Fear the Crab

I managed to finish the Great Aloha Run without collapsing into a fluid pile of twitching muscles and blistered feet. The official time recorded was 1:51:37, which averages into a 13:43 mile. I placed 9453 overall out of over 27,000+ entrants, 5528/10903 in my gender group, and 644/1125 in my age bracket.
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Maile signed us up for the Great Aloha Run, scheduled for Presidents’ Day. I have never run any type of long-distance race, so I classify the GAR almost the same as a marathon. A marathon of 8 miles, yes, so while it’s not quite at the level of a Honolulu Marathon, I think ten steps into either would leave me collapsed on the pavement wishing for unconsciousness.

The sponsors of the GAR hold free training sessions every Sunday starting this week, where I am supposed to learn how to prepare for running and condition myself to maintain the course. Each session has a run of distances from 1-2 miles in the early weeks, gradually increasing to the full 8 right before the GAR itself. If I can dedicate myself to showing up every Sunday morning, I’m pretty certain I’ll handle the event.

Of course, on Monday I had just returned to a routine of weights and exercise, and a set of squats for the first time in months has left my legs in a state of perpetual burn and stiffness. This is a classic case of delayed onset muscle soreness that hopefully will go away as I keep up the pace.

Yesterday I went to the local high school and ran (technically jogged) 4 laps around the track, which I am led to believe is one mile. I was winded, but I wasn’t fully exhausted, so I gained some confidence that I can really do this.

Then maybe I can consider the Honolulu Marathon.

Maile and I, along with my mother-in-law and her boyfriend, planned a road trip through parts of central and southern California. This would be thus far the longest vacation I’ve ever had away from home, as well as the most extensive; over 5 cities across a span of 2 weeks. I had never been to many of the locations on our itinerary, or hadn’t visited there in over 2 decades.
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I meant to write this on Christmas Day, but I had battled a cold that kept me out of sorts for most of the week leading up to the holiday. That’s the one thing being sick does to you; it makes you miss out on all the festivities. I had to forgo attendance at many Christmas dinner parties and content myself with cold leftovers and hot tea.

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Today I thought I had made up a new word. The word I had in mind was “snorke,” which is a smash-up of “snort” and “choke.” The reason I came up with this word is because someone’s blog post made me choke on my own spit with laughter. So I figured, what better way to describe the near passing-out from obstructed humor than with the birth of a new word?

It’s onomatopeic! It sounds like “snorkel” and immediately makes me think of the cartoon series. As someone else also indicated, it sounds like it’s one flipper short of a
full set, and that perfectly describes the feeling of laughing with fluid in the lungs.

And it’s easy to do all kinds of English grammar-fication with it!
“I snorked.”
“Bob’s snorke made me call 911 before I realized he was watching Magnum PI.”
Probably the best thing I have ever come up with in my history of coming up with stuff…

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What better way to celebrate freedom than by doing all the “meh” you wanted me to do? It’s what any true patriot should hope for. Today that “meh” includes updates on my activities since the last time I spoiled your evening with my shenanigans.

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… until we figure out what to call him.

New puppy!

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Maile made a cake!

This cake is not a lie... technically!

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I participated in “Bartertown” at Other Realms yesterday. I had a bunch of Games Workshop miniatures that I needed to get rid of, plus some random bits and pieces from other manufacturers. These were all complete models, parts and accessories that I knew I would never get around to, so why not see if I could recoup my losses or get stuff I needed?

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Friday (29 May) was the last full day of Las Vegas vacationing for us. Naturally, when accompanied by people who are not as interested in gambling, the only other activities available after the sightseeing road trips are exhibits and shopping.

We met up with The James as a chance to catch up on old times, and he didn’t seem to mind tagging along. It had been over a year since I last saw him, so it was nice to get together.

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