V. 2.0 and Marathon Support

Since leaving the working world this summer, I've been decompressing and trying to find some sort of 2.0 release of myself. The concept is to hit the existential "reset" button and then keep what I like, dump what I don't like or isn't helpful, and make the second half of my life better than the first.

This is not exactly a quick process. It takes some discernment and trial and error, but slowly I will get there.

One component of the 2.0 Project is a better commitment to health and wellness. On that note, we joined a local gym and have been doing yoga. Last week I broadened that out to include working with a trainer/coach type to get up to speed on weight lifting. That package includes a BMI scan at the start of the sessions.

According to my BMI data, I am apparently constructed mostly of lard, with just enough muscle mass to hold myself upright and get me to and from the dining table and back to bed. Kind of disappointing, but it's a good starting data point, I guess. The end point for these sessions will be a routine that includes weights, intervals/cardio and stretching/yoga to carry on through the winter.

On related note, I had the chance to assist the medical support team at the Mankato Marathon this weekend. This entailed schlepping my bike down to Mankato on Friday evening to make a pre-dawn organizational meeting of the rolling medical support team at 6:15AM on Saturday. We got our assignments and headed out to our part of the course by 7:00, which gave us plenty of time to see the route before the start of the race.

My stretch included the first and second aid stations and was mostly flat farmland. Thankfully, it was not windy or we would have been cold; in fact, it was a lovely day and once the sun came up we were just fine.

In our stretch of the course, we only a few runners in distress, and nothing really significant happened as far as I know. I thought there was, um... room for improvement on the traffic control aspect of the race, but otherwise the medical support seemed to be really tight and well organized.

The end marathon was capped by a lovely brunch that my in-laws hosted for some runner-friends and leisurely drive back to the Twin Towns. All in all, a favorable experience. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised by how many "thank you's" I got from the runners during the race.