August changes...

  Today's run at 6am spoke volumes as my right hamstring is simply not healing well. I keep running and that is not giving it near the amount of time to heal and nobody is to blame but myself. So, the month of August, my least favourite of the year, will be devoted to resting that leg and biking instead.
Keeping in decent condition is my objective until I can run again. I don't think this will be a problem though I will watch what I eat and drink a bit better as I do this. I tend to gain weight easily if I'm not careful.


    So biking it is!! I love the Giant Iguana I got from Dan last year and will now bring it to the apt for the month. Admittedly, it is not as much fun as running, but enjoyable nonetheless and I'll do my best to maintain my system while I heal. So these are the pics I shall be posting more of I guess!!

         Other than the issues with the leg, all has been going very well in my life. I spend more and more time with the girls and in being mindful of how lucky I really am. At the age of 46, almost 47, I'm living a life I could only dream of years ago. Sure, I have some health issues here and there, but so what. Do the best we can and love one another. And take advantage of every day and moment we have on this planet as one never knows the future.

                                                        Ann, Donna, Liberty and me!!

Insomnia and schedules.

After a dismal year of insomnia and trying to get back on schedule with sleeping habits, there might have been a breakthrough last night. Used to be I could go to bed at 10 PM ,fall asleep quickly and wake up at 4:30 or 5am with no problem, feeling completely refreshed. Then my schedule changed and it knocked me off the list of comfortable things. No one thing did it but more a mixture of insomnia,arthritis and other life events that added adrenaline to the situation.
                    So I have tired of this and of being tired ALL THE TIME...I'm changing some things up and trying to get back to the previous way of life. No more eating or drinking after 7pm in the evenings (except water). No electronic devices after 10 PM . More reading of books and listening to my beloved classical that gets my mind prepared for sleep. More MEDITATION!!!! I miss this and need to get back into a better frame of mind, a more set schedule for this essential activity.

        Last night was the first time in months I've had a good night's sleep and by following my rules to perfection.  Bed by 10, up at 4:30am. Perfect! Went out for a 5:30am run of 10K (6.2 miles) and even though the hamstring gave me a few issues, I felt good. Always loved running in the early morning, especially during summer with the horrid heat of the afternoons making such an activity impossible for me.

   Now to see if I can maintain this. Life is glorious for me right now with everything falling into place nicely. Just BEING is the way to do it! Take every day as a blessing and live it to the full, not letting others ruin it for you by their own inactivity or jealousies. Love whomever you want and be as happy as you can in doing so!!! All philosophies I subscribe to heartily!!!  <3 <3 <3 <3

Ink, classical guitar and the dog days of summer.

As the month of July winds down to expose the "dog days " of summer, I struggle, like  every year, with the heat and dryness of the season. Even at the age of 46 I dislike this time of year when the temps creep over 85°. So I tend to slow my running paces down, stay inside more and practice whatever instrument I'm learning at the time. For a few years it has been both Native American flutes, the Japanese Shakuhachi and also classical guitar. The flutes tend to be my autumn and winter/springtime instruments and the guitar a whenever one. Lately, now that my fingers have partially healed  from the cat attack and subsequent infections , I've wandered back to my guitar playing. They still ache and are in pain daily but at least I can bend them to a playing position.
This is what they looked like a day after the attack:

  Eventually they got worse than that and I almost lost both hands. Fortunately I made it to the hospital on time and here we are. I blogged about this a few months ago so if you want more info, check the archives. So now, I can play my classical guitar with a bit more dexterity and at least practice. Not for long,maybe a half hour at most, but I CAN. Here is a photo of my beloved Cordoba Dolce guitar:

   So the Fender Stratocaster goes back in it's bag and the Cordoba gets priority now. Going to HOPEFULLY concentrate on scales, a few Spanish and classical pieces while getting my fingers to cooperate. For those of you who are not familiar with classical guitar, go research or Google these names:   Andres Segovia, Augustin Barrios, Albeniz, John Williams (not the film composer), David Russell, Tarrega, Torroba and classical guitar in general.

    For the last five  years I have been  slowly indulging myself in the world of ink, namely tattoos.
In my previous life, they were thought of as horrid and forbidden examples of what a nice guy should not have on his body. Ok....whatever.Many ask..."What about when you are an old man? What will they look like when you are 90?". Hell, if I make it to 90, I won't care WHAT they look like and will be happy I lived that long!!!
                                            So, I sought out my first tattoo and now am loving how the ink looks on my body, hoping to go fill in the rest of my arms with the finishing touches in the near future. These are all designs that mean something to me and not some random flash art from a studio wall.  My artist, Doug Auld, has inked every one of them and will be doing the rest as well. He does great work and makes it a truly enjoyable experience to go in and get inked. Here are some pics of what I now have on my arms and legs:

  This is the first tattoo I ever received, my Pheidippides. He runs with me everywhere!!!!

                                       A Japanese woodblock print by Hiroshige from 1832:

                         The world map, for my travels...

                         A compass for guidance in my travels and in life...

                            

                                                            My favourite Mahler song!!!!

                                            
                            My Scottish heritage in the Saltaire flag and thistle.

                                                   My native heritage and also flute circle mascot.

The lion rampant for my English heritage and the love of tea with a tea leaf and Chinese symbol for it.

 

Then two dragons for my Welsh heritage

                                               And another two for love of all things Dragon and the Celtic dragon for the love of the ladies in my life!!! Entwined dragon heart!

                           Finally, my Journey scarab, my second tattoo ever. This is for the love favourite rock band!!!  They got me through some tough times back in the teen years. This is the least I could do! Surrounding it is a Van Gogh Starry night with slight variations and above them all the bi-crescent moons to symbolize my orientation.

