Darkest brefore the dawn???

First, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you had a great one with friends, family, happy children and love all around. Christmas is a very special time of year.

Now for the disaster. On Wednesday Dec. 24th I went out to 8 miles and the run was nothing short of perfect. Sure, you are saying to yourself, "disaster???? this isn't a disaster???" Wait, it's coming. So, on this 8 mile jaunt I glided up a 2 mile hill and flew down the backside of the mountain to finish my run at a very fast pace. I had the wings of an eagle on my shoulders. I finished the run and thought, "oh yeah, I'm ready for the marathon. I just finished a GREAT 20, I recovered well, and I just blazed through a great run."

Rule 1 of marathoning: don't mock the marathon gods. They don't like that.

The night of Christmas, from midnight to about 5:30 am. I got a vicious case of stomach flu. After selling Buicks in the bathroom no less that 6 times (this can be corroborated by my father-in-law, sister and brother-in-law, and my wife...I'm not a quiet sick person), I knew that my training for the week was in trouble. I think that I pulled something in my rib cage. I feels like a broken rib when I take a deep breath, which is not a feeling you want at anytime in your life and least of all when you need to go on a long run.

Today, I tried to go for a 13 mile run with Brice, but I only made it 5 before I pulled off and stopped the run. It felt like I had the lungs of a Chihuahua. If I tried to take a real breath, it hurt. You know your run is in trouble when you keep checking back with your GPS watch ever tenth of a mile: 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1... uh oh.

Then comes the decision as you keep asking yourself, "do I puss out on the run or do I gut it out?" I relied on experience. I usually gut it out if I'm just having an "off day"; however, the last time I pushed when I was not feeling physically well, bad things happened. So, I fought all my natural instinct and...pussed out. I'm going to give the ribs another day to heal and I'll see what happens on Tuesday. I pray that the dawn is just around the corner.

Now get back to work...

30 Minutes on the rack

I hate to say this, but the stair-stepper-elliptical-thingy that I use on non-running days really hits the parts of my legs that are weakest on long runs. I believe it's helping me have better runs. I find when I get to mile 16 or so that the outsides of my quads start to fatigue, and they are the most uncomfortable part of my body after long runs. The rack hit's em hard. Kudos to the rack, but I still hate the thing.


Today I hit the rack because both Shannon, who we've taken to calling "little Cindy Lou Who, who was just about two" because of her striking resemblance that character from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", and Reese both got up at a ridiculous our today. Anyway, there I was huffing and puffing and wheezing away on that infernal machine and in walked Shannon. She watched me for a minute and said, "Go faster Daddy." Then she turned around and walked out. Ahhhh the inspirational words our children give us.

Now get back to wrapping gifts for Christmas...

20.55 Pemberton Trail

So here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 20 on Pemberton Trail:

The Good:

- Pemberton Trail and the McDowell Mountain Park are amazing. Kudos to Arizona for operating a place like that. The trail is well marked, well groomed and a pleasure to run on...for the most part. There were a few spots with mid-sized, loose rocks, but the trail is 15.4 miles long, so I can't complain.

- I'm made for trails. I'm slow, but I have a lot of power and I cruised through this run. Sure, it didn't hurt that I had the right mix of fluids and fuels to accompany me on the run, but trails are great!!!

- Damien the dog. About halfway into the run, Brice and I found ourselves being followed and then passed by a beautiful Alaskan Malamute with blue eyes and he was probably about 3 years old. He ran with us for about 8 miles with an effortless gate gait that could have supported him for about 30 more miles without trouble. I watched him run (because he was in front the entire time) and I did my best to mimic his running style...as best I could on two feet.

- One more long run and then the Marathon. I think that my motivation for running is coming back.

- From what I can see Mountain Bikers are a heck of a lot cooler than Road Cyclists. We all shared the trails well, they were quick to say hello, and they seemed to be happier than their asphalt riding cousins.

The Bad:

- Brice, who is arguably the better runner of the two of us, had a nasty run. I'm guessing that it was a combination of things: he's getting over a cold; he only had on a short sleeve shirt and it was probably 38 degrees at the start of our run; and I'm not sold that the gatorade/water combo for a 20 mile run is ideal. We have one more 20 to do and we'll see how it works out.

The Ugly:

- I had a blister issue after the run. I'm guessing that the change in terrain caused hot spots on my feet. I didn't feel them at all during the run, but when I took my shoes and socks off I had one on my heel and another on my middle toe. They are nasty, and ugly too. I took a photo with the thought that I'd post it, but it really is nasty. So I'll pass on the photos this time.

Less than a month to the marathon. OMG!! Panic, shortness of breath, shudder.

Now get back to work...

8...in the rain

Distance: 8
Time: 1:20 exactly

I need to start this blog entry by saying to the rain karma gods that I was in now way, shape, or form making fun of them in my previous blog entry. I meant no harm and did not need them to remind me that they can rain whenever they want to. As such, I can assure them that no further "rain punishment" needs to be handed out to me...at least for this week.

I had a feeling after yesterdays "run between the rain burst" entry that I'd get nailed today, and I did. Actually, the run started off ok. The rain had recently stopped and the temperature was nice, and I was greeted by that awesome "wet desert" smell; however, when I hit mile 5 it started to mist, then light sprinkle, then shower, then rain (I was spared the downpour). I had a jacket with me, tied around my waiste, but by the time I noticed that I was getting pretty wet, the damage was done. So I kept the jacket on my hips and kept on running.

When I got home Shannon ran up to daddy and pleaded for me to carry her. So I obliged (insert evil laugh here). Within seconds she realized that daddy was soaked and she started to do her best Fay Wray impersonation. Sometimes it is very fun being daddy. :-)

On a different note, I've been having some motivation issues for about the last 10 days. I'm finding that waking up is hard and the first mile of each run feels like a death march. I have about a month to go, so this is where is guess I'll have to gut it out. To help with motivation, Brice and I are talking about doing a lap on the Pemberton Trail this weekend. It's a trail in the McDowell Mountain Park (conveniently located about 3 miles from my house) that climbs 650 feet over the first 5 miles, then it goes up and down for about 6 miles, and then it finishes with a steady downhill run for about 5 more miles. It's supposed to be ideal for bikes and runners. I'm looking forward to it. I wonder if Mountain Bikers are any better behaved than their street riding counterparts? I would suspect yes.

Now get back to work.

7 in between rain drops

Distance 7
Time 65:07

I went a little faster than usual today, partially because I feel I need to get some tempo runs in before the marathon and partially because I was running in between waves of rain.

Yesterday my dad asked me, "how do you run in the rain." At first I was thinking, "the same way I run in the sun, or under the stars, or in wind: 87 strides per minute and very slow." But then I started to think about his question and it's not a bad question. It's been my experience that, more often than not, rain traditionally comes in waves. Usually, a band of storms will blow through and then there will be a gap before the next one hits and I'll attempt to get my run in between those gaps. If the rain is very hard, I'll stay inside and use Mary's clothes line to exercise.

Sometimes I'm more successful than others at timing my run, and today I was very lucky (especially since weather.com predicted a 70% chance of steady rain at 5am when I prepped for the run last night). It was obvious when I started my run that the rain had recently stopped. I cranked out my run and shortly after I stopped, it started to rain again. So, even though it will rain for most of the day, I stayed dry during my run. I also realize that, now that I've put this down on "paper," it's going to be very wet for the next 5 weeks. Actually, let me amend that statement a little, it will be very wet until I drop a few hundred bucks on rain gear and then we'll get sun and unseasonably high temperatures. Such is life.

Now get back to work...

18 to Rio Verde and Back

Distance 18
Time: 46 hours (Reese played with my watch when I got home)

The run was slow, but good. I'm in love with Hammer Nutrition. I'm like the guy in "Green Eggs and Ham" after he tries them:

And I will drink it on a boat and I will drink it with a goat,
and I will drink it while I run and I will drink it just for fun,
and I will drink it in the dark and I will drink in in a park,
and I will drink it here and there, I will drink it anywhere.

