Saturday, In the Park

When the wind chill is about 5 degrees, most people will stay inside, probably covered with a comforter, and sipping hot chocolate. Others, head for a wind-swept, hilly park to run a trail race.


You might recognize the guy in red. That's Lou Gonzales. The woman in black is the object of my unrequited love, the Widow Mary. Both did pretty well.


Myself, I chose to run inside on the treadmill for 8-miles. I need to get accustomed to the warm weather I will race in next Sunday in Sarasota. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You know you're a redneck when...

Your sister makes breaking news when she falls 30 feet off a ledge onto railroad tracks because she had a blood-alcohol content of .300. That's over 3-times the legal limit! She boke some bones in her neck, but will not be paralized. When I visit her I'm giong to suggest she pick a higher bridge next time. For all you out there with alcoholic family members, I feel for you.

These pictures are from the Katy Trail. I can't wait to hit it again. I picked up my new mountain bike tonight. It is awesome! I'm going to Clinton Lake tomorrow to ride on the trails where I'll be doing a duathalon in two-weeks.

Yesterday, I did cruise intervals on the treadmill, 4 X 1-mile @ 6:58 with 1:30 rest. It feels good to be good and tired after a workout. You don't want to do it every workout, but, you want to do it a least once a week. That will be your primary workout. Usually, you'll have a secondary workout as well.

Right now I'm in a pattern where I do a medium workout, say 6-miles of easy running, then a hard workout, like the cruise intervals, then I follow that with either a race day, or, like today, swimming. That's a hard workout every 3-days, which might be a little aggressive, but, I'm trying to squeeze in as much as I can before my race in 8-days.

Post Race Analysis

Below, is Dan's race report. Yesterday was Tiffany's. If you ask either of them how they did, they would probably tell you they were disappointed. That's the thing with seasoned marathoners, and in this case, ultra marathoners and adventure racers, they set very high expectations for themselves. It takes a special kind of person to do what they do, a certain kind of mind set.

I don't want you to get the impression that this blog is geared for the macho-macho athlete. I know, I had modest beginnings, I mean, as a teenager I was a pretty awesome athlete but, those 20 year layoffs are killers. I'm pretty sure Tiffany had humble beginnings to her athletic career as well. I think Dan was always an athlete. He's a big triathlete (as in Ironman) and duathlete as well as marathoner. He's even doing a 24-race in April. That's just nuts!

Whether you just finished a marathon, or, a local 5k, afterwards, you have to take time to look back and analyze how you did. If you met your goal, you note what you did right. If you fell short of your expectations, where did you go wrong? Did you start out too fast? Did you not do enough speedwork? Did overtrain?

It's pretty much a learn-as-you-go thing. That's part of the beauty of it. The self-discovery element.

Here's Dan's race report, in his own words:

"Myrtle Beach marathon – Feb. 18, 2006

Last Saturday I went out to Myrtle Beach, SC to try to run a fast marathon. I didn’t reach my goal but here’s the story of the race. My training for this had me a little confused. I was able to run the speed workouts as my ‘3:10’ marathon plan had laid out but my long runs were lackluster. I ran two 20 milers at a little over 8 minute pace but my last scheduled long run was cut short with a slight knee problem and feeling a little tired after ~12 miles. I rested my knee and it was fine a few days later. I came to the starting line with some fast intervals and 9 to12 milers but probably without the long distance conditioning I needed. I wasn’t sure how fast to try to run. My guess was that I was in 3:25 to 3:30 shape based on my 20 milers but I had recently told a friend that if you always succeed then your goals are probably to low so I decided to go out at about 3:15 (PR) pace and if it felt comfortable then go for it. It was an almost perfect day for running. It was upper 40s to low 50s the entire race. There were clouds in the sky but no rain as had been a possibility. The wind was supposed to be about 8 mph but seemed calm at the pre-dawn start. The person at the expo said that there were about 10,000 runners for the marathon, half marathon, and the 5-person marathon relay but I got there early enough that I was only 4 or 5 people behind the front of the race. The start went fine and I quickly had plenty of room to run. I started fast getting to mile 1 in ~7:06 and mile two was a little below 7. I like to break up a marathon into manageable 4 mile chunks though and looked down at mile four to see ~29:12 which was about 3:12 marathon pace. I tried to settle in for the next four which paralleled the beach for about half that distance. I felt comfortable and did it in 30:03 which is about 3:16 pace and I was happy with it. We looped up towards the start/finish for the next 4 miles to drop off the half marathoners and it was during this time that I notice the wind at my back and then in my face as we looped. It wasn’t awful but got your attention since you knew that between about mile 10 and 18 you’d have it in your face for much of the time. The third 4 miles took 30:36 which wasn’t bad and I noticed the half marathon time showed me at 1:38:30 or 3:17 marathon pace. I’d gladly take that if I could hold on but I had awhile to go. Wind and fatigue started to creep in before I hit mile 16 and did the next 4 in 32:22. This was an ‘uh-oh’ moment since I still had 10 to go. I told my self to just relax and take the miles as the came since I couldn’t start press yet. Around mile 18 I saw the last of the beach and the Atlantic and went up a hill. I got through it fine since it was only about ¼ mile at 3-4%. The course is almost entirely flat so it wasn’t bad to use a different muscle group. I was feeling tired though and got through the fifth 4 mile section in 35:11. Not good but I took it given how tired I was getting and told myself to hang on. My total time was 2:37:26 and told myself that I only had to average 10 minute miles for the remaining 10K and I’d but sub 3:40 – my new goal. Around mile 20.5 you headed in the general direction of the finish line with the wind mostly at your back but unfortunately for me it there were long stretches of uphill at 1-2% for most of the next 4 miles. I thought I was keeping up a sub-10 minute pace but hit 40:46 for those 4 miles. I could still go under 3:40 if I could finish with a 10 minute pace. After I hit mile 25 there was a water stop and for the first time, with 1 mile to go, I started walking. My legs were killing me and I wanted a break. This was a mistake and not just because it meant I would go slower. I walked for the next ½ mile or so and my legs were telling me to stop abusing them. I finally caught a glimpse of the ball field where the finish line was and started a slow jog. My legs didn’t feel good but they did feel better running that walking. When I got a glimpse of the runners making the final turn to the finish line I ran better and came through the line around 3:47:30. I’m disappointed with my time but I took a chance for a good time and am satisfied with my choice even though it didn’t pan out.

What’s next? Well I think that I’ll run a 24 hour endurance run in late April. This will be a true test of my mental capability and, as my friend who is putting this on for his nephew with CP said, you must put aside ego and learn to go out conservatively. That and the need to figure out how to take nutrition on the run should be a good learning experience. After that there’s tri/du season coming up. I haven’t been in the pool or on my bike in the months while preparing for this marathon so I better get with it soon. J

Thanks to everyone who’s ran with me and encouraged me.

-Dan"

Life is and Adventure (Race)!

Two weekends ago Tiffany ran an Adventure Race. That's her new thing. I really admire people who take on new challenges. And there probably isn't another sport out there more challenging than Adventure Racing. I plan to ease into it myself, by entering trail-races and trail-duathalons to start off. I'm shopping for a mountain bike this week. I'm doing my first trail-duathalon on March 11.

This is her race report, in her own words. I like her "If you succeed all the time, then you haven't set your goals high enough" quote. Mainly, because I was the one who said it.

"The Bonk Hard Chill

On February 10 my partner and I headed to the Lake of the Ozarks to participate in an event for which we had trained months. Hours spent running, biking, canoeing, and just getting to know each other were to be put to the test on this weekend. After a particularly stressful week, I was ready for some adventure. We met with our fellow teammates for lunch and caravanned to the race headquarters.


It is fairly common to set up a camp site for an adventure race. However, being the beginning of February in the Midwest, and with cold, windy temperatures predicted for the weekend, a hotel room with a soft bed and hot shower were mandatory for this particular team member! After dropping off a few items at the hotel, we took our "Comandatory gear" to headquarters for the required gear check and registration. Being relatively new to adventure racing and never having competed in any cold-weather adventure races, I was easy prey for two veteran racers and wannabe comedians, who shall remain nameless. They had some fun in telling me about the "starter log" that was part of the required gear, saying that I would have to tote the hefty Duraflame log in my backpack! Having completed the gear check and registration, we were then ready to enjoy the camaraderie of the other racers at the pasta dinner. I always enjoy this aspect of any race. It is an opportunity to talk to fellow racers and have fun, but you know that secretly everyone is sizing up the competition. Racers could talk for hours about the type of socks they chose for this race or what type of nutritional supplements they were packing for the next day; not your general office talk.


The evening culminated in the pre-race meeting; what everyone was anticipating to find out what time the race would start the next day. The race directors quickly got to the meat of the meeting by announcing that the race would start at a very respectable 7:00 a.m. the following day. Wow, anticipating a midnight start, I was really excited at the thought of a full-night's sleep before racing 18 hours. Each team was given a set of maps for the Lake Ozarks State Park and a clue sheet containing the coordinates to be plotted on the maps; and so the fun began!

