Love & Running

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

Broadway Bridge 10k

2007-04-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

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A Reason to Belize

2007-02-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

I really have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of Belize City, but, I've always wanted to see some Mayan ruins. There were several kids at the ruin site with their pet baby crocidiles (mouths taped shut), or pet parrots, hoping you'd take a picture of them and give them a dollor. All this poor little girl had was kitten.

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Smile, You're In Jamaica!

2007-01-21T14:43:00.000-08:00

New Year's Eve, out to sea. New Year's Day in Montego Bay. Ya, Mon!

Running in Roatan

2007-01-18T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hey, I bet you thought I disappeared off the face of the earth. Well, it's a long story. I'll fill in some details eventually. There are a lot of changes for me on the horizan. It's going to be an exciting time.

I just got back from a cruise a couple of weeks ago. One of the stops was Roatan, Honduras. I skipped the tourist sites to the other side of the island, and just laced up my shoes and took off for a run directly from the ship with my trusty little backup camera. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is go for a long run and soak up the culture.

The Boulevard Cafe

2006-09-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

“This reminds me of Puerto Vallarta.”, he said to the woman sitting across from him.
“The bustling traffic, the store signs in Spanish, all we need is some mariachi, a beach, and we’d be back there”

They were sitting at an outdoor table of a Cuban café in the Spanish section of town. The sweltering Mid-Western heat had broken and it was a glorious afternoon. The kind you wanted bottle up and break out on demand. It was a complete turnaround from the violent storms of the day before.

“Can I bring you something from the bar?” asked the waiter, “Perhaps an ice-cold Dos Equis or a margarita?”

He contemplated the decision for several seconds. It had been over a week since he had a drink, ever since the operation. In that time his mental clarity seemed to have sharpened, as if a whet stone was applied to the edges of his perceptions. Before that, he couldn’t remember the last day he had not had a drink. The first couple of days were hard as hell. The car wheel wanted to turn into the parking lot of the liquor store, almost out of its own accord. He had to grip the wheel hard with both hands, which were shaking, forcing it to stay straight. And then, a half block down they stopped shaking and the desire for a drink had passed.

“No thanks, just ice coffee.”
She looked at him, mildly surprised. “That’s not like you to pass up a drink.”
“It’s the post-operative antibiotics I’m taking. At least, that’s as good a reason as any.”

Two large cups of iced coffee were brought out, the waiter took their lunch order and left.

“It looks like your hair is starting to grey. I guess Father Time is starting to finally catch up with you.” She said.
“Actually, it started turning grey many years ago. I just quit coloring it recently.”
“That’s going to cut into your chances of scoring with the younger chicks, won’t it?” She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

He just smiled without answering. He hiked his leg up which had a think bandage wrapped around the knee onto the extra chair. He was a lean and well-muscled man with the tawny look of someone who worked out hard and long in the sun.

“How is the knee? Will you be able to compete again?”
“It depends on which doctor you ask. The first one I saw didn’t sound too optimistic. But the second one, the one who performed the surgery said that I might be as good as before in a few months.”
“That must be hard for you. I know that competing was everything to you.”

The prospect of not being able to compete again didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. It was almost a relief. Like some intervening hand to let him know it was time for a change. He had even starting working with a young prospect, a beautiful Cherokee woman. He knew she had talent the second he saw her jogging on a track. She was tall and lean her muscles perfectly formed under her brown skin. She epitomized youth and vigor. Soon, he had her doing intervals and pushing herself hard. A few weeks later, she had won her first race, and he had shared in her exuberance. He felt more joy than if he had won the race himself.

“It’s nice to see you again”, he said.
She just gave a faint smile and then turned away lifting her face to the warm sun.
It had been two-months since their last break-up. She had a temper, this woman. But he always liked a woman with spirit. Being with her was like shooting the rapids, treacherous, but oh, so exciting. The last fight was about one of his “indiscretions”, even though, technically, they weren’t together at the time. But, just like that turbulent river, if you made a mistake, you paid the price.

He looked at her while reflecting on their past. She still looked good for a woman rounding the corner of forty, with youthful skin, a head of long thick reddish-brown hair and a tom-boy ruggedness about her. She could easily transition from the professional manager she now was, to the carefree hippy girl of her youth. Some of the best memories he ever had were experienced with this woman, and they started rushing by him…

He saw them together riding mountain bikes on the cobble-stoned streets of Puerto Vallarta in the old part of town, they dined on seviciy from a street-side vender, conversing casually with the locals then heading off into the Mexican countryside passing dogs sitting lazily in the middle of the road, up the dusty roads climbing higher and higher up into the green-covered mountains, reaching the misty peak and then rambling back down at break-neck speed, finally finishing off with a cool dip in a stream with large round river rocks and boulders. Later, they dined at a fine French restaurant on a terrace high over the town its beautiful bay spread before them. Large seabirds flew in disorganized flocks off in the distance. They toasted another red-gold sunset. Then they were walking along the boardwalk next to the beach taking turns swigging fine tequila straight from the bottle. They stopped and listened to the strains of a classical guitar strummed masterfully, the singer singing a sad Spanish love song. They found a lively bar, the band playing classic rock and roll but were soon thrown out for “dirty dancing” on the dance floor. Laughing, they headed back to their hotel room. Hand-in-hand t hey lay in their cabanas the next day watching group of young men, skillfully playing a game of soccer on the beach. His head hurt, but he smiled as he closed his eyes and again heard the crisp notes of the classical guitar from the night before.

And now, she was looking as if at something indistinguishable, off into the distance. He had seen the blank, empty look before and it never bode well. Stealing a line from a Rolling Stone song, she had what he called far-away eyes. She was the girl with the far-away eyes.

Still looking into the distance, she spoke. “During the storm yesterday I stepped out of my house and looked up into the sky and directly overhead was a cloud rotation. The warning sirens were blaring in all different directions. The rotation just stalled right there over my house for what seemed like an eternity. It looked like the water spinning around in the toilet bowel after you flush, only upside down and in the sky. Smaller, low-level clouds would pass by and then all of a sudden be sucked straight up through it like a vacuum cleaner. The center looked like an eye staring down at me. I just kept looking up at the spinning clouds, mesmerized. Then I started to wish that it would come down and take me. I wanted it to suck me up so that I could be with my Mother and Sister. I willed it to come down and then a funnel started to develop and curl down toward me. Then, just as suddenly, it stopped and retracted, and the rotating clouds moved off to the East. The sirens stopped and it got very dark. Lightening was flashing all around with deafening thunder. My neighbor touched my arm asking if I was all right and that snapped me out of my trance.”

He was quite a moment. Was she slipping into another depression?
“Have you been taking your Zoloft?”
“Sometimes I forget. Sometimes I forget if I’ve forgotten. Sometimes I don’t care.”

Again, a moment of silence, then she turned to him and looked directly into his eyes.
“Honey Buns, I don’t love you”
“What you feel for me doesn’t matter that much, it’s what I feel for you that counts”
“You don’t love me either. You are too much in love with yourself, all self-absorbed in your endless pursuit at beating men half your age, at bedding as many different women as you can”
“You think you know me so well, but you actually don’t know me at all”
“That’s because you’ve never let me in, never granted access to your inner thoughts. “That room was locked like a vault, like a padlocked diary.”

He knew exactly what she was talking about. Ever since he was a boy, he had kept his thoughts and emotions to himself. Over the years, he had built a wall around himself brick by brick until he a self-contained world. And it was a nice place, like a secret garden, protected from the outside world by the carefully constructed brick wall. Every once in a while he would let people in to sit with him and enjoy his garden, but, inevitably he would treat them like a visitor who had overstayed their welcome. Yes, it was a nice, but sometimes lonely world that he had made for himself.

“I don’t know why I get that way. I didn’t exactly have a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ childhood. There were so many of us jammed in that little house. Then, my dad started his drinking. He’d come in after bender and the shouting, fighting, and screaming would start. Being the youngest, I would go off and just shut it all out. I guess I’ve been shutting people out ever since.”
“I’m sorry you had a rough time, but that was a long time ago. It doesn’t matter now. Anyway, you never did love me.”
“Just because I didn’t say ‘I love you’ ten times a day doesn’t mean I didn’t. When I was with Yolanda I was required to say it all the time, ‘Good bye, I love you.’ ‘Hello, I love you.’, during lovemaking, ‘I love you’ had to be whispered in her ear. I hated being forced to say it all the time!”

She looked up into his eyes again, her face expressionless. “Just once would have been nice”

He didn’t have an answer.
He had retreated to his secluded world again. He heard her softly calling his name from the other side of the wall. He slowly walked to the wall and started to climb, struggling to get a finger hold in the mortar between the bricks. He was breathing hard now as he reached the top. He pulled himself up and stood precariously on the edge. The other side was nothing but water, a calm ocean glistening in the sunlight. She below, looking up at him, silently beckoning him to join her. Her fair skin and breasts were looking so inviting. She was slowly swimming away with long sweeping backstrokes. She was almost out of sight now in the reflection of the sun. He wanted to jump in and swim frantically after her. But he hesitated, ‘What if there are rocks just below the surface?’ ‘What if there is a stingray underneath waiting to stab him in the heart with his serrated barb on the end of his tail, the sharks lurking nearby to finish him off. She was completely out of sight now. He was going to lose her forever. He looked back down at the water. All the tension and fear left his body as he resigned himself to fate. He stepped off the edge and plunged into the waters below.

“Baby, I love you. I love you so much”

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Recovering from the injury I had a lot more time to do other things, like read. I've been reading some Hemingway so I thought I would experiment using his style.

Any resemblence of the characters to actual people or events is strictly coincedental. I realize that many of the elements need to be more fully developed to be a real short story. Think of it more like an abridged Reader's Digest version.

And I Called Her Betty

2006-09-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Each morning I start my day with a hike on a trail behind my house. One day after a late spring shower, a bed of flowers pushed up from the rich soil. One flower in particular caught my eye. It was not taller than the other flowers about it, but it just seemed more vibrant and with a stronger vitality than the other flowers.

One day the flower reached its peak. The morning sun broke through the clouds at that moment and cast a golden beam down upon the flower. She responded by spreading her bright yellow petals which were dripping with dew wide to the light. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I named her Betty.

Days passed and I would make my daily trek that took me by the field where Betty grew. I would always stop for awhile to say hello (yes, I actually spoke to a flower), and then silently observe the nature of the field. Betty seemed to be favored by the bees. One by one, they would patiently wait their turn to take in her life-giving nectar. She seemed almost to drape her petals around them like a mother suckling her baby.

The other flowers didn't seem to be jealous of Betty. On the contrary, they seemed to draw from her radiance and were happy to have her as a friend. One day a baby robin that had fallen from its nest took refuge under her leaves. "Don't worry my child, I'll protect you", she seemed to say.

Weeks passed and one by one Betty's friends wilted, lay down their stems and returned to the earth. But not Betty, her petals were starting to fray, her color, to fade. Still, she stood firm and strong against the wind, not for herself, but for all that drew upon her. Finally, she was the last flower left standing in the field.

That night, a violent summer storm descended. I knew that the blowing winds, pouring rain, and pounding hail would fell the magnificent Betty, and I was saddened by this thought.

I set out on my hike the next morning intent on gathering Betty's seeds, for a beautiful being such as her should carry on for future generations. As I rounded the bend that opens to Betty's field, I stopped in amazement. As far as the eye could see the field was filled with fresh yellow flowers dancing in the wind.

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I wrote the story above while taking a hike. The day before, my 89-year old mom, Betty, had a stroke. I went next door to my mom's house to tell my sister (the drunk) about it. I heard a scuffle in her bedroom and saw that her boyfriend was grabbing at her and she was kicking at him, crying. I physically threw the drunk out, he tried to hold on to the screen door and it got torn off. I called 911 and later in the day they grabbed him up because he had a warrant.

Of course, my sister bailed him out with the money she made at her garage sale, and while my mom was still in the hospital she shacked up with him in my mom's house. Yesterday, they broke into my brother's house to have a place to sleep. My other sister and I tried to implore my mother the kick her out permantanly. My mom, still weak from the stroke (thank God it was a mile one this time), was only worried about my sister living in the streets. This has gone on for 6 years now. 2 hours before her stroke, my mom was in a shouting match with my sister. I truly believe that she caused my mom's stroke. Still, she is only worried about her.

This is my life. Welcome to it.

From Recovery to Rehab

2006-09-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a side of me that I've never revealed to anybody. My inside. These are some photo-captures from the arthescopic camera during my operation two weeks ago. It seemed to have went pretty well. I even have a video of the operation taken through the knee-cam. It's pretty interesting. It shows the clippers going in and cuting away the tear, and then he goes in with another tool and kind of smooths out the edges.

The whole thing took about 15-minutes. One second, I was in the operating room with the nurses and anthesioligist (or whatever theyer called) bustling around, and in the next instant I woke up in the recovery room. I was startled and the first words out of my mouth were "What the Hell!". From the time I was in the operating room to the time I woke up in recovery it was about 40-minutes. I actually spent 2-hours in pre-op waiting for my turn on the table. I overheard the doctor saying that he needed to get to his softball game by 4. I guess he made it.

To be honest, my biggest fear was that I would be all groggy and my robe would open up in the back exposing my bare ass. Not that I don't have a great ass. I do. In fact, I would have showed it to any one of the nurses on request. It's just that I thought my mom might have seen. I don't think I could have lived with that.

That was two-weeks ago and yesterday I went in to get my stitches out. The doctor seemed to be really irritated that I didn't hobble in there on my crutches and the fact that I didn't have the bandage wrap around the knee. Though he did admit it appeared to be coming along ok. I didn't have the guts to tell him that I had mowed the lawn, lifted weights with the leg, and had even rode my bike 7-miles in the last few days. I didn't want him to fire me as a client. I may need his services again the future.

He made it clear that I wasn't to do any running or biking for another week, but, he said that could do some walking. So that's what I did yesterday. I went to the Bur Oaks nature preserve in Blue Springs. I was amazed at the beauty of the place and the abundance of wildlife, since it was so close to the suburbs. I went down this one trail that was actually closed. One of the bridges had a sink hole at the end. Well, rules never applied to me, and it was kind of nice having the trail all to myself.

There is plenty of excitment on the trail. I was concentrating on taking a close-up of a flower when this big bull snake skitered off from under my feet. I damn near wet my pants.

Towards the end of the hike I had my camera put away in my backpack. Of course, that's when I would stumble on the money shot. Just 15-yards in front of me was Bambi. We both froze. It would have made a fantastic shot. Just like Randolph Scott when he was face to face with a mountain lion and he slowly reached for his winchester in it's leather case, the lion ready to pounce any second, I slowly reached for my camera in the bag. But at the last second, the fawn bounded away, followed by another one that was hidden in the brush next to him. If it had been a mountain lion I would have been chewed to pieces. Randolph Scott always seemed to be able to get the shot off.

The Sound of Music

2006-08-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures from the Katy Trail. A popular section is at the Rocheport trailhead near Columbia, MO. This is a must do ride. Mid-October is a great time because of the fall foliage, but anytime is great. At the Rocheport trailhead, make sure you check out the tunnel about a half-mile to the West. After that, turn and ride the trail to the East. It is lined with white towering bluffs on one side, and the Missouri River on the other.

Walking out of the doctor's office two-weeks ago I felt like Julia Andrews in the scene from The Sound of Music where she is on the mountain meadow, arms wide spread, singing at the top of her lungs "The Hills are alive with the sound of music!" The prognosis was good. I had some cartilage tears, but with some arthescopic surgery I should be able to resume training as before. He said that other than the tears I had the "normal" wear and tear of an active "middle-aged" man. At that point I thought he must be a quack. I'm only 46 and not middle-aged. I put it down to near-sightedness. I'm sure he'll wear eyeglasses for the surgery.

I was so anxious in the waiting room. I had read the report from the MRI and it sounded dire. You would think that an orthopedic surgeon's waiting room would be filled with athletic people, with athletic injuries. Not exactly. It was filled with old people with walkers and I had a terrible image that this was my future.

I could see myself shuffling down the hallway with my walker, heading for the loo at the end of the hall which seems like a mile away. A decrepit old man, also with a walker, pulls up next to me, and then starts to pull ahead of me. I quicken my pace and edge ahead of him. Agitated, he surges ahead. Now the race is on! Neck and neck we pull through the hallway, the metallic clanging of our walkers echoing through the halls. The pace is frantic now, like a scene from the chariot race in Ben Hur, we are kicking at each others walker. Finally, I dislodge the tennis ball on the end and his walker slides out from under him on the slick tiles. He sprawls helplessly on the floor thrashing about like an overturned turtle. The prize is mine. I'm king of the throne.... Damn! Now I can't go.

Oh, Johnny B. Goode!

2006-08-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

I took a little mini-vacation to St. Louis last week. I started on Wednesday morning. I stopeed off at Rocheport and rode on the Katy Trail for a couple of hours. Luckily, there was a break in the heat wave and it wasn't a million degrees. I'll do a seperate posting on the Katy Trail soon.

My main goal for the trip was to see a rock'n roll legend, Chuck Berry. He'll be 80-years old in October. I made the mistake of waiting with Ray Charles, and missed the chance of ever seeing him. I wasn't going to do that with Chuck. He still tours regularly, quite a bit of it in Europe, but, he plays once a month in St. Louis, always on a Wednesday and always in the middle of the month. The bar is called Blueberry Hill and it's a pretty cool place. I was told they had a great hamburger. I'll definitly be back for that.

I didn't expect much from an 80-year old man, but he put on a hell of a show. He dosen't play long instrimentals but does short riffs on the guitar that sound as good as every. What really impressed me was his voice. He still has the same high voice that sounds clear as a bell. He adds a lot of humor and antics to the show. Basically, he entertains. This is a "can't miss show" If you plan it right, you can combine it with a Cardnals game like I did.

The guy in the white is Chuck's son, and the chick is his daughter.

This was the moring view from my room at The Millenium. It was nice to walk across the street and have The Arch almost all to yourself at dawn. There are a lot of runners in St Lou, and the riverfront was a great place for it.

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If you are a baseball lover, then you have to make the pilgrimage to the new Busch Stadium. What a fantastic park! I like the fact that their seats are both roomy and cushioned. Yes, cushioned! What a concept. I always get claustrophobic at Kaufman Stadium.

Rose brooks Triathalon 3

2006-08-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

What can be more exciting than a competive triathlon race? How about a women-only triathlon, the Rose Triathlon? Yes, I wasn't about to pass up on the opportunity of watching 200 or so beautiful, athletic women competing with all they had. It was held at Smythville Lake last Saturday morning. They day was overcast and fairly cool for August, perfect triathalon weather.

The chick in the first picture is my good friend Tiffany. She got 2nd in her age division. It looks like she got "nipped" in the end. Well, Tiff, like Ricky Bobby said in the movie Talidaga Nights, "If you ain't first, you last!" Better luck next time. Just kidding, great race. If you switch from the dog-paddle, you might win next year.

This was the first swimmer out of the water, Ashley Nicol Nolan. She's only 14. God, I feel old. She's a projected Olympian in 2008.

Rose Brooks Triathalon 2

2006-08-13T10:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, they came in all shapes and sizes, but, they all had one thing in common, determination!

The bikes ranged from sophisticated, $5,000 tri bikes, to something they found in the back of the garage. They dusted it off, pumped up the tires, and away they went. The area where they mounted their bikes was on an uphill slope, which made for some very interesting mounts. Some were comical, even to the competitors.

Rose Brooks Triathalon

2006-08-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

They started the swim leg one girl at a time, every 3-seconds, and in the order of their projected time. This was the first girl out of the blocks, and, true to form, she was the first to finish, by a long-shot. However, she only did the swim leg as part of a relay.

The start of the swim was funny, because, the water was very shallow, and the competitors had to slosh their way through the water for about 75-yards before the could dive in and swim. Some would dive in early, only to pop right back up because it was faster to high-knee it, than swim. It was quite fun to watch them frolicking through the water. I guess that turned the 500-meter swim into a 425-meter swim.

