Out of North Face Race

Well, I spoke with a few doctors and I guess I am going to do the responsible thing and pull myself out of the North Face race this weekend. Running a half marathon on a muddy trail with 22 stitches in my shin probably isn't the wisest thing in the world. I sure don't want an infection. Not the end of the world, but I am kind of pissed off at myself. And I'm really not sure how I am going to get through the next nine days of no activity.

Woe is me.

Whatever, me. Could be far worse.

So - now that I'm looking at being a bit of a couch potato - anyone have any good book recommendations?

Whoops I Did it Again (Warning: REALLY GNARLY PICTURE BELOW - TREAD WITH CAUTION!)

Well, I fell again. This time at - yes, you guessed it - CrossFit. I was doing box jumps and kind of missed the box. And I got an owie in the process. Kind of a bad one, too - 22 stitches. Which beat my old record by two.

Anyway. I have no one to blame for this but myself.

Kind of not stoked.

Thanksgiving Day Weekend.

Well, a nice weekend was certainly ha by all. We did more activities than I can count: a Turkey Trot; multiple trips to the pool; the Little Girl got a hat; a day trip to San Francisco; some excellent restaurants; the Little Boy got xalle to the torah in honor of one year to his bar mitzvah and oh - we beat that team from Ohio.

WE BEAT THAT TEAM FROM OHIO!

Wow was that an exciting game. I really thought we were going to blow it in the end but the Maize and Blue prevailed. It's been too long a time.but boy was that sweet.

Filthy Fifty

I promise not to post every single CrossFit workout but a few stand out as particularly gnarly. Among them includes the Filtyh Fifty, which was our post-Thanksgiving workout this morning. This was made especially hard after several bottles of wine and a 10k in my legs. The workout, which is for time (mine was 30:40) includes: 50 Box jump, 24 inch box 50 Jumping pull-ups 50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood Walking Lunge, 50 steps 50 Knees to elbows 50 Push press, 45 pounds 50 Back extensions 50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball 50 Burpees 50 Double unders

Happy Thanksgiving

A nice Thanksgiving is being had here in NorCal. We woke up early today and per our tradition, ran the Indian Valley Turkey Trot. The kids, Wife and Grandfather ran the 5k (the Little Boy ran 25 minutes; the Girl 30!) and I ran the 10k (47 minutes on completely shelled CrossFit legs, which wasn't half bad). The Grandmother, who's sporting a brand new shiny knee, was our cheerleader extraordinaire.

Anyway, there's so much to be Thankful for this, and every Thanksgiving that I'm almost not sure where to start:

-- my fabulous Wife, my (generally) terrific Kids and our entire extended family
-- the absolute greatest friends in the world
-- continued health and the ability to keep moving forward in a positive way
-- for a wonderful job, great bosses and the best colleagues in the business
-- being lucky enough to love in an amazing town in the best State in the country
-- the freedoms that we all possess and probably take for granted
-- for each and every one of you reading this blog - and I means that deeply and sincerely

I could go on, but I think that covers all the most salient points.

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Go Blue

I confess to having a pretty severe man crush on Brady Hoke, the new Michigan coach. I had expectations for a successful season but I did not expect to be 9-2 at this stage of the season. Nor did I expect that we'd put a flat out whupping on Nebraska. Not did I expect that there'd be talk about us representing the Big 10 in a BCS bowl.

But here we are. It's exciting as hell and I feel like after three years in the desert, I can finally say it: Michigan is back.

But.

There's a very big But and it's not necessarily the one that belongs to Coach Hoke. We have one very big hurdle yet to get through. We must beat that team from Ohio. It's an absolute must; NO Michigan football season can be deemed a success unless this is achieved.

But I'm a big believer. And I simply cannot wait until Saturday.

GO BLUE.

Another Nice Weekend with Friends

We had a very nice weekend with our friends the Wiley's, who were visiting from Chicago. They are contemplating a potential move and I'm hoping they liked what they saw from our fair corner of the world. We had a very nice time wit them, but one of the nicest aspects of the weekend was how fast friends our two daughters became. They are just about the same age but have never really met before (or if they did, they certainly had no recollection). It took them the better part of five minutes to warm up to one another, they had a sleep over night two and have been already emailing one another throughout the day.

Things like that just stoke me.

Today we headed to Saratoga, CA for a swim meet that was in our friend Uncle Rob's backyard (almost literally). It was great seeing Uncle Rob - the kids adore him - and the little girl swam fairly well, considering it was a cold, wet day.

All in all, a good time hopefully had by all.

In other news, the long Thanksgiving weekend is almost upon us, and none too soon. I could use a break.

Penn State

Sorry been quiet; been running around in LA and just back this afternoon. Long week so far; man, did I hurt my shoulder/trapezius on Monday at Cross Fit. Egads.

Anyway.

