Two awesome runs

Tuesday and Wednesday Chris and I put in two awesome runs. One of the reasons that they were so amazing was that the unpredictable weather around here decided to throw us a couple of 50 degree days. That meant not having to deal with the cold, which I am not a huge fan of. Another reason was that I have been on vacation since 10:30 pm Monday night. That means plenty of sleep and a desire to run.

Tuesday I headed over to Chris's hood and we headed out on a route that we had not ran in the past. Our thinking on this one was that if we didn't know where we were going we would probably hold back and run farther. It worked! We ended up putting in 5.87 miles in 50:02. Awesome!

Wednesday he headed over here with a route in mind. This was another route that we had never ran, so it worked out just like the day before. We ended up putting in 6.54 miles in 55:40. I am not sure, but that just may be the furthest that Chris has ran, I will have to check. Another awesome run.

With today being Christmas Eve and the chance of rain ever increasing, that may very well be the last run for the week. If the weather holds out, we may try and get out either Saturday or Sunday. We shall see. We do have the 10 mile Hangover Classic coming up on January 1!

With that I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Hope everyone has a great holiday.

Later

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Today my plan was to head out and put in around 5 or 6 miles since the weather looked decent. But when I went to "Suit Up" I found that all of my cold weather running gear was in the washer. Damn it!

So instead of putting in some decent miles on the streets of my neighborhood I headed to the YMCA and hit the treadmill. I jumped on one of the one that I thought was not set for 30 minutes, but I was wrong. So instead of changing treadmills after the time on mine counted down, I just did the 30 minutes and called it a night.

Now for the totals:

3.68 miles

30 minutes

Probably won't get out again until this weekend. Hopefully the weather holds out.

Later

Last few runs before heading to Disney

It is almost time for me to head to Disney for a week of nothing but checking out the sites and eating really bad things. I don't think I will have time or the desire to run. Well I may have the desire, just not the will. So Chris and I will be getting in a few runs at work as long as the weather is kind to us.

I talked to Chris on last nights 2.5 mile run, which we completed in 19:14.66, about the possibility of hitting a local 5K or just getting out for a good solid 5 -6 mile run on Saturday afternoon. That way I can at least leave town knowing that I put in some extra miles before over indulging for a week.

I do have the fear that when I return, my week off from running will make me slower. Not sure if it is a mental thing or not, but this always seems to happen. After taking that much time off from running and eating like a sloth, I feel like I am always chasing the Yeti.

On another note, last week Chris and I did a couple of local shoutouts for a friends site. I thought that they went pretty well. Check out the one below we did of a local running store.



So hopefully the mouse won't slow me down. We shall see.

Later

Fast Freddie 5 Miler

Yesterday Chris and I participated in the 21st annual running of the Fast Freddie Thanksgiving Day 5 Miler. This run turned out to be one of the most fun runs that we have done is some time. We saw a few familiar faces. Our friend James also joined on this run. When I say joined, I mean ran in front of us and waited at the finish line.

The goal for this run was to come in between 40 and 42. Before I had actually looked at the course, I told Chris that I thought 40 would be no problem. Then he mapped it. The course has several hills, so we told ourselves that we would be happy anywhere under 45. With a field of over 700 runners the start was a bit slow. From the gun shot until we finally walked across the starting line, it took just at 19 seconds. Then it was a very slow first mile before things started to open up a bit and we could find our groove. We hit the first mile at just around 8:37. From there we were able to pick up the pace and let a few of the downhills help us out. By mile 3 we had erased that 37 seconds from the first mile and were traveling at a comfortable 8 minute pace. We figured that if we kept this pace we would definitely finish in the top 500. That is the cut off point to have your name listed on the back of next years shirt. Another of our goals for this run. We ended up finishing the run side by side with a clock time of 39:40.71. The official Yeti time was 39:21.71, taking off the 19 seconds it took us to walk to the starting line. Awesome run!

After we finished the run we hung out near the finish line and talked with several other runners that we knew. After cooling off a bit we decided to head to my van and grab an extra layer of clothing and a celebratory Sam Adam Octoberfest. After enjoying possibly the last two Octoberfest in the area, we headed inside to see the drawing for door prizes. While waiting Fred introduced the overall winner who finished the 5 miler in 23:54.04, which is a new course record!

Fred made things interesting with his lack of patience for people who had filled out door prize cards and then chose not to stay around. I am pretty sure he wanted to get out of there and go enjoy some turkey like the rest of us. Chris and I did both manage to win door prizes. Mine was a gift certificate to a local restaurant and his was to Dick's Sporting Goods. After the last door prizes were handed out we were out of there.

I did manage to take my camera with me this time, but after a short video of the crowd before the run and a few pics, the batteries decided that they had enough. So for an awesome video, check out Chris's recap of this run. It sums up the day quite awesomely!

Not sure what run is on our horizon, but I will keep you posted.

Yeti Out!!

Allie

Today we had to make the hardest decision that a pet owner has to make. We had to make the decision to stop being selfish and be fair to her.

Let me tell you how Allie came to join our family. In the summer of 96 she chose us. The reason that I say she chose us, is that we were not looking to get a new dog at the time. We already had two. But on a warm summer day, my wife allowed a then 3 year old Jade head out to the mailbox to get the mail. As Autumn stood with the door open waiting for Jade to return, a black blur ran past her and into our house. Once inside Allie made herself at home. I remember coming home and saying, "We're not keeping her." That was 14 years ago. We tried to find where she had come from with no luck. So she became ours.

Like any other family member or pet there were times when we wanted to ring her neck. But the good definitely out ways any bad. Pets in this house are family, not just pets. We got to spend 14 wonderful years with an awesome dog, who provided tons of wonderful memories.

With a heavy heart, I say goodbye.

Rest in peace Allie Dog.

DASH 5k 2009

Today Chris and I ran the DASH 5k in our home town. This was the first time we had ran this one. The temps were great, the course was flat, and the times ended up being pretty damn good as well. It was a good day!

Both of us had purchased new shoes yesterday, so the plan was to try and maintain an easy 8 minute pace. At mile 1 we were at 7:35. Mile 2 was 15:10. At that point we decided to real things in just a bit so not to burn out towards the end. As we made the last turn Chris felt the need to stretch his legs and pick up the pace a bit. He ended up finishing 4 seconds in front of me with a time of 23:18.63, which was a PR for him. Way to go!! I ended up finishing up at 23:22.68. I had originally thought that this was a PR for me, but I was wrong. My PR for a 5k is 23:16. I think if either of us knew how close we were to breaking into the 22 minute barrier we would have probably stepped it up a little bit sooner.

After the run we hung out for a bit and talked with a few of our fellow runners. Then it was time to head home.

Next up is a 5 miler on Thanksgiving morning. Hopefully the weather is as good then as it is now.

Later

New kicks just in time for a run

Good morning blogosphere!

It's been a while since my last post, but I really just haven't had the time to put any thoughts out there. Sorry.

Anyway, I had the feeling that it was time to replace my running shoes. Over the last couple of weeks I have been back and forth with wanting to go and get analyzed at the local running shop, Pacers and Racers, and being cheap and just picking up a pair on sale from any number of big box sellers that would get me through these cold months of training ahead.

After looking at several pair of shoes at the big box retailers and on ebay. I decided that it would be in my best interest, not my wallets, to head to the local running shop. Man am I glad I did. It turned out that I was totally running in the wrong shoe! I am a neutral runner and I was running in a shoe that pushed my ankles in. It was also nice to meet some really cool fellow runners.

I ended up with a new pair of Asics Cumulus 11's that set me back around $100. We will see if it was worth it.

Today they will be going out for their first run. Chris and I will be running the DASH 5k. Should be a cool run and it is in our town. I will try and post a recap later on this evening.

Later

Weekend Camping Trip

This past weekend my family headed out for our first camping trip in almost 7 years. I will say that I was a bit skeptical at first, but had a great time. This trip came about due to some friends of ours wanting to head to Camp Rudolph near Holiday World for one of their Halloweekends.