The entire race was made up of 75-meter slosh, 425-meter swim, 10-mile bike, and 5k run. It seemed like a nice course, and the race was very well-organized.

Reach Out

2006-08-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

REACH OUT

STREATCH YOUR LIMITS

AND YOU'LL BLOSSOM TO YOUR FULL POTENTIAL

I have fallen into a regular pattern since receiving my MRI results two-weeks ago. I alternate days of swimming and weight lifting. It seems very effective. I swim for 30-minutes and cover about 1,200 yards. At first, I was swimming intervals of 50-meters with 20-seconds rest. Now, I'm doing 100-meter intervals with 30-seconds rest. I used to view then as drudgery, but now, I finish with a feel-good sense of accomplishment.

On the alternate day, I do a 45-minute weight lifting session during lunch. I pretty much neglected this aspect of my training before my injury. I mean, I was pretty weak. I use free-weights for most exercises, and I'm really getting into it, and enjoying it. I've made a lot of gains, both, in the weight I'm lifting, and, in the way I look. Watch out ladies!

A typical session would include 3-sets bench press, 2-sets of 25 leg lifts in the roman chair, 2-sets of 30 on the crunch machine, 3-sets of lat pull downs or, bent over rowing (I'll do one or the other), 3-sets military press, 2-sets back extentions, 3-sets curls, 3-sets tricep press, 2-sets hip abductors, 2-sets of the squeeze your thighs together thingy.

I would love to work on my quads, hamstrings and calves, but, I want to see what the doc says tomorrow. The lifting has really helped my swimming. I can really feel myself powering though my strokes. I have to prepare my self for the possibilty that I may have to take up a new sport. I'll know more tomorrow. I hope he brings his scalpule with him.

Check Engine

2006-07-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

It seems I have been riding around for quite a while with my CHECK ENGINE light on. Actually, my engine is fine, humming like a Ferrari, it the tires, or chassis that's wearing out.

I finally got the results back from my MRI. The doctor had a model of a knee and was lifting bones and throwing out anatomical mombo-jumbo, what it came down to is, its pretty messed up. It's more like two different injuries, one, being the posterior ligaments. These are the ligaments that run along the left side of the right knee. This was the injury producing all the pain. It's starting to finally subside. Just in a nick of time to, I was running out of Tylonal-3's. At least the ligaments weren't torn.

The second injury, though not really painful, is the potential career-ender. The cartilage underneath the knee cap is damaged. If there is a tear or lesion in this lining, then you have a bone on bone situation. Not good. He didn't go into to detail, but was pretty sure that it would need surgery. I'm scheduled to see an orthescopic surgeon on Aug. 3. Who knows when the surgery will be scheduled. This thing has been going on since June 13. It has been a bummer of a summer.

I could tell that the doctor wanted me to be prepared for the fact that my running days might be over. I was really feeling down for a few days after that. I mean, people get much worse news from their doctor everyday, so, in that respect, my problems are trivial. Still, I was bummed.

I've been very active in a lot of different sports my whole life. I used to play a lot of basketball and tennis, both of which are hard on the knees, and several other sports, too. My knees have been pretty solid, but, over time, all that wear and tear can take it's toll on the knee cartilage.

I read that there is an epidemic in osteoarthritis. That's the arthritis due to the wear and tear of ligaments. The main cause is because the average weight of Americans is so much higher. The airlines did a study on why their fleet was getting the same fuel efficiency and they determined it was because the average passenger was 10-lbs heavier than just 5-years ago.

I think my slight pudge contributed to my knee problems. That and the 1,500-miles I ran each year since August, 2000. Here is link to a Body Mass Index Calculator. If you are big-boned or thickly muscled, then shoot for the high side of the normal range. If you have a light frame, like me, then shoot for the low side. I'm currently on the high side of norm. Calculate your BMI, then leave it in a comment, please, as well as your gender and age. You don't have to leave your name. I can figure that out from the other three.
I have some strategies to being active and/or competitve, into your latter years. So check back.

All Messed Up

2006-07-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

First off, I'd like to appoligize for the quality (and quanity) of my writing lately. I just haven't had the time or energy latey to much into it. Someone left a comment recently that I seemed "self-abosrbed" (SA). I appreciate this type of feedback. The more I think about it, he (she) is probably right. How can you not be SA when you are a 46-year old single man with no children, and, very goal-oriented. Or, maybe I'm all that, because I'm SA? Hmmmm...

A certain degree of SA is probably ok, at least for a limited time if you're in pursuit of a goal. I think even a married person with children owes it to themselves to have aperiod of SA, such as, when the are trying to qualify for Boston, or even the Ironman Championship in Kona. Might as well think big. Nobody should go through life, thinking "What if?"

The reason I started are this blog are multifold. First off, I wanted to motivate people to take up an active and healthy lifestyle. Secondly, I wanted to hone my writing skills. Just like working out, the only way to become a better writer is to write on a regular, consistant basis, and to stretch your limits. Third, I wanted to showcase my photography. And lastly, I thought I could use it as a means of self-discovery, by answering questions of myself, and, accepting feedback from others.

I chose a dual topic, Running & Love (or the pursuit, thereof), specifically, internet dating. In one subject, I'm very knowledgable. The other, not so much. Well, things kind of got messed up. The girlfriend that I went to Puerto Vallarta with last April, and I, were on a break. I had been "kicked to the curb", again, when I wrote about the Branson girl. A few days after that, we decided to get back together. Everything was cool. I thought she had even read the revealing posting. She hadn't. When she did, less than a week into our reconciliation, she called me a slut, and "kicked me to the curb", again. Apparenetly, she's never been informed about the well-established, double-standard.

So, I'm out on the curb again. I am back to scouring the personals, but, I'll refrain from writing about it for awhile out of respect for her. It kind of reminds me of the Friends episode: "We were on a break!"

Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee

2006-07-08T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well, my Branson woman wrote me two days after I got back and said that a guy she had dated previously had proposed to her and that she had said yes. Of course, she is going to have to wait two more weeks until her divorce becomes final. Some people are just meant to be married. Maybe not to the same person the whole time, but married.

My knee is still hurting, and is pretty swollen. I found a doctor and will see him in 4 days. I've only worked out one day in the last week. I have also gained
9-lbs. I should probably just bite the bullet and give my knee total rest for another week (at least), but, I can't do that. Instead, I'm going to swim everyday until the doctors appointment.

The Xterra Du is one week from tomorrow. I guess I could just rest the knee and still race. We'll see how it goes.

What Happens in Branson, Stays in Branson

2006-07-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures from the KCK Street Fest. The older lady is local legend Cotton Candy, and the old guy in top is Louisiana Red, and the one below is 91-year-old "Honey Boy" Edwards. Don't you just love the names of these old blues legends?

If you remember, I mentioned in a posting a couple of weeks ago about a "hankering" I had. Well, I took care of that this weekend. People are looking for two different things on the internet personals, some, true love, others, just want to have a little fun. Me, I'm looking for the first, but, I'll also settle for the latter. A few weeks ago, these urges were very strong, and this weekend was from searches from that period. She actually lives in Joplin, over two-hours away, which, for me, was perfect.

I booked a room in Branson, with an in-room hottub, of course. I took her to dinner at the Chateau on the Lake where we had a spectacular view from our table on the veranda. Then, we saw a great music and magic show. Then, it was back to the room for a lot of steamy, hottub sex.

Will I ever see her again? Maybe, maybe not, but we'll both have some fond memories of that night. One thing that scares me to death about the prospect of marriage is the fact that I would never have sex with another woman again. I'm sure could learn to deal with it, because, I plan to get married someday. So, I guess I'll have to learn. That, or find a very understanding woman. :)

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I couldn't workout for several because of the pain in my right knee. I wish I new what was wrong with it. It felt a lot better today, so, I went on a 47-mile bike ride, my longest of the year. I felt pretty good after it too. Though, I took a long nap afterwards. Happy 4th of July!

Single - Never Married

2006-06-24T11:15:00.000-07:00

marital status - Single, Never Married. That's the option I have listed in my yahoo personals ad. You can check it out by going to the Yahoo personals site and searching on keyword "notanordinaryman".

Sometime, when I tell someone on a date ( or e-mail ) they look at you like "What's wrong with you?" Sometimes, they will actually come out and say "What's wrong with you?" That's a hard one to answer. Is there something wrong with me? I guess I could just easily respond back to them "You've been married twice, what's wrong with you?!" I may have actually done that once or twice. I don't want the door slammed at the get go, so, I usually tell them something like, Oh, I've been close a couple of times, but, fate intervened, or the timing was just never right, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada yada.

Recently, I've given it some thought, why am I single, never married, at 46? It may be something hereditary because two other of my 7 siblings never married. And it wasn't because we are dogs either, I come from a family of attractive, intelligent people. I guess if you throw double marriages of 3 of my sibs, then we've all had our allotted one marriage.

So, is it hereditary, or is there something inherently wrong with me? Maybe it's environment (sounds like a scientific research ) I wasn't really exposed to a happy-couple family unit in my formative years. This wasn't really anybodies fault, my dad had a very debilitating disease, so he wasn't an presence in my life. But, he was for my other two, older, unmarried sibs. So..why?

I've read that love is associated with a chemical reaction in the brain. My I'm deficient in some hormone or something. I mean, I felt infatuation several times in my life, but, I don't really go goo-goo over anybody.

Maybe, I've just never met anybody worth going head-over-heels over. I do see myself being with the One, someday. My biggest fear is, not getting in a bad, tumultuous relationship, but, to get in a relationship that turns "lifeless." I'll talk on this subject more latter. I'd love to hear you thoughts on love and marriage. I have to start packing for my trip to Branson.

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After 6-mile run a week ago Friday, my knee got stiff and showed some swelling. So I didn't workout at all for two days and just lifted on Monday. This was hard for me because I wanted to go on a long ride that weekend. Tuesday, I did some light mountain biking, but Wednesday, I hooked up with a group of very good mountain bikers. We hit some very difficult trails at Landahal Park and it was an excellent workout for upper body, legs, and from a technical skill stanpoint.

Thursday, I did 20-minutes of eliptical which might have aggrevated my knee. I'm icing it as I write. Friday, I had a good threashold workout on the stationary, after a 5-minute warm up I tried to maintain 21.0 mph for 10-minuetes, then 5-min of easy spinning, then another 10-min hard. It wore me out. Felt good. I need to get in some good quality workouts, the Xterra Duathalon is in two-weeks.

The pictures below were from the KCK Street Fest. There will be some more in the next week or so.

Song for Michah

2006-06-22T18:39:00.000-07:00

A lot of of concerned friends of Rod have asked for details of last Friday's tragedy. Here is a link to the local news report: link to news report

Below is a poem I wrote. It's my belief that, eventually, the memories of the boy will shine through the pain.

The Boy by the Lake

We head for the Lake, as summer descends
It will be a day filled with family and friends

The Boy runs free, to laugh, and to play
The sun shines down, on this glorious day

He takes off his shoes and socks
To play in the in the cool waters, among the rocks

The surface of the water, shines and glistens
The Lake whispers, and the Boy gets closer and listens

But below the surface, it’s dark and deep
The Boy slips into the arms of Eternal Sleep

The rescuers lay the boy at my feet
Hardened men, but bowed in defeat

My anguished cry pierces the sky
Please, Lord, please tell me why!

Why did you take away my joy?
Punished for the crime, of being a boy

The Somber Ceremonies are performed
And I walk the Lonely Shore once more

I gaze into the Lake, at my reflection
To see a face etched in pain upon inspection

Instead, I’m amazed to see
The face of the Boy smiling up at me.

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Yesterday, I joined a Tiffany (see Ultra Woman, in Feb archives) and her regular Wednesday night mountain bike group. They meet at the Smythville trails at 6:30. Most of them are very good riders and some of them are championship level riders. The trails there are very good and the group ride mentality takes over and they ride it very hard. The larger group breaks up into several, smaller groups of riders of a similar level. It's good practice for the mountain bike race. I don't know the trails I don't take the lead, but follow closly on the rider in front of me. It's a rocky and winding trail, but, you just follow the line of the guy in front of you.

My weekness right now is my upper body. As I mentioned before, mountain biking is pretty much a full-body workout. I hold my own for an hour of hard riding, but, now my arms are starting to fade. It's getting harder and harder to make the sharp turns or to position my body just right going up and down the hills. I'm getting sloppy. Finally, we reconnect with a slower group and I join them. Still, I held my own pretty good for not knowing the trail, not taking enough water or eating before the ride. Overall, it was an ass-kicking workout, and a lot of fun.

Monday, I swam for 20-minutes at lunch, then mountain biked for an hour afer work. Tuesday, I lifed weights pretty hard at lunch, and them rode 25-miles on my road bike. Wednesday, was the mountain biking above. Today, I just swam for 20-minutes.

Why?!

2006-06-19T18:35:00.000-07:00

The first thing I do when I get to work is read my e-mails. I called in last Friday so I expected a lot of mail to sort through. One left me stunned. It was from a co-worker on my team. She said that "They had recovered the body Rod's Grandson out of the lake on Saturday". I just stared at the words in disbelief. Rod is my boss. Micha, is his 8-year old grandson that lived in Texas.

I remembered when Rod brought the boy to work as a toddler. He was so cute. I've heard Rod talk to the boy on the phone several times. He's often talked about him, how he was getting so big. He was destined to be a linebacker. My eyes filled with tears and I lay my head down on my desk. Why?!? Why do things like this have to happen to such good people.

There was a link in the e-mail to the local news that had a video clip of the incedent. The Family was on an outing at Lake Buchanon, as huge lake in Texas. He was last seen playing on a sandbar with friends. Then,... he was just gone.

He was a pretty vivacious kid, and 8-years old love to explore. I could just see him on the sandbar, maybe something in the water attracted his attention and led him to seperated from the other kids. Maybe he slipped, unnoticed into the water and there was a sudden drop off. I could picture him, calling out, struggling to keep his head above water, but, there was nobody there to hear his calls. One minute, he's just having fun, and the next, he's slipping into darkness... forever.

Rod is the greatest boss a guy could ask for. He's seen a lot in life. He has two purple hearts from Viet Nam. If I was a soldier, and he was my leader, I would follow him into the depths of hell. He's had to deal with alot in life, including health issues in his family, recently. But, how do you deal with the death of a grandchild that you cheerished? I know that if anything happened to my nephew, my world would end, I mean my world would end. Rod, my heart goes out to you.

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I rested Sunday, but today, Monday, I swam for 20-minutes at lunch, then I went to the Minor Park trails for a little over an hour of mountain biking. I found a nice little offshoot that took me up on a steep climb up the side of a hill and to some, what hard core mountain bikers call "Tasty Goodness", a section of rocky trail that will test your skills. I've come along way since that first mountain biking trip last March.

Soul Rider

2006-06-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

I was planning on meeting a group of riders at Smythville for a ride today, but, when I got out of bed, I was feeling yesterday's work pretty hard. Yesterday's workout consisted of running around a waterpark, non-stop for 4.5 hours with my 10 year-old nephew. Yes, I'm logging that as a workout.

After doing a little yard work, I was feeling good enough to do some riding, all by myself, a sole rider. A lot of people would cringe at the thought of spending several hours of solitude on a bike. They have to fill the time with mindless chatter.

Most people spend their time on group rides. There's dozens of them around town of all different levels. Most of the people are tied to their speedometers. "What's your average speed?" I think a macho factor takes over, too. They have to show up the others in the group. I think, most of the time, they ride a little harder than they need to.

Don't get me wrong, group rides are an important part of training, and I plan to do quite a bit of it this summer. But, sometimes it does a body, and mind, good to just head out on your own. For this ride, you might even choose to take a couple of hits of whatever mellows you out and puts you into a good mood, St. John's Wort, or, whatever you preference.

It's also fun to pick a course that you've never ridden before, to do a little exploring. Also, leave the MP3 player at home too. You want get into the surroundings, listen to the different birds, the wind through the trees. There were a lot of sandpiper along the river, and their shrill squeaks would take me off to the Gulf shore.

When I parked the car at a trailhead for the Little Blue Trace trail. A scout troop was having a biking outing. What a healthy thing to do. Just get out with your kid and have fun on a bike. One of the parents got chewed out for leaving some kids a lone for awhile. "There has to be at least one adult with every child at all times." What a said state of we've reached. When I was 10, my friends and I would go off to the park on our own for hours.

I would just ride a long, and, if the road looked good, I'd head down it. Roads with names like Bundshu, Eureka, or Holke. There were a of of Ozark-like hills on my route. You'd have a nice payoff after a long steep climb of a panoramic view of lush, green valleys, and a freefall going down the other side.

Your mind really wonders on rides like these. It's important not to let your mind dwell on the problems and worries of everyday life. Instead, just let your thoughts go where they want to. I rode over a bridge and felt like I was in a cloud of swifts, darting to and fro, they'd catch a bug, and then deliver it to their brood, waiting in the mud colonies on the underside of the bridge, and then they'd dart off to catch another.

It might be a good idea to get a GPS for these types of trips. I was able use the Little Blue river as a point of reference, so I didn't get lost, but, I could see that happening. I guess worse things good happen. In the end, I rode 30, hilly, miles in a couple of hours. I felt a nice sense of tiredness when I got off the bike, so I know I did my body good, but, more importantly, I recharged my soul.

New Direction

2006-06-13T17:54:00.000-07:00

This is another picture of me my jr. in HS, circa 1977. 29-years ago. I wish I had that hair again. I wish I had that body fat. I weighed 147-lbs then. I weighed 147-lbs when I got out of college in 1983. I'm down to 170-lbs right now. Most people consider me fairly lean. Not hardly.

Before I go any further, I'd like to point out the comment left by anonymous on my last posting. It's the most heart-felt, well-written piece of writing you'll find anywhere. She (possibly a he) should be syndicated. I'm glad I can elicit such responses. That's all I ask, all I promise I'll write from the heart, and I want you to respond in kind.

Well, the Corporate Challenge debacle is behind me. I showed up for the duathalon Sunday, new that I didn't "have it", so I just kind of jogged through it for the participation point. I did ride the bike fairly hard, for the workout.

I've been facing something for the last several months that I don't want to reliquish to. I may becoming arthritic. God, I hope not. I don't recover nearly as quickly as I used to. This week, the pain is in my knee. Before that, It was in my hips.

I didn't met my goal this year of winning a medal in the corporate Challenge. The funny thing is, if I would have competed in this week's races, three weeks ago, I think I would have won a medal. I came in 2nd in my age division in the Heritage Du and felt great. But, I didn't bounce back from that race. I took it easy for a week, but, in the next week's workouts, I just nevewr recovered that spring in my step. The funny thing is, a week from now, I'll probably be ready to kick some ass again. Such is Life.

My next, primary, long-term goal, is to post an impressive time in the KC Marthon next fall. I know that my body is not going to take the pounding of a lot of running miles. So, plan to hit the bike, hard, both road and mountain. In fact, my next key race is going to be the Xterra triathalon, July 16.

I've been running at least 5-days a week since August, 2000. Maybe I just need a little break from running. Let's go back to the hard-easy approach. You normally think of that on a day-to-day approach. Then, I brought up the fact that you need to put in one easy week for every month. Well, you can aplly that to an even bigger, macro period. It is probably a good idea to take a little Sabatical every few years. Maybe I've entered a period where I need that. One thing I've noticed about coming out of an easy period, you can usually punish your body in ways that you could never before imagine.

So, this is the plan for this summer, I plan to switch the focus to bike riding. At first, I'm going to do a high volume, low-intensity style of workouts. I'll probably do just two runs each week, the Monday 31st route of 5.6 miles, and the Wednesday morning runs to the Plaza, 9.5-miles. We are supposed to start those tomorrow. We'll see. My ultimate goal is to ride close to 200-miles a week. I'll count mountain bike miles as double, which is probably about right.

