Irish Jig 5k 2018

It's time to end the Michigan winter hibernation, and get back to running.

OK, so I haven't exactly been hibernating. Even did a run up at Perrin Brewing back in January. But the Irish Jig 5k around St. Patrick's Day always feels like the turning point from winter to spring. This year the calendar cooperated so that the race fell squarely on the holiday.

Parking is a bit of a challenge any time there's a race in East Grand Rapids. I got there about an hour before race time, and got just about the very last spot in the parking structure that's right across the street from the race start. Any later and I'd have had to roam the side streets looking for a spot. Next year I might just go straight to the side streets, since it seems there's more and more people every year.

Good turnout again this year for the race - just under 4000 participants, according to the results page. It was pretty cold, down around freezing at race time, but that's far from the worst we've seen in West Michigan around this time of year. I remember running through a fairly heavy snowfall one year, and nearly slipping on ice another time. No snow, only minor wind, no icy spots...pretty good for mid-March in these parts.

The course around East Grand Rapids has a lot of up and down, but no really big hills. Still, for someone who has been running almost entirely on a treadmill for the last 4-5 months, it's a bit of a challenge. I purposely lined up quite a ways back from the front, as I figured I might be a little slower than normal, and ended up being near the front of the second wave of runners. That worked out nicely since it meant that I didn't have a whole lot of traffic for most of the way, though I did catch up to the tail end of the first wave on the second half of the course. I was pretty happy with my just-under-26-minute time, right about top third for my age group.

So that's the first race of the Triple Crown series done. Looking forward to the Diemer and Reeds Lake runs later on this year.

Clear Vision 2018

My eye doctor reminded me a few weeks ago that it was time for an eye check, so I decided I should go into 2018 with updated eyewear. Perfect timing, as it turns out.

My insurance covers an eye exam every year and new glasses every two years. A lot of plans care about the end of the calendar year, but mine doesn't...it just happens that my last exam was in a December also. Judging from how busy the eye doctor and various glasses places were at the end of December, I should probably think about shifting my timing in the future. But I managed to get everything done, though of course there were some bumps along the way.

First hurdle to clear...getting to the eye doctor. They closed their Caledonia location, which had been less than a mile from my condo. Their main location in Hastings is still going, though, so I headed down there. It's only about a half hour drive, and I liked how they operate well enough that it was worth the extra time.

The exam found very little to worry about, which is always good news. A slight increase in my prescription, but no major issues. No need to worry about bifocals (yet), which was my main concern. All that time spent with computers and books seems to be keeping my close-range vision working fine.

Next step, new glasses. I looked around at the eye doctor, but didn't really see anything I loved in the way of new frames. Turned out that was just as well, because I was a week early for my insurance coverage. When they say two years, they mean two years, not one year and 51 weeks.

So I waited, planning to go to look at various other places a week later. Of course, life happened and I didn't get around to it right away. But then I lost my glasses - I still have no idea where I left them. Fortunate timing! I pulled out my four-year-old pair as a temporary measure, which functioned but the world was really blurry. Eyes really do change over a few years!

My first stop was Lenscrafters, but the only frames I liked there were name brand and cost nearly $300. Even with insurance, that was going to run me nearly $250 after lens cost. So I went down the way to Eyeglass World, and lo and behold, they had a nearly identical pair that was only $140. Dropped my total cost to less than $150, after insurance, and I got the nice composite lenses with UV coating in the deal. (Good for lots of computer work, which is definitely right up my alley.)

Even better, my prescription was simple enough that they could get the glasses ready on the same day. So I was back to seeing clearly just a few hours later. Ready for 2018!

Great Pumpkin Runs 2017

The folks who organize The Great Pumpkin Run stay busy in the fall, organizing races in ten different cities this year. I went to two of them, near Lansing and Grand Rapids.

Both events took place at cider orchards. Early in September, I drove over to Uncle John's Cider Mill north of Lansing. And a few weeks later at the end of the month, I went up to Klackle Orchards in Greenville, north of Grand Rapids. It took me an hour or so in each case, since I live south of Grand Rapids.

Both of these cider orchards are popular family outing places even when there's not an event like The Great Pumpkin Run. Play areas for the kids, band stages, cider and donut vending, etc. Fortunately the races happen early in the morning before the rush of regular visitors arrive. I'm glad I signed up for the early race waves, because there were a ton of people showing up even as I was finished and leaving. Traffic was pretty heavy, especially at Klackle.

