Scrabble Cat Has a Hankerin' for Some Whiskey

Don't blink, it is now June and we are marking two full months at our place in Delaware. A week after running the New Moon Half Marathon in our new hometown, and hosting a number of friends afterward, L and I are attempting to figure out how one guest hasn't figured out the invitation to the post race bash didn't mean you could keep visiting everyday.

Scrabble Cat..so...you wanna come
out and play?

As most of our guests left Saturday night and a few neighbors remained, out of the darkness comes a black cat gallivanting over to us. It was very friendly, wanted to play, chased moths & lightning bugs and made itself at home. We, and our visiting neighbors, had never seen it before. It hung out with us until we decided to call it a night. The neighbors left, we cleaned up and went to bed. The cat, however, stayed...and made sure we were aware ALL NIGHT LONG. It sat outside our bedroom window, on a table in the carport, meowing sometime nearly every hour. 

At times, I thought it was attempting to talk to me. It would meow, like a non-demon cat, about twice - then the third one would be more deep and slower, like it was getting frustrated "Hey, I know you can hear me humans!!" It came out with such a draw, it seemed to be trying to manufacture syllables, even conjugate. Imagine a human evolving from grunts and moans to word like sounds, but not quite there yet. Instead of a standard feline sound, it had inflection with more of an "R" sound. The "ROWLrrrROWL" made you think of someone attempting to say "hello" with a mouth full of food.

Lying in bed listening to this, I sort of thought I should go to the window to retrieve some message being delivered to me by a higher power, world beyond ours or from the grave from a since past relative - "Grandma?!? Is that you?!?!" The following morning I jokingly told L it sounded like the cat was trying to say "hello". Her eyes opened wide and through a half chuckle - and nearly spitting out her coffee - exclaims, "I thought the same thing!" It is a cute cat and looks like it is being taken care of...maybe it just needs some friends? 

The next two nights, enjoying the weather and in the heat of cutthroat games of Scrabble (we started keeping a running score, I lead L by 13 points and we have over 1,200 a piece right now) - like clockwork - the cat would come back. Chasing insects in the night, keeping us company and looking for affection, it seemed like it just belonged and this was it's home. For obvious reasons, I nicknamed it "Scrabble Cat" and for the past week it casually comes to hang around during the afternoon, as well as the evening, which annoys the bejesus out of our indoor cats: Whiskey & Jameson. We assume Scrabble Cat has seen Whiskey investigating from the window ledge and is simply interested in getting to know her better, not taking "no" for an answer. Jameson isn't so fond of the visitor, he'd rather sleep without the third party annoyance.

Having Scrabble Cat greet me coming and going on each run the last few days helped keep my mind at ease as the 41st Annual HOKA ONE ONE Columbus 10K arrived just eight days after the second place finish at the half marathon in Delaware. At last year's race, I surprised the crap out of myself by placing 55th out of the more than 1,000 competitors (taking 4th in my age group) at 38:46. Having trained for this, and much further distances in the past year, I had to have the upper hand when it came to possibly improving on this finish and time, correct?

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The 2018 Columbus 10K route loop is the same as last year's and is one all to familiar to me. It navigates through a section of Ohio's Capital City I used to live in, sort of like a homecoming. We start downtown along the The Scioto Mile river front, travel north through the arena district passing the home of the Cleveland Indian's Triple-A affiliate (Columbus Clippers), Huntington Park, as well as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets - Nationwide Arena, drifting by Goodale Park, through historic Victorian Village and Harrison West and onto the Olentangy Trail just south of The Ohio State University to turn south and make the return trip to the Promenade at The Scioto Mile.

The 41st HOKA ONE ONE Columbus 10K
race route

We couldn't have asked for better weather with it being sunny and cool enough to take along a jacket. It was interesting to be in the corral and see a variety of familiar faces, though, only familiar because I see them at the start of most of the bigger races as well as the finish of those races as I come in after them. And no teammates this time, so I would have to stay within myself and not try to beat the world.

At the gun I'm going a little faster than normal, but I'm not going crazy. Within minutes the lead pack disappears, indicating this year's race is a bit more stacked than last years. The small group I'm hanging  with drifts a bit ahead and I'm at 5:47 for the first mile. A bit fast for me, but I want to see how long I can hang with the younger, faster majority I'm commiserating with. The faster folks do their thing and move ahead, but at a slower rate than in the past. I would like to believe it's because I'm doing a better job of holding pace.