So we armed ourselves with all the necessities. New sleeping bags for everyone, old faithful tent, plenty of food, and a case of Sam Adams Winter Classics. And off we went.

We headed out on Friday and arrived a little after 1:30 pm central time to our destination. It probably only took us about an hour from arrival to beer in hand. The tents went up without a hitch. Then it was down to just relaxing and taking it easy.

As we settled in, we noticed that there were several campers around us that were participating in the site decorating contest. There was one set of campers that were actually constructing a haunted house. It was a pretty impressive site.

Friday was awesome. Just sitting around the fire hanging out with good friends. We all called it a night around 11:00 pm, I believe. I will say that I was surprised that sleeping on the ground wasn't that bad.

Saturday it seemed like everyone woke around the same time. I would say that it was around 8:00 am, but I am not exactly sure on the time. Then it was another day of hanging out by a nice fire and enjoying spending time with good friends.

That night they had Trick or Treating for the kids and the judging of the sites. Needless to say, the Haunted House took first place. There were also lots of cool costumes. I believe it was around 11:00 pm when we called it a night this time as well.

Sunday morning we had to pull up stakes and return to reality. But I will say, that we all had a great time. It was nice just hanging out with the family, without all of the distractions of TV and computers. We will definitely be doing this again.

I will leave you with a few pics. Enjoy.

Christian Academy 4 Miler

Yesterday Chris and I ran the Christian Academy 4 Miler. Chris had told me about this run a couple of weeks back and it sounded like a good run. Someone in his family goes to school there, so that is how he found out about it.

The day started off fairly early for me. I ended up waking up a little after 3:30 am and could not seem to get back to sleep. So I just watched a little tv and tried to get myself ready for running in 40 degree weather. Now I know that some hardcore runners might think that sounds warm, but it has just started to turn colder around here and we are still adjusting.

After having a bagel for breakfast, I got suited up and waited on Chris to show up around 8:00 am. He was right on time. We then headed over to Christian Academy to get signed in and pick up our swag. As we entered the campus we saw tents near the football field, so naturally we headed up there thinking it was the sign in. It was not. We were directed to the gymnasium area, which was cool with us since it was inside.

After getting signed in, we stood around for awhile looking for an old classmate who had decided to join us on this run. At almost race time we found him. Shortly after we were instructed to head to the starting line.

I had told Chris that my goal was to run the 4 miles in 32 minutes. He was a bit skeptical that he would be able to maintain the 8 minute pace the entire way. I was confident that he could.

As the run started, our classmate left us behind. He had mentioned that his goal was to run a 7:30 mile. So we let him go and settled into what felt like and 8 minute pace. At the first mile we were at 8:02 and right on track. The second mile we were at 15:30, so we had picked up the pace a bit. We realized that we needed to reign it in a bit to finish in 32. At the third mile we were at 23:40. We had managed to slow things up a bit. The course had quite a few hills in it. One being a downhill at the beginning that we knew we would have to climb before the finish. That last hill sucked. As we made it to the top of the last hill Chris had to walk for a couple of seconds. He told me he would see me at the finish. The race finished up with a lap around the track. I ended up finishing in 31:02 and in 16th place over all. Chris ended up with 31:28 and 18th place over all.

After the run we made our way to the food, which was awesome. There were chicken biscuits, bananas, muffins, and giant cinnamon rolls. NOM NOM NOM! We hung out for awhile to see some of the awards. But after cooling down, the cold got the better of us and we headed home.

It was a great run with great friends. That's what makes it enjoyable for me.

You can check out pics by heading over to Chris's blog. They are awesome.

Later

Down Syndrome of Louisville 5K

Saturday morning I ran in my second Down Syndrome of Louisville's annual 5k. This event is used to raise money and awareness for Down Syndrome. It was an awesome event.

The morning started off for me around 5:30 am. This was due to the fact that I wanted to get up early enough to try and score some University of Kentucky Big Blue Madness tickets that were going on sale at 6:00 am. I was lucky enough to get some. This event sold out in about 10 minutes. The tickets are free, but due to the fact that I had to go through ticketmaster, they cost me about $7.

After that my wife and I headed over to the event. Unfortunately due to work and other obligations, Chris was not able to run in this event. That kinda sucked. I would have to say that next to my kids, he is my favorite running partner. Once I arrived at the waterfront I found Z, who was running, and headed to the sign in area. Shortly after I got signed in Sam showed up. I think that Sam has only ran in a couple of official runs, but he runs every day at lunch. After meeting up with everyone we made our way to the start. There were probably around 200-300 participants. Sam said that his goal was to hit 26 minutes for this run. I told him I was shooting for 24. Z just wanted to finish before Sam, who beat him last year.

At 8:15 we were off. Z stayed with me until just after the first mile. I tried to motivate him to keep up, but he just didn't have it. So I was soon on my own. I ended up finishing the run in 23:53. Which ended up being about 1 minute faster than last year. Z was up next and finished in 24:50, I think. Sam finished up with a 26:06. I think that all of the times would have been a little bit faster if the course had been different. At the start we were really bunched up due to the lack of running room on the sidewalks near the river. Still good times and everyone hit their goals.

After the run, we hung out and checked out the booths before participating with Double D and his family in the walk.

All I can say is that it was a great time.

Up next for me will be the Christian Academy 4-miler in a couple of weeks with Chris. Should be fun.

Later

And I thought because I ran I could eat anything

Man was I wrong! As anyone who has followed this blog at all knows, last year I dropped about 40 pounds by changing my diet and running my ass off. It started with getting ready for a run at Disney and was helped by a workplace biggest loser competition. Although I didn't win the competition, I regained my love of running and lost the weight, which is a win!

Since then I have slowly be returning to my bad eating habits, all while thinking that I am putting in around 10 to 15 miles a week so it will be ok to have that piece of cake or a burger from McDonald's. Well guess what. I WAS WRONG!!!! I have slowly picked up about 10 pounds over the last couple of months. So I guess I need to re-dedicate myself to eating right. It has just seemed to be a lot easier to just pick something up that to actually make dinner at home. That has to change.

My goal is to get back where I was by Christmas at the latest. I figure that is enough time to not be to hard on my body by losing too much too fast. We shall see.

As far as runs go, I am signed up for the Down Syndrome of Louisville Buddy Run 5k for this Saturday and a 4 miler later in the month. Due to work Chris can't join me for the Buddy Run, but will be at the 4 miler. Should be fun. I will post a recap on each run for all to enjoy.

So wish me luck!

Later

Now I know why I am a nocturnal runner

Due to a slight detour I did not run at lunch last night with Chris. It sucked, but I was given info about what could be this years hot toy, so I had to go see if I could get some. I did. Enough about that.

So, when I got up this afternoon my mind quickly went to "I need to run" mode. So I jumped out of bed, checked a few things online, and then headed out the door. My goal was to take it easy and just let the road dictate the distance. As I rounded the corner toward Gibby's house I glanced down at my watch expecting to see a time close to 8:00. To my surprise, it had just passed 7:00. Kind of a shock to me, since I didn't feel like I was running that fast. The first mile ended up being right around 7:30. At that point I just tried to keep the same pace and see what happens. Mile number 2 was right around 15:00, but the heat from running during the daytime was starting to catch up. I ended up finishing a 5k in 23:43.44, which I was happy with. The only thing that sucked was that I felt like I was on fire the moment I stopped running. Damn sunshine!

On another note, I think that I may be ready for some new kicks. I have noticed the last couple of runs that my shins are hurting a little at the beginning of the run. It usually works itself out, but these shoes have over 300 miles on them and they were not very expensive. Not that the price of a shoe makes it any better than any other shoe. So I will keep you posted on the shoe hunt.