The race routes went through apple orchards, as you'd expect, as well as pumpkin fields and some forest trails (in the case of Uncle Johns). Part of the Klackle course even went through their corn maze. Probably not going to set any personal records on those courses, but they're a fun change of pace from road routes. My GPS said that both courses were a bit under five kilometers, which was probably intentional as there were a lot of twists and turns, plus the finish lines were uphill from the starting area.

For the adventuresome, runners could sign up to carry a pumpkin around the course. I have enough minor back pain without carrying extra weight while running, thank you, but I saw quite a few other people doing it. One guy had a huge pumpkin that he had balanced on one shoulder as he made his way around the course. Weird, but impressive.

Always nice to have a little cider at the end of a run, and the orchard routes are interesting as long as it's not raining. The Great Pumpkin Run was fun, though I probably won't do two of them in future years. One per year is plenty!

Reeds Lake Run 2017

This weekend was the 39th annual Reeds Lake Run in East Grand Rapids.

I like running in the Reeds Lake area. I've gone there several times to jog, when I get tired of the same old scenery around my neighborhood. Reeds Lake is fairly small and surrounded by quite a bit of private property, so there's only a fairly short stretch where you actually run by the lake. But the surrounding neighborhood streets are nice to run through also.

I've run in this race a few times in prior years, but always the 5k distance. This time I did the 10k distance. With warm and humid weather it was tiring, but I enjoyed it. The races are run at different times, so some people did both. One run for the morning was plenty for me, though. Took me just over 53 minutes, which is more or less what I expected and right about the middle of the pack for my age group.

Getting down to the event was less than ideal since I didn't think about the area being closed off for the 5k race. It was already underway by the time I arrived, so I ended up parking about a mile away and walking in. Might have to arrive a bit earlier next time, or at least pick up my registration packet the night before.

Parking troubles aside, this is a great event. Nice area to run through, well organized, and they include everyone with additional events like a kids run and handcycle races. I plan to be there next year for the 40th anniversary!

New Holland Pub on 8th 8k

I took a trip a bit east to Holland this weekend for the New Holland Pub on 8th 8k run.

Holland is about a 40 minute drive to the east for me, so I don't get out there regularly, but it's an easy trip. The New Holland Pub is right downtown on 8th Street (thus the 8k distance). Parking was amazingly easy, lots of places within a few blocks. Probably helped that it was a Sunday afternoon, not as busy as a Friday or Saturday would have been.

This was a fairly small event, probably a couple of hundred runners all told. As far as I know, this is the first year they've done it, so it'll probably grow in the future. There was both a 5k and 8k course, and from what I could tell there were about the same number of folks doing each distance. We all got a nice commemorative beer glass, the usual T-shirt, and a complimentary glass of New Holland Brewing beer after the run. (I had a Mad Hatter.)

I enjoyed the course, which ran out from downtown by the river, then back through a park and back to the brewery. A couple of spots did have distinctive odors, though - by the Heinz plant where you could smell the vinegar, and a swampy smell by the park entrance. But the wind was blowing in off the water and those smells didn't linger once I ran along a bit. There was a decent amount of up and down, but no really big hills to slow us down.

The weather was hot and fairly humid, and I felt it, especially in the early going. It's nicer to do these runs in the morning during the summer, but I suppose that would have been a difficult sell with the beer at the end. I felt better a mile or so in when we ran along the river for a while - it wasn't much cooler, but being along the water made it feel less oppressive. I ended up running just over 43 minutes - far from my quickest 8k time, but considering the heat I'm happy with it.

It was nice to make the trip out to Holland and take a run out by the river, and of course sample some New Holland Brewing beer. A race well worth keeping in mind for next year.

Diemer Run 5k 2017

The Brian Diemer run was held this weekend over in Cutlerville.

Just about every year the race sets a record for the number of runners, and this year was no exception. An email sent out earlier in the week said that they had passed 1280 registrations for the 5k. And there's a handcyclist race and some kids events as well.

The weather was warm and humid, though a bit less so than last year. Still, plenty of heat, and there were warnings to beware of dehydration. The race officials had plenty of water available, and I didn't see anyone having problems.

I felt fairly good throughout the run, although the heat did take a toll. I was pretty beat by the end - certainly glad this was a 5k and not 10! It helps that the course is nice and flat, along suburban streets with no narrow chokepoints. Finished right around the top third of both my age group and overall, which is about what I expected.