On Monday I ran the traditional Monday 31st route, a very hilly 5.6-miles during lunch. I ran it a pretty good pace, maybe 8:15 miles. Today, my knee was sore and I didn't do anything.

Below is a poem that is from a movie I watched last night. It was the last poem a man wrote before he died. there is a prise for whomever can tell me what movie it was from. It's one of my favorite movies. Hint: the movie was in black and white.

How calmly does the orange branch
Observe the sky begin to blanch
Without a cry, without a prayer,
With no betrayal of despair.

Sometime while night obscures the tree
The zenith of its life will be
Gone past forever, and from thence
A second history will commence.

A chronicle no longer gold,
A bargaining with mist and mould,
And finally the broken stem
The plummeting to earth; and then

An intercourse not well designed
For beings of a golden kind
Whose native green must arch above
The earth’s obscene, corrupting love.

And still the ripe fruit and the branch
Observe the sky begin to blanch
Without a cry, without a prayer,
With no betrayal of despair.

O Courage, could you not as well
Select a second place to dwell,
Not only in that golden tree
But in the frightened heart of me?

Music Festivals

2006-06-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite times of the year, early June. There's a festival pretty much every weekend. This week's selection was the Gladstone Blues Fest. A very nice event. Quality music, a beautiful setting, bright moon, cool breezes, cold beverage, tasty buds, good friends,and fine young hoochies in short, tight skirts shaken it in front of the dance floor.

June has another strange effect on me. I get extremely horny. You may have noticed that I haven't written too much about my dating life lately. Well, having a girlfriend will put quite a damper on that. Don't get me wrong, I was dating a cool chick (still am, I hope), but, after a couple of months of spending every weekend with some one, and especially, this time of year, I get a real ansy. Sometimes, I just get overcome with a clostrophobic-like feelings. They usually pass after a while, and can be warded off with a scheduled "off" time. But, if I wait to long...

So, I've been hitting the personals pretty hard lately. I have a hankering for some strange. I almost hooked up with a bi-sexual woman (best lovers), but she got mad when I told her that I hadn't updated my profile in a while (3-years) and that my age was off by a few years. I did get contacted by a woman in Joplin. Now, you wouldn't think that there would be much of a future dating a woman that's over 3-hours away, but, she was fairly attractive so we e-mailed, casually.

Yesterday, at work, she said that her company was going to put a block on her home e-mail access and that she may contact me through her company e-mail. I said that if I saw that it was the case I wouldn't say anything "racy", then she came back "What do you mean by racy? " And from there it just kind of took off. I'm not usually into the chat room sex thing, but, this got pretty intence. It started off slow and subtle, but, built to the point where it was very graphic, and very hot. I could tell I was having an effect on her, and I could tell that she was having an effect on me. The fact that I was doing it from my work address added another, erotic element to it. It was like making out passionately on an elivator at work, not knowing when the door would open, or who would be on the other side to catch you. After the last responce, I didn't hear from her for a while. I think she had to go off somewhere and finish the job. I felt like lighting up a cigeratte.

The day after the 800 debacle I felt a little stiff. I pretty much did an easy spin on the stationary for about 30-minutes. Tomorrow is the race. I don't expect too much. But, with a good night's rest, who knows?

The Agony of Defeat

2006-06-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

This was a picture of me in my glory days of high school. That's Eric Link in the pic with me of Southeast H.S, a real cool dude. He later went on to run in college, him and Willis Ware were a year ahead of me.

I pulled that pic out to kind of cheer me up. I ran the Corp. Challenge 800 tonight and totally bombed. Three weeks ago, I was feeling pretty strong. I just never recovered enough after that to get in the track work. Mr. Lactic acid reared his ugly head. My body just wasn't prepared for it. The only way to prepare for it is to experience it before the race.

This was a big showcase setting, with a lot of competitors and a lot of spectators. Plus, you have that added pressure of not letting your team down. I felt totally dejected. That's the beauty of the sport, or any sport, for that matter. Everybody experiences failure at some point. It can be quite humbling at times.

I have one last chance at a medal. The Duathalon is in two days. It all depends on how my body feels on that day. This race may actually help. It's not so long as it zaps you, and, it might have woke up a few fast-twitch muscles that I'll need cycling the hills of Shawnee Mission Park. Oh, no...

Girls on Bikes

2006-06-04T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the last set of bike pics (I promise). These are some Division I riders in the criterium. Their scores combined with their teams men's scores to determine the National Title. Davidson of California took the title.

I love seeing women athletes. I wish there were more in this condition in their post-college days. Get that women? Get on your bike and ride!!!

On Friday, I did threshold intervals on the stationary bike. I warmed up 5-minutes, then I would bump up the gear and maintain a speed of 21.0 for 10-minutes. Easy spin for 5-minutes, then another 10-min at threshold. Then I jumped on a treamill to finish off the brick workout. A brick is when you do a good ride and then follow it up with a run, to got your legs ready for the transition from bike to run in the du or tri.

Yesterday, I rode for 1.5-hours of mountain biking at Landahl Park. I'm getting a lot better on the technical parts, don't fall over nearly as much. I contiplated doing a race there at noon today, but, it was raining pretty good when I woke up so that helped make my decision. Besides, I have two races this week, 800 on Thur, and duathalon on Sunday, so I want to be fresh. I've bike my way into decent shape, even though I'm carrying a few extra pounds. I may suprise my self.

Mission Accomplished

2006-06-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

I first did a posting on Tim on Jan. 23 (see archives). He wieghed 261-lbs. on that day and he stated that his goal was to weigh 240 pounds by June 2, the day he was leaving for Hawaii for scuba diving for his 20th anniversary. He's leaving tomorrow for a two-week trip. Aloha, Tim. He weighed in at 236.5 this morning, beating his goal by 3.5 pounds!

That's 25-lbs in 4 1/2 months. Pretty impressive. To the right, is the picture I took back in January. You can really tell a big difference when you see him in person. A person doesn't lose 10% of his body weight without it being noticable.

What helped him acheive his weight loss was the fact that he set very specific goals. He wrote them down, and, he went the additional step of telling people what they were, just to add a little more pressure. That's a good stratagy. You start with a long-term, measurable goal, them make a series of short-term goals to get you there. Like, lose 5-lbls this month, or, walk 20-miles this week.

I also believe that the goals should be somewhat challenging. I like to use the 50% rule. That means, that with hard work, you still have only a 50% chance of meeting the goal. If you don't quite get there, so what? You probably still get futher along than if you had set an easy goal and made it. Also, the feeling of accomplishment you get when you achieve a difficult goal is fantastic. You got that Shela? A trip to Boston is waiting for you. But have to want it.

Yesterday, I ran to the track and did 4 hard 200-meters, and ended with a hard 100-meter. I have to get my body used to the fast pace of the 800, which I race in next Thursday. The distance to and from the track was almos 4-miles. I was a little sore today from that workout, but, I felt compelled to do a 15-mile bike ride, because some bastard brought a bunch of pasties to our group at work today. I had 2 1/2 creame-filled, chocalate-covered long johns. That son of a bitch.

Footprints in the Sand

2006-05-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

I walked this beautiful Florida beach, took in it's treasures of nature, saw the Osprey on it's huge nest, watching me with guarded disinterest. I watched the sun set over the Gulf, casting it's golden rays upon the white sand.

I walked this beach. Look behind me and you'll see my footprints in the sand. They are proof I was there. Ha! They'll be gone in an hour, swallowed by the winds and the tide. Such are the temporary nature of monuments to our existence.

Yesterday, I walked through an old, country grave yard. I pulled away some vines and read a bleached-white tombstone that had fallen over and broken in two. The letters were almost worn smooth. "James T. Watson - Died June 7, 1882". Almost 125-years that testament to the man's existence had lasted. I wonder if anybody is still around that recalled the man. Maybe there's a photograph of him tucked away in a shoebox, in an attack somewhere. Maybe there's an entry for him on some lineage database, stored on magnetic tape. I know that he existed. I saw his tombstone, his footprint.

The Calusa Indians lived on this island. Five-centuries ago, Xuanatu-Xi, son of Tsantaa-ze, walked this same beach. He was a brave warrior and a fine artesian. He made the feather-and-bead headdress that was worn by the chieftains of his tribe for 4-generations.

The Calusa buried their dead in shell mounds, which became quite large over time. With no written language, the history of their ancestors was passed through songs and stories. They were a proud, powerful people, with a well-developed civilization. All of the tribes from the West coast of Florida to Lake Ochecobee paid them tribute

The Spanish came in the 1500's, and, with their diseases and guns, they ended the Calusa people. The shell mounds were used to make the nearby highway. "We didn't know what they were", they said.

Yes, I walked this very same beach. Just look at my footprints in the sand.

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I spent the Memorial Day weekend at Lake Leatherwood near Eureka Springs, Ar. They have excellent mountain biking trails and that's what I did Satuday and Sunday, about an hour each day. That's about all the mountain biking my body can take right now. I ran an easy 4.5-miles on Monday. My legs felt sore and stiff, so all I did was 10-minutes eliptical, 10-minutes of stationary.

I kind of put on some weight while on vacation. I made a pledge to not drink any alcohol until the Corporate Challenge Duathalon a week from Sunday. I made it today. The first day is always the hardest. After mowing the lawn tonight, I wanted a beer soooooo badly...

One Shining Moment

2006-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Shelby, the daughter of my running buddie/ex-girlfriend Shela, played in the National Championship game of the NCAA Div II tournament. The shots above are of her scoring the winning run that sent Emporia State into the finals. This was Shelby's Freshman year, and like most Freshman, she saw limited playing time. But, when she got a her chance in the big game, she delivered. That's what winners do. I'm sure she will become a key player Emporia. Maybe next year they'll win it all.

It should be noted, that I did give Shelby a lot of pointers when she was 12 and Shela and I were dating. Looks like she was listening. She was a winner even back then. Well, now that softball is over, Shela doesn't have any more excuses to not train. I hope you feed off Shelby's example and make a athletic statement of your own. Boston, maybee??

I ran an easy 4-miles today after work. Still not quite recovered from Sunday's race. Should be good to go tomorrow, though.

Bike #2

2006-05-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

I still have a lot of pics left from the bike race in Lawrence. Here are some more. I'll put some more out in a couple of days.

Yesterday was a recovery day. I'm usually pretty sore the day after a race and yesterday was now exception. I walked to the River Market and rewarded myself with a slab of ribs. I was still a little sore today, but, I ran about 2.5 miles and then rode the stationary bike for an easy 15-minutes. I've really become a proponent of the bike lately. It seems that I can get some quality workouts in, and it's still easier on my body. I plan on giving myself a heavy dose of bike riding this summer.

I have a mile-run time-trial tomorrow. It's for the Corporate Challenge tryout. There is some competition, but, I'm pretty confident in my abilities. I was once an athlete, you know.

#2 Tries Harder

2006-05-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday was show time. Time to see what I had in me. I honestly didn't know what I could do. I wasn't even sure if my calf would hold out. It was a great day in May. The heat was no problem at 7:30am. I felt really good. It was one of the few times that I actually got a good night's rest prior to a race. The key is to wake up early the day before.

The duathalon was a 2-mile run, an 11-mile bike ride, ending with a 3-mile bike ride. I didn't have the heavy legs you usually feel when you get off the bike and start the run. In fact, I felt pretty strong. I even finished with a little left in the tank.

I got second place in my age division, a pleasant suprise. I haven't ran over 15 total miles in the last 3-weeks. I did do a decent amount of biking. It seemed to carry over into my running. I plan on doing much more riding in the next few months. It seems to be a little easier on my body.

I took some pics after I finished, but, the top athletes had already finished. The pics of the "also rans" were kind of interesting. Here are a few of them. The first girl in the red is Suzy. She was the female winner of the duathalon. I finished just ahead of her. I know I did pretty fair when I can finish ahead of the top female. She's a great competitor.

Mo Betta Blues

2006-05-20T05:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday night at Knucklehead's, a friendly biker bar. This bar was the new home of the Blues in KC. It used to be The Grand Emporium, but, that bar changed owners. I was there on their last night. I remember tearing off the concert posters of all the great (and not so great) bands that had played there over the years.

Well, the torch has been passed. Ronnie Baker Brooks, the son of Chicago Blues legend Lonnie Baker Brooks was playing there, and the bar was packed with blues lovers. Many of them, were member of the KC blues society.

From the opening notes, he rocked the house with his driving, Chicago Blues sound. Just like his dad, at one point he goes out into the crowd and to the bar, playing the guitar with a beer bottle at one point. His dad would play it with his tongue. Jr. didn't do that.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle,...

2006-05-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

I want to ride my bike. The USA Cycling Colligiate Road Championship was held in Lawrence last weekend. It's the National team, emphasis on team, Championship for the Division I and Division II colleges. Both, the men and women's results are combined to determine the national champions. It's not affiliated with the NCAA, each team is basically a cycling club.

It's a 3-day event. Friday is the team time-trial, in which, 4-men (women) teams ride against the clock on a 14-mile course. Saturday is the road race, 56.4-miles for the women, 84.6 for the men.

Sunday, was the criterium. it was a loop course, a little over a mile long that ran in a figure-eight pattern through downtown Lawrence, excellent for spectators.

It's a mass start with about 100-riders, the first race being the division II women, then division II men, and so on. They ride for 65-minutes and then they ride three more laps. The Pelletron pretty much stay together for most of the race. There were a few break-aways, but they were soon caught by the pack. There are some points awarded laps lead after about 30-laps. After the 65-minute mark, the race starts getting intense.

Mark Smelser, from K-State, won in convincing fashion. Could he be the next Lance Armstrong? There's a good chance that many of these young athletes will compete in the Tour De France someday. They spend 15-24 hours a week on the bike while maintaining full-time student status. The pros ride about 32-hours a week.

I have a duathalon on Sunday, so, I have to get in shape while protecting my calf.
Monday, I forgot my shoes, so I had to ride on the stationary. I tried to hold a fast pace for 20-minutes. I ran another 4-miles when I got home.
Tuesday, I ran 3 X 1-mile repeats at 7:00 pace. Things were going a long pretty good on the intervals until the last one, and my calf gave away. Ouch!! I mean it hurts. This was the 10th straight day I've worked out. Today was a well-deserved rest day. I limped around all day. I've got until Sunday for it to get better, otherwise, it's no corportate challenge for me. There's always next year.

Happy Mother's Day!

2006-05-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

This is my mom circa 1939. You can see where I get my good looks from (Ha!). She'll be 89 in June. She's still very healthy and active. We had a nice get together. We also celebrated my sister Mari's birthday (pictured below). She's 52. Please note that she is one of my older sisters.

I ran 6-miles yesterday. There was still a some pain in my calf, but, I think I'll be fully recovered in a couple of days, Yeah! Today, I drove to Lawrence to take photos of the National collegiate Bicycle Championship. It's a cool event! It takes place over 3 days and is total team race. I mean, they even combine the men & women's results to determine the championship. I'll post the photos on Tuesday. They are really cool, so check back. Tomorrow, I'm posting pics from a Blues concert I went last night. They are really cool, too.

While I was in Lawrence I went to the bike trail at Riverfront Park. It's kind of intermediate to easy course that's fast and pretty. The loop is 9-miles. For the last 5-miles, a husky-like dog ran just ahead of me. It was pretty neat watching him run in front of me. He looked like a wolf in one of those sci-fi movies running through the forest. I was pretty impressed with his stamina. I was peddling pretty hard.

Going to Kansas City, ...

2006-05-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Kansas City Here I Come. These pics are from a mural near 18th & Vine. Just like in the song. This area was once the Meca of Jazz. In the 30's - 50's there used to be as many 50 night clubs in a 1-mile stretch and the music a raucous good times, literally, went on 24/7. It's nothing like that now. You've probably noticed that I have posted a lot of picutures of murals. I just love the art form, and it is so transient, here today, gone tomorrow. I wanted to capture as many as I could before mother nature reclaimed them.

I haven't wrote about my workouts much lately. To be honest, there hasn't been too much to write. I had to take a little break. I was ready to jump back into it with both feet last week, but, I had to take a little detour. I was at a Jefferson Starship concert and they were brining people up on stage to dance. Well, I wanted to get picked, so I started jumping up and down really high. I jump pretty good for a 46-year-old white boy. Well there I was, hoping up and down like a jucied up bunny when I felt a pop in calf. That was 10 days ago and I have been limping ever since. It hurt like hell. It sucks getting old.

I didn't let that stop me completly, though. That's the beauty of cross-training. I could barely walk, but I could still ride a bike.
Sat. - 29-miles easy, Sunday - 36-miles easy,
Mon. - 9-miles on the stationary, 14-miles of biking after work
Tues. - 9-miles of intervals on the stationary, Wed. - 9-miles on stationary
Thur - 30-minutes of eliptical, First workout standing up. Yeah!
Friday - 4-miles of actual running. The calf held up until the last two-blocks

Poetry by CJ

2006-05-06T03:28:00.000-07:00

I took some pictures of my lover/friend/travel partner, CJ on our last trip to Florida. I have to do it while she's not looking, otherwise she closes her eyes. I guess that makes her invisible. I thought it created a certain mood and I sent her the pictures and asked her to add some write some thoughts to go with them. Here they are, enjoy. She is still working on the last picture with the footprints in the sand. If there are any aspiring poets out there, please write what it evokes in you.

From Dusk to Dark

Light shines through gold tendrils that fall loosely catching the sunset
The hand illuminated by thought but merely aging human mass
She faces the west and seeks more…

Lights strung on the banister telling us that darkness is near
White Linen topped by sparkling candles throws angles of reflection of light
Serving of food and wine pared generously…

Congratulations on a medal and celebration of an anniversary
The void is filled but remains open
A quiet falls over the day…

By Carla J. (CJ)
3/19/06

The Urn and the Estuary

The ancient urn filled with life; flowers and plants brim over
A lost soul placed new urns on a shelf in a sea room
Filled with ashes of death; mother and sister but still life brims over
Juxtaposed in thought, which way does she go… life or death?

The ancient tug of war; death calling her to join but life beckoning her on
Just beyond, the river ebbs and flows to the ocean, an estuary of nature brims over
An extraordinary environment emerges out of the joining of opposites
Somewhere between like an estuary

By Carla J. (CJ)
3/22/06

You'd be Amazed at What You Can Do

2006-05-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

This was taken at PiPi's (pronounced pee-pee) in Puerto Vallarta. I wonder if anybody told the owner what that meant in English.

Today, I'm going to talk about a couple of accomplishments (not by me, of course, I haven't done s&#@ lately). First, is by Tim. We've been tracking his progress towward his weight loss goals at the first of each month. I have to make an editorial correction, I listed his weight as 256 last month, when it was actually 249. That was still no net loss from the previous month. Well, he's back on track this month. Today’s weight – 244.5, and he had been down around 240.

In all, he's loss around 50-lbs. I wanted to get a current picture of him because you can really see a difference from just a few months ago.

I do have a "before" picture, though:
www.msnbc.msn.com

Ha, Ha, just kidding. I'll try to get a recent pic and put it beside the one I took last January. If he stays away from the Cinco de Mayo chips and maragaritas he might even be under 240 next week. 50-lbs! You'd be amazed at what you can do.

The other recent accomplishment was by my running buddy Dan Murphy. He ran a 24-hour race last weekend. I left the report at work, but, I'll post it Monday. He ran over 80-miles within the 24-hour period. Way to go Dan! Both of you guys are an inspiration. You'd be amazed at what you can do.

May Day, May Day

2006-05-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

I did the Trolley Run Sunday. One-mile into it I tore off my number and started walking. I just wasn't into it. To be honest with you, I haven't felt all that great for the last month. I've tried to put my finger on it, and I'm pretty sure it stems from mental exhaustion. Work has just been kicking my ass lately. It's been that way for over a month, and it looks like it is spilling into the physical side.

The Trolley Run is a huge event with over 10,000 runners. They bus you from the plaza up to the start, and then you run the 4-miles back to the Plaza. So there I was, walking at mile one. The only problem with dropping out of this race, is that you still have to go the three miles to the finish to get to your car.

