Running and Life

Child Not Abducted---Film at 11

2012-02-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

A story about a 7-year-old girl in Georgia named Brittney was on the Free Range Kids (FRK) site. Here is the link: http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/a-walmart-abduction-attempt-and-what-the-video-means/ Brittney was with her mother at Wal-Mart. While her mother was a few aisles over, Brittney was in the toy section by herself. A man came up to her and tried to carry her off. Brittney kicked, screamed, and ended up running away from her would-be abductor. The kidnapping attempt was captured on security cameras and the man was arrested within the hour.

My initial reaction to reading the post on FRK was that someone did a great job teaching Brittney what to do if someone tried to grab her or ask her to go away with him. Brittney's mother felt that her daughter was capable of being by herself in the toy aisle. Young Brittney was obviously well-prepared for what to do in the very rare situation of a stranger trying to abduct her and she did a beautiful job executing what she was taught. No harm came to Brittney because she did all the right things.

I have read many comments on various sites about this situation. Most people said that Brittney's mother was negligent for leaving her alone in the toy aisle. They use this incident as a lesson in why a mother should never take her eyes off of her child for even one second. Their logic is that there are predators and abductors lurking everywhere. One of them can snatch your child in the blink of an eye. Just look at what happened to Brittney, whose mother was not glued to her side.

By the way, abductions by a stranger are very rare. Most children who are kidnapped are taken by people that the child knows. Only about 100 kids a year are abducted by strangers in the States. These abductions are considered newsworthy because they're so rare. I'm sure that there are many other kids who thwarted kidnapping attempts by screaming or running away. But they happened out of view of security cameras, so they weren't reported on the evening news.

Other people have commented that this incident is a good reason why parents should never let their kids talk to strangers. "Stranger danger" is taught to kids without teaching the difference between a good stranger and a bad one. Young children may easily get the impression that a "stranger" is a man who looks and talks like Snideley Whiplash. But a stranger is really anyone that a child doesn't know. Instead of a blanket, "Don't talk to strangers," kids should be taught that they can talk to a stranger like a salesperson at a store, a policeman, or a cashier at the movies. But they should learn never to go off with someone that they don't know personally. Again, Brittney incorporated the lesson of not going off with a stranger. She made a big fuss and ran away.

Instead of vilifying Brittney's mother as a negligent parent, we should be praising her for teaching her child what to do if someone tried to grab her. Brittney's mother knew her daughter would not be "vulnerable" if she was a few aisles away in the store. She decided not to hover her daughter. Instead, she gave Brittney the skills to be on her own in a store or other public place.

I have a feeling that stores will soon start passing age restrictions for kids being unattended because of this incident (Brittney's Law of course). Instead of letting parents be the judge of when a child can be a few aisles away in a store, there will be legislation requiring kids under 13, 15, or 18 to be with an adult at all times in a store. This will only serve to infantilize kids and render them even more unprepared to handle life when it's time to leave home.

Rejected!

2012-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

To those who read my old Yahoo 360 blog, this is very similar to a post that I wrote on Yahoo 360 about being a "fitness program reject."

It's that time of year again. I'm not referring to it being ski season or time to bring out the ice spikes. Every February the Healthy Lifestyle Challenge takes place on base. But, alas, I won't be participating in it. The reason I'll be on the sidelines while others on base are collecting points and accolades for their participation in the program is because I'm a fitness program reject. Why am I a fitness program reject? I'm too fit.

The Healthy Lifestyle Challenge was not the first fitness program that turned me down. The US government has a civilian fitness program for its employees. If you're accepted into it, you can take off from work one hour early three days a week. At the time I applied to participate in the Hohenfels civilian fitness program (1997-98 time frame), one of my major goals was to run a 10K race in under 50 minutes. I had come tantalizingly close several times, but never seemed to be able to crack the 50-minute barrier. I finally did it in 2004, but that's another story. I heard about the civilian fitness program at the gym, got an application, and filled it out. There were several goals listed on the application: lose weight, quit smoking, quit drinking alcohol, lower blood pressure, improve aerobic fitness, improve diet, and other. I checked the "other" block, wrote, "Improve my 10K and marathon times," and gave it to my supervisor to sign. My supervisor signed it because he knew that I could get my work done even if I took off three hours a week to train. But his supervisor rejected my application and said that improving my 10K and marathon times was not printed on the form. Therefore, they were not valid reasons for participating in the program. He also said that this program is a short-term program for people who are unfit to get them started on what will hopefully become a permanent fitness routine. Being a long distance runner made me too fit for the program. If I was an obese alcoholic with high blood pressure who smoked, then I would have been readily accepted.

When I got the rejection from my supervisor's boss, I tried the "glory through sports" angle. Hey, it worked for the Soviet Union and the former East Bloc countries. It's a real unit pride thing in the military, and among civilian organizations working for the military, to do well in on-base and inter-base sporting events. Softball and volleyball tournaments as well as running races are great ways for units to get accolades. I told the big boss that improving my race times and placing high in on-base and local races would bring glory, or at least good publicity, to our division. But he didn't budge from his position. If it wasn't printed on the form, it was a no-go. He knew that I didn't smoke, didn't drink much, and didn't need to lose weight. My blood pressure was good, as was my aerobic fitness. I could have checked the block about improving my diet. But ice cream and chocolate really should be their own food groups. Fitness Program Rejection Number One.

During my first winter in Garmisch, I saw fliers at the gym for the Healthy Lifestyle Challenge. It sounded interesting, so I thought that I'd try to do it. When I talked to one of the gym employees about it, he told me, "You're not the kind of person we want for this program. You're too fit." He explained that the program, like the year-round civilian fitness program, was designed to help the unfit learn more about exercise and diet and to (hopefully) permanently incorporate what they learned. Fitness Program Rejection Number Two.

I think it's great that the government is encouraging unfit people to get into the gym and take those first steps toward a healthier lifestyle. But I think that those who are already fit should also be encouraged to participate in its programs. Even those of us who are physically fit still have goals like being able to lift more weight, becoming more flexible, or running faster. It would be nice if the existing fitness programs had goals that accomodate both fit and unfit people. But until that day comes, I will live with the honor of being a two-time fitness program reject.

Murphy's Law and Other Random Thoughts

2012-01-20T12:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some random things that I've been thinking about lately:

Murphy's Law of Rainy Day Workouts: You decide to do an indoor workout at the gym because it's raining hard. You change into workout clothes, stretch, then start working out. Within a few minutes of starting your workout, it stops raining.

Murphy's Law of Winter Running: Any day you decide to wear the shoes with the ice spikes the trails are clear. But just when you think the trails really are clear, and you wear the shoes without the spikes, they're covered in ice and hard-packed snow.

The View: I was wrong that The View is a show just for women. When I was at the gym a week ago Friday, there was a man on one of the machines next to me. He asked me if I was watching the TV in front of me, which was on a college basketball game. I told him that he could change the channel if he wished. He changed the program from college basketball to The View. Maybe his wife or girlfriend told him to get in touch with his feminine side. I can't think of any other reason why a man would voluntarily watch The View.

Weird Parents: My son tells me that I'm weird. I tell him that all kids his age (13 in March) think that their parents are weird. No matter what I do, I'll be weird in his eyes. I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing and one day he'll realize that I'm perfectly sane.

Bad Music: What was it about the '70s that made it the decade of bottom of the barrel music? Rick Dees' "Disco Duck, " The Captain and Tennille's "Muskrat Love," and Paul Anka's "Having My Baby" have to be among the very worst songs ever written. All three are from the '70s. What compelled these people to write songs that are comical because they're so bad? The video for "Disco Duck" is especially funny. Here are videos of those songs. If you can make it all the way through them, you're a stronger person than me.
Disco Duck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irgJPqkuakM
Muskrat Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKw8j7GLSdw
Having My Baby: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja4iuus8X4o
Even the Germans had bad songs in the '70s. A real classic is Dschingis Khan, by the group of the same name. It was Germany's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979. The group formed about 2 months before the Eurovision Song Contest. The song was was about Ghengis Khan's military, sexual, and drinking prowess. It placed 4th in Eurovision out of 19 entries. Yikes! -Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOsoNuKCEJY

Barry Manilow was a Man Ahead of His Time: While I was taking that trip to the Copacabana....OK, I was on YouTube and watched the video of Barry singing about what happened at the Copa. This particular concert was from 1981. Watch the people in the background starting at around 2:06. Pay attention to their arm movements. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU8TAkl7Tbg Now watch this clip from the German movie Traumschiff Surprise, which was made in 2004. Notice what the men are doing with their arms at 8-9 seconds into the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhaXQ3UaDo Barry was not only 20 years ahead of his time, he was an international trendsetter.

Memory is Always Better: For the past month or so my son has been craving chicken nuggets from McDonald's. The last time I took him there was about 4 years ago. Imagine his excitement last weekend when he and two of his friends made plans to see a movie and have dinner at McDonald's afterward. When he came home, he said that he had chicken nuggets and fries for dinner. But he said that the chicken nuggets weren't as good as he remembered. I have the same experience when I go back to California and have Mexican food. I have memories of great Mexican food. But it never seems to be as good as the food in my memory.

Happy iBirthday!

2012-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

My silver iPod Nano will be 5 years old this month. I don't remember the exact date that I got it. My husband bought it for me when he was in San Diego for his father's angioplasty in January 2007. It was a very nice surprise gift. An even bigger surprise is how long it has lasted. It must be because it has a flash drive inside instead of a hard drive. My husband, who's a software engineer, seemed to trust flash drives more than hard drives. At least he did when he bought my iPod. Before I got the iPod, I had an old Rio MP3 player that held a whopping 120 megabytes of music. I still have that MP3 player, which still works.

Even though my Nano was probably obsolete within a week of getting it, I love it. A couple of years ago one of my friends teased me about having such an old iPod (it was 2.5 years old at the time). It is still going strong after all this time, which is amazing for an electronic device with built-in obsolescence. The battery shows no signs of wearing out after five years. Between listening to music while running, working out in the gym, and skiing, plus listening to Russian language podcasts at work, it gets used just about every day.

My Nano has been my faithful workout companion on two continents and four countries. It has been to the USA, Germany, Austria, and Italy. My little iPod is also very hardy because it has been subjected to extreme temperatures. It has been with me while skiing when it was -15 C (4 F) and in the California desert when it was 40 C (104 F). It has been in all kinds of weather conditions from bright sunshine, rain, snow, sleet, and fog. Just last Friday it came with me while I ran in a snowstorm, tucked safely away in my fleece overshirt pocket. When the weather is wet, I put it into a Ziploc bag to keep it dry. The Nano has been to the top of Germany's highest mountain and at sea level in San Diego.

What I really like about my ancient Nano is its size. It fits nicely in one of the side pouches on my water bottle carrier. The drink carrier is also a relic, but that's another story. It also fits perfectly in the inside pocket of my ski jacket, running jacket, and fleece overshirts. The new Nanos hold 8 and 16 gigabytes and can do more things than mine. Mine "only" holds 2 gigabytes of information. The new Nano models look like they're the same size as my husband's Shuffle, which is a little too small for my taste. They also have a touch screen instead of a click wheel. I like being able to navigate with the click wheel instead of touching the little screen to get to my music playlists or podcasts. The only feature that I don't like about my iPod is that the screen is small and I need reading glasses to see it clearly. But I can live with that. I don't need to see the screen while I'm running or skiing.

I'm sure that my Nano won't last another 5 years. But if it somehow does, it will be considered a classic instead of a relic. I intend for the Nano to be my workout partner until the day it dies. When I replace my iPod with whatever the latest model will be, I hope that it will last as long as my little Nano.

Slip and Slide

2011-12-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

Those of us over 40 probably remember the Wham-O Slip and Slide. It was a plastic sheet that you hooked up to your garden hose. There were little water jets inside it that wet the plastic surface. Once it got thoroughly wet, you could slide down the length of it. I never had one as a kid, but I remember watching the commercials and wanting one. I used to think that I was a deprived child because I never had a Slip and Slide. Here is a vintage Slip and Slide commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9PCkURKtHY

The Slip and Slide is probably banned now because it's probably considered a safety hazard. I'm sure that back in the day someone got hurt using it and that was the end. Or there could be a new version that's not nearly as fun as the original with a thickly padded bottom and sides to prevent any injuries. The new version probably has a built-in water heater to prevent the little darlings from getting chilled from the cold hose water.

On my run yesterday I felt like I was on a Slip and Slide. We had some rain and snow recently coupled with below freezing nights and above freezing days. All of the rain and melted snow has turned to ice on the multi-use trail that I like running on. The thicker ice is actually easier to run on than the thin black ice (at least it's easier to see), but it's all slippery nonetheless. There isn't enough ice to warrant using my spikes. I'm actually a bit leery about using the spikes this year after my experience with them last year. Every time I used them last year, I got calf cramps that were bad enough to force me to stop running. For now I shorten my stride, slow my pace, and try not to slide too much. So far I've done a good job staying on my feet.

I may not have had a Wham-O Slip and Slide when I was a kid. But I'm losing that sense of childhood deprivation because I'm doing plenty of slipping and sliding on the icy trails.

Happy 20th Anniversary (one day late)

2011-12-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of my first half-marathon. Somehow I got it in my head that I ran it on 9 December 1991. But I dug out my shirt from that race and it said 8 December.

I remember that race, and the preparation leading up to it, like it was yesterday. I had run my first 10K race in June 1991 and my second two months later. Just before the first 10K race, I had started running with the San Diego Marathon Clinic (SDMC). Through SDMC, which met on Sunday mornings, I met a lot of runners who were experienced at running half-marathons and marathons. They gave me the motivation to go for a half-marathon. After finishing my second 10K, I got an application for the San Diego Half-Marathon, which was the companion race to the San Diego Marathon. I filled out the application and sent in my entry fee. Remember, this was in the days before online registration. From reading books on running, I figured that four months was plenty of time to go from the 10K to half-marathon level. My longest runs up to that point were about 8 miles (13 km), so it was a matter of adding those extra 5 miles/8 km.

Through the SDMC I met Bill, who became a friend, running partner, and coach/mentor. He had run a lot of marathons and just about all of the local races. Bill loved helping new runners train for races. I learned almost everything that I know about long distance running from Bill on those Sunday mornings. When I told Bill that I wanted to train for the SD Half-Marathon, we started running together starting with 8-milers. When I was ready to move up to doing 10-milers (about 16 km), I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to do it. But, thanks to Bill, I made it. After my first 10-miler, he told me, "I thought you said you couldn't run 10 miles." During the last 100-200 meters of our long training runs, Bill had me practice what he called the half-marathon finish. We would go into a full sprint, with him saying, "Are you going to let an old man beat you?" (He was 12 years older than me.) To this day, when I do my final sprint at the end of a long run, Bill's voice is in my head asking if I'm going to let an old man win. Bill and I did my first 12-miler (just under 20 km) together. He had an injury, so we walked a lot of it. I started having doubts about being able to do a half-marathon because of the walking breaks. But the next week Bill led a small group of women on a 12-miler. Most of us in the group were training for our first half-marathon and we got a lot of good advice. I felt like Bill was picking on me with a lot of, "Stop looking at your watch," "You think too much. Stop thinking and just run," "Relax your shoulders, you're breaking form," and "Bring your hands down." Bill didn't give any of the other women corrections. After 12 miles of being singled out for everything under the sun, I asked Bill why he was picking on me and not on the others in our little group. He told me that I was the most talented runner of the bunch and wanted to bring out my best.

Race day dawned cold and overcast. In other words, it was an ideal day for a long race. The race itself couldn't have gone any better. One of the SDMC women who ran with me during the second 12-miler was with me at the start. She took off and started to leave me in the dust. I told her, "Remember what Bill said about starting slowly." She told me that she felt so good and wanted to go out quickly. I ended up passing her at around the halfway point. I made it a point to start slowly for the first two miles (about 3 km) and picked up speed at each mile split. I had a time goal of 2 hours and as I kept going, I knew that I would easily meet it. When I hit the 8-mile marker, I told myself that I needed to imagine myself starting to run around Miramar Lake, which is exactly a 5-mile route, and then I would be finished. Somewhere between the 10 and 11-mile marks, I saw Bill. He was running the full marathon and was running on the opposite side of the road toward me. I told him that I was doing great and gave a thumbs-up. When I saw him the following Sunday at SDMC, he confessed that he was struggling with running the marathon and was tempted to jump in and run to the finish line with me. But he thought that it was better for me to have my "moment of glory" on my own. At the last water point, somewhere between 11 and 12 miles, a woman came up to me and started complaining about the course (too hilly) and the weather (too cold and damp). She said that she would never run this race again. I told her that this was my first half-marathon and I was enjoying every minute of it. Even though I wasn't planning to get a drink at that point, I pulled out at the water table and got a cup of water just to get away from her. I wasn't going to let someone's whining ruin my fantastic experience. The finish was a slight downhill. I got my finisher's medal and felt like I just won an Olympic medal. My time was 1 hour, 50 minutes, and 37 seconds. Needless to say, I was on Cloud Nine driving home.

My first half-marathon medal had a place of honor in a frame on the mantle in our house in San Diego. When I moved to Germany, it came with me.To paraphrase the triathlete Mark Allen, that medal didn't just symbolize that I finished a long race. It's really a symbol of the training and effort that I put in to earn it. Even though I'm now a veteran of 15 half-marathons, my first one will always be special.

German vs American Runners

2011-11-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

Now that I've been running on the roads and trails in both Parsberg/Lupburg and Garmisch for almost 20 years, it's easy for me to look at a fellow runner and pick out whether he or she is German or American. It has nothing to do with running style. Germans and Americans are both fast or slow, look smooth or choppy, and do long or short runs. Like American runners, German runners come in all shapes and sizes. The main difference between German and American runners is their clothing.

The easiest way to differentiate between American and German runners is their socks. One look at a runner's socks, and you know right away if he or she is German or American. We American runners like white, or off-white, socks. My mother used to tell me that you're supposed to wear white socks when doing any sort of athletic endeavor. Wearing colored socks would lead to stinky feet, stained feet from the socks' dye mixing with sweat, foot fungus, or even gangrene. Geman runners obviously have different mothers because 99% of them wear dark (usually black) socks. Maybe the cold German climate prevents the growth of foot fungus, or black German socks are made with special fibers that prevent odor or gangrene. Hmmmm....if that's true, maybe I should start running in dark socks instead of my off-white Thor-Los.

When the weather starts cooling off, Americans and Germans differ in which part of the body gets more coverage. Americans will wear shorts with a long-sleeved shirt. Germans wear short sleeves and long tights or running pants. When I was a new runner, I was told that it was more important to keep the upper body warm. Germans must be told to keep their legs warm and not worry so much about their upper bodies. I've run in shorts and long sleeves for so long, I don't know if I would feel comfortable with long pants and short sleeves.

Another way to figure out if a runner is American or German is to see if his or her clothing matches. Many experienced American runners just don't care if their shorts and tops match. They go out in whichever shorts and shirts are at the top of the stack in the closet. One of the criteria for being a real runner is that it doesn't matter if your clothing matches. I've been known to wear such combinations as purple shorts with an orange shirt. German runners seem to be more fashion-conscious. Tops and bottoms always match. German runners in Parsberg were partial to long running pants and matching jackets, even when it was fairly warm. Here in Garmisch runners wear shorts, capris, or tights with shirts that have the same color scheme. Even their shoes have the same colors as the rest of their clothing. German running clothing is expensive compared to its American counterpart. Maybe a German runner feels that if he's spending a lot of money for his clothing, he wants to look good on the trail.

One of the games that I like to play with myself while out running is guessing the nationality of the other runners that I see. This mental game would be a lot more challenging if only the Germans would start wearing white socks. Until that time comes, it will be easy picking out the Americans and Germans on the trail.

Cool Runnings

2011-10-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

This past week my running has been great. I think the main factor is the weather. When I get out in the mornings, it's nice and cool. In fact, I've had to bring out the winter running gear! The mercury has been at or around the freezing mark in the mornings. There's something about running in the cold that's invigorating. One of my oldest friends would tell me that I'm a masochist for running in the cold. But as the title of a Chris Rea song goes, "I don't know what it is, but I love it."

I remember my first "cold weather" run back in 1990. My husband was working in England and I joined him. On one of my first days there I set out for a run. Being from San Diego at the time, England felt so cold and damp! In San Diego I would wear tights and long sleeves when it was between 10 and 15 C (50 to 59 F), just like all of the others in my running group. That January morning in England it was about 6 C (43 F) and I piled on the layers. I had (from the bottom up): tights (with stirrups no less!) with sweatpants over them, a t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, sweatshirt, lightweight jacket, gloves, and a hat. Partway through my run I stripped off most of the layers and ended up carrying a lot of clothing back to the guesthouse where I was staying. I quickly learned that "less is more" when it comes to cold-weather running. A couple of good high-tech layers are much better than lots of layers of cotton in cold weather.

Now when the mercury starts to drop toward the freezing mark, I wear tights, a long-sleeved technical shirt, and a fleece overshirt. I only wear my jacket when it's below freezing. I'll start off with lightweight glove liners, but will usually end up taking them off. The same with a hat. When it gets to about -10 C (14 F) I'll wear Gore-Tex pants over lighter weight tights and bring out the fleece gloves. I feel a bit like a female version of the Michelin Man when I run on cold fall and winter mornings.

Another reason why I'm running so well now is that my hamstring issues are gone. Once in a while I'll feel something in the butt crease/top of the hamstring. But for the most part I have been running pain-free, even with increased speed. It feels so good to be injury-free! I have had the hamstring problems for over a year and it feels great to be rid of them, or at least 98% rid of them.

Since I got back from the States in September I have also been getting back to my Pilates and weight lifting routines to strengthen my core and arms. OK, I'm not really lifting weights; I'm using resistance bands. But the effect is the same as weight lifting. I can tell that I'm getting stronger because I can do more of the Pilates exercises, arm exercises, and push-ups than I did before. After every run I massage my legs with my Stick, which helps them to recover faster. We older runners need all of the tricks we can find for faster recovery!

Once winter sets in with the ice and snow, I'll have to slow down in order to keep from breaking something. But until then, I'll enjoy the fall mornings and speedy "cool runnings."

Halloween Safety (or Paranoia)

2011-10-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I received a couple of flyers in my work e-mail about Halloween safety. Every year about this time the Safety Office puts out information about trick-or-treating on base. This year we got two flyers: one from the Safety Office and the other from the Teen Center. The Safety Office flyer was a Word document with information about trick-or-treating hours and standard safety tips. The Teen Center flyer was a cute Power Point presentation with safety tips mixed in with cartoon ghosts, witches, and goblins.

Most of the information in both flyers was common sense. For example, it says that kids should be visible and carry a flashlight or glow stick and they should wear costumes that fit properly. Cars aren't allowed in the on-base housing area during trick-or-treat hours. However, if kids wearing dark costumes wander to other areas on the base, it's a good thing for drivers to be able to see them. It also takes a lot of the fun out of trick-or-treating when you're constantly tripping over your costume.

However, there were a few things in the flyers that I found a bit odd. Maybe I've been spending too much time on the Free Range Kids blog (http://www.freerangekids.wordpress.com/), but these particular tips seemed to play into American parents' fears of kidnappers and possible dangers. The first one was to have parents inspect the candy and other "loot" when the kids get home. My son does this anyway to separate the "good" candy from the "lame." I watch him, mainly to see if there is a lot of chocolate candy. It works out well because he's a Gummi Bear man and I like chocolate. The premise behind this is all of the media stories about strangers poisoning Halloween candy and then giving it out. Every year there seem to be stories about apples with razor blades or poisoned candy. I remember them from my childhood. To further feed this fear, Stateside hospitals will x-ray Halloween candy for free to reasssure anxious parents. According to Snopes, there have been very few cases where kids were poisoned on Halloween. Those cases were not random poisonings by strangers, but premeditated acts by someone the children knew. http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/halloween.asp. Yet the fear persists that every other person that a child visits on Halloween night will put poison, razor blades, or needles in the candy.

One of the items on the flyer from the Safety Office said that kids shouldn't carry sharp objects like knives, swords, or brooms while trick-or-treating. Brooms??? I can see why a six-year-old knight shouldn't carry a real sword and understand why it's best that a young Ninja warrior leaves Mom's French chef knife at home. But when did a broom get designated a "sharp object?" Most girls who dress up as witches would "ride" their brooms, but I can see boys engaging in horseplay and doing swordfights with brooms or pretending that they're machine guns. They may even whack a friend with either the handle or bristles. But come to think of it, I just can't imagine why a boy would want to carry a broom on Halloween. I don't know too many boys who want to dress up as janitors or members of the Norwegian curling team. While I have heard of many deaths by swords or knives (I've read enough medieval history in my time), I haven't read anything about real deaths by brooms. There are urban legends about teenage girls who supposedly died while masturbating with a broom handle, but they are just that. http://www.snopes.com/college/risque/broom.asp.

As I mentioned before, the Power Point presentation was very cute. But there was one slide that played to the US obsession and paranoia about children being kidnapped by strangers. That slide said that kids shouldn't trick or treat alone. Young kids should be accompanied by an adult and older kids should go with at least one buddy. To me, that's plain common sense because there is safety in numbers. There was a little box that appeared on that slide which said that kids who are in a group have a reduced risk of being kidnapped. It was implied that any child out alone would be kidnapped. Believe it or not, there are not predators and kidnappers on every corner and hiding in every bush. Halloween would be one of the worst times to snatch a child because there are so many people around. It's one of the few times (at least in the States) that there are a lot of people out on the streets. Out of all of the child abductions in the States, an extremely small percentage are committed by strangers. The rest are committed by someone who the child knows and trusts.

Even if I wanted to snatch a child on Halloween, it would be an extremely difficult endeavor. First of all, the on-base housing area, where all of the trick or treating takes place (it hasn't spread to the local German community yet), is self-contained and very small. All of the residents know each other. They also know many families who live off-base. The kids also know each other plus the American kids who live off-base. If I were to make off with a kid, first of all, someone would stop me and ask what I'm doing with Major Smith's son. On Halloween night, there are a lot of people in the housing area walking about, giving out candy from their cars, or hanging around talking with other adults. Local Germans are also invited to come on base to trick or treat. In other words, there are a lot of potential witnesses. If I were planning to commit a crime I certainly don't want witnesses. Then there's the matter of exiting the housing area with a screaming, kicking child. The military police are at the housing area entrance/exit to give the kids glow sticks and candy, prevent people from driving into the housing area (it's closed to cars during trick or treat hours), and ensure that everything is orderly. The MPs would certainly notice something amiss if I were to try and leave the housing area with a kid who's making a big fuss. Even if a child was trick or treating alone in the on-base housing area, he stands a higher chance of being abducted by space aliens than by a flesh and blood stranger.

I'm all for kids having a safe and fun Halloween experience. Like in previous years, either my husband or me will drive my son and some of his friends to the base. While the boys score as many treats as they can, whoever brings the kids will talk with the other adults and maybe have a cup of Gluehwein (hot spiced red wine). When we get home, we'll check out the number of Gummi Bear packets and chocolates. But we definitely won't be paranoid about poisoned candy, broom-related deaths, or kidnappers.

A Little Running

2011-09-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I actually wrote something about running. I've been focusing more on the "and life" side of things. The main reason is there hasn't been anything remarkable about my running lately.

After three weeks in the States, where I only ran three times and did the elliptical trainer twice, I put on some weight. Much as I would have liked to, I couldn't blame it on drying my pants in the dryer instead of on a clothesline or female hormonal cycles. When I went back to work a couple of weeks ago, my work uniform was tight. Since the uniform company does the laundering, I couldn't be in denial any longer. Nope, it was from eating too much good (and not so good for you) food and a decreased activity level.

My running was already at a fairly low level due to hamstring problems that I've had for the past year. After my half-marathon last October, I should have taken some time off to rest it. But I didn't. I trained through it for my half-marathon last June, then decided to really take it easy. I had a 10K race in mind in Wolfratshausen (about halfway between Garmisch and Munich) in October, but realized after coming back from the States that it wasn't realistic to do it. Now I'm taking things easier and really enjoying my runs instead of viewing them as training for my next race.

The one good thing about my long break is that it allowed my hamstring problems to improve. While the muscles haven't healed 100%, they are much better than they were before my trip. It used to be that I would feel soreness in the butt crease on my right side that would radiate down my hamstring. I would run through it because I was so used to it. Now I just feel a slight soreness in the butt crease that gets better each time I run. There is no more soreness radiating down my leg. I've been keeping my runs in the 5-6 km range, though I'm starting to increase my longer runs to about 7 or 8 km.

I can tell that I'm losing the weight that I gained in the States. My clothing isn't so tight anymore. I'm also getting my speed back. When I first came back, I was very slow and sluggish. Part of that was because of warm weather, but it was also due to carrying a couple of extra kilograms. With the cooler weather and losing my "States weight," I'm feeling faster again. I still wouldn't call myself a speed demon by any stretch of the imagination. But I'm quickly getting back to where I was.

There are several choices of races to do next year. If I'm feeling 100% healthy with no muscle issues, I may try for the Munich Marathon in October 2012. If I don't do the marathon, I can do my usual City Run half-marathon in June, the half-marathon that accompanies the marathon in October, the Wolfratshausen 10K, or the Eibsee Run in October. I could also do a combination of any of those races. I'll see how I'm doing after ski season.

Josef Stalin and Parenting

2011-09-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

The following is a continuation of a comment that I made on the Free Range Kids blog yesterday. Here is the link to the original post on FRK: http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/why-it-feels-like-kids-are-being-kidnapped-all-the-time/. My comment is toward the end under the name "gap.runner." It's the second comment that I made to that post.

What does Josef Stalin have to do with parenting? At first glance, it would seem that the two are opposites. Josef Stalin was an evil dictator who was responsible for the death of about 20 million of his fellow Soviet citizens. It doesn't get more evil than saying, "One death is a tragedy, one million a statistic" in reference to the number of people who died during Stalin's reign in Soviet prison camps and of starvation in the Ukraine during forced collectivization. Parents are generally viewed as nurturing people who want the best for their children (though their children can sometimes view them as dictators), which is the opposite of how Stalin was.

A couple of days ago Lenore Skenazy, the author of the Free Range Kids (FRK) site, posted a story about the perception that people in the States have that children are constantly being abducted by strangers. In fact, very few kids are kidnapped and murdered by strangers (see the link above). The vast majority of abducted kids are taken by parents in custody disputes or by others that the child knows. Even though stranger abduction is very rare, it gets a lot of airplay in the media because it's such a rare event. These news stories also play to every parent's worst fear and make them afraid to let their children do things that they did as kids, such as walk or cycle to school alone.

There is a climate of fear in the States with parenting that would make Comrade Stalin very proud. Sometimes I think that the media has taken a page out of Stalin's playbook to reinforce the fears that parents have. Very rare events like stranger abduction, choking on button batteries, poisoned Halloween candy, and pedophiles in public bathrooms are played up in the news media. Mundane events, such as kids walking to school or taking a bus in town by themselves and arriving at their destinations safe and sound, are not broadcast at all. The perception is that the world is a dangerous place and children should never be without a parent in sight. I think if Comrade Stalin were alive today, the current media would expand on his quote that I cited above. It would go something like this, "One abducted child’s death is a tragedy that needs to be exploited for all it’s worth in order to instill fear and reinforce helicopter parenting; one million children walking, cycling, or taking public transportation by themselves without any incidents is a statistic that must be ignored or downplayed because it goes against the prevailing societal norms.”

Just as Soviets in Stalin's time feared a midnight knock on the door from the KGB, parents now live in fear whether they are helicopter parents or more free-range. Helicopter parents see pedophiles and kidnappers on every street corner and behind every bush. They are afraid to let their kids out of their sight because if they did, their children would be abducted and vanish without a trace in the blink of an eye. These are the parents who accompany their children everywhere and don't even let their children do sleepovers because the host parents could be pedophiles. Parents who are free-range (not negligent, but those who give their kids developmentally-appropriate independence) also have fears. Back in Stalin's time, there was a system of informants who denounced their friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even family members to the authorities. Free-range parents have been turned in to the police or Child Protective Services (CPS) for letting their kids walk to the store alone or leaving them in the car alone for a short time. Several free-rangers who are regulars on the FRK site say that they have either run into busybodies who turned them in to CPS or the police because their kids were unaccompanied by an adult while playing with other kids in their neighborhoods!