I've been obsessed with this Penn State story because quite frankly, in the history of college sports I've never seen anything quite like this. It makes the Ohio State situation look quaint by comparison. Not sure what there is to be said about the subject that hasn't already been written. It's an utter travesty and it will take a very, very long time for Penn State to recover - especially as it seems the entire story has yet to be told.

For any Joe Paterno apologists out there - and he's a guy that for many years I held in very high esteem - there's no question - none - that he had to go. To argue otherwise is simply foolish. It was his program. Alleged rapes of CHILDEN occurred in HIS LOCKER ROOM. He has to take responsibility for that. The end.

Responsibility. Ironic that he's been preaching that word for 46 years yet when the rubber met the road he turned the other way. Such a travesty on so many different levels, most especially for those poor, poor kids. I only hope that they are able to to find some sort of healing through all this.

Trapezius

The good news is that my hip doesn't hurt any more. The bad news is this is only due to the fact that I think I ripped my trapezius muscle in two and the pain is so near blinding I can't focus on anywhere else.

I injured myself early this am doing a pull up at Cross Fit and this one wasn't subtle. I immediately felt a sharp pain, which is never a good thing. I'm hoping it's better tomorrow but man - this Cross Fit just might kill me. And the sad thing is that despite all these injuries, I absolutely love it (cross Fit that is - not the injuries. Or the pain).

Anyway, here's a photo of me and my ice bag. Been icing it for hours and still kills.

Weekend with Cousins

Cousins are visiting from New Jersey and we are having a very nice time. We've done the entire Marin circuit: Muir Woods, Stinson Beach, our pool, hiking and climbing in Tennessee Valley, vomiting due to windy roads, bike riding, a nice trail run (me and the Little Boy, anyway) and more.

A very nice time being had by all.

Hip Update

I was luckily able to get in to see a sports orthopedist this afternoon. She's pretty good too; she fixed up Coach Phil after his back break.

Long story short, hip issues are difficult to diagnose without X-rays and MRI's, so that's the next step. There's no question there is something going on there, and her working theory is that I might be looking at a torn hip labrum, which would kind of suck, but is not the end of the world. Beyond that, it could be a hairline hip fracture or maybe just acute tendonitis. Glad I'm dealing with it though, as it's been a problem for a while.

The bad news? For the time being, I have to dial back the running considerably. At best, I can run up to five miles on flat surfaces, but only if it isn't bothering me. The good news? I can still do Cross Fit, but just have to eliminate some of the jumping moves. A fair trade off.

Anyway, X-rays on Friday and MRI TBD. More later.

Weekend Activities

Another crazy busy weekend in the Solomon household.

The Little Boy finished his first triathlon on Saturday as part of a relay team. He swam (in the Bay no less - and was fifth kid out of the water) and then the mile run with the team's runner (we will call her S). The Team did great in every respect; they raised almost $9,000 and they finished second overall. They were stoked on both. A great, big, enormous THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to this worthwhile cause. Be on the lookout for a thank you from the Little Boy himself.

ON Sunday we had our last Fall baseball game of the season. Little Boy pitched an inning, caught, got a hit, an RBI and made two clean fielding plays. And the Little Girl swam yet another swim meeting on Sunday. She swam four events and scored best times in each, though she didn't qualify for JO's in any of her events. She was a second or so off on fly, but that's ok - gives her something to shoot for in her next meet.

Anyway, a typical weekend in our household. I went for what I was hoping would be a long run, but had to shut it down after nine miles. I'm pretty certain I have a major issue with this hip; making my appointments and I'm sure we will know more soon.

Hip

So, the truth is I've been having a pretty severe lower back/hip pain for quite some time. It's been lingering for a long while but I managed to keep it mostly under control during my training for the 100 miler, though it certainly flared up from time to time, as Coach Phil can attest. It resurfaced after my 50k in August and I think it's been somewhat exacerbated by Crossfit.

Yesterday, while picking up my kids at the pool I was speaking with a friend who's an ex-marathoner. She had a hairline fracture in her hip and her description of the type and areas of pain was eerie. I am praying to the Big Man that this isn't the case for me but have an unsettled feeling. Anyone else out there with a similar experience.

Anyway, I am going to start with ART therapy next week and we'll see if that yield anything. Beyond that, i guess my next stop is at an orthopedist.

A Reminder: Little Boy Fundraising Campaign

I really hate asking people for money, especially coming on the heels of my Livestrong/Boston Marathon fundraiser a few years ago, but a reminder that the Little Boy is still raising funds for cancer research as part of his upcoming triathlon this weekend.

He's putting in a pretty solid effort on his own, too: he and his relay-mates went to the local community center this weekend and handed out flyers/talked to local area folk about what they were up to - and why. I was watching them from afar and was very impressed. I'm also impressed with the fact that he's doing the swim (he definitely drew the short straw on that). He's been practicing diligently in the Bay (where the water temperature hovers in the mid 50's) which is kind of scary for a kid who's just coming into his own as a swimmer.

Anyway, one more time, here is the LINK to their site. Thanks in advance for your support.