My partner and I went back to the hotel to begin plotting the coordinates we had been given and to plan our strategy for the next day. There is more to this aspect of adventure racing than just plotting a series of coordinates. Teams strategize on whether to bushwhack through the woods and over hills or to stick to the road or trail; should they follow the creek or take the more obvious route? They must estimate distances not only between checkpoints but for the duration of a specific event; how far the canoe leg is, for example. After a brief pow-wow with our second team, we were all eager to get that full-night's sleep.

Morning arrived after a restless night for me, but I had had many a restless pre-race night before, so I wasn't too concerned. I had breakfast with several other adventure racers in the hotel; each of us choosing what we thought would sustain us for the first hour or so of the race. It was finally time to load up our gear and backpacks and head out for the starting area. We had difficulty finding the starting area, which was a bad omen. However, it was not poor navigation that was to be our nemesis.

I was psyched for this race! Being a strong runner, the whole first half was my kind of race. We were to trek approximately 4 miles or so before getting into the canoe. Then we were to cover about 3.5-4 miles on the water with several additional miles on foot at two extraction points on the canoe leg, before heading out on the bikes.

The race started and everyone took off in the same general direction for a short distance before team strategy took over and teams went their separate ways for the first few check points. My mood was very light at this point. I was in my element. I had an o.k night's sleep, a full stomach, I was running, and I was one of only a handful of women in a mostly male-dominated sport! Life was good at that point!

Things began to unravel for me however, once we got into our canoe. Finding two training partners who owned kayaks and canoes was a stroke of luck for me. We trained for this several times in the months prior to this race, I had not been concerned about this aspect of the race. I felt we had an advantage over many of the other racers. The canoe that we used for this race however was quite different from the one in which we had trained many hours. Even though my partner had brought his own carbon-fiber paddle, we still couldn't find our groove in this vessel. It did not help that the front end of our boat was in the air, nor did the 20-mph wind gusts or the bow-high whitecaps on the water! We could not keep the canoe in a straight line to save our lives! Instead of the familiar "hut," which is canoe-talk for, "paddle on the other side now lackey," I kept waiting to hear, "Prepare to come about!" You would think we were tacking in a regatta instead of making a beeline for the other side of the lake! During the canoe section, our strategy was to paddle to the first extraction point about 3.5 miles away, get out, defrost the frozen nubs at the end of my hands, find three checkpoints, get back in the canoe, struggle, er, I mean paddle another two miles or so to the second extraction point, get out again, defrost said frozen nubs again, find another four checkpoints, get back in the stupid canoe, paddle about a half-mile to another stupid checkpoint, get out, punch the dang card, get back in the damn boat, paddle a final half-mile to the final take out point then carry the damn tub to the rack where the nice men were waiting to take our boat! At one point, my partner and I tried turning the canoe around and paddling stern first thinking we could redistribute the weight thus helping us keep the thing straight—Wrong! It made our vertigo worse! We had to find land and turn the tub around and just bear with it until we were finally, mercifully, done. The "Poseidon Adventure" was over. To add insult to injury, once we dropped the tank, uh, canoe, off, we had to walk about a half- to three-quarter-mile to the checkpoint and transition area, UPHILL!

At the transition area, we were able to replenish our food and water supply and I took full advantage of that. I ate nearly everything in sight, almost completely depleting my entire food supply in those twenty minutes! There was a small luxury in finding a port-a-potty at the transition area also. For those of you reading this who have never done an adventure race before, and for those men who are reading this, let me tell you how difficult it is for a woman who has on three layers of clothing, plus polar fleece gloves, to have to squat in the woods! You try tying the drawstring on your pants with gloves on! Not only is it not easy, it is damn cold on the fanny!

By this point, eight hours after our race had begun, I was feeling the effects of the cold, the exertion, the fatigue, the lack of calories, the stress of the weeks leading up to the race, many things. None of which are good for someone who is looking at another four or five hours of racing ahead of her. This second section of the race was my weakest element—the biking. I had not trained enough in the months prior to feel very comfortable on the single-track trails. Against my better judgment, I went out with my partner for the biking portion of the race. From the beginning, I was uncomfortable, fatigued, and not enjoying the moment. The previous "Poseidon Adventure" on the water had drained me. It did not take long to realize that I did not want to continue at that point. I began walking my bike on many of the smaller hills. I just did not have the strength or the stamina to finish the race. It was a very agonizing moment to tell my partner that I wanted to quit. I knew that he was fully capable of finishing the race but he could not do so without me. I would force him to withdraw as well. He maintained a sporting attitude about the decision however and even decided to tow me on the bike on the way back to the transition area. There were many factors contributing to my falling apart, some had nothing at all to do with the race. Hey, life happens in between races ya know. Let's just suffice it to say that I bonked. Hard. But as a few good friends told me, "If you always succeed, then you haven't set your goals high enough." I like that.