All of those 10,000 runners, of all levels, start to pass you, and feel pity for you that you couldn't finish. So, I decided to start jogging a blending in with the other runners. What the hell, it was a nice day. I even flirted with a couple of cute women.

Of course, my running buddies kidded my about my time. That's okay, I know I'll bounce back. I still have a chance to hit my goal of winning at least one medal. I have several weeks before I have to compete again. I do have the bike race next Sunday. I won't win a medal but I should score some points. Two weeks after that I have the Heritage Park duathalon. It's the tryout for Corporate Challenge. Then I'll have a couple more weeks before the track events.

Don't count me out yet! I'm down, but not out. Sorry I haven't written too much. It's part of that mentaly exhaustion from work thing. That's starting to slow, so maybe I'll snap out of it. I also haven't had a drink in two-days. That might help too.

Ooooh, Mexico, I Never Really been

2006-04-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

so I decided to go. And I'm glad I went, what a magical place. You start off with a beautiful setting. It's on a large bay surrounded by green mountains. It's also a very artistic town with great statues throughout. There are even works of art made in the sand (tips appreciated).

In Puerto Vallarta there is music everywhere. The mariachi groups that go from restaurant to restaurant our excellent. One night, a group walked in and one guy had a harp on wheel and the bass player had a little amplifer and battery on little wheels that he pulled along. They played several songs for a family. I think it must have been a special occasion for them.

On another night, I was walking on the board walk along the beach and was just floored by a classical guitarist singing a sad love song in Spanish. It was excuisite.

One of my favorite things I did while there was take a mountain bike tour up into the mountains. Our guide was Alonzo. You don't have to go very far to get away from tourist part of town and into the real Mexico. The cobble stone streets must have been designed by a shock absorbor salesman. He probably retired a rich man.

We went to a secluded spring-fed stream for a cool dip after a hot, dusty ride. Back in town, he took us to a local stand, the kind you would have been too scared to try, and we had cevichi. It's a blend of fish and rice on top of a cripy tortia shell. Deliciano! We also tried the local drinks that you wouldn't normally try. I'm glad I did. We sat in chairs in the shade next to the stand and talked to all the locals coming by to eat lunch. If someone would put up the same little stand in dowtown KC serving the exact same thing he'd make a lot of money.

Alonzo grew up in that neighborhood. The house that Elizabeth Taylor owned is right there. It's the picture with the pink bridge. Richard Burton lived in the house on the other side of the street connected by the bridge. If I close my eyes, I can just see them meeting on the bridge on a warm night...

The moring ride was just the start of one of the most special days I have ever had. after our ride, we hung out at the beach by our hotel for a few hours. It was so relaxing just to rest up on the lounge chair and watch the locals play a sprited game of soccor on the beach. Sometimes the game would take them out into the water. It seemed like they could just go on for hours non stop. They love their soccer there.

We had a long, leasurly dinner at The Vista. It's an open air, French restaurant high up on a hill with a spectacular view of the city and the bay. We watched the sunset every night. Every restarant had excellent food.

After dinner, we walked back through the town looking for adventure. We bought a bottle of good tequilla and drank it while we walked along the streets looking for a bar with a good band. We finally found one that had an open-air balcony that overlooked the beach. The young band played all classic rock and they were fantastic musicians and singers. At one point we got admonished for some "dirty dancing".

The next day was spent at a luxurious pool, recovering from the night before. When I closed my eyes, the sounds of night still rang in my ears...

Easter, Same thing, just Different

2006-04-17T01:01:00.000-07:00

There is a certain rhythm to life, a regular progression to the world. Around the first of March, the first crocus pop up, small and purple a harbinger of spring. Then the hardy daffodils take the stage, followed by the tulips. Then the redbuds bloom with the dogwoods right on their tails. When a favorite bleeding heart of mine blossoms at my Mom's house, then I know it's time for Easter.

My had been a little depressed lately. She wasn't sure if she was going to have Easter dinner at her house this year. The back porch was a mess she said. She is a bit of a pack rat and a collector of junk. The porch did look pretty bad. There were a couple of things weighing heavily on the 89-year-old woman. For one, Daniel, the grand child she had pretty much raised from the age of 10 had moved out to a house in small town 30-miles away a month ago. His dad got his 1-year sobriety pin a few weeks ago, and they were making a new life out there.

Secondly, my sister the drunk had moved in with her before Christmas making her life a pure hell. She had no place else to go. You might check an earlier posting titled "You know You're a redneck, when" That's when she fell off a ledge underneath a railway bridge a last February when she was in a drunken stupor. Unfortunately, she lived. She had a broken back and was in intensive care for 10-days. I guess she's Fortunately, she was in jail right now for outstanding warrants, giving us a little reprieve. While she was in the hootch, Mom cleaned her room and found 39 bottles of cheap vodka.

Yes, nature turns in a very steady pattern , with changes to the routine taking aeons, but, the human rhythms can very from year to year, albeit, subtly. My sisters and I came together and made the tradititional Easter Dinner happen.

Like usual, it was a beautiful, warm and sunny day. Like usual, I started the day with love making, coffee, and the Sunday paper in bed. A half-hour before church, I started stuffing plastic eggs with the change I've accumulated. 10:30, time to head to Maywood Baptist Church for Easter service. Had to get there early because the congregation has grown so much in recent years.

Yes, I attend church regularly... every Easter, like clockwork. I was even baptized on Easter in this church in 1990. I'd go more often, but, at $10 a pop, it gets a little expensive. The church has gone through it's share of changes since my baptism. The congregation was much older then. The average age is much younger, now. The music has changed drastically, back then, it was a piano and an organ. The choir wore white robes. The music director was more classical. Now days, they have a full band, two percusionist, two guitarist, three horns, piano, and a synthaizer. If there was more room on the stage, I'm sure they'd throw in guy with a kazoo.

The numbers are much more livlier, with singers hopping up and down and a lot of arm waving in the air (like they just don't care). I have to admit, they sound very polished and profesional. They appear to be doing the job of filling the pews, and the coffers. I'm sure the older crowd, what's left of them, don't care that much for it, but, they're on fixed budgets anyway.

They are also much more high tech, with a large video screen in the back ground. They displayed the words to the songs and also worked in scenes from the Mel Gibson Passion of the Christ movie. One thing that remains the same though, and that's Brother Spradlings sermons. He comes on a half-hour into service and delivers a very intelectual message (kind of out of place for Independence). I love his sermons. They are very thought provoking and delivered very well.

In the end, he asks anyone in the congregation to come forward while the choir & band play the finishing number, to just talk with him or to accept Christ. A tall Gothic-looking chick in a short skirt and stripped knee high socks goes up to speak with him. Probably saying "My mom just doesn't understand me." Duh!

Then a man and his wife (actually, I think they were just living together) to accept Christ and become the newest member of the church. He had tattoos on his neck and completly covering both forearms. I assume the rest of him was painted as well. Yes, the congregation was changing.

12:00, A quick exit and it was back home to get out of the church clothes and into some shorts. Time for a beer and then time to hide the Easter. 12:30, time to hide the Easter eggs. I went to filling them with money when my Susey's kids starting ttanistioning to high school. This kept them interested in the hunt. I would always put a $10 in one and a $5 in another. The hunt would be very spirited and fun. There'd be additional prizes for who got the most eggs.

Sue's kids are in their 20's, now, but, there is a new flock taking over. Two of my other neices had kids, Anthony, who is cute as hell is about 2-1/2, and the latest one is "Little David". Actually, his name is Alexander, and she calls him Xander, for short. No, way in hell

1:00, time to eat. Honey baked ham, asparagus, and a lamb-shaped cake with cocanut icing. Food good. 1:15, the egg hunt begins. We have a big yard, I never mow until after Easter, so there are a lot of places to hide. This goes on for a while. When I was a kid, they always had the hunt in the living room. One time, years latter, I pulled out an encylopidia and a choclate egg rolles out. A chocalate relic of the past.

1:30, we count up the Easter booty. Daniel found over $20 worth. I hid the $5 egg up in a tree and gave them the clue that they had to use something to get to it (the ladder). When they spotted it there was a mad scramble. Some were throwing things trying to knock it down while Daniel struggled with the heavy ladder. It was hillarius.

2:00, time for the "obligatory nap". This signifies the end of another, traditional, Easter celebration. Mom looked very happy. It was all worth it.
So, mom's grand kids are have moved past the easter egg hunting stage. But now, her great grand kids have taken over. The tradition continues... just different.

Viva La Mexico!

2006-04-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

There were mass demenstations held on Monay all accross America. Thank God! It's about time someone took a stand against something and that includes me. Maybe if we (me included) would have put the same emotion into banding together and making a point, we wouldn't be in the God foresaken mess in Iraq. Never again, will we be caught with our pants down. Just like Matisyahoo says "Young man, take control in your hands, slam your fist on the table and make your demands!"

I'm all for the loosening of immigration laws because I love Latina Women. They're HOT! Maybe if I was in construction and had to deal with the increased compitition, it would be different, but I'm not. Most of them will work minial jobs, and send most of the money back home to support their families in Guatimala or wherever. I've got no problem with that.

Now, the legal rape of our High Tech, high paying jobs going to green card carrying Indians and Pakistanis, that's another story. I'd be the first to march with a sign downtown to put an end to that. Ha! I'd be the only one, because none of my computer geek comrades have any backbone. Stand up to the man, and you might find yourself standing in the unemployment line. With no Unity, you have nothing.

Friday : I ran 6-miles at 8:20 pace
Saturday: 2-hours of mountain biking at Landahl Park
Sunday: rode the road bike hard for 20-miles
Monday: Legs were dead, so I rested
Tuesday: 4.5-miles
Wednesday: VO2 Max intervals, 4 X 800m @ 3:00 with 2-min rest, 1.5 mile warm up, 1.5-mile warm down

In Memory of Muffy

2006-04-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

Today was Muffy's last day on earth. She was my mom's dog for 15 years. Since I live next door to my my mom, she was just like my pet as well. It's kind of like my neices and nephews, I get the enjoyment without having to feed them or pick up their poop.

Muffy had a very distinctive personality, very stuburn with a loud bark. She would follow my Mom around the house constantly, often to the consternation of my Mom when she got in her way.

One of Muffy's favorite pasttimes was chasing squirles. When she was younger, she was quite good at it and would put the fear of God into many a furry rodent. She slowed down the last few years but, every once in a while, she would catch one off guard and take a nip out of it'tail before it reached the safety of a tree. You could just see the smile on her face after the chase.

I was taking her out on one of our regular walks a few years ago and we came across a big Great Dane, new to the neighborhood, that was being held on a leash by it's owner. Of course, Muffy started barking at it defiantly. She feared no dog. The owner of the great dane braced herself, but to no avail. In no time at all the dane was dragging her owner, who was prone on the ground, making a charge at Muffy. Muffy took a defensive stance, she was not going to run from a fight, even if the dog out wieghed her by more that 175 pounds.

The great dane put it's massive jaws on the top of Muffy's back, until all you could see was Muff's head on one end, and her back feet hanging out of the other side of the dane's mouth. The dane's owner and I were frantically trying to get control of the dogs. I could see that the dane's intentions were not bad. He just wanted to play. He could have killed Muffy in one bite if he had wanted to. Of course, Muffy was fighting like the Tasmanian Devil.

The dane's owner finally regained control and we quickly continued on our way, with Muffy throwing a few indignant barks over her shoulder.

Muffy, you were a good dog, and we'll miss you. Please, leave a message about your favorite pet who has passed on.

Making a Stand, against The Man

2006-04-06T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is a follow up of the FBI incident from last week. That's where I got in trouble with the FBI for taking pictures of ground hogs near their building. If you remember, I had my name taken, and put on The List.

Well, I made up my mind that I was going to take a stand. Nobody is going to tell me where I can, and can't take pictures. The FBI sits off in a corner, all by it's self. It's high on a hill right next to a Highway. There is a bridge that runs across the highway and it has a wide walkway. The bridge is a good 200 yards long and leads into a very cool neighborhood of old houses. It's a very artsy, liberal area with a large Hispanic population. Many of the old houses have been beautifully renovated by older couples. Yuppies are starting to move in on the action, buying up the premium locations along the cliff with the most spectacular views. It's still a very Liberal area, though. There are many yards that still have "Kerry for President" signs displayed. A couple of weeks ago, someone stuck a poster on the fence along the bridge that read "IMPEACH BUSCH".

On this fence on the bridge, there are metal panels, about 18 inches wide and four feet tall. They are spaced about 20-feet apart the entire length of the bridge. In 2002 a high school art teacher brought her students to the bridge and each one painted a panel. What a brave and defiant thing to do. She's probably languishing is some Turkish prison right now. I wonder how many of the students are now dodging bullets in Iraq. Join the Army Reserves! Get training! See the world! Get your legs blown off by a roadside bomb!

I'm surprised some Young Republican group hasn't made their way there with some white wash and some paint rollers. Before that happened, I was going to record their artistic, defiant expression. But, mainly, I was going to show The Man that NOBODY TELLS ME WHERE I CAN, AND CAN'T TAKE PICTURES!

I walked past the brown, ominous, FBI building with it's black wrought iron gate with my camera in my hand. I'm sure they watched me as I walked past. I go there almost daily to observe my colony of ground hogs which live in the grassy embankment that runs between the dark castle and the highway. It had one of those black bubbles that house a security camera on the wall. It reminded me of the Eye of Saurmen from Lord of the Rings. I could feel The Eye's gaze upon me.

I decided to start at the far end of the bridge and work my way back toward The Dark Castle. I took the a picture of the first panel. No problems. I was resolute in my endeavor. We had to show them they can't push around the man. This is still America and we still had certain rights and freedoms, even if our every move is watched and recorded. I took a few steps over to the next panel. Click. Captured.

Each picture I took, brought a little closer to The Compound. I could feel the eye watching me a little more intently now. I wondered, would The-man-in-the-black-car drive up and give me another stern talking to? Or would a van pull up to me from behind, a swat team pouring out with their weapons leveled. A hood put over my head as they quickly threw me into the back, before any witnesses saw, and took down to the deep, inner-reaches of the Castle.

Another few steps, click, and onto the next one.

I could feel the eye boring into me now. My apprehension was growing with each step, my breathing, getting shallower, my heart was beginning to quicken.

Another few steps, click, and onto the next one.

I had covered over half the distance across the bridge. I imagine most of the entire staff in the building was standing at the darkened windows staring out at me and wondering "Who is that lunatic? What is he trying to prove?"

"That I'M A MAN!" I thought to myself. My hands were noticeably shaking at this point. I was afraid the pictures would come out blury. Normally, I go out of my way to avoid confrontation. On my trip to Florida recently, there was a group of German teenagers outside our hotel room talking and laughing late in the night. I couldn't sleep. Did I go out to ask them be quite? No, I sent my girlfriend. And they were quite. Well, today I was making a stand.

Another few, shaky steps, click, and slowly onto the next one.

I was getting very close to the building now, just a few more panels to go. Any minute, I thought, the gates will open up and I would be pounced on. At the very least, The-man-in-the-black-car would drive up and give me a good ass chewing.

I could feel the cross-hairs of the sniper's rifle zeroed in on my forehead. One more panel left, right next to the Property. I lifted the camera. I felt that pressing the shutter button would unleash the sniper's bullet. In super slow motion, I could see my head thrown back from the impact. My arms strewn towards the heavens, my camera launched high into the air, spinning, the sun gleaming off it's metal finish. I fell onto my back with a thud, and lay on the cobble-stoned walk-way, staring up to the sky. Father, forgive them...

But the bullet never came. I stood there for a brief moment, I could not believe what I had just done. I turned and walked back toward my office, my knees still wobbling, but head held high.

Somewhere, within the building, The-man-behind-the-eye said to himself, "Yes, you move along little man, Mr. David Schrik, Social Security # 654-34-blah-blah, with a birth mark on your left cheek, an your silly little blog. Go on back to work. One of these days you are going to step out of line, and I AM GOING TO COME DOWN ON YOU WITH AN IRON FIST!"

Back in the Saddle, Again

2006-04-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's the first of the month (sort of) so we need to post Tim's progress. Tim Weighed in at 256. That's a one pound gain. Whew! He talked about his back acting up, about falling off his diet. I got news for you Tim, I went through the same damn thing. Part of my goals and training involve getting my weight down, too. I was doing really well until I left for Florida. I gained 4lbs that trip. I thought I would get back on track, but I didn't. Part of the problem was that the weather was so damn bad the last few weeks, plus cabin fever kind of set in.

The important thing to note, is that this is perfectly normal. Every best laid plan has set backs, without exception. How we bounce back from these setbacks, ultimatly, define our success or failure.

Every January, the numbers at the YMCA gym I attend swell, until it gets hard to even move around in the locker room. Yet, by March, the numbers dwindle to their pre January numbers. That's about 40 launches, and 39 failures.

I haven't fallen completely off the horse, but, my foot is just kind of caught in the stirups and I'm getting dragged behind. As far as workouts, I was just kind of going through the motions. I quit doing the the two-a-days. I was following my diet ritual during the week, but, on weekends I would gain everything back, too lazy to cook, so I'd go to Hi-Boys for a big-boy, or to Clems's (local greese shack) for a pork tenderloin and curly-Q's. And I was hitting the bottle again. Yep, I was getting the cabin fever blues.

How do we get back on course? Back in the saddle? The tool I use is visualization. If weight loss is your goal, then visualise what you'll look like at your goal weight. Chances are, you weighed that weight before, so just pull out the old pictures. One of my goals is to win a Corporate Challenge medal. I try to visualise myself crossing the finish line ahead of everybody else. Then, I see myself standing on the podium and getting the medal placed over my neck (by a beautiful chick, of course).

Another visual, is to just see yourself getting on a horse and charging in the right direction. Hi Ho Silver!

I don't know if it was the race last weekend that kick-started things, but Monday I felt great and was raring to go. I ran the hilly 31st route, 5.6 miles, hard. Tuesday, I did my first 2-a-day in a long time, 4-mile run, 6-mile easy bike ride. Yersterday I ran intervals. I felt a twinge in my hamstring on the third half, so I cut it off there. I still felt like I got a good workout in, though. I've lost 4-lbs in the last 3 days. I'm back in the saddle again!

Happy Trails to You

2006-04-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is Amber. She was the female winner (by a long shot) of the God's Country off-road Duathalon in Lawrence held this Saturday. One hell of an athlete and one hot chick if you ask me.

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning, and I was heading to Lawrence. I was just glad to have my truck headed down the highway, going somewhere, to do something. I was starting to get cabin fever. This was only the third time I've even been on a mountain bike, much less competing in an event. I had insomnia the night before (too much drinking, again) so I wasn't really expecting too much. I was just going for the workout, and for the experience, and to just plain have fun.

It was held at River Front Park. They limited the field to 150, but, they had a few more than that. It was a mass start with the first leg being a 2-mile run. The first quarter mile was along the levee, which was a good idea, and then it headed onto the trails along the river. Being along a river, it was fairly flat, with several dips and short climbs on a single track trail. To pass, you kind of had to shout "Passing on the left!" and hope that the guy moved over a little bit to let you by. The trail was soft, almost sandy, a nice change from you typical asphalt and concrete road race.

When setting up in the transition area, there weren't any bikes on rack #13, so I put my bike there. I like to buck fate. I'll rethink that philosophy next time. I figured I would be in the top 10 on the running leg, but, was probably closer to 20th. I didn't shoot for a lightening fast transition time, took my time, took some swigs of gaterade, put on my helmet, gloves, and riding shoes, then snatched the bike and ran for the exit. My wheel caught the wheel of a guy in front of me and sent me tumbling, bike on top of me. I hadn't even made it out of the transition area and I was already on my ass, and I wasn't even riding.

