Patrick Hayes memorial run

Back in 1998, I spent a good part of my summer in Las Vegas helping Grandpa take care of my newly-disabled Grandma, Harriet. I recall one conversation we had one night in which my grandmother grumped that life wasn't worth living anymore; she'd done everything she wanted to do and most of her friends were dead and the last few were dying. I vaguely understood her position, but didn't understand why she didn't take more joy in her husband, children, and grandchildren.

These days, I understand some of that much better. Since November 1st, I've lost four acquaintances, three of them from CF. Now, in the world of CF, very few of us actually know each other in person - contact is discouraged because of cross-contamination issues. So we make our communities online and in emails, newsletters, and pictures. We can become very close that way. So losing both Tom Hubin and Deron Arnold in November was quite a shock.

This morning I found that a fairly close internet friend, Patrick Hayes, passed away last night while waiting for a transplant. To be sure, the picture was grim, and the dry run earlier this week raised everybody's hopes for a moment. His passing isn't altogether unexpected, but a lot sooner than anybody thought. He was a great voice in the Great Conversation and I'll miss him.

So is this what life is? What getting older really means? That you make fewer and fewer new friends each year, but lose more and more old ones? This isn't getting any easier. I'm glad it's not! Because if it became easier, what would that make me?

I've been staring at this post for 15 minutes. I don't know what else to write. Things just feel a little useless right now.

After I read about Patrick and the responses to that news on the CF list, I went for a run. Great weather; just...perfect. Absolutely perfect running weather. This was a pretty good run, for me; though still full of walking and ultimately very slow. I'm never going to be happy with that. But for now, it's better than the alternative. I gotta keep it up so I don't end up like Patrick; and I know Patrick would be encouraging me to keep going out there and clearing out my lungs and invogorating my entire body. Maybe this is why I'm not racing right now - trying to find the real motivation, the actual reasons I should continue to run.

Patrick was younger than me. He was 36 years old.

elliptical again

Good 30 minutes workout: 5 minutes on the treadmill to warm up, 20 on the elliptical, 5 minutes on the treadmill cooldown. stretching, foam roller, pushups.

Improvement

Much better run this time. Sunny, 38 degrees.

I did a gym workout yesterday. I tried the elliptical for the first time ever and did 15 minutes. Continuous! It was ...hm, well... a lot harder than I'd supposed. No wonder the women who are dedicated to that type of exercise are in such good shape. More importantly, a lot less impact. I didn't think it would make much difference, but it does. My shins didn't hurt, my joints didn't hurt; nothing. A little burn in the muscles, but that's to be expected. And my heartrate! I wasn't sure if I should believe the machine or not. 160 bpm didn't seem right; maybe next time I'll stop and jump on the stationary bike and see if it corroborates. iPhone needs a pulse ox/heart rate monitor plug-in thingy. Any inventors out there? Oh... I know one who has medical patents, maybe I'll drop him a line.

Anyway, I then lifted weights for 45 minutes after the elliptical. So I got a good workout and really felt it today in my obliques. Hopefully I can find the willpower to keep this up and hit the gym twice a week or so.

So today's run was following that and it felt a little easier than Tuesday's run, which was an awful, miserable mess. The shin splints are still haunting me, but maybe getting a little better. I didn't go as far today, but will endeavor for a complete loop of the cemetary on Saturday. I need to get my distance up past three miles on a regular basis or I'm never getting out of the "warmup zone."

worse and worse

I'm very unhappy with this.

Coffee

This is the winter of coffee. I have been introduced to the awesome Keurig machine and the lines of coffees available for it in K-cups. While not as cheap as standard drip coffee, it is perfect if you only want to make one cup. I could never get a decent one-cup brew out of regular coffeemakers - you have to do at least half a pot. The Keurig is nice and the cost ultimately is slightly less than bodega coffee - with a lot more selection. For the record, I am definitely a fan of the Newman's Own extra-bold. I don't usually like extra-bold coffees (i.e. Starbucks), but it works here.

Up to this point, I've been using instant coffee. Now before you all start wincing and gagging, I want to advance a couple ideas; namely that a) instant coffees have advanced a lot since the early days of Folgers Crystals. (Hell, even Folgers instant has gotten better.) b) Instant stays at its quality level damn near forever in the freezer; beans don't. and c) instant coffee now comes in many more options, flavors, and styles than before.

The kind of been using most is the Maxwell House singles. They appear to be a mix of instant coffee and real grounds in a teabag-like sack and if you follow the directions, they make a pretty good afternoon cup of coffee. Not too strong, not weak at all, and takes the lightener and sweetener like a real coffee will.

Now of course Starbucks - or Whorebucks as my inner monologue refers to the chain - has gotten into the act with their Via Ready Brew. I have not tried this, but I've asked people who have and they all shake their heads. Of course, these people are all addicted to the crap Whorebucks passes off as coffee and most of them are getting the five-dollar Diabetes Specials that are so full of sweeteners, flavorings, and milk that to call it coffee anymore is really kind of a joke - so it's not a surprise that Whorebucks fans don't actually like the instant coffee version - it's just too plain and they don't own the equipment or materials to tart it up like their favorite whoredrink.

There was a feature on the news where one of the reporters went onto the street and invited people to do a taste-test. Results similar to what I've outlined above. Only one guy like the instant more.

This leads me to think that giving Via might be worth it for ME to try. However, it is very expensive. I got to wondering how much more expensive, so I put all these options into a neat little list:

• Via Ready Brew instant | $34.95 for 48 ct = .73/cup (equivalent of a Tall)
• Whorebucks real | $1.40/cup (Tall)
• Newman's Own Keurig | $10 for 24 (macys) = .42/cup (best at 8 oz)
• Maxwell House Singles | $4.39 for 19 = .23/cup (best at 8 oz)

Clearly, MH Singles are the most economical, outside of brewing your own. Keurig makes a good choice if you don't have to have a giant cup of coffee every time and want something you can actually finish before it gets cold.

Still, nothing beats dollar-a-cup bodega coffee for comfort factor.

25 minutes stationary bike today, instead of running. Maybe run tomorrow.