Later

Awesome Weekend

To say last weekend was awesome is damn near an understatement. Sit back and relax and let me tell you how I spent it.

Let's start with a bit of a recap. Earlier in the week Chris had mentioned that he had heard something about a local fun run/health fair that was completely free, but could not remember exactly where or when it was. So the search was on. We both checked the local run calendars with no luck. Then as I was driving home from picking my son up from tennis practice I happened to hear the ad on the radio. It was for the Kohl's Family Fun Run. So when we hit the driveway I immediately ran into the house, jumped on the computer, and there it was. My next move was to email the link to Chris. By the next morning we had both signed up along with our kids. Which kicks ass!!

So Saturday morning rolls around and I am once again wakened by the 3rd shift beast around 3:30 am. Oh well, it happens. I tried to go back to sleep with no luck. After watching about 3 hours of worthless tv I decided it was time to get my lazy ass out of bed, grab a bite to eat and make sure the kids were up. The plan was to pick Chris and his daughter up around 8.

Picked up Chris and his daughter and we were off. After a brief detour, thanks TomTom, we arrived at Iroquois Park. I was a bit surprised at the turnout. It took a few minutes to find a place to park. We then headed to the health fair area. There was everything from Radio Disney to a Hot Air Balloon ride. The best part was that everything was free. The plan was to hit the first 1 mile fun run a 9 am. But once the kids saw the balloon, we were in line for that. So we missed the first of three runs. No big deal, this was about the kids anyway. Also, it was my first time in a hot air balloon. Pretty cool. After the balloon ride it was time for the second run. We headed over to the starting line and found a good spot about mid crowd. There was no need to be in the front, since we were planning on running what ever pace our kids set. Since I had both of mine with me, I decided I would stay with who ever was running the slower pace. As I expected when the countdown hit zero, my son shot out like a bullet. In my head I thought, he will be walking before too long. It was a 1/2 mile out and a 1/2 mile back. The bad part was that the first half was mostly up hill. I ran with my daughter the whole way. I had told both of the kids that morning that the goal was to set a pace that you thought you could run without stopping. It worked. To my complete amazement my son ran the whole run without stopping. He probably finished about 45 seconds in front of my daughter and myself. She did stop for about 2 seconds. I told her we were almost done and she jumped right back in. I couldn't be prouder of both of them. I forgot my camera, but as always Chris remembered his. Here a a couple of pics courtesy of him.

After the first run Chris and I decided we would hit the last run without the kids and see what we could do. As were standing in the crowd waiting for the start, we decided we would try and hit 7:30 for the mile. As the run started we made our way to the front, where we stayed most of the time. As we got to the top of the hill and the turn around I noticed that we had an older lady not too far behind. The down hill part of the run was nice. As we got within about 1/3 of a mile from the finish we were passed by the older lady. I was content to let her have it, but Chris had other plans. Next thing I know I'm chasing him. We overtook her and Chris finished about 3 seconds in front of me. He said he wasn't going to give it up after leading the entire way.

We then let the kids check out the booths and then headed home. He had a volleyball game to coach and I had some shopping to do. So I dropped him off and headed home.

Later in the afternoon my wife and I headed to the Disney Christmas Carol Train that was in town for the weekend. Another free event. We had to stand in line for about an hour, but it was worth it. The train is like a traveling exhibit for the upcoming movie. They also had a blow up theater. It was a first for me. They showed several clips from the movie in 3d. It looked good enough that I might have to go see it.

After that it was off to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Awesome food and a nice way to end a great day.

Sunday we headed to my aunt's house to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday. It was nice, since my brother and his family came in. I don't get to see them too often.

All in all it was a great weekend. And to top it off, today marks my 18th Wedding Anniversary, and I couldn't be happier.

Sorry for such a long post, but I had a lot to say.

Later

Long time, no blog

I know that I have been slacking on my blogging, but life has a way of taking up ones time. We are still running almost every night with distances ranging from 2 to 2.6 miles. All of our times are right at the 20 minute mark or below, depending on how we feel on that evening. One thing that I have started noticing is that as the temps have started to get cooler, the times are getting faster.

Chris and I have only put in 2 5k runs so far this summer. I am hoping that we can add to that before it gets cold and there aren't as many runs to choose from. He is also very busy with being a good parent and coaching his girls in there sporting activities. So that ties up some of his weekends.

I need to get back in the habit of putting in some longer runs on the weekend. A couple of weeks ago Chris and I put in a little over 5 miles on a Friday and it felt pretty good. I know that I have until April before it really matters, but I would like to increase my mileage. Who knows, I may run a full marathon some day.

Later

Chuck's Kiwanis 5k recap

Yesterday Chris and I ran in the Chuck's Kiwanis 5k. Chris had told me about this run last year, but we for whatever reason didn't make it. It is supposed to be know for it's unusual trophies. I will say that they were unusual. They were everything from fire engines to sword fish trophies for the first 100 finishers.

The other unique thing about this run was that it was a 5k for the men and a 4k for the women. Everyone started at the same time and who ever came in first won. No men's or women's division. It was pretty cool.

We started off way too fast, it happens. We hit the first mile in 7:10 and the second at 15:07. I ended up finishing up at 23:41. Chris crossed just a few seconds after me at 24:31. Don't know how we managed to just reverse our times but it was cool.

Up next for us will be the Utica run followed by the Down Syndrome of Louisville Buddy Run.

You can check out trophy pics from our run at Chris's blog.

Later

Finally quit talking about it and did it.

I feel like every week I say that if I get time over the weekend I am going to put in a long run. Well, consider it done. After waking up around 3:30 am Friday and not being able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours I headed out for the first long run I have put in since April. Not sure what motivated me. Maybe it was the fact that the new Runner's World was staring at me from the coffee table. What ever it was, I will take it.

When I headed out I was not sure how far I would go. My goal was to put in at least 5 miles at an easy pace. I ended up putting in 6 miles in 47:50.16. I am pretty happy with that. I do like the fact that I am now running around an 8 minute mile and calling that an easy pace. When we put in our nightly runs at work we are now hitting around a 7:30 - 7:45 mile.

I may try and put in another long run this weekend, but who knows. There is a lot of yard work that needs to be done around here now that the rain has stopped. Maybe it will even be warm enough to jump in the pool.

That's all I have for now.

Later

Sorry for the absence, but I've kinda been busy

I know it has been about a week since I last updated my blog. And I can only imagine how the few of you, who take the time out of your day to read this, must have been on the edge of your seat waiting.

Anyway, I have been a little bit busy. Last weekend my son and I took on the task of swapping the engine in my 1989 Jeep Cherokee. It was a grease and dirt filled couple of days, but it is done. Here is a pic for your enjoyment.

I just have to figure out which of the sensors on the engine is making it run like crap. I am pretty sure I know which one it is, just need to replace it and see.

As far as running goes, I set a new PR for the 2 1/2 mile loop that we run at work. As I had said before, I was wanting to match the 19:04 that we had ran last year. Well, consider it done! I ran the 2 1/2 mile loop last night in 18:27.49. Not sure what got into me. It may have been the fact that I took the previous night off from running, or that I was running by myself. Not sure. I also don't know if I will be able to repeat that.

If I get time this weekend I plan on heading out for a longer run. I haven't put in more than a 5k since the mini. I need to start logging some longer runs.

Later

A couple of fast night time runs

The past two night have been met with some of the fastest running I have done this year. As I mentioned earlier I am on a quest to match last years personal best of 19:04 for the 2 1/2 mile loop that we run during lunch at work.

Monday night was just 14 seconds shy of doing just that! Chris, Z, and I headed out for our nightly run. We were also joined by the Drake. He may or may not be a new addition to the crew, we will see. Anyway, as we started off I jumped out pretty quickly. I was immediately joined by Chris, who will never let me get out ahead of him without being right there. About 1/3 of a mile or less into the run he started to pull away on the slight downhill on the way out. All I could do was to try and keep up. When it was all said and done, he ended up finishing the 2 1/2 mile loop in 19:03. Amazing! I ended up finishing in 19:17. I was giving it all I had, but there was just no catching him on this night. Z ended up being about 45 seconds behind.

