified phlebotomist pricks your arm and starts an IV that is hooked to a machine that will suck out your blood, extract the plasma from it, and then put the blood back into your arm. All the while you are still watching the movie from another TV in that room.

Once they have filled the quart sized bottle of plasma, they bandage you up, and pay you and then you’re free to leave the facility. This entire ordeal takes a little over two hours to do each time.

I have not been to the plasma center for a few years and I would like to share with you the pros and cons to donating plasma.

Cons:

1) Everyone gets paid the same amount each time. If you are a big fat guy like me they will keep you on the machine for a long time and milk you until that bottle is full to the brim with plasma.

2) Everyone has to have a physical examination with one of their representatives before  officially donating plasma. There is nothing awkward about it, they don’t ask you to drop your drawers or stuff like that. The physical is very basic. But plan on at least 3 to 5 hours of waiting to get this part completed.

3) Their hours of operation are pretty much open during business hours so if you have a job you will never find a convenient time to go in.

4) You have no choice on which movie to watch.

5) If the phlebotomist is inexperienced, they may bruise your arm, they then turn you away and you can't donate for a while. Then they make you have another dang physical.

Pros:

1) It can be a good source of a supplemental income. If you donate frequently, you can make around $200 a month.

2) Everyone gets paid the same amount each time. If you are a 90-pound girl they will take much less out of you than the big fat guys. You only have to fill up a quarter of a bottle and you get out of there sooner. 

3) You get paid to watch a movie.

Do you like to donate plasma?

Volunteering at Colonial Days

As July is about to fade I would like to reflect on an event I got to volunteer for on Independence Day. The city of Orem has many things going on during this time of year, one of which is the Colonial Heritage Festival.

What is Colonial Days? I’m glad you asked. Gregg Hardy, the chairperson, sums it up nicely: 

“Meet history face to face! This year marks the eighth annual Colonial Heritage Festival, a free four-day event for the whole family. Travel back in time through our living museum known as the Village at Aubin’s Grove at SCERA Park, and visit our indoor Colonial relics museum at the SCERA Center for the Arts. Visit Colonial artisans, exhibits, demonstrations, and join in the great debates, public trials, and storytelling in the Old South Church. From our grand Mayflower replica and maritime interactive exhibits to the Colonial School, children will be attended to by teachers from the Alpine School District. Children will also be able to play Colonial games and participate in the daily children’s chores. Military enthusiasts can visit the gun displays and experience the cannon firing on the green. Exhibits include the apothecary shop, blacksmith, cooper, broom maker, gunsmith, spoon maker, potter, bobbin lace maker, bee keeper, chandler, wood worker, women’s clothing, home life, frontier life, and much more.”

Sara Hacken, and me

Sara Hacken, my friend and neighbor, is one of the main organizers for colonial days and was thrilled to get my help since they are always extremely short-staffed for volunteers. They first had me assist with the children’s chores activity. Then they had me play along in the old south church debate, I then spent the rest of my time helping people suit up in Jamestown armor that the Virginia Company would have worn.

Pepper doing children's chores 

Pepper and me in Jamestown armor

I had a lot of fun and would not mind helping out in the future if work and family obligations will permit. I saw a lot of extreme re-enactors that participate every year. I personally am torn between two different thoughts, one being that it is fun to dress up and connect with the past, and the other being how some of these re-enactors are just playing an extremely expensive game of cowboys and Indians. Are your thoughts similar to mine on this?

Rocks, rocks, and more rocks

I recently returned from a campout in Moab, Utah. Moab attracts a large number of tourists every year, mostly visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. It's a popular base for mountain bikers that ride a lot of wicked trails, and off-roaders that come for the annual Moab Jeep Safari. I was surprised how popular this small town is.

My family and I enjoyed hiking in Arches National Park and observing all the breathtaking landscape of the desert. So beautiful! It’s amazing to me how sandstone can erode into delicate arches, and also form other interesting shapes.

Like this one. It had no name but it definitely has physique. What do you think I should call this rock formation?  

Got Birds?

I had the cherished opportunity recently to visit the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge up in Brigham City Utah.