As far as mountain bike trails go, this one was fairly tame. You pretty much put it in a high gear and let it rip. There were still plenty of twists and turns, dips and jumps, hops over logs, etc. If there was a slower guy, traffic would get a little backed up, especially on sections with a lot of switchbacks where there's be a lot of breaking. I was going a long pretty good. I was just doing the short course so I was only going to do 1, 9-mile loop. I was passing a lot more bike than were passing me. However, trail-riding is a different kind of workout, and works the body in different way, different even than road biking.

You do a lot of breaking, either for a sharp turn or rocky/rooty section, which is followed by a quick acceleration. It's not the steady pace and cadence of a road race. Just a few miles into the ride, I started to get cramps in my right calf (followed later by the left). I think I have to reposition my cleat, I was probably peddling to far out on my toes. That's just one of the little subtleties you have to learn in trail riding.

Half way through the ride, I felt I was starting to bog down. The cramps didn't help matters. Now, I was starting to get passed, more than I was passing. I just have to do more trail riding. At one point, I had about 5-riders right behind me. I turned a corner and there was a big, muddy puddle. I kind of freaked out and put on my breaks. I swerved over and side-swiped a cotton wood tree, hard with my thigh. I almost caused a pile up with the riders right behind me. One of them yelled "Let us pass!", so I pulled over and let them go by. My thigh was starting to throb. I don't know which was hurt worse, my thigh, or my ego. Lesson #3, when confronted by a muddy puddle, just plow straight through it.

The last couple of miles I felt I was riding through quicksand, still cramping in both calves. I heard someone crash and burn behind me and someone ask "Are you Okay?" "Better him than me", I thought. Finally, back to the transition area.

After the race, I noticed that my back tire was almost completely flat. I thought I felt and heard something a little strange. That explains the slow down, and lack of control. It wasn't just fatigue, it was mechanical. Most trail riders carry a small CO2 pump with them. I have tubeless tires, but they are prone to losing air. With the CO2 pump, I could have had it back to pressure in 30-seconds. Just another subtlety to learned.

I parked the bike and headed out for the final run leg of, what I thought was giong to be 2-miles. My legs felt as if they were embedded in concrete, the cramps had spread from calves, to all the way up my thighs. There was a guy just ahead of me who looked to be in my age group. I thought I might be able to take him with 2-miles. I knew the cramps would work themselves out. I even stopped once to retie my shoes. Then, before you knew it, we were back at the finish line. It turns out the last run leg was just 1,000 meters for the short course, not the 2-miles listed on their flyer. Lesson #5, know thy course.

I don't know how I placed. I imagine I won something, but, they had trouble with some of the timing so they didn't have the results very soon. I guess I'll find out when they post then to the web. Regardless, I had an excellent time! If you've never done any trail riding, and I mean, on real trails, give it a try. And the races are intence, and fun as hell.

Here is a picture of me, sporting my nasty strawberry on my thigh, the red badge of curage. My bike is Blue_Baby_2 (BlueBaby is my road bike). After the race I headed to the Free State Brewery for a hamburder and beers. I shared my expoits of the day with some old ladies at the bar. It was a lot of fun.

Waiting at the airport

2006-03-30T18:46:00.000-08:00

This is a painting by my brother Al. He had a major stroke about 13 years ago and lost all use of his left hand, and most of the use of his left leg. At least he still has use of his right hand. Now days, he spends most of his time painting. I'll post some more from time to time. He'll sell them for about $50 - $75.

Last month, I was at the airport waiting for my black friend Angelo to arrive from Iraq. He works as a contractor for Halaburton. He's a brick mason. He's making pretty good money. More about him in a future post.

His plane was delayed for about an hour, so, I waited in the bar and watched the people disembark from their trip to far off places. Sometimes there would be someone waiting for them as they got off, and they might get a little perfuntory peck on the check. Most of the time, there wouldn't be anyone waiting for them at all. One young couple lit up in smiles when the saw each other from the room. They quickly closed the distance and almost knocked each other down in a very sexual embrace. I was pretty sure they didn't make it all the way home before they had sex.

Another plane, the same nameless faces filing off, then, a man immerges from the exit and is immediately body slammed by his wife, who pins him against the wall, squeezing him so tight, I'm afraid she might break some ribs. There's no words spoken, she is overcome with emotion.

Maybe he just returned from a very long trip. Maybe it was a very dangerous place, like Iraq. All I know is, I envied him so much. You see, I don't have anybody waiting for me.

As far as workouts, I did the Monday regular run of 5.6 miles with Damion at 8:00 pace. The next day my hip was still sore. It's been a chronic problem lately. I'm going to have to get it checked out. Hell, it could be arthritis as far as I know. I just know it's a pain in the.. well, hip. So I swam for 25-minutes.

Yesterday, the hip was much better, so I ran 4 X .65 miles at 6:11 mile pace. I'm kind of like a lab rat when I do these VO2 max intervals. I wear my heart rate monitor and do them on a treadmill. I know I've done them at the right pace when I finish with a heart rate of 183 on the last one, 98% of my max heat rate of 186.

Finally, it's Spring

2006-03-26T16:49:00.000-08:00

I saw my first flutterflys (that's what my childhood friends from Alabama called them) so Spring is officially here. For today's workout, I finally got out on my mountain bike, bluebaby_2. Bluebaby is my roadbike. I went to Landahl nature reserve in Blue Springs. I found a nice loop that took me about 30-minutes to complete. I did it twice. I liked this trail riding session much better than my first one because this trail was a lot less rocky and rooty, in otherwords, less gnarlly. It fairly scenic, and it did have some patches that would test you, just not kick your ass. It had a step, long hill that really worked you. I was a huffing at the top. I think I am getting a little better at the nuances of m-biking. For one, I did fall once, but, I just felt a little more in control. One hour of riding was plenty. It's a different type of workout than road riding or running. It feels more like a hard weight-lifting workout than an aerobic workout. And it hits the upper body as much as the legs.

If you haven't given trail-riding, and I mean real trails, not the flat groomed trails, you should give it a try. Before you go out and spend the big bucks on a bike and all the necessary accessories, borrow a bike from a friend, and find some mediocore trails to see if you like it. The first time out, I went to Clinton Lake trails which were killer. To be honest with you, I was second guessing my decision to take up the sport. But, I had already put big bucks on a nice bike. I was committed.

Working backwords, here's my workouts in the last week:
Sat - 5-miles easy
Fri - rest
Thu - VO2 Max intrvals 5 X 800m @ 3:05; 1:45 rest - This was a kick as workout
Wed - 4.5 miles easy
Tue - Swim 20-minutes
Mon - 6 - 600-meters itervals - This was to prep me for the upcoming VO2 Max bouts

A very serious, but funny, thing happened to me this week. I was taking pictures of my ground hogs which live a field right next to the FBI building. An unmarked car pulled up and turned on it's siren.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"I'm taking pictures of ground hogs."
"You can't do that here."
"But... this is where the ground hogs are."
"Don't you think that's kind of stupid."
"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was illegal to photograph groun hogs."

He took down my name and drivers licence number. I'm afraid I'm The List. I'm sure my phone is tapped. One of these days, I'm going to get pulled off a plane. A hood will be put over my head, and when they finally take it off, I'll be in Guatonamo Bay Prison, in a holding cell with 10 other Jihad fighters.
"What did you do?", they'll ask.
"I photographed a ground hog."
As one, all of the terroists, will take a step back. That's right, "We's bad!"

Do I Comprimise for Love/Lust?

2006-03-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

I took a date to see Carolyn Wonderland at Knucklehead's last night. She was a little big in the butt (my date, not Carolyn) but was kind of fun and semi-cute. She was a college professor. We were a little hungry so we had some bar food. I had a Lucky Dog, and she had a grilled chicken samwich. Then, she added onion rings. Onion Rings!? On a first date!? It was pretty much guaranteed she was not going to get any tongue action that night. That also explained the "big in the butt" part. Will we go out again? Hmmm, probably not.

This morning another girl I had been in contact with called me. Now this girl was hot. Cute and well built. One problem though, from the moment I picked up the phone, she would talk, and talk, at the same fast tempo, going into detail of things I could care less about. Occasionally, I could get a word in, but, the ratio was still about 20 to 1. This went on, and on, and on... I mean, could have set the phone down, gone to take a dump, come back, and she would still be talking. Not that I did that, of course. Luckily, I had my guitar in my hand so at least I could get in some practice.

Two different scenarios, the question is, "Do I comprimise for Love/Lust?" No, no, I'm not that desperate... yet.

Rocky raccoon, if I get my hands on you....

2006-03-22T19:20:00.000-08:00

Raccoons are vile, sinister beings. This is an account two separate incidents while I was in Florida. Even in a pristine, serene setting as a state park in FL, it proves you are not safe from thieves.

The first night camping in Coya Costa, I was laying in my tent. It was 2am and I couldn't sleep. I was just a tad too cool, and I didn't have a decent pillow. That's when I heard the gentle rustling of someone, or something, sneaking around outside. Then I heard the gnawing, the spine-tingling sound of gnawing teeth on Styrofoam. In an instant, I was out of my sleeping bag, and with blazing speed I had the tent unzipped. Not quick enough to catch the perpetrator, though.

I looked at our Styrofoam cooler. It was severly gnawed. Another 30-seconds and the flea-bitten creature would have made off with our meager food supply, a bag of tortillas and lunch meat. We would have nearly starved. At least, until we got off the island at 1pm. Tragedy, narrowly avoided. We put the cooler in the tent with us.

The next day, we stayed at a different state park, Korishan. You drove right up to your camp site, so, you would think there wouldn't be a repeat of the night before. We would just put our food in the trunk of the rental car. A raccoon hasn't been born yet that could steal car keys and figure out how to pop the trunk. Or so I thought.

The raccoons at Coya Costa were patient. They had us scoped out. They new we'd be deep asleep, and that they could just whisk in take all our food. They didn't take into account that I would have insomnia. The Korishan coons had a totally different approach. They knew that food would be put away in the trunk before bedtime, so their technique was more brazen.

We were lounging around a roaring camp fire. The half-moon shone bright, with a bluish tint, through the palms, that were swaying in the gentle, warm breeze. The moon and stars just seemed to be much larger and brighter out in the woods. I could smell our steaks, sizzling on the grill. I had a cold beer in my hand. All was right in the world. Then, I heard a tearing noise from the picnic table just 10 yards away. I sprang to my feet and chased the culprit through the woods behind our tent.

Raccoons are suprisingly quick. At one point he stopped with his stolen booty, a granola bar, and I swear, he stuck up his little paw, and gave me the finger as he defiantly took a bite from the bar. I went back to the fire, thinking he wouldn't be back. Wrong! In no time at at all, he was back for another assault on the bag of food on picnic table. I was quick on the attack and he was gone.

This was getting personal. I picked up a hefty stick from our wood pile and hid behind the tent near the picnic table. I was going to give that coon a lesson, a lesson in pain. Nobody messes with David Schrik and gets away with it. My camping partner this was hillarious. But this was serious. Man vs. beast. It didn't take long before that furry freak peaked his head around the tent. This time, he was the one shreaking in terror, as he narrowly missed the swing of my stick.

He didn't come around the rest of the night. The next day, we went for a hike on the fine trail along the river. We came upon the granola bar wrapper, a grimm reminder of the horror we experienced the night before.

The gulls below are fighting over the scraps from a fish I cleaned.

Swing? I'm Game!

2006-03-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is the Estoria River that I canoed in Florida. It's part of the Korishan State park There's also a cool trail that runs along the river.

The other picture is an osprey at Coya Costa.

I promised that I would talk about my "Swinger encounter" on Saturday night the weekend before last. I just got back onto the Personals site after cleaning house and taking a few weeks off. I had met an interesting woman who was fairly pretty. I was on line late Saturday afternoon, early evening actually, and I noticed she was on-line so I IM'ed her, something, I normally avoid. Why spend two-hours in a typing conversation to do what you could do with a 20-minute phone call? Anyway, it went somthing like this:

Me: Hi Jacki, what are you up to tonight?
Sexy69: I'm talking on-line to a couple.
-- I assume the 69 was when she gradutated
Me: do you have big plans?
Sexy69: It's at this point I should tell you that I'm into alternative lifestyles.
Me: That's cool
Sexy69: You see, I'm a very sexual person.
Me: I'm a very, very, very sexual person.
Sexy69: 3 veries. That's good. I'm planning on going to a swingers ball at Adam's Mark Hotel put on by EastofEden.com. I'm going to get together with this couple I'm talking to on-line right now.
Me: Count me in.
-- hell I didn't have any thing else to do that night. Might as well throw myself
-- into the world of wife swapping swingers.
Sexy69: Really!? That's great. Just to let you know, there is no touching between the guys involved.
Me: That's good
-- I guess she knew I was pretty new to this swinging thing
Sexy69: They also are very strict about using condoms. I have a big supply, so don't worry.
Me: I've got plenty of my own.
--it went on like that for a while, then, I get a call from "C" my Forida partner.
C: "Hey, what are you doing? Why don't we get together tonight?"
MeWithC: I've got a swinger on the line. We are going trying to go to a big swingers bash.
C: Hey, let's go together.
-- for the record, I don't think I could swing with somebody I cared about.
MeWithC: I don't think that will work. Wait a minute, she's getting back with me.

Sexy69: The other couple is game. We just have to see if we can get into the ball. They are sold out, but, they have a lot of last minute cancelations.
Me: Okay, let me know if we can get in.
Sexy69: Okay, I'll make some calls.
Sexy69: brb
-- that stands for "Be Right Back"
-- at this point, I'm waiting for her to get back with me.
MeWithC: She's calling to see if we can get in.
C: Okay, lst me know how it goes
-- I'm a little sleepy, I had a hard workout that afternoon, and, I've had a couple of beers.
-- 30-minutes go by, and I don't get a responce back
Me: Did you hear anything?
Sexy69: I'm still on the phone checking.
-- I lay back down. This time, I fall asleep for about an hour. The IM is still open
Me: Did you hear anything?
-- nothing
-- I lay back down. Fall asleep. Wake up a couple of hours latter. I check the IM
Sexy69: The ball is sold out. We can't get in, sorry.

Oh well, I almost had a swinging encounter. I'm just a wild and crazy guy ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ !

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

2006-03-19T14:28:00.000-08:00

I finally gave up and bought some web space so I could upload pictures to my blog. These are a few from my Florida camping trip. After the race, my partner and I headed to Coya Costa state park. We weren't going to veg out on some crowded beach. We were off to experience the Florida that the early Seminole experienced. Coya Costa is an island (key actually) that you have to be ferried out to. The weather in early March is just about perfect for camping in FL. The first thing to great us at our camp site was a 6-foot rat snake. I knew we weren't in Kansas any more. I reserved a site on-line about two-weeks in advance for $18. That's a lot better than the $175 you typically pay for a room on the beach. And we were right on the beach. Pick site #8 if you go. It has it's own little palm tree cove where you can nesttle your tent. They say that you can't bring alcohol on the state parks, but, the rangers say they are pretty lax on that, as long as you keep it on your camp site.

Coya Costa had a long beach and there were very few people so you could probably lay out buck naked if you wanted. There were plenty of hiking trails, but, my favorite part was the large lagoon. perfect for wading out and fishing. I caught several nice spotted trout. There were signs saying "No Swimming," Aligators. That was enough to keep my friend out of the water, but, I was pretty intent on catching some fish. The island is in a large estuary. That's a place where the fresh water meets saltwater. Which leads to an abundance of wildlife. The only animal that I didn't see that I really wanted to was the Manatee.

We stayed at another state park the next night called Korishon. It had a preserved, turn of the century settlement that where a very strange religious sect lived. They were all celibate, which explains why it eventually died out. Plus, it probably made it pretty hard to recruite. "Hey, do you want to join my religion? You can't have sex, though." No, thanks, I'll pass. It was on a the Estoria River, which we canoed for a few hours. It was gorgeous.

Average? I don't think so

2006-03-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

I haven't been writing much about my dating life lately, and for good reason. There hasn't been any dating life. A couple of weeks before I left for Florida, I just kind of "cleaned the slate." I decided I wanted to focus on trying to get a good time in the half-marthan. Plus, I wasn't all that impressed with what I had been meeting. Well, last weekend I got back on line. I sent out several messages, and got a couple of responses back. One was pretty persistant and we finally went out last night.

In the profile section, where an internet dater list their vital statistics there is a category for body type. The options are: average, slender, fit, athletic, a few pounds, overwieght, or thick. My date last night put down "average." I guess average these days means 50 lbs overweight. She was a big gal. I should have suspected something when she only had her head pictured. She was a lot of fun, but...

The bad thing is that she's in sales, so she's not afraid of going for the sale. I'm used to just not calling the girl back when I'm not into her. But she has no qualms about calling me. The phone wrang a few minutes ago. It was probably her. I just let it ring. I should probably be straight up with her and just tell her that she's not my type. I'm always afraid of hurting someones feelings. That's where this internet dating things gets a little hairy. Feel free to leave a comment and give me some advice on this matter.

I did have a close encounter with a swinger/alternate lifestyle chick last Saturday. I'll save that for tomorrow. It's pretty funny. I'm still having trouble with uploading pictures, so, I bought space on a new web provider. I just have to figure out how to use it. I'll include a link to it when I get it going.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

2006-03-13T17:39:00.000-08:00

I still can't upload any pictures, so, I'll hold off describing my Florida camping adventures. Instead, I'll get back to my training. Thursday, my first day back from vacation, I did an easy 3.5 miles on the treadmill. I made a mistake of working out too hard, too soon, after my last half-marathon in January, and I paid a big price. It takes a full week to recover from a half-marathon. Friday, I ran an easy 4.5-miles. Saturday, I rested. Sunday I ran a medium paced 6.5-miles. Today, I ran an easy 5.5 on the hilly 31st course. After work, I rode the stationary bike for 15-minutes (4-miles), and then did some light lifting for a half-hour. I haven't lifted for over two-weeks, so I wanted to ease back into it. Tomorrow, I plan to swim for 30-minutes.

Now, for a little mid-range planning. I wanted to shoot for a PR (personal record) at the Raintree Half-marathon on April 9. That was doable. I just had to cut 2:30 from Sunday's Half-marathon. However, the main goal is to win a medal in the Corporate Challenge. The first chances of doing that would be in the 5k on May 13, and the bike race on May 7. Training for a 5k is a lot different than training for a half-marathon. Plus, I would have to take a week to recover from the half-marathon.

I had to make a decision, and I chose the going for the medal in the 5k. The difference in training between the half-marathon and the 5k is is, mainly, the type of quality runs. For the half-marathon (and marathon) the quality runs consited mainly of Cruise Intervals, ie., mile intervals at a threshold pace with a short rest interval (1-min to 1:30) in between.

For the 5k, our quality runs will be the VO2 Max variety. They'll be shorter and more intence. For the threshold pace, we would shoot for 90% of maximum heart rate. For Vo2 max, we will be at 98% of max HR on the last interval. I have a maximum heart rate of 186 beats per min. If, at the end of my last interval, my heart rate is 184, then I know I ran the right number, speed, and duration. A typical VO2 max workout might be six to seven 800-meters at your 5k pace. The rest interval is usually longer than the threshold runs as well.

So, I you are currently running an 18:30 5k, then you will probably run 6 X 800 @ 2:55 with a 2-minute rest in between.

It's important that you ease into these intervals. Hopefully, you've been doing your stride outs, 5 or 6, hard, 100-yard runs during a typical workout. I haven't, nobody really does, though everybody should do. On Wednesday, I'm hitting the track and I'm just going to get my body prepared for the high intensity intervals that will be coming in the 7 weeks ahead. I may do 8-quarters at 90-seconds. It's important to ease into these, because the potential for injury is great, especially to those hamstrings.

That's just your intro into VO2 Max. We'll go into a whole lot more detail in the weeks to come.

Sarasota Marathon (half)

2006-03-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

I just got back from Florida yesterday. The trip was fantastic. These first two pics are of the male and female marathon winners. The chick was really hot! I'll take the next few days to describe the trip, but, I'll start off with a race report. I hope this race report convinces you to add the Sarasota Marathon (or half marathon) to your to-do list because it's worth it. And Florida is a little piece of heaven in the winter. I did two days of camping at very different, but wonderful state parks.

