Small World

I ride over at Middle Run with Dom and Mike on Saturday. Middle Run is part of the White Clay State Park down in DE. It has, without a doubt, the best singletrack in the area. We try to get down there a few times a year; yesterday was the first time we’ve gotten a chance to visit its beautiful trails this summer. The Delaware Trail Spinners keep the place nice and tidy, and they do a remarkable job.

The weather couldnt have been better. I didnt feel 100% though. I cant put my finger on it. I didnt have any “oomph” in the engine. Sunday was no different, and I slept for nearly ten hours Saturday going into Sunday. With all that sleep, I still felt like poop. Last night, I woke up at 4 am with the p**ps and the chills, so obviously, some sort of bug has been brewing for a couple of days. Kind of explains part of the reason why I rode so miserably on Saturday. Granted, Saturday’s ride was the first time I have been on a bike in about three weeks. Dont get me wrong, Dom and Mike were moving at a nice clip, but I should still have been able to keep up on most of the flat stuff. I couldnt hang on the flat stuff, and the hills – forget it.

Anyway, while I was down there, I run across a group of bikers that I know from up here. In a weird it goes to show that the world is a small place. Seems like that anytime I go running or riding, I always run into someone I know.  Its magnified ten-fold now that I time races, and the Pickle Run certainly has spread my reputation far and wide. I cant go anywhere where there is a group of runners without someone recognizing me.

So, for obvious reasons, I bagged the planned MTB ride at Valley Forge that was scheduled for this morning with Mike. Instead, the wife and I took the kids over to Ridley Creek State Park. I had to measure the Autism Speaks 5k course, which is this Sunday upcoming. Now, I am sitting on my arse watching Mary Poppins.

Last week was a quiet week for running, partly because I didnt do a long run this week in lieu of the mountain bike Sunday, and the “sick day” yesterday. I think I logged something like 13 miles. I guess you could call it a taper week.

I started talking to an old friend that I used to work with wayyyy back at Zeneca (now AstraZeneca) when I was a coop. Joe was a year ahead of me. He wound up working for AZ once he graduated from DU. Anyway, he sent me this picture. My coop name tag is still hanging up. That’s kind of freaky, but awesome at the same time. No matter how hard you try and get rid of me, some part of me is always going to be there. Again, the Small World factor strikes again. Here it is, nearly 12 years since I worked down at AZ, and my name is still plastered on a board – and at the top of the list I may add.