It was a tough ride home that night. Lots of emotions were going through my head. What would people think of me for dropping out? What did my partner think? Would I do this again? What could I have done differently? So many thoughts. In the scheme of life though, this was one little race, one bump in the road. I will be back to try another long race; only next time, I won't have so much other stuff going on at the same time!

I commend Jason and Laura Elsenratt, race directors of Bonk Hard Racing, for putting on an excellent race. The time, energy, and thought it takes to put on this kind of race is immense. Kudos to them and the volunteers that helped in the frigid temperatures this February weekend!

Live Well, Laugh Often! "

Tune in tomorrow. I'll have Dan Murphy's race report from the Myrtle Beach Marathon.

New Beginings

I decided it was time for some changes, time for a new attitude. I think everybody goes through a phaze, probably a couple of times a year, where they just feel kind of stagnant. So, you make a point to make some changes. Usually, it involves some type of change to your appearance, a new hair do, or some new clothes. For me, it was shaving off that scraggly beard.


Then, you make some kind of lifestye change. I made the decision a couple of days ago to start Lent early and go on the wagon (that means to quit drinking for you tea-toddlers out there). The first thing I noticed was that I've dropped several pounds the last few days. Yeah! The second benefit, is that I seem to be sleeping a lot better. I don't plan on quiting forever. I like to drink. I do plan to permantly drop down to 3-days a week. That's a drop from 7-days. That will amount to about 1-bottle of wine, 10 beers, and a pint of Cuarvo or Crown Royal. do you think it will make a differnece? We'll soon find out.

Sunday I ran a breezy 7.5 on the treadmill. Monday I ran my first Quality workout since the trail race. I did 3 X 1-mile cruise intervals @ 6:58 pace (TP) with 1:15 rest in between. I'll try to get 2, maybe 3 more of these type or workouts before I leave for Florida a week from Saturday.

Florida, Here I Come!

I just registered for the Sarasota half-marathon. sarasotamarathon.com. Its Sunday, March 5. I'm flying into Tampa Bay on Saturday and driving down for the expo. I don't like the fact that it's at 6am (that would be 5am our time) but, I'll try to wake up earler each day the week before I go.

After I signed up Thursday, I did a brisk 5-miles on the treadmill. Just thinking about running in the warm sunshine really lifted my spirits and put a little bounce in my stride. I talked before about visualization. This technique is really effective when you are limited to running on a treadmill. So much of running is mental. First, just getting to the gym, or outside for a workout can be a chore for some people. You have to turn it into a positve experience, using whatever is necessary to do so. You have to get to the point where you want to go workout. Visualization is a key tool. That day, I was running along the ocean, I could hear the sea birds and even smell the salty water.

Yesterday, I hit the pool for a 30-minute swim and then lifted weights concentrating on my abs. I feel much better than I did a couple of weeks ago. I talked before about doing hard-easy days, and then I took it even further, saying that you should also take an easy week. These rest times are where your body really absorbs the hard workouts.

I've also introduced a new element to my workouts, the jump rope. I've always been a pretty good rope jumper, so, now I keep one in my back and do a couple of minutes before each workout to warm up. Yesterday a did on-legged jumps, 20 on each leg before switching and I would keep that up for about 3-minutes. It's a great little workout!

After the race, I plan to camp out at some of the cool state parks along the gulf. I'm heading out to buy a backpack tent right now.

My Funny Valentine

I met my ex girlfriend at Margarita's last Tuesday, Valentine's Day. I had lent her a book on running that I needed for as reference material for my blog. At least, that was the pretext I used. I just wanted to see her, again.

She dosen't want me to talk about her on my blog, so, I'll respect her wishes. She gave me a cute card and a little gag toy that was supposed to read my mind. I kidded her that she could already do that (or, so she thought). We had a nice visit and a nice time, her, sipping on her beloved frozen margarita and, me, slugging down my Cuervo margarita on the rocks.

They make the drinks very strong there, and things started getting a little hazy. I remembered the good times we used to have together, the blues festivals, the parites with our friends, the cool trips we would take, making love on my sailboat. But, it would only be a matter of time before....

