8/11/14-
PRISON INFO./ADVICE;- As I anxiously walk towards the track, my first opportunity to run all week, I ran into one of my fellow track runners, who is also one of the best material sewers in here. As I try to ignore him, pretending to be engulfed in my radio, unable to hear him with my headphones on, not wanting to waste a single minute on small talk, wanting only to zone out in perhaps a ten mile run if there's enough time, he flagged me down regardless. I can only ignore another inmate to the point where it's not rude and disrespectful, then one is just asking for a new set of problems, but anyway the fellow runner told me that he was sewing a hood onto my friend, Kurt's coat and he finished it, so he just wanted me to relay the message to Kurt so he could go pick it up, being that he's in another cell unit, having to meet him outside at a designated time. After that I looked at my watch gesturing toward the track, mentioning how badly I needed to run, and that's when he pointed out that one of the guards had told him that the prison will be having a race next month on yard day. Once a year, this prison, along with many others have what is called Yard Day, it's much like Family Day, only there's no outside family members that come to attend. The prison opens the yard all day to the inmates, except for count time when we stand in our cells to be counted for security purposes. The prison holds games, has grilled food like burgers and hot
dogs, inmates can win prizes like water bottles and hygiene products from contests and so on. I have yet to attend a Yard Day event because I was still at Lebanon for Madison's Yard Day last year and I chose not to attend Lebanon’s' Yard Day for personal safety, gangs and gang wars were very common at Lebanon and I wanted no part in it. Anyway this guy tells me that they'll be holding three separate races, a 1 mile race, a 2 mile race, and a 3 mile race. This news excites me! I've been wanting to put my running skills to the test and now I finally have the chance. I plan to participate in both the two mile race and the three mile race, but not the one mile race because for one I know there is a plethora of inmates that are much faster than me on a short sprint, I don't at all mind losing or getting beat, it's a basic part of life, but I have no doubt that the one mile race will be packed with participants, there will be little room for everyone, pushing and shoving is something I want no part in. Now the 2 and 3 mile race however a different story is, this will weed out many people, maybe there will be a lot in the beginning, but not everyone will last. Running every day I get a chance has shown me that not many inmates are willing to run at a distance, there are some of course and I look forward to running beside them. Win or lose, I'll be as prepared as possible, ready to give my best.
STEVEN DYBVAD