As is the custom, there were several bands set up along the race course. One of them was a bit late and was still tuning up when I passed, but the rest were ready to go. I bring my own music to listen to, but it's nice to have a serenade along the course as well!

Always good to get out in the early summer for a run, especially at an event like this that supports good causes. I certainly plan to be back next year!

2017 Hard Cider Run at Sietsema Orchards

This weekend I went up to Sietsema Orchards for the Hard Cider Run. It's a 5k race through the orchard and surrounding area, with cider waiting at the end.

I did this same race last year, when the weather was terrible. This year, it was a whole lot nicer. There were some clouds in the sky, but no rain, and it hadn't been raining in the past few days either. That kept the trails (mostly) dry. So unlike last year, I wasn't spending a lot of energy simply trying to stay upright on slippery, muddy trails.

That doesn't mean it's an easy course, though. The trails are pretty narrow and the hills are steep. I saw one person trip over a tree root and nearly fall, but fortunately she was able to catch herself on her hands and keep going. According to the GPS on my phone, the course goes up and down more than 100 meters overall. It certainly seemed like we were pretty much constantly going up or down!

The race was much better attended this year. Last year's total was only around 600, while this year we had over 1000. That's good for the race, but it did make things a little more difficult out on the trails. There were several bottlenecks where there wasn't room to pass anyone, even if you set aside the initial starting spot that's always crowded. Plus there were some people who didn't get the memo about there being a race...I ran past a few hikers and an entire scout troop, who had clearly come into the forest elsewhere and wandered into the race course.

Crowding aside, I thought the event went very well. Plenty of volunteers taking care of handing out race materials, enough parking (though it got a bit tight as the morning went on), and even the line for the portable bathrooms wasn't too bad. And of course, there's the cider and doughnuts when you're done, always a good way to end a morning.

Fifth Third River Bank Run 2017

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Downtown GR was cold and wet the last time I was there for a run, but it was beautiful this weekend for the Fifth Third River Bank Run.

I've not participated in the River Bank Run the last few years, largely because it's such a huge event. The organizers do a good job, but with so many people crowded lines and race courses are inevitable. The last time I ran, I did the 5k, and it felt like I was constantly having to dodge people who were slightly faster or slower.

I went downtown early on Friday afternoon to pick up my race packet at DeVos Hall, and even during that low-volume time it was really busy! I had to park several blocks away to avoid waiting in long traffic lines near the hall. They had plenty of volunteers on hand, though, so there wasn't much waiting involved once I got inside.

This year, I ran the 10k and the crowding during the race was much less of an issue. There were still plenty of people - 3200+ according to the results page - but the field spread out pretty quickly. There were a few times where I felt the crowding, but not nearly as much as a few years ago.

The course is fairly easy, without too many big hills. The biggest one is about 1.5 miles from the finish, which isn't ideal placement, but on the bright side it's pretty much flat to the finish once you're over it! According to the results site, I finished in just under 53 minutes, putting me well inside the top half of finishers.

There's a nice after-party area at the end where folks can hang out while the 25k race finishes and results are announced. I didn't stay for that, but it's nice for those that want to stick around. I was pretty happy to eat some fruit, drink some water, and head home for a shower.

Growler Gallop 5k

Downtown Grand Rapids was very damp on Sunday, but that didn't stop the organizers and about 200 participants of the Growler Gallop 5k run.

The weather forecast was for rain all day with possible thunderstorms. We were fortunate to avoid the latter, but it was still damp, chilly, and windy. I didn't think it was too bad once the run started, though. Moving around the course warmed me up, and there were only a couple of short stretches where we were running directly against the wind.

After the race, a good portion of the participants headed down to the Atwater Brewery. Normally we'd have stayed out in the race area to cool down and hear the results, but with the wet weather, we all crammed into the brewery. Tight fit, but it was only for about an hour. Apologies to any non-race customers who had to put up with all of us filling up the place!

Part of the race entry fee included a beer afterward, so I had a Corktown Rye IPA. Not my favorite beer type, but it was what they had available for us, and it was pretty good as far as IPAs go. Under normal circumstances I might have tried something else also, but sitting in my sweaty running stuff didn't really sound appealing. I'll have to make a return trip sometime!

Good Dental News

As far as teeth go, 2017 is already a much better year than 2016.