I flew into Tampa Bay on Saturday morning with my mystery guest. She doesn't like me to write about her, so, I'll refrain. We drove the 40-minutes to Sarasota. The hotel was only about a half-mile from the starting line, so that was convenient. The race started at 6am, which translates to 5am KC time. That means I had to get up by 5am (4am KC). I prepared myself for this by getting up at progressively earlier time for the last week. I usually get out of bed about 7am, and this little exercise taught be an important lesson, I like to get up early and get things rolling. I've made a point of getting up no latter than 5:30am since then. Sometimes you have to be willing to make changes in your life. I'm going to give the early to bed early to rise theme a chance.

The expo was fairly cool. It was held a large YMCA. This was the inaugural race (that means first) for Sarasota, and it was what I'd call a medium-to-small race. There about 450 marathoners and 1,100 half-marathoners. I think they put a cap on it for some reason. I even had to overnight my registration on Wednesday to get into the race. There was a very good article in their Sunday paper on the founder. I'll have to look up her name. She was very helpful with my registration.

They didn't have an organized pasta party, so, we looked for a nice Italian restaurant to load up on some pasta. We had a two-for-one coupon at a very nice restaurant on Siesta Key. We had to wait a half-hour to be seated, so we had a drink at a bayside, outdoors bar and watched the boats go by. I had a Siesta Key Iced tea ( as opposed to a Long Island Iced Tea ). The dinner was fabulous. We had a nice Pinot Noir with the meal.

I know you shouldn't really drink the night before a race, but, it did have a good effect. I fell asleep with my glasses on at 8pm. I woke up at 4am feeling damn good. That gave me a full two hours to prepare for the race. I jogged the half-mile over to the race. It was still pitch dark at that time. The race started on the grounds of the Wringly Brothers fine arts museum. A very beautiful place. I couldn't really see the nice buildings and art work on the grounds until the finish of the race. But, there were still a lot of cool features. There was a large Banyan Tree grove that you ran through at the start of the race. The tree's hanging root systems made for a very surreal atmosphere in the darkness. The had a couple of portable spot lights out on the grounds, but, otherwise, the race started in total darkness. Which I found as very unique and kind of cool.

With my recent hip injuries, I knew that about the best I could hope for in the race was a 1:30, and only under the best of conditions. Well, the temperature was a crisp 52 degrees at that time of the morning, perfect. I got a full 8-hours of restful sleep, so, I was feeling pretty good.

At the start of the race, the announcer made the comment, "Has anybody seen our Kenyon? If so, please direct him to the front of the starting line." We all got a kick out of that. I guess no marathon is complete unless they have a token Kenyon. In a way, I think it's wrong that you have to pay a guy big bucks to run in your race, and, at the same time, guarantee that a young American, who gets nothing, that he will finish no better than second. Whatever.

There was also an interesting story about the guy who sang the Star spangled Banner. For years, he had sang it before each Reds game (they had their spring training there), He was 89-years old, and this was going to be the very last time he sang it for any sporting event. He had an opriatic voice that was beautiful and strong. It was very touching.

Finally, the starting horn. I was toward the front, so it wasn't very congested, but, I tripped on a curb in the darkness. I almost went down, but kept my feet. We went from the museum grounds and into a residential area. There were a few people standing in front of their yards with their flashlights to cheer us on. The pack quickly spread out and I was pretty much by myself in the darkness. Like I said, the race in the darkness aspect was kind of cool.

The air was filling my lungs, the blood was coursing through my veins. This is what I live for, this is what makes me feel alive. The course went by the water and you could see the lights reflecting off the bay from the distance. It was very pretty. I was maintaining a consistent 6:48 pace for the first few miles and felt great. I was right on pace for a 1:30.

It finally stated to lighten up after the 4th mile, and, I think the sun actually rose about mile 5. Then, we came to a bridge across a bay. This would be the only hill on the course, but, it was significant, and fairly long. Then down the other side. This was an out-and-back course, and the turnaround point was right after the bridge, so, you had to go back up the steep bridge almost immediately. This was also the first time the wind came into play. I was not only running up a steep, half-mile hill, I was doing it into the wind.

This was the only tough part of the course. Other than that, it was flat as a pancake, a very fast course. This was also the beginning of another interesting aspect of the out-and-back course, I was now running into the upcoming runners. It was nothing but miles of tanned, belly-button rings. There really wasn't any organized path going back, so, I was almost trampled by the oncoming crowd. Death by belly-button ring clad women. What a way to go! I like out-and-back courses for this reason, you get a lot of encouragement from the runners coming up. And most of these races are loaded with hard-bodies.

I was still on pace to hit 1:30 with just 3-miles to go, but, I had to finish at the same pace. It was now a race against the clock. I had no room for error. I had to finish strong to meet my goal. The first 10-miles were pretty smooth, but, now, I was feeling the effort. I had to run my ass off to give myself a chance of meeting my goal of breaking 1:30. I didn't start my watch until I crossed the starting line, but, the official race time went by the gun time. I thought I finished with 8 seconds to spare, but, my official time put me just 1-second under my goal. Perfect. I loved that.

I ended up with a 1:29:59. I won a 4th place medal in my age group. I was very happy with that. They had a post race party at the Salty Dog with free beer, but, we had to get to the ferry out to Coya Costa State Park. That's tomorrow's blog. There will be some great pics coming up.

Mountain Bike 1, David 0

2006-03-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

First things first, you remember Tim Whited, see
Man With a Plan? We are going to check on him each month to see if he's on track to meet his goals. He weighed in at 255 today. That's 6 lbs lost in 5-weeks. He's well ahead of schedule.

I picked up my new high dollar mountain bike Friday, and couldn't wait to try out the trail where they are going to have a trail-duathalon in two-weeks. The trail race is at Clinton State Park. I should have known it was going to be a little rough when the bike store mechanic, and avid trail rider, said that it was pretty rocky with a lot of tree roots. That was an understatement.

I drove to park, all excited. I was going to start a new phase of my life. I could see myself riding trails in the Colorado mountains with a back pack and everything. It just so happened that I put in to the trail at a wickedly hard section. It wasn't so much as a trail as just a huge pile of raggedly sharp boulders. It took every ounce of effort just to keep from going head over the handle bars and splitting my head wide open on one of those jaggedly sharp rocks. This wasn't exactly what I had imagined.

Finally, I found a section that was realitivly flat, and rock and root free. I was able to churn out a few miles. Oh, cool, a creek crossing! There were even some flat rocks put together like a little bridge. Only, there was one rock missing, I hit it and went right over the handle bars and into the water. I had a nice not on my knee from that one.

Driving home, I felt like I had just gone 15-rounds with Muhamad Ali. I felt just as bad when I woke up. But, I noticed one thing, my body looked noticably more cut, and defined. I have to say this for mountain biking, it is one hell of a total body workout. Trying to balance going over all those boulders in going up the steep inclines, with your tires spinning out if you don't position your body just right. So, I guess I'll stick with it. I did about 3-hours of riding. I don't know how far I went.

That was Sunday, Monday, feeling sore, I did a hilly 5.6-miles. Tuesday, I did my last threshold run before my race. I ran 4-miles in 27:30. Today, I rested.

Saturday, In the Park

2006-02-25T19:36:00.000-08:00

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...

2006-02-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-22T17:44:00.000-08:00

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 Â Feb. 18, 2006

Last Saturday I went out to Myrtle Beach, SC to try to run a fast marathon. I didnÂt reach my goal but hereÂs the story of the race. My training for this had me a little confused. I was able to run the speed workouts as my Â3:10Â 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 wasnÂt 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 wasnÂt awful but got your attention since you knew that between about mile 10 and 18 youÂd have it in your face for much of the time. The third 4 miles took 30:36 which wasnÂt bad and I noticed the half marathon time showed me at 1:38:30 or 3:17 marathon pace. IÂd 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 Âuh-ohÂ moment since I still had 10 to go. I told my self to just relax and take the miles as the came since I couldnÂt 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 Â¼ mile at 3-4%. The course is almost entirely flat so it wasnÂt 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 IÂd but sub 3:40 Â 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 Â½ 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 didnÂt 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. IÂm disappointed with my time but I took a chance for a good time and am satisfied with my choice even though it didnÂt pan out.

WhatÂs next? Well I think that IÂll 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 thereÂs tri/du season coming up. I havenÂt 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 whoÂs ran with me and encouraged me.

-Dan"

Life is and Adventure (Race)!

2006-02-21T19:47:00.000-08:00

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 straightâ€”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 elementâ€”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

2006-02-21T18:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-02-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-16T18:43:00.000-08:00

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!

2006-02-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

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

2006-02-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

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!

Plan the Work, Work the Plan

2006-01-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is a cute marathon finisher from the KC marathon. Yes, you can look like that too. If, you're willing to put in the work. Please, put in the work. All people should look that good. It should be a state law.

Sunday is usually a rest day. It's also a good day to plan out the upcoming week's workouts. I can't tell you how many runners who get to the gym without a clue of what they are going to do that day. I've already established my long, and intermediate goals. I can almost work backwards from a race a couple of months away, and plan out the progression of workouts leading to it. And, I will do that. This just serves as a general guide for my weekly planning.

When laying out your plan remeber the hard-easy principle (see Hard-easy, Hard-easy). Also, pick out a primary, and a secondary workout. In otherwords, two main, fairly hard workouts. It's also important to think of these workouts as being written in pencil, not in pen. For instance, I usually do a medium hard run on the 31st route on Mondays. However, yesterdays bicycle ride just kicked my ass, and left me with a stiff and sore back as well. So, today I just did light running. You still want to strive to get that primary and secondary workout in each week.

Here's my plan for the week:
Monday - lunch - 3 easy miles. pm - 2 easy miles, a few sets of weights
Tuesday - 5-miles medium pace
Wednesday (secondary) - combo threashold, high mileage workout (see I Stink, therefore I am) It's basically a 1-mile warmup, 4 X 1-mile intervals at TP (threshold pace), followed by 4 easy miles
Thursday - lunch - weights, pm 4-easy miles
Friday - Lunch group run of 7-miles
Saturday (primary) - Long run, 16-miles easy.

Double your pleasure, Double your fun

2006-01-29T15:37:00.000-08:00

How long can you go without sex? It's not like oxegen, or water. I know you're not going to die if you go without it for a given time. But, how long can you go before it becomes a major distraction, where you it occupies much of your waking moments. Can women go longer than men?

My workout today was a 30-mile bike ride. It was so beautiful today I had to get out into the country. One thing you need to be concerned with when choosing a course, is the direction of the wind. Especially if it's an out-and-back course. Ideally, you want to head out into the wind so you'll have it at your back on the return trip when you are a little tired. I knew this when I set out, but, I was a little limited because my car is in the shop. I tried to be conservative as far as distance, but, I still struggled with a head wind for 15-miles. It feels like you riding up a 15-mile hill. I'm still feeling it. Just my little tip of the day.

I went out on two dates yesterday. One was a lunch date at my favorite little Italian restaurant on the square. I usually like women younger than me. Kathy was a couple of years older. I wasn't disappointed. Sure, she had a few wrinkles, but she was still cute as hell. She also had won of the finest figures I've seen on an internet date. Petite and shaply. The kind of figure,that when she leaves for the bathroom, you watch her go, every stop of the way. We had about a two-hour, luxurious meal. She would be a fine woman to help me break out of my slump.

My evening date was at the Voodoo lounge. She had a very decent body, but, the face was a little suspect. What was that growth on the side of her eye? And another on the end of her lip. "Focus on the body, focus on the body!" I kept telling myself.

The next day she sent me a message saying that she had a good time, but prefered older men. I didn't have the heart to tell her that, even though my profile said 41, that I just turned 46 a few weeks ago, and was actualy 2 years older than her. She saved me from myself. That's what abstinance will do to you. It effects your judgement.

I would have loved to have started a full-time relationship with the (black) Widow Mary, but, she chose a different route. It's now been a month since I've had sex and about 5-months since I've had it on a regular basis. I honestly don't know how much longer I can hold out.

Happiness is a Messy House

2006-01-27T16:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I ran a hard 6-miler with Tiffany (see Ultra Woman post) which finished up a steep 3/4-mile climb up the 12th St. Viaduct. Today, I ran 12-miles after I dropped my car off. Unfortunately, I was 15-miles from my house. I guess the run yesterday took a lot out of me, plus, I was running on virtually 0 carbs having eaten only a cheese omelet all day. Talk about hitting the wall. But, I walked it in the final 3-miles. Only because my mom wasn't home to answer the phone.

A lot of people use the excuse "I just don't have enough time to workout!" Well, I'm going to give you some golden advice that will set you free. I'm of the opinion that people waste far too much time cleaning. Take making the bed, for instance, assume it takes you 2-minutes each day. That's 15-minutes a week you could be working out! You're only going to mess it up again that night.

I make sure that I keep a good supply of dishes and silverware on hand. Instead of washing them every day I wait until my scheduled rest day each week. That's a time saving of at least 20-minutes a day. And think of all the time you spend writing bills each month. They are not going to cut your gas or electricity, or cable service if you miss a month or two. So, I pay them about every third month. You know it's time when you get the "final disconnect" notice.

Determined to bounce back from being rejected by the Black Widow, I went back out with Melissa, the poor, cute girl. We enjoyed a beetles tribute band and I even got a nice, 2nd date kiss, with even a little bit of tongue. It was pretty nice. Except, next time, I hope she skips the onions.

Weight: 169.6

Another Day in the Books

2006-01-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

This was taken today on the bridge by the FBI builing. Huge flocks of black birds use the area between downtown and the stockyards as a winter flyway. Plan a run through there sometime just before sunset. Sometimes the flocks are so big they look like black clouds with a life of their own.

It was another beautiful January day. I did a nice 4.75-mile run downtown. I've really bounced back well from the race. I'll run a 7-miler tomorrow with Tiff. I'm trying to get her hooked up with Mike.

Not much else to say. Just another day in the books.

Recovery Mode

2006-01-25T04:42:00.000-08:00

I appreciate all of the advice I have received regarding my writing. For
the most part they usually sound like this, "Run a spell-checker you dumb-ass!"

I've even received some advice from a professional writer, The Lady-J, who,
kindly, said that, though, I was, fairly funny, I tended to, from time to
time, used, maybe, a little, shall we say, too many, you know, commas.
Personally, I, don't, think, that, I, do, but, I'm, going, to, defer, to,
the, professional.

I would also like to make an editorial note regarding Saturday's post. I
said that "Heidi Bryant was holding a bowel." In actuality, she is not
holding an internal organ. She is holding a bowl.

The last several days I've been in recovery mode. The amount of recovery depends on the length of the race. A martathon can take, easily, two-weeks of recovery before you can resume hard workouts. You shouldn't race in another for at least 6-months. Unless, you are some kind of masochist, which a lot of runners are.

A 5k can take as little as a couple of days. I expect recovery for my half-marathon to take about 5 - 6 days. That's doesn't mean that I do nothing in that time, instead, I do active recovery of very easy, progressively longer runs.

On Sunday, the day after the race, was basically a total rest day. I did take a 2-mile walk. On Monday, I did a 2-mile jog at lunch with a lot of stretching, then I did another 2-mile jog that night with some light lifting. Yesterday, I was starting to feel a little better, so I did a 4-mile medium run. Today, I'll do 6-miles with some stride outs thrown in, and then, Thursday, I'll do my first quality run.

To be honest, I didn't feel to much soreness. That means I probably, could have ran the race a little harder than I did. But that's OK. The pic is from my trip to Kauai with Yolanda.

That's how you recover from a race. Now, how do you recover from a broken heart?

Weight: 169.4

The Man with a Plan

2006-01-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

I'm featuring Tim Whited today. You might think that this blog is just about marathoners, and elite athletes. It's really about taking your health into your own hands, and Tim is a perfect example. After having major back surgery in the mid 90's he was pushing 300lbs! He's been a regular at the Y for as long as I've known him. While I was talking to him today, he started off with a series of stretches for his back. This was his second workout of the day. He followed that with a long set of back extentions with a 10lbs weight. Then it was on to the treadmill for a power walk.

The main thing I like about Tim's approach is the fact that he has set specific goals and wrote them down. Another good thing he did was that he told others what the goals were. It's good to put pressure on yourself. The third thing he did was to educate himself about diet and the best workouts for him. See the link below about his diet. It sounded like it had a South Beach feel to it, of which I'm a big proponent.

To meet his goal of losing 20-lbs by his June vacation to Hawaii he's going to have to lose about 4-5 lbs a month. That won't be easy, but, it is reasonable. We are going to check in on him at the end of each month to see how he's doing. Now, if you haven't made you goals (see New Beginings in my archives) then click on the comment link below and write one down. Even if it's a goal to make some goals.

In his own words, this is Tim's bio:
"Age: 42
Medical: Back surgery 1995 (laminectomy on L5S1), genetic hypertension.
Cholesterol: 177
The worst: 295 pounds, summer 1998.
The Best: 248 pounds, fall 2005.
Broad goals: weight loss, improve cardiovascular health.
Short term goal: 240 pounds by June 2, 2006. Hawaii for scuba diving with the family for my 20th anniversary.
Long term goal: 225 pounds and stay under 230 for over 30 days.
Current weight: 261 pounds.
My workout: To make my next goal I am trying to workout at lunch and after work as often as possible.

-- I spend some time on the stretch trainer to loosen up my legs and back, which have been super tight since my surgery. -- Then I hit the back hyper-extension machine to specifically strengthen my lower back.
-- Then I hit the treadmill. 3.4 – 3.5 MPH at a 10 degree incline. 30 minutes at lunch, 60 minutes on weekends and after work. I don’t have time for the official 5 minute cool down at lunch, but I do after the 60 minute walk. 30 minutes burns 525 calories, and the 60 minutes burns nearly 1100 calories.
My diet: For the past 8 months I have been doing a diet from www.weightlossforidiots.com . It seems to help, but the only real way to lose is to combine diet (that’s DIE, with a “T”), and exercise."

Children? Well, that's a long story...

2006-01-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

That’s how I start the story when I’m asked if I have any children. You would think they would get that from my profile. Well the answer is no, er, yes, uh, maybe, um, I don’t know. You see, it is a long story…

Back in the mid 80’s, 1985 to be exact, I was working as a waiter at a hotel restaurant. They had a quarterly hair show, where stylist would come in from all over the country to learn the latest styles and techniques. That’s where I met a salon owner from a small town in Texas, Tina. She was a beautiful, soft-spoken blonde, with a sexy, Texas accent. She was also married. We had an affair the first couple of shows she went too, and we would write each other in between. I do not know if she had a bad marriage or not. I got the impression he was a nice enough guy. Maybe she needed a little excitement in her small-town life.

We made love on my birthday, Jan. 5th, and she had a baby girl on Oct. 5th. That’s exactly 9-months. Now, I know that does not automatically make me the father, but, when you consider that the husband had a vasectomy, well, what do you think? She never told me one way or the other. Though very rare, it can happen.

The husband assumed the role of loving father, even though, he had to know. He was pretty well off, and her salon was very successful, too. So I know the girl was well taken care of.

Why do I bring up this story? Well, a Topeka woman contacted me, so I said “Why don’t you meet me at the finish line of my race and we’ll have pancakes and coffee at the post-race party”. I could tell right away that I was never going to see her again (too wrinkly). But, we went through the motions. When the question came up, “Do you have any kids?”, and I went into my “Well, it is long story..”, yarn. She said, “And you never tried to contact her or get to know her? You’re an ASS!” . Well, you dumb, wrinkly broad, what was I supposed to do, break up a family? I didn’t have a pot to piss in, in those days.

In the future, I’ll be more selective to who I tell that story too. But, when they ask me a direct question… I think about her from time to time, especially around her birthday. She’ll be 21 this year. I try to imagine what she looks like. I try to morph the picture of Tina, and me together to get an idea of what she might look like. I don’t even know her name.