But really, their stuff helped me to have a noticeably better outing. There's a big difference in a slow 18 where you are not firing on all cylinders vs. having the GI tract, muscles, and mind all happy when you finish. I thought about tacking on some more miles at the end, but then I decided to stick with the plan. So it's 20 next weekend with Brice.

Speaking of Brice, he did the Scottsdale Half Marathon last weekend and was very, very, very close to breaking 2 hours in the race. I think he did 2:00:57. It's amazing how these races seem to come down to a few seconds. Crazy. Great race Brice!

Observations from the run:

- Running in the desert with nothing around you is really cool (actually, it was down right cold and I should have had my gloves with me, but that's another story). The smells of the desert, the cacti, the guns being fired on the Indian reservation. It's all pretty cool, well the guns weren't cool, but the rest of it was.

- While there are some friendly people who ride bikes, most of them are not on the road between Fountain Hills and Rio Verde. Guys, would it kill you to say "good morning" or to at least not make it so obvious that you hate cars, runners, fuzzy bunnies, and Santa Claus. Get over yourself.

Now get back to work...

5.5 weeks to go

Distance: 8
Time: 1:26

I like running with other people, not just for the company, but also for the exchange of ideas. For example: Brice noticed that we had 6 weeks to go after last weekend and he told me that his strategy is to go through 3-4 weeks of hell (tons of miles) and then taper for the marathon. I liked the idea and I'm going to follow suit.

So, in sticking with the above play, I ran 8 miles for the second day in a row today, which is something I usually try to avoid (by the way, I don't remember marathon training being so hard 10 years ago). It was slow, but I'm feeling pretty good. I will ice the knee today, as it is being a little cranky, but nothing more than normal.

Of note, after yesterday's run I had no post-run electrolyte drink and, worse yet, no coffee. Are caffeine and electrolytes important after a longer run? Well I ran into a door at Shannon's daycare because I couldn't time the knob turning and pushing of the door to work together. Don't worry, only three mothers were there when I did that. Then I made a beeline for S-bucks to get myself a venti coffee in hopes of getting myself back on track. Seems simple enough, save for the fact that all three baristas behind the counter kept thinking I was saying "baby coffee". One said I was slurring. Great... So today I offed the HEED lemon lime nectar-of-the-gods (this stuff should replace methadone for heroine addicts) and a big cup of coffee. No problems today. I think I'll add the coffee and HEED to my post weekday running routine.

Now get back to work...

Pig Pandemonium

Distance: 8
Time: slowww

I think I'm going to give myself a two day rest after long runs as I seem to fare much better when I do that. Today was pretty easy and slow. I saw three shooting stars this morning. Seeing those things blaze across the sky helps to make the miles scoot by. It's kinda like looking for a four leaf clover in a field. I keep looking and looking, and then, zing, one flies by.


I had an encounter with 5 Javelinas (wild pigs - see picture) at the fountain park this morning. Let's set the stage, it's very dark and they are wild creatures. As I neared them, the head pig got a little edgy and started to dart in different directions, and then the remaining 4 pigs started to run in different directions, and then I started to run in different directions as if I had a turantula in my pants. Yep, I'm brave. After dancing with the pigs for what seemed to be an eternity, I successfuly emerged on the other side. I'd like this to be the end of the story, but it's not. Next I heard a woman's voice call out from the dark, "are they gone?" About 30 yards in front of me was a woman out for her morning jog. So I mustered my best superhero voice and proclaimed the area to be safe. My only hope is that she has bad vision and that she is now telling her friends about the brave jogger who took on 5 coyotes on his pre-dawn run, but we all know that I'm not that lucky.

Now get back to work...

18 around the fountain

I said on Friday that Eric would break 3:20 by a comfortable margin. Is 3 seconds a comfortable margin?!?! Much congratulations to him for posting a time that qualifies him for the Boston Marathon in April. I guess we'll have to read his crappy blog for another 5 months? Also, congratulations to Mom for running the first leg of the marathon relay with all her golden girl buddies. They all rock and mom rocks too!! Congrats. And a final congratulations to Abby Darra (Eric's girlfriend) for chugging out a leg in marathon relay with a bunch of her friends too. Was I the only person who missed the CIM today????? Eric, did Abigail and Olivia take part in the 10 and under group for the run?

I'm proud of you all.

18 around the fountain.

Brice and I trucked around the "lake" (it's a pond) in Fountain Hills today. We went around, and around, and around, and around, and around, and around, and around for about 12 laps today. Thank the heavens above for GPS, or I would have lost count at around lap 4. Anyway, we plodded along at around 10 minute pace and the run felt good, which was great news for two reasons. First, after last weeks long run, I was about ready to toss in the towel on this marathon. That run was hideous and it affected me for at least 3 days after I finished the thing. Not worth it at that price. Second, after a very, very fun trip to see amazing RC airplanes (some with 90 inch wing spans) with Reese, Shannon, Dad, and Mary, the R-man went down with a very bad stomach flu. He emptied the contents of his tummy out all over the back of the car, which I cleaned up (insert shudder of discust here). I was certain that I would not escape that cleaning with a clear tummy, but there were no stomach issues during the run. I still may get the flu, but I got my 18 in, so who cares what happens the rest of the week?

The only issue I had after the run was that my knee was a little talketive, and it still is. I've iced it twice and downed a fair amount of advil, but it's still not playing well with others. I think I'll give it one last wrap of ice for the evening. By the way, ice works on all that ails you with your joints. I highly recommend icing if you have any discomfort in them. I read that Dean Karnazes dips his lower body into a bath of ice after every run. I dunno if I can do that, but if I ran as much as he regularly does, then an ice bath might look pretty inviting.

Now get back to work...

Two runs and a purchase

First: Eric (my brother) is running the CIM (California International Marathon) in Sacramento this Sunday. Barring any major catastrophes, he's going to break 3:20 and he's going to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Shoot him an email of encouragement if you get a chance. His email is nortontwin@gmail.com. Thanks!


7 around the fountain

Thankfully this run was much better than the last one. I didn't go very fast, but it all went well. My guess is that the bad run on Tuesday was a product of my cruddy long run on Sunday. I'll push for a slower starting pace with Brice for this weekend. Here's an observation that I hope becomes a hard proven truth for me at some point: When I start slow and then steadily increase my speed, the run turns out well. I'll test this again this weekend.

I also think that part of the problem with my run on Sunday was that I had bad supplements with me. I used to be able to suck those things down without any problem, but not anymore. Which brings me to my purchase.

Purchases:

I dropped a C note ($100) on running supplements and a cool light for running. So, as you've seen in my other blogs, I'm turning to Hammer Nutrition for my running gels, electrolyte drinks, and recovery stuff. However, to get it, I needed to go to a Bike Shop. And in case you didn't know, bicyclist and runners do not coexist very well at all. As I've said in other postings, I attribute this to the "middle child" syndrome. They aren't cars, but they have to follow those rules; and they are not pedestrians, to whom they have to be nice. So they hate the cars and runners with equal vigor. But I digress...I went to a bike shop for my supplies and my fellow "cyclists" were interested in how much I biked, where I rode, was I a "trail guy" or a "road guy". And I finally had to break down and tell them that I was a runner, which put a noticeable damper on the customer service that I had been receiving up to that point. Nonetheless, they had what I needed and I was happy.

While I was there I decided that I'd get a new safety-flasher-thingy for my dark morning runs (my old one died after a year of faithful service), and they had something that totally caught my interest. It's called the Infini Amuse, which is an LED light that is designed to be strapped onto handlebars.