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge visitor center

What are they? Their mission statement says:

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge lies in northern Utah, where the Bear River flows into the northeast arm of the Great Salt Lake.  The Refuge protects the marshes found at the mouth of the Bear River; these marshes are the largest freshwater component of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.  Since these marshes are in turn surrounded by arid desert lands, it is little wonder that they have always been an oasis for waterbirds and wildlife. 

So in other words they love nature, they really love birds and try to provide birds with pristine hospitality. 

The visitor center is filled with avid bird lovers who are anxious to answer any questions you may have about the world’s fowls.

While I was there I saw this display which really cracked me up. I got such a big kick out of it I had to take a picture of it.

Here is a close up of the plaque.

Can you see the irony that I found in this display?

Thanksgiving Point 2014 Results and Reflections from the Race

This is the second time I participated in Thanksgiving Point’s half marathon: all 13.1 miles of it! According to my personal iPod that tracks my distance, it was actually closer to 14 miles. Anyway, I woke up with a late start and had to speed from Orem to make it to Lehi before the gunshot. It was almost a tuck and roll situation. Luckily my wife can drive really fast. The weather was extremely rainy the entire time. I ran by Thanksgiving Point's  Noah’s Ark exhibit and thought how fitting it was for the day. I wore a waterproof jacket with a hood but after about 6 miles with the excessive perspiration and the rainfall the jacket was rendered pointless. (I think I will now look into upgrading my running clothes since my baggy gym shorts don’t stay up too well when they are waterlogged.)

The tulips and Italian gardens were once again breathtakingly beautiful to run through at dawn. The rain was a nice touch to that scenery. The main reason why I choose to run the Thanksgiving Point half marathon instead of all the other options available in the valley is because they offer admission for two into everything their giant facility has to offer once you have registered for their race. I like this because even if something bad happens and I am unable to race then I haven’t just blown sixty bucks that can be added as a charitable donation to active.com.

Last year I didn’t train well and I walked three of the 13 miles and I had one bathroom break and I finished with the time of 2 hours, and 20 minutes. I am a little depressed and can’t figure out the mystery of this one but this time I trained harder, didn’t walk at all, and I didn’t take any bathroom breaks and I finished with the time 2 hours, and 21 minutes?!? I blame the rain because that just makes no sense to me.

At least I made par. My pace was decent at about 10 -11 minutes a miles. You need to be going at least 16 minutes a mile to be considered a finisher. They take the clock and finish line down after 4 hours, and open traffic up again. I guess you could say even though I am not the best at races I still love them and hope that I can still do them in my old age.

Have you ever tried to run a half marathon? 

Dealing with Tendonitis

For those of you who follow me on Facebook I mentioned about how I was dealing with some minor complications while training for another half marathon. I discovered a chronic pain in my lower right ankle. I saw what looked like a goose egg that had formed on the back lateral part of my heel. The goose egg would swell and cause me to limp like Tiny Tim all day.

Finally after dealing with the pain and the limping for over eight weeks I finally went in to see my doctor. I discovered that I have a mild form of Achilles Tendonitis. This is caused when too much weight is constantly impacting on the heel of your foot. This can cause minor ruptures within your tendons and other joints in your foot.

Illustration of Achilles Tendonitis 

Luckily I found that there is a cure. I was instructed by my doctor to take ibuprofen before I ran and to wear what is called a Strassburg sock.

My sexy leg wearing the Strassburg sock

The Strassburg sock is pretty much a funny looking sock with a splint that you are supposed to wear on your foot for 2 weeks. I felt like I looked like an elf in rehab. This foot splint is supposed to keep your toes suspended upward all night long so that the tendon's ruptures can heal more efficiently. Imagine a cut on the knuckle of your finger. If the knuckle is always moving the wound will take forever to heal.

Long story short, the limping stopped after two nights of wearing the funny-looking sock. I still feel some tenderness down there and the goose egg has not completely vanished but my doctor thinks I can still run in my half marathon.

One of the facts of life for a long distance runner is you are constantly dealing with some sort of pain or sickness. They say it’s just part of the game. With that in mind when I am running in a race I don’t feel so much like I am competing with the other runners. More so, I am competing with myself to see if I can endure the miles.

Have you ever seen or heard of the Strassburg sock before?

Peter Pan is the Bomb???