I had my first cleaning visit of the year this week. Not only did they not find any problems, but my hygienist actually complimented me on how well I've been doing with tooth care. I'm used to hearing how my flossing isn't quite up to par, or I need to pay more attention to my gums, etc. Apparently I've been doing everything right lately, though.

That's a far cry from last year, when I got the news that I needed a half-dozen fillings during my first cleaning visit. Leading to my least favorite dental experience yet a couple of months later, a root canal, later capped off with a crown. I still get the occasional ache in that tooth, but they did a small adjustment to it so maybe that'll go away too.

I suppose maybe that terrible experience last year is the reason that I got the clean bill of mouth health this time around. Going through the root canal process gives you a solid incentive to follow all the appropriate dental guidelines, so as to avoid ever having to do it again. So far, so good on that front.

World Run Day at Pretty Lake Camp

Thanks to the folks at Gazelle Sports, I discovered that Pretty Lake Camp near Kalamazoo was hosting a World Run Day event on November 6. I signed up for the 10k trail run.

It's a decent drive down to the camp, about an hour. (Even had to go through Texas!) Long drives aren't ideal before or after runs, but this wasn't too bad. Got there early enough to stretch out after sitting in the car, and stayed around for a little while afterward to cool down a bit before the ride home.

Pretty Lake Camp doesn't have a particularly imaginative name, but it is an accurate one. You can see the lake from the area near the main buildings, and there are some nice views of the water from the trails also. Proceeds from the race went to support the camp, which among other things provides free camp experiences to low-income youth from Kalamazoo County.

The run itself is almost entirely through a wooded area, on dirt trails (and occasionally some sandy areas). We were fortunate that the weather was beautiful, upper 50s with no rain. There's a lot of fairly steep hills along the trail, but the footing was decent and I didn't have much trouble with balance (unlike when I did the Hard Cider Run). Making sure I didn't trip over a root or step in a hole still slowed me down a bit more than running on pavement, but not too much.

The event was fairly small - I'd guess around 200 runners. A few dozen of us ran the 10k, which started first, then the rest did 5k. Which was still enough to make the trail feel crowded at the beginning, but after the first mile or so there was plenty of room. The trail was well marked, which I appreciated - no fun getting lost in the woods! I had to get around some of the slower 5k folks since the 10k route looped around the same trails twice, but everyone was nice about giving room on the trail.

According to Runkeeper on my phone, I finished in 57:26, which is about what I'm used to for 10k on my regular runs. It also said the trail was only 9.45 kilometers, though. Given all the up and down on the hills, maybe the organizers included some elevation change in the distance when they laid out the course. In any event, I felt pretty good about the run, hills and all.

I'm glad I went down for this event, although it's a bit further afield than I usually go. If there's not a World Run Day event in the Grand Rapids area next year, I may do it again.

Bee Brave 5K 2016

This weekend was the 9th annual Bee Brave 5K run and walk here in West Michigan, supporting breast cancer research at the Van Andel Institute. This was my first year at the event. I had heard of it before, but never got organized and actually signed up until this year.

The location in Alto MI is great for me, not even a 10 minute drive from home. The race didn't start until 9 AM, but they warned us to be there early since the race course included the road leading into the parking area. Show up too late and you can't get in! Didn't look like anyone had any trouble.

It was a fairly chilly morning, though not quite at frost level at this point in the year. Most everyone (including me) was wearing a couple of layers, although there's always a few crazy people dressed as if it's the height of summer. I spent a half hour or so sitting in the car after checking in, rather than standing around in the cold. It had started to warm up a bit by the time we started running, though, and after the first half-mile or so I barely noticed it.

There were about 300 runners, and a good-sized group of walkers as well. The start was a little disorganized since everyone was bunched up together. It would have been nice if the walkers had been separated to the back, but it was all sorted out after the first few minutes. The course was almost entirely along country roads, with a final lap around a field to the finish. You walk up a hill to get to the start, so there's more downhill than up, but there are still a couple of fairly steep climbs. That field at the end is all flat, though, which I appreciated.

I felt decent during the run, which is a bit of a surprise considering that I've been a bit under the weather for the last week. Fortunately the worst of it was over a few days before the race, and it might have even worked to my advantage since I'd been getting more rest than usual. There were only 8 guys in the 40-44 men's age group, and I was second among them (55th overall). I was hoping to be under 25 minutes, but I'll take 25:30 considering how I'd been feeling the week before.

Thanks to the Bee Brave organizers and volunteers for a fun little race, supporting a good cause and close to home. I enjoyed it, and hope to be back in future years.