The cool thing is that the strap is a piece of rubber that wraps around the handle bar and hooks back onto the LED. What's cool about that? It turns out that a finger is just as big a handle bar. So I can hook that onto my finger and off I go. I don't have to hold anything and my hands are free to remain relaxed during my run. Plus, those two little LEDs are about as bright as the Sun. Holy cow!! I'll give you an update after I've used it a couple of times.

30 minutes on the rack:

The kids got in the way again this morning, so I did a quick 3o on the stair stepper, elliptical thing. No fun, but at least I got a workout in.

Now get back to work.

A very challenging 5 mile run

Distance 5
Time 1:00
Quality 0

I've posted 45 entries into this blog and I can confidently say that this morning I had the worst run that I've had this entire year. I started of with the idea that I'd do an easy 6 to recover from the challenging run I had this weekend, but I soon realized that this run wasn't going to happen. Twice I thought I was going to get physically ill during the run, my head was pounding, and my legs felt like they were tied together. Rough. I'm going to take tomorrow off and see what happens on Thursday.

Get back to work...

Blog Blitz - 4 runs

16 in Sac

Sacramento needs to make a lot of noise about their beautiful bike trails. They are perfect for running...oh, and biking too. Actually, the bikers and the runners seemed to coexist nicely in Sac, which is not a common occurrence. Kudos to Sacramento!

I did 16 on the bike trail and did most of the run at 10:15 pace, but then I kicked things down a notch during the last 6 miles and got my average pace down to 9:33 at the end of the run. I'll let you do the math on that one. It was a better than average run and part of what made the run so great was all the people running on the trails. Most were doing their last long run before the CIM. Seeing all those people on the trails got me pumped and I think that that was what made the run move so well at the end.

6 on the trails

It was very foggy for this run and dark too. When I first hit the trails it felt like someone had put a mover's box over my head and asked me to run, which is not the most comforting feeling.

Turkey day 6

We avoided the 28,000 people who showed up for the "run to feed the hungry" and did 6 with a small group of friends and family on the bike trail. Eric was not feeling 100 percent, which gave me the ability to keep up with him for 1 mile before he kicked the s**t out of me. He's going to make his time for Boston (3:20) with ease. Anyway, after the run, with an air of superiority, I proceeded to tell everyone about how I despise the nationwide "turkey trots". The gist of my argument was that millions of people burn 300 calories on a 3.1 mile run and then they use this one time event as a green light to indulge on an extra 3000 calories, which leaves them in a worse place than if they had not run at all. I was feeling pretty full of myself and then I proceeded to eat WAYYYYYYY too much at Abby's house that evening. I'm such a fraud.

16,17, 18??? back on the AZ Canal

You'd think that two runners with GPS devices would be able to run together and provide to you precise input on every mile, calories burned, altitude, outside temperature, heart rate, etc, but that would be predicated on those two runners being able to use said GPS devises. Brice's Garmin watch was being pissy about which satellites to use and wouldn't start working until about 1.2 miles into the run. My Timex watch was doing great until the receiver ran out of battery power about 10 miles. So we pieced together that we did about 16.5 miles.

As for this run. It sucked. It sucked so hard that it needed vast improvement for it to just suck mightily. I ran out of gas at about 10 miles and was doing the dead man shuffle for the remaining 6.5 miles. I guess that that should be good training for the final 6 of the marathon, but the fact that we would have needed to tack on almost 10 more miles for a marathon to happen didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I think that I'll play with the pace for the next run.

Product review:

I used Hammer Gel, their workout drink and post workout recovery drink last week and I have to give them supremely high marks. The gel was super mild and gave me everything I needed to do the run. The drinks helped me do well during the run and to recover after the run. Hammer Nutrition ROCKS! Use it if you get a chance.

This week I wasn't so lucky. I couldn't find anyplace with Hammer stuff, so I went to the local Sports Authority and got PowerGel from Gatorade (Vanilla) and then some drink stuff for my run and the post run recovery. PowerGel is vile. Why do the people at Gatorade insist on giving us nasty drinks and even worse running gels? Their drinks are like maple syrup and their gels are like cake frosting. When you are running, choking down that stuff doesn't do the tummy a whole lot of good. In fact, I really wanted to to hurl when I took that stuff today. As for the drink and the post-run-recovery stuff. I can't remember what I purchased, but Michael Phelps was prominently featured on the sales display. It was ok, but I think that the Hammer Nutrition stuff spoiled me for other drinks.

Now get back to work...

9.3 in the hills

Distance 9.3
Time 1:28:53
Quality 7

I set out to 8 and ended up doing 9.3, why? It wasn't that I was feeling motivated, rather it was that I needed a restroom very fast and there aren't a lot of options for you when you are 4 miles into a run and it's 5:30am. So I detoured to the local Safeway. Their restrooms get high marks. I'd like to thank the guy with the initials "BN" for making sure that the place was clean at 9pm last night, or at least that's what was on the little timesheet on the back of the door. The rest of the run was uneventful. I did negative splits, which had me down to about 8 minute miles at the end of the run. The knee feels good, calves are fine, and not reall issues to worry about. I'm heading to Sacramento tomorrow for Thanksgiving week, which means I get to haunt my old running grounds. More specifically, my next blog will reference a long run on the American River Bike Trail.

A brief note about weight:

I'm very conflicted right now. You may recall that I proudly shouted out in my blog that I got down to 187 pounds (which was still probably 30 pounds heavier than my hay eating brother, Eric, AKA Karen Carpenter). Now I find myself jumping up to 194.4 pounds. AHHH! So let me get this straight, I increase my miles and effort, and I gain 7.4 pounds????? Here's my conflict, I've held in the back of my mind that I should get down to 185 by the time I hit the streets for the marathon on January 18th, which is a much more attractive thought than carrying around 10 extra pounds for 26.2 miles; howerver, if I'm at 195, then I qualify for the Clydesdale division, which I may have a shot at placing in if my time is ok. I need to push ego aside and take the weight off.

Now get back to work...

30 Minutes on "the rack"

Soooooooo, events conspired to rob me of my 6 mile run today. C'est La Vie. "Fortunately" I have my fall back, Mary's combination clothes line and dust collector, otherwise known as the Elliptical Stair Thingy. Goodness how I hate being in that room with a ceiling fan and Mary's screen saver to keep me company for 30 minutes or so. The good news is that I hijacked Mary's computer and trashed her current screen saver, which featured the "vision and values" of Deloitte (teamwork, diversity, integrity...puke). Ahhhhh, the serenity of flying toasters, an oldy, but a goody.

Nonetheless, the confined space still conspired to play with my mind. I was focusing on maintaining a relaxed, efficient form and my mind was curious what the kids were watching in the other room. So, instead of relaxing and being efficient, I got the theme song from Sponge Bob Square Pants stuck in my head. Repeat that in your head for 30 minutes and tell me how you feel when you are done. I'm seeking fresh air and pavement on Friday.

Now get back to work...

3 runs, one posting

Ok, this is now becoming a habit, and a bad one at that. To my defense, I've been traveling and working a lot of hours.

6 in Jersey

The weather warmed up in Jersey for my second run. So my poor choice in winter running gear didn't come back to haunt me on my second run. The run went well, but I do have one observation: my never-fail GPS that I use in Arizona has yet to work in New York and New Jersey. I've tried it three different times and all three times it failed miserably.

Mental note on the run. It doesn't work well when you lead a group of 30 for an all day development program (which usually wipes me out), then run 6 miles, then take a very quick shower before heading out with a client for dinner. I made it through the appetizer (fried pickles, which was surprisingly good) before I bonked hard. I have no clue how I made it through dinner, but Kurt was very helpful at carrying the conversation.

3.8 on a treadmill

They finally fixed the treadmill at my hotel, so I cranked out a quick three...after an all day training session with 36 people and before a dinner...Ok, so I'm a slow learner. But the 3 went well. I cranked out a few 7 minute miles on the machine. The only disheartening part of this run was when I looked at myself in the full length mirror during the run. 7 minute miles feel very fast, but the mirror says otherwise. Oh, well.

