“Its very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.” George Sheehan

“There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down / until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living.” George Sheehan

“For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to the rain, and look to the day when it is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight.” George Sheehan

“The distance runner who accepts the past in the person he is, and sees the future as a promise rather than a threat, is completely and utterly in the present. He is absorbed in his encounter with the everyday world. He is mysteriously reconciling the separations of body and mind, of pain and pleasure, of the conscious and the unconscious. He is repairing the rent, and healing the wound in the divided self. He has found a way to make the ordinary extraordinary; the commonplace, unique; the everyday, eternal.” George Sheehan

“Sport is where an entire life can be compressed into a few hours, where the emotions of a lifetime can be felt on an acre or two of ground, where a person can suffer and die and rise again on six miles of trails through a New York City park. Sport is a theater where sinner can turn saint and a common man become an uncommon hero, where the past and the future can fuse with the present. Sport is singularly able to give us peak experiences where we feel completely one with the world and transcend all conflicts as we finally become our own potential.” George Sheehan

“Some think guts is sprinting at the end of a race. But guts is what got you there to begin with. Guts start back in the hills with 6 miles to go and you’re thinking of how you can get out of this race without anyone noticing. Guts begin when you still have forty minutes of torture left and you’re already hurting more than you ever remember.” George Sheehan

“Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.” George Sheehan

HEY!! I AM LOOKING AT YOU!! THAT’S WHO!! LOLOLOLOLOL

If you are reading this then you have continued to survive Covid 19, so far, and so have I!! That my friends is a very good thing for both of us. And I will keep crossing my fingers that I can continue to say this in the coming months.

When I started to write this blog on May 6th, the death count stood at approximately 593,000 deaths. That was an increase of 26, 000 deaths in 34 days. While this is a lot, it does reflect a downward trend and that is a good thing. Hopefully, we will continue this downward shift.

By the middle of the month, we unfortunately broke the 600,000 death barrier. But, while this is a huge number, we were still in the downward trend of new infections and subsequent deaths.

Two days before the publication of this blog on May 26th, we were sitting at approximately 606, 000 deaths total. So in 20 days we added 13,000 Covid deaths. While this is a large number it is no where near the 80 to 90 thousand deaths in a 24 day streak back in January of this year.

If your interested in looking at the numbers yourself, check out these links: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/ and https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

On a much more somber and unsettling note, a study out of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that the number of people in the US alone, who have died of Covid is more than 900,000, a number much higher than official figures, almost 50% more. And, the worldwide death count is more than double, 7 million as opposed to 3.24 million officially reported. The UW team came to these staggering numbers by calculating excess mortality. While there are other researchers that do not agree with the University of Washington’s conclusions, they do agree that there has been an excess of deaths far exceeding the official Covid death toll. What they disagreed on was that it could all be blamed entirely on the virus.

To read the article for yourself please visit this link: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/05/06/994287048/new-study-estimates-more-than-900-000-people-have-died-of-covid-19-in-u-s

Well it has now been approximately 20 weeks since I got the second shot of the Pfizer Vaccine for Covid and… so far there have been no side effects for me. Yea!!

As I started to write this months blog I was looking at some of the misleading and false claims about problems after getting the vaccine. Things like, increased deaths due to the vaccine, shedding the virus after getting the vaccine, getting Covid from the vaccine, the vaccine will alter my DNA, it is a government conspiracy, etc… I especially loved the one about “shedding the virus” in that if your female and unvaccinated but are around someone who is, you can have your menstrual cycle impacted because the vaccinated person will “shed” the virus. Maybe some of this fear comes from very early vaccine development with “live” virus vaccines like the polio vaccine (1950s). The thought, when this occurred, was that it actually helped people because it might create a “contact immunity” which played a role in helping to eradicating polio. Unfortunately, a few individuals at that time, actually came down with a case of polio. This was very rare but it generated a lot of fear. Rest assured NONE of the Covid vaccines authorized in the U.S. are live-virus vaccines.

A great website to start with, to help dispel these myths is the good old CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html and another one from the Mayo Clinic: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/covid-19-vaccine-myths-debunked/ and a good one from Psychology Today on why people believe these myths: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-speed-life/202104/unbreakable-myths-covid-19-vaccines and a good one on live virus vaccine types can be found here: https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-a-live-virus-vaccine-200925

Another big thing that occurred in May with Covid was a relaxing of the mask rules by the CDC. And of course it has been controversial. One of the large nursing unions has come out against it but there are other experts that have felt it is OK. I feel the quote by Colleen Kelley, MD, an associate professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine said it best:

“We don’t have as much data yet with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but it also does look to significantly reduce transmission. So, I would say you can confidently go back to most activities. We still want to be mindful in crowded spaces, in spaces with poor ventilation indoors. We still want to be mindful of the very small possibility of transmissibility. But, in general, if you’re vaccinated, if your friends and family are vaccinated, life should look pretty much normal outside of crowded settings.”

If you want to listen or read an interview about this check out the link: https://www.medpagetoday.com/podcasts/trackthevax/92526?

Ok that is enough about Covid. Time to write about something else. April was another good month for running in general. The temperatures continued to warm and the air quality was much better.

Of course like March, April had it’s share of weather “hiccups” that created some issues. Historically here on Colorado’s front range, March and April are when we get the most snow and / or rain in general. And April lived up to it’s reputation. While there were some beautiful days for being outdoors, there were a number of days that it either snowed, rained or did both. Lol.

Either brilliant sunshine or overcast with rain and snow. At least that is how it seemed. I noticed when I was deciding what pictures to post for this blog, there were just a few sunset photos. For me that was a little strange, until I really thought about it. And I think, part of it had to do with the on again and off again weather.

