This weekend the Fam was off to Timothy Lake for the PCT50 miler. I had a brief moment last month where I thought I'd race, but then I came to my senses and remembered I just need to focus on training for Worlds. So I signed up to volunteer instead. I got the "cush" AS at the 14 mile turnaround, meaning we got to close up after the last runner came through, whereas the other AS's had to do double duty and wait for the runners to come through a second time. It gave me enough time to run 20 miles back to the start (I took a "long" cut). I even beat the speedy Ian Sharman back to the finish by a couple of minutes and so was there to see him smash the CR!
The rest of the day was spent watching the kids make "potions" by the lake and chilling by the campfire. I swear by Sunday, we were the dirtiest family in Oregon and I even took a "bath" in Timothy Lake after my run! (I usually try to avoid cold water, but this was a necessity!)
These magic potions turn clean kids into dirty ones!
After three loads of laundry and some showers, the "To Do" list for tonight included filling out the USATF forms. First up: the three page medical check list. This check list was insane! The questions were things like: "Have you ever felt light headed after a run?" "Have you ever felt like you were more tired than your teammates during a workout?" "Have you ever had chest tightness after a workout?" "Have you ever had an EKG?" "Do you currently receive massage therapy?" and my personal favorite: "Have you ever had an injury to a bone, muscle, ligament or tendon that caused you to miss a practice or a competition?"
SERIOUSLY? Are you kidding me!! This seems more like a lie detector test than an actual medical inquiry, for who in truth could really answer "NO" to these kinds of questions?? You are not a runner if you haven't missed one practice due to injury! Then they give you a measly three lines to "explain" your YES answers. So I pretty much just answered NO to everything except the things that I thought were actually relevant (namely, asthma). If this was some sort of lie detector test/character evaluation, I just failed!
On to the next form: The Uniform Sizing Form. One would think this would be pretty straight forward, right? I mean, pick a size and move on. But no, you actually have to pick your uniform. So do I want an Airborne Top, a Cap Sleeve Halter Top, or a Distance/Throwers singlet? Thank you USATF for throwing me a bone and putting the word "distance" in one of the choices, because I don't even know what an Airborne Top is! Next, Did you know there was a difference between sprinter briefs and distance briefs? Kind of a moot point since I will NOT be choosing briefs of ANY kind! But then there are still three different types of shorts. Actually, I am thinking of choosing the "sleeveless unitard" and just calling it good. ;)