There’s a good chance that she’s working in her mom’s shop. I know that the shop is still in business, because I’ve looked it up on the internet. Communications between Tina and I, gradually dwindled, till they stopped altogether. One of these days, I plan to take a trip to the small, Texas town of, blah-blah, and just drop by the shop and get my hair cut. Maybe I’ll get my hair cut by the daughter. I wouldn’t reveal my identity, that’s up to Tina. I would just make small talk. How’s your life? What are your aspirations? Are you in Love? Then I’d offer advice, which she’ll ignore. What 20-year-old listens to their parents? Kids!

Topeka: You Make it Hurt so Good

2006-01-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Today's race was the Topeka to Auburn Half-Marathon. I car pooled with my buddy Mike Cavillo, the one on the left. This race has become kind of tradition for me. I did not run it last year because I sprained my knee snowboarding. But, I've ran in it 5 of the last 6 years. It's a brutally hard race and weather is always a factor. It's always, either freezing cold, snow covered, icy, or raining. Sometimes, it's all of the above. That's part of its charm.

This is Heidi Bryant (Cute!), a perennial winner in the Kansas City area. You'd think shed get bored winning all the time. One of these days, I'll see if she'll let me profile her. One thing I notice about the female racing scene in the KC area, there is a handful that are excellent runners, and then the talent really drops off. I know there is talent out there, I guess they are too busy being mothers, or something, and just quit competing after college. The numbers may be there, but, maybe, they just don't train with the proper intensity. Maybe they don't know how. Read my blog!

Notice the bowel she is holding. All of the top trophies were bowels, or urns, and even flasks, were made by the art department at Washburn University. Even the medals were made from clay. Very cool!

The older gentleman pictured is the 72-year-old Wray Sharonbrack. He is from Milwaukee and just flew in for the race. He is on a mission to run a half-marathon in each state. He has 13 more to go. I asked him how long he thought it would take to finish the goal and he said by the end of the year! Think about it. That is over a half-marathon a month, each in a different state! Just the expense and logistics is crazy. I asked him how many marathons he's done in his life, and he said that he's run 512 marathons and ultra-marathons in his life! That's unbelievable. But I believe him. Someone call Ripley's.

This was a very competitive race, especially in the 40 and over male divisions. Mike won 1st in the 40-44 division with a 1:30. He was really pumped about it. There was a pack of us old guys. I fell back on some of the monster hills (and their were a lot of them). I had kind of fallen from the pack and was enduring the hell bymyself. Then, in the last 2-miles, an older guy pulled up with me from behind. He had on a Hawaian Ironman jersey. "Great", I thought to myself, I new I was going to have to race him in to the finish. I thought I was going to take him. We were both going neck and neck, sprinting the last 1/10 of a mile. It's not fair enduring that hell for 13-miles and then having to give everything you got at the very end. Well, I guess he wanted it a little more than I did. I jokingly grabbed his jersey like I was going to pull him back right before the finish line. At least we gave the crowd a thrill. It turns out, he was 52, so he wasn't in my age group anyway. Whew! I still had a chance for a medal.

They were giving medals to the top three finishers in each age group. They called the first two, and I wasn't won of them. Then they called the third, and it wasn't me either. I was bummed. But, the third place guy didn't stick around, so, the medal went to me! I mockingly pumped my fist, and the crowd laughed. After all that, I wasn't going home empty handed!

This race is a must-do. The course is crazy-hard, but scenic. It is wonerfully supported with excellent awards. Usually, they give out very nice, emrodered, wind shirts. But, this year, they gave out great gym backs with the Topeka to Auburn logo. How cool is that?! I'm kind of disappointed that more from my runnig group didn't show up. You all get the Winnie Award. Except for Rod, he had to go to his nephew's birthday party.

Blue Friday

2006-01-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

No workouts today. I have to rest up for my half-marathon tomorrow morning in Topeka. I had a lunch date with the lovely, Widow Mary. I needed to load up on carbs, so we went to Garazzo’s on the River Market, but they were closed due to a power outage and we ended up at Anthony’s. We were having a pretty nice time. I was savoring the food, a glass of wine, and her beauty. I asked her out for next Friday. I have to ask her pretty far ahead of time so that she can arrange for a babysitter.

She paused, and then, I heard the dreaded words, “I’m seeing another guy, and I want to see where it goes”. Immediately, I put my hands over my ears, “I can’t hear you, blah, blah, blah!” I wasn’t prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared to develop such strong feelings for someone, so soon.

I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m some kind of playboy that’s never going to settle down. I don’t know where she gets that idea. Oh, yeah, my blog.

Back at the office, I stared out the window at cold drizzle. All of a sudden the game had become real. I still think things could work out between me and the widow. Time will tell. At some point, I’m going to have to make some decisions….

As I was driving home, I passed the “I’M SO SORRY, I LOVE YOU CASSIE” banner. It was still up after a week. I guess she never forgave him. It looked pretty pathetic in the rain. The helium balloons were slumped. Deflated. The ink from the letters was running, like tears in the rain.

Money Can't Buy Me Love (or can it?)

2006-01-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

Victoria, this picture is for you. Slow down, relaaaax, listen to the waves. I just did a very easy 4-miler today. Tomorrow, I won't even run at all. That should leave me well rested for the half-marathon on Saturday. I'm having lunch with widow Mary. I'm going to load up on carbs at Garazzos.

I haven't been doing many new searches on the personals, lately. But, I have had several women contact me (I still got it!), so, it would be rude not to go out with them. I arranged to meet Melissa at Knuckleheads. I always get lost going there, even though I've been there a few times. I know how to find it now. So, I walk in right on time, instead of my customary 10-minutes early. I like to slam down a drink before they get there so they don't think I'm some kind of lush.

She was at the door waiting for me. I was impressed. She was an Amy Irving look alike. She had tight curls in her hair ( natural ) which was back in a bun. She had a cute, hippy kind of outfit. And she was tall, and lean. That's refreshing. Anymore, when they say they are average, that means about 20-lbs overweight, which, I guess, is average these days. So, I paid for our tickets and we found some decent seats and listened to the Holmes Brothers. Three older black men, who play some mean blues.

Now, I'm not looking for GS ( gratuitous sex ) these days, so, I kind of look at each date for long-range potential. I already mentioned, she was very attractive, and, she was also, very charming. A pretty cool chick overall. After the band was done, I walked her back to her car. The car she drove, was a 17-year-old Toyota corolla with 250,000 miles. She was driving on a doughnut. She had a tire in back that I thought was ok, but, that was the one that was flat. She said she was going to get it fixed. I looked at, and it was pretty bald, so I told her it wasn't worth getting fixed. She needed a new one. The look she gave me told me she couldn't afford one. In fact, I don't think she had a dime on her.

My momma always told me, "It's just as easy to fall in love with a rich girl, as it is with a poor one". And there is some truth in this. One of the things that I liked about my last girlfriend was that she made a nice income. And, she didn't mind paying her share of things. It just let us do that many more, fun things to do together. It let us take some nice vacations together. At the other end of the spectrum, I had another ex-girlfriend, who initials were, Yolanda, who made a nice income, but, if she ever reached for a check, I think I would have passed out.

Yes, money does matter. I would like to retire early, with a fine woman by my side. A woman that's an asset, not a liability.

I Thought I Thaw a Tweety Bird

2006-01-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

I did! I did, thsee a tweety bird. A weird thing happened to me yesterday, I was walking downtown (KC) when I heard a lyrical chirping on the ground. I looked down, and it was a bright yellow and green parakeet. Just a beautiful bird. So, I slowly walk up to it and almost grabbed it, but, it flew off and landed on the iron gate that guards the FBI building. So, I sloooowly sneak up on it and reach my hand through the gate to try to grab it, and just missed again. I'm sure the FBI security cameras were zeroed in on me. It flew off to the park.

I've been out a few more times trying to look for it, but, no luck. The poor thing. All alone in the cold. I bet the other birds pick on her because she's different. Those starlings can be real bastards.

Sunday, was pretty much a rest day. I did take my fat-tire bike out and rode around the Independence slums for about an hour 15-minutes. Monday, we did the usual 31st street route, a very hilly 5.6 miles. I knew this might be my last quality run before the half-marathon on Saturday, so I tried to push it. I gave Rod a 5-minute head start, but, couldn't catch him. He must have pushed it, too. I ran it in 40:00, which is about a 7:00 pace. I was okay with that. Not ecstatic, just ok.

Since I have run 3, hard threshold runs in the last 6-days, yesterday was a very easy day. I, basically, spent it looking for my bird. No luck. Today, I thought about squeezing in another Quality run, but, then thought it would do more harm than good. So, I just ran about 4.75 at a moderate pace.

The next tow days, I'll pretty much just take it easy. That's called tapering. For a marathon, you taper for a full two-weeks. Since this isn't a life or death race, two-days is enough.

Love, and the Pursuit, Thereof (the pleasures and perils of internet dating)

2006-01-17T17:04:00.000-08:00

I saw this homemade banner hanging along 23rd St on my way to work. I was wondering what the guy did to make Cassie so mad. My guess is that he left the toilet seat up. What's your guess? Leave it in the comment section. I'll give a prize for the best one.

I may have made a mistake by telling potential dates about my blog. I just needed some readership. After all, what good is writing if nobody reads it? It's kind of like a science experiment that's been compromised. I've even had someone tell me that she "couldn't compete."

I had a great date Friday night with someone I really dig, the widow Mary. We've talked via e-mail for quite a while, but, that was our first date. Who knows what the future holds. She may not even have the same feelings for me, as I do for her. So, time will tell.

That being said, I went out on a very casual date with a different girl, Saturday. A Sicilian girl. At first, I wasn't going to mention it for fear that it would mess things up with WM. But, I want this to be a true representation of internet dating. I want this blog to have some modicum of journalistic integrity.

The Saturday night date didn't have the fire that the Friday night date did, but, it did have a mutual warmth. Just two people enjoying a nice meal and engaging in open, stimulating conversation.

Some people might read my blogs and think that I'm a real "Player". That's a term that a lot of women put in their profiles of what the don't want. I don't really think of myself that way. I do, probably, go out on a lot of dates. And, I won't always pass up the chance at gratuitous sex (safe sex, for the record). But, I am open to finding true Love and a lasting relationship. I want to find that. I'm just not in big ass rush to find it.

There are a lot of guys that are out there that are looking for a good time, and a good time only. That's why I try to focus my searches on girls that are new to the personals site, before they get "tainted” on the whole thing.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of women out there that are just looking for a good time. Maybe not always the traditional view of a good time, i.e. sex, still, not wanting a possesive type of relationship. Most are looking for their "knight in shining armor", or, their "soul mate". In fact, they will use those exact words in their profile. But, I just wanted to point out, that there is a section of women out there that are definitely, not looking for a long term relationship.

2-weeks to Ground Hog

2006-01-16T17:03:00.000-08:00

The widow Mary asked me what the best way for to prepare for the Ground Hog Run which was two-weeks away. For you out of towners, the Ground Hog Run is a really cool race, run through caves. They're basically used for storage and are well paved, and are a comfortable temperature. They run a 5k and then a 10k, with about 2,500 runners in each.

Well, the best way would be to turn back time about 3 months, build up a solid base with L.S.D. (long slow distance) for about 6 weeks, and then transition to quality training, 2/3 VO2 Max intervals, 1/3 threshold runs for the next 6 weeks, with a 1-week taper.

Of course, it's a little late for that. So, what's the best way to squeeze out the best time possible in a 5 (or 10k) in less than two weeks? I'm going to assume that you've been doing at least a little bit of aerobic activity. Maybe running a few miles a day, 3 or 4 days a week, or, doing an aerobics class, or using the elliptical machine or stationary bike a few times a week. In other words, you have a mini base working.

The first thing I would do is throw in some stride-outs. These are mainly for injury prevention, before you move into some intervals, but, they'll also put a little "bounce" in your step. They'll wake up a few of your fast-twitch muscle fibers. Do your regular 4-mile run, but, about half-way through, do about 5 or 6 stride-outs, which consist of, gradually, increasing your speed until you reach a near sprint at the 50-yard mark (about 90% of max), and then gradually slowing down for 50 yards. You want to feel a powerful stride. These should become part of your weekly routine, a minimum of 2 times a week, no matter what your level.

Now, the quickest way to lower your 5k time in a 2 week period is to introduce yourself to Ms. Lactic Acid. I say Ms. because of her wicked vindictive nature. The good new is that your body will make the biggest gains in adapting to Ms. L, in the first few workouts. We are going to try to squeeze in 3 of these types of workouts in the next 2-weeks.

For the first VO2 Max workout, I want you to run go to a track, probably, at some local high school. Warm up with at least a half-mile of easy running and some good hamstring stretches. We must protect the hammies! In this first workout, I want you to do 10 X 400m (1-lap) with a 1-min 30-sec rest between each. I want you to run them in the same pace that you want to run the 5k in. So, if you want to run a 28-minute 5k (a 9:02 pace), then, I want you to run these in 2:15. If you want to run a 20-min 5k, then run them in 95-seconds.

Run an easy 30-40 minutes for the next two-days. Then, back to the track. This time, you are going to run 600-meters, or, 1 1/2 laps, You'll do 6 - 8 of these. These are done at the same pace as the others. ie., 3-min 22-sec for you 28-minute 5kers, 1:26 for you 20-min 5kers.

Again, either do two-days of easy, 30-40 minute runs, or, you could even take a day off after the interval running. Please be mindful of legs. Injuries usually happen when they are the most fatigued. If you feel a twinge, cut the interval workout off immediately. Unfortunately, I know this from experience. You are doing a crash course, but, you don't want to crash.

Do another two-days of easy running, 30-40 minutes. And now, one last interval session. This time, we'll try some ladders. That means, we'll start at 400m, then 600m, then 800m (two laps), then 600, and finish with a 400. The 400's will be just a little faster than your previous rates, the 600 & 800's, at the same rate.

If you are racing in the 10k, and, your projected time is 50-minutes or slower, then exchange these workouts for workouts 1 & 3 above. Go to the track, or treadmill, and run 4 halfs (800's) at your projected race pace. Take a 1:30 rest in between. Cool down with at least a mile run. For the third workout, do a 18 to 20-minute tempo run at your projected race pace.

The last few days before the race, just take it easy, with maybe 3-miles each day. I don't really like the idea of these "crash" workouts, but, I know that the ego is a delicate thing and that everyone is going to ask you the next day, "What was your time?" And you can't lie, because you know they'll look it up on the internet. You can round-down, though. So, a 27:59 becomes a 27 flat. Good luck on race day!

Why Do I Run

2006-01-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

Running is hard. It's time-consuming. At times, it can be humbling. Often, there's a lot of physical pain that goes with it. Why do I run? Why don't you? This is a very basic question that has as many answers as there are runners. I asked an old friend (and ex-girlfriend), Shela, that question. I would like to hear your reasons why you run, so, click on the comment button and tell me. In her own words:

"When asked why I run, my response is sometimes different depending on who is asking and why. When asked with such disdain, “So, why DO you run”? I respond, “Because I can”. Or, “Because I am 45 years old, have three grown children and can still wear a size 6”. That’s right. It pretty much allows me to eat whatever I want. Seriously though, because I was for ten years a single mother raising three extremely active daughters, I needed something that enabled me to create and sustain a kind of energy allowing me to keep up with the darlings.
You know, the more I do, the more I can do. Running is affordable and it can be done just about anytime, anywhere. I have run from home, work, softball fields, soccer fields, parks, trails and city streets, in town and out of town, 5:30 in the morning, at noon and at night, in the heat, wind, rain and snow. Shoes, that’s really all I need, no fancy running gear, just shoes. Is running addictive? I don’t know, but, for me, with a little self-motivation, it became habit forming.

To leave out the door for a run I more or less would rather skip because I’m tired or feel like there are a million and one other things I should be doing, but then return from that run having gone even further than intended and having run faster than I would have thought possible is rewarding and empowering. No one can take this away from me.

There are a number of reasons why my sport or activity of choice is running, but, I have always known there is more to life than running. Running along with working, playing, eating, sleeping is an integral part of my life and will be always."

I Stink, Therfore, I Am

2006-01-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

That's what I was thinking as I was waiting to be seated at the Mexican restaurant that is conviently located on the way home from where I do my Saturday runs. I think they may open up a new section there. "Would you like smoking, non-smoking, or stinking?" Ah, the sweet smell of success.

Normally, Saturdays are long-run days. But, I have a half-marathon race next Saturday, and I'm behind in my speed. So, I'm going to introduce you to a kind of combination workout. It's great for marathon training. I usually do it as a mid-week, workout. I went back to the Little Blue trail. It's nice because they have mileage markers. I warm up for a mile, then I do 4 X 1-mile repeats at TP (threshold pace, go back an read Quality counts for an explanation) with 1:15 rest in between. I averaged a little under 7:00 for these. I know, you're thinking, "Hell, I can run 4 seven minute miles" Duh, I can run a lot faster too. The thing is, you want to keep your heart rate in that 85 - 90% Max zone, which for me, is between 160 and 170. The first one will end at 160 and each one will increase until on the last one you end with it at 170.

Now, a month from now, I'll do the mile repeats at that heart rate, but, the miles will be at about 6:30 pace or so. It's kind of neat how that happens. I gradually, but steadily lower my times at the same percieved effort.

Here's the unique part of the workout, after I finish the cruise intervals, I run another 4 or 5 easy miles. This gives me 10 total miles. It's a nice way to pad your weekly mileage. Plus, I think it simulates what you might feel late in a marathon. The intervals dip into your glycogen stores. It's a very effective workout. Add it to your repetoire.

The pic is from a book that the lovely Mary gave me last night. It's loaded with hilarious animal pics with funny captions. Thanks Mary.

Tonight's, the Night..

2006-01-14T08:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry for this pic. I was obligated to post it because I made my date where a skirt. Believe me, it was worth it.

Yesterday, I ran a breezy, 4.75 on the Crown Center loop. You know you're starting to get in shape when even your easy runs are at a pretty good clip.

Now, about my much anticipated date with the widow Mary. She told me that she hadn't been on a real date for over 5-years. I assured her that this would, definetly, be her best date in 5-years. It's not often a guy can say that.

We met at the Voodoo, and, of course, she was about a half-hour late. But, she was worth the wait. You know, internet dating is like a box of chocalates. Sometimes you bite into one, and think, "That wasn't bad", then, sometimes you bite into one, and it has that nasty, white filling that you hate, and you spit it out in the trash, and put the other half back in the box.

Then, sometimes you bite into one that has that cherry-flavored goo that you just love, and you squeeze it out on your tongue and slowly savor it. Then, later, you think about it and wish you had another piece. My date last night was that piece of chocolate.

I won't go into any more details of the date, because, a gentleman never tells. But then again, I'm no gentleman. To those people in the parking lot, I apoligize. I'm sorry you had to see that.

Tempo Run

2006-01-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is from the Truman run. Don't know who she is, but, she's pretty hot. The proceeds go to The Sunshine House, which provides services to local handicapped children. Come on down to Independence (white trash capital of the world) and help us out.

Today was the first day my hip didn't hurt in a week, so, I decided to blow out some cobwebs with a 4-mile tempo run. I mentioned tempo runs last week in Quality Counts. It's a type of threshold run, as opposed to VO2 Max interval. Last week's threshold run consisted of mile intervals with a short rest of 1-minute in between each. These were done at threshold pace (TP), which I said was the pace you could maintain in an hour-long race. Tempo runs are steady runs of about 20 to 25-minutes at TP.

I did the 4-mile school route in 26:45, or about 6:40 pace. You know you are doing the right pace when your heart rate is about 85 to 90% of you maximum when you are well into the run. Since my max is 186, that means 165 would be my target rate. Determining you max heart rate will be in a posting next week.

I kind of surprised myself. I didn't think I was in all that good of shape. I need to try to fit in two, maybe three more threshold runs before the Topeka Half-marathon next Saturday, then, maybe I won't embarrus myself.