While it was great to get the moisture, it did create some issues with running in the foothills in the form of Mud. Some of you may have heard of “Mud Season”, but it usually is in reference to the high country. Think Ski Resorts. It is a period in spring when dirt becomes muddy from the melting of snow and ice. Another words, any path with dirt becomes a temporary muddy mess. This year along the Front Range, we had an April Mud Season.

Another reason that there were fewer sunset pictures for the month of April, especially towards the end, was the length of daylight – it was getting much longer as we moved toward the start of Summer. By the end of the month sunsets here in Fort Collins were much closer to the 8pm mark. And by this time, we were eating dinner and not out running or walking.

Well the 10th running of the Quad Rock did not quit go as planned for me. I ended up doing the 25 mile version again but that was OK. The weather and trail conditions turned out to be perfect. The organizers of the race, https://gnarrunners.com/ in my opinion, did an excellent job in the management of the event.

My only excuse was the snow and mud season conditions in March/April leading up to the race. I did get in a lot of running, just not the kind that I was hoping to do. With the Quad Rock, I needed to get in as much elevation training (running up and down the mountains) as I could. But due to work conflicts and / or weather this did not happen.

But… don’t misunderstand me. Even though I had planned to run the 50 miler, I was not disappointed that I was a little too slow at the 25 mile mark and timed out – again. Not having run an ultra in that type of terrain in about 2 years due to Covid, I was not quite prepared for the elevation changes. I know, I know, I am making excuses for myself but it really did kick my ass – so to speak. Lol. So I have now done the 25 miler about 6 times? I think. And each time I learn or relearn something new. Oh well, it is what it is and I plan to enter the 50 miler again for next year.

Besides having great weather and race management, another fantastic aspect of this event was the volunteers. They create the “gestalt” that makes a race like this special. So I would like to give a Big Thank You to all the volunteers who made the Quad Rock possible. They are the bedrock of what makes races like this memorable and in a good way. Your efforts in this year’s race were greatly appreciated.

So, even though I did not do the 50 miler, it felt great to just be out and running again with a group of other like minded people. If you ever want to try your “running legs” so to speak at a trail event. Check out Gnar Runners. It would be a great place to start. You can find them at this link: https://gnarrunners.com/

A couple of book reviews and some art work before wrapping things up. The first book I would like to talk about is The Fall and Rise of China by Professor Richard Baum. It is from the Great Courses and can be watched in video format or as audio only. I got it with my Audible membership from Amazon. It worked great in this format and I would suggest it to cut down the cost. The course is divided up into 48-thirty minute lectures. Each lecture is part of a time line so that you get a good picture of how China developed over it’s history. Professor Baum gives us a good over view of what has drove dramatic events in the story of China. I got this course to help me understand what might be happening in China now and in the future. If you have never had any exposure to the history or culture of China this would be a great place to start.

Professor Baum was an American China watcher, professor emeritus of political science at UCLA, and former director emeritus of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies. He passed away in 2012. If you want to learn more about Professor Baum please visit this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Baum

The next book I would like to talk about is part of a Science Fiction series called the The Murderbot Diaries written by Martha Wells. I reviewed this series back in February of this year but at that time I was only on book two. I have now finished book 5 of 6 and my original review still stands. This is a fantastic series. There are many books that have been written in SiFi on A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) and the search for “meaning” by said A.I. This ongoing story is done in a similar vein. In an nutshell: “A robot searching for the meaning of life and in the process casting light on what makes us human.” I got this book as an audio book but it would work well in any format. Now be warned, the fist couple of these books are short novellas, not full novels. But this book is the first full length novel in the series and is well worth the read. Looking at the prices on Amazon, downloading them on to your Kindle would be the cheapest way to go.

Martha Wells is an American writer of Science Fiction and Fantasy. If you want to learn more about this accomplished author please visit this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Wells

Well last but not least one piece of art work before I go. I have a love with the TV series the Simpsons and one of my favorite characters is Mo Szyslak. The proprietor and bartender of Moe’s Tavern. I love the disagreeable personality of Moe. His rough character is what you see or remember the most but the writers of the show have given him a sentimental and caring side to his personality. A perfect combination for your bar tender. I have set Moe’s portrait on a background of LGBT colors because I feel he would welcome everyone in his bar. If you want to learn more about Moe’s personality check out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Szyslak

This painting is large. The diameter is 38 inches. When hanging it is about 46″ from top to bottom (includes hanging hardware). This painting is done on Oriented Strand Board with Acrylic paint by Liquitex and sealed with Liquitex professional gloss varnish.

Moe would be a great addition to any basement or garage bar! Lol.

This piece is for sale and can be found on my Etsy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/strugglingprotoplasm/edit?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Well that is going to be about it for me on this blog post. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Before I close, I want to put another shout out to becoming minimalist. It really can make a positive change in the world. Imagine being able to make a difference with just a change in mindset. Our consumeristic culture is unsustainable at it’s current levels. And you could even say that part of the severe morbidity and mortality of the pandemic in the USA is due to this consumeristic culture we have created. I remember a biology professor I had way back in college that would give a quote about the destruction of our natural ecosystems due to economic profiteering: “Growth for growth’s sake is the definition of cancer.” It does not mater if it is in the human body or the destruction of natural resources or a form of unfettered economic growth for profit and profit alone. It all leads to the same conclusion if it is not checked -death of the system.

Becoming minimalist is just a change in mindset. Nothing to by, nothing to purchase, just a change in how you look at your life and the world. If this appeals to you and even if it doesn’t at the moment but you are curious, a good place to start is here: https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/

So take care my friends and remember to wash your hands, wear your mask when in “crowded” indoor situations and practice physical distancing when appropriate. And when a vaccine becomes available, please consider getting it. Adios!!

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous…, leading to the most amazing views.” Edward Abbey