When Stalin ran the USSR, those who didn't follow the prevailing social norms were sent off to Siberian or northern Russian prison camps. While free-range parents don't get shipped off to the Soviet gulag, there have been many cases of parents and kids being detained or threatened by the police for innocent activities. For example, Ms. Skenazy wrote about an incident where her son took a commuter train by himself at age 10 to visit a friend and was detained by the police at his destination for riding alone. This was part of a post about a 10-year-old Tennessee girl whose mother was threatened with child neglect for the heinous crime of letting the daughter ride her bike to school alone. Here is the link:
http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/criminally-confident-in-our-kids/

There is another parenting fear: the fear of their child being left behind his peers. This fear starts very early. Toy makers and the media feed into this fear and tell parents that if they don't buy a certain toy, their child is destined to be the night janitor at McDonald's. And parents buy into it. They believe that their child must be fluent in Mandarin, be able to compose a symphony, and be able to read St. Augustine in the original Latin by age 3. If their child is "retarded" and doesn't do all of those things, forget about Harvard or Yale. Parents really need to trust themselves and let their children develop on their own timetables. In many cases, doing something early is not always better. Kids in the States are pushed to read at an early age. Finnish kids start school at age 7 and don't learn their alphabet or how to read until they're in first grade. One would think that the kids in Finland are miles behind the rest of the world. Au contraire. On international reading tests given to kids in industrial nations, Finland is one of the top-ranked countries. The US is way below Finland, despite its emphasis pushing kids to achieve at an early age.

It would be great if the media would devote less airtime to rare, yet sensational events, and spend more time talking about how safe it really is for kids to walk, ride their bikes, or take public transportation by themselves to wherever they're going. We all did those things when we were kids and are still alive. I imagine newscasts that say, "The 972 kids in Springfield who walked or rode their bikes to school today without a parent all made it there and back home again without any incidents," would be very boring. But I believe that parents need to hear more stories like that in order to realize that the world really is a safe place for their kids. Until that day comes, the best pieces of parenting advice are: turn off the TV, let your child develop at his own pace, and lose the fear and trust your instincts and about what is appropriate for your particular children.

East and West

2011-09-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

I've been "off the air" for the past 4 weeks because of having limited Internet access during my trip to the States. Here are some random thoughts about my vacation:

* If I had the choice to live in either Los Angeles or New York City, I would take NYC. The LA freeways and drivers are downright scary. I feel much safer on the subway in NYC. In LA you have to drive everywhere, while in NYC you can walk or take the subway. The trains, especially the expresses, are very fast and efficient. The NYC subway system is very easy to use and goes just about anywhere in the city. My brother is a real subway expert and goes back and forth between the local and express trains. He owns a car, but takes the subway in the city. In my brother's neighborhood, there are stores within walking distance of his apartment, so a car really isn't necessary. The one down side of living in NYC is that the grocery stores are outrageously expensive.

* Because California is built around cars, there are gas stations on almost every corner. Maybe I was in the wrong neighborhoods in NYC, or the gas stations there are camoflauged, but I didn't see any gas stations there. But there have to be gas stations somewhere in NYC because people own cars and the taxi drivers need something to power their vehicles.

* I loved the variety of buildings in NYC. Many of the buildings have little statues or gargoyles on them. I could easily spend a month there doing nothing but photographing the buildings and all of their little details.

* New York City is a walking city. There are so many people out walking. One of the things that I noticed about NYC is that there are very few obese people. Because the majority of people ride the subway (and have to take stairs to get to and from the trains because there aren't any elevators), then have to walk from the subway stop to their final destinations, they are getting a little bit of exercise. In California it seems like there are a lot more obese people and people riding on Rascals. People only walk from their cars to the stores. Even the department and grocery stores provide Rascals for their customers. I only saw one person in NYC riding on a Rascal and he looked like he was about 90 years old. Everyone else was on foot.

* The most over-the-top thing that I saw on my trip was at one of the malls in Los Angeles. An older woman was pushing an umbrella stroller with mosquito netting. The stroller was festooned with little fairy figures. When I looked in the stroller, there was a Chihuahua lying in it. My stepmother, who was with me, asked the other lady if the dog was named Tinker Bell. The lady said that the dog's name was Twinkles. At least that name fit, though it would have been funny if it was named Killer. I've seen little dogs in bike baskets, but never in strollers at the mall.

* The number of Germans who love going to Death Valley in the summer never ceases to amaze me. Even though was 50 C (122 F) in the shade, the Germans that I met in Lone Pine all had to go to Death Valley. There's something about the desert that attracts the Germans. Maybe it's because the desert is very different from Germany, maybe it's because the lowest point in the USA is in Death Valley, or maybe simply because it's warmer than Germany will ever be and Germans are real sun and heat worshipers. Whatever the reason, it's a "must see" on a German's California itinerary. If I were to plan a trip to Death Valley, it would be in the winter, spring, or fall when the weather was bearable.

* Carmine's in NYC is not just a restaurant, it's an experience.

How I Won't Spend My Summer Vacation

2011-08-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

I've been a Facebook member for about 8 months. The part that I've really liked about it is being able to reconnect with old friends and connect with fellow enthusiasts of Romanian gymnastics. But I find a lot of Facebook to be rather silly. For example, several of my friends like to tell the world what they had for dinner. I just don't get that one. My life is not so dull that my only excitement is dinner. Maybe I'm just an old cynic, but I really don't care what other people have for dinner unless it's a super spectacular, one-of-a-kind meal. Others like to give minute-by-minute updates while they're traveling. They have mobile phones with Internet access and take full advantage of it. What happened to reading a book while waiting at the airport?

I leave tomorrow for the USA. Here is what you won't be hearing from me during my trip:

* Reports from the airport. Does somebody really have the need to know how I'm spending every second at the airport? I figure that people will know that I made it to my destination when they don't see any plane crash reports on the news. Is buying a magazine at the book shop, eating a meal, or using the toilet at the airport really that newsworthy?

* Food reports. OK, I'll give in a bit on this one. The usual choices on an overseas flight are (inedible) chicken or pasta, so I'll have one or the other of those. A few years ago my brother flew on Aeroflot, which is obviously an airline that wants to make things easy for the Facebook crowd to report their in-flight meals. Aeroflot offered a meal choice of beef or beef. I'm flying to the States on Lufthansa, which likes to continuously serve food in order to keep the passengers seated and docile. Passengers who are busy stuffing their faces are less likely to bother the flight attendants or "go postal."

* Restaurant reports. My Facebook wall won't be covered with, "I went to (insert the name here) restaurant with (insert all names here)" postings. I eat to live and don't live to eat. Food to me is fuel for my body and not something that is a big production. People in the States love to entertain visitors and friends by going out to dinner. I'd rather spend the time with them talking in their homes or out and about somewhere. A simple barbecue in the backyard is more enticing than going to a restaurant. I like to know what's in my food. Restaurant food is loaded with a lot of hidden fats, sodium, and sugars that I really don't need, especially when I won't be exercising as much as usual.

* Up-to-the-minute photos. Since I'm leaving my laptop at home, and won't be bringing a phone with Internet access (it doesn't work in the States anyway), downloading photos from my camera will have to wait until I'm back home.

* Reports about every place that I went. I may mention when I'm in a new city if I happen to have easy access to a computer. But I won't be posting, "Went to the zoo, then to the beach, then went to Paco's Taco Shop." If I go someplace very special, I'll probably end up writing a full blog entry about it later instead of taking away from the moment and pausing to post it on my Facebook page.

* If I come in late from somewhere, the first thing that I'll do when I get to wherever I'll be sleeping is getting ready for bed. I'll be tired and will have sleep, and not Facebook, on my mind. I won't be coming in and typing, "It's 2 a.m. and I just got home from (insert the place here)." That's another thing that I don't understand about Facebook users. Why not just wait until waking up the next morning to post something on the Facebook wall?

Will I continue to use Facebook? Probably, because I can find out what my friends are doing. As I said before, it has helped me stay in touch with friends. Most people don't use e-mail anymore, they use Facebook. Also, I'll be able to know what my friends had for dinner, where they went, and what time they came home.

Azeri Entertainment at the Gym

2011-08-09T05:20:00.000-07:00

On Sunday it was pouring rain, so I had to run on the treadmill at the gym. When I use the treadmill, I watch one of the TVs while listening to the music on my iPod. Most of the time I watch whatever is on the TV in front of my treadmill. But that TV was showing what I call "lame CNN," or the Stateside version of CNN. I prefer CNN International because it has a more worldwide focus. Stateside CNN is very US-centric and sensationalistic, like any other American newscast.

The TV next to the one with "lame CNN" was on a Ukrainian channel that was showing a news report. When the news ended, a show called, "Catastrophe" came on. "Catastrophe" shows various disasters like plane crashes, train derailments, building collapses, etc. But it seems to focus on how people miraculously survived those particular disasters, at least that's what I got from watching without sound. As I was watching "Catastrophe," a man started using a treadmill to my right and decided to change the channel. I was a little miffed because he didn't ask if he could change the channel. He probably figured that I was watching the TV with CNN, which was directly in front of my treadmill. But I was starting to get into "Catastrophe" and also getting some practice reading Cyrillic characters (I have been slacking off on my Russian studies lately, and I know that Ukrainian is a different language than Russian. But they both use the Cyrillic alphabet.). I couldn't really complain since I was just watching the pictures on the TV and listening to music.

My fellow treadmill user changed the channel to Lider TV, which is a channel from Azerbaijan. For those who don't know where Azerbaijan is, it's located on the west side of the Caspian Sea near Armenia and Georgia. Azerbaijan is a former Soviet republic with the world's nicest people. I think that Azerbaijan means, "Land of the World's Friendliest People" in the Azeri language because the Azeri students I work with are very open and friendly.

The program on Lider TV that the other person on the treadmill wanted to watch was a very bad movie. It was the most low-budget movie that I've seen in a long time. It was sepia-toned, like a silent movie from 100 years ago. There seemed to be one camera angle. It was like the director never advanced beyond old silent movie filming techniques. The main characters in this film were members of a tribe in a jungle. All of the men in the movie had bad wigs with black shoulder-length hair. Their beards and mustaches were obvious fakes. Most of the men in the movie wore what looked like grass skirts, though there were a few who wore leopard print skirts. The few women of the tribe wore leopard print tops with their grass skirts. The chief wore a crown and the other men wore Viking helmets with horns, though several men wore headbands with Viking horns (they must have run out of money to buy helmets for all of the actors). But the best part of all was the tribesmen's teeth. They were supposed to look like fangs but ended up looking just like the plastic novelty teeth that my son gave out as party favors at his 10th birthday party.

There wasn't much action in this movie. The men did a lot of dancing around a fire and talking with each other. Sometimes they danced with spears and sometimes without them. At one point in the movie there was a dragon, which was really two people in a dragon costume. The tribespeople saw the dragon coming and fled as quickly as they could from it. What made that scene so comical was that the people in the dragon costume seemed to be moving out of synch with each other and extremely slowly. The tribe could have casually sauntered away from the dragon and still escaped from it. This movie really held my attention because it was so bad. I'm sure that if I could have heard and understood the dialogue, it would have been just as awful as the costumes. Sometimes it's best to just watch the action and listen to music. When I'm on the treadmill, it seems like I check the timer every 5 seconds because it gets pretty boring running in one place, even with music and silent TV. But I really got caught up in the hokeyness of that movie and actually kept my eyes on it instead of the treadmill timer. Maybe I just need to watch bad, low-budget foreign movies to keep indoor workouts halfway entertaining.

Another thing that I noticed about watching Azeri TV is the number of Western products that were advertised during the commercial breaks. I saw ads for: Nivea lotion, Dreft laundry liquid, Coca-Cola, and Pampers disposable diapers. It seems like as soon as Azerbaijan became independent from the Soviet Union, Western companies started selling their products there.

I'm hoping for some good weather so that I can run outdoors. But if I end up using the treadmill in the gym, I'll have to check out Lider TV's Low Budget Cinema to help pass the time.

Old Science Fiction Movies and Free Range Parenting

2011-07-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

My son has been on a kick of watching science fiction and monster movies from the 1950s. It started a couple of months ago, when he got a small canister of "alien slime" with a Donald Duck comic book. I told him that it reminded me of The Blob. Shortly afterward I got The Blob from the library and we saw it together. His reaction was, "Can you get more movies like that one?" So far we've seen: Godzilla (Gojira), It Came From Outer Space, The Creature From the Black Lagoon and its two sequels, and The Day the Earth Stood Still. I have a two-movie DVD of War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide in my queue. One thing that I have insisted on with these movies is that they are the originals from the 1950s and not more modern remakes.

Yesterday I saw The Day the Earth Stood Still, which was made in 1951. Here's a quick summary from the imdb website: An alien (Klaatu) with his mighty robot (Gort) land their spacecraft on Cold War-era Earth just after the end of World War II. They bring an important message to the planet that Klaatu wishes to tell to representatives of all nations. However, communication turns out to be difficult, so, after learning something about the natives, Klaatu decides on an alternative approach. Written by Bruce Janson

So how does a movie about an alien and his robot coming to Washington, DC relate to free range parenting? There are several scenes which would not slip through the censors now because they would be too "horrific" for helicopter parents. Klaatu assumes human form and rents a room in a local boarding house, where he befriends Helen and her son Bobby. Bobby looks like he's about 9 years old. In one scene Helen and her fiance made plans to go out somewhere for the day, but there is nobody to watch Bobby. They may have to scrap their plans or bring Bobby with them. Klaatu offers to watch Bobby. Helen and her fiance think that's a wonderful idea. They don't have to cancel their plans and Bobby will be taken care of. Klaatu even asks Bobby to help give him a tour of the city. But wait...Helen is trusting her son to a single, childless man who she doesn't really know very well to watch her son. There were no thoughts of Klaatu being a pedophile, predator, pervert, or potential abductor. Can you imagine that scenario happening now?

In another scene, Helen goes out at night and leaves Bobby alone in his room in the boarding house. She tells him to remember to brush his teeth before going to bed. No "good" mother in her right mind today would leave a 9-year-old home alone, especially at night. OK, there are the other boarders in the house. But Bobby is without his mother. Today she would probably be turned in to Child Protective Services for leaving a child unsupervised at home. In a continuation of this scene, Bobby follows Klaatu to his spaceship. So not only was Bobby home alone, he then went out at night on his own to see where Klaatu was going. Nobody noticed Bobby or questioned him about where his parents were. Nobody reported Helen for letting her son go out alone at night.

Toward the end of the movie, Klaatu and Helen are in a taxi, being chased by the police. How did the police find out where Klaatu and Helen were? There were two boys playing outside by the boarding house without any adults in sight. The police asked the boys which way the taxi went. They didn't ask them where their parents were or why they were outside at night without supervision.

But some things still are the same. Instead of the today's climate of fear about pedophiles and child abductions, people in the 1950s were afraid of Communists. Talk of the Red Menace in the 1950s seemed as prevalent as news reports of sex offenders and kidnappers now. In the film there were no Communists, but the flying saucer and "spaceman" (Klaatu) were the objects of fear. People were afraid to go anywhere because of the possibility of running into Klaatu. There was even one scene where people were told to turn on their lights but not go out after dark for fear of being taken into the flying saucer by Klaatu or being destroyed by his robot Gort. There is mass hysteria and fear. A reporter interviews people who are in the park where Klaatu's ship landed. Klaatu is there with Bobby. The people that the reporter interviews all say that they're afraid of the spaceman and what he could do. Bobby thinks that the flying saucer is cool. Then the reporter asks Klaatu if he's afraid of the spaceman like everyone else. His response was one of the best lines in the movie and sums up free range parenting.
Reporter: I suppose you are just as scared as the rest of us. Klaatu: In a different way, perhaps. I am fearful when I see people substituting fear for reason.
After Klaatu's response the reporter quickly moves away because he obviously didn't like what he heard. Klaatu's answer didn't fit into the climate of fear that ran through the population. Today's helicopter parents are like the people in the movie. They believe that pedophiles and kidnappers are everywhere. Even when they are given the facts about the likelihood of their child being abducted by a stranger, they continue to parent through fear. Free range parenting fits into the theme of The Day the Earth Stood Still because a big part of it is about going against the climate of fear through reason. I want my son to grow up without fearing everyone in the world and thinking that harm will come to him every time he steps out the door.

Tonight's movie feature will be The Thing From Another World.

Recovery Mode

2011-07-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

The recovery from my latest half-marathon is going slowly. The ongoing problem with my right hamstring decided to flare up after the race. During the race it didn't bother me at all. But afterward....Ouch! A big part of the problem is that I never really let it heal all the way after my half-marathon last October. Now I'm taking it easy and gradually increasing my kilometers. If I go slowly it doesn't bother me. My plan is to take things easy and really let that muscle recover. While I would usually be getting back to full workouts at this point after a half-marathon, I'm only running for 30 minutes at a fairly slow pace. When I can go 30 minutes and not feel anymore aches in my butt (top of the hamstring) or the back of my thigh, then I'll increase my mileage and pace.

When an injury occurs, that's the body's way of saying to take a break. I've been doing a lot of hard training for the past four years. In that time I've run 5 half-marathons, a full marathon, and other races at shorter distances. Now it's time for a little break. I know that it's temporary and that I'll soon be chomping at the bit to do another long race. But it would be great to be totally pain free. I'll also do some cross-training, like hiking or cycling, in order to stay in shape but let my hamstring rest.

I don't really have any big race plans for the rest of the year. There's a 5K in San Diego that I may do when I'm there next month. I can sign up on race day, so I'll make the decision to run it at the last minute. It will depend if I'm still jet lagged, the weather, and my plans for that day. Another race that I'm thinking about doing is an October 10K in Wolfratshausen, which is about halfway between Garmisch and Munich. It looks fairly flat, which is good because I haven't been training as much in the hills compared to previous years.

Even if I don't do anymore races this year, I'll still run for the joy of it. The important thing is getting my right hamstring back to 100% fitness and being able to run without aches or pains. I plan to be the old lady at races who everyone beats but is still admired for still being able to run. In the grand scheme of things, a short break will help my future performances and get me to the finish line when I'm 95 years old.

Munich City Run IV: Random Thoughts

2011-06-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

One would think that after running the same half-marathon 4 times in the past 5 years, there wouldn't be anything new and different to write about it. But every year is a unique experience.

The Munich City Run always reminds me of a big Halloween party. The shirt which you're required to wear is orange. Each year it changes slightly, but the main color is still orange. Instead of a number, runners wear the shirt. Most Germans like to wear black shorts when they race. I do too. That's one of my race rituals. For those readers who aren't from the States, orange and black are the two main Halloween colors. By the way, this year's shirt had a blue stripe on each side and white sleeves. It's a bit goofy-looking, but it's a good technical shirt.

When I'm in the starting corral, I usually end up being nose-to-armpit with some guy who decided to wait until after the race to take his monthly shower. This year I had the (mis)fortune of standing by a guy who decided to stand facing sideways instead of toward the front. He didn't just stand facing sideways; he also had his feet wide apart. In addition, he was talking with his friends, gesticulating wildly while doing so, and also moving around. Judging by the number of times that he bumped into his neighbors with his hands, elbows, or feet, he was totally oblivious to everyone around him. That guy needed a lesson in racing etiquette. The good thing is that he didn't stink.

The post-race refreshments at the City Run keep getting weaker and weaker. This year there were some bottled drinks (mineral water with different juices, or plain mineral water), apples, and Power Bars. There was also alcohol-free beer. In previous years there were big pretzels and various types of fruit at the finish area. The goodie bag was really weak. I just got my t-shirt, a brochure with information about the race, and 4 pieces of Traubenzucker (candy that's like a Sweet Tart). The good thing was that there were plenty of refreshments in the finish area. I've been to races where the organizers ran out of refreshments because of poor planning. A large quantity of a few things is much better than nothing.

At most races with a finisher's medal, the medals are given to the runners just past the finish line. After I finished, I saw some runners with medals and others without them. I thought that maybe the top finishers got them. Then I happened to look over to my left while walking through the refreshment area and saw a woman handing out medals. It was a strange location for giving out medals and probably left a lot of deserving finishers without one. I have no idea why the medals were being given out so far from the finish line.

When I was on the U-Bahn (subway) after the race, the woman across from me was still wearing her medal and admiring it. She was turning it so that the front part was facing out and kept picking it up and looking at it with a smile on her face. It turned out that this was her first half-marathon. I remember when I ran my first half-marathon and got a finisher's medal. I felt like I had just won an Olympic medal. When I drove home from that race, I proudly wore my medal. It was cool to see that other first-time half-marathoners have the same reaction that I did all those years ago. This woman looked like she was in her 50s or early 60s, which made her accomplishment even greater.

My time of 1:57:44 was good enough for 431st place out of 1386 women and 27th out of 118 in my age group (W 50-54). As my son said, "Mom, you were better than average." I don't know how I did overall because the men's and women's results were listed separately. There were 4152 men who finished the race. It seems like more and more women are doing long races in Germany. The first time I ran the Munich Marathon in 1993, it seemed like a 10:1 ratio of men to women. Even small local races had a much higher number of men than women. Now German women are realizing that, contrary to popular belief, running really isn't bad for them.

I always get disoriented going from the finish line back to the changing tent. It must have something to do with all of my blood being in my legs instead of my brain. The short way back to the tents is blocked off and everyone must follow a certain path through the refreshment area. Everything looks unfamiliar. This year there was also a walled-off construction site that I had to walk around to get to the tent, which made the way back even longer. It felt like I walked another 5 km to find the tents. At least this year I knew where the U-Bahn stop was.

I haven't figured out what my next race will be. I'm looking at a 5K in San Diego the weekend that I'm there and also a 10K in October in Wolfratshausen (between Garmisch and Munich). For now I'm going to have a nice recovery period.

Munich City Run Half-Marathon IV

2011-06-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

This was the 4th time that I ran the Muenchener Stadtlauf (Munich City Run) half-marathon. My time of 1:57:44 was not what I was hoping for, but it was still respectable. In fact, it was a decent time by my standards because of a couple of factors:
1) Injuries that I had earlier this year. I had problems with the calf muscles in both legs over the winter and it took a while for them to heal. Even as recently as three months ago, I didn't think that I would be able to do this race. My training was accelerated because of the injuries.
2) The weather. It seems like the weather always gets warm on City Run day. Today is the start of a warm spell that's supposed to last most of the coming week. In addition, it was very humid. Ever run through Jell-O? That's what running in high humidity is like. I took a few extra walking breaks to drink, which also affected my time.

I set off for Munich at about 5:10 in the morning. My goal was to get there earlier than last year. The sign--in system that was initiated last year was very inefficient with long lines. Last year I felt like I barely had time to do some quick warm-up stretches, use the porta-potty, then get to the start. This year I got the U-Bahn (subway) train at 6:20 instead of at 6:40 (the trains run every 20 minutes on early Sunday mornings). What a difference 20 minutes makes! There were no lines at all when I picked up my shirt. I had lots of time to warm up, use the toilet, and even use my massage stick.

The morning started off rainy. It rained during most of my drive between Garmisch and Munich. It even rained in Munich after I arrived. But it stopped about 30 minutes before race time and the mercury started to rise. I was half hoping that it would rain during part of the race because it would have been refreshing.

Because of the humidity, I felt sluggish the whole time. When running in high humidity, it's hard for the body to cool itself. This leads to sluggishness. I carried a 0.75 liter bottle of diluted Gatorade and drank almost all of it during the race. I could also tell that I was affected by the humidity because my hands started to swell during the last 5-6 km. During the second half of the race, the sun was also starting to come out, which added to my weather woes. I decided to take it easy for those last few km. There was no point in collapsing so close to the finish, dramatic as that may be. In fact, at the 20 km mark, there was an ambulance going by. My thought was, "I may be slow today, but at least I'm not in the back of that ambulance."

The good thing about taking things slower is that none of my problems flared up. I had zero calf muscle problems during the race. My hamstring issues were also non-existent. However, I did get a cramp in the arch of my right foot during my post-run stretching and my left calf started to cramp as I was walking back to the changing tent to get my bag. After a quick stretch both cramps were gone, never to return.

This year was the first year that finishers' medals were given out. It's a generic medal, but I felt like I deserved one this year. It's silver-colored, very shiny, and says, "BMW, SportScheck Stadtlauf 2011" on the front and, "26 Juni 2011 Stadtlauf Muenchen" on the back. No pictures except for a small BMW logo on the front. BMW and the German sporting goods chain SportScheck are the two main sponsors of the City Run series. There's space to have your name and finishing time engraved on the back.

My next post will be some random thoughts about the race.

Why Moms Should Become Runners

2011-06-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Since the 1980s it seems like parenting in the States has become a real competitive sport. Every parent has a super high-achieving child who is destined for an Ivy League university. It's very typical for an American mother to talk about her child this way: "Herkie is in 2nd grade, gets straight As, reads at a 5th grade level and is at an 8th grade level in math. He just finished reading 'War and Peace' and can do some of his older brother's trigonometry problems. Herkie also plays the bassoon, speaks Mandarin, has a black belt in karate, volunteers at the local homeless shelter, and is the youngest kid on his travel Little League team." Whew! One has to wonder when poor Herkie gets some time just to be a kid.

Another aspect of the US competitive parenting culture is judging other parents. We get brownie points for thinking that another parent is bad. A child throws a tantrum in the grocery store because his mother wouldn't let him get a candy bar at the checkout counter. His mother is obviously a Bad Mother; otherwise her child would understand the meaning of the word, "No" and calmly accept not getting the candy. We forget that there may be extenuating circumstances for the kid pitching a fit, like being close to nap time. Instead, we automatically think that the mother can't control her child and we would obviously be better. We also judge other parents as Bad because they do things differently. For example, it's normal in Germany for kids to walk to school starting in first grade. But in the States a parent is judged as being negligent by other parents for letting a 7-year-old walk 100 meters to school on her own. American moms would judge the Germans as negligent parents who risk their children's lives. The German moms would judge the Americans as being too overprotective. Stay-at-home moms judge working moms as being bad, and vice versa.

As I've been out on my morning training runs, I've come to the conclusion that mothers need to become runners. Runners are the most non-judgmental people that I know. When I'm out running, I see people going at different speeds. Some of us are fast while others go at a cool-down jog pace. But everyone out there running is doing his or her best and is simply a fellow runner. We all get to our goal at our own pace and nobody tells us that we're too fast or slow. Some of my former running partners in Parsberg would apologize for being slower than me. But I would tell them that it just didn't matter because we were runners together. We runners also don't judge each other on the types of races that we prefer. Some of us love running marathons, while others of us are happy doing 5 and 10 km races. A runner who does 5K races is just as "real" a runner as a marathoner.

Runners also applaud each other's achievements instead of trying to tear each other down. When a runner finishes a marathon or places overall or in his age group in a race, that achievement is celebrated. We don't play "can you top this" with our running. I remember when a friend of mine from Parsberg finished her first marathon (Munich) in over 5 hours. Her time was about an hour slower than I would run a marathon. But I just couldn't imagine myself telling her that she was slow and that I can run a marathon faster and was therefore a better runner. That would have been horribly rude to judge her solely on her finishing time. Instead, I was so happy and proud for her because we trained together and I helped her to prepare for it. My friend running her first marathon motivated me to train for another marathon after almost a 10 year absence from that distance. Finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment in itself. If you're not an elite-level runner, the finishing time is secondary. I used to say that I got the same finisher's medal as the winner but just didn't get the prize money.

While the Boston Marathon would be the runner's equivalent of going to an Ivy League university, most runners will never qualify to run in it. Does that make their running achievements as any less valuable? Not at all. I'll probably never qualify for the Boston Marathon. But I'm happy with everything that I have accomplished as a runner. Most runners feel the same way.

Like runners, parents are doing the best they can. Maybe moms should be runners to learn that we're all fellow parents who are finding our own way in how we bring up our kids. The finish line for a parent is a child who is independent and equipped to leave the nest. It doesn't matter how quickly or slowly our children cross the proverbial finish line. The important thing is that they do.

I'd Rather Be Uncool

2011-06-18T03:04:00.000-07:00

I'm not a believer in corporal punishment for children. But in the case of the kid in these two commercials for the Toyota Highlander, which were posted on the Free Range kids site, I'd easily make an exception. That kid needs to be slapped and put in his place.
#1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX0BhsFF2uo
#2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIu8nAdxPx4

These commercials are wrong in so many ways. First of all, they assume that a factor in parents being considered "cool" or "lame" by their children is the car that they drive. With preteens and teenagers, it just doesn't matter what cars their parents drive. When kids get to a certain age, their parents are automatically considered "lame." That's called being a teenager. If parents are too cool, then they are being the child's friends instead of his parents. Parents are supposed to be a child's parents and not his best friend.

Toyota also sends the message that kids are smarter than their parents and therefore should be the ones to pick out the family car. I've always hated movies or TV programs with smart-ass kids who save the world because the adults around them are too incompetent. These commercials remind me of those shows. The kid obviously knows what's cool while his dad doesn't. But guess what, boy? Dad may be an incompetent buffoon and the child's slave (in the second ad), but he's the one paying for the car, gas, maintenance, and insurance. When you're old enough to buy a car and keep it filled, maintained, and insured, then you can choose the car. Until then, you just have to suck it up and ride in whatever your parents decided to buy.

Both ads also give the disturbing message that the attractive blond-haired, blue-eyed rich kid is the cool guy in his school. He has to be rich if his parents bought an SUV and can afford the gas for it, right? The girl in the second ad who gets the ride also has blonde hair and blue eyes. The kid in the first ad with the lame parents and car has dark hair and brown eyes. Popularity and coolness should not be a function of money or hair color. My fantasy ending for the second ad was much different. It would be the kids in line seeing another kid with an even cooler car and all running over to line up to ride in it, leaving the Highlander kid all alone. It would serve him right for trying to charge the other kids an admission fee for the "privilege" of riding in his dad's new car.

Another thing that I thought was disturbing in the first ad was the kid in the Highlander wearing headphones and promoting the entertainment system. The kid is sitting in the car watching TV instead of engaging his parents in conversation or doing something to entertain himself. It looks like he's on a short drive on a suburban street instead of on a long highway drive. Does he really need to watch TV while driving through the suburbs? I realize that a lot of American cars now come with entertainment systems. They can be useful for very long road trips. But do the kids really need to be watching TV every minute of the day? Last year I took a trip to Italy. My son entertained himself by reading or playing with his Nintendo. We also had a lot of opportunities to talk about the scenery (Austrian and Italian castles, apple orchards). He was not bored on the 4-hour drive. When I take short drives with my son, I turn off the radio and spend the time talking to him. What a concept!

The last disturbing thing was that the kids all considered it cool to ride in a car instead of a bus. The kids who got rejected for a ride in the Highlander were viewed as "losers" and had to take the bus. It really shows the influence of the car culture in the States. In Germany there's the opposite perception of riding in a car at the secondary school level. The wimps or lazy kids are the ones who are driven to school by their parents in good weather. It is much more cool (and grown-up) to take the train, ride the public bus, ride a bike, or walk to school. Here in Garmisch cool bicycles, and not cars, are considered a status symbol with the kids.

I must admit that my very first thought after viewing those commercials was, "Why would anyone in their right mind want to buy a big gas-guzzling SUV these days?" With gas in the States being about $4 a gallon, and European prices being about twice as high, one would think that a small car with good fuel economy would be a more sensible and "cooler" choice. When I went to Italy last year, my husband filled the tank of our Skoda (by the way, my son had no say in its purchase) before leaving Garmisch. We drove to the southern part of Lake Garda, drove around the Garda area, and came home without having to fill up. I also can't imagine a vehicle like the Highlander in Europe with its narrow roads and parking places that were designed for cars the size of a Smart. Trying to maneuver a Highlander through narrow European streets would challenge the best driver.

I'd rather be uncool with my Skoda and bicycle and save my gas money for other things. Just because I'm a parent doesn't mean I have to be lame and drive an impractical and environmentally-unfriendly vehicle.

Two Hours and Two Weeks

2011-06-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today was my last really long run before the Munich City Run. I ran for two hours. During this run I took short walking breaks every 30 minutes to practice refueling. Only two more weeks to go. It always seems like race day is so far away and then it suddenly it's around the corner.

My run today was super. I started off a little slowly and had a strong finish. The whole time I felt really strong and confident. That's exactly how I'd like the race to go. While I was running I felt my late running partner Bill's presence. He was the one who trained me for my first half-marathon. I still follow his advice because it has worked very well for me over the years. Today was one of those days that I wished was race day. I didn't have any problems with either my calves or right hamstring. Woo-hoo! The only down side was that I got hungry a little over halfway through the run. Normally the combination of Gummi Bears and diluted Gatorade helps to cut the hunger, but it didn't this time. If I get hungry during the race, at least I had practice dealing with that feeling. When I got home I wolfed down a Power Bar.

I really feel like I'm peaking at just the right time. A while back I was slower and felt like my speed wasn't coming back. But it did and at the right time. Just about all of my training runs this past month have been good. There were times during the recent warm spells when I felt sluggish and had "bad" runs. At least I had the bad runs in training and not on race day. I'm really having a good feeling about Munich, especially if race day is anything like today.

Next week's long run will be 90 minutes. After that it will just be 5 km runs during the week to keep the legs loose. I found over the years that a one-week tapering period for a half-marathon works best for me.

The one thing that I'm hoping for in two weeks is cool weather. The race starts at 8 am, so it should start off fairly cool. June in Germany is unpredictable. It could be really hot, or it could be cool and rainy. But for the next two weeks my big wish is that my training continues to go well.

