A Lucky Accident

I have several Nalgene bottles, the polycarbonate ones, which I use to brew and drink tea. Over a period of weeks, they build up a crust of bacterial growth stained by tea on the inside of the bottle. After much trial and error, I found that soaking the bottles in a saturated solution of baking soda would soften the crust enough to let it be scrubbed off with a brush.
Several classic discoveries were made by accident: Alexander Fleming discovering penicillin; Alexander Graham Bell finding out his telephone worked; etc. Well, while it's not in the same league, you can add me to the list. Forgetting that I wanted to clean a bottle, I put water on to boil. Realizing that heat often speed chemical reactions, I figured I'd use the error to my potential benefit. I spooned baking soda into the bottle and started pouring in the freshly boiled water. It bubbled a bit, but I figured that was just a case of the baking soda reducing the boiling point of the water. I poured more water in and the boiling increased in vigor, boiling over slightly. Since a liter of boiling water is too hot to work with, I left it to cool for about an hour.
When I returned, I took an old toothbrush and put it into the bottle and began to scrub. WOW! The crust just brushed right off, no elbow grease needed! I got out the bigger brush to get the bottom of the bottle. It came off just a easily! Just a couple of minutes work after an hour of waiting - it was a tremendous time saver. So, if you need to remove something like this, boiling water and baking soda may be worth a try.

Crossing Paths

En route back from my run yesterday, I ran into a guy I would often race against. He's been racing more in short triathlons. He posed a question to me about long races, specifically, "Did I think doing long races was healthy?" My response was, essentially, they aren't unhealthy, but they can beat you up a lot, and that may be a price you don't choose to pay. It seems clear to me that long races are unhealthy for those with biomechanical issues...well, more exactly, likely to exacerbate your injury/condition, but probably neutral for those who do not have problems...though there are minor health issues, like the sun exposure of your skin during the event, risk of crashes/falls/injuries during an event, etc.
Later in the day, I was walking around town and found a local runner/coach was now managing the local store of a chain of running stores. We talked a bit about some other local runners, etc. It was a nice visit.
I mentioned my recent trip to Utica, and have posted some pictures on the blog attached to my club's website, here and here. You may want to stop by and take a look.

Finest Runner's Forum Ever

I spent Saturday morning driving up to Utica, NY to attend the Boilermaker Race. I ran the 5K because I am not in shape for a 15K. When I arrived, I went over to the runner's forum. The discussion was superb and quite nuanced. How's this for a panel?
Running writer Roger Robinson, his wife and first woman to run Boston with a number Kathrine Switzer, 1972 Olympic Marathon winner Frank Shorter, four-time Boston and New York winner Bill Rodgers supplemented by a local dietician and a chiropractor.
The thing that made this forum special was the willingness to have ALL the experts answer each question, rather than having a single answer. The result was a nuanced and rich forum that gave deep answers to the questions. I felt it was the best forum I'd ever attended.
One example of the richness of the discussion was Frank Shorter telling the story of being in Florida during the very early days of Gatorade. The take-away message from him was, "if electrolyte drinks taste good, that's likely a sign of your need for electrolytes."

Guilt!

Last Friday, Independence Day, the local 4-mile race was held. I did not run, as my pasty, fat thighs were not up to the task. One of my friends was there, and we went to lunch in a group after the race. He laid into me about getting out of shape. Guilt is good!
On Saturday, my nine year-old son, perhaps inspired by 16 year-old Jordan Hasay's efforts in the 1500 at the Olympic Trials, announced that he wanted to run in the Olympics. The result was a family run where his goal was an hour. My goal was just to go as long as I reasonably could. I ran then walked for 90 minutes. mOn my return, I ran into one of my racewalking friends.
Tonight, after a couple of days of my calves being knotted badly, I walked about 2.4 miles (3 laps of the park). Early in my walk, I saw some deer in the woods. I started to walk towards them, and one snorted and bolted sending the others on their way. I don't know if the snort is a danger signal. Later in the walk, a bicyclist rode into the park doing a rebel yell. I was closing to the park entry and I think I spooked him a bit. He switched his headlight from flash to steady. Then he made a comment about a ghost (me).