Skipped the long run this weekend:

I got home late on Saturday and, after a week of 1-on-2 with the kids, Mary was not thrilled about my desire to disappear for 2.5 hours on Sunday morning. I quickly readjusted my plans and stayed home with the kids while Mary went out on the town for the better part of the day. I'm good with that. I love her and I plan to be married to her forever, so what's one long run in the grand scheme of things, yes?

8.5 on Monday.

I can't remember the last time I ran on a Monday. I'm usually recouping from a long run. This morning was wayyyyy cool, the Leonid Metor Shower is in full glory today and tomorrow just before dawn. I was able to see around 8 killer meteors streak across the sky. Nothing makes a run move a long faster than actively lookng for your next meteor. If you get a chance, you'll see them again tomorrow morning. The only drawback is that the moon is a gibbous right now and directly overhead in the morning, which means that you'll only see the big metors.

Ok guys, get back to work...

Mike "the steam engine"

Distance: 7ish
Time: 1:08
Temp: 31 degrees

Let's pretend that you are heading out on a trip to the east coast where the forecast for the following week is cold, cold, cold and cold. As well, you are planning to go out into the elements for a couple of runs. Do you pack a running jacket and hat or do you throw ONE long sleeve shirt into your bag and think that that will hold up to freezing temps? Guess what I packed...I'm an idiot.

So I wake up early and see that water would freeze if it were outside and I think, "OK, I'll head down to the exercise room and crank out some miles on the treadmill." However, the treadmills needed to be in service for that to occur. So I donned my single long sleeve shirt and out to the elements I went. I looked like steam engine as I ran down the road. Every breath created a white cloud around me. It was friggin COLD, but I did it. I'm sure that my face will defrost sometime around dinner tonight.

Other observations from the run:

• They say that smell is one of the most powerful senses for memory recall and I would agree. I ran around a park that had piles and piles and piles of bright red, orange, and rust colored leaves in it, and as I got close to the piles I caught the smell of those slowly decaying leaves, which, oddly enough, is a beautiful smell. I can't give it an adjective that would do that scent just. The only word that comes to mind is that is smelled like "fall" and I immediatly was pulled back to my childhood in New York and Maryland. The feeling was so strong is was almost a physical event for me. It was crazy.
• In New Jersey, pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. A plumber, white SUV, and a Mercedes all did their best to put an end to my life. In their defense, I'm sure that at least one of those drivers thought that I was completely insane and that I needed to be euthanized.
  
• The architecture is really cool out here. All the homes have very small profiles from the street, but they go back forever. I'm told that this is because of taxes. Home owners used to be taxed on the width if their foundation that bordered the street, so everyone made homes that were 10 feet wide and 100 feet long.
  

That's all for today.

Now get back to work...

13.2 in Fountain Hills

Distance: 13.2
Time: 2:22:00

I never knew how small fountain hills was until I did my long run today, which took me out to the fountain, up to the highest point in fountain hills, down past my house, back out to the fountain for two laps around it and back home. I ran out of room in my little town. Now all the restaurants are crap in this town, you can't fit enough people in it's borders.

Get back to work...

Early AM 7

Distance: 6.9 miles
Time: 1:08

Mental note: late night viewing of election results and 4:30 am alarm clocks don't mix well. Also, it's turned a wee bit nippy in the desert. So the fact that I was sleep deprived and that it was colder than normal outside really made it hard to extract myself from my comfy bed, but I did it.

The run was uneventful, slow and dark. The cool thing was that my bladder was under control. I've not mentioned this in recent blogs, as I put it under the TMI (too much information) label, but I've had a big issue needing to pee a lot during my recent runs. It's pretty annoying. What's worse is watching the "flomax" commercials and giving it serious consideration. Eric recommended S!Caps to me because he thought that, maybe, I was having trouble getting the fluids to my system. Let me back up a little. I've been trying everything short of total dehydration to keep things in check, which is a little scary when you consider what dehydration combined with 26.2 miles could do to you. Anyway, it looks like the S!Caps, which have sodium and magnesium in them, worked. No potty stops today. I'll let you know how well they work after my next run.

Now get back to work.

30 minutes on the rack

Distance: ??
Time: 31 minutes

I wasn't completely motivated to run this morning and my kids helped me to stay that way by threatening to wake up mommy in the early AM. So, in order to help Mary catch a few extra z's, I decided to hit the rack (the elliptical trainer in Mary's office) and I figured that I'd be smart by throwing in a DVD into her computer so the kids would be occupied for my 3o minute crank. HOWEVER, her computer goes into sleep-mode after 5 minutes of inactivity. And the biggest challenge around this is that when her computer goes into sleep-mode, you need to hit ctrl+alt+delete and enter a password for it to come back on. Is my 2.5 year old gonna do that for me? Is my 5.5 year old going to do that for me? Nope. So here's the routine for my AM workout: spin, spin, spin, curious george shuts off, climb off the rack, get computer running, get back on the rack, spin, spin, spin, repeat cycle every 5 minutes. I had a less than ideal run this morning.

Now get back to work...

Testing your manhood

Run: 14 miles
Time: 2:19:00

First, Brice and I did 14 at the AZ Canal again. For anyone in Phoenix who might ever read this blog, if you are doing a long run in Phoenix, I highly recommend the AZ Canal. I never see anyone out there, and it amazes me.

Brice, was suffering from one of the many tweaks, twinges, and winces that hit you when you train for a marathon. His calf is giving him trouble and he wasn't sure that he thought he'd do 6 and see what happened after that. I was thinking that the total run for me should be around 12 or 13, and then he pops off with the idea to 14, which had me a little scared. And now that my readers are completely confused, let's just say that nothing bad happened to his calf and we did the 14. We did it under 10 minute miles, which is 30 seconds faster than what we've logged in the past. As such, I'm getting a little excited about possibly finishing the marathon closer to the 4 hour mark, as evidenced by me checking out a marathon pace calculator online. Hmmmm. 9:44 minute/miles, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Testing your manhood

The marathon tests you in many unforeseeable ways. In the never ending pursuit to keep comfortable (see eric's blog about his long run this past Saturday) runners use a bunch of stuff. One of the biggest sources of discomfort for runners is chafing all over: under your arms, between your legs (especially if you have a little extra weight, trust me I know this one), on your chest, etc. So most runners use either petroleum jelly or Glide. We'll put so much of that stuff on us that we could enter ourselves in a greased pig contest before we hit the road for a long run. Recently I ran out of Glide and had to go to the local sports mega store to get some more. I originally thought nothing of this endeavor, but then I couldn't find the stuff in the 5 acres of sports stuff at the store and I was forced to ask a zit faced kid for glide. He tried not to snicker, but was unsucessful and then he needed help. So now I needed to ask two people for body lubrication (and I thought buying tampons for the wife sucked). Finally, we found the Glide and I made my hasty exit. What an ordeal.

Now get back to work...

High Beams

Distance: 6.5
Quality: 8

Again, Shannon was kind enough to give me a 4:30 am wake up call today. Fortunately I was lucky and she went right back to bed. So I got to sneak out for 6.5 today. I tortured myself on Lago Blvd., which gives me a 2 mile long hill in the middle of the run. Of note, Eric told me a while ago that he was shooting for a fast marathon on 2 mid-week runs and a long run each week. I thought he was crazy, but now I find myself doing the exact same thing. I don't see how people with 2 kids, a job, and a wife could possibly do much more during the week...without harming the relationship.