Deutsche Schule (German School) Part 2

2011-06-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Last October I wrote this post about why my son is in German school instead of the American school on base. http://gap-runner.blogspot.com/2010/10/german-school.html The more I think about the decision that I made back in 2005 to enroll my son in Geman school, the happier I am with it. I think that many American helicopter parents would be shocked at what German kids do in their schools. Some of the things that German kids do in school would be a helicopter parent's worst nightmare. Kids here are encouraged to be independent and responsible for themselves at an early age.

When my son was in kindergarten (preschool), I was required to pick him up. If a friend who didn't have children in the kindergarten was picking him up, I had to write a note informing the teacher. If he was going home with a classmate, I just had to tell the teacher. But once kids get into school, the teachers let the kids go on their own. When my son was in first grade, he was planning to go home with a friend in another class. I told the teacher when I dropped him off in the morning. Her response was, "He's in school now. You don't need to tell me." Kids here walk to school and back home on their own starting in first grade. During their last year of kindergarten they learn about traffic safety and practice crossing streets with a policeman and their teachers. In fact, when I was picking my son up from school today, I saw a group of kindergartners with their teachers practicing street crossing.

In second grade my son's class was studying the "food wheel," which is the German equivalent of the US food pyramid. When the teacher talked about different fruits, the class walked to the Friday open market in the town pedestrian zone. When everyone got to the market, the class was split into five groups. Each group had a list of fruit that they were supposed to buy along with money that the parents had provided. The teacher set the groups loose in the market and told them to meet back at a certain place with their fruit. Imagine groups of 7 and 8-year-olds by themselves in an open market with only one teacher. After the kids walked back to class, they cut up their fruit with real knives and made a fruit salad. A week or two later the class talked about vegetables. Again, the kids went in groups to the open market to buy vegetables. When they got back to class that day, they made vegetable soup. I can't imagine this sort of activity in an American school. I'm sure that each group would require at least one parent supervising the kids. The kids probably wouldn't be allowed to handle the money or the sharp knives. The kids practiced real world math skills by subtracting the cost of their fruits and vegetables from the amount of money they started with. They also practiced reading recipes and handling kitchen equipment. In addition, they practiced being responsible by meeting the teacher at a designated time and place.

German kids seem to take more school field trips than Americans. At the beginning and ending of every school year, each class goes on a hike. From third grade on, only teachers accompany the class. As the kids get older, the hikes get longer. If the weather is bad, the kids still go hiking; they just wear their rain gear. Every year my son's classes have gone to the local theater to see a play. In third grade my son's class studied the history of Garmisch. The class went to various sites in town and learned their history. Next month my son's music class will walk to one of the local churches to see the organ. What's interesting about German schools is that parents don't have to sign permission slips for field trips. The teacher sends a notice home about an upcoming trip which explains when and what it is and if the kids need to bring anything (money, snack).

My son's favorite school activity was a 5-day, 4-night trip to the Schullandheim, which is a big farmhouse somewhere between Garmisch and Munich. Fifth graders in all of the area's Gymnasiums go there. The class is accompanied by two teachers and the five 10th graders who are assigned to that class to help the new 5th graders get oriented to the school. The 5th graders sleep six to a room; the teachers and 10th graders have separate sleeping areas. Each group of six has its own bathroom. The groups are responsible for keeping their rooms and the bathrooms clean. In the morning there were planned activities: different types of hikes, helping out at the farm next door, or baking cookies. Afternoons were for free play or reading. I can't imagine anything like this in the States. Let's see, there are: kids sleeping without an adult in the room, boys tackling each other when playing American football and soccer during afternoon free play time, kids getting dirty and wet, kids staying up as late as they wanted, and only two adults supervising approximately 25 kids.

As I said above, kids start walking to school by themselves in first grade. In 4th grade they have a class in bike safety. Once they pass a written and performance test, they can ride their bikes to school on their own. Secondary school starts in 5th grade. Many of the smaller towns and villages don't have a secondary school.
Secondary school students from those areas either take the train or ride a public bus to school. In larger cities, like Munich, kids ride the U-Bahn (subway) to school by themselves starting in 5th grade. My son's school is about 2.5 kilometers from my house. When the weather is nice, he and his friends meet up and ride their bikes to school and back home. They call each other and make the arrangements themselves.

I like the fact that the schools here encourage independence. When my son finishes school, I can be assured that he will be a confident and competent young man because of his school experiences.

Running Song Titles

2011-06-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been great. Just when I thought that I was going to be slow and not get my speed back before Munich, I really knocked a lot of time off of my usual routes. The nice cool weather really helped. Last week it was warm and very humid. Yesterday and today it was cool and overcast. Last week I did my hill course in 40:40. Yesterday the same run only took 38:37! Last Friday my short, flat route took me 31:53. Today I did it in 31:06. The best thing was that I didn't feel like I was pushing myself. It was very easy to hold my pace. On Sunday I'll have to remember to hold back on my long (1:50:00) run. I'm feeling so ready for Munich. Only 23 more days.

While I was running today, Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" came on the iPod. I really felt like a bat out of Hell because of my torrid pace. That reminded me of other song titles that sum up my running experience. Some of you readers may have seen some of these before. A while ago a friend and I came up with song titles that describe running. The catch was that the titles couldn't have the word "run" or any derivative of it. Here are some of them:

Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp): How you feel after crossing the finish line of a marathon and getting a finisher's medal placed around your neck.
The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles): Running on any trail in Bavaria.
Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp): What you do when a training run is going really well.
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd): How you feel during those last 5 km of a marathon.
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran): Your appetite after either a long run or race.
Bat Out Of Hell (Meat Loaf): How you feel when you're going all-out.
Accleerate (REM): What you do about 100 meters from the finish line.
Certain Kind of Fool (The Eagles): The type of person who enjoys long distance running.
Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel): The return leg of an out-and-back course.
It's Raining Again (Supertramp): Running in Germany.
The Road to Hell (Chris Rea): What you feel like you're running on when the weather's hot.
Life In the Fast Lane (The Eagles): Track workouts.
The Metro (Berlin): What you're thinking about riding on to the marathon finish.
Do It Again (Steely Dan): 6 X 800 meter repeats on the track.
Eyes On the Ground (The Connells): Where you need to look when running on trails in order to avoid tripping over obstacles.
High (James Blunt): That feeling when crossing the finish line of a marathon or half-marathon or after a great training run.
Already Gone (The Eagles): Where the rest of the runners are in one of your pre-race nightmares where you've missed the start of the race.
Feeling Stronger Every Day (Chicago): What's supposed to happen, both mentally and physically, when you're training for a race.
Take It Easy (The Eagles): How you're supposed to pace yourself on long training runs.
Talent Is An Asset (Sparks): That's true, but you also need training and determination to make it to the finish line.

7.9 From the Bulgarian Judge

2011-05-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Today's run was 1:40, the same as last week. My pace was slightly faster than last week's and I generally felt good throughout the run. I started slowly and finished on a fast note. It was one of those days where I wished that today was race day instead of it being five weeks off. The weather started off on the warm and humid side. I ended up having to take my first drink at around 22 minutes instead of at the normal 30-minute point. After that I ran mostly in the shade and took my normal stops at 30, 60, and 90 minutes. The weather also started to cool off as clouds moved in. Toward the end of my run it sprinkled

For the next two weeks I'll run for 1:50. Then it will be the last big run for exactly two hours. Since I started running for 90 minutes earlier this month, I've gone on a flatter course that more closely resembles Munich than the hillier course that I also train on. I'll also keep my "Diabetic's Delight" refueling combination for the race. A Diabetic's Delight is Gummi Bears and diluted Gatorade. Gummi Bears seem to stave off the hunger better than Power Bars or Shot Blox.

I would like to say that today's run was uneventful, but it wasn't. As I was heading downhill on a side trail off the bike path that parallels the main road to Austria, I tripped over a large rock and fell. It was just after I turned for home on an out-and-back course, so I was almost as far from home as I could be. At least the trail was empty, so I didn't have to worry about any injuries to my pride in addition to physical ones. That's what I get for daydreaming! The combination of daydreaming, a naturally short stride, and not lifting my feet high enough on longer runs when trying to keep a slower pace was a "perfect storm" for a fall. I landed on my right side with the impact on the outside of my right leg and forearm and also on both hands. The first thing that I noticed was all of the mud on my arm, leg, and hands. This past week there have been daily thundershowers, which made the trail muddy. The mud just didn't want to come off, even with with using my shirt to wipe off. I looked more like a mountain biker who had finished a long muddy trail ride than a runner. After checking for blood under the mud, and finding none, I carried on with my run. I was able to run back home without any problems or anything hurting. When I got home I cleaned up and found bruises on my forearm, the outside of my right knee, and on my butt around where the top of the IT band would be. I figured that fall would rate a 7.9 from the Bulgarian judge with most of the deductions for having unpointed toes and zero blood.

Next week I won't be running on that trail. It has nothing to do with taking a fall. That trail isn't long enough for me to run in for 55 minutes. When I do runs between 90 and 100 minutes and don't need to run hills, I'll be back on it.

How I Know I'm a Real Runner

2011-05-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

There have been many lists over the years in running books, magazines, and websites about how you know if you're a real runner. Here is my list. It's more applicable to distance runners, at least in my opinion.

* Energy bars or gels, sport drinks, and ibuprofen are their own separate food groups.
* The ice in the freezer is not for keeping drinks cold. It's for putting on sore spots after a long run.
* Ice is a miracle substance.
* Gummi Bears are not junk food. They are a great fuel source on long runs.
* You don't care if your shorts and shirt match when you go out for a run. You wear whatever is at the top of the pile.
* You forget to pick up milk on the way home from work but remember the time of your first 5K race back in 1989 (30:17).
* Songs are divided into two categories: those that are good to run to and those that aren't.
* You get more excited about the latest model from Ascics (or Nike, Saucony, New Balance, etc.) than over Jimmy Choos.
* Running in the rain is good training. If it's raining on race day (always a good possibility in Germany), you're prepared for it.
* You make fun of people who buy 6 of the same item because they're on sale. But you think it's perfectly normal to buy 6 pairs of your favorite running shoes when you hear that they're being discontinued.
* A massage stick is an essential item.
* You know what your IT band is and where it's located.
* You own more race t-shirts, technical shirts, running shorts, and tights than any other type of clothing.
* Murphy's Law of warm weather running: Any spots where you didn't put Vaseline on before running will get chafed. It doesn't matter if they never got chafed in the past.
* You think that a preschooler wiping his nose on his sleeve is disgusting. But you use your shirt, glove, or jacket as a Kleenex while on the run and think nothing of it.
* You actually want to be older. Last week's 10K time which placed you 6th in your age group would have been good enough for 2nd place in the next age group.
* You buy your regular clothing on sale or in the bargain bin, but don't have any qualms about paying full price for running shoes.
* Five km (3.1 miles) is a good warm-up.
* You own more items that go in the delicate wash cycle than a Victoria's Secret model.
* After making airline reservations to the States, the first thing you do is check the race calendar in the cities where you're staying.
* You think that a finisher's medal for a 5K race is over the top.
* You think that Fantasy Football or Baseball are stupid, but believe that a Fantasy Run is a cool idea and good motivation.
* A 10-mile (16 km) run is a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

Wacky Weather Week and Running In Segments

2011-05-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

This week the weather has been crazy. I had to run in the afternoons on Wednesday and Friday because of being on the early shift all week. We had a warm spell and I felt really sluggish on my shorter runs because of the warm temperatures and humidity. On Friday I stopped every 15 minutes for a drink, and I only ran about 6 km. It was in the low 20s C (70s F), but it felt much hotter because most of my route was in the sun. Because of the humidity, it felt like I was running through Jell-O. I was also slower than usual, but that's to be expected when the mercury rises.

Today it was about 5 C (41 F) and had rained earlier in the morning. Since it was threatening to rain again, I wore my rain suit over a pair of lightweight tights and a long-sleeved technical shirt. What's the best way to insure that it won't rain during a long run? Wear a rain suit. I spent most of my run wishing that I had left the suit at home. My Gore-Tex suit is great for keeping me dry, but I bake in it. It has been a very trusty running suit though. I bought it at half price just before moving to Germany in 1992. It was on the 50% off rack because it was the previous year's model. A couple of the pocket zippers no longer work, and the Velcro on the jacket's wrists has been sewn back on a couple of times. In addition to wearing it in the rain, it's also my winter running suit. Needless to say, the jacket has been used a lot over here. I mainly wear the pants in either very cold weather or rain.

Today's run of 1:40 was a good one. I'm right where I want to be at this point before the Munich City Run half-marathon (26 June). The calf problems that plagued me earlier this year have disappeared. It was an almost perfect run. I started slowly and picked up the pace as the run went on. My finish was fast. It's always fun to end a run with a short sprint and my late running partner Bill's voice in my ear saying, "Let's practice our half-marathon finish" and "Are you going to let an old man beat you?" When I finished in my driveway, I could almost feel one of Bill's post-run hugs. He always gave hugs to the women in our group after a long training run. My right knee is bothering me a little bit. But I'll put some ice on it and it should feel fine again.

One of the tricks that I learned from Bill is breaking up long runs into smaller segments. Bill used to say that a marathon was not one 26-mile run. It was really running 1 mile 26 times. For those readers who use the metric system, it would be running 1 kilometer 42 times. I do that trick with my long runs. Instead of saying that I'm going to run 50 minutes out and then 50 back, I break up my runs into segments. There are certain landmarks that I use for my checkpoints. The checkpoints are between 3 and 10 minutes apart. That system really helps on the return leg of a long run, when my legs are tired and starting to feel like they're made of lead instead of bone and muscle. Instead of thinking that I have 43 more minutes to go, I tell myself that it's only 6 minutes until I cross the main road, between 6 and 7 minutes until I re-cross the main road and go through part of the town of Grainau, then about 9 minutes from there to the Aldi market, then 4 minutes until the turn onto the road that takes me to the bike trail that leads back home. Even the bike trail is broken up into segments because partway through I have to cross a small road. The road is a natural checkpoint.

This next week is also supposed to be another strange one. It will start off cool and rainy and will end sunny and warm. The Alps are definitely not Southern California, where the weather is usually warm and doesn't change much. At least I'll be back on my normal work schedule this week and will be able to run in the mornings when it's nice and cool. Next week's long run will be another one at 1:40.

The 90-Minute Mark

2011-05-01T07:11:00.000-07:00

Today I ran for 90 minutes and felt pretty good afterward. I've caught up to where I want to be at this point before the Munich City Run. My legs actually feel better today than they did last week, when I ran 80 minutes. There are two good reasons for that: 1) I started wearing new shoes earlier this week. It was time for the old ones to be retired; and 2) Last week I ran on a hilly course and went faster than I probably should have. Today I went on a flat course, which is more like how Munich will be. I also took the first half of the run very slowly and really forced myself to keep the pace slow.

My run was close to perfect. I started off slowly and held the slow pace for the first half. One of my problems is that I start turning on the speed too soon on my long runs. I'll look at my watch at an early checkpoint, tell myself that I'm slow, then speed up too much. My former running partner Bill used to tell me that the word "slow" was not part of my vocabulary. Today I gradually increased the pace as the run went on instead of starting quickly. I even had enough energy for a fast final 200 meters. After I finished, I still felt like I could have run some more.

My son took the last of our Gummi Bears with him when he went skiing today. I've been using Gummi Bears as fuel along with diluted Gatorade for about a year. Instead of the Gummis, I brought a Power Bar with me. Gummi Bears must expand in my stomach because they seem to cut the hunger pretty well. Even with taking bites of the Power Bar, I was still hungry. In the past I would get hungry at the one-hour mark. When I felt hungry today, I looked at my watch. It said 58 minutes, which is close enough to an hour. But even after a couple of bites of Power Bar and a good drink of Gatorade, I was still starving. It didn't help matters at the 1:14 mark when Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf" started playing on my iPod. I told myself that I was close to home to keep my mind off of my hunger. I felt like the plant in "Little Shop of Horrors" that kept saying, "Feed me!" When I got home I finished the Power Bar and Gatorade and felt less hungry.

A couple of months ago I would never have thought that I would make it to this point because of calf problems. At one point during today's run I felt a small twinge in my left calf, but it went away within about 20 seconds. Now I'm feeling that I'll be able to do the City Run next month without any problems. As it gets closer to race day, I'll go online and register for it. Next week's long run will also be 90 minutes on the same course.

Helicopter Dad

2011-04-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Whenever I hear about "helicopter parenting" in the States, I usually think of mothers. There are magazine articles, blogs, TV programs, and even books about helicopter moms. My impression of fathers is that they're the ones who give the kids a little more free rein than mothers do. But earlier today I saw a helicopter dad.

Before getting into what I saw this afternoon, let me explain how the base where I work is set up. There are actually two sides that are separated by a busy street and a bridge. The side where I work on Saturdays has the gym, chapel, offices, classrooms, one student dormitory building, and the Armed Forces hotel. Most soldiers and US civilians who visit Garmisch stay at that hotel. The other side has the PX, Commissary, gas station, bank, and all of the other standard base facilities. On Saturdays during my lunch hour I walk over to the the other side to get a little bit of fresh air and exercise and also to stretch my legs. I often see families who are staying at the American hotel walking between the two sides of the base.

As I was walking toward the traffic light where I cross the street to get to the other part of the base, I saw an American man with a military haircut with two girls. The girls, who were his daughters, looked to be about 7 and 9 years old. We got to the traffic light, which was red, at about the same time. The father told the daughters that everyone must hold hands when crossing the street. The light for us turned green and we all started across the street. As we were crossing, a car pulled up to the intersection and stopped at the light. The father told the girls to watch out for the speedy driver (who had stopped by that time). When we all got across the street, it was time to cross the bridge. On both sides of the bridge there is a railing with bars that's a little over a meter high. The bars are so close together that an anorexic toddler would have a hard time fitting between them. But as we all got to the bridge, the father told the daughters to stay away from the railing because it was dangerous and they could fall into the river. When we reached the base gate, we went through the pedestrian entrance, which is roped off from the vehicle entrance and cars can't get into it. That didn't matter to this dad. He told the girls to walk as far over to the side as possible so that they wouldn't get hit by a car.

To give this father a break, he may have just returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. If so, he probably saw plenty of things that would make him feel that the world is a dangerous place, especially for young girls. This father obviously loves his daughters very much and wants to protect them. But Garmish-Partenkirchen is a far cry from downtown Baghdad or Kabul. I can understand that man wanting his daughters close by, especially if they are tourists and aren't familiar with the city. When I'm in an unfamiliar city with my son, I like him close by, or I at least want to see where he is. But the father I saw today made it seem that everything in the short walk (about 100 meters) from the traffic light to the base entrance gate was scary. I felt a little sad for those girls. They will grow up believing it's normal to view the world as a place full of dangers.

If anyone was wondering, I didn't say anything to the father. I wouldn't want someone coming up to me and telling me that my parenting style was "wrong". Even though I disagreed with how that man was telling his daughters about everything being dangerous, he deserved the same courtesy.

Farewell, Grete

2011-04-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

One of the greatest female athletes of all time and a legend in the sport of running passed away earlier today. Norwegian runner Grete Waitz died of cancer at age 57. She had been battling cancer for the past six years.

Waitz's feat of nine New York City Marathon victories may never be equaled. Her nine wins in New York were in the span of 11 years. This would be the equivalent of a baseball team winning 9 World Series or an American football team winning the Super Bowl 9 times in 11 years. Even though I hadn't started running when Waitz was competing, I watched her performances in New York on TV and she amazed me every time. In the 1984 Olympics it was a tough call between cheering for Waitz in the marathon or US runner Joan Benoit. I ended up cheering for both of them. Waitz ended up with a silver medal behind Benoit.

After retiring from elite-level competition, Waitz remained a role model and inspiration for female runners. She ran in shorter races and promoted running and fitness. She also gave generously to charities such as CARE and the Special Olympics. In 2007 she founded a cancer foundation and a percentage of the profits from her special line of Adidas running gear went to it.

What set Waitz apart from other top athletes was her humility and sportsmanship. In 1992 she ran the NYC Marathon with its founder and director Fred Lebow. Lebow had been diagnosed with brain cancer and '92 was the last time that he ran "his" marathon. Back in 1978 Lebow had invited Waitz to compete in the NYC Marathon. She had never run a marathon before and ended up breaking the women's world marathon record. Waitz and Lebow became friends after her first NYC Marathon. When she and Lebow crossed the finish line together in 5 hours and 32 minutes, it was one of the most memorable and touching moments in sports. Running with Lebow gave Waitz a real appreciation of what an average marathoner experiences.

The next year Waitz again showed that she was a class act. She promised Zoe Koplowitz, a woman with multiple sclerosis and diabetes, that she would wait for her at the finish line no matter how long it took for Koplowitz to finish. Koplowitz had to walk with the aid of two canes and finished the race in 24 hours. When Koplowitz crossed the finish line, Waitz was waiting for her as promised. But there was one problem. The organizers were cleaning up the finish area and were out of finishers' medals. When Waitz learned that there were no more medals, she went to her hotel room, got her husband's medal, and gave it to Koplowitz. I can't imagine 99% of top athletes today committing such a generous gesture.

Grete Waitz may be gone. But as long as there are girls who dream of running marathons, her legacy will live on. May she rest in peace.

It's a Dangerous World Outside

2011-04-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

When I was on the Free Range Kids site yesterday (http://www.freerangekids.wordpress.com/), its author, Lenore Skenazy, posted a link from another parenting blog about playing outside. Here is the link to that piece from a blog called Moms Who Think: http://www.momswhothink.com/behavior/keep-kids-safe-when-playing-outside.html. I also posted the link on my Facebook page.

The person who wrote the piece on Moms Who Think started off with a good premise. Playing outdoors is good for kids. They need exercise and fresh air. But at the end of the first paragraph, the author brings up the idea that playing outside is fraught with danger. The second paragraph makes playing outside downright scary. Kids can fall down, hurt themselves, do dangerous things that can hurt another kid, become targets for predators, and even end up in the emergency room. In the third paragraph the author again mentions the "untoward dangers" of playing outdoors. The author goes on to say that adults should always be on hand to prevent any potential accidents or injuries and also to send the message to the other adults in the area that their child is safe and not vulnerable. Adults should also perform a thorough inspection of any play equipment and look for any potential dangers in the area. The tone of the article makes going outside to play as appealing as going to downtown Baghdad or a Siberian gulag in the winter.

I don't understand the American preoccupation with kids not being allowed to fall or get hurt. Of course I don't want to see a child become seriously injured. But bumps and bruises along the way are normal. My son's legs always seem to be bruised and I tell him that's the sign of being a real boy. The best way for a kid to figure out his limits is to fall. Most of the time when kids fall, they dust themselves off and continue playing. If a child is bleeding, he may come in to get a Band-Aid. Then he'll head right back outside to play some more. I had my share of childhood injuries: sprained ankle, bumps on the head, lots of bruises, skinned knees and elbows.

Because kids aren't rational beings, they will naturally do "dangerous" things. An activity with an element of danger automatically makes it fun. For preteen boys like my son, the crazier the acitivity, the better. My son and his friends like to jump on their skis. If there isn't a fun park in the ski area with jumps, the kids will make their own. The boys will also challenge each other when they are in an area with a jumping park. They'll do the same thing for making their own skateboard jumps. Sometimes they're successful and sometimes they fall. When they fall, they treat it as a lesson in figuring how to set up the jump correctly. I figure it's only a matter of time before my son ends up in the emergency room for a jumping injury. E.R. trips are supposed to be a part of childhood. I have also been injured doing "dangerous" things as a kid. When I was 10 or 11, my friend and I were throwing rocks at two neighbor boys. I got hit in the face just below my right eye and had to go to the emergency room for stitches.

The person who wrote the Moms Who Think article would also freak out about German playground equipment. She (I'm assuming the author is a woman, judging from the name of the blog) would have to wrap her children in bubble wrap before letting them venture onto a German playground. Instead of plastic playground equipment that's low to the ground over lots of rubber mats or bark chips, a lot of German playground equipment looks like it has seen better days. In one of the playgrounds where I used to live, the high wooden climbing structures had a lot of splinter potential and the slides were metal. There was no padding underneath the equipment except for sand, dirt, or grass. There were also merry-go-rounds and real seesaws, both of which are now a rarity on American playgrounds.

I would be considered a bad mother who is making her child vulnerable, and not safe, because my son has played outdoors with minimal or no supervision since he was very young. When he was preschool age, I'd take him to the local playground. He would play with his friends while I chatted with the other moms. As he got older, he played out in the front yard with no supervision. Now he plays, skis, and swims with friends without parental supervision.

Along with the American preoccupation with not letting kids hurt themselves, I don't understand the view that every adult is a potential predator. My son has grown up believing that most adults are good people and not kidnappers or child molesters. He knows that if he needs help when my husband and I aren't around to find the nearest adult. In the past he has had to ask an adult for help and has never been turned down. Through his experience he has learned for himself that adults are willing to help a child. He also knows how to avoid potentially bad situations: only accept rides from people that he knows, be with at least one buddy when going to the Burger King at the train station, and make a loud fuss if someone he doesn't know tries to grab him.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue to let my son play outdoors for fresh air and exercise. Despite the "dangers" of falling, getting hurt, doing crazy things, and the risk of a trip to the hospital, playing outside is a much healthier option than staying inside watching TV and eating junk food.

No ADD or ADHD Here

2011-04-14T12:42:00.000-07:00

I recently read that 90% of the world's Ritalin is consumed in the US. For those who don't know what Ritalin is, it's a stimulant that's commonly prescribed for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This goes hand in hand with a book that I finished a couple of months ago called Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker. One of the chapters in Whitaker's book deals with the rise of ADD and ADHD in the US over the past 30 to 40 years and how children are being medicated with psychoactive drugs at younger and younger ages.

Why is so much Ritalin (and Adderall, another drug for ADHD) being consumed in the US but not in other countries? I've never heard about kids having ADD or ADHD here in Germany. A friend of mine who lived for many years in Taiwan said that those disorders are unknown there too. A Facebook friend from Russia said that nobody had ADD or ADHD there. What's so different about the States that kids are getting diagnosed with ADD/ADHD and given drugs? I can only compare the States with Germany and I find a lot of differences, especially in school situations.

One of my theories for the rise in ADD/ADHD is that schools in the States have cut out recess in order to fit in more academics. Kids are expected to sit still for long periods without a break. One of my friends in Oregon has a daughter in 6th grade who goes to school from 8.15 am to 3 pm with only a lunch break. My son is in a Gymnasium, which is a German school for high achievers. He gets a 15-minute break every 90 minutes. During the breaks the kids can go outside and play or just hang out in the hallways with their friends. On Mondays he gets a 1 hour 45 minute lunch break and Wednesdays his lunch is one hour (the other days he finishes school at 12.45). Germans realize that kids are more focused and energetic after a short break. German elementary schools also have a recess break. My son's elementary school day averaged 4 hours. But there was a 25-minute recess period in the middle of the school day. On most days, even when it was very cold, the kids played outside.

I don't understand how American teachers expect kids to sit still and concentrate for the whole school day. Imagine if you were at work and had to be attentive and think hard for your whole shift without being able to get up and move around or otherwise take a break. Your work would suffer and you wouldn't be able to concentrate. After a while, you'd probably squirm in your chair trying to stretch your muscles. There's a reason that breaks are mandated for adult workers. Yet in the States kids must sit still in class and concentrate on their work for almost the whole school day. No wonder they get fidgety and their teachers think they have ADD or ADHD.

Another possibility for the rise in ADD/ADHD in the States is that classes like art, music, and sport (PE) have been cut out to make room for academic subjects and also to prepare students for their annual standardized tests. A Sport class that gets the children moving is a good way to burn off excess energy. Art and music may seem frivolous, but they're also fun and give kids some "down time" during the school day. Again, my son's school does it right. One would think that a school for high achievers would cut out the arts and Sport. Nope. Those classes are an important part of the curriculum and are required in Bavaria. German educators realize that kids need some down time during the school day. For example, having a music class between biology and Latin gives the students' minds a break between rigorous classes.

I also believe that teachers in other countries understand that kids will be kids and not robots. I think if I was living in the States, my son would possibly be diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. His first and second grade teacher said that he often looked out the window and appeared to be daydreaming during class. But when he was called on, he gave appropriate answers. He was listening to the teacher but wanted to look out the window for a more interesting view. Last year his teachers said that he was one of the class clowns and played around a lot in class instead of concentrating on his work. He still likes to chat with his neighbors in certain classes. But none of his teachers ever suggested giving him Ritalin or Adderall. They simply told me to talk with him and have him tone down the clowning around and chatting with his neighbors. After reading about the effects that long-term use of drugs like Ritalin can have on a person's brain, I'm glad that I live in a country where kids aren't drugged for displaying age-appropriate behavior in the classroom.

The One-Hour Mark

2011-04-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

Today was the first time since early December that I ran for an hour. It felt good to run that long again. Over the past month I have been gradually increasing my long runs and have had no signs of the calf injuries that plagued me over the winter. Today's run was a mix of flat roads and trails in the hills. I hit my checkpoints faster than I expected to, mainly because of the cool weather. My legs felt great afterward, even at the faster-than-expected pace that I ran today. My speed has come back in all of my longer and shorter runs.

I'm starting to think that I may be able to do the Munich City Run half-marathon in June if I continue at my current pace. Earlier this year, I thought that it was a definite no-go because of my calf problems. I'll have to look closely at the calendar, but it appears that I'll be able to get in enough long runs to feel confident about being able to go the distance. The only down side is that I won't have any down time if I feel that I need a rest week. I really like to have some built-in rest periods when I train for a long race. I'll also have to build up my mileage faster than I normally like to.

My mind isn't 100% made up about running the City Run. As it gets toward May I'll evaluate how my training is going and take it from there. If everything keeps going this well, I should make it to Munich. I'd really like to do the City Run because it will be the only half-marathon that I'll be able to run this year. It would be nice to run the half-marathon that was part of the Munich Marathon in October. But I just don't see how that will be possible. I'll be in the States for three weeks in August and September, which is when I'd be doing a lot of long runs to prepare for an October race. It would be too hard and rushed to try and prepare for such a long race. I may do the Eibsee Run in late October, but that's a shorter run. Like with Munich, I'll play Eibsee by ear.

If I end up running in Munich this June, I'll bring a photo of my friend Dan with me. I usually bring my late running partner Bill's photo and pin it to my shirt. But Bill has been with me for my last three races in Munich. Dan died last year and was always interested in my running even though he wasn't a runner himself. This is going to sound like I'm ready to be put into the nearest psychiatric facility...when I get toward the end of a training run, I look up at a certain place in the sky for Bill to let him know how my run went. Today I gave two thumbs up toward "Bill's place" and saw Dan there instead. I took that as a sign that if I do the City Run, Dan should accompany me. Dan was my best friend when he was alive. Who better to get me over the rough spots than a best friend, right?

Stay tuned to see how my training is going and if I decide to sign up for the City Run.

We're Off To See The Volshyebnik (Wizard)

2011-04-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, I'm studying Russian for my job. I'm at a level where I can read children's stories and books in Russian with a little help from my dictionary. The language level in children's books is easier than in books for adults. Children's books also have pictures, which help to make the text easier to understand.

I just started reading Volshyebnik Izmurdnovo Goroda, or The Wizard of the Emerald City. When I ordered it, I thought that it would be a direct translation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The illustration of the book's cover on Amazon had a picture of a girl holding a little dog, a scarecrow, a tin woodsman, and a lion. It turns out that VIG is a Soviet imitation of the Wizard of Oz story. VIG was not written by L. Frank Baum; the author is Alexander Volkov. It was first published in 1939.

The first clue that I got that VIG would be different was that the girl on the cover was blonde and her dog was black. My vision of Dorothy is Judy Garland with her dark hair and Toto should be brown instead of black. The girl in VIG is Ellie and not Dorothy. Ellie lives with her parents, and not her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry, in an isolated village in Kansas. Her uncle Robert and his sons Bob and Dick are the only people who live nearby. Ellie has a dog named Totoshka, which is a diminutive form of Toto. Instead of a tornado in Kansas, there is a hurricane. The hurricane is not caused by nature, but by an evil wizard named Gingema who wants to destroy the world.

After the hurricane Ellie ends up in a different land and meets a couple of midgets and a good fairy named Villina. Villina explains to Ellie that there are 4 main cities in her land, which is called Magic Land instead of Oz: a yellow city, a pink one, a blue one, and a purple one. There is also an Emerald City, where the wizard Gudrin lives. Gudrin is the person who can help Ellie get back home to Kansas. Nobody has ever seen Gudrin. Villina gives Ellie silver shoes (not ruby slippers) and tells her to follow the yellow brick road, which will take her to Gudrin.