Mile two is slower (6:08) and more of where I should be and I'm comfortable. A couple of competitors and I are hanging around in our own little pack, not being passed much but yet not necessarily gaining on anyone either. I'm at 18:48 (6:14) for the 5K split as we hit the Olentangy Trail for the return trip downtown. The sun is much higher in the sky now and the trail provides some shade, but that will soon end. I don't think I'm slowing down all that much, but I'm beginning to see some of those familiar (faster) faces drift by, my mile four is 6:22.

I feel relatively strong, but I'm struggling to keep with the folks who have much more to finish with. We reach the Scioto River and those I've been pacing with start pulling away, I tell myself that's where the 15 to 20 year age difference comes to light - not to mention I just started doing this again 22 months ago. Sticking to my form and stretching my stride as much as I can, mile five is 6:29 and as I see those in front get further away I can't help but feel like I'm in quicksand.

Ignoring others and focusing on my progress the rest of the way, I reach and bypass the lower portion of the promenade to make the turn from the trail onto Rich Street. Alone, I pass L yelling some words of support and cruise to the finish. Just before crossing the line I glance at the clock to my right and reach to stop my watch simultaneously. Sucking air and attempting to down the bottle of water handed to me, I notice my watch has stopped at about what I saw on the clock: 38:17. A 10K PR for me, but being a competitive person (especially with myself), I'm irked at my inability to finish stronger.

Nevertheless, its hard to complain about being 29 seconds faster than last year. And my thinking that this year's race was a bit more stacked was true. I was much faster than in 2017, but finished two spots further back - 57th out of 1,132. As always, it is fun to laugh at how far behind the winner I come in. On this day I was 8:04 behind the winner, so even if I had run just 5.2 miles, instead of the 6.2, he would have still come out ahead. That is just crazy. Though, if it were 1996  - and I was still running at Morehead State - I would have been only about two minutes behind. In other words, he was just lucky.

So, yeah, a half marathon and a 10K on consecutive weekends (8 days apart) along with six days of training in between. That's a lot for my soon-to-be 43 year-old body, but I'm putting in the weight training and plyometrics in hopes of keeping the glue holding me together from getting stale or disintegrating. I don't know if it's actually working, but I'm getting faster and it is exciting being able to compete - at a relatively high level - again. I guess that's what happens when you throw caution into wind. 

I don't have any immediate plans for my next race, but that will change soon I'm sure. At the moment I think we are going to simply enjoy the summer as it moves along. No need to sit and let it slip by, we're going to tackle things when they come about. The time for "what ifs" is over: I'm through finding blame, I don't wanna watch and then complain...that is the decision I have made...

The Front Bottoms - "Twin Size Mattress"

This is for the lions living in the wiry broke down frames of my friends bodies

When the flood water comes, it ain't gonna be clear. It's gonna look like mud

But I will help you swim

I will help you swim

I'm gonna help you swim

This is for the snakes and the people they bite

For the friends I've made; for the sleepless nights

For the warning signs I've completely ignored

There's an amount to take, reasons to take more

It's no big surprise you turned out this way

When they close their eyes and prayed you would change

And they cut your hair, and sent you away

You stopped by my house the night you escaped

With tears in my eyes, I begged you to stay

You said, "Hey man, I love you but no fucking way"

I'm sure that we could find something for you to do on stage

Maybe shake a tambourine or when I sing, you sing harmonies

This is for the lake that me and my friends swim in, naked and dumb on a drunken night

And it should've felt good but I can hear the Jaws theme song on repeat in the back of my mind

Make sure you kiss your knuckles before you punch me in the face

There are lessons to be learned, consequences for all the stupid things I say

And it is no big surprise you turned out this way

The spark in your eyes, The look on your face

I will not be late

I'm sure we could find something for you to do on stage

Maybe shake a tambourine or when I sing you sing harmonies

I wanna contribute to the chaos

I don't wanna watch and then complain

'Cause I am through finding blame

That is the decision that I have made

She hopes I'm cursed forever to

Sleep on a twin-sized mattress

In somebody's attic or basement my whole life

Never graduating up in size to add another

And my nightmares will have nightmares every night

Oh, every night. Every night

Photos Courtesy of Lauren B.

Columbus 10K SWAG

Jameson hard at work

Whiskey, basking in the attention

About a mile to go

My finisher's medal with LeVeque Tower
in the background.

When goofiness attacks

Ohio Supreme Court Building...below is the 10K
start & finish line.

View of the Promenade from the
Olentangy Trail.

Finish just ahead...

Half mile to go...

That night, pork loin smoking
with a Christian Moerlein Brewing
Strawberry Pig Cream Ale

Starting mile #2, the girl in black and I would hang
until she took off with a mile or so to go.