I don't remember if we kissed good night or not. I got pretty drink off those 3 maragaritas. I still want her in my life, and close to me, but, I know she (and me) still have some issues to work through. Someday, maybe. I'll know when that time is right.

When I got home, I was thumbing through the book and found an envelope. Inside, was a cruise photo from our little 2-night, time share cruise we went on last September. Huricane Ophela wasn't too far away, and it made the smallish ship rock relentleslly. We had so much fun that trip. We looked so happy in that picture.

Happy Day After Valentine's Day!

For those of you coming from the Psycho link, Welcome! Here's some pics, and there are more pics and a race report in the posting below.



I did a 5-mile easy run at lunch with my boss and our buddy Bruce, who informed me I was running Brew to Brew. That's okay. He said thathis boss, who is really hot and had just broken up with her boy friend, is going to be on the team too.


I was still a little sore from the race, but, it didn't show until I climbed the steeper-than-hell hill at 16th St. If you have sorness in your hips like I do, keep it on flat ground.

I decided that I'm going to buy a nice mountain bike this weekend. Any recomendations? There are two trail duathalons I'd like to do next month.

Dan "The Man" Murphy

This is a running buddy of mine, Dan Murphy. He's going to South Carolina this weekend to run in the Myrtle Beach Marathon www.mbmarathon.com/. Sounds like a great place to run one. I checked out their website and they had reached their limit of 2,500 runners. That's mid-sized for a marathon. The picture to the left was taken a couple of years ago at the Freestate marathon in Austin. Dan had his PR there of 3:16. I know this, because he beat me by 1-minute there. Dan trains like an animal. He even had a 70-mile week leading up to this race, and regularly puts in 22-milers. He's 39 now, but will try to put up a time that will qualify him in the 40-yr old Boston bracket. I believe he'll need to run a 3:20 or 3:25 to do that. He's had some struggles lately. That happens when you're putting your body through the riggers of training for a marathon. Especially if you trying to qualify for the big one, Boston. Hopefully, he's had a good taper over the last couple of weeks and he's ready to lay it on the line.

Go get em Dan! We'll expect a full report when you get back. Dan's also a very competive triathalete. We'll get a more in depth inverview when he gets back.

I rested Sunday after the race. Monday, I rode the stationary bike for 3-minutes at lunch, and then lifted weights after work. Yesterday, I swam 30-minutes. I've already started to show some improvement. My first 50-meters were in 49-seconds which is 2-seconds faster than I've recorded yet. Also, my heart rate after each lap was down to 13-beats for 5-seconds. Last week, it was 14. So, I'm making progress.

WyCo Wacos

Well, it was 4:30am, and I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep. I didn't feel too hung over (buddie came in last night from Iraq), so, I couldn't think of any excuses not to run the trail race. I would rue that decision many times over the next couple of hours. There was a thin dusting of snow on the ground outside my house. I thought that would be fitting. I trail trace just isn't a trail race without a adverse conditions. On the way to the race, the light snow turned into a blizzard. I could barely see the road in front of me. I was getting a bad feeling about this.


As I pulled into Wyandotte Lake Park, the snow stopped and the wind died down. It was still cold, about 20 degrees, but that's nothing. The first thing I noticed was that were a lot of cars in the parking lot. Last year they had 45 runners. This year, they had a turnout of over 200. I didn't know there that many sado-masochist in KC. A lot of them must have been from out of town. There are a lot of trail racers who won't even do regular road race (too mundane), but will, willingly, travel a good distance to find a challenging, scenic course.


I've done the Chili run a few times, which runs on the road that circles the lake, and, it is hilly as hell. But, that's nothing compared to the trail. The trail was very well marked with little rad flags. The starter said that even "a blind polititian" could find it. I asked him "Demecrat or republican?" There's a difference, you know. I even led for the first quarter mile or so. Last year, only a handful of runners did the 10-miler. Oh, I forgot to mention, there were three distances, 10-miles, (actually 10.3), 20, and 30-miles. 1, 2, or 3 laps.

I let a couple more people pass in the first mile. It turns out that a lot more runners were doing the 1-lapper this year. The footing was treacherous, to say the least. There were rock and roots throughout. I got on a flat stretch that opened up to a meadow and looked around to enjoy the scenery. Big mistake! I hit a root and hit the ground hard. It wouldn't be the last time. I wore an old pair of trail shoes, but, they were still pretty slick. I'm going to have to invest in a new more advanced pair. So, you really had to focus on you footing on the entire trail.