Another thing that is different about VIG is that Totoshka can talk when he's in Magic Land. Ellie is surpised when she first hears Totoshka speak, but Villina explains that animals can talk in Magic Land. Villina tells Ellie to watch Totoshka carefully because people in Magic Land have never seen dogs before and would be frightened by him. Totoshka offers to go ahead of Ellie and scout out the land.

I'm now at the point where Ellie and Totoshka come to a crossroads by a field and are about to meet the scarecrow. I bet that the scarecrow in VIG won't dance like Ray Bolger in the movie and sing, "If I Only Had a Brain." I'm sure that there will be more differences from the original Oz story as Ellie and Totoshka continue their journey along the Yellow Brick Road on their way to the Emerald City and the great wizard Gudrin.

It's obvious that Alexander Volkov either saw The Wizard of Oz or read the book because there are so many similarities to the original, at least in the little bit that I've read so far. I read the title page looking for any references to L. Frank Baum, but didn't find any. I find it amazing that someone in the Soviet Union was allowed to plagiarize a classic story, make some minor changes, and then call it his own. Volkov wrote several more stories about Magic Land. His Magic Land stories were actually more well-known in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and other Communist countries than Baum's originals. Here is Volkov's Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Melentyevich_Volkov

Men Need Not Apply

2011-03-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

Help Wanted
Garmisch Chapel is looking for additional nursery watchcare staff.
If you are a responsible female who loves kids, please call
Dawn at XXXXXXX for more information.

The above was an ad in the current base community newsletter with the phone number X'd out. It is wrong on so many levels. First of all, it appears to be discriminatory. I assume that because the chapel is a religious entity, it doesn't have to follow normal hiring rules, so there could be no real basis for a discrimination complaint by a man who wants to apply for the position. But there still seems to be anti-male discrimination.

The second, and more insidious, reason that this ad is very wrong is it reinforces people's fears that men cannot be trusted with children. Men, especially those who don't have kids, are automatically viewed as suspected child molesters. Why else would a man, especially one without children, want to work with young kids? The thought that a man simply loves children would never cross someone's mind. My husband suggested that a woman was wanted for that position in the chapel nursery because it probably involved changing diapers. I countered with, "Even religious dads change their babies' diapers." There is a big difference between touching a baby's private parts with a wipe to clean them off after a bowel movement and fondling them. If there wasn't that huge difference, every parent who changed a diaper would automatically be a child molester.

The idea of men stereotyped as being child molesters is also being perpetuated by the British. Until recently, British Airways had a policy which forbade unaccompanied male travelers from sitting next to a child. Did BA really believe that a man would molest a child in a crowded airplane? Many unaccompanied men on a plane are fathers who would be sickened by the thought of molesting any child. The people who came up with that policy obviously never sat in the coach section, where there is no room to do anything, let alone molest a child. Seriously, most men on an airplane mind their own business. The last thing on their minds is, "I really wanted to watch the movie, but I think that I'll molest this child instead."

While the majority of people on a sex offender registry are male, most "sex offenders" are not trenchcoat-wearing perverts. Most people on a sex offender registry in the States are on it because of public urination, mooning, streaking, or being 18 and having sex with an underage girlfriend. Very few people on a sex offender registry are actual child molesters. It's the people who aren't on sex offender registries who are the ones to watch out for. Most children are molested by people that they know. As someone on the Free Range Kids website wrote one time, "If you want to see what a sex offender looks like, open up the family photo album."

If young children are only exposed to women, how will they find male role models? While a father is the most important male role model in a child's life, there should also be others. The more positive male role models that a child is exposed to, the better it is for him or her in the long run. To give the base where I work credit, some of the staff at the School Age and Teen Centers are men, most of whom don't have kids. My son's favorite School Age Center staff member is an older man with grown kids who happens to love children and is like a grandfather to the kids at the center. Before moving to Garmisch, my husband and I would ski here and leave our son at the Child Development Center (CDC) on base. I recall that one of the people working at the CDC in either the infant, toddler, or preschool room was a man who was well-respected by the parents and other staff members. Now my son has some male teachers and really looks up to them. His all-time favorite teacher, the geography teacher from last year, has inspired him to want to become a teacher. In my opinion it is better for a child to be cared for by a man who truly loves kids than by a woman who is indifferent to them, no matter how "responsible" she is.

Conspiracy Theories

2011-03-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

Due to the unseasonably warm weather in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, the 2011 World Cup ski season ended with a whimper instead of a bang. Four out of the 8 races were canceled due to fog and slushy snow. Four of the titles: the women's overall, men's Super-G, women's giant slalom, and men's giant slalom were decided because of the cancelations. International Ski Federation (FIS) rules state that final races that are canceled because of weather cannot be made up. Therefore the skiers who had the lead before the canceled races were declared the winners. The women's overall race was the closest, with Maria Riesch of Germany winning by 3 points over American Lindsey Vonn.

To me the most amusing thing about the World Cup finals are the conspiracy theories. I have been reading various German, Austrian, US, and international websites and the comments that people have posted about the women's final. My favorite is that the FIS and Germans conspired so that Riesch would win the overall title, which Vonn had won the past 3 seasons. It wasn't through the weather because even the FIS and Germans can't control it. So how did they do it? Maria Riesch's coach was the course setter for the slalom race. Yes, that must be it. But wait! Course setters are assigned for each race before the season starts. It just happened that the German coach was the course setter for the final slalom race. The other part of the German/FIS conspiracy was that the same course was used for both parts of the slalom. Normally there are two different courses set by different coaches. But because of the delay of the first run, there was no time to set a new course and have a proper inspection. The second run happened immediately after the first finished instead of after a two to three hour pause. The athletes and coaches accepted this situation. Nobody complained about it until after Riesch was declared the overall winner.

Another part of the German/FIS conspiracy involves the start order for the final slalom race. Riesch drew #2 and Vonn was #16. Earlier starters in slalom races have an advantage because the course deteriorates and gets more rutted with each skier. Those who believe in behind the scenes intrigue have stated that Riesch got the earlier start number because of German/FIS collusion to make her the overall winner. There was nothing of the sort going on. According to FIS rules, start numbers are determined by a skier's ranking in a discipline. In the slalom, the top 15 ranked skiers get numbers 1 to 15, with the top 7 ranked getting numbers 1 to 7. The numbers are given out in a random draw the night before the race. Riesch drew #2 because she is ranked 3rd in slalom. Vonn got #16 because she is ranked out of the top 15; she is ranked 19th in slalom. In that race Riesch ended up 4th and Vonn 13th. The interesting thing about the final race is that the skier who drew #15, Tina Maze of Slovenia, won the race.

The other conspiracy theory involves the race cancelations. That must be another European/FIS conspiracy because most of the FIS leadership is European and also because Vonn's strongest event, the Super-G, was canceled. The slalom, which favored Riesch, was allowed to go on but the giant slalom (which slightly favored Riesch) was canceled. Conspiracy theorists want to believe that the races were canceled to prevent Vonn from going for Annemarie Moser-Proell's record of 5 overall titles in a row. If Vonn had won the overall this year, it would have been 4 in a row for her. If the conspiracy theorists are to be believed, the FIS wanted to keep Moser-Proell's record intact because she's Austrian. If someone had a shot of tying or breaking the record, the FIS would want a European skier to do it. The FIS's "pro-European bias" can't be true because US skier Ted Ligety won the giant slalom title because the final GS race was canceled. The real reason the races were canceled was because of the weather and snow condition. There was a lot of rain, fog, and above freezing temperatures. The snow was okay for a slalom race, which is slower and shorter than the others. The men who did the slalom race said that with the heavy fog they could only see two gates ahead of them. That would have been dangerous for the faster races.

Lindsey Vonn's fans, who are upset about her being second by such a slim margin, wanted the giant slalom race rescheduled. But to be fair to everyone, if one race is rescheduled, then the other canceled races must be too. Some even went so far as to say that the races should be held immediately in another venue. Those people don't realize the logistical planning that goes into a professional ski race: travel arrangements, lodging and meals, recruiting local volunteers, and course preparation.

I also found it ironic that Vonn and her fans were the loudest complainers about the cancelations. The skiers who had mathematical chances of winning individual titles all seemed to be good sports about the cancelations and accepted them. Vonn was happy last season when she won the super combined title by very few points due to a cancelation. She said that it was the nature of skiing that sometimes races need to be canceled in the interest of athlete safety. She also said that sometimes the calls go your way and sometimes they don't, but the athletes need to accept them. Vonn also talked about skier safety during the 2010 Olympics and the recent World Championships. But it seemed like when the FIS went against her wishes, she demanded that the rules about canceled races be changed. Maybe the FIS will change the rules in the off-season and maybe it won't. But the FIS certainly won't change its rules on the final race weekend or to suit a particular skier.

I'm looking forward to next season. In addition to my old favorites, there are a lot of young skiers who are ready to take over the reins from their older competitors: Lara Gut (Switzerland), Anna Fenninger (Austria), Frederika Brignone (Italy), Tessa Worley (France), Lotte Smithest Sejersted (Norway), Nolan Kasper (USA), Beat Feuz (Switzerland), Joachim Puchner (Austria), Adrian Theaux (France), and Reto Schmidiger (Switzerland).

My Mojo is Back

2011-03-18T13:15:00.000-07:00

Now that my calf injuries have healed, I've been starting to build my distance again. I'm up to about 6 km on my shorter runs and 7-8 on my longer ones. I've been good about slowly increasing my mileage to avoid reinjury. Even though the ice where I run has all melted, I have still been (at least by my standards) excruciatingly slow. Like Austin Powers, I had lost my mojo. But I found it today on a 6 km flat run. I normally run that route in about 32 minutes. When peaking for races, I have even run it in under 31:30. Today's time was 32:09, which was about 1.5 minutes faster than my time on that same route last week. That's my "normal" time, so I'm happy that my speed is back. I was a bit worried that my speed wouldn't come back, but it has.

Maybe the cross-training that I did this week helped with the speed. I rode my bike to work three days in the past week. Cycling to work isn't exactly a great aerobic workout because my work is so close to my house. But I'm getting fresh air and a little bit of exercise that I wouldn't get from driving. I also did the elliptical trainer in the gym yesterday because it was raining heavily. I've gotten back into doing my post-run Pilates routine, which benefits my posture. Maybe the Pilates was also a factor in the speed and mojo coming back.

Now it's time to start incorporating some hill work. I haven't done any in a while because of being injured. But the skiing that I've done this season has helped to strengthen my quads. I don't expect to have too much trouble with hills once I get back to running them. I'm one of those rare people who loves running hills. One of my favorite races is the San Dieguito Half-Marathon, which has a lot of rolling hills. Most people groan or swear when they see a hill on a course map. I give a little cheer because hill running has always been one of my strengths.

Ski season here is pretty much over, which means getting back to my four days a week of running. We're due for more spring-like weather, which means being able to shed a layer or two. I feel like the Michelin Man's wife when I'm in my full winter running gear. I'm looking forward to being able to run in my shorts.

I'm still undecided on whether I'll do the Munich City Run Half-Marathon in June. I have over three months to decide. I'll evaluate where I'm at in May and take it from there. If I opt not to do the City Run, I may do some local races in the 5 to 10 km range for a change of pace. Or maybe this year I won't race at all and just run for the joy of it.

Cleanliness is Next to OCD

2011-03-15T03:48:00.000-07:00

Maybe I've been in Europe too long, but I don't understand the Stateside obsession with germs. Kids in the States bring tubes of hand sanitizer to school with them. Even mothers carry hand sanitizer with them. I've been told to use hand sanitizer before holding a friend's baby. Having clean hands wasn't good enough for that particular person. Toys must be sterilized between children handling them. Playing in the dirt seems to be verboten these days because dirt has germs. The same goes for playing outside because there are insects, which could carry disease. Stores now have special disinfectant wipes for cleaning off shopping cart handles. Antibacterial soaps are the norm everywhere. Heaven forbid if something drops on the ground. It must be boiled to ensure that it's sterilized.

There was a recent article on the Free Range Kids website about a preschool where the kids must wash their hands after getting out of the sandbox if they want to play with a ball or ride a bike. Their cubbies must also be sterilized if the kids put their jackets into them before washing their hands. Here is the link:
http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/obsessive-compulsive-pre-k-disorder/ It seems like this school is trying to give these young children obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or at least severe skin problems, with all of the hand washing that they must do. I can't imagine how the teachers could keep track of which kids were doing which activities and if they washed their hands or not.

There are times when a lot of hand washing is appropriate. For example, I want the surgeon who's operating on me to have washed his hands with antibacterial soap. My family doctor should wash his hands between patients. The chef who's cooking my restaurant meals should have clean hands. But a child washing his hands after touching a toy in the sandbox strikes me as being over the top. I couldn't imagine how that could work in a typical German preschool situation, where the kids are outside for a good part of the day. Kids move from the sandbox to other areas, then back to the sandbox again. Those poor kids would have raw, chapped hands by the end of the day if they were required to wash their hands between activities. If I were a preschool teacher, I would have the kids wash their hands after using the toilet, before snack or lunch time, and if they had glue or other sticky stuff on their hands after doing an art project. Also, sterilizing a cubby because a child touched it with dirty hands is too much. As the person who sent in the article said, kids are touching dirty jackets with clean hands, which makes the hand washing pointless (unless the kids wash their hands again after putting their jackets into their cubbies).

My teachers would have had a field day with me if I was in school now. I was notorious for chewing on my pens. If I was sent to wash my hands after handling a pen that I had chewed on, I would have washed away my outer layer of skin. It's a good thing they didn't have hand sanitizers back in those days because I would have developed severe eczema from using it. I also had friends who chewed on their pens. If my pen ran out of ink, I'd borrow a pen that a friend had chewed on. Somehow my friends and I survived.

The paranoia about germs in the States is also having an unintended effect: breeding resistant bacteria. Antibacterial cleansers are justified in a hospital or doctor's office, where patients have a lowered resistance to infection and bacteria needs to be killed. But home use of antibacterial soaps and cleansers, and overuse of hand sanitizers, does not kill all of the bacteria on a surface. The surviving bacteria then pass on their genes for resistance to the next generation. Within a short period of time, all of the bacteria become resistant to the antibacterial soap. Antibacterial soaps may also kill off good bacteria that keeps harmful germs in check.

It seems like the germophobes in the States don't realize that our bodies are full of bacteria. We have harmful bacteria in our throats, lungs, digestive tracts, and on our skin. Bacteria also play an important role in digestion. What keeps the harmful bacteria from making us constantly sick is the good bacteria in our bodies. I wonder what some of the people who are into sterilizing their environment would think if they knew that their bodies were full of germs.

When I was growing up, and I got dirty, my mother always told me that there were two things called soap and water that would get rid of dirt. They worked very well. I wonder if this generation of kids growing up with germ phobic parents will be afraid to venture out into the world because they think that everything around them is contaminated. Will they develop OCD because of the constant hand washing or use of hand sanitizers? Will there be even more problems with resistant bacteria because of the overuse of hand sanitizers? Only time will tell. I think I'd rather stay in Europe where kids can get dirty and people aren't so paranoid about germs.

Why I'm Not a Lindsey Vonn Fan

2011-03-11T07:01:00.000-08:00

When Lindsey Vonn retires, she will go down in history as one of the greatest skiers of all time. However, I cannot bring myself to like her. I normally cheer for my fellow American athletes, but in women's ski races I cheer for Vonn's competitors. I'm not alone, at least judging from comments to articles about her in the US and European press, other blog posts, and Internet ski forums. Here are a few reasons why I don't like Vonn:

Vonn is a whiner. Vonn reinforces the sterotype of American athletes being complainers. Before the 2010 Olympics, Vonn had a bruise on her shin that she claimed was very painful. I'm sure that it did hurt when her ski boot was buckled. Yet she played up this injury in the media and had it as a ready-made excuse for not winning medals in every event. Every professional skier has some sort of injury or nagging pain late in the season (last year's Olympics were in February). They simply ski without mentioning their injuries. Other great skiers like Hermann Maier, Bode Miller, Didier Cuche, and Anja Paerson have skied with injuries or in pain, but never complained or used their physical problems as an excuse for a poor performance or to play mind games with the competition. In addition, Vonn complained about the snow conditions in Vancouver. Here is her comment. "...I don't think it does anyone a service to have it this difficult..." The snow conditions in Vancouver were poor due to the weather, but a world class athlete should be able to deal with them. And I thought that Olympic-level courses are supposed to be difficult.
Fast forward to this year's World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Vonn came into the championships with a well-publicized concussion. The first thing that she did when she came to Garmisch was complain about the course condition. Before coming to Garmisch, she was competing in Europe (Germany for that matter) and knew about the unseasonably warm days and below freezing nights coupled with lack of snow which created less than ideal conditions for the racers. The world championship organizers did the best they could with the weird weather to prepare the course. The German and Austrian press had a field day with her Facebook entry about the course. Here is part of it:

"...In my opinion the hill is WAY too icy and downright unsafe! I find it very hard to believe that the FIS has any concern for the safety of the athletes when the World Championships race hill is prepared like a bumpy ice rink." German skier Maria Riesch and the Austrian skiers felt that the course was challenging and pushed them to their limits. But they dismissed Vonn's complaints about it being unsafe. The head of the German ski federation was offended by Vonn's remarks and couldn't believe that an athlete would come into a world championship and gripe about everything. If Vonn really felt like the course was that bad, she should not have competed. But she did, winning a silver medal in the downhill. Somehow Vonn could not believe that she was receiving bad press in Europe. I guess she figured that people would take her complaints seriously. The media probably would have taken her more seriously if she didn't have a history of creating drama before major championships. Her comment to the bad press that she recieved was that she wished people would like her. They would have liked her a lot better if she simply skied without complaining about everything. Here is an article in which she claimed that she wasn't being a drama queen and how she wanted people to like her. It was in most papers and wire services.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.f6fcd5bb2a7f891c8156a12d7845d240.271&show_article=1

Vonn's husband. Vonn's husband, Thomas, is also her coach. At the 2010 Olympics Vonn won the bronze medal, instead of the expected gold medal, in the Super-G event. Austrian Andrea Fischbacher won the gold and Tina Maze from Slovenia won silver. Immediately after the race, Thomas Vonn complained that the course was deliberately set so that his wife would lose. The course was set by Fischbacher's coach. The fact that the gold medalist's coach set the course was a reason for Mr. Vonn to complain about an Austrian conspiracy in placing the gates. He claimed to have heard Fischbacher's coach talking about a way to "Vonn-proof" the Super-G course. The course was set according to FIS rules; there was no cheating or conspiracy. Mr. Vonn needs to realize that his wife can't win everything all the time. His actions after the Olympic Super-G were what really turned me off on Lindsey. Even though the remarks didn't come from Lindsey, they were still a reflection of her. Here is an article about the "Austrian conspiracy." http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=4932017

Vonn is self-centered. At the 2010 Olympics Julia Mancuso opted not to compete in the slalom event. Slalom is not her best event, so she decided to give her spot to one of the US skiers who otherwise wouldn't have had a chance to compete in an Olympic race. At the 2011 World Championships Vonn didn't participate in the first downhill training session and skied the second one slowly in her ski jacket. She then did the super-combined race (1st leg downhill, 2nd leg slalom), but only did the downhill portion. Vonn had no intention of completing the race and used the downhill portion as additional training for the upcoming downhill race. When she was criticized for this in the German and Austrian press, her response was that she was doing what was best for herself. My feeling was that if she had no intention of doing the whole race, she should have given her spot to a teammate. If she got injured during the downhill and couldn't complete the race, that would be one thing. But she was thinking only about herself and not about giving a teammate world championship race experience.
Vonn has a Facebook page and posts about her races. But even when others win, the writing and videos are all about her. For example, last weekend Anja Paerson beat Vonn in the Tarvisio, Italy downhill. Vonn did make a congratulatory remark about Paerson winning the race. But did Vonn post Paerson's sensational run? Nope, she posted her own. No matter how Vonn does, she posts videos of herself for all who read her Facebook page to see.
In an interview after yesterday's giant slalom, where Vonn finished 3rd, she did not have one congratulatory word for the 1st and 2nd place finishers. Vonn's comments were all about herself. Here is the post-race interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDCV_HZfxWQ

Vonn is a poor sport. When I was growing up, I learned that you can't win all the time. I also learned to be a gracious loser. Those are fundamental childhood lessons, at least they were in the '60s and '70s (before the "everyon's a winner" era in the US). Vonn is an intense competitor and gets upset when she doesn't win. Maria Riesch and Julia Mancuso both beat Vonn in the Cortina downhill this season. The podium photos show Riesch and Mancuso smiling and Vonn pouting. When Vonn was on top, her friend and fellow competitor Maria Riesch always was gracious and congratulated her. Now that Riesch is beating her, in both the overall standings and in speed races, Vonn seems visibly upset and there is tension between them. When Riesch beat Vonn by 0.01 seconds in the Are Super-G, Vonn looks like she is saying the F-word when she realizes that she was beaten. Vonn is no longer unbeatable in speed events and gets upset when she is not in the number one spot on the podium. Blog about the tension between Vonn and Riesch: http://www.universalsports.com/blogs/blog=mr.universe/postid=514455.html
Video of the 2011 Are Super-G race. Vonn's reaction is at around 34:40.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EmssO46YP0

To Vonn's credit, she did come to the Armed Forces hotel last year with the rest of the US ski team. She was friendly, signed autographs, let kids hold her Olympic medals, and posed for photos. But that was the only time that she was there, at least in the six seasons that I've been in Garmisch. She also signed autographs for the US school kids during a practice session in Garmisch last year. All of the other years, she had "other committments" and couldn't be bothered to see the American fans who cheer for her. In the race for the overall World Cup title this season, I'll be cheering for current leader Maria Riesch to win her first Crystal Globe. As long as Lindsey Vonn is competing, I will continue to cheer for her opposition.

Injury Status

2011-03-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

I've been writing more about life than running lately. That's because there hasn't been anything noteworthy going on with my running. A couple of months ago I hurt my left calf muscle. As soon as it healed, I hurt the same muscle in my right leg. That has finally healed and now I'm back to normal again. It has been about a two month span between the time I got the first injury and when the second finally healed.

The one good thing about both injuries is that I was able to ski and walk without any problems, which meant that I got some exercise. Now I'm up to running between 5 and 6 kilometers at a slow pace. Even though I'm slow, it still feels good to be able to run. The ice and snow that's still on the ground is forcing me into a slower pace, which is preventing another reinjury due to excessive speed. In the last week I've been able to increase my speed in the last 200 meters of my runs; but I haven't done my usual full sprint. I've been running outdoors, but without my ice spikes. I decided not to use my spikes because my injuries happened when I used them.

This is the first time in a long time that I've had an injury that affected my running. I've had problems with hamstrings that cleared up after a day of rest or with using my massage stick. They didn't affect my workout schedule. I'm leaning toward skipping the Munich City Run half-marathon in June. I'll have to see how far I've progressed in the next month or two before making any decisions. I know that the half-marathon that accompanies the Munich Marathon in October will be a no-go because I'll be in the States for 3 to 4 weeks in August and September. Since I tend not to get in much running on my Stateside trips, mainly due to the hot weather, I won't be able to put in the proper amount of training time. That would be the time that I would be doing my longest runs to prepare my body for the rigors of the race. Maybe the timing will be right and I'll find a race to do while I'm in the States.

This coming week will be a running week with no skiing. It's the Fasching break and the ski hills are even more crowded than they are during the Christmas holidays. This will give me a good opportunity to evaluate my injury and fitness status. Hopefully everything will continue to improve.

Free Range Stories

2011-02-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

If I had a list of people who I'd like to have lunch with, the author of the Free Range Kids website, Lenore Skenazy, would be on it. Her blog, http://www.freerangekids.wordpress.com/, is one of my favorite sites. Ms. Skenazy posts a lot of items about the culture of fear and helicopter parenting in the States. Parents in the States don't let their kids do what they did as kids, such as walk to school alone or ride their bikes to a friend's house, because they are so afraid of pedophiles and kidnappers. Stateside schools seemed to have stepped into the role of an overprotective parent through such things as: no recess when the temperature is below 10 C (50 F) because a kid may get cold, no Valentine's Day parties because a child in the class may have allergies, and rules about teachers not talking about themselves or touching a child on the shoulder. In the States there is such a fear of "stranger danger" that even senior citizens who smile and say, "Hello" to a child are viewed as potential perverts or kidnappers. Ms. Skenazy has posted stories of children who ran to their parents screaming, "Mom! That stranger talked to me!" when a senior citizen smiled and said, "Hello" to them in a store. I must be a horrible parent because I let my son accept candy from grandmotherly-looking ladies on the train when he was younger (it's a requirement for every German woman over age 60 to have a stash of candy in her purse to give to children that she encounters). Ms. Skenazy also posts positive stories of kids whose families are bucking the helicopter parenting trend.

Here in Germany kids grow up free-range. They walk to school by themselves starting in first grade. In fourth grade they can start riding their bikes to school without parental supervision. In fifth grade kids start taking the public bus or train to school if they don't live nearby. My son rides his bike to school when the weather is nice, usually meeting up with a friend or two along the way. Kids here grow up with a sense of independence. When my son was 10, he rode the train by himself for the first time and loved it. When I picked him up at the station, the first thing he told me was, "I want to ride the train by myself again. That was fun." He skis with friends at the local ski area without adult supervision and knows what to do if someone gets hurt.

Here are a couple of Free Range stories that would probably get me turned in to the Child Protective Services people if they happened in the States. Let's see the violations: leaving a child unsupervised, letting a child talk to strangers, and inviting a child to be kidnapped because of being in a crowded area.

Last September, my family (husband, son) and I went on vacation in Italy. We were near the three big amusement parks in the Lake Garda area. When we were at Gardaland, the biggest park in the area, my husband and I wanted to go on the roller coaster with the loops. My son didn't want to go on it, no matter how hard we tried to convince him to do it. We decided that it was best not to force him to go on that roller coaster because he would be too scared to enjoy it. Next to the roller coaster there was a teacup ride, exactly like the teacups at Disneyland. My son really wanted to go on the teacups. My husband and I decided that our son could go on the teacups while we were on the roller coaster. We picked a place to meet when our rides ended, then went our respective ways. When my husband and I got off the roller coaster, my son was waiting in the appointed spot. We all then went on the teacups together because my son said that he wanted to share his enjoyment of them. OK, he really wanted to ride in them again. Nobody questioned an 11-year-old boy standing by himself for three minutes about where his parents were. All of the other families at the park were minding their own business. There was no park security waiting to haul my husband and me into his office for child neglect. When I was about my son's age, I was allowed to go off by myself or with a friend at Disneyland. I just had to meet up with my parents at a designated place and time, which I always did. This was back in the days before mobile phones, so my parents couldn't check up on me.

My next Free Range story happened last Sunday. The 2011 Alpine Skiing World Championships were here in Garmisch. We had tickets for the men's slalom race, which was the last race of the championships. My son loves collecting autographs and autograph cards from the skiers. After the race concluded, my son wanted to take his autograph pad and go to where the skiers exit the stadium so that he could catch them for autographs. We let him go. My husband and I stayed in the stands to watch the medal ceremony. Every skier that my son approached obliged him with an autograph or card. None of them questioned a child on his own with an autograph pad and pen. Nobody said anything to my son about talking to strangers. After all, he doesn't know any of the professional skiers personally. Therefore, they're strangers. I thought that it was wonderful that my normally shy son would ask the athletes that he watches on TV every weekend from November to March for autographs. When my husband and I finally caught up with him, he was bubbling with happiness about his autograph pad being almost full. He showed us all of the autographs and cards that he collected.

I may never have lunch with Lenore Skenazy. But I will contine to read her Free Range Kids website and feel sorry for children in the States who are so overprotected. Those kids with helicopter parents and overprotective teachers are really missing out on life.

Final World Championship Thoughts

2011-02-20T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some random final thoughts about the 2011 Alpine Skiing World Championships.

Best Post-Race Celebration: Tie between Tina Maze (Slovenia) and Didier Cuche (Switzerland). When Maze realized that she won the gold medal in the giant slalom, she did a roundoff. It was especially impressive because she was wearing heavy ski boots. Cuche is a real showman and has a special ritual that he performs after every race. He loosens one ski, kicks it into the air so that it flips a couple of times, then catches it with one hand.

Best Trick Skiing: Bode Miller of the USA in the men's Super-G event. About halfway down the course he hit a gate, which knocked one of his poles out of his hand. Up until he lost his pole, he had the fastest run. Even after losing his pole, he had the fastest split times until the final one, when he had to make a big turn toward the finish area. He lost his momentum on that turn, but still did well enough to finish 12th. Miller skied better with one pole than most people do with two.

It's a Family Affair: There are several sets of siblings on various ski teams. Some of them competed in Garmisch, while others didn't make the team. Here are some sets of siblings: Matteo and Francesca Marsaglia (Italy), Maria and Suzanne Riesch (Germany), Mariles and Bernadette Schild (Austria) Manfred and Manuela Moelgg (Italy), Marc and Sandra Gini (Switzerland), Christian, Macarena, and Maria-Belen Simarni Birkner (Argentina), Britt and Michael Janyk (Canada), Elizabeth and Stefan Goergl (Austria), Lena and Katarina Duerr (Germany), and Marc and Dominique Gisin (Switzerland). The Gisins have a 17-year-old sister named Michelle who we may see on the Swiss team in the near future. World Cup overall leader Ivica Kostelic of Croatia is coached by his father. His sister Janica was one of the greatest skiers of all time.

The Odd Couple: Christof Innerhofer of Italy and his teammate Peter Fill. Innerhofer and Fill are best friends and often share a room while on the road. Innerhofer describes himself as an extrovert and the one with the messy side of the room. Fill is an introvert and keeps his side of the room clean. He'll often clean Innerhofer's part of the room too. Innerhofer describes Fill as "a good wife." Move over, Oscar and Felix!

Biggest Whiner: Lindsey Vonn of the USA. Before the championships even started, she complained about the course being too fast, icy, and bumpy. Vonn went so far as to say that the Kandahar course was unsafe and posted her complaint on her Facebook page. Her comments practically went viral on the Internet and newspapers around the world. She said that the International Skiing Federation (FIS) did a poor job preparing the course and had no consideration for skier safety. The Austrian and German newspapers had a field day with Vonn's complaints and her fans who wanted her to encourage the other athletes boycott the championships. The Austrian women and Garmisch native Maria Riesch (the overall World Cup leader this season) said that the course was challenging but fine. The Austrians had a point because they won 3 out of 4 races on that course (I'm including the downhill portion of the super combined here). Riesch also earned two bronze medals on it. Even men's combined champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway said that world class skiers should be able to handle any course. Despite Vonn's complaints about how bad the course was, she still opted to race on it and earned a silver medal in the downhill event. So it seems like all of that whining about the course was done to create drama, which Vonn and her husband/coach also did at the 2010 Olympics.

The Mighty Austrians: Before the championships, four Austrian skiing stars were injured severely enough to miss the championships. Speed specialists Hans Grugger, Mario Scheiber, and Georg Streitberger, plus slalom specialist Marcel Hirscher all got injured and will miss the rest of the season. Super-G silver medalist Hannes Reichelt hurt himself in training for the giant slalom and Benjamin Raich tore knee ligaments during a fall in the team competition. A lesser team would be devastated, and possibly wouldn't even be able to field a team, but Austria is at the top of the medal table. The Austrians are so strong that they are almost interchangeable. The "depleted" Austrian men earned two individual medals and contributed to the team silver.

Say Hello to Some Future Stars: Anna Fenninger of Austria is one of the young skiers who achieved her junior potential with a gold medal in the combined event. Lara Gut of Switzerland had 4th place finishes in the Super-G and downhill races. She is only 19 and has a bright future now that she has recovered from an injury. Lotte Smithest Sejersted of Norway showed that she will be a contender soon when she had the best second downhill training run. She won the junior world downhill championship earlier this month. Emilie Wiekstroem of Sweden is another promising young skier and is being touted as a replacement for superstar teammate Anja Paerson. Frederica Brignone, another junior world champion, won a silver medal in the giant slalom. On the men's side Nolan Kasper of the USA could be a medal challenger in the slalom very soon. Bjorn Sieber and Joachim Puchner are young Austrians who also have star potential. They both got to compete in Garmisch due to injuries to their teammates and performed creditably. Justin Murisier of Switzeland also showed some promise. Another skier to watch in the near future is Paolo Pangrazzi of Italy, who was 6th in the combined.

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye: Michael Walchhofer of Austria announced that this season would be his last back in the fall. Garmisch was the last world championship event for the 35-year-old. Others for whom 2011 could be their last world championship include: Patrick Jaerbyn of Sweden (41 years young!), Didier Cuche of Switzerland, Bode Miller of the USA, Kalle Pallander of Finland, Urs Imboden of Moldova, Mario Mott and Benjamin Raich of Austria. On the women's side, Anja Paerson of Sweden hinted at retirement when she was asked about going for a record-tying 20th medal in World Championship and Olympic competition and said that she wasn't planning on it. She already has the women's record with 19--17 individual and 2 team medals. Team USA member Sarah Schleper and Tania Poutiainen of Finland are both over 30, though Poutiainen shows no signs of slowing down with age.