The EpiPen Price Outcry

EpiPen prices have increased like crazy over the last few years, and the media has been all over the story in the last week or so. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone when this sort of thing happens.

An EpiPen is an auto-injection device that administers epinephrine to treat anaphylactic shock, usually from an allergic reaction. The actual epinephrine is really cheap, around a dollar's worth according to Wikipedia. But an EpiPen was $97 in 2007, and the price has gone up to $600 for a package of two in 2016. There's certainly some value in having the drug available in a pre-measured dosage that's easy to administer, so the 2007 price makes some sense. Hard to see what justification there is for the huge jump since then, though.

There's all kinds of stories in the news about this, usually featuring footage of potential allergy-victim kids and their worried parents. Congress is getting involved, demanding to know why the price is so high. (Not taking any actual action, mind you. Just a lot of talk and posturing for the cameras.)

I don't get why anyone is surprised by this or any other health care price increase. All that the manufacturer Mylan is doing is following the incentives that we've built into our health care system. They've produced a product, protected it with patents, marketed it to consumers, and are making as much money from it as they can. (Some of that was done by the prior owner before Mylan bought the rights in 2007, but it's the same incentives either way.) Consumers get hit with the cost, either directly or indirectly through insurance.

Having said that, I do see why people aren't happy. I wouldn't be either, if I had to spend hundreds of dollars on something that I might need to save my life in an emergency. But going after Mylan won't fix the problem, even if they end up reducing the price in this specific case. The incentives in the system are still going to push companies to do similar things in other areas. And not all of those will lend themselves easily to media-friendly shots of kids and parents that drum up outrage from the public.

If we want to fix the problem, the incentives in the system need to be changed. Health care products and services need to come from organizations that have patient health as their top priority, not a profit motive.

Mitchell's Run in Rockford

This weekend was the 18th annual Mitchell's Run in Rockford, MI.

Mitchell's Run supports Parent Project MD, a non-profit dedicated to muscular dystrophy research. The name comes from a young man named Mitchell suffering from the disease, who attends the race and calls out the start. His parents started the event 18 years ago, and over that time it has raised a million dollars - that milestone was reached this year.

I've done this run several times over the last few years. It's a few hundred runners, so not too crowded, and they set up a nice course up in Rockford. Plenty of space to run and not too much in the way of hills. It was cloudy, but the rain held off so the run was dry. Pretty happy with my 26:08 time this year - put me in the top half of my age group.

There's other stuff going on around the race, too. There's a farmer's market just down the road, they have a silent auction with a bunch of donated items to raise additional funds for PPMD, and there's a kids run. They had a bunch of people dressed up as superheroes leading the kids this year, which was pretty funny.

Every time I've done Mitchell's Run, it's been a good time, and this year was no exception. Glad to be able to go out for a nice run and support a good cause.

Hard Cider Run in Grand Rapids

I went out this weekend to Sietsema Orchards for the Hard Cider Run. It's a 5k race through the orchard and surrounding area, with cider waiting at the end.

Thanks to the weather, this ended up being about equal parts run and balance challenge. The first two miles of the course are largely on dirt trails with lots of up and down. It had rained heavily the night before, and was raining again during the event. All those dirt trails were really muddy and slippery. Keeping my balance has never been a strength of mine, so I did quite a bit of very slow jogging and walking - and even so I almost fell a couple of times. Traded places with a few of the other runners multiple times, in fact, as I was faster on the stable stretches but they had better balance in the mud.

Considering the weather, I was happy with my time of almost exactly 30 minutes. More importantly, I didn't injure myself. Turning an ankle, or falling flat on your face, would have been very easy. I didn't see anyone else with trouble either, fortunately.

The course was narrow in a lot of places, but that didn't matter a whole lot since there weren't many people running together. The event was broken up into a bunch of different start times, each a half hour apart. I was in the second one, and there were maybe 40-50 people. (My results page said there were only 545 total runners across the whole event.) That gave us plenty of space out on the trail, once everyone spread out after the start.

At the end of the run, there was (of course) hard cider for the runners. It tasted fine, although I'd want to go back and try it again to really form an opinion. Right after a run, I'm not sure my taste buds are at their best! Got a nice commemorative glass and shirt, too. Good fun, and I'll certainly consider doing this again next year.

Yearly Check-Up

I generally try to get to the doctor once a year for a check-up. Not for any specific ailment, but just for the opportunity to catch anything going wrong in the early stages.

