Catwonsports: January 2009

not exactly what I had in mind

not exactly what I had in mind
Originally uploaded by Ippoc Amic

Erika thought when we were asked about Minnie's paw that it would be a chopped off body part. Like a rabbit's foot, I guess.

I loved seeing his paw prints all over everything. I once got not so secretly upset with a friend for washing my truck windows and cleaning off all his smudges.

So when the doctor asked if we were interested in a paw print, it was a no brainer. Absolutely, yes, I'd like a paw print and his ashes. I had wrestled with the latter for a long time and concluded that burying Minnie wouldn't work since we might have to move someday. I thought of burying him in places we go to often, but Fonda's was out and Tunnel Road was too far away from me for him to be.

Erika picked up Minnie yesterday. His
ashes were in a box with a small
lock on it. The keys were hooked to the lock. I peeked in, and it was ashes in a little baggie. And the paw print, well, it didn't really look like Minnie's. It looks like a dog paw. There was also an embossed fancy rememberance card addressed to Landa Locke.

Who knows, I might be glad that I have these things later on, but right now,
they are all a bit weird.

Everybody is doing it

So, I will join them and post some blood tests too. However, I have 11 years worth.

All blood tests are natural with no altitude training or altitude tents. The only added helpers are vitamin C (4000mg/day) and a really expensive multi-vitamin. Just some notes, my best racing years were 1999-2003. My best ever year was 2000 and at one point in that year my hematocrit reached 41. If you look at the charts, the blood values are higher in the good racing years than in the more recent years.

Also, a few major drops. One drop was after Nationals in July 2002. Something about racing in 100 degree weather is not good. Creatinine level after that race was 1.3 and clearly evident of muscle breakdown. Another drop was in February 2004.

What I have noticed from following the blood tests over the years is that a lot of training causes a drop. And, when I go on vacations that do not involve bike riding, the values go back up.