Final Medal Count:
Austria: 8 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
Italy: 6 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze
France: 4 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Sweden: 4 1 silver, 3 bronze
USA: 3 1 gold, 2 silver
Germany: 2 2 bronze
Slovenia: 2 1 gold, 1 silver
Canada: 1 1 gold
Croatia: 1 1 bronze
Norway: 1 1 gold
Switzerland: 1 1 silver

Multiple Medalists:
Christof Innerhofer, Italy: gold in Super-G, silver in combined, bronze in downhill
Elizabeth Goergl, Austria: gold in Super-G and downhill
Tina Maze, Slovenia: gold in giant slalom, silver in combined
Anja Paerson, Sweden: bronze in combined and team competition
Cyprien Richard, France: gold in team competition, silver in giant slalom
Marlies Schild, Austria: gold in slalom, silver in team competition
Tessa Worley, France: gold in team competition, bronze in giant slalom
Maria Riesch, Germany: bronze in Super-G and downhill
Anna Fenninger, Austria: gold in combined, silver in team competition
Marie Peitilae-Holmner, Sweden: bronze in slalom and team competition

Gymnastics and Skiing

2011-02-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Two of my favorite spectator sports are gymnastics and skiing. I've been watching gymnastics since 1970 and ski racing since the 1990s. When I was younger I did gymnastics and now I ski. Even though both of these sports seem quite different, they actually have a lot in common. I don't just mean that both of them require coordination, agility, balance, strength, and overall athletic ability. Here are some other ways that these two sports are alike:

Each event requires different skills: In women's gymnastics there are 4 events: vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Each event is unique and takes different skills. Vaulting requires sheer power, floor exercise takes a combiniation of power, grace, and endurance, beam requires balance and precision, bars require split second timing and agility. Gymnasts tend to be grouped into either being power gymnasts who excel in vaulting and floor exercise or more artistic ones who are better on the balance beam, bars or floor exercise. Many gymnasts only specialize in one or two events. There seem to be just a few who excel in all events and are great all-arounders.

Skiing has 5 different events: downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom, and super combined. Super-combined is one run of downhill and one run of slalom. Like with gymnastics, each skiing event uses different skills. Downhill and Super-G are speed events. They require the ability to think quickly at high speeds while hurtling down an icy course, plus muscular strength and endurance. Super-G has the speed of downhill with the coordination and technical turning skills of giant slalom. Giant slalom requires some speed, but also the ability to turn around gates on a narrow course. Slalom is the slowest event, but probably the most difficult. It requires the ability to turn around gates that are spaced at different intervals while keeping a constant rate of speed and rhythm. Super-combined requires both the speed and split-second timing of downhill and the technical skill of the slalom. Like gymnasts, there tend to be two groups of skiers: speed skiers who excel in the downhill and Super-G or technical specialists who are better at the giant slalom or slalom. There are just a few skiers who are great all-arounders who can excel in all of the disciplines. They are the ones who are also best in the super-combined event.

Evolution: Both gymnastics and skiing have come a long way in the past 50 years. When I did gymnastics in the 1970s, I trained on a hard gym floor or two-inch mats. Now gymnasts train on Tumble-Traks or into foam pits to protect their bodies. The bars and beam were made of wood and were inflexible. Now the beam has springs and has a leather covering. The bars are now flexible and not simply men's parallel bars with different settings. The vaulting board was less springy than what is used now. Even competition floors now have springs in them, which allow for higher and more difficult tumbling. The newer equipment, like hand grips used for the bars, has allowed gymnasts to do much more difficult skills than they did back when I did gymnastics. The skills that were considered difficult in the 1960s and '70s are now being done by beginning and intermediate-level gymnasts now. Here are some different routines to show just how much gymnastics has changed:
Vera Caslavska (Czechoslovakia) vault 1968 Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m4oXnfqRpk
Monica Rosu (Romania) vault 2004 Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wELTSObqZtE
Uneven bar developments 1950s to 2005: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SV_r5UePZI
Cathy Rigby (USA) balance beam 1970: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpoORvcTbJU
Ana Porgras (Romania) balance beam 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPjlmeqNmso&playnext=1&list=PL070300B2DCA940CF
Natalia Kuchinskaya (USSR) floor exercise 1966: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGA-p-mWv4k&feature=related
Viktoria Komova (Russia) floor exercise 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljfYrzZq3xI

Ski racing has also evolved from its early days. Back in the 1930s and into the '60s, many races were held on intermediate-level slopes. One of the fairly easy intermediate-level runs that I ski on here, called "Olympia," was the run used for the women's downhill competition in the 1936 Winter Olympics. Now racers hurtle themselves down steep expert slopes at speeds of up to 130 km/hour (about 80 mph). There was no course preparation in the early days. Racers had to ski on courses however they were. Now World Cup courses are prepared weeks in advance so that they will be fast. As speeds increased, the safety equipment improved. Old-time racers wore beanies and regular ski clothing and used wooden skis. Now all ski racers wear helmets, back protectors, high-tech boots, bindings, and speed suits. Ski racers also wear special arm and leg guards in the giant slalom and slalom events. Their skis are made of the latest high-tech materials and waxes are specially formulated for every snow condition. In old-time World Championship or Olympic competitions there were no safety fences along the courses. Spectators could stand at every point of the course and hope that a skier didn't fall into them. Spectators also came right up to the finish line. Fortunately for them, skiers back in the day didn't go as quickly as they do now. Today's finish lines are about 200 meters from the stands and the only non-racers allowed on the courses are the officials. Here are videos from the 1958 Worlds and some of more modern skiers. Skiing starts at around 1:20 in the 1958 video. It's in German, but you don't really need to understand German to see ski racing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceIViCbbTIg
More modern skiers:
Hermann Maier (Austria) super-G 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZ3jgtLdU6A
Elizabeth Goergl (Austria) downhill 2011: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biilXSmhsiE
Ted Ligety (USA) giant slalom 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qw6S-bRSSw
Marlies Schild (Austria) slalom 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wJLPqAk3io&feature=related
I included women in some of the modern videos to show that they are faster and more aggresive than men were back in the 1950s.

Dominant Teams: From 1952 to 1992 the Soviet Union was the dominant team in gymnastics. Soviet gymnasts won the most Olympic and World Championship medals in that period. Starting in the late 1970s the Romanians were the only team to challenge the Soviets' dominance. Both of these countries had an organized system for developing gymnastics talent. As senior gymnasts retired, new ones took their places on the team. Both of those teams were very deep, with many talented gymnasts who would be the #1 from any other country not being able to make a Soviet or Romanian Olympic or world championship team.

Austria is the dominant team in skiing and has been for at least the past 50 years. The Austrians have a very successful system for developing Alpine skiers. When one Austrian skier retires, there is someone who comes up from the junior ranks to take his or her place. Austria has a very deep team. There are so many great Austrian skiers in each discipline, some of the best in the world get left off of Olympic and world championship teams. Austrian skiers have also won the most medals in Olympic and world championship competitions. Switzerland also has a strong, deep ski team that always has skiers in the running for medals. If skiing was gymnastics, Austria would be the Soviet Union and Switzerland would be Romania.

As a former gymnast, I would loved to have trained and competed on the equipment that is used now. I remember doing rolls on hard wooden beams and tumbling on mats that had no spring to them. When I started skiing, it was customary for recreational skiers like myself to have long, straight skis. Now the trend is to have shorter skis that designed to turn easier. I can't imagine skiing on wooden skis, though the gymnastics equimpent that I used was almost that same vintage. It will be interesting to see how both gymnastics and ski racing evolve in the next 50 years.

World Championship Stories

2011-02-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

While the media focuses only on the top athletes at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, I think that every skier has his or her own story. It doesn't matter if that skier is a gold medalist or the last place finisher from a small country who is just here for the experience. Here are some interesting stories about some of the skiers at the World Championships:

Erik Guay (Canada): This season has not been his best due to a back injury. But as the Austrian commentator on ORF said, "Erik Guay and Garmisch go hand-in-hand." Two out of his three World Cup wins have been on the Garmisch Kandahar course, one in a downhill and the other in a Super-G. On Wednesday he had a poor performance in the Super-G and wasn't among the favorites for the downhill. But he had a blistering run in today's downhill. Guay ended up breaking the course record and winning World Championship gold. As I said in my last entry, Guay also speaks a little bit of Norwegian. It seems like commentators can't figure out how to pronounce his name. The German-speaking ones say, "Gay" and the English speakers say, "Guy."

Werner Heel (Italy): My son has a friend whose father has a house in the Italian Suedtirol (Southern Tirol) on the Italy-Austria border. Werner Heel is the friend's father's neighbor. Last summer Heel gave my son's friend extra Italian ski team posters and photo cards so that my son could have some.

Sarah Schleper (USA): In addition to being one of the oldest women on the pro skiing tour (32 next Saturday), Schleper is also a mother. She has a three-year-old son named Lasse. He was named after Norwegian great Lasse Kjus. Schleper is a slalom and giant slalom specialist whose ritual before each run is to let out a scream or war cry.

Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway) and Julia Mancuso (USA): They are dating each other. Mancuso spent last Christmas at Svindal's home in Norway. Mancuso also has a lingerie line called "Kiss My Tiara." At the 2010 Olympics Mancuso wore a small tiara under her helmet.

Benjamin Raich (Austria) and Marlies Schild (Austria): Raich and Schild are engaged to each other.

Anja Paerson (Sweden): Paerson is one of the all-time greats. After winning the bronze medal in yesterday's super-combined, she broke the all-time women's record for World Championship and Olympic medals. She has 17 individual medals and one team medal. Only Norwegian star Kjetil Andre Aamodt has more with 20. She earned medals in 3 Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010) and 5 World Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011). She is the first skier in history, male or female, to have World Championship gold medals in all 5 Alpine events.

Dominique Gisin (Switzerland): Her helmet has photos of various children on it. When my husband asked if the kids in the photos were family members, she said, "No." Gisin has a website where fans can send photos of their children. If her fans like the photos, she will wear them on her helmet in competition. Gisin speaks perfect, almost unaccented, English. She placed 4th in yesterday's super-combined race.

Ivica Kostelic (Croatia): Kostelic is currently leading the overall World Cup standings. If he ends up winning the overall title, he will be part of the second brother-sister pair to win World Cup overall titles. His sister Janica won World Cup overall titles in 2001, 2003, and 2006. In 1980 Andreas and Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein won World Cup overall titles. He would also become the first Croatian man to win a World Cup overall title.

Patrick Jaerbyn (Sweden): At age 41 he's the oldest competitor at the World Championships. He has been competing in World Championships since 1996. In the 2007 World Championships he won a bronze medal and became the oldest podium finisher in a world championship at 37. In December 2008, at age 39 years and 9 months, he became the oldest podium finisher in a World Cup race.

David Chodounsky (USA): Chodounsky was not a full member of the US ski team at the beginning of the season. His father was traveling with him and financing him so that he could compete. He earned his first World Cup points this season in a slalom race in Wengen, Switzerland and was so excited when he finished the second run. It was a refreshing change to see the joy on his face at getting points because so many of the big stars pout when they don't win a race. Here is a video of that run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZfaIxDboA Chodounsky's nickname is "Chowder."

Daniel Albrecht (Switzerland): I'm saving the most inspirational story for last. Two years ago during downhill training in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Albrecht lost control on the last jump and landed in a heap by the finish. He had to be put into a coma to prevent his brain from swelling. Nobody knew if he would have permanent brain damage or if he would even be able to walk again. Here is the video of that crash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HC_ityOY3g At the beginning of this season Albrecht came back and was good enough to make the mighty Swiss Alpine skiing team. In his first race coming back from his horrific injury, a giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, he placed 21st and was thrilled about earning World Cup points. He has happy to be back racing and has a new perspective. For him it doesn't matter if he gets on the podium or even places high enough to earn World Cup points (the top 30 get points). Here is his comeback race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_CY8cAUcvo The commentary is in German. A loose translation is that he placed 21st in the race and was very surprised at how well he did considering that he hadn't raced for two years and also that he was close to 2 seconds behind winner Ted Ligety in the qualification run. Daniel Albrecht is one of the best comeback stories in sports.

Photo Day at the (Training) Races

2011-02-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

Today was a downhill training day for both the men and women at the World Alpine Skiing Championships. Training was open to the public free of charge. My husband and I decided to take advantage of it and get autographs from the skiers and also their photos. I could only attend the men's training session because I had to go to work in the afternoon. Living 400 meters from the gondola to the ski area where the championships are being held has its advantages. I could see a training session and still be home in time to have lunch and get ready for work.

On our first chairlift ride we sat with a skier from Uzbekistan who was doing slalom training on the easy slope. Between his few words of English and my pidgin Russian, he told us that skiers in his country only do slalom and giant slalom. He was going to be in both of those races next week. Then it was up to the top of the Kandahar run to see if any athletes were making their way to the start house. It was pretty early and we saw a lot of course monitors and slippers. For those who don't know about ski racing, a slipper goes on the course after a racer and smooths down any rough spots. Since it was early, we decided to go to the top of the Kreuzeckbahn gondola station. The athletes had to take that gondola to get to the start house. We just missed the Swiss team; but we saw skiers from: the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Austria, France, and Italy. We got autographs from many of them. The Italians were especially friendly. I got my photo with Matteo Marsaglia and 2011 Super-G world championship gold medalist Christof Innerhofer. Marsaglia gave us one of his photo postcards. I also had my picture taken with Austrian skier Bjoern Sieber, who recently moved up from the junior squad and was here for world championship experience.

A funny story about meeting Christof Innerhofer...my husband started asking the skiers their names so that he could decipher their autographs. When we saw the very tall Italian skier, my husband said, "Excuse me, what's your name?" When he replied that he was Christof Innerhofer, I congratulated him on his gold medal from yesterday and wished him good luck in the downhill race on Saturday. He was very nice and let my husband take a photo of him and me together. It turned out that Innerhofer had the fastest training run today, showing that his gold medal in the Super-G was no fluke.

When the racers all departed, it was time to go to the finish area to watch the training races. After the first 30 racers did their runs, we started seeing some of the racers who had already completed their training runs starting to leave the area: Eric Guay and Jan Hudek from Canada, Swiss veteran Ambrosi Hoffman, and top Slovenian downhillers Andrej Sporn and Alex Gorza. We got to speak a little bit with the Canadian skiers. I noticed that Hudek skis on Rossignols, which is what my skis are. He told me that my skis looked nicer than his. I replied that his skis were much faster. Eric Guay said that he spoke a little bit of Norwegian. He told us that the universal language on the pro ski tour is German. More pro skiers speak German than English, which makes sense because there are so many from German-speaking countries. The two Slovenians had a friend with them who took a photo of my husband and me with them. Then it was time to head home.

In the gondola station I saw a female Austrian skier. We got into the gondola after hers and saw her at the top outside the station after we got off. It was one of the big Austrian stars, Michaela Kirchgasser. She seemed friendly and gave us an autograph and let my husband take a photo of me with her. My husband also got a photo of Swiss speed specialist Dominique Gisin and her autograph. It turned out that he had ridden in the same gondola with her on Monday and had chatted with her quite a bit. He told me that she spoke perfect English and hardly had an accent.

The skiers that we approached were all so gracious about signing autographs and having their pictures taken. Even big stars like Innerhofer and Kirchgasser were happy to do it. In the States it seems like most of the big sports stars charge for their autographs. But the skiers, who are major stars in their countries (especially Austria and Switzerland), let fans have their autographs for free. The only skier who snubbed the fans was US star Bode Miller, which wasn't really a surprise. My son was in school during the men's training session. But he was so thrilled when I showed him all of the autographs we got in our little booklet.

I just got tickets to see the men's slalom race on the 20th. It's the last race of the world championships and to me the most interesting. There are about 10 skiers who have good chances to earn a medal. Slalom is also the most technically challenging of the 5 Alpine skiing disciplines. In the past I thought that slalom was the most boring discipline until I realized just how tough it really is. I'm looking forward to seeing that race.

Star Sightings

2011-02-07T08:31:00.000-08:00

The World Alpine Skiing Championships start tomorrow. Actually the opening ceremony is tonight, but the first race is tomorrow. This competition is second in prestige to the Olympics. If all goes well, it will look good for the Munich/Garmisch bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. In the downtown walking zone there is already a real party atmosphere. My husband and I walked there and checked it out. We got free Swiss cowbells and samples of Milka chocolate. Milka is a major sponsor of World Cup skiing. In this part of Germany, and in neighboring Austria, skiers are treated like American football, baseball, or basketball players in the States or hockey stars in Canada. Many of the skiers on the German national team are from the Garmisch area. Double Olympic gold medalist Maria Riesch and national team member Felix Neureuther, who are Garmisch-Partenkirchen natives, have their pictures all over town on banners, posters, and store window displays.

This morning I went skiing with my husband and saw a lot of the athletes training. Some of the men were training on one of the easier slopes to test out their skis and wax. We could watch them from the chair lift and also from the run. My local ski area has two expert slopes. The Kandahar is the one that will be used for all of the races except for the slaloms. The other advanced run, The Horn, has been closed to the public and is being used for giant slalom training. Skiers are also training on the Kandahar to get a feel for it in advance of their races and figure out which skis and wax would work best for the unseasonably warm conditions.

We saw Canadians, a Czech, an American, and a team in black speed suits that we didn't recognize testing out their skis and wax on the easy slope. When we came off the gondola that goes up to the ski area (the one closest to my house called the Hausbergbahn), I recognized Austrian star Elizabeth Goergl. When my husband and I skied down to the valley to the other gondola (called the Kreuzekbahn), we saw Slovenian star Tina Maze. She is pretty much the Slovenian women's ski team and, like Goergl, one of the very best in the world. When I rode up in the gondola to go back to the ski area, I sat next to Maze and wished her luck in the championships. There was also a Swiss athlete in the gondola with us, who I think was speed specialist Fabienne Suter.

What surprised me was how petite Maze, Goergl, and the Swiss skier were. I'm used to seeing Maria Riesch, who is very tall. American star Lindsey Vonn is also an Amazon. Downhill specialist Anja Paerson of Sweden is a big woman, as is Finnish technical specialist Tania Poutiainen. Therefore, I've come to expect that most female skiers would be bigger women with huge thighs. I'm very small and Maze, Goergl, and the Swiss skier were not much bigger than me. Even their thighs didn't seem much larger than mine. Perhaps it just seemed that way because they were wearing speed suits and I was in baggy ski pants. When I saw Goergl, she looked almost like a teenager.

I'm looking forward to the races and have my favorites who I will cheer for: Maria Riesch, Viktoria Rebensburg (Germany), Ted Ligety (USA), Ivica Kostelic (Croatia), Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway), Felix Neureuther, and Didier Cuche (Switzerland). I hope that all of the athletes will have a successful World Championships.

Facebook, Food, and Friends

2011-02-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

I'm very new to Facebook, having finally signed up for it just after Christmas. I have a small friends list and am still figuring out how it all works. There are a few things that I've learned about Facebook in the short time that I have been on it.

If you want to get lots of comments from your Facebook friends, post photos of whatever you're eating. I never understood the whole phenemenon of photographing your meals and posting them for all to see. When I'm eating a meal, I want to live in the moment and enjoy it. My first thought isn't, "I must photograph these chicken fajitas so I can post them on my Facebook page when I get home." I guess Facebook photo ops of your food are the Kodak moments of this millenium. To be fair, people generally post positive comments about food photos that a friend posts, or they'll ask about the restaurant that the meal came from. If I think that a certain meal looks like a greasy, nasty-looking calorie bomb, I don't say anything at all. Most other people seem to be the same. If I find a good recipe, I'll share it. But you won't find me photographing my meals.

The other thing about food and Facebook is that people like to post when and where they went out to eat. A typical post would be, "Went to Belly Buster Burgers for lunch." Again, when I go out to eat, I want to be in the moment enjoying myself with my family or friends. I don't think about rushing home to post on Facebook that I had Gulaschsuppe or Wiener Schnitzel mit Pommes at one of the local eateries. If I went somewhere and had a truly outstanding meal, that would be one thing. But it seems like every time someone goes out for a meal, he must post about it on Facebook. Appreciation for the excellent seems to be lost when every mundane restaurant experience is elevated to grand status. To me it's like writing about my training runs. If I wrote about every training run that I did, the non-runners (and runners too) who read this blog would be bored to tears. The only training runs that I write about are those that stand out because they were either excellent or horrible. Average training runs just aren't worth writing about. I believe that the same thing should apply to restaurant meals. Judging from what I read on my friends' Facebook pages, I'm evidently in the minority when it comes to food and restaurant meals.

There are two types of people on Facebook: friend collectors and people who are very selective about their friends. I fall into the latter category. I only friend people that I know. There are only two people on my friends list who I've never met in person, but I "know" one through a mutual friend and the other through a long-time acquaintance on an online forum. But there are others on Facebook who have hundreds, and even thousands, of friends. They'll accept anyone who sends a friend request. If the person requesting friendship says, "I met you at Joe Shemanski's party in 1982; don't you remember me?" he gets accepted.

A lot of people on Facebook are also game players and post the latest scores or promotions in games that they're playing. I must admit that some of the games on Facebook looked interesting. But in order to play them, you must let Facebook share your personal information. The people at Facebook don't have the need to know my information, so I won't be playing their games. There are plenty of online game sites that I visit regularly (e.g. Sporcle) that don't require users to provide personal information. I'll stick with those.

Despite this cynical-sounding post about Facebook, so far I've had a positive experience with it. I've reconnected with old friends, some of whom I lost track of in the '80s. It has also been nice to get back in touch with friends who left Germany and went back to the States. Facebook has also been a good way to communicate with my brother and cousins. The benefit of staying in touch with friends and relatives outweighs the food photos.

More Race Awards (the Not-So-Good Ones)

2011-01-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted "awards" for races that I had run. They were the positive awards. Today's post is also an awards ceremony of sorts, only these are the ones that are not so good.

1. Amateur Hour: The 2003 Hohenfels Box Run 10K was the most amateurish race that I have run. Even though I was part of the race committee, I did my best to disassociate myself from it. Just about everyone else on the committee was a non-runner, and it showed. All of my suggestions were vetoed. But on to the actual race...On the course there was some confusion about which way to turn because the turns weren't clearly marked. I followed the runners in front of me and hoped that they made the correct turns. There were no computers, or even a person with a clipboard at the finish line, to record race numbers as the runners finished. Each racer was given a popsicle stick with a number on it which corresponded to their overall place in the race. The team competition wasn't decided by the times of the 5 best runners on the team, like in any other race. It was decided by adding up the numbers on the popsicle sticks. The team with the lowest total was the winner of the team competition. At the awards ceremony only one woman over 40 was given an award (the top 3 in each age group were supposed to receive awards), even though there were at least 4 women over 40 in the race. The organizers didn't figure on any teens being in the race and didn't have any awards for them. Someone managed to scrounge up a trophy for the winning teenager, which said, "1st place men 70+." I guess if that kid is still running in his 70s, he'll have a race trophy.

2. Water, water everywhere (except on the course): Most race organizers plan for the right amount of water on a course. There have only been a couple of races where there wasn't enough water. One was the 1993 Race of the Champions Half-Marathon in San Diego. It was the first, and last, time that that race was run. There was enough water for all at the first water point. But after that there was nothing for those who were midpack or back of the pack runners. Fortunately, there were a lot of nice homeowners who let the runners drink from their garden hoses. The 1996 Munich Marathon organizers also missed on providing enough water at the later water points.

3. Ho-hum: Most organizers plan a fairly scenic course because they want to attract more runners to their races. Most of the races that I have run have nice scenery that takes my mind off of my tired legs. But the 1989 Rancho Penasquitos Town Center 5K was not one of those. It started and finished in a big strip mall. The course was an out-and-back on a main suburban street with more strip malls and some houses. The Amberg Half-Marathon course is nice, but monotonous. Runners must do the same loop 3 1/2 times before finishing on the track of a sports complex.

4. Go Before You Go: If you run a race in Germany, don't count on having any Porta Potties on the course. Make sure you "take care of business" before the race. When I raced in San Diego, all of the long races had Porta Potties. I never needed one; but it was nice to know that they were there just in case. It surprised me when I ran the 1993 Munich Marathon and didn't see a single Porta Potty along the course. At the start area of the 2010 Munich Half-Marathon (the companion run to the marathon) there weren't enough toilets or Porta Potties. A lot of women, myself included, ended up using some nearby bushes before the race.

5. Unequal Spacing: The Muenchener Stadtlauf (Munich City Run) is one of my favorite half-marathons, mainly because I love running through the English Garden and finishing on the Marienplatz. However, the water points have some odd spacing. The first one is at the 5 km mark, which is standard in a German half-marathon. The second one isn't until the 13 km mark. The 3rd and 4th ones are at 17 and 19 km. The weather is often warm in late June, when the Stadtlauf is held. Eight kilometers (about 5 miles) is a long way to go between water points, especially in a warm weather half-marathon. After the first time I ran the Stadtlauf, I learned to carry a drink with me.

6. Ugly T-Shirt Contest: The ugliest race t-shirt was the one for the 2007 Munich Marathon. It was black and grey, which was bad enough. But the pattern on the shirt was downright ugly. If you wanted a shirt, you had to pay 30 euro for it. You couldn't have paid me 30 million euro to wear that shirt. Needless to say, I didn't buy one. Honorable mention goes to the shirt for the 2010 Muenchener Stadtlauf. Every year the Stadtlauf runners receive a free technical t-shirt, which they must wear in the race instead of a number. It's orange and changes slightly every year. Last year there were black stripes on the sleeves, which seemed out of place with the rest of the orange and white shirt. I liked the Stadtlauf shirts from 2007 and 2008.

7. German Inefficiency: On a word association test, the word "efficiency" generally follows "German." Not so at the 2010 Muenchener Stadtlauf. In previous years, there was one line/stop for race day check-in. It was quick and easy. Last year the organizers changed the check-in procedure and made it more cumbersome. I had to stand in one line to check in and get my t-shirt claim check. Then I had to stand in another line to get my t-shirt. It took close to 30 minutes to check in instead of 5 with the old procedure. The organizers really need to go back to the old, efficient check-in procedure.

8. Where the Heck is Parsberg, Germany, California? The award for the most geographically challenged race organizers goes to the 1993 Race of the Champions Half-Marathon. Each racer was photographed during the race and proofs were mailed to them afterward. Remember, this was in the days before digital photography and online ordering. I put my German street address in Parsberg on the entry form. When I finally received the envelope with the proofs, about 3 months after the ordering deadline, it was addressed to me in Parsberg, Germany, California. Parsberg's postal code of 92331 could theoretically be one in southern California. The people who sent out the photo proofs must have thought that Parsberg, Germany was a city in California based on its postal code. Finally, someone wrote, "Try Federal Republic of Germany" on the envelope and it got to its correct destination. I would have thought that the word "Germany" would have been a good clue that Parsberg was not in California. I guess it wasn't.

Racing Awards

2011-01-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here are "awards" for races that I have run:

1. Most Fun Atmosphere: The Neumarkter Stadtlauf (Neumarkt City Run) 10.5 km and half-marathon runs. Before the run there is lots of music and crowd support. The announcers get excited and that carries over to the runners. After the race it's like a big street fest with music, refreshments, and a good crowd. One of the things that I miss about living in Parsberg was running Neumarkt. Every one of my friends who ran Neumarkt also enjoyed it.

2. Most Scenic Course: The San Diego Half-Marathon, which was held in Carlsbad, CA when I ran it in 1991, went along the Pacific Ocean. There were nice ocean views going out and back. For those who prefer greenery, 18 of the 21.1 kilometers of the Muenchener Stadtlauf (Munich City Run) half-marathon are in the English Garden.

3. Most Varied Course: The Neumarkter Stadtlauf has everything: roads, dirt paths, grass, gravel paths, a wooden bridge, and even cobblestones.

4. Most Labyrinthine Course: The Munich Marathon from km 31 to about km 39. That's the part which goes through the Old City. Every time I've run that course, I felt like I was in the middle of a big maze because there are so many twists and turns. I just followed everyone else and hoped that they were all going the right way.

5. Hilliest Course: The San Dieguito Half-Marathon is 21.1 km of rolling hills. I don't think that there's a flat spot anywhere on the course. When I ran it back in 1992, I felt like I was either going uphill or downhill. The Garmisch Cross-Country Challenge 5K is also very hilly, though there are a couple of flat sections. The Eibsee Herbstlauf (Autumn Run) has a 350 meter climb and then about a 100 meter drop. The first uphill and last downhill sections are fairly steep. On the climbing sections, there are several long, grinding hills.

6. Best Crowd Support: The Neumarkter Stadtlauf and the Berlin Marathon had lots of people along the course to cheer on the runners. There were lots of people lining the streeets in the last kilometer to give a final energy boost to the tired runners.

7. Coldest Race: The Seubersdorf 9.6 km Silvesterlauf (New Year's Eve Run). When I ran it in 2002, it was just above freezing. At around the 8 km mark, it started to rain. There's nothing like freezing rain to motivate a runner to get to the finish line faster. When the freezing rain started to fall during that race, my first thought was, "Now I know why so many great runners come from the British Isles. They run in this all the time and want to finish their workouts as quickly as possible so they can get warm and dry." The race organizers served hot tea at the finish line. I usually don't drink tea after a race (tea at races is a German thing), but that time it really helped me to warm back up.

8. Hottest Race: Tie between the 2000 and 2001 Regensburg Half-Marathon and the 1992 America's Finest City Half-Marathon. When I ran those races, the weather was very hot and humid. Both of those courses had a lot of sun and very little shade. Fortunately, there were plenty of water/sports drink stops. It was also warm at the 2008 Munich Stadtlauf. But it didn't feel quite so hot because a lot of the race was in the shade.

9. Steepest Hill: The Seubersdorf Silvesterlauf. The last 500 meters of that race are all uphill. It's not a nice, gradual uphill, but a very steep one. Just when you think you're going to get a personal record because the rest of the course was flat, you hit the hill. It seems even steeper because it's at the very end of the race.

10. Most Ironic Sense of Humor: The final turn of the 1994 Berlin Marathon was at the 40 km mark. On the corner where the runners turned, there was a group of about 20 men from Denmark wearing "Music Man" style band uniforms. They were singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Monty Python's "Life of Brian."

11. Most Personal Races: The Amberg Half-Marathon and Velburg Osterlauf (Easter Run) have small fields. As the runners approach the finish line, an announcer calls out their names and where they're from. All of the runners, from the winner to the last place finisher, have their names announced. Even if you finish at the back of the pack, you feel like a winner when you hear your name as you cross the finish line.

12. Best Finish: The Munich Marathon finishes in the Olympic Stadium. After running just under 42 km, the runners go through a tunnel to the Olympic Stadium track. There are colored lights flashing and music playing in the tunnel. Whenever I've gone through the tunnel (three times for the marathon and once for the half-marathon), I had a brief moment when I thought about how the marathon runners in the 1972 Olympics must have felt when they came through the tunnel and onto the track. I love the Olympic Stadium track. It's made of high-tech material that's very springy and feels heavenly after pounding the pavement for all of those kilometers. Every time I ran on it, I wished that the whole course was made of the same material as the track.

13. Best Post-Race Refreshments: The Neumarkter Stadtlauf hands down. The race organizers in Neumarkt have anything that a runner could want: fruit (bananas, apples, oranges, lemons), different types of rolls, cookies, cakes, pretzels, energy bars, water, sports drink, and tea. Those are all free. There are also booths set up where people can buy soup, sausages, beer, and sandwiches. The 1992 Rainforest Run 5K in San Diego gets a special mention. I don't remember the post-race refreshments there except for the ice cream. Ben and Jerry's was a sponsor and gave out free ice cream to the runners.

14. Best Prize Drawing: The Eibsee Herbstlauf. One of the best things about the Eibsee race is the drawing after the award ceremony. Nobody goes home empty-handed. The three grand prizes are pairs of running shoes. There are other nice prizes like: T-shirts, technical clothing, special coffee mugs, discount coupons for the sport shop where one of the organizers works, and much more. The one year where I was able to stay for the prize drawing I won a high-quality pair of warm mittens and a calendar.

15. Best Post-Race Memory: The 2005 Hohenfels Box Run 10K, where the team that I was on won the team title. That was the year of my 1-2-3-4 finish: 1st place team, 2nd in my age group, 3rd woman overall, and 4th place member of my team. Getting individual awards in that race was nice, but winning the team title was even better. The year before, my team was 2nd place by 20 seconds. In 2005 every member of the team was determined to win the team competition. Charlie, Lee, Frank, Jack, and I all gave our best and carried our team to victory by a large margin. It was a real thrill to stand on the stage with my teammates, get a 1st place team medal, and hold the team trophy.