                      So there are some of my tattoos. Soon, the lower arms will be connected with various patterns to give them all a finished look.  Thanks to Doug Auld for all the work he has done over the years. He has done them all!! Looking forward to more work soon Doug!!!!


            August is inching closer which means that in a month...FOOTBALL season starts!!!  :-)


        

On to ASL as summer moves along...

  After running my last race of the summer and settling in for the heat and dog days ahead, I've taken another turn within the linguistics and communication realm. French is taking a back seat for now while I turn attention toward American Sign Language . My wife and I had started lessons in ASL back in 1993 but discontinued after getting married and moving. Now, years later, I have new friends that are either hearing impaired or deaf. This makes it much more necessary and a very useable form of communication. As we had very few to practice with back then, things have changed and we do so now. My hope is to learn at least one word in sign per day. I'm now at the point of having memorized the alphabet and numbers as well as five words. Not only is this a valuable language to learn but it is very rewarding.

      
       Give me time and I can learn almost anything. What I NEED is practice,practice,practice. This is a living and growing language that changes daily as new words are added,just like any other form of communication. I'm fortunate that Ann and Liberty are joining me in this endeavor. :-)  This book is my starting point and I've found it wonderful in addition to DVD's and applications for the tablet and phone.

  On the running front...


                With some hamstring issues plaguing me, I finally did some cross-training yesterday to keep fit until I run again,perhaps this Friday. Went biking to Portland and the Columbia River-Jantzen Beach area. Very enjoyable albeit hot ride.

   And finally, all four of us went down to Vancouver's Pride day called "Saturday in the Park" this last weekend. Smaller event that was a slight disappointment though with more church booths than LGBT related ones. Not that they are bad but they certainly out numbered anything else. Here are a few photos of us on that sunny day!

A busy but very rewarding weekend with our family and friends!!!


This weekend, the 20th of July, we will be attending the Portland Highland Games!!!! This is something I've been looking forward to all year long and a chance to wear the Ross tartan kilt! Should have a blog post by Sunday night! Stay tuned!

Independence Day and my last race of summer.

What a way to start the summer!!! Traditionally, this weekend marks the start of this season here in the Pacific Northwest, with the hot and dry weather to arrive soon. Granted, we had a very warm spell last week with my allergies and mild heat stroke hitting me hard. Still, we don't get them but a few weeks a year so perhaps this will be one of the few!!!???

   Independence Day was on Thursday this year I cannot remember a louder and more active fireworks event in my time here. And that is saying something since I've lived here since 1985!
They went off all four nights but were so much louder than the past few years.Why is that? Larger and more potent? Don't know but the pets,kids and shut ins hate these things. I don't mind to a degree but after 11PM it is tough to sleep with them going off,shaking the apartment walls!

     On Saturday I ran my last half marathon of the year and last race of the summer. Usually the heat makes any activity worse and this year is no exception. Add the continuing issue with my arthritis,especially in the right hip and knee, and it makes things considerably worse. While I don't mind getting older, I DO dislike the health problems with it. When a teen I was diagnosed with arthritis, really juvenile rheumatoid arthritis . Every year it gets worse but does stay at bay for longer periods. Nothing can really be done about it either except pain management. Not doing much of that except aspirin sometimes when it really flares up. Anyways...back to the race!!!

 Arrived at the Gresham downtown core and a park where the event was being held. Not a large race with less than 200 entrants for the full and half marathons. I like smaller races and this was no exception. It led along the Springwater Corridor Trail in an out and back form. Due to a mild food poisoning the night before and some nasty hip/knee pain, I was not sure if I'd even run this race. But here I was,giving it a go. Ran well the first 7 miles and felt rather good. At mile seven,the wheels started to come off as my hip and knee ached something fierce! Also was a bit energy depleted due to lack of carbing up the day before. I slowed from a pace of 7:44/mi to 8:30. I struggled back to finish at 2:00:44, way under what I normally run a half in. Received our "medals" and took some photos. Here are a few:

                                                 Running peeps: Steve,Rob,Jules and myself.

                                                         Starting line with fresh smile!!

                                                      Finishing with forced smile! :-P

                                                Jules and Michelle!!

                                                 Jules,Michelle and myself!!

                                              Michelle and Michael Allen,who shot great photos of us!!

 

                                    And finally, my bib and "medal". This is not a jab of negativity at the quality of the award not the race itself, but I guess I expected a bit more for the entry price. The course was fun and shirt ok but felt the plastic medal with added sticker was the cheesiest I've ever received after a half marathon. Imagine the Full marathon runners and their efforts for such an award.  Oh well. A rather crummy award for a crummy race run by myself! :-P                           
                                           Again, not a slam but simply an observation.


    Ending the weekend on another positive note, the girls and I went to town today and  ended our time near Powell's,where I went for a pint with my good friend Michael and the girls went shopping and had some fun times. After that we all ended up at Powell's Books.

  The trip to Powell's was rather exciting today as Michael noticed famous movie director/producer Joss Whedon walking by! Admittedly, I knew only the name but not really who he was. Michael was thrilled and walked p to shake his hand and meet him. What a thrill. A little while later we all walked up to him and got some pics,which were posted on Facebook to the delight of some and irritation and jealousy of others who were not there! Fun times for sure!!!

     Some famous folk walk through Powell's now and then and this made everyone's day!!


    So that was the the end to a big weekend. No more races till autumn and no major events until the Portland Highland Games later this month. Now to go rest these weary legs and hope I'm ready to run in a few days!!!