Last night was more of the same. Only this time it was Chris who took the lead and kept it the entire way. He ended up covering 2 miles in 14:07, with me finishing in 14:20. Z was an entire minute behind me. Which is kind of funny, since he was actually in front of me heading towards the end of the first mile.

We shall see what tonight brings. I think Chris may have found his stride. It will be all I can do just to try and keep up.

Later

No running, but one long ass bike ride!

As I set here enjoying the last few minutes of my weekend, I will have to say it was pretty full. It all started off with me getting everything together to swap out the engine in my 1989 Jeep Cherokee. This Jeep was bought as a toy. I knew that if I got everything done to it that I wanted to, when my son started driving in two years he would want it. But after lending it to my mother in law it now needs a new motor.

Amazingly everything came together quite nicely. I found a motor on Craigslist for $150 and was able to borrow all of the items needed to swap engines. This will be done with the help of my brother in law and my son. Should be interesting.

The weekend continued on Saturday morning with the Yeti's heading out for their first bike ride of the summer. I think that we bit off a little more than we could chew for our first ride. We ended up covering around 36.5 miles, according to Chris. We headed out to Henryville, Indiana and back with a very much needed pit stop at Dairy Queen on the way back. I am pretty sure that the pit stop made all of the peddling worth while. There was the most interesting guy sitting behind us. He was with a couple of people and telling them stories about alien abductions, the overseerers of the earth, a woof, and a brand new luxury van. You would have had to be there to see the extreme humor in all of this, but trust me, I thought I was going crap myself laughing.

Today was spent picking up the engine for the Jeep and doing the outdoor chores around the house.

All in all it was a full weekend.

Later

4th of July

The 4th of July turned out to be a pretty damn good day spent with damn good friends! The day started off early for me, around 4:00 am. The life of a 3rd shifter! Chris had found a 5k that was being run in the Crescent Hills neighborhood, so we decided to give it a shot. This would be his first official 5k since getting back from his injury. I think that the run went well. We ended up finishing in 26:40. The goal on this run was to maintain a nice steady pace and just enjoy the run. As long as we finished under 30 I was happy. To my surprise Chris held himself back and didn't let the race get the better of him. I am sure that he wanted to break out at different times, but didn't. Made for a nice run. I did not carry a camera, but Chris did. So check out his blog for pics and a great recap of the day as well.

After the run I headed home to get things ready for what Chris has dubbed the First Annual Yeti Independence Day Festival. I do like the sound of that, and think it is a great idea. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate the way I would have liked. For whatever reason it decided to be around 70 degrees and rainy. Not that big of a deal, it just meant that the kids were not able to take advantage of the pool or the yard. I think that everyone had a good time.

Things wrapped up a little before 9 pm. Just in time for Harper's Island, which if you haven't been watching, you are just missing out on one of the summers guilty pleasures. I would recommend finding the first 11 episodes and watching them before this coming Saturday's 2 hour finale.

With all that being said, it was a great day and will definitely have to be repeated some more throughout the summer!

Later

Tuesday night run

Tuesday night marked the return of Chris. Which is a good thing. As far as the run goes, we took it pretty easy. The reason being that Double D has managed to cover the entire distance without stopping for the last couple of nights. Which is awesome! We ended up covering the distance in 19:38. Chris did 2 miles and Double D and myself did just short of that.

As it stands right now, Chris and I will be running a 5k Saturday morning. It will be interesting to see if Chris can make himself hold back during the initial miles to keep from burning out at the end. He has a tendency to get caught up in the run and head out faster than we usually plan on. What ever happens doesn't matter. It will be fun to actually get a 5k under our belts. So wish us luck. I will try to post a race recap over the weekend if I get time. If I don't, I am sure that Chris will.

Later

Sunday night run

Last night Double D decided he was going to join me for the run. Since he is just getting back into running after not running for awhile I stayed with him. We put in 2 miles in 19:05. He ended up having to take 3 very short breaks. Not bad.

Tonight Chris should be back from his trip, so I would anticipate a bit of a faster pace.

Later

Over my cold, time to pick up the pace!!

As I had noted in my previous post, I had been fighting a cold. For whatever reason the cold seemed to last longer than it usually does. This made for some rough runs over the past couple of weeks. I am pretty sure that Scotty Z and Chris finished before I did on every run we did. The only times that they did not is when they decided to take it easy and run at the pace that I was traveling.

With that being said, the cold is gone! Chris had mentioned a couple of weeks ago that last year we had covered our 2.5 mile loop we run in the evenings in 19:05. That is faster than we have ran the same route this year. I thought I was kicking ass running that route in the upper 19's. So my plan is to at least finish the loop in 19:05 if not faster. It may mean pushing myself harder than I have been, but I am willing to put forth the effort. Wish me luck.

Later

Back from Vacation

The vacation is over. It was awesome. Check my other blog to see.

With that being said, I am back to work and running every night again. For whatever reason, it seams that every time I return from vacation I am slower than when I left. These last two nights of running have not been very fun. Chris is almost back to form and Scotty Z just seems to be getting faster.

Sunday night was the first time that Scotty Z has finished one of our nightly routes before Chris or I. He should enjoy it while it last. I know Chris or myself will not let this continue! At the end of Sunday nights run I began to feel like I may be getting sick. For me, getting sick just means that I loose my voice and become a bit congested. It usually happens about once a year in the weirdest times, like the middle of June.

Last nights run was a little harder. I guess due to the fact that the air at night seems to be getting thicker and that I am now pretty much sick. Scotty Z finished in front again, but only because Chris chose to slow up and finish the run with me. Thanks Yeti.

Hopefully this won't last too long. It usually never does. I can't have Scotty Z getting a big head.

Later

Return of the Yeti.

For those of you who don't know, let me give you a little background on what I mean by Yeti. Last year Chris, Gibby, and myself set out to run the Inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge at Walt Disney World. This was an amazing event. As we started our training in mid March last year we dubbed ourselves the Sweaty Yetis after several evening runs coming in drenched. That is where the name originated.

So last night was the first run for Chris after his foot injury, which had him sidelined for around 12 weeks. I would have to say that he is probably my favorite running partner, since we tend to feed off of each other as far as competitiveness. I was very surprised with how quickly we covered the 2 mile run last night. Way to go Yeti!

Next week I will be heading to Walt Disney World for a week, which will probably not include a single day of running. I am sure that when I return I will be more amazed at his progress. Can't wait.

Later

Just some random thoughts......

As I have posted before, I am back to running almost every night at lunch. I can only say that it is very nice to be able to do this. The temps are cool, the traffic is light, and on clear nights the view is awesome.

We have been running anywhere from 2 to 2.6 miles every night. That is about as far as we can make it and still have time to eat. I seem to be getting faster. Not sure how this has happened, but I like it. I have been covering the 2.5 mile route that we take under 20 minutes almost every time out. I think it may be due to running with Scotty Z, who has a bad habit of heading out way too fast only to fade later. I try, but don't always succeed in keeping the pace that I start at. We seem to cover the first mile in around 7:15 - 7:30. Works for me. I would love to maintain that pace over a longer run, meaning more than 3 miles. I guess I will have to run during the day and see if that is doable.

In about 11 days I will be heading on vacation. Hopefully when I get back I will see the return of one of my favorite running partners, Chris. His foot should be mended. I know he is ready to get back out there.

I tested out blogging from the iPhone yesterday and it seemed to work ok. I will just have to watch and make sure everything is spelled correctly. I plan on doing a little blogging while on vacation.

That is all I have for now. Getting ready to watch it rain.

Later

This post will be a test of blogging from my iphone. We will see how this goes.

Regardless of what you may think...The Blog is not dead.