Parenting Blog Parody

2011-01-22T02:35:00.000-08:00

Last month I wrote a post about parenting blogs. A couple of years ago at work my boss, co-workers, and I were talking about the "Life on the Home Front" column in the Stars and Stripes. My boss had the same sentiment about that column that I did. It was like an accident on the Autobahn. You know that you shouldn't look, but end up doing so anyway.

When I first came to Germany in 1992, I had no clue about military life. One of the other civilian contractor wives, who was a friend of mine, was equally clueless. Both of us arrived in Germany at the same time and we learned together how to fit into the overseas Army culture. We had our impression of what the perfect wife was supposed to be. Neither of us fit the bill. As a joke, my friend bought me The Air Force Officers' Wives Survival Guide, which was last updated around 1953. According to friends of mine who are Army officers' wives, most of the things in that book aren't done anymore (e.g. leaving a calling card after a social function). The following is a piece that I wrote about two or three years ago, just after the discussion with my boss and co-workers. It's a parody of "Life on the Home Front" (and more recent parenting blogs that are similar to "Life...") and those guides on how to be the perfect military spouse.

A Guide For Military Officers' Wives:
Part 1: How To Choose the Right Toilet Paper

One of the duties of an officer's wife is to be a good hostess. The most important item that will reflect your skills as a hostess is toilet paper. You will never want to be scandalized by the other wives complaining about how your toilet paper feels like newspaper. Nothing stops an officer's career like being called into his commander's office because the toilet paper in his home had the feel of old corncobs.

Buying toilet paper in the Commissary can be one of the most complex tasks you'll perform as a military officer's wife. First of all, there are so many different brands to choose from. Plus, each brand comes in so many different colors. It's enough to make your head spin!

Whenever I buy toilet paper, I make it a family affair. But can you imagine...each member of the family has his or her own preferences. They actually have knock-down-drag-out fights in the paper goods aisle trying to figure out who got to pick out the toilet paper the last time we went shopping. Herkie, who likes white Charmin, complains that Junie, who's partial to pink Northern, got to pick out the toilet paper last time. Davy likes light blue Scott because it goes with the blue bathmat. He says that it's his turn to pick the toilet paper. Herkie and Junie disagree, and they get into a real tussle over it.

Meanwhile, Bruno is watching the twins Billy and Bobby wander over to the napkin section. Billy and Bobby tear into packages of dinner napkins before Bruno can stop them. The only one in the family who is well-behaved is Baby Ricky, who sits drooling in the shopping cart. Fortunately, Ricky hasn't figured out his favorite toilet paper yet because he's still in diapers. But I noticed that Ricky doesn't like the Huggies baby wipes that I used with Billy and Bobby because they give him a rash. I use Pampers wipes on Ricky because they don't give him a rash. I also used Pampers wipes on Herkie and Junie. Davy, Billy, and Bobby could use any kind of baby wipe without a reaction.

But back to picking out toilet paper. Two-ply is always best because it's more cushy and absorbent. One-ply tears too easily and you have to use twice as much as the two-ply. Imagine the shame of the colonel announcing to all of your guests that your toilet paper fell apart while he was doing a rear end wipe up!

Now that I've established that two-ply paper is the best, it's time to pick the brand and color. This is where it gets very difficult. The floor of my bathroom is white. The walls have blue trim. Our bathroom towels are blue to match the blue trim on the off-white walls. The curtains in the bathroom are blue with white trim. The shower curtain is also blue and white, but it also has yellow and pink flowers on it. So...the dilemma arises...do I want my toilet paper to match the floor, the towels, the walls, the blue and white in the curtains, or the flowers on the shower curtain while maintaining the right level of softness to prevent complaints from the other wives?

Bruno doesn't really care about toilet paper. He'd use newspapers and old magazines if they were available. Typical man! But the kids are very choosy because the wrong toilet paper could ruin their social standing at school. One time I bought yellow Northern to go with the flowers on the shower curtain and to provide some color and contrast to the bathroom. But Junie complained that the pink flowers were being left out. Davy said that the toilet paper should be blue. But then again, blue is Davy's favorite color. He likes everything blue. I even have to put blue food coloring in all of his food to get him to eat it.

Since I have a hard time deciding which toilet paper to pick, I leave it up to the kids. I always resolve to write down who chose the toilet paper last time so that everyone will remember and things will be fair. But making lists of who did what is such a chore! But I guess I'll have to start doing that when Bobby, Billy, and Ricky get old enough to express their toilet paper preferences. What a family milestone that will be! I just can''t wait to find out which brands and colors they'll prefer.

Next week: You think that buying toilet paper in the Commissary is a chore? Wait until we learn about buying aspirin in the PX. You'll need that aspirin for the headache that you got from buying toilet paper.

I'm Healed!

2011-01-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

About a month ago I strained a left calf muscle. I did all of the right things after getting injured: rest, ice, massaging the area, and cross-training. It got better, so I started running on the treadmill. Everything was fine until I re-injured it two weeks ago running outdoors. The muscle didn't hurt when I skied, probably because the pressure of the ski boot on the sore spot was like trigger point massage. It was also okay when I used the elliptical trainer at the gym. I went back to a beginning runner's program, starting off with just a few minutes of slow running on the treadmill followed by time on the elliptical trainer. I gradually increased the number of running minutes and decreased the corresponding number of minutes on the elliptical trainer. This past week my leg felt great.

Today the weather was warm and sunny. It was more like April than January. I thought about going to the gym, but just couldn't pass up the opportunity for an ice-free outdoor run. My plan was to run slowly for as long as my leg felt good. As soon as I felt something pulling or any pain, then I would walk. Everything was great today! I ended up running 5 km without any pain. OK, when I got close to my turnaround point, I felt a slight twinge in the muscle, which quickly disappeared. My pace was very slow. It took over 28.5 minutes to run a course that I normally do in around 25. But just being able to run again was such a great feeling. I know that my speed will come back. The important thing is to take it slowly and gradually increase my speed and distance. If I'm going to be on an injury rehab program, this is the best time because it isn't racing season. I'll have a few months to work my way back into racing form.

When the weather is on the cool side, I tend to go too fast. That is probably how I reinjured my leg--I ran outside on a very cold day and was trying to get warm quickly. I overdressed a little bit this morning so that I wouldn't be tempted to go fast in order to warm up. My plan worked because I kept a slow pace the whole time, though I was faster on the return leg of my out-and-back course. I'm glad that I was able to cross-train by skiing and using the elliptical trainer. It would have been much worse if I couldn't do anything at all. But best of all, I'm happy that my leg has finally healed.

It's amazing how our bodies tell us that we need to slow down and take it easy. My late running partner Bill used to tell me that injuries were caused by three things: 1) increasing mileage too quickly or too much mileage, 2) excessive speed or increasing speed too quickly, and 3) both 1 and 2. I'll add a fourth thing to Bill's list: not enough rest or down time. I know that I haven't really been taking much down time. Perhaps this injury was my body's way of telling me to take a little break from running. Our bodies are wonderful things, though we don't always want to listen to what they're telling us.

R.I. P. Dan 16 August 1951 - 8 January 2010

2011-01-08T01:13:00.000-08:00

Daniel my brother, you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel, you're a star in the face of the sky.
Elton John "Daniel"

Wow, I can't believe that it has been a year since Dan died from pancreatic cancer. He was one of my oldest and dearest friends. Dan and I met when I was 14 and he was almost 22, yet we hit it off immediately. Even though there were long gaps where we were out of touch with each other, whenever I needed a friend I could pick up the phone and call Dan. We would pick things up right where we left off. With the Internet and e-mail, we were better about contacting each other. I loved his e-mails with his unique brand of humor. They were real day brighteners.

When I met Dan, he worked as a directory assistance operator. He used to tell me some of the funny names that he came across in his work: Dudley Fudpucker (I use that as a alter ego on one of my Yahoo accounts), an orthopedic surgeon named Dr. Bones, and a gay bar/pool hall called Steelball City. Dan knew lots of good, and not so good, jokes and loved to tell them every chance he got. In fact, his last e-mail to me was a series of jokes.

One of my favorite memories of Dan had to do with how his wit defused a situation. We were driving somewhere in the San Fernando Valley. It was a summer night and the car windows were open. We were stopped at a red light. A car with a couple of 20-something men pulled up next to us. The driver looked our way and said, "You're cute. Why don't you come with me instead of him?" Most men would have seen that as a challenge and would have confronted the driver. Dan looked at the driver, bent his wrist, and said in his best imitation of a stereotypical gay man, "I think you're cute too." The driver then said, "I was talking to her." Dan said, "She's okay, but you're much better looking. Why don't we get together sometime." As I was laughing, the light turned green and the other car sped away.

But even though Dan loved jokes and humor, his life wasn't all fun and games. When he was awarded custody of his son, he took his role as a father very seriously. Dan looked up to his own father to help guide himself in raising his son. Dan was really affected by his father's death and said that his father was his biggest role model. When his mother needed assistance, he was there with her through the end of her life. There were also some unfilfilled dreams in Dan's life. He admired the police and wanted to be a policeman. In fact, he had the opportunity to go to the police academy. But he had to turn it down because he had recently gotten custody of his son and didn't want to leave him for the training period. He also never found the right woman who could give him what he needed. He and his first wife married young and the marriage didn't last. He had other relationships after his divorce, but they didn't last. One of my wishes for Dan was that he could find the same happiness with a woman that I have with my husband. But it wasn't in the cards.

Dan was a big (American) football fan and his favorite team was the Pittsburgh Steelers. His favorite college team was UCLA, which was also mine. He also cheered for the Rams and Raiders, even after they left Los Angeles. During the NFL playoffs, we would make friendly wagers on the games. The winner got bragging rights. He won most of these bets because I would pick underdog teams. He teased me about cheering for the New Orleans Saints when they were one of the worst teams in the NFL. I'd tell him,"One day the Saints will be good and you can say you knew me when I cheered for them during their bad years." It's a shame that Dan died about a month before the Saints won their first Super Bowl. This season he would probably be lamenting the fact that a 7-9 team made the playoffs while several 10-6 teams didn't. He hated the current NFL playoff system.

There were times when Dan and I could have had the opportunity to have a relationship as lovers instead of friends. But the timing didn't work out. When the timing was right for one of us, the other was in a relationship. I think it worked out better that we were good friends rather than lovers. If we were lovers and broke up, we would never have spoken with each other after the breakup. But as special friends, I had the privilege of being able to know Dan for over 35 years.

Over the last year of his life, we were getting into a period of sporadic communication with each other. Dan was having vision problems, which made it hard for him to use the computer. I thought that he might have been a bit depressed because most of his e-mails lost their usual touch of humor. He would tell me that he really had nothing to say. When his e-mails started bouncing back to me last spring, I thought that he got rid of his Internet service because he said that he hardly checked his e-mail. In August I finally got around to writing a letter and sending it. When the letter came back as "undeliverable," I went online and found out that he died earlier in the year. I then dug through my old e-mail (there's an advantage to never clearing out the inbox) and found the e-mail address of his surrogate sister Diane. Dan was an only child and Diane was the sister that he never had. He and Diane were also special friends for over 30 years. Diane told me about how Dan was sick with the flu in November and looked extremely sick at Christmas dinner at her house. Dan went into the hospital right after Christmas and died on 8 January. Diane and her husband were with Dan during his last days, so he didn't die alone. I'll always be thankful to Diane for making sure that someone was there for him in his final hours.

Whenever I'd go back to the States, I made it a point to see Dan. During one of my trips, he told me that he was honored to be my friend. But he got it wrong. I had the honor of being Dan's friend. Now when I look up at the sky on a clear night and see the stars, I think about the Elton John verse above and know that one of those stars is Dan looking down on me.

Not Yet Ready for the Rocking Chair

2011-01-05T06:21:00.000-08:00

Growing older has made me appreciate what a "masters" athlete can do. I was lucky early in my running career to have met two awesome women, Pat and Sally, who were the perfect role models for what an older athlete can accomplish. I ran with them in San Diego, when I could keep up with them. I was a new runner in my early 30s when I met them. Sally was in her 50s and Pat was in her late 40s. Sally ran marathons and even did the Ironman Triathlon in her 50s. Pat ran marathons and ultra-marathons. Both women are still very active. Sally, who is now in her 70s, recently ran the Las Vegas Half-Marathon and placed in the top half of her division. Pat, who is in her late 60s, is fitter than most women one-third her age. When she was 65, she won her division at the Lincoln (Nebraska) Half-Marathon by a fairly large margin. She also does archery, long distance cycling, and recently tried kayak water polo. Pat and Sally would be right at home in Garmisch, where the bike/running paths, ski slopes, and hiking trails are full of senior citizens.

Even though I'm over 50, I still haven't slowed down significantly. In fact, all of my personal records (PRs), except for the half-marathon, were set when I was over 40. One of my friends, who was an elite-level 800 meter runner, said that it's very unusual for runners to set PRs in their 40s. Over the years, I realized that it's important to listen to my body and train smarter instead of harder. For example, when I ran my first three marathons, I had a rather brutal training program. I couldn't wait for the race to be over so that I could rest. When I ran my most recent marathon, at age 48, I incorporated a lot of rest into my training. As a result, I looked forward to running the race and enjoying the experience. It was the most fun that I had running a marathon and I set a new personal record, taking 5 minutes off of my old PR.

There are several professional athletes who are considered "old" who I admire. The obvious "old" athlete who people in the States know is Brett Favre, the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings. But there are older athletes in other sports who aren't as well-known as Favre, but their accomplishments are also worthy of admiration.

Oksana Chusovitina (USSR, Uzbekistan, Germany), gymmastics: When one thinks of gymnasts, the first image that comes to mind is a skinny 14-year-old girl. Oksana is now 35, a mother, and still competing. In 1991 at age 16 she was the floor exercise world champion. Twelve years later she won a world championship on the vault. In 2008, at age 33, she won the Olympic silver medal in vaulting and had her best finish (9th) in the all-around competition. Oksana has competed in a record 5 Olympic games (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008) and is training for her 6th in 2012. She is the only active gymnast who competed for the former Soviet Union. Oksana competed for the Soviet Union and her native Uzbekistan and now competes for Germany. Here are a couple of Oksana's medal-winning routines:

1991 World Championship Floor exercise finals (gold): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy8my-xedJw
2008 Olympic Vault Finals (silver): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu7z6S1xXVQ

Carlos Lopes (Portugal), distance running: Most marathon runners are in their late 20s or even their early 30s. Lopes was 37 when he won the 1984 Olympic marathon gold medal. Before his marathon success, he won a silver medal in the 10,000 meters in the 1976 Olympics, then seemed to have disappeared from the running scene. Lopes came to the 1984 Olympic marathon after nearly missing the games because of being hit by a car. His accident didn't stop him from winning gold and setting a new Olympic marathon record. The following spring, at age 38, he ran the Rotterdam Marathon and set a new world record. Lopes retired in 1985.

Patrick Jaerbyn (Sweden), Alpine skiing: Most Alpine skiers retire in their late 20s or early 30s. Jaerbyn is still competing on the World Cup circuit at age 41 and is the oldest currently active professional skier. Last year he competed in the Winter Olympics at age 40. Even though he didn't win a medal (he got injured in one of the races), he won the admiration of the spectators for being in the Olympics at his age. This season he is not slowing down. He had two top-10 finishes in downhill and Super-G races and will probably have a few more before this season ends.

Michael Walchhofer (Austria), Alpine Skiing: Walchhoffer is 35 this season and one of the older skiers on the World Cup circuit. He is the "old man" of the Austrian ski team. Before this season started, Walchhoffer said that it would be his last. He is certainly showing the others that getting older doesn't mean getting slower. This season he has won 2 downhills and one Super-G, and the season is nowhere near over. Last week he became the only skier to win the treacherous Bormio, Italy downhill three times. In addition, he is currently the leader in the overall World Cup standings and ranked first in both the downhill and Super-G events. It looks like Walchhofer will go into retirement from racing on a high note if he continues his current pace.

Here is Walchhofer winning a downhill in Val D'Isere, France in 2005. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1pL1VjiqJ8&feature=related

While I will never reach the heights of Chusovitina, Lopes, Jaerbyn, or Walchhofer, I hope to be like my role models Pat and Sally and stay active when I become a senior.

Total Exercise for 2010

2010-12-31T08:19:00.000-08:00

In 2010 I actually kept an exercise log. To make it a little more interesting, I did my log as a fantasy run on the route of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. I started in Vladivostock, on the eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and ended up somewhere between the cities of Mogocha and Chita. I'll continue along this route until I reach Moscow. This fantasy run made me realize just how big a country Russia really is. I'm still in Siberia, east of Lake Baikal. Here are my totals for running, skiing, cycling, and walking in 2010:

Running: 1249.1 km
Skiing: 513.5 km
Cycling: 343.2 km
Walking: 82 km
Total km: 2187.8

Races run in 2010:
Munich City Run Half-Marathon, June 2010: 1:55:52
Munich Half-Marathon, October 2010: 1:53:45

The totals for cycling and walking are lower than the actual number of kilometers that I cycled and walked. I only counted bike rides of over 2 kilometers. If I went someplace in town that was less than 1 km from my house, I didn't count those rides. The same went for walking. I only counted walks over 2 km. There were also a lot of walks over 2 km that I simply forgot to enter on my spreadsheet. My husband and I would often take walks that were about 3 km. Most of the time I forgot to log them. I'll have to be more diligent about that in 2011. The skiing total is fairly accurate because of the new website which records the information on my ski pass. Whenever I go through a turnstile to get onto a lift or gondola, that information is recorded. When I log onto the website, I can get the number of vertical meters and kilometers that I skied. My running total is also accurate, though it seems a little bit low for having run two half-marathons this year. From January to March I skied a lot and didn't run as much, which could account for that figure.

Almost 2200 kilometers is a good amount of exercise. It's certainly a lot better than spending that time sitting on the couch. I plan to keep on being active in 2011.

Infomercial Entertainment

2010-12-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Back when I was a kid, there were infomercials for various products and musical artists. One of the earliest infomercials that I remember was for the Veg-O-Matic. The Veg-O-Matic came out before electric food processors. For only $19.95 you could slice and dice just about anything and make enough Julienne carrots and French fries to keep your family fed for the next six months.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zK2p5TAhd0s
There were also infomercials for the Abdominizer and various cleaners and stain removers that were better than anything you can buy in a store. But the Veg-O-Matic was the classic infomercial product of the 1960s and '70s.

The Veg-O-Matic was made by K-Tel, which also produced all sorts of records (and infomercials to sell those records). You could get anything you wanted on K-Tel records: greatest pop hits of the '60s and '70s, the best love songs and duets, great polkas, instrumental hits, and more. K-Tel would send you those songs on LP records, cassette tapes, or even 8-track tapes. You could even buy K-Tel records for only $3.99 in various stores too. Nobody I knew ever owned any K-Tel record sets; but somebody must have bought them because they continued to be advertised for many years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OuGNkMgSKo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBxYwQLr_pM&feature=fvw

When I got older and watched late night cable TV, there were lots of commercials for Boxcar Willie and Zamfir, Master of the Pan Flute. I always thought that Zamfir was a big joke and couldn't possibly be real. But in 1992, shortly after moving to Germany, I went to Munich with my husband and some friends. As we were walking around, we saw posters for an upcoming Zamfir concert in Munich. In German, Zamfir is der Koenig des Panfloetes (The King of the Pan Flute). After having a good laugh after realizing that the person we saw on those late night infomercials in the States was real, we took some of the posters to show our friends. It turns out that Zamfir is very popular in Europe. Who would have known?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ISe0fdoaPs

A couple of weeks ago my son was home sick from school and was watching German daytime TV. As he was channel surfing, he came upon an infomercial for the Amazing Spider Pan. Yes, even the Germans have infomercials and home shopping channels. The Spider Pan is a frying pan with a special spider web pattern that makes it easy to cook with less oil and to clean. When you call in your order, you get 3 Spider Pans, 2 free lids (I assume that one lid fits two of the pans), and an instruction booklet. The instruction booklet looked rather thick. I guess there's more to using the Spider Pan than, "1. Put food in pan. 2. Put pan on stove. 3. Turn on burner." I couldn't find any Spider Pan commercials in English. I guess they're only sold in non-English speaking countries.

After the Spider Pan infomercial came one for the Kirmesmusikanten. The Kirmesmusikanten are accordion players, one man and one woman. The infomercial started with a woman in Trachten (traditional clothing) against an Alpine background talking about the wonderful and relaxing folk music of the Kirmesmusikanten, and how everyone can now enjoy 80 of their greatest hits on 4 CDs. She was also sad that the Kirmesmusikanten were no more because the man died earlier this year. There were video clips of the Kirmesmusikanten playing a sampling of those 80 hits. Both the man and woman looked like they never realized that the 1970s had come and gone. They were dressed in '70s polyester clothing; the man had an Afro (he was white), and the woman had a mullet perm. Yikes! The woman had a fixed, fake smile, while the man would shrug his shoulders and sport an evil grin while playing his accordion. His facial expressions were hilarious! I had to Google them to see if they were real or a joke. It turns out that the man and woman are a brother and sister from the Netherlands. They are very popular in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France. Here is one of their videos. I love the very first comment about it (on the last page of comments): "Wow. Words escape me, yet I can't stop watching this video." Needless to say, that comment was fitting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0N1UX1XVS0

As long as there is TV, there will be infomercials and people buying the advertised products. I think I'd rather just watch them, have a good laugh, and save my money.

Kosovo Sign Language

2010-12-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

After work today I did an indoor workout. I normally don't like running on the treadmill, but it was slushy out and the roads and trails were starting to ice over. It also gets dark so early. By the time I'd be halfway through my run, it would be dark. Even though I don't really like running on the treadmill, it's better than turning an ankle or slipping on ice.

I hadn't run in the last week because of a muscle pull in my calf. I did a mix of running and walking today. When I felt a pull in the calf muscle after running slowly for about 22 minutes, I walked for the rest of my time (total run/walk time was 30 minutes). I have a feeling that I'll have to go back to a beginner's program because my calf muscle hurts again. I'll have to take it easy and figure out how much I can run before the muscle acts up. At least racing season is over for this year, so it's not like I'm losing training time. I'll also ski so I can get some exercise.

The gym on base has TVs that people can watch while using the aerobic machines. I usually watch the TV that's in front of my treadmill without sound while listening to music on my iPod. The TVs on base receive channels from all over Eastern and Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Africa in additional to the US Armed Forces Network and German channels. This afternoon the TV was on a channel called RTK, which is the main TV station in Kosovo. It was showing the program "Friends" with subtitles in a language that I thought was either Turkish or Albanian (it turned out to be Albanian; RTK broadcasts in Albanian, Serbian, and Turkish). After "Friends" there was a newscast. The news show had a Sign Language interpreter. The interpreter was shown on about half of the screen, with the newscast on the other half. Suddenly my workout got a lot more interesting. Before coming to Germany, I was an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, so I was instantly hooked. I focused on the interpreter and tried to see if any of the Kosovar signs were similar to American ones. I was also curious about Kosovar Sign Language--is it really Albanian, Turkish, or Serbian Sign Language or a mix of all three? All of those languages are spoken in Kosovo, with Albanian being the most common because most Kosovars are ethnic Albanians. At first it appeared that there was no fingerspelling in that particular sign language. Then I realized that that language probably used a two-handed alphabet after watching how the interpreter made the same signs where it seemed that a name should be spelled. Even though my ASL is rusty from not using it, I could pick out some signs that appeared to be the same as ASL signs: Europe, president, show, accept, night/tonight, grow/develop, together/union (one of the stories had the European Union flag in the background), say, now, and talk with each other/discuss. There were other signs that were different from ASL signs, but I could still figure them out: Albania, money, hear/listen, change, our. My workout ended in the middle of the news show. It was the first time in a long time that I was sorry that a treadmill workout ended. If I didn't have to stretch, shower, then go home, I would have stayed around to see the full newscast just to watch the interpreter.

Over the next couple of weeks, when I'm working the early shift and having to run after work, I'll be sure to put the TV in front of my treadmill on RTK so that I can watch the interpreter. It will make running on the treadmill a lot less boring.

A word about ASL...Contrary to popular belief, it is not a universal language. There are some signs which are universal: eat, drink, sleep, time. But each country has its own sign language. ASL has the most similarity to French Sign Language. It is a mix of French Sign Language and signs that were used in the States in the 1800s in American schools for the deaf. It is quite different from British Sign Language, even though those languages originated in English speaking countries.

Postscript...After doing a Google search, I learned that deaf people in Kosovo use the same sign language as deaf people in the other countries that were part of Yugoslavia, though there are regional dialectical differences.

Parenting Blogs

2010-12-12T06:37:00.001-08:00

Parenting blogs, especially "mom blogs," are like car accidents on the Autobahn. I know that I shouldn't look at them, but end up doing so anyway.

One of the first parenting "blogs" that I read was published back in the days before the Internet. It was a weekly column in the Stars and Stripes called "Life on the Home Front" by Pam Zich. Ms. Zich wrote about being married to a Marine and the adventures/daily life of herself, her husband, and their three sons Jimmy, Tommy, and Ronnie. It seemed like Ms. Zich wrote about every minute detail of her family's life. Every week I would vow to myself that I would never read that column again because I was always bored by people who constantly talked about their children. I often wondered how anyone outside of this woman's immediate family would actually be interested in such a column. I'd read it and tell myself, "Never again. Who cares about what little Tommy told Grandpa about using the potty?" But like that proverbial Autobahn car wreck, I would be drawn to "Life on the Home Front" the next week.

Parenting blogs and websites tend to fall into three distinct categories:

1) Blogs that are similar in tone to "Life on the Home Front." These are the ones where moms (most of these blogs are written by moms) write about every moment of their lives with Little Herkie and Junie. Everything that Herkie and Junie do, no matter how trivial, is published on the Internet for all to see. Of course everything out of their mouths is extremely witty. When Herkie or Junie are sick, Mom posts their hourly temperature reports. There are lots of photos of Herkie playing baseball and Junie in her ballet performance. Like "Life on the Home Front," I can't imagine these blogs appealing to someone outside the blogger's immediate family or circle of very close friends. But judging from the comments that they get, these types of blogs are very popular.

2) Perfect Parent Blog/Sites. These blogs are the ones which preach breast feeding, attachment parenting, keeping the TV off (or not having a TV at all), and only letting Junior eat organic homemade baby food. According to the people who write these blogs, moms who give their babies formula might as well be giving them strychnine. I drank formula as a baby because I was adopted and am alive and healthy. Parents who have their babies sleep in another room instead of in bed with them are cold-hearted monsters who are upsetting their baby's sense of security. And letting your baby have a cupcake on his first birthday? You're setting him up for a mouth full of cavities. When Precious gets out of infancy, Mom blogs about how her little one knows her alphabet, three foreign languages, and differential calculus. After all, a good parent would never let Precious fall behind her peers. These are the moms who become helicopter parents who won't let their kids out of their sight, even when they go off to college. After all, every adult out there is either a potential child molester or rapist. Moms who write these types of blogs stay at home with the kids, and usually homeschool, because that's what good mothers do.

3) The anti-perfect parent blogs. These are the ones where moms write about how they let Junior eat a candy bar or a meal at McDonald's, drink a bottle full of formula, play in the mud, or sit in front of the TV while Mom cooks dinner. They take on the same self-righteous tone as the Perfect Parent blogs. The general theme of these writers is that their child did or ate something "bad" and didn't become retarded, autistic, obese, or have a mouth full of cavities. I think that every parent has let a child do some of these "bad" things. The key is moderation. I also don't think that writing about how your child is still normal after eating a Happy Meal is newsworthy. Some of the moms who write these blogs work, while others stay at home with the kids. One of my favorite anti-perfect parenting blogs is Mompetition (http://www.mompetition.blogspot.com/). The woman who started that blog uses hilarious cartoon videos to poke fun at the extremes of "perfect" parenting.

My favorite parenting site (and one of my favorite sites in general) is Free Range Kids (http://www.freerangekids.wordpress.com/) . It's not a typical parenting site at all. The woman who writes the Free Range Kids blog, Lenore Skenazy, was dubbed "America's Worst Mother" because she let her 9-year-old son ride the New York City subway by himself. He had asked to do it; and Ms. Skenazy gave him the tools to help him arrive home safely. After that incident, she was criticized soundly for "endangering" her son. The Free Range philosophy is letting kids do the things that we all did as kids: walking or biking to school or to a friend's house by themselves, playing without constant parental supervision, or simply viewing other adults as good people. Ms. Skenazy's blog includes articles from various news sources which show how pervasive the American culture of fear has become. Some of the articles include items like: 6th graders not being allowed to bring pencils to school because they can be used as weapons, parents being turned in to Child Protective Services for leaving a child alone in a car (while within sight of the car), Barbie dolls with little video cameras that the FBI says can be used by pedophiles, and parents yanking their kids away from friendly senior citizens who dare to smile and say, "Hello" to the kids. Every time I read one of the articles that Ms. Skenazy posts, either ones that she found or that readers sent in, it makes me glad that I live in Germany where Free Range is the parenting norm.

I encourage anyone reading this post to check out Free Range Kids and Mompetition.

Running in a Winter Wonderland

2010-12-11T06:00:00.001-08:00

There's something about running in fresh snow that really appeals to me. Everything looks so fresh and clean after a snowfall. My city looks like something out of a Christmas card. Even though I've lived in a cold climate for almost 20 years, I still love fresh snow. When I see snow falling I can't wait to go out running in it. The snow puts me in a happy mood, which makes the run that much more fun.

Fresh snow is easier to run in than snow that has been around for a time, especially if the old snow has melted and refrozen. My quads and glutes get a good workout from having to lift my legs higher. The nice thing about fresh snow is that I don't need to put my ice spikes on my shoes. When I run in snow, I plan on being about 10 to 15 percent slower than usual to account for lifting my legs more and the snow being a little slippery. In the winter I run for time rather than for distance.

Yesterday morning it was snowing heavily. In fact, it snowed pretty heavily all day. I put on my winter running jacket, hat, gloves, and warm tights, then headed out the door. There were a few people out walking; but nobody else was crazy enough to run. There were a few slippery spots, but overall the snow was light and fluffy. I was ankle deep in powder. A 5 km run that would have taken 26 minutes or less took almost 28. But I enjoyed the feeling of cold air and snowflakes on my face, so I didn't care about being slow. The only thing that spoiled the run was that toward the end the snowplow came and took the snow off the trail. When that happens, the trail is icy and very slippery. Fortunately, I only had to deal with a short stretch where there was ice.

I may need my ice spikes for my long run tomorrow because it rained today and it's supposed to be below freezing tonight. That means the snow will be refrozen and icy. It will be slow going, even with the spikes. But the cool winter air will be invigorating and give me energy on my long run. Maybe I'll get lucky and it will snow again tonight so I can run in fresh snow.

Greatness Part Two

2010-12-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

What makes a runner good? Like with any other athlete, the conventional measure of greatness is victories, podium spots, medals, and trophies. But there's more to being a good runner than a bunch of hardware or simply being speedy.

Being a good runner is the ability to go the distance, especially when conditions are less than ideal. Any runner who has trained for an event can finish it in ideal conditions. For me an ideal race day would be 10 to 15 degrees C (50 to 59 F) and overcast. I would be injury-free and have no problems during the race. What separates the good runners from the rest of the pack is finishing a race when things don't happen the way you wish them to. The weather may be hot, I may have a small injury, or I may have a cramp during a race. But I've been able to overcome those problems to make it to the finish line.

A good runner is someone who always gives his or her best effort. It doesn't matter if that runner is fast or slow. What's important is that the runner did the best that he or she could do under the circumstances. I'm a middle of the pack runner, yet I consider myself to be a good runner. When I race, I always strive to do my best. I know several runners who are slower than me who I feel are good runners because they always go out and do their best. None of us are going to set any records, but that doesn't matter. It's the effort that's important.

Some of my most satisfying races were not ones in which I set any personal records. They were races in which I knew that I did the best I possibly could. I trained for the 2004 Neumarkt City Run 10.5 km race with the goal of improving on my previous year's time. But on race day the weather was unseasonably warm. I knew that a fast time was out of the question. When I finished, I was over a minute slower than in 2003. But when I crossed the finish line, I was very happy because I knew that I went out and did my best in the warm weather. Another great race was the 2005 Hohenfels Box Run 10K. I was the 3rd place woman in that race, but that's not why I felt good at the finish line. What made that race great was that I was part of a team, which inspired me to do my best. My team ended up winning the team title, which made my hard effort even more worthwhile. The 2007 Munich City Run half-marathon was also a wonderful race. It was my first half-marathon in three years. My goal was simply to go out and do the best I could. My time wasn't my half-marathon PR, but I was happy that I performed better than I thought I would.

I also know fast runners who I feel are not good runners. There was a man who I knew when I was in Hohenfels who told me about his races. I was impressed at first, because he told me that he was always in the top 3 either overall or in his age group. But my respect for his ability disappeared when he told me that he would quit a race when he knew that he wasn't going to get on the podium. That's so wrong. I would rather finish last knowing I had given my best effort than quit simply because I wasn't going to win.

