Monday, April 28, 2025 - Day 258

Monday, April 28, 2025

Got a FaceTime call from Nicole yesterday morning. I was expecting a quiet Sunday catch-up with Wyatt and Coco, but instead, there was Nicole in a half-marathon race. She was nearing the end, in the last mile, smiling and a little winded, but looking strong. She somehow kept the phone locked on her face while she talked and ran. (How do you even do that?)

You could hear the cheering, cowbells, and the wind in the background. Her excitement and big smile made it clear she was near the finish line. Her voice was breathy and you could tell she was pushing through some of the discomfort, but she looked great on the FaceTime call and isn’t that what matters most? Billy Crystal would have said, “You look marvelous!”—and she did.

Nicole crossed the finish line in 2:10:36 and was all smiles as she slowed to a walk. Right after they hung the medal around her neck, she beamed and shouted, “I’M A RUNNER NOW!”

Congratulations, Kiddo—Yes, you are a runner!!

Alex, you’re going to need a response to this. Hope your training is on track… only 167 days until the Chicago Marathon.

Later, while talking to Mark, we learned his brother Victor also ran the race, finishing just behind Nicole at 2:24:32. Congratulations, Victor, on a 4th-place finish—you’re still a runner too! Quite the accomplishment for a 70 year-old!!

Earlier in the day, Cindy and I had walked (well, rolled) around Crystal Lake—the actual lake—with Barb, Mark, Maria, and her fiancé Nathan. It’s been a while since we walked this loop, and the houses just keep getting bigger and more expensive. It won’t be long before the views of the lake are mostly blocked off. The houses are nice to look at , buts sad to keep losing more views of the lake. It reminds me of the 1970 song “Signs” by Five Man Electrical Band:

Sign, sign,
Everywhere a sign,
Blockin' out the scenery,
Breakin' my mind,
Do this, don’t do that,
Can’t you read the sign?

And the sign said,
“Anybody caught trespassin'
Will be shot on sight,”
So I jumped on the fence and I yelled at the house,
‘Hey! What gives you the right
To put up a fence to keep me out
But to keep Mother Nature in?
If God was here, he’d tell you to your face,
Man, you’re some kind of sinner.'"

At least they can’t take away the lake views that remain at the public beach…leaving us something to enjoy.

The power wheelchair held up well for its first real test. On smooth roads, it’s supposed to get about seven miles on a full charge, and the lake loop is a little over four miles—seemed doable.

Some sections of the loop are rough and I expected to see the battery drain faster. I just didn’t know how fast. We started fully charged, about halfway around, the battery dropped from five green lights to four. Not bad…this was a good sign. A short while after that, the battery was down to three green lights and we hadn’t hit the rough sections. After that, we had to go over a foot path which was uneven and full of tree roots…the chair was barely able to get through that short section and then it was a couple hundred yards on the limestone path before we returned to pavement. We were three quarters of the way through, I was down to two green lights. Uh-oh…we may not make it. I headed for the shortest route back to the car hoping for the best.

With half a mile to go, the battery warning lights turned yellow and red. It wouldn’t have been the worst thing if I’d gotten stuck—Cindy could have finished the walk and come get me—but I really wanted to finish on my own. I didn’t want a DNF in my wheelchair.

The last stretch was smooth pavement, and while the warning lights stayed on, the chair made it. All-in-all the wheelchair performed well. The off-road parts were rough—the small wheels struggled over tree roots and potholes. Hitting a pothole brought the chair to a dead stop a couple of times, nearly tossing me out. I was too busy gawking at the big-ass homes. There is a seatbelt for those situations…but of course, I wasn’t wearing it. Good thing it only goes 3.7 mph!

We finished the 4+ mile loop in about two hours—slightly faster than Nicole and Victor’s 13.1-mile run pace if you want to stretch the comparison! A good morning of exercise all around.

I’m glad I’m taking the wheelchair out and learning what works and what doesn’t. I know I’ll need—and want—a larger power scooter eventually. The big issue will be weight—probably around 200 pounds versus this chair’s 45. That’ll bring some transport challenges, but it’s all doable. I just want to get it right the first time.

It’s going to be 80° today…so I hope to get out for another spin.

Everybody, have a great Monday.

Love you guys! ❤️