If you haven’t figured it out from my last few blogs, my family took a spontaneous trip to Disneyland. Before our trip we followed tweets and other recommendations on what some must-see things in the park are, especially with a toddler. All Disney fanatics both local and professional all said this: “You gotta see Peter Pan's flight ride. It’s the bomb! Make sure you do that first thing when you get into the park because the line grows quickly.” I found that was the same recommendation for every demographic. If you’re on a date… go to Peter Pan! If you are proposing, go to Peter Pan! If you are celebrating grad night… yup, go to Peter Pan!

I vaguely remember going on this ride when I was young and I remember my thoughts after the ride were: “That was it?” Now with every professional opinion emphasis I thought, What the heck. I’ll give it another shot. Our first day of three days spent at the park started with a mad dash to Peter Pan’s ride only to be introduced to a forty-five-minute-long line. We patiently waited with an impatient toddler and the ride was over in less than three minutes. I am sad to say that my overall reaction to the ride this time was the same as last time I rode it as a child.

The professional Disney fanatics argue that the reason why the Peter Pan ride is the bomb is because you are in a pirate ship, and it really feels like you are flying above early 19^th century London. I guess I missed that feeling all three times I rode it. I felt like I was on a rickety tram that carried me into less than ten rooms with horrible lighting. Yes you could see the little cute model of London below with Big Ben and all but it looked like the glow in the dark paint used on the model was overdue for a major recharge. We could barely see anything down there. What little animatronics they had in the ride seemed out of place and rushed (to move you along to a particular moment of the movie).

Disneyland has improved with some of their newer rides where they know you will be standing in line for at least an hour (which can entertain the waitees by creative obstacles to walk through etc.) You don’t get that with Peter Pan. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is, you will have to wait in an extremely long line for a short class-C ride.

Do you agree with me on this or do think the Peter Pan ride is the bomb? Please explain.     

Some things I learned at my runners clinic

A year ago, I went to a runners clinic hosted by Intermountain at the Utah Valley Hospital. This was a clinic that was free to the public for anyone who has an interest in running as a hobby or for sport. They taught some helpful hints that have improved my running. As I said before, I am an amateur runner and since I am the lone wolf in my family with any interest in running, I have to really search for whatever help I can find. At the clinic a gift card was given out to all in attendance and was good for a training session with one of their sport trainers at the Utah Valley Sports Performance Sports Training center. I finally booked a session earlier last month and this how it went.

My athletic trainer's name is Dan. He first wanted to know what my struggles and concerns with running were. I told him hydration and cool downs. He sympathized with my concern about hydration. In reference to my earlier blog post in training for a half marathon, you are supposed to keep yourself hydrated constantly, especially on long distant runs. I was told to drink a few ounces every three miles or so. Electrolytes are encouraged. Whenever I drank a ton on the run I would have to urinate more often. Have you ever drunk a Powerade or any similar sport drink? They seem to immediately run right through you! Dan said that instead of gorging myself while on the run with water and electrolytes to try focusing more on hydrating myself prior to the race, lightly during the race and frequently for the rest of the day. After gathering my size and weight he estimated that I would need at least 72 ounces of water daily. He also said that when I am feeling dehydrated to try running with a stick of gum in my mouth. Something that would keep you salivating. I am still trying out these new recommendations and I will let you know how they turn out for me.   

As for stretching, for warm ups and cool downs he emphasized the recommendation to only do dynamic stretches for warm ups and static stretches for cool downs.

What is dynamic and static stretching? I’m glad you asked.

Dynamic stretching is more like getting your legs and body moving really fast. Check out this video for a good example of dynamic stretching.

Static stretching is the more famous one when you are not moving but stretch your legs and body like so:

He then filmed me running on the treadmill so I could see my posture and how I was laying my feet down in order to make adjustments.

He gave me some other helpful workout tips for my time in the gym as well. 

I am supposed to follow up with Dan 6 weeks from now to see if my running form has improved.

Hopefully with all of this new knowledge I can have better results in my next race.

Do you have any helpful advice for me as well since I am an amateur runner?