When I started running and racing, my former running partner Bill told me that I was a good runner. I didn't believe it at first because I wasn't very fast. It was after I became an experienced racer that I realized that Bill was right. Bill saw that I not only was fairly fast (in my latest half-marathon I was in the top 20% of the women), but that I had what it takes to go the distance in both favorable and unfavorable conditions.

The majority of runners will never win a race or age group award or qualify for the Boston Marathon. But as long as they go the distance while giving their best effort, especially in less than ideal conditions, they are good runners.

Greatness Part 1

2010-12-03T12:41:00.000-08:00

How do you measure an athlete's greatness? In most sports the conventional measures of greatness are victories, medals, special awards, and trophies. The more hardware and wins an athlete has, the better he or she is.

But greatness is not just measured in medals. A great athlete may not only have a lot of wins and medals but can be considered great for other reasons. That person may be someone who makes his or her sport look easy or have good sportsmanship. Great athletes are not only excellent on the playing field, they are also good people off the field. They are not only respected for how well they do their sport; they are respected for being someone who is a good role model for a child or junior athlete in that particular sport. They are also respected by their fellow athletes. I will list some athletes who I think are great both on and off the playing field at the end because I want to finish this entry on a positive note.

There are many superb athletes whose greatness is nullified by their attitudes. While I respect their athletic achievements, their attitudes or personalities prevent them from becoming true greats in my eyes. Here are a couple of examples of stellar athletes who will never become truly great:

Bode Miller. He has the most World Cup wins of any US skier. But his attitude toward the sport makes me have close to zero respect for him. He prefers to train alone and not be part of the US ski team unless it's convenient (he had to be part of the team for the last Olympics). Miller has stated that he has raced while hung over and feels that performance enhancing drugs should be legal in professional skiing. At the 2006 Olympics he was more interested in partying than skiing. In a TV interview he also said that he's not a role model and doesn't want to be one. Sorry Bode, part of being a top athlete is also being a role model.

Lance Armstrong. His record of 7 Tour de France victories may stand forever. I actually had a lot of respect for Lance and his achievements on the bike until last year's Tour de France. In that Tour he did everything he could possibly do to sabotage his teammate, and eventual race victor, Alberto Contador. Armstrong finished 3rd in that race, but his behavior on the podium was boorish. He acknowledged second place finisher Andy Schleck but looked away when he had to shake Contador's hand. He also pouted the whole time on the awards podium.

Now for some terrific athletes who are also great off the field:

Kurt Warner. His American football team, the St. Louis Rams, won the Super Bowl in 2000 with Warner as quarterback. He has accumulated many pro football awards and accolades over his career. But what sets Warner apart from most of the other great quarterbacks is that he spends a great deal of his off time working with disadvantaged children. Warner doesn't just put in an appearance; he spends a lot of time with kids mentoring them and serving as a role model. He is a Christian and lives his religious principles by helping those less fortunate than himself.

Hermann Maier. The Herminator has the second most Alping skiing World Cup wins and a total of 14 Crystal Globes (4 overall and 10 for individual disciplines). His determination to succeed when he was told that he would never make it helped to make him a legend. When he was a junior skier, he was dismissed from the Austrian team for being too small. He went home, apprenticed as a bricklayer to build his upper body, and raced in local ski competitions during the winter. After finally catching the attention of the Austrian coaches, he won 2 Olympic gold medals in 1998 and three overall World Cup titles. In the summer of 2001 he almost lost a leg in a motorcycle accident and was told that his racing career was over. But he worked hard to rehabilitate his leg and came back to win a 4th World Cup title. In the 2006 Olympics he was told that he was too old and washed up to win any medals, yet came away with a silver and bronze medal. Maier was always the first to check out the course and one of the last to leave. Even when he was past his prime, his hard work and determination rubbed off on his Austrian teammates.

Diego Forlan. Forlan captured the world's attention in last summer's football (soccer) World Cup, where he won the Golden Ball for being the tournament's best player. Forlan led his Uruguayan team to a 4th place finish in the World Cup finals, its best finish since 1970. With his club, Athletico Madrid, he won the European Golden Boot twice for being the top goal scorer. His team also won the Europa League Championship and the European Super Cup. But there is another side to Forlan besides being a goal scorer. When his sister was a teenager, she was in a car accident and became paralyzed as a result. Forlan, who is close to his sister, promised that he would always take care of her. A lot of the money that he makes goes to his sister for her medical expenses and care. His football career is for more than individual accolades; he also plays so that his sister may have a good quality of life.

Aksel Lund Svindal. The Norwegian skier is the answer to the trivia question, "Who was the other man to win 3 skiing medals at the 2010 Olympics?" With his 3 Olympic medals, 5 World Championship medals, 2 overall World Cup titles, and 4 World Cup individual discipline titles, he is one of the skiing greats. After winning the overall World Cup title in 2007, Svindal had a severe injury that kept him out for the 2007-08 season. But he came back from that injury to win the overall World Cup title in 2009. What makes Svindal special is his sportsmanship. When he won the bronze medal in the Olympic giant slalom his teammate, Kjetil Jansrud, won the silver. Svindal said that that medal was extra special because his teammate was on the podium with him. He was just as happy for Jansrud as he was for himself. At the World Cup finals last winter Svindal had a DNF in the giant slalom. Most racers leave the area when they have a DNF. Not Svindal. He stayed by the finish area and cheered as each racer crossed the finish line. Both children and adults can learn about sportsmanship from Svindal's example.

Coming soon: Greatness Part Two, or what makes a runner great.

Thoughts on Being Over 50

2010-11-30T00:24:00.000-08:00

People like to say that 50 is the new 30. I must admit that I feel 51 years young instead of 51 years old. It's funny when other women talk about how they feel so old because they're going to be turning 30. My response is, "Been there, done that, lived to tell about it and the same thing for 40 and 50." I feel that life gets better as you get older.

When I turned 50 last year, I was so different from my image of what a 50-year-old woman should be. That image was formed when I was younger from observing my mother and other women her age. My image of a 50-year-old woman was someone with the following characteristics: Big beehive hairdo (with a dye job), polyester pantsuits, gravelly voice from too much alcohol and cigarettes, slightly overweight, takes various prescription drugs, and doesn't exercise.

Let's go over these things one by one...

Beehive hairdo: Let's just say that the women of the B-52s don't need to worry about any competition from me. I have a fairly short haircut and my hair is my natural brown with a touch of grey. I haven't bothered to cover up the grey because there isn't that much. Also, I view each grey hair as a life lesson learned.

Polyester pantsuits: OK, I do admit to wearing polyester because my work uniform is made with lots of it. But when I'm at home, I'm in jeans and cotton shirts or wool sweaters. My technical running gear is made with polyester, but at least it has a nice feel and doesn't look like traditional polyester.

Gravelly voice from too much alcohol and cigarettes: Nope! I definitely don't have a gravelly voice. My mother smokes and I always hated her cigarette smoke. I tried to smoke when I was in junior high but hated it. I did my share of drinking when I was in college, but now I hardly drink. I'll have a glass of wine with dinner once in a while. I don't like to drink much because it affects my running.

Slightly overweight: I'm at the low end of the normal weight range for my height and age and have never been overweight. In fact, as a child I was underweight.

Takes various prescription drugs: I just read a book which said that the average 50-year-old American takes between 7 and 11 prescription drugs. The only drugs which I take daily are a multivitamin and a calcium supplement. The last prescription medicine that I had was for a skin problem on my hands last year.

Doesn't exercise: Regular exercise is part of my life. I can't imagine my life without exercise. In the winter I do a mix of running and downhill skiing. When it isn't ski season, I run, hike, and ride my bike. If I'm going someplace in town, I either walk or ride my bike. I haven't started slowing down yet and finished in the top 20% overall among the women and in my age group during my most recent half-marathon in October. When I do an on-base race, I'm one of the oldest, if not the oldest, woman in the field. It's a fun feeling to be older and still be among the top women in the race. A couple of years ago I was the 4th place woman in an on-base race at age 49. It was the first time in a long time that I finished "off the podium" on base. One of the top three women, who was in her 20s, said that she hoped to still be running when she was my age. At first I was a little offended because it felt like she was implying that I was ready for the rocking chair instead of the race course. Then I decided to take it as a, "You go, girl!" At that moment I realized that I was a role model for what an older athlete can do.

One of my wishes is to be like the senior citizens that I see on the running/hiking/biking trails and ski slopes. I think it's wonderful that those folks are defying the stereotype of how an older person should be. They're probably not anything like how they imagined a person their age would be. I also want to be different than my image of someone my age.

Helicopter Parents and College Life Lessons

2010-11-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

A while back I saw a "20/20" story about helicopter parents. It featured a single mother with two college student sons to illustrate the growing helicopter parent phenomenon in the States. The mother takes care of her sons' needs so that they can concentrate on their studies. Mom has both sons' class schedules and gives them a wake-up call so that they'll get to their first class on time. The sons don't even choose their own classes, Mom does. She has a copy of the boys' syllabi so that she knows when they have papers due and exams. Of course she calls them to remind them of upcoming tests and deadlines. On the weekends Mom drivestwo hours to the university, cleans her sons' dorm rooms, and does their grocery shopping and laundry for them. When the boys were questioned about how they felt about their mother doing so much for them, the response was that it helped to make their lives easier. No surprise there! If I had someone taking care of all of my needs, my life would be easier too.

Those boys have it much easier than when I went to college. I had an alarm clock instead of a daily wake-up call from Mom. If I missed a class because of oversleeping, it was my responsibility to find out what I missed. Nobody reminded me when I had exams or papers due; I had to read my course syllabi on my own and plan my study time. I even chose my classes without any parental input. I read the information about the required classes for my major and picked my classes accordingly. My half of the dorm room sometimes looked like a tornado came through it because nobody cleaned up after me. When I got tired of my room looking messy, I cleaned up. My mother did my laundry for me once when I came home for a weekend. After that one time she told me to buy a box of Cheer and read the back. At that time, Cheer laundry powder had directions for which clothing went into hot, warm, and cold water.

Being away at college on my own taught me a lot of real life skills. From my sophomore year on, I worked part time while going to school. I learned to use my time wisely because I had less time to study than non-working students. One of the most important things I learned was how to prioritize tasks. For example, if I had a limited amount of time in which to study, I had to decide which subjects were the most important to study at that moment. Prioritizing tasks is an important part of my life as a parent with a full-time job. Another important life lesson was doing a little bit of a project each day to meet a deadline instead of putting it off until the last minute. That has served me well in my various jobs because I always met my deadlines. Getting along with others and resolving problems with roommates through compromise was something else that I learned. It would have looked silly to call my mother to help sort out any minor roommate issues. She would have told me to fight my own battles. In college I really learned how to organize my things and follow the saying, "A place for everything and everything in its place." It was much easier to find my books and papers if they were in the same place and if I kept my part of the room clean. I also learned to sort laundry carefully so that my whites wouldn't turn to pinks due to errant red socks.

I wonder how the boys in the "20/20" episode, and other kids with helicopter parents, are going to fare when they graduate from college. They seem to be missing out on learning vital life lessons because they are not doing much on their own. Will their mothers accompany them to their job interviews and negotiate their salaries for them? Eventually those kids will have to leave the nest and have their own families. Will their mothers continue to micromanage their lives as they have kids because they never learned how to do organize their lives on their own? The mother in the "20/20" episode alluded to that when she said that she hopes to become good friends with her future daughters-in-law. I wonder how the grandkids of helicopter parents will turn out. Will they rebel and become more independent, like kids of previous generations, or will they also end up dependent on their parents (or grandparents) for every little thing? Only time will tell.

Spring Skiing in November

2010-11-14T08:21:00.000-08:00

The weather in Garmisch has been unseasonably warm. You'd think it was May or June instead of November with the warm, sunny weather. Even the mountains are warm compared to how they should be at this time of year. The snow that fell on the mountains in the ski area by my house has all melted away.

Right after the first snowfall a couple of weeks ago the Zugspitze glacier opened for skiing. The Zugspitze, which is Germany's highest mountain, has a small ski area. Because of its height, it's the only place to ski in the area at the beginning and end of the season. It's also the place to go when the other ski areas don't have much snow. The Zugspitze ski area improved several years ago when they replaced one of the t-bars with a chair lift. It's the only chair lift on the Zugspitze, but there are three different runs you can take from the top of it. The runs are rather short, and the hardest ones are intermediate level.

Because of my work schedule, today was my first day on the ski slopes. I went up on the Zugspitze. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The snow was soft, like spring snow. I started off with a short-sleeved technical shirt, a lightweight long-sleeved technical shirt, and my jacket. After a couple of runs I ended up shedding the long-sleeved shirt. It was even warm enough to eat lunch outside. As this post's title says, it was spring skiing in November, though it felt more like April. The down side is that there is a small base of snow (official report 85 cm) with a lot of rocks showing. At least it was easy to see the rocks and avoid them. For now it's best not to ski off-piste because of the rocks. But it will be a lot nicer after another snowfall or two. I felt like I skied pretty well for my first day, though I just skied for a couple of hours. Burning out on my first day wouldn't be any fun. I'll get stronger and gain more endurance as the season continues. It was also very uncrowded for a weekend. There was almost no waiting for the chair lift and the runs were almost empty, which was very surprising. I heard that it was very crowded yesterday because of the good weather. Maybe a lot of people got scared off from coming back today. I'm not complaining because I hate waiting in long lift lines.

During ski season I'll ski two to three times a week and run twice a week. My runs become a little longer to make up for not doing it as often. I'm looking forward to more snow and a good ski season.

Culture Night/Kulturabend/Kultyurnii Vyecher

2010-11-07T00:38:00.000-07:00

Last night was Culture Night at my work. Let me explain what Culture Night is all about...

I work in a school where students from the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the USA, Africa, and South America take special courses in democracy building, counter-terrorism, and national security. The students are military officers, police officers, or government workers in their countries. They come for various courses, ranging in length from 3 to 12 weeks.

The 12-week course is offered twice a year. The highlight of that course, at least for me, is Culture Night. For Culture Night the students cook their national dishes, wear traditional clothing, and even play music from their countries. They also display photos or other items from their homelands. The alcohol flows freely, with vodka, wine, and different types of schnapps (which could also be used as paint thinner) offered by almost every country. It's wonderful to see the national and personal pride that goes into preparing the food and displays.

Culture Night is always on a Saturday. The advantage of working on Saturdays is that the kitchen in the building where I work is next door to my office. I get to smell all of the good cooking and often be the official taste tester. Working the day of Culture Night also has its down side. There have been a couple of times where I’ve had so many free samples during the day, I was too full to enjoy the main event.

The most important thing to bring to Culture Night is an appetite. Every table that you pass has students calling you over to try their food. It’s almost like being in a room full of Jewish grandmothers telling you, “Eat this. It’s good for you.” I learned early to serve myself. If I let the students serve me, I’d get a portion large enough for a 300-pound man. The students are rightfully proud of their national cuisine and want people to enjoy it like they do. But they forget that there are about 40 other countries being represented, all with students wanting you to try their food.

I think that one of the questions on the application for the 12-week course at the school where I work is, “Are you a good cook?” People who answer, "No" have their applications rejected. The students do a great job cooking their national dishes and the food is always delicious. There are a couple of delegations who “cheat” and order food from local ethnic restaurants. But these are the small delegations with only one or two students. The Romanians have a fellow countrywoman in town who makes their Culture Night dishes. But everyone else cooks their food. The Kyrgyz students impress me the most because they make their noodles from scratch instead of buying pre-made ones.

Last night's Culture Night was a success. I had a lot of my favorites, such as: Tajik plov (a rice dish with meat and carrots), Afghan chicken and rice, Turkish pizza, Mongolian dumplings, Turkish and Moldovan stuffed grape leaves, and Romanian nut-filled pastries. Some new things which I had that were also great were: Pakistani chicken over basmati rice, Saudi dates with an almond rolled into the middle, Georgian eggplant that had lots of garlic, Latvian ham-filled pastries, Argentine meat-filled pastries, Libyan nut cookies, and a unique Belgian jelly-filled candy. Every Culture Night I also have a glass of wine from a country that is not usually thought of as a traditional wine producer. Last night I had good red wine from Montenegro.

The next Culture Night will be in May. I'm looking forward to having some of my favorite dishes and trying new ones.

Go Speed Racer!

2010-11-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm not a "demon on wheels" like the cartoon character Speed Racer. I wouldn't even call myself a demon in running shoes. But this week I've been a real speed demon, at least by my standards. I think it has something to do with a combination of cool weather (but still above freezing) and the ice that was there last week melting away.

A couple of weeks ago we had our first snow. As is the case with October snowfall, it melted away quickly. But the combination of warm days and below freezing nights froze the melted snow and created lots of black ice on the trails where I run. The good thing about the ice was that it forced me into a slow pace. There was enough ice for the paths to be slippery, but not enough for me to put ice spikes on my shoes. Since I was still in recovery mode from my recent half-marathon, a slower pace was good to let some little nagging problems heal fully.

This week I was really flying and feeling like I wasn't expending extra effort. That's such a wonderful feeling, especially because all of the little aches and pains from the race are gone. I often get faster after recovering from a race, so this is not a new phenomenon. Being on terra firma instead of ice was an extra added bonus, as was the sunshine.

There won't be too many more days like this left. It's supposed to cool off and start raining on Sunday, and the forecast calls for snow on Monday. Ski season has already started with the local glacier opening last weekend. However, the snow is not very good yet. Once ski season gets in full swing, I will ski 2 to 3 times a week and run twice a week. My runs will be slightly longer to make up for the lower frequency.

I have always enjoyed winter running and am looking forward to it. Running while it's snowing is like being in the middle of a snow globe. I like running on fresh snow, before it has been packed down and hardened. There's something about running in fresh snow that makes me feel like a kid again. People who insist on running indoors on a treadmill during the winter are really missing out.

Competition: Everyone Can't Be A Winner

2010-10-19T03:58:00.000-07:00

Academically, one of my main complaints is the existence of weeded-out courses. These are typically introductory level courses, often in the sciences. They are intended to lessen the number of biology majors and show pre-med students what they are in for. This fosters an unhealthy competition within the class, and the difficulty of the exams and the amount of studying expected are too much of an abrupt shock for many entering students. What is the point of attending an "elite" school if they institutionalize oppressive amounts of work? Learning can exist in a positive environment, and some schools need to catch on to this concept. --Cornell Freshman

The above passage was the second paragraph of a letter written to the New York Times about college freshmen. The first thing that I noticed was that he should have said "weed-out" courses instead of "weeded-out," unless everyone in the class is high on marijuana. Then the term "weeded-out" would fit.

My second, and more serious, thought about that paragrah was the student's complaint about how courses designed with a high washout rate foster "unhealthy competition." It made me wonder how a person lived for 18 years without having to compete for anything. Does this person really expect to get an A in class for simply showing up, or that the class should be dumbed down so that everyone gets a good grade? There are a limited number of spots in medical schools. I personally want the doctor who's operating on my vital organs to be one of the best and brightest, not someone who thinks that he should get a good grade because he has a pulse or who went through watered-down classes. When I was in college in the late 1970s and early '80s, biology majors accepted that there was stiff competition for a coveted medical school slot. Those who didn't make it through the demanding pre-med courses changed their goals, then moved on with their lives. They didn't whine about the competition being unhealthy because they knew up front that only a certain percentage would make it to medical school.

I realize that I'm generalizing about the writer based on one letter to the editor. But it appears that this person never had to compete for anything in his life. Somehow over the past 20 years people in the States got it in their heads that zero competition promotes self-esteem. The prevailing wisdom has been that kids who don't do as well as their peers, academically or athletically, will suffer from low self-esteem. The way to make every child feel good about himself was to eliminate competition and any source of disappointment. The "everyone wins leagues" in the US are a good example of how competition has fallen by the wayside. Kids get a trophy at the end of the season, no matter how poorly they fared. This sends a message to kids that they don't have to give it their best in order to get an award.

The "everyone's a winner" concept is wrong, mainly because it promotes mediocrity and a sense of entitlement. People will believe that they deserve an award for lackluster effort. Kids need age-appropriate levels of competition to realize that not everyone can win. Competition is also a good way to motivate someone to try his hardest. Back when I was a kid, children had to try out to get onto a Little League baseball team or high school sports team. The kids who didn't make the team either worked harder to try and make it the next season or did something else. Yes, they were disappointed about not making the team. But they didn't complain about it or have their parents demand that they get put onto the team. Competition also prepares a child for real life. When kids get older, they have to compete for limited spaces at a university or for jobs. Having experienced a certain level of competition early in life makes a child better able to handle having to compete for more adult things like a job. I wonder how kids who have grown up without experiencing any competition, like the letter writer, will fare when it comes time to apply for a job.

I've seen the "we're all winners" effect in races that I've done. In the past, only marathon finishers got medals. A marathon finisher's medal signifies that the runner accomplished something that very few people can do. It is really worth something. Then medals began being given out for half-marathons. A half-marathon is still a long distance, so I have no problem with a finisher's medal for completing one. But I recently ran a 5 km race on base where all of the finishers, runners and walkers, were given medals. The top overall and age group finishers also received trophies. When I mentioned to the organizers that medals for finishing a 5K seemed a bit over the top, the response I got was that not everyone is a competitive runner and that the runners and walkers who completed the course deserve something.

My 11-year-old son also feels that non-competition is wrong. He was in the on-base ski program for three years. On the last day of the program, there is an informal race. The instructors record the times, but aren't supposed show them to the kids (some do anyway). After the race, there is a ceremony where all of the kids in the program get a certificate and medal. During my son's last year in the program, he had just turned 9, but was in a group of 12-15-year-olds. He placed second-to-last in the race in his group and was ecstatic about not finishing last. When he came home from the race, he asked why everyone got a medal and not just the top three kids. He then said that he didn't really deserve his medal because he wasn't one of the top three in his group. I tried to explain that the medal was for participation, but it still seemed wrong to him. He had been in both German and on-base ski races where only the top kids in each group got an award and the others left empty-handed.

Maybe our college freshman letter writer needs to learn from a child that not everyone can be a winner and that we can survive a little competition.

Deutsche Schule (German School)

2010-10-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

Over the years people have asked me why I put my son in German school instead of the American school on base. The short answer is that he went to a local German kindergarten (preschool) for three years and that most of his friends were the German kids in his class. I felt that it was best for him to start first grade with familiar friends. The base school was always there as a fallback if he didn't do well in German school. But so far he's doing very well in German school.

Here's a little background about German schools for readers from other countries. Grundschule, or primary school, is from 1st to 4th grade. There are three levels of secondary school, which starts in 5th grade: Gymnasium, Realschule, and Hauptschule. A student's marks in 4th grade determine which type of secondary school he'll attend. Gymnasium (5th-12th grade) is for the students with the best marks, Realschule (5th-10th grade) is the middle level, and Hauptschule (5th-9th grade) is the lowest. A Gymnasium has a university prep curriculum, while Hauptschule students get a good basic education equivalent to a US high school diploma and learn vocational skills. Gymnasium graduates who pass their university entrance exams have the equivalent of an Associate's Degree. Grading is on a 1 to 6 scale, with 1 being the best mark. A 1 is very difficult to get; a student must be virtually perfect to earn a 1. A 2 is above average, 3 is average/meets all standards, 4 is passing with some deficiencies, 5 is the highest failing grade, and 6 is the worst failing grade. Religion is also part of the German school curriculum at all grades, even though Germany is a secular country. Students who don't take Catholic or Lutheran religion classes take Ethics.

Here are some of the things that I really like about German schools. They'll help explain why my son goes to one instead of to the base school.

There is no grade inflation like in US schools. In American schools it seems like students get a B just for showing up with a pulse. If they have a pulse and are breathing, they get an A. German students have to earn their grades. German teachers go at a prescribed speed in class, which is geared toward the class average. I have worked in American schools and noticed that teachers go at the pace of the slowest kids in the class. The higher achievers are bored waiting for the rest of the class to catch up. Because my son is one of the better kids in his class, he would be bored if he had to wait for the teacher to explain the lesson to the slower kids. The pacing of lessons in a German school is a better fit for him. German students who don't "clear the bar" must repeat the grade. There is no stigma for repeating a grade. Many kids in Gymnasium repeat a grade. In my son's class there is one boy who repeated 5th grade last year and another who is repeating 6th grade this year.

In the States a lot of "frivolous" courses have been cut out because of standardized test preparation. Many US schools have no art, music, sport, or recess. Because of No Child Left Behind, schools prep their students to take state tests in reading and math. There is a lot of teaching to the tests instead of creative teaching. The schools' funding and ratings depend on test results. In Germany kids must also take standardized tests in German and English. But school funding isn't contingent on the test results, so there is no pressure to teach to the tests. Even before my son started school, I wanted him to have an education that included the arts and sport along with academics. My son is in 6th grade in a Gymnasium and has a very well-rounded curriculum. He's taking: German, English, Latin, math, biology, history, introduction to computers, art, music, sport (PE), and ethics. His schedule varies every day. One would think that a school for high achievers would cut out the arts and sport in order to make room for the academic subjects. That's not the case in Germany. The arts and sport are also considered important.

Another thing that I like about German schools is tracking. Tracking was eliminated in the States because it supposedly made the slower kids feel bad about themselves. By having the three levels of schooling, students are with those of their ability level. The high achievers can go at a faster pace, while the slower kids can get the extra help that they need without making the rest of the class wait for them. I've noticed in my son's school that the kids are proud of having good grades and are in competition with each other to see who can get the best marks. They really push each other to do well.

Teachers are treated by parents and students as the professionals that they are. The teacher's word is law and discipline is strictly enforced. If a child forgets his homework more than three times, he must stay after class and catch up on his work. Students who consistently forget their homework, or who act up too much in class, must help the janitors clean the school. Cheating and talking during tests is strictly forbidden. If students are caught cheating or talking during a test, they are given a 6 and the parents are called in to talk with the teacher. My son recently had a biology test where two kids were caught talking and given an automatic 6.

There are a few things that I don't like about the German school system. One is that I feel that 5th grade is too early to start tracking the students. Performance in 4th grade may not necessarily reflect how a student will do in 8th. I personally feel that it would be better to have the kids go to primary school through 6th grade and then track them. That would catch some of the late bloomers. The other thing has to do with the nature of Gymnasium. Because universities in Germany are free, the government only wants to pay for the best and brightest to attend them. Kids who go to Gymnasium are the future university students. There is a high washout rate in Gymnasium. Students who have trouble in Gymnasium end up dropping down to Realschule. Sometimes I have the feeling that the Gymnasium teachers are deliberately trying to make the kids fail to weed them out early. There are also not very many tests or quizzes. When I was in school, I took a lot of tests and quizzes. If I had a poor mark on a test, it didn't affect my grade so much. But kids in German schools take very few tests compared to their US counterparts. A bad mark on a test has a big effect on the overall grade for that class.

Overall, I've been very happy with the German school system. I feel that my son is receiving the same well-rounded education that I had when I was a child.

American vs German Races

2010-10-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

I started running and racing in San Diego and kept up with it since being in Germany. People have asked me if I prefer races in the States or in Germany. It's hard to say where I prefer to race because my overall experience in both countries has been good. Organizers in both countries do a great job in creating a good race day. Today's post will be about the things I like best in each country.

What I Like About American Races:

1. Flexibility. Americans are more flexible when it comes to having to adjust water points or courses based on conditions. A good example was when I ran the 1992 America's Finest City Half-Marathon in San Diego. The weather was unseasonably hot and humid. The organizers added four more water points to the original four. I've also been in on-base races where the original course was altered due to excessive mud or ice.

2. Porta-Potties. Americans are great about putting Porta-Potties along the course of a long race. Germans haven't quite caught on to doing that. Men have the physiological advantage of being able to simply turn their backs to the course and "take care of business" anywhere. We women either need a Porta-Potty or bushes. Since bushes aren't always available, Porta-Potties are nice to have. I personally never used a Porta-Potty during a race, but it's good to know that one is there if I need it.

3. Races are for Everyone. In the States, you don't have to be a serious runner to participate in a race. A runner can enter a race just for the accomplishment of finishing. Until recently, there was a "serious and fast runners only" mentality in Germany, which discouraged slower runners. In the States "relaxed runners" and walkers are welcome. In races where there is a time limit, walkers and slower runners have an earlier starting time. Opening races to everyone is a great way to encourage people to get off the couch and move.

4. Swag. The last time I raced in the States was in 2004, before the economy went downhill, so things may have changed. But in just about every race I did in San Diego, I got a good-sized bag full of free samples, a t-shirt, and discount coupons. There were vendors at the finish line handing out free Power Bars and sports drink samples. A lot of races also had prize drawings. I won prizes in drawings twice: hockey tickets and dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.

What I Like About German Races:

1. Kilometers. Because Germany uses the metric system, courses are measured in kilometers instead of miles. Maybe I've been here too long, but I prefer kilometer markers. In the late stages of a long race, when I'm feeling tired, I know that it's not so far to the next marker. When I race in the States, I have to remind myself that the course is marked in miles so that I don't feel like I'm super slow. An 8-minute mile is much faster than an 8-minute kilometer.

2. Small Local Races. When I lived in Parsberg, there were a lot of small local races in my area. The people who organized them were very friendly and welcoming to all runners. They made each runner almost feel like a member of the family. In many small races, each runner's name is announced as he crosses the finish line. It makes the race experience more personal. Some small races also had the best prize giveaways. The Velburg Easter Run (near Parsberg) and the Eibsee Run in the Garmisch area are known for their prize drawings. One year in Velburg I won a large chocolate Easter bunny. At Eibsee two years ago I got warm mittens and a calendar. Small races also have very inexpensive entry fees.

3. Free Public Transportation. In big city races the public transportation is free for the runners. Because parking is hard to find in large cities, and is often limited at a race start or finish, people are encouraged to use public transportation. Whenever I race in Munich, I park at a park-and-ride on the south side of the city and take the subway to the start. The trains run every few minutes and are clean and efficient. When I ran the Berlin Marathon in 1994, I also took the subway to the start area.

4. Odd Distances. In big, organized races a course is set to fit the race distance. A 10K race will be 10 kilometers, a marathon 42.2, etc. But the little local races are fun because the organizers plot out a course, then measure the distance. The course is often a scenic trail in the woods. If the trail is 8.7 kilometers, then that's the race distance. To me it's fun to run a different distance than the standard 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or marathon. The Eibsee Run is a surprise because the starting point changes slightly from year to year. The advertised distance is 12.2 kilometers, but it varies a little because of the where the organizers decided to put the starting line.

In both Germany and the States, the organizers and volunteers deserve a big "thank you" for doing a great job and for making each race day a memorable experience.

Munich Two Chapter Two

2010-10-11T07:14:00.000-07:00

A few random thoughts about yesterday's race in Munich...

The weather was perfect for a long race. It started off a bit cold (4 C or about 39 F) and sunny, which made me debate whether to wear a short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirt with shorts. I opted for the short sleeves. It was a good call because it warmed up enough that I would have baked in the long-sleeved shirt. The breeze was chilly, but felt refreshing in the later part of the race.

According to the marathon website, there were over 18,000 runners in the four races: marathon, half-marathon, 10K, and 6 km Trachtenlauf (race where the runners wear traditional Bavarian clothing). I met people from different parts of Germany who came to Munich for the race.

I ended up running into someone that I knew from my Hohenfels days. He was the principal of the base elementary school when I first moved to Germany. He was also here in Garmisch during my first year here. When I last saw him he wasn't running, so it was a big surprise to see him at the race. We ran part of the first kilometer together and then I took off ahead. He commented on my photo of Bill that I had pinned to my shirt above my number. When I told him who Bill was, he thought that it was a fitting tribute to have Bill with me during the race.

When I looked at the results, I saw the last place men and women and their times. The last place woman finished in about 3.5 hours. The amazing thing was that she had Down syndrome. She belonged to an athletic club for people with Down syndrome. What a wonderful accomplishment for her to have finished a half-marathon. I'm sure there have been many times in that woman's life where she was told that she couldn't do things because of her limitations. But yesterday she did something that very few "normal" people can do--finish a 21.1 km (13.1 mile) race.

The finishers medals for the half-marathon and 10 km runs were heart-shaped. They were decorated to look like the big gingerbread hearts that are sold at fests all over Bavaria. Because it was the 25th running of the marathon, the finishers of every race got a medal. The marathon medals were round and look like the one I got when I ran it three years ago.

My right knee is still a bit sore today, but it will be fine in a few days with some rest, ice, and massage. I can tell that it's an IT band problem because of it being on the outside of the knee. Also, when I use my massage stick on my IT band, the knee pain goes away. It also seems to loosen up when I walk around. Whew! I've had knee injuries where I was out of commission for a couple of months. Suffice it to say that was no fun.

All in all, the Munich half-marathon was a good experience. I hope that the organizers decide to make the half-marathon part of the marathon festivities. I'd like to go up and run it again.