Rant: high beams in residential neighborhoods

If you find yourself driving down your residential roads in the pre-dawn hours, please don't turn on your high beams. I spend half my morning runs with my eyes trying to readjust to the dark. What on earth do you think is going to jump out and surprise you when you are traveling at 30 mph on a road where most people are still sleeping. Paperboys don't exist anymore, falling saguaro cacti are very rare, and if you hit a Javelina then you get to make Kahlua pig for the neighbors over the weekend. Please ditch the high beams, or at least let me come over to your house to blind you with a camera flash every couple of minutes. I would argue that the road is a lot safer without blind pedestrians walking around, wouldn't you?

Now get back to work.

Bad Blogger!!!

I apologize to my faithful following of...2 or 3 readers who venture to this site. I fear that I'm now just chronicling a document that will only be read by me and my brother (if I plead for him to revisit the site).

Here's a quick run down of the last 10 days, or is it 11??? OMG!

1. woke up early to do 6, but I was greeted by Shannon in the hallway (what the HECK was she doing up that early?!?!?!?) and she saw that I had on running clothes, which was followed by a much-louder-than-needed plea to go on the run with me. Traditionally this is not an issue, especially since she's MUCH lighter than Reese, but the jogging stroller had a flat. Long story short, after negotiating with Shannon (and losing), then pirating parts from the other jogging stroller we have, inflating the tire and getting everyone strapped in, the time I had for a leisurely (the only pace I can muster) 6 mile jog, had turned into just enough time to sprint out 3.

2. long run. I had myself down to do 12 today, but I only know that I did 2 hours of running. Why? When I took Shannon on the run the other day, I strapped my GPS receiver to the stroller...and never turned it off. I had just enough battery life to make it about a half mile into the run and then I went old school, which is jog out an hour, turn around, and jog back for an hour. Who knows how far I ran.

2. In New Jersey. Working from 7am to 8pm every day didn't give me a lot of time to run. And considering that I forfeited 3 hours to go east, I wasn't about to get up at 2am pst to go for a jog. So I squeezed in a late night run at about 8:30 on Wednesday. It was COLD!!! See-your-breath cold! I used one of those skull caps that you see the NFL guys wearing, and it worked very well. I highly recommend one if you are going to be doing cold weather running. Anyway, I ran for 52 minutes and I swear that I was doing a 7 minute mile or better the last two miles; however, I'll never know. Yet another GPS issue. For some reason it didn't lock onto the satellites out there and it kept going on and off through the entire run.

One final question to y'all: WHY IS NEW JERSEY CALLED "THE GARDEN STATE"?!?!?!?!? I can see it being called "the what-is-that-smell state" or "the concrete state" or the "runners-beware-of-all-cars state", but there ain't no gardens in that state.

3. long run back in AZ. How does someone essentially do an "out and back" run with the out split being 1:26 and the back split being 30? Let's just say that the "out" portion of the run involved being lost and crawling under not one, but two barbed wire fences. After being lost on trails for an hour and a half, I found the road and made a beeline for home. I'll give those trails a try again and we'll see if something better happens.

4. 4 turns into 6. Shannon, yet again, is helping to shape my training schedule. She got up at 4am the other day. I was afraid that she'd not go back to bed, so I curled up next to her (can I tell you how happy I am now that she's out of the toddler bed?) until she zonked about 15 minutes later. At that point, I was awake and had no hope of catching some z's before it was time to run, so I took off at 4:30 for my am run. And with the additional time that Shannon introduced to my schedule, I upped the miles from 4 to 6. I was home before 5:30 and ready to start my day. You should have seen the look on my business partner's face (Kurt was in town for some quarterly work and he's from the east coast, so he got up pretty early), when he saw me before the sun was up and asked if I was going to get out and run soon, only to find that I'd already cranked out the run before the sun, paper boy, wife and kids ever started moving.

Again, I apologize for the mass blog dump and I promise to be a little better in the coming weeks.

Now get back to work.

Pre Dawn 4

Run: 4 miles
Time: 42:20
Quality: 2/10

I was sore after the 10.5 this weekend and the blistering 9 minute mile pace (hahahahahahahahahhahah - that's me from 10 years ago laughing at me of today), so the start of the run was sloooooooowwww. Then I started to hit my stride in the middle, but then I had a little lower GI tract issue and started running like I worked for The Ministry of Funny Walks (Click on this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w). Enough said.

Now back to work.

Beautiful Weather

Distance: 10.5 miles
Time: 1:42:55
Quality: 8/10

A low pressure system hit AZ this weekend and the morning run on Sunday was 49 degrees at the start. Ohhhhh, it felt great. I even wore a dark shirt, as I knew that I would not be burning up at the end of the run. Also, the route was an out-and back on the AZ Canal (still highly recommend it for any Arizona runner out there!!), with us going into the breeze and against the canal for the first half. I noted to Brice that we'd be hauling ass on the way back, but I was only joking...or so I thought.

We both felt good and stepped it up the last half of the run with our final four miles at a 9:04 pace. Ok, so that's not quite 'hauling ass' (Eric, my brother, on his worst run might see a mile at 8:10, so we have a way to go before we could honestly say we were going fast). Nontheless, it felt good to be moving at a pace that felt like a full jog as opposed to a death-march-shuffle of the feet.

Also, I was glad that I opted to NOT wear the heart rate monitor on Sunday. I'm sure that it would have triggered some sort of 911 alert and scrambled a Search and Rescue team for me. Also, also, as I'm writing this the day after the run, I must note that my quads, glutes, calves, and quads are all very aware that they put in extra effort yesterday and they are not afraid to tell me that.

I have a bit of hope that I'll be able to look at a Marathon pace that will get me in at 4:30 or better. We'll see. I have to keep reminding myself that distance is more important than pace right now. In fact, whenever I get the urge to chase down a runner who crosses my path on my morning runs, I chant "distance, not pace" to myself. It tends to pull me back a little.

Now get back to work.

5 around the Fountain

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 55:10
Quality: 5/10

I'm fighting a cold and couldn't get out of second gear today. It's totally dark if you start running at 5:10 AM and the significance of this is that bats are still trying to get that last meal before the sun comes up. One bounced off my head this morning and I didn't take it too calmly. I always thought I was a little braver, but put a bat in my hair and I get a little freaky. Happy Halloween.

The leg sleeve still seems to be doing well, which gives me hope that the long run this weekend will be a good one. However, I have to say that it's a bitch getting that thing off your leg when you finish your run. Also, you sweat like a pig with that thing on. My sock and shoe on my right foot was drenched. Does this open me up to blisters now? Oh how I hate my right leg.

Get back to work.

McDavid Leg Sleeve

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 42:43
Quality: 7/10

Yes, I was a little disgruntled that McDavid dragged their feet on my leg sleeve, but it arrived. I ran with it this morning and it looks like it's helping the leg. I put a little extra speed in on the last mile to see if the shin hurt after I cooled down, but it was silent. So far the leg sleeve gets high marks.

8.5 in Chicago

Distance: 8.5
Time: 1:27:49
Quality: 3/10

Cautionary tale: Don't party and then expect a good run the next day. While you might be thinking that these words are common sense, I must remind you of my stupidity.

The picture is of Kurt and Mary (my wife) at Frontera Grill.

Saturday we went to Rick Bayless's restaurant, Frontera Grill and had great food and even better margaritas...3 to be exact. Then we went back to the hotel for a beer. Then we went to dinner at Bin 36, a local wine bar, to put more nails in the running coffin. Let's first talk about a few of the MANY cheeses I tried such as: Brind D'Amour, Pierre Robert, Manchego, Stilton, Comte, and at least 6 more nefarious cheeses from goats, sheep, and cows. Did I mention that I'm a little lactose intolerant? But that didn't stop me from eating it all. And we shouldn't forget the wine, which included a Rose Prosecco, a flight of Syrah, and then a bottle of Syrah because we liked one of my flight so very much.

For those of you keeping tab at home, the glasses of wine, beer, and margaritas total about 8 or 9 at this point.