My latest appointment was in July, but I'd forgotten to put it on my calendar. When I got the reminder call from the doctor's office, I was out of town, and so I had to reschedule. That's not an easy thing to do for these check-up appointments. I'd have to wait an entire year to see my primary doctor, since they only allocate a few times slots a week to check-ups, and most of them get filled months in advance. As long as you don't mind seeing a different provider, though, rescheduling is easier. So I ended up with an appointment in August.

The most annoying part of these check-up visits is that you're not allowed any food or drink, other than water, for 12 hours beforehand. They do that for the blood tests. To minimize hunger and low-blood-sugar irritation, I like to schedule early morning appointments. That way I'm only hungry for a couple of hours in the morning, instead of all day.

The early appointments are also nice because you generally don't have to wait as long. Later in the day, prior appointments running long can cause yours to be delayed. There's usually not a line at the blood-drawing area in the mornings, either. This time through, I not only didn't have to wait, but actually got in a few minutes early. Pretty sure that's the first time I've ever had zero wait time at any kind of medical appointment.

The actual appointment was quick and easy. About 15 minutes of various poking, prodding, and taking of measurements. No immunizations out of date, or special testing needed for this particular year. I do have a history of cancer in the family, so they do some extra tests on my bloodwork (like PSA for prostate cancer). Nothing major, though.

A few days later, my test results came back - all normal. Not even low vitamin D, which I had last year...apparently the supplements I've been taking are working. It's nice that the doctor's office provides the results electronically on their website. I can access it any time I like, and look back to see how things have changed since prior years.

So it seems I'm doing all right for another year. Body isn't breaking down just yet.

Teeth Cleaning

What a difference six months makes.

Last January's visit to the dentist for a cleaning triggered a bunch of return visits, and eventually a root canal. It wasn't fully resolved until May. The cleaning visit this month couldn't have been more different.

For starters, there was practically no wait time. I spent a whole lot of time waiting on several of those visits earlier this year, both before the appointment got started, and during the process. This time I was in the waiting room for less than five minutes, and the whole thing took about a half hour. I know that's probably just dumb luck, but it sure felt a lot better to have things move along quickly.

I got another new kind of dental scan this time, a wrap-around image that scans your whole mouth. Apparently it's better than the old bite-wing X-rays, although they still use those as well. It kind of felt like an eye exam, since they have you stand at the machine and look forward at a spot on the wall while the machine does its thing.

The cleaning itself went very smoothly. They asked if everything was good after the root canal, which it is - I barely even notice the slightly-different feel of my crown any more. I must be doing a pretty decent job with my flossing since the hygienist didn't even tell me to do a better job, which rarely happens. No problems were detected, and the dentist said everything looked fine to him.

For years, this kind of easy visit was the norm for me, but my experience earlier this year was certainly an exception. Nice to have a simple dentist visit with no issues again, and hopefully it continues this way in the future.

A For-Profit System is Terrible for Health Care

In a free market economic system, providers of goods and services succeed by maximizing their profits through the low costs and high prices. That's a fine system as long as consumers have the option to refuse the service if they think the cost is too high. Unfortunately, you can't just refuse health care when you really need it. Even in situations where it's possible to do without, you're almost always heading toward a later, larger health crisis.

There's an inherent conflict of interest between providing a service that everyone needs, and charging individuals for it. The people able to pay a premium get good service, and those who can't get less (or none). Consider public services like fire services or law enforcement. Firefighters and police officers aren't paid by the people they help, but rather from taxes levied on an entire area. They work directly for the government. It's not a perfect system, with constant struggles against corruption and bias, but on the whole the system works without a profit motive.

Here in the United States, our health care system is largely based on the profit motive. We've built a highly complex system of private and public providers, with insurance as a middle-man to manage financial risk. Some components of the system are non-profit, but they almost always do business with other portions of the system that do have a profit motive. Large portions of this system are motivated primarily by making money, conflicting with the aim of keeping people healthy. It may be possible to do both successfully in the short term, but eventually situations always come up where a decision has to be made between what's best for patients versus making the best profit.

Making the system work for most people has required the government to get heavily involved. There's tons of regulation, as well as programs like Medicare and Medicaid for those unable to pay the costs. With the Affordable Care Act, the government has also gotten involved in pushing consumers into the system, with penalties for the unwilling.