Munich Two

2010-10-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is the second half-marathon that I ran in Munich this year. I ran the half-marathon that's part of the Munich Marathon. This is the first year that there was a half-marathon along with the marathon. There were close to 5,000 finishers at this inaugural race: 1651 women and 3120 men. My time was 1:53:43, which was about 2 minutes faster than my time at last June's City Run. I was 296th out of the 1651 women and 24th out of 144 in my age group (W 50-54). The results were segregated by gender. Just for fun I checked my time among the men's results and would have been right in the middle of the pack.

For the most part, I'm satisfied with my time. I achieved the goal of improving on my time from the City Run. There were also a couple of things which affected my time. The first 16 km (10 miles) were fast. Then the toe cramps struck. The three smallest toes on my right foot kept cramping. I had to walk to loosen them back up. This was the first time that I had toe cramps in a race. My husband gets toe cramps when his feet get cold. After having experienced them today, I'll never again think that he's being a big drama queen when he gets them. The other problem had to do with the sport drink that was served. It tasted awful and my stomach didn't like it. Even when I diluted the drink with water, it gave me gas pains. This was another first. Normally the sports drinks at races don't bother me. I attribute some of that to the nervous stomach that I had since Friday.

At first I was a bit disappointed with my time because I really wanted a faster one. I was on track for a much faster time through the first 16 km. A lot of that time I was "in the zone," going fast but still feeling pretty comfortable. But as I was leaving the stadium after having some post-race refreshments, I saw other people who were crossing the finish line. They were finishing at around the 2:15 mark. Then I realized that there were people in the race who would have been very happy to finish in my time. That and being in the top 20% for both the women and my age group put things in perspective and the disappointment went away.

Before the race, I also incurred some slight injuries. There was a huge line for the women's bathroom. Instead of directing people to the Porta-Potties near the start, the organizers sent women to an indoor bathroom with only 3 toilets. A group of us women toward the back of the toilet line, myself included, decided to use some nearby bushes to take care of business. There were nettles in the bushes! I got stung on my left hand, arm, and leg. I've brushed up against nettles while training and the sting lasted a couple of minutes. Munich nettles must be more potent than Garmisch ones because the spots where I got stung are still bothering me. I still have some red bumps on my skin from the nettles.

The course was the second half of the marathon course. About half of it was in the old city. I remember the last part of the marathon course being a big labyrinth, but somehow I though it was only the last 6 km. But about 8 km was like being in the middle of a maze until heading toward the finish at the Olympic stadium. The last kilometer seemed to be the longest because I kept expecting the turn into the stadium tunnel and onto the track. I remember that feeling from running the marathon too.

I saw a funny sight in the early part of the race. We runners passed by a restaurant called "Mai Wok." One would think that it would be a Chinese restaurant, especially with the word "wok" in the name. Nope. It was a restaurant which served both Indian food and pizza. I've also been to Indian restaurants and pizzerias, but never to a restaurant which served both types of food.

The runners were encouraged to use public transportation to get to the start and home from the Olympic stadium. The subway trains were packed! It was like what you see in Tokyo during rush hour. I had a Power Bar with me to eat on the train ride back to the park-and-ride where I left my car. But there wasn't enough room to pull it out of my bag and eat it. It was nice that all of the public transportation in Munich was free today for the runners.

Now it's time to take a well-deserved rest. My right knee is a little bit sore, but some ice will help it. I'll spend most of this week walking instead of running to let my body recover.

Call Me Lightning

2010-10-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

This entry's title, which is a song by the Who, sums up how I've been running over the past couple of weeks. I can tell that I'm peaking because I'm going a lot faster on my normal routes but feel like I'm holding back. I'm peaking at the perfect time for my half-marathon on Sunday. Today's short (about 5 km) run was another fast one, though I felt like I wasn't exerting myself at all. For a lot of the run I felt very "in the zone." I feel the way I did before running my first half-marathon back in 1991. My time in that race was better than I expected.

I can't believe that the race is in two days. All of the training is in, and I'm as ready as I'm going to be. The weather will be almost perfect for a half-marathon. It's supposed to be sunny and about 10 C (50 F) at the start. If it was overcast, then it would be perfect. But I'll take the cooler temperature and sun over hot and cloudy any day. This afternoon I put my chip onto my shoe, topped off the gas tank, and put my favorite Eros Ramazzotti disk in the car's CD player. I know what I'm going to wear in the race and afterward. Tomorrow after work I'll get my clothing and other gear together.

I don't have any specific time goals. My half-marathons in cooler weather are in the 1:49-1:54 range, while the warmer-weather ones range from 1:55 to 2:00. If I had to set a goal, it would be to beat my time of 1:55 that I had in this summer's Munich City Run. If all goes well, that's a very real possibility.

Sunday's race will be dedicated to absent friends. As usual, I'll pin a photo of my former running partner Bill to my shirt. I'll also be thinking about two other friends who have died. Michael was stabbed to death in January 2008. I ran a couple of races up in Hohenfels with Michael. Even though I beat him every time, he was always very good-natured about it. I had gone to Munich several times with Michael. He and his wife always enjoyed being in Munich. Dan died earlier this year from pancreatic cancer. He was never a runner. In fact, he was overweight and didn't exercise. But he always took an interest in my running and races. If my legs start feeling like they're made of lead, I'll think about one of Dan's jokes to take my mind off the pain.

I'll post a report on the race after I get my results.

Seven More Days...

2010-10-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

...until the Munich Half-Marathon.

This is the first year that there will be a half-marathon along with the Munich Marathon. So far over 1600 people have signed up for it, which is a good-sized field for an inaugural race. I have a feeling that a lot of people will sign up this week. Many runners tend to wait until the last minute to register.

The half-marathon will be the second half of the marathon course. It will start at the half-marathon mark and finish in the Olympic Stadium. A lot of the tourist attractions in the city center, like the Glockenspiel in the Marienplatz, will be part of the course. I remember the last few kilometers in the city center being rather labyrinthine. It also seemed to take a long time to get into the stadium once it was in sight. But the finish on the stadium track is fantastic. The track is made of a high-tech very springy material that feels wonderful on tired feet. The only down side is that the course won't go through the English Garden. The English Garden was originally in the second half of the marathon course, which is the same course used in the 1972 Olympics. Then several years ago the organizers had runners do the course in reverse and it has stayed that way ever since.

Training has been fantastic and I'm peaking at the right time. It's going even better than for my half-marathon in June. In the past couple of weeks I've been running my normal routes faster. Yesterday I ran my last long run, about 13.5-14 km, or somewhere between 8.5 and 9 miles. I hit my checkpoints with my fastest times this year, yet felt like I was holding back. When I do my short runs later this week, I'll really have to rein myself in and save my energy for the race. All of my training is in and there's really nothing I can do now but have an easy week and hope for a good race and cool weather.

Because the race is a point-to-point course, my plan is to park at the park-and-ride on the south side of the city that I use when I do the Munich City Run and take the U-Bahn (subway) to the start area. The U-Bahn stops about 100 meters from the start. This seems to be the simplest option and the one with the lowest potential for getting lost or arriving late. The other options are:

1) Park at the starting area and take the U-Bahn back from the Olympic Stadium. The down sides are limited parking and the fact that I don't know my way around Munich by car all that well. I can just see myself driving all around trying to find the start area and missing the race. It's the stuff of pre-race nightmares.
2) Park at the stadium and take the U-Bahn to the start. The up side is that all of my things would be handy right after the race. I can just get in my car and head directly home. The disadvantage is that the closest U-Bahn stop is about a 20-25 minute walk from the stadium. I also don't know exactly where it is. Again, I'd be wandering around anxiously before the race trying to find the U-Bahn stop and worrying about arriving on time. If I'm going to have a long walk to the U-Bahn, I'd rather do it after the race because it will help to loosen up my legs after running 21.1 km (13.1 miles). Also, after the race I can ask people how to get to the U-Bahn stop and get there without any anxiety.

Race day has really snuck up on me. It seems like just a few weeks ago when I decided to train for this race. I'm really looking forward to it. My goal is to enjoy the experience and finish the season on a high note without setting any time goals. This anticipation reminds me a lot of what I experienced before my first half-marathon in 1991, when I had a better-than-expected time.

Here's to a good race...

Only in Bavaria

2010-09-29T04:04:00.000-07:00

Even though the fall mornings are cold, I've been riding my bike to work when I'm on the early shift. There aren't too many more good days for cycling left until winter comes and I want to take advantage of the little bit of exercise and cross-training that I'm getting. Every time I ride my bike instead of driving, it's also that much less carbon I'm putting into the atmosphere. Because I have such a short commute (2.5 km to one building and 3.4 to the other), my rides to work and home are rather uneventful. But this morning I saw something very funny.

I rode by a house that had several stuffed deer heads with antlers displayed outside above its second floor (first floor to the Europeans) balcony. There is nothing unusual about antlers displayed the outside of a house here. But the person whose house I passed had an interesting use for his hunting trophies--he used them to dry his shirts. On each set of antlers there were two shirts on hangers, one on each side. Most people here would have used a standard drying rack or clothesline, but this guy decided to go for the Creative Uses For Antlers Award. I can just imagine the conversation between the man who shot the deer and his wife:

Wife: Those deer heads with the antlers are totally useless.
Husband: No they're not. They're perfect for air drying my shirts.

I wish that I had a camera with me to photograph those shirts hanging from the antlers. I'll just have to keep the vision of them in my head. Only in Bavaria...

Bella Italia

2010-09-11T05:01:00.001-07:00

On Monday I got back from an 8-day trip to Lake Garda in Italy. The weather was sunny and warm, though the mornings were refreshingly cool. Our apartment was on the small side, but had everything that we needed. We were outside the town of Sirmione, on the very southern part of the lake. Most of our days were spent hanging out by the pool or lake, which was about 300 meters from our apartment. The pool at our apartment complex wasn't heated and was rather chilly. Brrrr! But the lake water was warmer and very pleasant. Lake Garda was surprisingly shallow, at least our little part of it was. I could walk out for over 100 meters before the water was over my head. There was also a small playground across from the apartment complex, where we played some basketball or football (soccer). Overall it was a very relaxing vacation. We went out for pizza once; but the pizza wasn't as good as that at our local pizzeria in Garmisch (which is owned by Italians). On the other nights we cooked our meals in the apartment. The ice cream was fantastic! Italians make the world's best ice cream. We decided to stay for another three days, but as we were making a reservation, we saw a weather report which showed lots of rain over the next four days. We decided that if it was going to rain, we may as well be at home.

The area where we stayed is famous for its amusement parks. There are three big ones in the area: Gardaland, Movieland Studios, and Canevaword (also known as Movieland Water Park). Movieland and Canevaworld are owned by the same company and you can get a special 2-day ticket that's almost a "two days for the price of one" deal. Here's how I rated them:

1. Canevaworld: No waiting in lines for the different rides, which was a definite plus. The Crazy River inner tube ride was the most fun ride. It wasn't very crowded the day we went there because the day had started off fairly cool.

2. Gardaland: Had the best roller coasters and rides in general, but long waiting times for the various good rides. I was too scared to try Blue Thunder, which was a suspension coaster. Magic Mountain was a fun coaster with two loops and two corkscrews.

3. Movieland Studios: The smallest of the three parks. Most of the attractions got you wet. There were also long waits to do some of the rides. Their main roller coaster was fun, but over almost as soon as it started.

One thing that I really like about European amusement parks is that you're allowed to bring your own food. In US amusement parks it's streng verboten (strictly forbidden) to bring your own food into the parks. At all three parks were able to pack nice picnic lunches and buy little treats. The food in European amusement parks is also not a big ripoff like in the States. The prices were the same or slightly higher than they would have been for the same food at a restaurant in town. The whole idea of going to an amusement park in Europe is to have a good time without going broke.

There were a few things that I found a bit different. One was that when I was looking online for places to stay, I noticed that hotels in the area cost a lot more than apartments. You can really save money by staying in an apartment and cooking most of your meals. I've found over the years that Italian hotels aren't that nice. An Italian three-star apartment is much nicer than a three-star hotel. Sheets and towels also aren't included with an Italian apartment like they are in Germany or Austria. You either have to bring your own or pay for each set of sheets and towels. We brought our own. Even though it's now the 21st century, most of the toilets at the amusement parks were holes in the ground surrounded by a little porcelain. You'd think that with the relatively high ticket prices of these parks (but still much lower than an equivalent amusement park in the States), they could afford to get out of the Dark Ages and upgrade the commodes.

I got in two short (about 5 km) runs during my trip. There is a small path along the lake shore. Even though it was short, it had all sorts of terrain: grass, dirt, pebbles, wooden bridges, cement, cobblestones, and a little bit of asphalt. I would have run more, but I slept in too late most mornings. If I wasn't out the door by 9, it would have been too warm to run. But I wasn't a total slug because I walked around the amusement parks, played ball, and did a little swimming. I had to do something to burn off all the ice cream!

I have the rest of the week off. Then it's back to work on Tuesday, which is also when the kids go back to school in Bavaria.

Bill's Wit and Wisdom

2010-08-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

Author's note: This was originally started on 26 August, which is why that date is the posting/publication date. The draft was saved on that date. But it was revised and actually posted on 9 September. "Yesterday" refers to 8 September and not 25 August.

My former running partner Bill died 4 years ago yesterday from complications of leukemia. Bill taught me just about everything that I know about long distance running. Even though some of the things he taught me may be considered "old school" today, I still follow them because they have always worked for me. As I became an experienced runner, I passed on Bill's teachings to new runners who came to me for advice on how to run a half-marathon or marathon. Here are some of my favorite "Bill quotes" and pieces of advice:

"If there was no last place finisher, the race would never end." This is my very favorite quote from Bill and is true when you think about it. Bill said that to me when I told him that my biggest fear for my first half-marathon was finishing last. He also (correctly) assured me that I wouldn't be the last finisher.

"Running is 90% mental and only 10% physical." I've lost count of the number of times that a positive or negative frame of mind affected my running.

"You think too much." This one also ties in with, "Stop looking at your watch." Bill noticed right away that I was obsessed with my times. This was his way to get me to simply enjoy running without worrying about my pace. One time he even took my watch from me. After some initial anxiety about how I was doing, I settled in and enjoyed the run and conversation.

"In my years on the cross-country team, I can proudly say that I was never beaten by a runner from Taft." I went to Taft High School, and Bill went to rival school Reseda High. He was on Reseda's cross-country team. Taft always had good athletic teams, while Reseda was usually the last place team in any sport. During one run, I was making fun of Reseda's teams and he came up with that quote. Even after his death, Bill kept his unbeaten streak intact. I had his photo pinned above my number in the 2007 Munich Marathon. We crossed the finish line in a tie.

"Are you going to let an old man beat you?" Bill was 12 years older than me. When we'd run together, we'd do a full sprint for the last 100-200 meters of our training runs. This was great training for the last part of a long race. Even with tired legs at the end of a race, it's a real boost to pick up the pace at the very end. Bill would get a step or two ahead of me and then ask if I was going to let myself get beaten by an old man. I was able to keep up with him, but he made it tough. Believe it or not, I say this to myself during almost every training run final sprint.

"A marathon isn't like running two half-marathons in a row. It's more like running six." Very true. The first half of a marathon is relatively easy. But the second half of a marathon is like running five half-marathons in a row.

"I thought you said you couldn't run 10 miles." Before I did my first 10-mile training run, I told Bill that I couldn't possibly do it. We ran together and next thing I knew, I had run 10 miles (16 km) and was getting one of his post-run hugs with that quote.

As I said before, I ran the 2007 Munich Marathon with Bill's photo pinned above my race number. During the race I had many ongoing conversations with him. Talking with a dead person sounds a bit loopy, but it got me through the race. At the 39 km mark (a metric marathon is 42.2 km) there was a water point with drinks and bananas. I was hungry and stopped for a drink and piece of banana. Big mistake. My legs decided that they had enough running. Just beyond the water point was a corral where people who dropped out of the race were awaiting a ride to the finish area. It was so tempting to stop. But then I heard Bill's voice saying, "You've come too far to quit now. You can do this." As usual, he was right. I started off at cool-down jog pace and my legs eventually loosened up enough to make it those last 3.2 km. I even set a personal marathon record at age 48. The record was even sweeter sharing it with Bill.

As long as there are new runners who come to me for advice on how to run a long-distance race, Bill will live on.

Russian Textbook World

2010-08-21T00:14:00.001-07:00

I've been studying Russian for my job. I recently finished the textbooks for the Defense Language Institute basic course and am now using a friend's old intermediate-level textbooks. All of the books that I've been using were published back in the days of the Soviet Union. It's funny to see old city names like Leningrad and Stalingrad in these books. My Russian textbooks also paint an interesting picture of life in the former USSR.

It seems like all of the Russian language textbook authors got together to create what I call "Russian Textbook World" or RTW. RTW is supposed to represent life in the Soviet Union. Lessons are written from the viewpoint of a Soviet university student. The student lives with his parents, older sister, and younger brother in Moscow. The father is either a pilot, engineer in a factory, doctor, or school director. Mom is a nurse or a teacher. I guess all those statistics about most of the USSR's doctors being women were wrong because RTW women are never doctors. The older sister works in a store or a kindergarten. The younger brother is still in elementary or high school and doesn't have a job yet. The university student, usually male, is studying engineering, chemistry, physics, or medicine. He befriends an American student who's also studying at the university. Our RTW college student likes to show his American friend the sights of Moscow and explain its history. The KGB never hears about our Soviet student socializing with a foreigner and then arresting him, which is what would have happened in the real USSR. That's because there is no KGB in RTW. Grandma and Grandpa are retired and live in a village in another part of Russia.

The typical Soviet family in RTW doesn't have a car. Nobody uses the metro, despite the fact that Moscow has an excellent subway system. Everyone goes to work or school on the bus, the tram, or on foot. If every man is a pilot, engineer, doctor, or school director, I wonder who drives the buses and trams in RTW. Either cycling in Moscow is for the elite, or our family doesn't own any bicycles because nobody in RTW rides a bicycle to work or school.

Don't believe what the Western press says about food shortages or long lines in the grocery stores in the USSR. There are none in RTW. Our typical Moscow family eats very well and never has to wait in line for food. Every day they eat: oatmeal, pancakes, sandwiches, ham, sausage, other meat, eggs, and even some fish. There don't seem to be many fruits and veggies in the RTW diet except for carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, cucumbers, and onions. RTW families drink milk, tea, wine, and water. Dad never goes out and gets drunk pounding shots of vodka with his buddies. In Russian vodka is vodka and water is voda, which is probably why every man that I've met from the former USSR drinks vodka like it's water. RTW really is an alternate universe!

Our RTW family lives in an apartment in a multi-story building. The apartment is large enough for the family and has a living room, hallway, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, study room, and bedrooms. All of the modern conveniences are in the apartment: electricity, gas, telephone, hot water, and even a shower. There are good views from the windows. Every family in RTW has a television and radio, though not all have VCRs. Every RTW family has a friend who just moved to a brand new apartment (also in a multi-story building) who will be having a housewarming party soon. The friend with the new apartment recently bought furniture.

There are various forms of entertainment in RTW. When not going to the theater, a movie, a concert, or a football/soccer game at the local stadium (where Spartak Moscow only plays Dynamo Moscow), the typical RTW family watches TV, listens to radio programs, or goes for a walk in the park. Students often go to the local club with their friends. Sometimes a friend will come to visit. The post office is evidently the place to be in RTW. Whole lessons in Russian language textbooks are all about going to the post office. At the post office in RTW, you don't just mail a letter or package or buy stamps. You can also send telegrams, pick up packages, and make long distance phone calls. Telegrams appear to be the main medium of communication in RTW. Going to the doctor is another pastime. People in RTW get enough coughs, colds, sore throats, fevers, and headaches to keep their doctors very busy.

When people go on vacation in RTW, they take the train to the Black Sea, the Caucausus, the Crimea, or the Baltic. There are evidently no other vacation destinations in RTW. Even though those places must be very crowded with everyone in the USSR spending their summer vacations there, hordes of tourists are never mentioned. These places are always calm and peaceful. Sometimes the kids will visit Grandma and Grandpa in their village for the summer and spend their days hiking in the woods gathering mushrooms and berries.

Nothing bad ever happens in RTW. In my Defense Language Institute books, there were sections in each lesson with newspaper article excerpts. Most of them were about some sort of disaster: car crashes, plane crashes, train crashes and derailments, fires, floods, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. The interesting thing is that all of these disasters happened outside the USSR. When there were articles about the USSR, they were usually about Aeroflot's new flights to East Berlin, Sofia, and Prague, a new modern hotel for businessmen in Leningrad (with electricity!), special cruises on Russia's rivers, or how a local tractor factory increased its production.

Would I like to live in RTW? No. I like the real world better. Anyway, if I got on a bus or train in RTW, I'd probably end up having to drive it.

Pet Peeves

2010-08-19T12:10:00.001-07:00

When I lived in Parsberg, I did most of my runs in the local woods. I'd see lots of animals there: deer, huge wild rabbits, foxes, and an occasional wild boar. It was always a surprise to see the different critters while on the run. They would usually run away when they sensed me. The rabbits, which I often called, "Vorpal bunnies," were especially fast. I used to say that they had to be fast to escape being cooked. One time I got to within a couple of meters of a large deer on a trail. We both looked at each other before he bolted away. The time I saw a mother boar with her babies, I made sure to give them a wide berth. But they were more interested in foraging for whatever they eat, which was a good thing. The foxes always ran away. They were more afraid of me than I was of them, which was a sign that they weren't rabid.

These days I don't see any wild animals except for a rabbit once in a while. But I do see lots of sheep and cows. There is a sheep pasture where I begin and end most of my runs. I also see cows on several of the trails in the late spring through early fall. I'm often "up close and personal" with the cows and the tourists who want to photograph them.

But the wild and farm animals are easy to deal with compared to domestic ones and their owners. In Germany dogs are supposed to be on a leash when they're out for a walk. One would think that the Germans, who usually follow every rule to the letter and insist that others do so, would keep their dogs on a leash. Wrong! They like to let Bello (the German equivalent of Fido or Rover) run free while holding an empty leash in their hands. Most of the time the dogs just sniff harmlessly and then go on their way, or they ignore me. But there are little dogs that like nothing better than jumping on an unsuspecting runner. What do the owners do? Nothing.

One dog owner even had the nerve to blame me for startling his otherwise friendly dog. I had started off on my run and slowed my pace when I saw the dog coming my way and barking furiously. Bello jumped on me. The owner said that his dog was very friendly but went into attack mode because my movement startled him. When I saw the leash in the owner's hand, I asked him why Bello wasn't on a leash. He said that his nice, friendly dog didn't need to be on one and that I shouldn't have startled the poor thing.

My other pet peeve is the dog owners who have little Fifi on an extendable leash who stand on one side of the path and their dog is on the other side. I either have to say, "Ich komme vorbei" (I'm passing) or jump over the leash. The dog's owner acts annoyed that he either has to move to Fifi's side of the trail or move Fifi to his side. Have these people never learned trail etiquette? I also encounter these types of dog owners when I ride my bike on the same trail. When I ring my bell, those people give me a look like I'm out to shoot their dogs instead of just pass by. Whatever happened to staying on one side of the trail?

I will take the wild animals of Parsberg over Bello, Fifi, and their owners any day.

The Path Less Traveled

2010-08-16T06:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went for a 1:40 run on my flat route, which is a walking/bike path that parallels the main road that goes into Austria. I like that particular route because it prepares me for the flatness of Munich. I'm training for the half-marathon that will accompany the Munich Marathon this October. The down side of the flat route is that it can get noisy from all of the Sunday tourist traffic. The road that goes into Austria is a busy one.

When I got to a point where there was a dirt trail that led away from the main road, I decided to try it and see where it went. It was obvious that this hiking and mountain biking path was little-used, which was a nice change from the path along the main road. This path started off relatively flat, but then went gradually uphill. It wasn't anywhere near as steep as the path that I use when I'm training for hilly races. When I got a short distance in, all of the car sounds faded. The only sounds were the music from my iPod and the Loisach River running over the rocks. This particular path parallels the Loisach. It was great to hear the sounds of nature instead of vehicles. A wild animal or two would have added to the atmosphere. I really treasure moments like these when I can totally get away from the city streets and other people.

I ran in for about 1.5 kilometers, then it was time to turn around and head home. It would have been nice if I could have gone to the trail's end; but I would have paid for it with very sore muscles the next day. I didn't know how much longer the trail continued. It may have gone all the way into Austria for all I knew. But it's always nice to have a new and different place to run, and it's even more fun to explore new trails. On one hand, it would be nice to run on this particular trail regularly. But it might not be the smartest move to do it alone, since it's used so infrequently. It would probably be best to stick to the main road and do "the path less traveled" occasionally or with a partner.

Today I took a wrong turn on my 5 kilometer recovery run. I started doing short, easy runs the day after my long run. The reason is that my legs are a little bit tired after a long run. Doing a short run with tired legs prepares me for the experience of those last few kilometers in a long race when the legs start to feel like they're made of lead. Since I've trained for that feeling, I know that I can handle it in a race situation. Back to my run today...I ran my 5 km route in the opposite direction, which I had never done before. At one point I had the options of going straight or turning right. Going straight seemed to be the logical thing to do. The road to the right looked like it dead-ended in someone's driveway. But after about 100 meters, I noticed a sawmill on my right. It just didn't look familiar. On my left there was another unfamiliar building. I then realized that I should have turned right, so I turned back and got onto the correct path. When I've run that path in my usual way, I never noticed the turnoff to the sawmill. I was so focused on where I was supposed to go, and my music, that I never even looked for other branches from that path. It looks like my day wasn't wasted because I discovered something new.

The Grand Experiment (of One)

2010-08-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

One of my former training partners says that running is an "experiment of one." It truly is. We runners design our training programs to fit our bodies and needs. Each of us is unique with our own way of doing things. Some runners can run every day, while others focus on doing three quality runs a week. I know runners who religiously follow a particular regimen to the letter and others who decide how far they will run based on how they're feeling that day. There are runners who run for a particular distance without keeping their time and those who run for a particular length of time without measuring the distance.

My particular running schedule comes from various plans that I read in "Runner's World," taking advice from more experienced runners, plus my own trial and error. If something seemed interesting, then I would try it and see how it worked. If I liked it, then I added it to my program. If it didn't work for me, then I didn't do it again. I've found that running 4 days a week works best for me. I have one long run, one short (5 km) run, and two medium length runs every week. One of the medium runs includes hills and the other is in the valley, where it's flat. These days I've been alternating my long runs in the hills and on a flat route. I don't follow a set plan, other than the weekly long run. This flexibility works for me, because I have a lot of self-discipline and am internally motivated. I'm able to easily change my running schedule based on any changes in my work schedule. My training plan may not work for someone who is just starting out running or who lacks self-discipline.

When I want to run a marathon or half-marathon, I get out the calendar and plan out my long runs. I tend to plan more long runs than most training programs use, which often puts me ahead of "where I should be" at a given point in time. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) The only way to prepare the body for the marathon or half-marathon experience is to do long runs. If I do enough long runs in training, and gain more experience by doing them, I'm better prepared for anything that might happen in a race. I'm also more confident in my ability to go the distance. 2) If I get sick, injured, feel like my body needs a little break, or go for a hike or bike ride instead of a run, I know I will still get in enough long runs to be fully prepared for the race. I can skip a long run now and then without feeling guilty.

I never understood the training programs which take a person from "Zero to Marathon in 12 Weeks." Some people swear by them; and runners using them have finished marathons. But they're not for me. First of all, they build up the mileage too quickly for my knees. It takes me longer than a lot of people to train for a long race because of tendinitis in my knees. If I build up gradually, I don't have any problems. The other problem is that they only have one (or two maximum) runs in the 18-20 mile (30-32 km) range. As I said in the preceding paragraph, that's not enough to really prepare the body for a marathon.

When I had a blog on Yahoo 360, there was a woman who followed a 16 week marathon training program to the letter. It seemed like she just couldn't deviate from the plan no matter what was occurring in her life. She ran strictly for mileage and would have her husband drive a course to get the mileage exact. I read her blog on 360, mainly because I was fascinated that someone could be so rigid in following a program. This woman did every single workout exactly as it was written in the plan. To her credit, she finished the marathon, so following that program worked for her. But her way just wouldn't work for me.

The thing about running is that it just doesn't matter how long or far you run, or if you strictly adhere to a particular plan or have more flexible workouts. What matters is that the program that you choose to follow works for you.

Running the World

2010-07-31T05:19:00.000-07:00

The great thing about running is that you can do it anywhere. You don't need any special equipment except for good shoes and a sports bra with good support (women only for that second item). When going on vacation, you don't have to schlep a lot of equipment or look for a gym. You just put on your running clothes and go out the door.

I almost always brought running clothes when I went on vacation and have run in some interesting places. On a trip to Portugal I found a cross-country trail near my hotel. As I was running, it seemed like everyone else on that trail was zooming by me. Everyone was passing me like I was standing still. Afterward I found out that this trail was used for training by elite runners. There was one group of elite runners from Germany at my hotel. I saw other people walking around with t-shirts from high-level competitions. I didn't feel so bad about being passed after that. When I took trips to Bibione, Italy the running gear came with me. I liked running on the path along the beach before the weather got too hot and the crowds came out to the beach. I've also run in the Austrian Alps.

When I go to the States to visit family and friends, I always pack the running gear. I have run in Boston, San Diego, Los Angeles, Lone Pine (CA), and Novato (CA) while visiting. I had a strange experience in Novato, where I was visiting my cousin. I ran to a park, where there were some nice-looking trails. As I was running on a trail, there was a group of 4 people (2 men, 2 women) in front of me walking abreast who I wanted to pass. Just before I could say, "Excuse me," I tripped on a rock and my hand landed on one of the women's shoulders. She screamed like I had pulled a gun on her. Her companions turned around to see what was happening. I don't think that I look very threatening, but I guess you never know. Maybe that bottle of Gatorade that I was carrying in my waist pack looked like a deadly weapon. ("Hand over your money, or I'll squirt you with my Gatorade.") After apologizing for scaring everyone and explaining what happened, we all went on our way. On my way back, I ran into those people again, but this time from the front. We smiled at each other and then I ran back to my cousin's house.

My most interesting running experience was on the Greek island of Kalymnos. I went out for an early morning run after breakfast and decided to get off the road and go up a hill that had a dirt trail. As I was getting toward the top of the hill, I heard a lot of bells. When I got to the top, there was a huge herd of goats with the herders. It was like something out of a storybook about Greece. I got some funny looks from the goat herders because I'm sure that runners weren't a common sight on that island.

When I go on vacation to Italy next month, I will pack my running gear. I'm sure there are some nice places to run along Lake Garda.

All-Weather Running

2010-07-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

Mad dogs and Englishmen may go out in the midday sun, but real runners go out in every conceivable weather condition. If I were to wait for a perfect day to run, which would be overcast and 10-15 C (50-59 F), I would never get out. I have run in blazing summer sun, below freezing temperatures, light rain, heavy rain, freezing rain, snow, and ice. Would I have it any other way? No. I couldn't imagine having to run on a treadmill 90% of the time because of being a weather wimp. A lot of people that I know will only run outdoors when the weather is nice. They're missing out.

As they say here in Bavaria, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." That holds true for running gear too. I probably have more running gear than "the average bear" because of the weather. If I was still living in Southern California, I would just need shorts, singlets, one pair of lightweight tights, a couple of short-sleeved technical shirts and one long-sleeved shirt. If I spent my time in the gym on the treadmill instead of the great outdoors, I'd just need shorts and singlets. But I would much rather be outdoors and actually going somewhere. Because I run outdoors all year 'round, I have shorts and singlets for warm weather, capris, lightweight (spring/fall) tights, winter tights, long and short-sleeved technical shirts, fleece overshirts, ice spikes, and a Gore-Tex suit that doubles as a rain suit and winter running suit. Imelda Marcos may have spent her money on shoes, but I spend mine on running gear for all seasons.

It turns out that my best winter running gear comes from German grocery stores. I have gotten great bargains on technical shirts, tights, and fleece overshirts at the grocery store. In fact, my warmest winter tights are my 13 euro specials from the Aldi that I bought about 10 years ago. They're much warmer than tights that I ordered online that cost about four times as much.

We've had some crazy weather lately. Last Tuesday I set out on a run. There was a misty rain, which felt refreshing after the heat that we've been having. A few minutes into that run, the sky opened up and it started pouring. I was just dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved technical shirt. The shirt was loose, so at least it didn't stick to me. I hate the feeling of wet clothing sticking to me. My shorts, shoes, and socks were also soaking wet. I cut my run a little short to take a route that was less in the open. If I really wanted to, I could have brought a bar of soap and shampoo and had an outdoor shower. But I pressed on with the run and waited until I came home to have a shower. A couple of days later, it was hot and humid again. Who knows what it will be tomorrow. But no matter the weather, I am prepared for it.