Now let's talk about the run. In the 8.5 miles that I jogged, I hit 3 restrooms. The one on the waterfront next to Grant park is VILE, avoid it at all costs. The port-a-potty at Burnham Harbor was quite nice, but you needed to hop a fence to get to it. Finally, a quick visit to the convention facilities at McCormick Place turned out quite well, I blended nicely with the people attending the National Radiology Convention.

Chicago

Delinquent blogger. Here's 4 posts.

Run: 5 miles

Time: 52:53

Quality: 8/10 it felt good

I ran along Lake Michigan today and I thought I'd only go for about 3.5, but when I saw the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium, which also is very close to Soldier Field, I kept running. They looked like they were pretty close, but they are very big and the distance was a lot further than I thought. Still, it was great fun.

Note of disappointment. I purchased a McDavid leg sleeve for my shin splints and paid the extra cash for it to be FedEx'd out to me before the trip to Chicago. They waited three days to ship it and it, unfortunately, arrived the day I left. So it's in AZ and I'm in pain. Grrrr.

35 minutes on the Rack

With the shin splint issue, I stuck to the Rack (Mary's elliptical exercise machine) this weekend. Ohhhhhhh how I wanted to do the long run. I felt awful skipping the long run, but I felt it'd be prudent to back off for a bit and wait for it to heal a little. I also got a calf sleeve, which should help too.

Also, I gotta start getting some pictures in here. Text is so boring.

Now get back to work.

Shin Noise

Distance: 6.2 miles
Time: 1:05
Temp: 73 and breezy - I had not noticed this before, but there's no wind in the AM in the desert
Quality: 7/10

Got up way early for this one, 4:45am. I've decided to up the miles on Wednesday or Thursday (but I may amend this before this blog is through, you'll see). I don't plan on doing anything longer than 8 on Wednesdays, but Brice is talking about doing 10 and more. I disagree with this approach, but that's just an opinion.

I made a spectacle of myself on the run today by inhaling a bug at about mile 2. It hit me squarely in the back of my throat, which then started me gagging...a lot. What a nasty experience, but I bet it was funny to watch. Wish I had a video of it.

The run was good, but there's a little issue popping up. The possibility of Shin Splints. My right shin has been achy for the last week or so. I've been trying to gut through it, which I know is a really bad idea, but then I'm a stupid guy. So what do you expect? I really don't want to back off the miles and I certainly can't back off the pace. I'm getting passed by everything from old ladies walking their dogs to ants carrying full sized potato chips in their mandibles. I'll try ice and stretching for one more week and then I'll re-assess the situation.

Now get back to work.

10 on the AZ Canal

Run: 10.01 (do we really need accuracy down to the hundredths?)
Time: 1:41:10
Quality: 8/10

Brice and I had schedule conflicts, so I did this run solo, but aided with the GPS again. First, let me say that running on dirt paths is very, very good for anyone who has knee or hip issues. There were times when I went out of my way to find the softer dirt, just to be kind to my body.

The run itself was good. I saw 1 runner, 2 horses, and a couple walking there dog, and that was it!! Why is this place being avoided by all other runners and walkers? With it being so desolate, I can understand why women would avoid the trail, but flabby 30 or 40 something guys should hit it with a vengeance.

So I was feeling pretty good during the run and I picked up the pace for the last 3-4 miles. I was still moving slower than a decision in congress, but it felt fast for me. Anyway, I hit 9.7 miles and all of a sudden my gas tank was empty. Nothing. I let out a groan and hit a wall. The last 0.3 miles were shuffled out by my feet and I stopped.

One final note, I've added walking at the beginning and the end of my runs. I probably walked 3/4 of a mile back to the car and my body was feeling pretty good. Again, the knee is as close to great as I've seen it in a long time.

Three with Reese

I've been a baaaad boy. Here comes three listings at one time.

Run: 3 miles
Time: 36 minutes
Quality: 6/10

First, I was tiptoeing out the front door when I heard, "daddy, can I go on the run with you?" DOH!! Reese got me. So I pumped up the tires on the three wheeled stroller that is entirely too small for Reese and we went on our merry way.

One of the reasons I wanted to go solo was because I recently inherited a Timex Time and Distance GPS watch from Brice. He hadn't used it in a while and thought that all it needed was a new set of batteries for the GPS and the watch (it's in two units) and he was correct. Friday was the first day I had a chance to take it on a run with me and I was naturally excited about zooming out there for a longer run sans child.

GPS Thoughts: Talk about a love / hate relationship. I did an out and back that morning and I kept looking at the the watch, pleading with it to let me turn around, but it wouldn't speed up. Maybe I should change it to the metric system.

Now back to work!

5 at night

Run: 5 miles
Time: the challenge with having multiple watches is that you sometimes forget where the "light" button is and inadvertently turn off your stopwatch. No idea
Quality: 9/10

I have no idea what happened or if it will hold up, but ever since the 10 on the dirt my knee has been virtually pain free. I never realized how much that thing bothered me until it stopped hurting. And I feel like I can start speeding up.

I was lucky enough to do 5 after sunset with Matt Teusink. He's in kick-butt shape, but he doesn't know if he'll do the half or the full marathon. I'm not going to pressure him now that I have a new found respect for listening to the creeks and moans that your body sends out to you. Now I'll contradict myself, he'll do well in either event and I hope he does the full marathon.

I'll see if I can't get more pictures in the next blog, and better commentary. Thanks for reading.

Now get back to work.

Short, easy, and fast...sort of.

Run: 4.5 Miles
Time: 45:20
Temp: 73
Quality: 9/10

This was the first run where I felt like I was able to take my pace out of first gear. Think about feeling like you are moving in "granny gear" for almost a year and then all of a sudden you find a second gear. I wasn't going very fast at all, but as a matter of perspective I was flying. Yippee. I really hope to have more runs like that in the near future.

Now get back to work.

10 Miles!!

Run: 10 miles on Sunday

Time: 1:44:40

Temp: cool

Quality: 8/10

Once you get into the double digits, you start to feel like you are accomplish something. We did the run on the Arizona Canal, which is a concrete river running through Phoenix. Only in Arizona would you find that the river is on concrete and the bike path is dirt. Shouldn't that be the other way around?

If you have joint problems, RUN ON DIRT!!! My knee felt better than any run I've had to date and this was my longest run. Unless it rains, I'll be doing my long runs there from this day forward. I felt so good at mile 8 that I wanted to overtake a runner who was about a minute in front of us (Brice and I); however, we decided that it'd be better to not be crazy.

After the run I was talking to Eric and he asked me how my toenails were doing. Why would he ask such a silly question? Well, when you start tickling 10+ miles, you are bound to lose a toenail or two. And it looks like I'm headed down that path with one on my left foot. Eric also said that I'd now realize exactly how often my kids step on my toes through the course of the day. Fun, fun, fun.

Now get back to work!

Gravity is a Constant???

Run: 4
Time: 46:10
Temp: 73
Quality: 4/10

I know that Newton proved a long time ago that gravity on Earth pulls on everything with the same force: 9.8 m/s^2 or 32 ft/s^2, but ask any runner about gravity and you'll get a completely different response. I'm sure that the "gravity fairy" came by and tagged me with about 2g's this morning. Physics was not playing fair and I think I know why. The culprit turned out to be a bottle of Martin Ray Russian River Pinot. It was sooooo good. I had two glasses, which I normally don't do the day before a run and the result was not only the gravity issue, but also I beat the tar out of my snooze button this morning. Maybe the equation for gravity is G=G*d, where d is the number of cocktails consumed the night before a run.

So while I was on the thinking about gravity this morning, I started to think about super powers. Why? Well I'd like to have the super power of gravity manipulation. Think about how powerful that'd be. Some time ago I want the ability to heal others, but then the cynic in me caused me to believe that I'd end up locked up in the White House somewhere taking care of George Bush's hemorrhoids. So I flipped back to the manipulation of gravity. Here's a question to y'all: What super power would you like to have? Let me know.