Sorry for the absence from blogging since the mini, but sometimes life just gets in the way. There always seems to be something to do that takes up my time.

I am now back to running just about every night on lunch at work. Double D and Scotty Z have been joining me on some of the runs. We can only cover about 2 1/2 miles in the 30 minutes that we have and still have time to get a quick bite to eat. I had almost forgotten how nice it is to run at 2:30 in the morning. The weather is usually pretty good and you don't have the sun beating down on you. Not that I don't enjoy a run during the day, but for sheer comfort you can't beat running in the middle of the night.

As far as future runs for this summer, there are tons of options around here. It seems like every weekend there is a 5 - 10K somewhere close. I am probably going to wait until I get back from my vacation at the first part of June to actually participate in a run. That should be about the time Chris will be back in action after the now famous hand soap debacle.

So for now I will continue to put in the miles at night and try to work in some longer runs on the weekends. I am toying with the idea of running another 1/2 marathon later this year. We shall see.

Until next time......

Later

Mini Marathon Recap

My second official half marathon is done. I will do my best to re-cap the days events. I am not sure that I will be able to do it the same justice that Abby & Brenda did for the Boston Marathon (Congrats by the way!) but I will do my best. So here we go.

The day started off for me a little after 3:00 am. I had managed to get to bed Friday night around 10, so I guess my body figured that I had enough sleep. I attempted to go back to sleep with no success. So after laying in bed thinking about the day before me I decided to get up. Once I was up I jumped online and checked email. To my surprise there was one from Chris. He had also woken around 3:00 am, the life of a 3rd shifter like myself, and wanted to know if I wanted to have him drop me off at the starting point for the run. I had been planning on having my wife drop me off and catch a ride home with Chris, since he was to be handing out finisher medals. I took him up on his offer. He is now my wife's Hero, since it kept her from having to get up on one of the few days she gets to sleep in. After all of my travel plans were arranged I decided to grab a bite to eat. Nothing too harsh, just a bagel and some coffee followed by plenty of water.

Chris arrived around 6:15 am and we were off. It probably only took us around 20 minutes to reach the nearest drop off point for the start of the race. Once I had determined that we were as close as we were going to get, I thanked Chris for the ride and hopped out of the car. It was only a small walk to the starting area, which was easy to find following the sea of runners heading that way. Once I made it to the starting area I began to look for Scotty Z who was also running. After a phone call to his cell, which his wife answered, and a little luck I spotted him. We then made our way to our starting corral. I was happy that we would be starting in corral B. That would mean fewer runners ahead of us.

By the time we made it to our starting area there was probably only around 20 minutes before the start. As the time went by more and more runners entered our area. With about 5 minutes left it was time to fire up the iPod and get in a running mindset.

Then we were off. I had made it my plan to head into the first couple of miles easy, knowing that we would be running through the hills of Iroquois Park after about 3 miles. With this plan I had opted to start off with more laid back tunes to get me started. So I let Eddie Vedder tell me the story of Crazy Mary as I headed into my first mile.

Miles 1-3 seemed to go by almost effortlessly with an average 8:45 pace. To my surprise Scotty Z was staying at my side. In the past he has had the urge to pull ahead, only to fade later. Around mile 3 we entered the park, for what would be close to 3 miles. I found it almost fitting that Hells Bells began to fill my head as we entered. I knew that this would be my test. I had not done a lot of hill training, but figured I was ready.

Miles 4-6 did not seem that bad. At some point through the park I lost Scotty Z. I was a little bit surprised when I looked back and he was not there anymore, since where he runs and trains is all hills. As I exited the park I had Axl Rose welcoming to the jungle. I felt pretty good at this point, still averaging around an 8:45 pace. The park was mostly shaded, so the higher temps didn't seem to be bothering me.

Miles 7-9 were nice and flat. They took me through lots of spectators supporting not only the ones they came to see, but all runners who passed. That alone makes you want to keep going. When we had started the run, I had noticed that we were close to one of the Marathon pacer's who would be running at an 8:47 pace. My goal was to keep him in site. As we neared the 8 mile mark I found myself running right behind him. I felt like I was holding back. So I decided to go ahead. As we entered Churchill Downs I still felt pretty good. The only thing that sucked was that we had to enter and exit through a tunnel. The tunnels had downhills to enter and uphills to exit, as they went under the track. As we exited the last tunnel I could feel some fatigue.

Mile 10. As I reached mile 10 I could feel myself working harder and slowing some. The pacer that I had passed earlier had now caught and passed me. I told myself as I passed the 10 mile mark that I only had a 5k left to run. Unfortunately that did not help. A little after the 10 mile mark I had to walk. I only walked for about 30 seconds, but I still had to walk. The 30 second walk did wonders. I was off again.

Miles 11-13.1 were some of the hardest miles I think I have run in a long time. They rank right up there with the first half mile I ran over a year ago after a 10 year vacation from running. I ran as far a I could before having to stop and walk again. I think I had made it to the 12 mile mark this time. I almost feel like I should have never let myself walk the first time. After walking for close to another 30 second I was off again. The pace had gradually gotten slower. As I rounded the last turn and headed for the home stretch I was greated by the cheers of many onlookers. No they weren't there for me, they were there for every runner who had chosen to take on the task of running 13.1 or 26.2 that day. There cheers were enough to get me over the line. I finished in 2:02:46. Missing my 2 hour goal by 2:46. Oh well.

As I crossed the line I immediately heard my name being called. It was Chris. He handed me a power aid and told me that he had been moved from Medal distribution to time spotter. I then headed into the sea of finishers to receive my Medal and grab some much needed food. There was an abundance of sport drinks, bagels, bananas, and granola bars to be had. I then headed back to the finish to wait for Scotty Z. He finished his run about 10 minutes behind me.

I then walked through the medal area with Scotty Z. He then headed off to meet his wife and head home. I hung out and watched all of the people finishing the race, while waiting for Chris to get done. After about an hour he was done and we were on our way home.

I can not say enough about the people who volunteered there time to had out water and all of the other thankless jobs that go along with helping out with an event like this. All I can say is THANK YOU!!

I will be back next year. I think Chris will be running that one with me. I will definatley take the time to do several runs through Iroquois park before that run. I still call this run a success, even though I didn't hit my goal. It just gives me something to strive for. If all goals were that easy to achieve, what would be the point of setting them?

I am sure that my summer will be filled with several runs, so this blog will live on.

Later

Today is the Day!!!!!

Well, it's finally here. This is the day I have been working towards for the past couple of months. I think that my efforts should pay off the way that I want them to.

The weather is going to be a little warm, but that is ok. The temps are starting off around 73. It is a little windy. The temp is supposed to hit 85 by the afternoon. I don't think this will affect what I am wanting to do.

Chris will be at the finish line handing out finishing medals, so hopefully he will have some cool pics to share.

I will post a recap in the next couple of days.

Yeti Out!!!!

Less than a week....I think I'm ready!

Well, there is a little less than a week before the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon. I have been training for awhile and I think that I am ready. Yesterday around 5:00 am I set out to cover the distance of the Mini. I ended up making it the whole way without stopping or walking in 1:55:08. I am happy with that time, since my goal is to make it under the 2 hour mark. I think that I may be able to have a little bit of a better time on race day. When I headed out yesterday I didn't want to take off too fast and burn out. So the first couple of miles were slow and steady.

Yesterday was also Thunder Over Louisville, which is the big kick off for the Derby Festival. Although the weather was wonderful, we decided not to head down to the river and get in all of the traffic and crowds. I think there were well over 600,000 people who attended this year. We did head up to one of the overpasses near our house that has a great view of the Louisville skyline, where I took quite a few pictures. Here are a few for you to enjoy.


I will probably only take a short easy run during the middle of this week. Hopefully I am as ready as I think I am. If this one goes the way I want it to, I may sign up to run the 2010 Disney Half Marathon. I am planning on running that at some point, just not sure if it will be this coming year.