Getting lost in Mouse's Tank

A Paiute renegade named Little Mouse was notorious for looting nearby settlements around the 1890’s and was known to get crazy and violent when he was drunk. Rumor has it that he gunned down a few prospectors and because he was wanted for murder, a posse was rallied to bring him in. He was able to escape his pursuers by climbing around in what is now known as Petroglyph Canyon in the Valley of Fire in Nevada.

Petroglyph Canyon in the Valley of Fire

This canyon is narrow and tricky to navigate, so anyone who was not familiar with the landscape would have no idea where Little Mouse escaped. Legend has it that Little Mouse was able to hide out from his pursuers in that canyon for a long time because he knew where all the rain water collected in cisterns throughout that canyon. This picture is what is now famously known as Mouse’s Tank.

Mouse’s Tank

This tank is about a couple hundred yards back in this narrow canyon and, in my opinion, was not his main source of water since that water looks like it has been stagnant for millennia with all sorts of bacteria growing in it.  Mouse, the outlaw, was caught a few miles from the canyon by a spring, which today is called the Muddy River. The official story is that he was surrounded, refused to give up, and he was shot.

My experience with Mouse’s tank is as follows: When you enter the narrow canyon that leads you to Mouse’s Tank, you immediately notice the ancient petroglyphs carved in the sandstone canyon walls. If you are able to go quietly and alone (which is hard to do with all the tourists) some people say you can still hear the whisper in the canyon wind of what sounds like a man proclaiming his innocence. I was lucky this last visit to catch a ghostly figure of a mountain goat peering down at me from a nearby cliff. Then it disappeared into the landscape as supernaturally as it appeared. If only I had a telephoto lens.

Petroglyphs

The legendary story of Little Mouse is hard to research since he seems to have been just a local nuisance. If you know any more details about the legend of Mouse’s Tank would you please enlighten me in your comments below?

I love vacationing in the desert. How about you?

Why pocket change on monuments?

Another creepy attraction is the headstone in the Salt Lake Cemetery inscribed: “Lilly E Gray - Victim of the Beast 666.” This is another noteworthy attraction recommended by sick freaks like me if you are touring this cemetery. After reading the stories and legends behind it (such as demonic consumption, or her possessed husband who was a butcher offered her as a blood sacrifice to the devil or whatever), I had to laugh. This reminds me of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, a play wherein some immature girls turned a comic sport to amuse themselves into a lethal superstition. The townspeople in that story were so quick to accept and judge any accusation. I feel that people are reacting too quickly to the rumors and legends of this headstone. Elmer Gray was the husband who made the funeral arrangements for his wife. Elmer was a bitter man who was rumored to have suffered from a long term illness, served a prison sentence, and hated the government for wrongfully arresting him. He chose to write that on his late wife’s headstone. (By the way, he was noted for referring to his wife as a victim of the government...but I digress.)

 

How I found the headstone

Anyway, after a while of searching I finally found her famous headstone. The thing I noticed most about it was that there was a large amount of pocket change (pennies nickels, and dimes) piling up on the headstone. I noticed this same peculiar offering was cluttered around Emo’s vase in his headstone. (Refer back to my story of Emo.) I also noticed this strange offering was also beginning to gather at the bust of Jesus Christ in the hallway of the Joseph Smith memorial building. Which begs the question: what’s with the pocket change on monuments?!?

 

When I researched it I came across three references.

 

1. Benjamin Franklin was famously quoted for saying “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Because of that all sorts of tourists visiting his grave in Philadelphia toss pennies over the fence on to his grave in some sort of quirky tribute. When tourists pay their respect to Benjamin Franklin, with pennies at his tombstone, as a local tradition claims that such a practice will bring the penny-tosser luck.

Benjamin Franklin's grave

2. In ancient mythology there was the story about the boatman of the underworld named Charon, for passage to the other side of the river Styx, you would need to pay him some sort of toll to cross over that is why loved ones would traditionally bury gold coins either on or with the body. By not sending a toll with your loved one you would inconsiderately condemn them to wander the shores in purgatory forever. In a way, I assume some grave visitors somewhat mimic that tradition.

 

3. Some people hold to the tradition of leaving a gift every time you visit a grave, so if you don’t have flowers then a coin from your pocket should suffice.

 

That is what I came up with what do you think? Do you know any other reason why people would place pocket change on monuments?