Now get back to work! After you ponder the above question.

Mistake or Master Plan?

Run: 5.1
Time: 50:25
Temp: 73
Quality: 7/10

So a friend of mine, Matt Teusink, inherited a Garmin 301 from a guy who got a Garmin 405, and Matt decided to hand down his Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor to me. It is a very cool device and it's been fun to see how my actions and form during a run can affect my heart rate. Let's just say that I know for certain that efficient form + appropriate pace = good heart rate.

However, I am having one little challenge with the watch. It calibrates your VO2-Max (a super complex equation meant to make runner, bicyclists, and other athletes feel smarter than nonrunners - all it really says is how efficiently your body uses the Oxygen it gets) by looking at your resting heart rate, and I don't think that it does it accurately. Why? I spend most of my runs looking down at my heart rate of 144 blinking incessantly at me, which means that if I don't slow down and get my heart rate lower I'm about to die. After 35+ minutes on the brink of death, I start to get a little annoyed. There is a silver lining to my demise during my run. I seem to be burning tons of calories during my death march. Does this mean that I can go back to drinking more beer?

I know I can manually set the target range, which I'll do, but this brings me to the "Mistake or Master Plan" question. Freud once said that there is no such thing as a mistake. Meaning that we do everything (good, bad or otherwise) on purpose. When we got home from Newport Beach I realized that I left the transmitter for my heart rate monitor back in Cali. Doh! Did I leave that there because I'm stupid and absent minded or did I leave that there because I didn't like what it was saying to me? You be the judge. My wife leans heavily to the stupid side, but she's only one vote. Yes?

Now get back to work!

Newport Beach

View of the condo - to the right of the telephone pole


View of the beach

I'm pulling an "Eric" and posting three runs at one time:


Friday's Run: 5 miles
Time: 55:24
Temp: 69, foggy, and comfortable

We spent the weekend at a friend's, Bryan Shirley, condo that is directly on Newport Beach. People thought I was exaggerating when I said, "right on the beach," but it was precisely that. We had a few of our SoCal friends stop by and they couldn't believe the location of his condo. Bryan has a little slice of paradise there.

Newport run observation: If America is getting obese in epidemic proportions, you wouldn't be able to know by strolling around Newport Beach. All the girls were in bikinis and they had the bodies for it, and all the men were tall with mesomorphic bodies and great tans. It was crazy.

Newport run observation 2: What an insane plot of real estate? During my run I saw homes that were about to fall down (probably could be purchased for $2.5mil) next to homes that were on two plots of land, with a full basketball court with NBA style hoops, fire pits, and every other amenity you could possibly imagine...and it was a weekend retreat, not a primary residence. I couldn't fathom the price of those places.

Newport run observation 3: Having money doesn't mean you have taste. Life sized sculptures of Botticelli's Venus is not a good thing. Fountains belong in parks, not taking up half of your backyard. Just because you love the crazy colors of the homes on the Italian Riviera doesn't mean that your neighbors will share your excitement when you paint your house a color that can be seen 5 miles out at sea.

Needless to say, I don't remember a second of my run. It was totally erased by the sights and sounds of Newport.


Sunday's Long Run:
Run: 8.7 miles
Time: 1:43:10
Temp: 66
Quality: 7/10

Running early on Sunday morning offers you a new perspective of Newport Beach, the aftermath of Saturday Night. I ran past a strip of very popular bars and had to dodge not one, but sections of sidewalk that were hit hard by someone who drank too much the night before (use your imagination). I also ran past one person who appeared to have passed out mid-stride while walking on the beach. I don't think he had a very event filled Sunday.

My run was sloooooowwww. I was passed by everyone; old ladies, old men, young men, young ladies, I barely edged a power walker (why is that an Olympic sport) and even an exceedingly old lady walking her little terrier proved to be a challenging target to overtake. Oh well. My mantra right now is "distance, not speed; distance, not speed; distance, not speed".

I also discovered how climate can dramatically affect the run. I usually kill the 50oz CamelBak through the course of my runs when I'm in Arizona, but it is hot and dry here. I drank fluids as if I were in the desert and needed to stop twice for potty breaks, which never happens in AZ. People always talk about the importance of drinking tons of fluids before a marathon or a long run, but I'm beginning to realize that you need to consider temp, terrain, and humidity before you start diving into the electrolytes. I've had some very forgettable marathons where I had to pee every 2 miles because I had totally saturated my body with water. Not fun. Learn from my mistakes.


Tuesday - Back in Arizona

Run: 3 miles
Time: 36 minutes (but I stopped to pet a dog and I was pushing Reese in the stroller)
Quality: 8/10

Reese got the stomach flu yesterday and slept for the better part of our 6 hour ride home from California, which meant that he was up before dawn and very eager to join me on my run this morning. Needless to say, my initial plans of doing 5 were downsized due to the additional 45 pounds I had to push. He's getting big. Still, we had fun. We also got a chance to pet our favorite blood hound, Katie. She was happy to see us and eager to sniff every part of Reese, which tickled him and caused him to laugh nonstop through the entire experience.

Now get back to work.

Wednesday Run

Run: 5 miles
Time: 55:36
Temp: 70 Things are cooling off
Quality: 8/10

I've had a string of good runs. And now that I've jinxed myself, I can't wait to see what happens on the next run. Still, it's undeniable that the long runs on the weekend (still only 8 miles) are making the weekday runs seem a little easier. Is it possible that I'm getting in better shape?

I've been reading Eric's Blog and the insane splits that he's putting together on his short and long runs, which got me to thinking about my crappy little 10 minute miles...10:30 to be exact.

Sure he's been putting in more miles and more years. Also, I could go down the "I'm bigger than him" path, but in all seriousness, he's always been a better runner than me. This statement has no emotion around it, it's just a factual observation. And as I thought about it more, I came to a conclusion about what makes him so good at running. Now I didn't say that this is the correct conclusion, but I'm going with it.

I think his temperament is better suited to running than mine. More specifically, he gets angry (might not be the best term) when someone is beating him and I think that that pushes him really hard. If he sees a target in front of him or if he feels that someone is pushing him, he pushes himself beyond reason to win. Try it sometime. The next time you see someone in front of you or you hear footsteps, get passionate or angry. Get really worked up and you'll see what a potent tool this is. Now do that for an entire run and you are getting close to Eric. He's kinda like the Hulk in the form of a runner. This may also be one of the reasons why he pursues meditation so passionately, trying to control the Hulk outside of the athletic arena. Nonetheless, the Hulk and Chi running form can be a very powerful combination. Anyway, I've been impressed with Eric's efforts and I was thinking about it, so here it is in the blog. I know he'll qualify for Boston this year and he'll do it with a 10 minute comfort margin. Go get em Eric.

Running in the Dark

Run: 4 miles
Time: 42 minutes
Temp: I don't know for certain, but it had to be around 70.
Quality: 9/10

It isn't often that work can penetrate the safe haven that I create when I run, but it did today. Too much going on in my head. I tried to focus on form and other things to get my mind off work, but no luck. Oh well. The run still felt good.

Hey, a note of safety to all pre-dawn runners. I hate wearing a reflective vest or a headlamp, but I also appreciate being safe. I've been using a little red strobe from CMI, which costs about 3 bucks. I hook it onto my watch, which leaves my hands free and it does the trick very well. I highly recommend it if you are going to be running in the dark because people will not see you.

Football starts this week Yippee!!! Now get back to work!

Good run, bad communication

Run: 8 miles
Time: 1:25:57
Temp: 73 and cloudy. Very nice.
Quality: 8/10

First, I'm thinking that my communication skills need some help. Brice and I didn't connect for the run today and I'm 99% certain that it was from me communicating poorly. Brice will soon learn something that my wife has known for years, I'm an idiot.