I'd much rather see a health care system that works more like the way those first-responder services are provided. For universally necessary services, the government should provide the whole system, including payment. There could still be private for-profit providers for non-essential services, like cosmetic surgery. (Similar to how private security companies exist, to draw another parallel to law enforcement.) That would cut out two huge flaws in the current system: the conflict of interest between profit and patient, and the inefficiency of the whole concept of health insurance (with no financial risk to the individual, there's no need to manage that risk with insurance).

Certainly this system wouldn't be perfect, but I believe it would be much simpler and more effective than what is currently in place. Of course, making such a change would require overcoming major resistance. The inefficiency of the current system makes a lot of money for a lot of people, and those interests are entrenched in the political system. The worst-case scenario of any possible change is trumpeted across the media (see: Death Panels), no matter how unlikely, and even honest politicians with good intentions find it hard to move forward.

I'm not sure how it would be possible to make these kinds of major changes in the US healthcare system, given the power and money with interest in the status quo. I'd certainly listen very carefully to any politician that came up with a plan, though.

Cookie 5K

Heat, humidity, cookies, milk, running a few miles - what could possibly go wrong?

Yep, that's some cookies. Not pictured - the giant stack of unopened cookie boxes!

No, really, it wasn't bad at all. Yes, it was hot and humid, but we ran starting at 8 AM so the heat wasn't too oppressive. Plenty of ice chests for the milk that was waiting at the finish line, and if the chocolate chips in the cookies were a bit soft, well, who cares?

The race info area.

The Cookie 5K is organized in support of Team Orphans, a group of folks who raise funds to support worldwide orphan services (such as Brittany's Hope). The Team Orphans members participate in other events as well, but this one is organized specifically for this charity. They had some signs set up along the course showing some of the children that their efforts had been able to help, which I thought was a nice touch.

Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery

This was a small event - I'd guess maybe a couple of hundred participants. That was good, because there wasn't a lot of room on the course. The race took place at Robinette's Apple Haus and Winery on the north side of Grand Rapids, with a course that wound through the orchards and woods in the area. It was a very pretty area to run through, but with narrow trails that weren't made for large numbers of people.

Finish line

Fortunately, most of us were in no hurry. There were a few spots early on where the crowding forced us to slow down and walk for a bit, but that was OK. The really fast folks were all up at the front anyhow. After about the first mile, everyone had spread out enough that crowding was no longer an issue. Over the rest of the course, there were lots of small but steep hills as we went though some woods and circled back to the finish line.

Cookie and milk table at the finish line. Chocolate milk tasted surprisingly good at the end of a run!

I ran almost exactly 30 minutes, which I was pretty happy with considering how slow that first mile was and all the little hills later on. At the end were those cookies, which I ate three of, completely undoing any calories that I might have expended on the run. Worth it, though! I even took some extra cookies home, since the organizers were basically begging everyone to take the extras home. When I left there were still several big boxes full, so I suspect a whole lot of cookies may have ended up being donated somewhere.

More of Robinette's.

I had fun at the Cookie 5K, and it helped to support a good cause. Well worth getting up early on a Saturday morning.

Diemer Run 5K 2016

Whew, that was humid. Good run, though.

Today was the Brian Diemer family of races, over in Cutlerville. It's a fairly small event, with about 1200 runners. (By comparison, the River Bank Run gets over 20000.) It takes place every June, and parts of the proceeds from the race go to various charities.

I like the course for the Diemer run in large part because it's so flat. There are no real hills, just a few gradual slopes. That's especially nice when it's as humid as it was today. The temperature was around 75° F at 9 AM when the race started, but it felt a whole lot warmer. By about halfway through the run, I felt like I'd been swimming...a far cry from the near-freezing conditions back in March!

A few bands had set up a various points around the course. One spot was playing a recording...maybe someone couldn't make it? But several others had folks playing live music. The music is a nice touch for a small event, and makes a nice distraction as you're pushing through the middle distance.

This weekend is also the Cutlerville Days weekend festival. There were some groups of people already set up to see the parade later on in the day, which added a few extra spectators. It also made parking a bit of a pain, but it wasn't too terrible. Not a big enough event to have real issues.

After the finish line, the usual tables of water and snacks were set up for the runners. They even had one table with a bunch of ice cream sundaes. I wasn't feeling quite that adventurous, but I did have a banana.

The Diemer Run is a nice small event, and I enjoy going out for it. Thanks to all the organizers and sponsors who make it happen!