Now, we started to hit some hills. They totally redefined the work steep. Lactic acid would flood your body at the top of each hill. You don't get that in road races.

We topped a big hill and there was a bunched up line of us. We were encountering a series of sharp, switch backs as we went down the hill. It brought to mind a slalom skier. Trail racing involves a lot of stabalizer muscles. I hate say this, but, I fell no less than 3 times through this stretch. Each one with an "$%@& me!" or, "Oh,@#%*!" expletive. I hope they thought I had Territes Syndrome.


I finally made it to the bottom of the slalom course. Then I looked up at, what seemed like, a sheer cliff. I mean I could have used a ladder to climb that hill. At the top, the trail ran along the crest for a stretch. The scenery and view from there was very nice. Be careful! Don't enjoy it too much. Then, it was down a steep, rock-strewn hill. I was a runaway train. I couldn't stop if I wanted to. I was just hoping that there wasn't a ledge at the bottom, because if there was, I was going to be airborne.


My body was really taking a beating at this point, the continuous, uneven footing, the steep hills, and the falls were starting to take a toll. To add insult to injury, my shoes were rubbing my left pinky raw. When will this nightmare end?

I really wasn't so concerned about racing at this point, as I was about surviving. I was holding this one guy off, though, then all of a sudden, he made a mad dash by me. We turned a corner, and there was the finish line. No time to make a counter move. He must have been familiar with the course. He, also, was in my age group. They only gave out one medal in each age group. All that for nothing.

I can't wait until next year!

Drinks: I'll tell you later

I did a 30-minute swim for Tuesday's workout. I'm not worrying about counting laps or anything right now. Just time spent in the water. It felt like I was working pretty hard. I could still feel the weight workout from the night before. Wednesday I ran 5-miles on the treadmill. Today, I swam another 30-minutes, but, felt a lot stronger. I lifted weights after work.

One of the categories on the Personals profile is labeled "Drinks:" 85% of the woman put down "drinks socially". Another option is "drinks frequently" or "drinks heavily", but, I've never seen any of those. You do come across "Doesn't Drink". These women basically fall into two categories 1) Fundamental Christians, or, 2) Those in Recovery. You'd be surprised at how common this is. Come to think of it, it makes perfect sense, where else are they going to meet men, at a bar? You can usually tell what category they fall in by the way they answer "Religion:” They'll say "spiritul, but not religious".

I've gone out with a couple that were in recovery. One had been in recovery for about 8-years and was very active in AA and even worked with the court system to help addicts and drunks in the system. Many alcoholics and addicts in recovery really take up the cause to save as many people as they can. She decided on another guy, but, fixed me up with another friend of hers in recovery. She was very sweet with sexy legs, but, we just didn't hit off.

I've been in contact with a couple of other women in recovery, the most recent was 8-months sober. Those in recovery can always tell you to how long it's been since they had a drink. It starts out to the day, then to the month, then to the year. She thought it might not be a good idea if we went out, because, you see, I drinks a bit. She said that even the taste of alcohol when we kissed might be enough to set her off.

I know exactly what she is talking about, because there is alcoholism in my family. I have one sister who is 25-years sobriety and is active in AA. My Brother-in-law, who lives in the house on the other side of my mother, will have 1-year in March. When he drinks, he doesn't stop until he needs to be hospitalized. Then, there's my little sister...

My mom took her in about a month ago. The alternative would be to sleep under a bridge. She got kicked out of Hope House. She met a guy, who was also in recovery. He made took up the project of getting her back on her feet. Personally, I would rather stick needles in my eyeballs than deal with her. She was sober almost a month, and had even got a job at the Salvation Army. Then, a few days ago, she just disappeared. No one knew where she went. She showed up the night before last, looking very, very bad. Yesterday, she begged to go to the hospital. It turns out she has a bad infection in her lungs.

Monday, I made up my mind that I wasn't going to drink that day. I don't consider myself an alcoholic, but, I do drinks a bit. I decided I should not drink that day because, well, I couldn't remember the last day that I did not drink. I don't want to give you the impression that I get fall down drunk every night, far from it, but I do drink almost daily, maybe 4 or 5 beers, or a bottle of wine, or a pint of tequila. I guess to most of you that would sound like quite a bit.