Excuses, Excuses

2006-01-11T18:28:00.000-08:00

This is from a little booklet I have on running form. It's just a little intro, for now. We'll talk more about later later. Click on the pic to read it.

I took yesterday off. It was an unscheduled rest day, but, my hip was very, very sore. Unlike most people, who find it easy to skip workouts, I sometimes work through injuries, when I should be resting. I'm a workout junkie, and I have to have my fix. My hip was still painful, but it was a little better, so I did 30-minutes on a stationary cycle at lunch, and then another 20-minutes with weights after work.

For some people, it's a major project just to get a workout in. I have a friend, we'll just call her Shela, who was giving me a bunch of excuses why she didn't do a particular workout, and I came back with "Blah, blah, blah". She got really pissed off about that. We still joke about it when we talk about non-workouts.

Today, my highly-anticipated date for Friday night was struggling with how to fit in a workout. She's a single mom, and, I guess it can be a little hard sometimes. She sent me a funy e-mail that I'm going to share. Hope she doesn't get pissed. I seems I have a knack for that.

"Advantages of working out in a gym:

1. Climate controlled environment
2. Can run on track which is easier on feet
3. Don't have to wear a bunch of layers
4. Easier to track exact mileage
5. Can use weights after work out
6. Can sit in sauna/steamroom after workout
7. Don't worry about 2 year old terrorizing big brother and sister because he's in the nursery
8. (This is a big one....) Can take a shower AND shave legs without 2 little eyes peering at me and yelling for attention....
9. Of course, able to watch cute guys work out.

Advantages of running outside:

1. Can run further because it's not so boring
2. Scenery is better (with the exception of #9 above)
3. Better way to train for races
4. Less hassle as far as getting to/from - right outside my door
5. Can totally tuneout life and get lost in the run.... "

Ultra Woman

2006-01-10T16:10:00.000-08:00

Meet Tiffany Darby, or is it Cammeron, or, Gregloganus. It changes about every other week. She's one of the area's best ultra-marathoners. That's any distance above a marathon. Just last month she ran a 3:26 in the Las Vegas Marathon. She's shooting for a PR in the 10k at the Ground Hog Run on the 29th. She's competing in an adventure race next month, then she's setting her sites on the money for a solo Brew to Brew. That's about 43-miles.

Here's, in her words, a typical week's training. Guys, she is single, and, if you think you can hang with her, then she wants to get to know you:
"My training is not a "typical" marathoner's schedule. I usually run maybe 3 days a week but I do a lot of cross training. These past several weeks I have been doing a lot of training for my upcoming adventure race. I spent about 1.5 hours canoeing the previous weekend and rode about 20 miles on the road bike, then an 11 mile run. This past weekend, I ran 11 miles on the trails with a backpack on, went to the Ibex Climbing gym and spent 2 hours climbing with my son. On Sunday, I rode mountain bikes for about 1.5 hours with a group then participated in an orienteering meet for a few hours at Shawnee Mission Park.

Normally, I will lift weights twice a week, run long on the weekend, a mid-week 7.5 mile run, and a 4-mile VO2 max run on the treadmill, and do the spinning classes twice a week.

I plan to start increasing my long runs in preparation for B2B. My next long run will be in the 15 mile range. I'm hoping for a 6:30-6:45 finish time at B2B. That may be optimistic, we'll see. I'll reevaluate when it gets closer."

Last summer she placed in 5k nudist run on the west coast. She's promised to let me post her pictures from the race if she doesn't break 43:00 at the Ground Hog. Here's hoping she fails!

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall

2006-01-10T03:47:00.000-08:00

This is a pic of my 88-year old Mom. If you lined up all the 80 year olds in the city for a mile race, she would probably lap the field.

So far, it seems that I have been focusing on advanced runners and workouts, but, I really want to get everybody on the bandwagon. Don't read my postings and get discouraged, thinking, "I could never do that?" The fact is, I didn't get back into running until 5-years ago. I was a pretty good runner in my younger days, but, those 20-year layoffs are killers. Every spring,I'd try out for the Corporate Challenge, and just absolutely embarrass myself. So, in the summer of 2000 I made it a point to training for the next year's Challenge.

Every day I would run the same course along the river and touch the gate exactly 2-miles away. It was like a ritual. The 4-mile loop would take me a whole 40-minutes to complete. Granted, it was 110 degree heat index. The first couple of weeks, I'd be so tired I'd nearly fall asleep at my desk, but, I stuck with it, and a year latter I finished my first marathon, just missing qualifying for Boston by 2-minutes.

Do you need to start running? Before you answer, stand in front of a full length mirror, nude. I'll do the same. Front doesn't look too bad. The back? Now that looks damn, good! The side. Uh oh, there's the problem.

Now lace them up and hit the road! And then do it again tomorrow. And the next, and the next, and the........

Now, back to mom. This morning when she was cooking my breakfast (No, I don't live with my mom. I live next door), there was a thing on the news about smoking, and she said that, 50-years ago, my dad walked in and stated that he had quit smoking. Well, my mom said that if he could do, she could too, and took her cigarettes out of her purse and threw them in the trash, and never smoked another one.

If she hadn't made that decision, at that moment, I don't think she's be her today. Then who'd do my laundry? We all reach a point in time, where we make a choice, and it affects the rest of our life. An epiphany.

You're still standing in front of the mirror. Now, don't look at you, but, within you. Is there a decision you want to make?

Pass the Ibupropan, Please

2006-01-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

This is a marathon finisher at the KC Marathon.

Today, my hip was killing me. So, naturally the obvious choice would be to take the day off. But, I have a half-marathon in 12 days. So, off days are out of the question. Normally, I'd do my regular Monday 31st run, but, I did back down some and spent 40-minutes on the elliptical machine instead. My hip still hurt afterwards.

That's part of being an athlete. Dealing with pain. Normally, the best way to handle this would be to take a few days off. But, I'm not where I need to be. So, I try to train through it. For my second workout, I forego anything involving my legs. I lift concentrating on my upper body, instead. My treatment consisted of mass quanities of Ibuporpean. Luckily, I have na endless supply at work. My desk is littered with the little single dose packages.

I had a dinner date tonight. She suggested Ponack's. Any Mexican Restaurant on the Boulevard is a good first date place. Ponack's has the distinction of having about the best, and strongest margaritas in town.

My date, "Wild Side" had a unique hobby, she competes in horse riding, endurance events. For some reason, I could envision me and her riding through a field of Queen Mary's lace, TOTALLY NUDE. Don't know why, it just kind of popped in my head.

Or Die Trying

2006-01-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

This tee shirt was the winning entry in the KC Corporate Challenge tee-shirt design contest, and was on their web page. If you are not from KC, the Corporate Challenge is an annual sporting event. It's kind of like the Olympics for businesses and teams and individual compete in a wide variety of sports. In case you can't read it, the front says, "If I'm not berathing, give my CPR." And, the back says, "Turn me over, I might still be alive."

The irony is, during the 5k event, someone had a massive heart attack at the start and died right there on the course. The finish of the race was also the starting line, so, as I came down the final stretch, I ran past him while they were desperately giving him chest compressions.

The tee-shirt posting remained on the Corporate Challenge web page for a few days after the incedent until I pointed it out to a race director. The irony of ironies would have been if he had been wearing one of these shirts. A few days later, the daughter wrote a nice memorial for the man, who was 71, and owned the meat distibuting company he was sponsoring. She described how he trained regularly, and was really looking forward to competing. He sounded like a very upbeat kind of guy.

In my mind, that would be the way that I would want to go, doing something I loved. It wouldn't be running, though, that would be my third choice. I think you know what my first choice would be. That's right, while fishing. While having sex would be a close second. Maybe, while having sex while fishing, hmmm. I can see it now, I'd be deep-sea fishing off the coast of Costa Rica and hook the world-record marlin. After fighting it for a couple of hours and getting it to the edge of the boat, it makes one last plunge and pulls me over the side. It'll make one last jump, and I'll be riding on it's back, smiling, and give one last wave to my friends on the boat and then plunge to the depths of the ocean.

Leave a post and tell me how you want to go out.

Today is a rest day, but, I'll probably go for a nice long bike ride this afternoon. I'm making my famous chili for my birthday party.

Killing Me Softly

2006-01-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

I've had a little soreness in my left hip lately, so, for my long run, I decided to find a soft surface. The Little Blue Trail is perfect for this. It's on the East side of Independence and runs along the Little Blue River. It's semi-wooded, well maintained, but, most importantly, it's made of a packed, fine gravel. Just like the Katy Trail. I started on the north end, but, next Saturday, I think I'll use the trail head on the south end. I'll get the exact address latter, but, it's just off of I-70, by all the new buildings going up, like Joe's Crabshack.

I ran for exactly two-hours and covered 14-miles. It was a beautiful day, yet there weren't too many people out. It's kind of scenic. I like the fact that there aren't a lot of cyclist on the trail, unlike the Indian Creek trail. What are those $%& @#*^&% doing riding on a trail anyway? Take it out on the road, you *&^&@ &@^!

I thought I was doing pretty good running my 8:15 pace, but, I was startled when this black guy wisked by me, like the wind. He wasn't African-American black, he was African black. Was it Shadrack Kimili? Was he real, or just a ghost, a vision?

A soft surface can go a long way in easing the beating you take. They say asphalt is a soft surface, but, it's still pretty hard to me. I'd like to do some running on a grassy surface, but, that's a little hard to find around here. A golf course would be nice. Wish they were a little more open minded about permitting runners. I think my soreness stems from some lunges I was doing a couple of days ago. I was doing them to as a way to prevent this kind of soreness. I jsut have to remember to ease into it.

After the run, I rewarded myself with burito lunch at Los Fuentes with a 32oz ice cold Dos Eques beer. Then a nap. No date tonight, yet. Took my nephew to see the Globetrotters. He liked it alot. It brought back memories of when my dad used to take me.

46, and a Day

2006-01-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

Well I got a couple of nice birthday cards yesterday, the first was from my date last night. She was very attractive, sweet, and had the body of a 20-year-old. She also gave me two primo chocolate bars.

We went to see an Eagles Tribute band. I know they are a 70's band, but, most of the people there were in their 70's. The casino must have given a lot of comp tickets to their big slot players. My date was really, and sweet (and attractive), but, I don't know if we have quite the same lifestyles. She's an RLDS member and doesn't drink. Either I'm going to have to become a fundamentalist Christian ( I am a Christian, but more of Cathlic acting Babtist), or, she's going to have to come over to my side. Like the Lou Reed song: "Hey, babe, take a walk on the wild side, I say, hey sugar, take a walk on the wild side. And the colored ladies say, Do, di do, di do, doooo".

My workout today was an easy 4.75-mile run at lunch with my boss, Rod. I actualy felt a little run down afterwards. I think, because I have been eating low carbs lately. I have lost 3lbs since New Years.

This card was from my most recent ex. Do you think she's still mad at me?

Weight: 167.8

Today is Your Birthday, With Nothing to Do, Yeah

2006-01-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

This is a large, dead, Leatherback turtle that washed up onto the beach near Ft. Lauderdale. He probably swam the ocean for a hundred years. I guess we all end up this way, washed up, upon the sands of time.

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday, Dear David,
Happy Birthday to Me!

Technically, I'm 46 today, almost a third of the way through my life. But, if you are as young as you feel, then I'm 29. I may even have a date tonight. I won't know until 7:00.

Yesterday, I didn't have time to input my actual workout, just what I planned to do. I made a point of telling exactly what I do, no more, no less. I had planned doing a Cruise Intervals, 4-one milers, in 6:53. However, I only did 3, and at a slower pace of about 7:05. It may have been that I felt a little worn from the previous workout, or, it might have been because the treadmills I used were brand new out of the box and I think it might have been calibrated a little differently. I other words. 6:53 on the old machine was like 6:40 on these new ones.

I could tell that I was working harder than the desired level because I was wearing a hear heart rate monitor and it was ticking away a lot faster than I had planned. My maximum heart rate is 186, and, for threshold workouts, I want it to hoover around 165 half-way through the workout.

Today, was a rest day, so, I just did 20-minutes on the elliptical and then lifted weights for about 25-minutes during lunch.

My BD date just called. The date is on! She's a blonde cutie, too. We are going to go see an Eagles tribute band at the Voodoo Lounge.

Weight: 168.2 That's 2.6 less than New Year's Day.

Quality Counts

2006-01-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

So far, all I've been doing is easy runs. Early in the season, easy, longer runs should be the bulk of your work. The idea being that you need to build a solid, aerobic base. But I have a half-marathon in two-and-a-half weeks, so, I have to add some quality workouts, or speedwork, before then.

It's important to note that Quality is just a matter of terminology. This doesn't mean that the easy, longer runs lack quality. They are just as essential to bringing out your best.

These Quality workouts fall under two categories, VO2 Max, and threshold. VO2 Max are geared more for 10k and under training, but, I'm training for a half-marathon, and then a marathon in a couple of months, so, threshold will make the bulk of my quality for right now. I'll do about 3 of these types of workouts in a two-week period.

I won't go into the biochemical details, basically, I'm just working at improving my body's tolerance of lactic acid. Think of it as a way to improve a body's ability to sustain a hard pace for an extended period of time.

There are two types of threshold workouts, Temp runs, and Cruise Intervals. My favorite Cruise interval workout is to run 4 X 1-mile repeats @ threshold pace (TP) with a very short rest of about 1 or 1:15 in between each. Think of your TP as being the pace you can run in an hour long race. For me, right now, that would be about 6:50 or so. You can quickly and steadily lower this pace over several weeks.

It would be nice to have a training partner right about my level that I could do these with on a track, but, for right now, I do them on a treadmill.

Weight: 169.2

Twice a Day, Keeps the Dr. Away

2006-01-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

Another great day for running. I ran a moderate paced 6-miler at lunch with my boss, Rod, and Damieon. We ran from the Y and around the downtown airport.

I started doing 2-a-day workouts about 6-weeks ago. Even with an understanding boss, it's hard to get in an adequate workout during the lunch hour, so, I go to the Y after work for a second one. It's usually fairly light. My main goal is to just burn some calories. I work at a desk all day, and, I'm not that active at home either. As I said before, one of the keys for me to reach my goals is to lower my weight. I'll start off with 20 - 25-minutes on the elipictical. That will bun off about 3 Ultras (as in Michelob). Then, I do some lifting. I did military presses, leg lifts, setups, lunges with dumbells, lats, and curls. Since I'll lift on back to back days, I'll focus on different body parts each time.

I'll do two-a-days 3 or 4 times a week. It helped quite a bit in maintaining my weight during the Holidays. I'll typically gain about 5lbs., which is pretty typical.

I turn 46 on Thursday. I'd like to go see an Eagles tribute band, but, I don't have a date. Yet.

Weight: 170.4

Beginnings

2006-01-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

This was taken on a trip with Yolanda on the Island of Kaui. She just got married this fall. That makes 3 ex-girlfriends who have got married in the last couple of years. That makes me feel... Like, whew! I dodged some major bullets! Actually, they were all pretty cool chicks. I just wasn't ready.

Yesterday, Sunday the first, was a beautiful day! Record temp of 62 for New Years. I wanted to go to a New Year Day running party, but, I didn't get up until 9:45 and wasn't feeling too whoopy from the last night. I ran a very slow 6-miles to, and through Mt. Washington cemetery. A beautiful place.

Today, it was back to work after a week of vacation. I ran with my boss, Rod, the 31st St. route, downtown KC, which is hilly as hell. It's a 5.5-mile course.

At the beginning of the week , I try to plan my workouts for the rest of the week. And it helps to know what you want to accomplish. So, you need goals! Since this is the beginning of the new year, I'm going to establish my long term goals (for the year). I'm also going to establish intermediate goals (within 2-months). Once you have these, it's easy to layout your short-term goals for the week.

I'm laying out pretty aggressive goals this year:
1) Qualify for the Boston Marathon and set a PR doing it. That means that I have to run under 3:18. I wanted to do the Feb 19 race in Ft. Lauderdale, but, I probably will need another month to PR, so, I'll shoot for a March marathon instead. Maybe at Virginia Beach.

That will give me time to recover and start training for my second goal:
2) Win at least 1 medal in the Corporate Challenge. I've come pretty close, but, so far no cigar. Potential events are 5k, one-mile, 800-meters, bike race, and/or duathalon. These events run from mid-May to mid-June.

That's as far as I want to plan ahead for now. Now, for the intermediate goals. There is a cool half-marathon in Topeka on the Jan 21. If I can run under 1:30, I might win a master's trophy. I should be able to get at least an age-group medal.

The following week is the Ground Hog Run 10k. That's really too close to the half to expect too much, but, I'll see what I have.

Now, for my New Year's resolutions:
1) Drink less and less often
2) Lower my body fat to 10% or less by the end of the year. That's probably about 15 lbs. I'll post my daily weight as well
3) Keep my house clean(er)
4) Always be a gentleman
5) Always wear a condom (if given the chance)

Today's weight: 170.8

¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

2006-01-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

That's one of my resolutions, to learn a new Spanish phrase every day. It's New year's Eve, mid-afternoon, I still hadn't got around to my daily workout. Somedays, you just don't feel it, and today was one of those days. What do you do on days like that? You feel the need to workout, but, the will is not there.

Well, I packed my gear and drug my butt to the car and headed to the Y. When I got there, the parking lot was empty. They were closed! I took that as a sign, today would be a rest day, which is probably for the best. Rest is an important element to the any training program.

At least it was a moral victory. I had fully intended to run an easy 4 and then lift some weights. Instead, I spent time with my nephew shooting baskets and playing keep-away with his crazy Boxer dog, Beaner.

Now, my attention turns to another problem. It's 6:30 and I don't have a date for New Year's Eve. I check for messages on my personal's accounts, but, no luck. It's doesn't look good.

Then, I hear a faint knock on my door. It's an old girlfriend of mine. She said that she had just been dumped. Now, I had an attractive date/designated driver for New Year's Eve. It's off to the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah's. GO TO THE VOODOO THAT YOU DO BEST!

Hard, Easy, Hard, Easy

2005-12-30T16:58:00.000-08:00

My route along Cement City Rd. is just full of wildlife. Spring must be around the corner, because I saw a robin. He must have flown a long way, because he was really tired. And that little bugger, they really do play possum.

I felt really good today, so I did nice 2-hour run and covered close to 14-miles. Maybe I will be ready to run a marathon PR this Feb. Lot's of work ahead, though. I might look into a March race instead.

If you've been looking at my runs, you'll notice that they, generally, fall into a hard-easy-hard-easy pattern. Since I'm mainly running easy, longer runs right now, you can see that in terms of the mileage I run each day. 9 on Wednesday, 7 yesterday, 14 today. This is a lot more effective than to just go out and run the same intensity and distance everyday. You can even apply the same principle to your weekly training load, hard week, easy week, hard week, easy week. I tried the easy, easy, easy, easy method, but, it didn't produce.

Oh, and I found another cool item, a big Buck knife in a case. It looked well worn, like the pocket knife your grandpa had. Mr. Kumar sent me a nice thank you e-mail for returning his wallet. You're welcome... you humus-eating, job-stealer : ) I put a smiley face there so you know it was tongue-in-cheek.

Way to go MU Tigers!! I knew they would come back and win it. Actually, I went home and took a nap after they went down by 21. But, I woke up in time to see them win.

If you are driving down Cement City Rd. the next few weekends, SLOW DOWN! I don't want to end up as road kill with my tongue hanging out of my mouth.

I got a last minute message on one of my personals site inviting me to a Kelly Hunt concert (blues). She turned out to be a very attractive, fun, and together woman. It kind of gives you hope. She admitted that she was in a relationship (kind of) and that she was still holding out hope of one day reconciling with her ex, who ran off with her best friend last year. She was pretty traumatized by that.

The concert was great. The crowd was older, 45 - 55. You know you're getting older when you look at a grandma, and think, "Umm looking good!"