I would also like to wish all of my blogging friends Good Luck in the upcoming Boston Marathon.

Later

No Running on My Birthday!!

Yesterday was my 39th birthday. So I decided that I would take a day off from running. On Monday I put in 6.2 miles, so I didn't feel too bad about not running. With the Mini only 10 days away, now is definitely not the time to stop training.

So today I will be back to running. I feel that I have trained better this time than when I ran the Mini so many years ago. That time I didn't train very well. I was about 13 years younger though. This time I have definitely put in the miles. As long as the weather holds out for tomorrow, I may try to cover the distance of the Mini. We shall see.

I will say that I gain motivation from all of the running blogs that I follow. I feel that running has it's own community where no one is excluded. You just have to lace up and hit the road. It's not about how far or how fast you are, just that you make the effort.

Later

Longer miles, no pain

If you have been reading this blog over the past month, you know that I have experienced some pain in my right knee. Well, I think that due to some proper stretching and lower mileage runs I have slowly returned to where I was before the pain began. I can only assume that I was putting in way too many miles too soon.

Last night I headed to the Y, due to the fact that it was 8:30 pm and around 38 degrees outside, and put in 7 miles on the treadmill. Everything felt good. I had that feeling that if time would allow it, that I could run forever. Unfortunately I have to leave my house a little after 10:00 pm in order to make it to work. So I had to stop, which to my surprise the runner on the treadmill next to me did not want me to do. As I slowed the treadmill down to a walk, she looked over at me and said "You can't stop now, just 10 more minutes. You are helping me keep my pace." Unfortunately I had to go. I know that I enjoy running with friends when we are outside, I guess I never thought that running with someone on a treadmill would provide the same motivation. I always thought it was just you against the machine.

As far as my training for the remaining couple of weeks. I plan on trying to cover the half marathon distance. I would like to have that in the bank, just so mentally I know I have and can go the distance. I would like to try and attempt the run this weekend. But with it being Easter weekend who knows. Probably my best shot, weather permitting, will be Easter Sunday. We shall see.

Later

23 Days and Counting

It seems hard to believe, but there are only 23 days left before the Mini. I haven't been running as far over the last couple of weeks trying to let whatever was bothering my knee work itself out. I have been running though. This week I put in 2 5K runs and a 4 1/2 miler. All of these were completed with little or no pain from the knee.

If the weather becomes what it is predicted to be for tomorrow I am planning on taking a longer run. Not sure how far I will go. I will just go where the road takes me. We shall see.

Well it is off to bed for me.

Later

And We're Back!!!

Since it was Spring Break around here we decided to take the family to St. Louis for vacation. I won't bore you with the details on here. If you want to know, check out my other blog. Anyway, I took about 4 days off of running during that time. I think that was a good thing since my knee has been bothering me some. I think that the stretches that I have been doing have helped.

Anyway, the weather here today is pretty crappy. So I decided to head to the Y this morning and check out there new Matix treadmills. Not bad, but they all have 30 minute time limits. That sucks for trying to put in long runs. I ended up doing 5 miles in 44:05. I did have to stop and reset the damn treadmill after the first 30 minutes. By the end of the 5 miles I felt pretty good. I had a little irritation in my knee, but nothing that would have stopped me had I been 5 miles from home on an outdoor run. With being only about 27 days from the mini I need to make sure that things don't get any worse with the knee. I will just have to take it easy and stop if any real pain appears.

Later

Sunday's 9 miler

As I woke around 5:30 am on Sunday morning, which kinda sucks since I'm on vacation for Spring Break, I turned on the local news. All they could talk about was how nice of a day it was going to be. They kept telling me that it was going to be in the mid to upper 60's by midday. The current temp was hovering near 40. Knowing that I had a lot to do, and needing to run I decided it was now or never.

So I drug myself from my warm bed and "suited up". With no real plan of where or how far I wanted to run I headed out the door. I started out by heading toward Chris's house. Things were feeling pretty good, so I decided to tackle the route that he had run about a week ago, which would bring me back toward his neighborhood. As I neared the turning point where I could either cut my run short, meaning 7ish miles instead of 9ish, I opted for the longer route. This may have been a bit of a mistake. For whatever reason, be it not enough stretching, upping the miles too fast, or some other reason, I seem to be having some ITB issues on longer runs. At probably the 8 mile mark I began to have some slight discomfort in my right knee. Not bad enough to stop me, but discomfort. By the time I reached my house and stopped I was hit by some pain. I then headed inside and stretched my ITB followed by a round of icing. Things are feeling better this morning, but I think I will probably lay off of the running for a couple of days. Espcially since I am planning on heading to St. Louis with the family tomorrow morning for a couple of days.

Anyway, here are the numbers and route from yesterday's run.

9.09 miles in 1:17:50
Average pace was 8:33/mile


Later

2 miles, 14:52, Green Beer, and Good Friends!

What more could you ask for? Today was the 1st Annual Jeffersonville Shamrock 2-Miler. With this thing being in our home town, how could we not run it?

Unfortunately I forgot my camera. So you will have to check out Chris's blog to see the pics. With that being said, on to the recap.

We arrived to the sign it about 5:45. Then we waited around for the rest of the people we knew who were running. At approximately 6:30 things were underway. It was a very fast start. Scotty Z took off like a bat out of hell. Not sure what he was thinking. After about the 1st block, Chris and I settled into a good pace. We ended up running the 1st mile in 7:30. Not bad. About 1/2 mile from the finish we caught and passed Scotty Z. I think I need to tell him the story of the turtle and the hare. With about 50-75 feet left Chris and I ended up racing to the finish. I am pretty sure that he got me this time. DAMN LONG STRIDE!!! We ended up finishing in 14:52. I was very happy with the time and the lack of knee pain.

After the run they had green beer, snack, door prizes, and Irish Dancing. We participated in the beer and snacks. Not the dancing.

I had a great time and hope that it happens again soon.

Later

Took some time off, now back to running

Last week I only ran two days. Then for whatever reason I did not run another day until today. I was either too tired or too busy to either make it outside or to the gym. With a little over 40 days til the mini, I need to get my ass in gear. 

So from this point forward I am planning on running everyday if I like it or not. Today I only ran 3.1 miles in a little over 25 minutes. At about the 2 mile mark my right knee began to bother me, so I decided to stop at the 5k point. I am planning on running tonight at work. Should be a relatively easy 2-2 1/2 mile run. 

I may be running a half marathon the weekend after the mini with Chris. We shall see.

Later

Back to the 2:30 AM Runs

I am very glad that the weather has warmed up. It has given me and my friends at work the opportunity to resume our 2:30 am runs. I have really missed these runs over the winter months and hope that the weather holds out so we can continue. There is a chance of rain tonight.

We have ran the last two days. Here are the distances and times.

Sunday Night: 2.5 miles 20:31.82
Monday Night: 2.6 miles 20:35.29

I am not sure what got into us, but we were hauling ass last night. We were averaging a 7:56 mile.

So here is hoping for warm weather and future runs.

Later

Nothing Beats Running With Friends

When I got up this morning around 9:00 am I checked my email to see if Chris had responded to my email about running today. He had not, but he had sent me and email letting me know that one of the local radio station morning shows was going to be at a McDonald's in our town. He was planning on biking over and wanted to know if I would like to join him. Unfortunately I had slept too late to join him. That sucked, since I would have definitely gone. Oh well.

So around 9:30 am I got a call from Chris. He was home and wanted to give me the run down of how his McDonald's trip was and set a time to run. He said how does 2 sound for running. I thought he said 10. When I questioned him on this he said sure, why not. I'm awake. So I headed over to his house for a run.

I ended up putting in 4 miles in 35:34.20. Since he had already biked a couple of miles he only did around 2.5.

Since the weather is going to be in the 70's here this weekend I can definitely see some outdoor running in my future. We will see if I can possibly find an opportunity to run with Chris again this weekend. Not sure what his plans are. We shall see.