Anyway, I decided that I wasn't going to drink anything that night. I quit last year for Lent, and I'm planning on doing it again this year. In fact, I will probably start early this year. Around 9:00 that night, I had a strong urge to hop in the car and pick up a, just a quart of beer. But I fought it off, it wasn't easy. Tuesday night, I had no problem. Wednesday night was my TV night and I love to drink a bottle of fine Pinot Noir while I watch Lost. So I treated myself to a very fine one. Today, I felt a little bad about it. Nothing tonight, and I'm not going to drink tomorrow night either. I'm staying home to watch the Olympic ceremony and then I'm running in a trail race Saturday morning.

One result of the two-day abstinence is I that I lost 4 lbs in the last 3 days. I expect I'll lose another 1/2 by the time I weigh in tomorrow. I've been eating a regular diet (I'll tell you about it next week) and I've been pretty much maintaining my weight. That's a minor victory because I typically gain weight over the winter. However, not that I don't have the added 500 calories from my beverages du jour, its starting to melt off. Add the swimming and lifting I've recently added and I can already see the added definition throughout my body. Things are looking up.

Every Snowflake has a Story

Did you make your weekly plan? (see plan the work, work the plan). I decided to try a little running today to see how my hip was coming along. It has been 5-days since I've ran for over a mile. I did 4.3 on a treadmill during lunch and then after work I spent about 30-minutes lifting.

I made sure that I did some stretching (for a change) and that I started my run fairly slowly. I don't have a big race for quite a while. There's no reason to rush things. I'll swim again tomorrow. Then I'll run a little harder and a little farther Wednesday.

Yesterday, I compared women to snowflakes, with no two being alike. Have you ever looked closely at an individual flake. They are so intricate, so complex, and so beautiful. I think you could take a drawer full of cookie cutters, and press out about 90% of the male population. We (not me) are a pretty simple lot. But, women, that's another story.

There is a story behind each snowflake. Sometimes, it's a story of challenges. Just take last weekend's dates. Friday had a 20-year old daughter with Cistic Fibrosis. She was okay with that, though, like the had accepted the fate, the reality that her daughter would probably die in the next 10-years. Friday had become a Respitory therapist that works with children.

Saturday had a 17-year old daughter with Downs Syndrome. She's in high school now, but, Saturday home-schooled her for many years. Women can be so strong, probably out of necessity. It reminds me of my 88-year old mother who raised 8 kids while running a business, and, taking care my ailing father toward the end of his life. She also raised my 9-year old (he'll be 10 on 3/1) nephew from the time he was 5. Yes, women can be tough, as well as beautiful.

The great majority of women I've met on the internet have been married before (some still are). Sometimes their stories aren't the happiest. Take the Widow Mary, for instance, she had a baby with her new husband at the age of 40. Then, one day he becomes ill and dies. That had to be tough. Still is. She is just now starting to breakout into the dating world again. She onced thanked me for helping me breakout of her shell. Yeah, break out so she could see the other guy. "Hey, glad I could help" (that's sarcasm). I'm still crazy about her.

Friday was divorced. She was so happy when they were together and was still madly in love with him. I didn't get the whole story, but, I get the impression he left her for another woman. What else could it have been. That happened to another woman I went out with about 6-weeks ago. Her husband left her for her best friend. She even told of how her best friend spent the first few days with her (before she found out it was her) and would hold her through the night while she wept, uncontrollably. Even going through that, she confided that she was still hoping for a reconciliation. Now, that is sad.

They are like Snowflakes

This was taken while hiking the trail on the Napali Coastline of the island of Kauai. The most beautiful place on earth.

Today was another day of swimming. This time I set a goal of 30-minutes, 5 more than yesterday. I was a little concerned at the start because my left lat was strained from yesterday's swim. I just started slowly and was conscious of it throughout the workout and it was fine. I completed the workout with energy to spare. I'll try to run again tomorrow.

I had two dates this weekend. One was with a new girl. We went to a smoky bar called The Roxy. A great local band called Charlie and the stingrays was playing. She was a pretty cool chick, fairly attractive, with a nice butt. We talked openly all night, danced a lot, and put down some beers. Generally had a pretty good time.

I've been on dates with several different women in last few months. I'm amazed at the variety out there. They are like snowflakes, no two are alike. There's the obvious physical variety, but it goes way beyond that. Their base personalities are so different from each other, their backgrounds, their passions. That's one of the fun things about this dating mode I'm in, it's fun and interesting. I do want to find my one and only someday, and I'll commit myself totally to her. But, till then...

My date last night was with the poor cute girl. We went to see Brokeback Mountain, which was a fantastic movie. I didn't get as grossed out by the man love'n as I thought it would. I kind of envied them. I would love to have that kind of passion in my life.

