Border Crossing Contraband

Eating on the road is difficult. I'll have spent most of two days in the the car and one day stopped in Sacramento for some training for work before finally arriving in Las Vegas on Wednesday. I plowed through a eight or so bananas on day one in the car, but when it came to looking for a quality meal, it was difficult. I finally settled on a BLT on whole wheat bread from Subway, figuring this was about as good as it was going to get without access to my blender (which I travel with) or my frozen fruit. I'm trying my best not to stress too much over it though, as it is still early in the week. Once I hit Las Vegas tomorrow afternoon it'll be all business until Saturday, but I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to make some concessions while I'm traveling. I'm just trying to be as smart as I can about it.


Something I did not expect on my trip towards Las Vegas was being stopped just after crossing the Oregon/California border at some sort of border crossing. I didn't think much of, just that it was sort of odd. What would I be bringing into CA that I couldn't have in OR? As I pulled up to the little window and the official-looking lady stepped out, I wondered what she would ask me. Are there any drugs in the car? Any illegal aliens (or, if you prefer, your favorite P.C. term)? How about any runaway underage girls? Have you seen this missing child?

Not even close.

She asked me the only possible question to which I could have answered yes: Sir, are you carrying any fresh fruit in your vehicle?

I tried not to laugh at her. What I really wanted to say was, "Yes. Yes I am. Lots of fruit. All different kinds of fruit. Some of it frozen. Some of it not. I have enough fruit in my car to feed a small army in fact. Guess what, I have a blender too, etc etc etc"

Instead I simply answered yes.

Then she wanted to see it. My bananas -- they were fine. The pineapple -- all good, as were the strawberries and apples. Then came the 40lb box of oranges in my backseat. "I'm going to need to see those oranges, sir" she said. As she started to inspect my cargo I told her I had bought them at Food 4 Less the day before but she didn't appear to hear me. Then she saw on the box that they were a product of CA and said they checked out fine. Good thing too. I spent a lot of money on those oranges and I would have had to make reference to my cold dead fingers had she tried to confiscate them. Maybe because they weren't from Florida they were alright? I don't know. Let it be a warning to you if you want enter the State of California though. I wonder, is this the same question asked at the Southern border? If so, I can think of a way to vastly improve the illegal immigration, drug and human trafficking problems without costing taxpayers a dime.

Thinking Like a Runner

I don't particularly like anything starting with "You know you're a (fill in the blank) when..." so I won't do that here. I'll simply say that I am a runner. And I know it. How do I know it? Because of what I was thinking about in the car on and off for 8 hours yesterday.


I've mentioned before that I'm very much a numbers-oriented person. Because I run alone I have lots of time to calculate pace, split times, projected time and speed, etc. After slowing my pace by a minute/mile while running up a hill for a mile and a half, my thoughts turn to how fast I need to run the next few miles to get back to my target pace.

So as I was slowed at various times yesterday by traffic, bad weather, mountainous climbs and stops for gas fillups, I instictively started processing what speed I would have to average over the next hour, two hours, 100 miles etc in order to get back to my desired pace for the trip. Stupid? Maybe. A sure sign of a runner? Definitely.

"My Run" Movie Premiere

If you're looking for something to do on March 31st, here's one idea that was recently sent to me:

"My Run" is the story of Terry Hitchcock, who, after tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own, seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families. He ran in spite of freezing rain and unbearable heat, in spite of chest pains and bone fractures that wracked his 57-year-old body. He just kept running - each day, every day - strengthening an unbreakable bond between father and son--- not stopping until he broke the finish line tape in Atlanta. "My Run" is more than a film about a guy running multiple marathons; it’s a film about the daily marathons we all run in life, a theme that’s extremely relevant and important in this day and time.

Narrated by Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton, "My Run" will be shown at movie theaters nationwide one night only on March 31, 2011. A portion of the film's profits will be donated to the LIVESTRONG organization to fight cancer. Below are various links for more information.

The MY RUN Story -

Website/Trailer: www.myrunmovie.com

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/myrunmovie

Tickets go on sale February 18, 2011 at www.FathomEvents.com/MyRun.