Later

Didn't Run, But Got a New Toy

Last friday I ordered a new iPhone from At&t. Today it was delivered. So instead of heading out for a run I spent most of my afternoon setting it up. So far I am loving the 3G and the GPS. I downloaded the MapMyRun app for it and am anxious to try it out. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so maybe I can try it out then.

My wife inhereted my old iPhone and is very happy so far. 

Later

Another Monday, Another Run

Today I woke up around 12:30 pm. Not too bad, but I would have liked to have slept longer. So after checking the weather and having a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios I decided to head to the Y. The temps outside were hovering in the upper 20's with the windchill making it feel around 16. Yuck.

As I arrived at the Y, I was happy to see that one of the treadmills that does not have the 30 minute time limit was open. So I jumped on only to be disappointed (TWSS). The thing was not working. So I had to settle for one of the ones with a time limit.

I ended up covering 3.41 miles in 30 minutes. Not a very fast pace, but a nice easy run. I checked the weather for the rest of the week and it looks like it will be gradually getting warmer. Hopefully it is right. I would much rather run outside. We shall see.

Later 

Running Update

The weather last week was pretty damn nice for running. With that being said, I did not run as much as I wanted/should have. After Tuesday's 9 miler I ran another 4 miles with Chris. Unfortunatley when I thought I had started my watch, I had not. So when we reached the 2 mile split point I was not very happy to find that out. I ended up starting the timer at that point. We just doubled the time, which put us right around 35 minutes. 

As far as the rest of the week, I ended up working 2nd shift on Thursday in order to end my week and not be tired all day on Friday. It is very nice to be able to do this, since my wife is off on Friday and it makes for a long weekend. Friday was spent doing the weekly errands, which included the grocery and some shopping. Saturday night we had Gibby and his family over for a little Wii gaming. Turned out to be pretty fun. We will definately have to do that again. It beats the hell out of just sitting home doing nothing. Gibby mentioned that we needed to get all of our group of friends together some time. That would be awesome. We will see if we can get it worked out.

I did manage to make it to the Y today and put in a 5k with a time of 25:07. Unfortunately all of the treadmills without the 30 minute timer were taken. I did not feel like having to restart or move to a different treadmill, so a 5k is all I did.

I did get signed up for the Shamrock 2-miler on the 17th. I know Chris is running this one, not sure who else. Should be fun.

The weather for the upcoming week looks pretty good. So we will see how the outdoor running goes.

Later

9 more in the bank!

When I got out of bed to day and looked outside it looked very inviting. That being said, I was not sure whether or not I wanted to head to the gym and hit the treadmill or head outside. The temps were hovering a little over 40, but it appeared to be windy. 

After my wife got home, she told me that she would be heading to the gym with my daughter to take a class. She also said that it was pretty nice outside. So I decided to run suit up and head out.

I ended up running 9 miles in 1:16:55. I ran the same route as last time. The 3 mile splits were as follows:

25:45.81 Lap 1

25:37.30 Lap 2

25:32.65 Lap 3

Tomorrow Chris and I are planning to head out for a run. Not sure how far we will be running. I will leave that up to him. No matter how far we go, it will be nice to have a good friend to run with.

Later

Hit the Y with my son....

Today my wife and daughter were going to be gone most of the afternoon, so Grant and I decided to head to the gym. I told him that he should jump on a treadmill and see how far he could run without stopping. I was very impressed. He ended up running 2.51 miles in 30 minutes. I may have a new running partner.

As far as my run, I did 6.82 miles in 60 minutes. I don't think that I am going to have any problem with the mini. We shall see.

Later

Look what I earned...

Today I headed to the Y for my run because I just didn't feel like running outside in the cold.

So I ended up running 6.93 miles in 60 minutes. The only reason I stopped was that my wife was on her way home and we had some things to do.

The funny part of this whole run happened when I got home. After I walked in the door and was talking to my wife, she looked up at me and said "Are your nipples bleeding?" I looked down at my shirt, and this is what I saw:


The bad thing is that I didn't even feel it. I do now! I can only imagine what the people at the Y were thinking. I then took the shirt off and snapped the pic for all to see.

Later this afternoon I headed out to Target and picked up a compression shirt. Hopefully this will eliminate this problem in the future.

Later

New Shoes = More Miles

I took the new Phoenix's out for their first official run on the streets and was extremely pleased. The shoes feel like running on pillows. They are amazing. It might just be that I have been running in all terrain New Balance. Not sure.

I ended up running my longest run in years, 9 miles in 1:16:45. The route that I run in a 3 mile loop near my house. The splits were as follows:

25:55.02 Lap 1
25:14.38 Lap 2
25:36.38 Lap 3

The average mile was 8:32.

Like I said, I am very happy with the new shoes. I may try to add some miles over the weekend. We shall see.

Later

You know what they say about excuses...

For one reason or another I did not run one time over the weekend. I could list any number of reasons, but I won't.

I did manage to get a new pair of Asics Gel-Phoenix's though. Check them out.

As for today, I did manage to make it to the gym to try out the new kicks. I did 3.1 miles in 27:26. As long as the weather holds out, I will hit the road with them tomorrow and see how they do outside. So far I love them.

On another note, check out my blogging buddy Jrod's new pup. Awesome dog.

Later

Wanted to run, just didn't

The running that I had planned on doing this week did not happen. Yeah, it started off pretty good. I did 5 miles on Sunday. Followed that up with 6.39 miles on Monday. Then I chose to take Tuesday off.

On Wednesday there was a pretty nasty wind storm that produced winds near 70 miles an hour, according to the news. So I decided that I would head to the Y later that evening. So I run suited up and headed for the gym with Grant in tow. As I pulled into the parking lot I was surprised to find that they were closed. I could see some lights on inside, but those could have just been security or auxiliary lights. Who knows. Anyway, I headed back home. That night I made sure to throw my running things in my backpack in case the wind died down enough for Chris and I to head out for a run, which we did. We ended up running 2 miles in 15:34.46. Not too bad. There was a little more wind that I would have liked, but we made it.

Yesterday I worked 2nd shift so that I could end my week early, so there was no running on Thursday.

We will see what the rest of the weekend holds. I may try to go and get some new kicks. If I do, I will definitely have to give them a go. We shall see.

Later

Warm weather means outdoor running

The weather around here has become wonderful. The last two days have been in the upper 50's. The week ahead looks to be just as nice with a few chances of showers.

So, when I finally drug my butt out of bed around 2:30 this afternoon I headed out for a run. I did not have any pre-determined mileage in mind. I just figured I would run until I felt like I was done. I ended up running 5 miles in 41:19.79. Not bad. There is such a big difference from running on a treadmill and running on the road. Hopefully I will be doing longer runs in the weeks to come.

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Weekend Running Update

Like I said in an earlier post, we have had a lot of snow and ice over the past week. So I headed to the YMCA for the two runs that I did this weekend. The first one was on Friday night. I covered 6.89 miles in 60 minutes. I was happy with the distance and the pace. The second run was earlier today. I covered 3.59 miles in 30 minutes. Happy with this one too. I would have ran farther, but I guess everyone is at the gym getting their workouts in before indulging during the Super Bowl this evening.

I was happy to find a couple of the treadmills at the Y don't have the 30 minute time limit set on them. As long as I can get on one of them I won't have to use two different ones or stop after 30 minutes.

As far as my running for January, it started out good with me running almost everyday and then became a little less frequent. On Friday I signed up to run the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon, so I hope that February's runs are more consistent. I saw the extended forecast and it is calling for 40° to 50° degree temps. So I will try to do most of my runs outside.

Here is a graph showing my January running:

This came from www.runningahead.com. It is a wonderful site for tracking your progress.

Time to get ready for the game.

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Couldn't run if I wanted too.