That was our 3rd date. I think she likes me, though we are very different. In one respect, I think she is very repressed. She's into Tai Kwan Do. It seems to have been very good to her. She has an excellent body, very lean and muscular. We ended our date with a very nice, passionate, extended kiss at her door. Just enough to keep my coming back for more.

Going along Swimmingly

Today was my first workout after 3-days off. I felt pretty good. I should be pretty well rested. I thought I'd warm up with a couple of miles on the treadmill, a little stationary bike, and then some weights before I hit the pool for some laps. It didn't quite work that way. Even going very slowly, I could still feel a lot of hip soreness while running. I got that sinking feeling that something wasn't quite right. So, I headed for the pool for my first swim workout of the year.

I set a goal of 35-minutes. I did two laps on a 25-yard pool at a time. I would rest for about 10-15 seconds after each lap. After the first lap I was looking at the clock already. Just 34 more minutes. I'm not a natural swimmer. This is hard for me. My heart was already beating pretty fast. On one hand, that's good, it means I'm getting in a workout. On the other, it's bad that my body is working so hard and still going so slow. I guess there is only direction I can go from this point, up!

I also decided to incorporate flip turns. No more touch turns for me. If I can't be a swimmer, I might as well, kind of look like one. My buddy Mark McEchen gave me some instruction last season. The first one, not so good. Get closer to the wall before going into the flip. That one was much better, but running out of air. Try to time my breath better. Next one, I almost hit my head on the bottom. Look at the clock, Just 20 more minutes. Dang! It already feels like I've been swimming an hour and I'm not even half-way through. At least I have a little cutie in the lane next to me as a little distraction.

One more lap, nice turn. Look over at my cutie. No cutie, instead, I see a big fat whale of a woman. I start to wretch... Wait a minute! This is not right. I've been accused of being too preoccupied with female perfection. I don't think of myself as a shallow person, just the opposite, I like to think of myself as being "evolved". Maybe a more fitting term would be "evolving".

I stop, and take another look at this woman. She's wearing an underwater musical device and is doing some kind of water ballet to the music. She is a big woman. It's unfortunate that this is what most (I assume most, maybe it's just me) see when they look at her. Now she is putting on a scuba mask with a snorkel and is swimming along. She not only is working out, she looks like she having fun doing it. She is probably a pretty cool chick. Shame on you David! Shame on me for my initial reaction. This is obviously a woman who looked in the mirror one day (see my archived post, Mirror, Mirror..) and decided she was going to make the change, and took action.

Maybe I need to take another look into the mirror, the mirror of inner reflection, and ask myself "Do I need to make changes to become a better person?"

I had a date last night, and I have one tonight as well, but I'll hold off writing about them until tomorrow.

I ended up swimming for 25-minutes. I was take-a-nap tired. Swimming will do that to you. It's a different kind of head-to-toe tiredness. I'm going to hit it again tomorrow morning.

I should have listened to me

This is the "Grand Canyon" of the Pacific on the island of Kauai.

What was the first thing I said on Monday (Recovey mode)? That the minimum recovery time from a half-marathon was 1-week. Did I listen to my own advice? No. Did I pay for it? Yes. I started hitting some very hard workouts just 4-days after the race. Since then, I've had chronic fatigue, insomnia, and sore muscles. These are the classic symptoms of over training. The only cure, rest, total rest. I'm giving myself 3 days of no workouts at all.

That is very hard for me. Most people have a hard time getting themselves to work out at all. For me, it's getting myself the proper rest days. Rest, is an important element to the training formula. It's just as important as the workouts themselves. It's were the body absorbs the work you apply to it.

I was just looking at that March 19 Marathon date, and thought, if I was going to PR, I was going to have to squeeze every inch out of the time I have left. Well, there are no shortcuts. You can't go from point A to point C without stopping at point B. So, I'm going to have to reevaluate my intermediate goals. I could probably still do a March marathon, and even qualify for Boston. But, I want to PR in my next marathon. I think it would take at least another month to get there. The problem is, that would put me right into the Corporate Challenge season, and I've already stated that one of my major goals was to win a medal.

So, instead, I've decided to just take a regular vacation, maybe combining it with a half-marathon in Florida (my second home). I've also decided to shoot for a medal in the Corporate challenge triathalon. I actually place 4th one year. No small feat considering that I'm not all that great of a swimmer (in fact, I suck). Then, I could shoot for a half-ironman in the summer which would set me up for the KC Marathon. If things go right, I could even win the masters division. You have to think big!