Due to a severe ice/snow storm that has descended on the Ohio Valley dropping about 6" of snow on top of about an inch of ice there has been no running for the last couple of days. As I headed outside today to clear the cars off I stepped into the street and sank up to about the middle of my calf in slush. Not good for running.

After getting both of the cars uncovered I headed in and called the Y to see if they were open. I was not surprised when the recording told me that due to weather they were closed. So that meant that there would be no running for me. The news today said that there is a chance of 40 degree temps by the weekend, so hopefully I can get out for a run. I will be willing to bet that the Y will be open tomorrow. So I will definitely be able to at least get a run in on the treadmill.

I will leave you with a few pics that I took today of the snow and ice.

Enjoy...

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Cold weather, indoor running. BOO!

Like the title says, it's back to the Y and the treadmill. I guess I need to stop being a wuss and just head outdoors and run. I know it won't kill me and after about the first mile I will no longer be cold. It's just that first mile that seems to keep me from doing it.

I would like to be like the people whose blogs that I frequently follow, who live in Massachusetts, but I just can't seem to find the correct motivation. Maybe it is the fact that I know in about a month the weather will become much more bearable and the outdoor runs will become the norm. Until then I guess I will just complain. We will see.

Anyway, today I headed to the Y and did 3.1 miles in 26:09 on the treadmill. And since the weather is calling for about 6 inches of snow this week, most of my runs will probably be on a treadmill this week.

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Warm weather, outdoor running!!

The weather around here finally warmed up! It is currently 58 degrees outside. Hard to believe. Anyway, since it has been warmer Chris and I took advantage of it to get outside and run.

Yesterday we headed out for a 3.6 mile run. It was a good run in great weather. The time on that one was a little over 32 minutes. Today I headed out alone for a 5 mile run. The time on that one was 40:12. I was very happy with today's run.

Unfortunately the weather will turn colder over the weekend. So it will probably mean I will be headed back to the Y. I am so ready for Spring.

Gotta go enjoy some sunshine.

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Can't wait for warmer weather

I am so tired of running inside on a treadmill. I can not wait for it to start warming up. The temps around here with the wind chill are hovering in the teens. I just can't seem to bring myself to run outside when the weather is like this. So I am forced to head inside to the treadmill.

Fortunately the next couple of days are supposed to be in the 40's. So Chris and I are planning on going for a run outside. Then it will be back to colder weather and the treadmill. Oh well.

Today's run was 3.61 miles in 32 minutes.

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6.7 miles on the Treadmill

When I woke up today I knew that I needed to go for a run. Since my running jacket and under armour were in the washer I was not going to be running outside. So I headed to the Y and hit the treadmill.

I was very surprised to find that the Y was packed at 9:00 am. I had to settle for one of the older treadmills for the first half of my run. The reason that I say for the first half of my run is that in order to keep people from being on the treadmills for hours they are set to stop after 30 minutes. So after the treadmill that I was using stopped, I headed over to one of the newer ones for an additional 30 minutes.

The totals for this run with cool down are 6.7 miles in 64 minutes. I probably could have gone farther, but Autumn was making banana bread french toast for breakfast.

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Quick Update

This will be a straight to the point running update due to the fact that there is just too much good tv on right now.

3.1 miles in 24:34.74

I had to get out and run before it got too damn cold. The low is supposed to be around 2 tonight.

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Evening Run

After rolling out of bed a little before 2 today, I decided that I was going to go for a run. So after grabbing a quick bite to eat I sat down at the computer to check on my fellow bloggers. Great updates on all blogs.

Then it was out for a run. My initial goal was the 3.25 miles that I have ran a couple of times since getting more motivated. As I ran, and all pain disappeared, I decided to do 4.5. I made it with a little energy left. I think that I am making small strides to get back to where I was.

Anyway, the time on this one was 4.5 miles in 37:48.84. I can live with that. Now I just have to keep adding miles.

Time for dinner, so I must go.

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Back to the Dreadmill

Today it was back to the Y and the Dreadmill. I will be so glad when it starts to get warm again. Then I will have no excuse not to run outside. The weather today was pretty crappy. It was a little over 30 degrees and windy.

I ended up heading to the Y a little before 7:00 pm. The total on this run was 29:29 and a distance of 3.21.

I saw on the news that the weather is supposed to be a little warmer this weekend, so maybe I can drag my ass outside for a run.

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Had to hit the Treadmill

When I woke up yesterday the weather outside was pretty crappy. It was raining and a little over 30 degrees. That meant that I would not be running outside today. Call me a wuss, I don't care! So after taking both kids to the orthodontist, having a little family time, and eating dinner, I was able to make my way to the YMCA around 7:30 pm.

When I arrived at the Y it was packed. It always is this time of year, with all of the resolutions. More power to them. I did not have to wait to get on a treadmill, but I was forced to accept one of the original crappy ones that they have. And by crappy I mean it does not have the nice LCD screen on it. Not that I actually listen to what is on, but it is nice to have something to watch. Anyway, after a few seconds on that thing I saw one of the newer ones become available. So I immediately moved to that one. I am not sure why, but it seemed hotter than hell in the Y yesterday. Maybe it was all of the people.

I ended up choosing the 5k training loop on the treadmill. With cool down the total time on this one was 30:21 and the distance was 3.22 miles. I started out at 5.5 mph and ended up at 7 mph.

As I look outside today it is snowing. It kind of looks inviting. So if I can get my water leak diagnosed and fixed, I may head out for a run. We shall see.

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Two days, two 5K's!

I am not sure if it is motivation or that I feel that I have to update this running blog everyday, but one of them is working. So far I have ran everyday of the New Year except one. I will try and continue to add distance as I go. I will also be signing up for the Mini in the next couple of weeks. Once that is done, there really is no turning back!

I ended up sleeping till about 1:30 today. Not bad, since it is back to work on third shift tonight. I got out of bed, grabbed a bite to eat, and then headed out the door. I realized fairly quickly that I need to invest in some running gloves. I took almost 2 miles for my hands to either warm up or go numb. Not sure which one it was, but they were not cold any more after that point.

I ended up running 3.25 miles in 26:04.56. That is the route here in the neighborhood. I ended up driving it once I got home just to make sure I knew the mileage. It is a little farther than I thought, but that is good. It does make me feel better about those first couple of runs that I thought were only 2 miles with times in the 18's.

We will see how this thing goes. Hopefully well.

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5k Finially!

I knew when I rolled out of bed today a little before noon that today was the day. I checked the weather and the temp was near 60. I then grabbed a small breakfast of an apple and a handful of almonds. Let that digest for a bit. Then I was out the door. Unfortunately I forgot my watch, so I have no time on this one. I am guessing between 25 - 30 minutes.

I ended up running a 5k. I am very happy with this. The route that I take ends just past Gibby's house. So as I turned the corner to head home I saw his car coming right for me. He slowed down and ask what happened. I told him all was good and that I just ran 3 miles. He then asked if I wanted a ride home, which I took. Nothing like getting a chauffeured home after a run, thanks Gibby!

On another note, while surfing different running blogs last night I came across a cool site that will let you track your training progress for free. Check it out.

Now it is time to get a few things done before the UK / UL game. Go CATS!!!

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Getting Faster

I woke this morning around 10:00 am to the smell of bacon. What a great way to wake. I stumbled out of bed and headed to the kitchen to find breakfast being made. This has become a tradition for Autumn, her mom, and her cousin on Saturday mornings. They rotate between houses and take turns making breakfast.

I decided that I would have a small glass of orange juice and head out for a run. I will say that the thought of breakfast waiting for me did influence the distance that I ended up running.

I only ran a little over 2 miles. The time on this one was 18:03.27. The fastest that I have ran that distance so far. I do know that I ran the first mile right around 7:30. So I need to take a drive and get that actual distance on the route. I am planning on trying a little longer run in the morning as long as it is not raining. I checked the weather and it looks like it will cooperate.

Now I am off to bed.

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