Bright side is that I hooked up with Matt Teusink, my chiropractor. He's interested in doing the RnR and, judging from how he did today, I'm thinking that he'll be able to tackle it with ease. Just like Brice, Matt has a Garmin. Does everyone but me have one of those things? Needless to say that running along side him and his toy did nothing to quiet the gadget demons in my head. They WANT a Garmin. Will I have to enter some techno 12 step program? Maybe I'll be in the room next to David Duchovny recovering from sex addiction. PS, David, we're guys; sex addiction is part and parcel with being a guy.

Oh, and if you run with a chiropractor in a small town where he's helped people for over 17 years, you better be prepared for a lot of waving hand and quick hellos. He knows EVERYONE.

Anyway, the run went well. Matt was great company and I'm hoping that I can hook him up with Brice next time around. Speaking of next time folks, over the next 4 weeks my blogs will be coming from Laguna, New Jersey, New York, and Chicago. If anything, expect better pictures with my endless ramblings.

Now get back to enjoying your Labor Day weekend!

Steeple Chase

Run: 4.5 miles
Time: didn't turn on the watch. doh
Temp: 77 and humid
Quality: 7/10



In case you didn't hear, we had a storm that knocked over tons of trees (who knew we had trees in the desert?), knocked out power, flooded everything, etc. Anyway, my run this morning evidenced that there had been a lot of moving water over the streets. I ran through mud, streets turned into creeks, I even had to avoid a large group of cacti that had been uprooted. It was not your typical run and it was very fun.

The rack!!!

Run: treadmill-stair-stepper-thingy

Time: 30:00

Temp: I was inside

Quality: 7/10

Every once and a while I can't commit to a full run with warm-up, warm-down, etc. When this happens, I use the machine I call "the rack."

It's an evil device filled with paradox: You work hard, but you don't go anywhere; It's low impact, but your legs are wobbly when you get off; It's cool and indoor, but you sweat profusely.

My biggest issue with it is that I'm forced to watch Mary's Deloitte screen saver flash up over and over and over and over and over with their mission and values. Gag. Which brings up a little sidebar for us: why do all fortune 500 companies have the EXACT SAME mission and values? How can we take them seriously when their Mission is to be the industry standard, and their values are Teamwork, Diversity, Integrity, Excellence. Double gag. Some very intelligent and highly paid people probably did a week long "off-site" meeting to create those. Nice work guys.

Long story short (too late) I did 30 minutes on that rack and it's better than not doing anything at all. I'll try for 5 tomorrow. Until then...Get back to work.

Cold in the Heat

Run: 3 miles
Time: wayyyyy slow
Temp: 74 (we had a big storm last night and it cooled things down)
Quality: 2/10

I currently have a cold and feel all achy and stuffy, etc., but I still pulled myself out of bed after repeated abuse of the snooze button on the alarm. The perils of getting up late usually revolve around waking up the kids. I was just about to make my escape out the door when I heard a faint, "Daaaaaaaaaadddddddddddddddyyyyyyyy." DOH!! It was Reese and, of course, he wanted daddy to take him on the run, which is normally not a big deal, but I felt like crap.

When he goes on runs with me he likes to be a steam engine. Notice the "headlight" that he gets to wear. And he also likes me to tell him homespun stories about "Reese the Cabforward" and his adventures on the Island of Sodor. Yep, creating and then telling a story to a heavy 5 year old as you climb a hill is NOT easy. Anyway, it was fun and I love having him out there...when I feel better.

I'm predicting that I will not run again until Thursday.

Now get back to work.

Long Run Preparation

Run: 8 Miles

Time: 1:24:27

Pace: about 10:28

Quality: 8/10

Another rule not to be broken for long runs is as follows: be conservative with the meal the night before a long run. So let me ask you: Is Paella with Andoullie Sausage, Saffron, Lobster, Mussels, Shrimp, Clams, and hot sauce a conservative meal? I didn't think so either, but it was sooooo good.

By all rights my run should have had an emergency stop at a restroom, but everything went very well. Not only was the run good, but also I must report that the CamelBak is still getting very high marks from me. Go buy one!

Run Preparation Observation:

10 years ago a long run would entail me cruising out of bed sometime in the AM, strapping on shoes, and running. Sure there'd be some electrolytes I'd put together and I'd probably put on some stuff to keep me from Chafing, but not much more. The definately would not be stretching, warm-ups, ice, or any undue prep of any kind.

Now I start the night before and I prep more than I do for a week long business trip. There's the stretching, drinks, the right shirt, shorts, and socks. Then when I get up in the morning there are more stretches and a 0.6 mile walk to warm-up before I run. When the run is over I walk for another 0.8 mile cool down. After I get home I pop some Advil and Glucosamine, and I also wrap the knee with ice to keep it from swelling. The ice is probably the most important part. Icing the joints HELPS!! Try it if you are experiencing any pain. The things we do to keep our tired bodies out on the asphalt. We're idiots.

Now get back to work!

Bad run

Run: 4 miles up Palisades

Time: who knows, but it was slooooowwww

Temp: 77

Quality: 3/10

You know it's going to be a bad run when the alarm goes off and you feel like you only got 2 hours of sleep. I was a bad boy and watched the Olympics late last night, but congrats to the USA Men's Beach Volleyball team. They fought hard with Brazil, and held on to win in 3 sets. Anyway, back to running. From the first step of my run today my legs felt like they were tied to two 90 pound bags of cement. I barely caught an elderly man walking his dog. To my defense, he seemed to be a spry gentleman and he was pushing himself...who am I kidding. I was sucking wind. Oh well, I guess you have to experience the bad runs to know what the good runs feel like. Yes?

Now get back to work! And have a great weekend.

Hydration Belt vs. Camelbak

Run: 5.5
Time: 55:11
Temp: 77
Quality: 7/10
Weight: 191

Yeeeeehaw, I finally started to drop a little weight again. I stepped on the scales a the doctor's office and found the needle to be tickling 191 (just a little under if we want to be more precise...and i do). I'm hoping to be at or below 185 for the marathon.

Anyway, I decided to kick the tires on a new purchase of mine, a Camelbak Hydration Pack. Eric recommended that I use a Camelbak 50 0z. hydration pack over the old hydration belt that I've been using. So I thought I'd give it a try on a 5.5 mile run. A word to the wise, NEVER try new running stuff on your long run. NEVER. All I have to say about the Camelbak is WOW! I'm so used to clipping on a belt that is sooooooo tight that you feel like you took it would be a better fit on a Cabbage Patch Kid. When you put the Camelbak on, it's like nothing is there. It felt great. No rubbing, limited sloshing, and, most importantly, you can breathe when you are wearing this thing. A quick note: you definitely need to burp the air out of it and get the sternum clip to stop it from bouncing all over the place, but that's no big deal. In short, Runners dump your belts and try a pack today!

Morning Constellations

Run: 4 miles
Time: 44:01
Temp: 78 anything with a 7 in the tens digit is welcome
Quality: 8/10

It seems like yesterday the blazing sun was up 24 hours a day and then today it decided to rest. Does summer disappear that quickly? I stepped out for my AM run and was greeted by an old friend, the constellation Orion. In the winter he makes the entire run with me, but he disappeared all summer. Maybe he's smarter than me because he only winters down her in the desert.

Garmin Envy

Run: 7 miles

Time: 74:21

Pace: 10:37 minute mile

Temp: 78 - I'll take anything in the 70's.

Quality 7/10

First, I'd like to congratulate Eric (NOT) on getting a Garmin 405 (I HATE YOU) GPS wristwatch to help him (AAAAAAAHHHHH) get real time (I HOPE THE SATELLITES BLOW UP) running data. Congrats bro (I'M BETTER LOOKING THAN YOU), we're looking forward to (oodles of useless) information on your (copycat) blog.

Brice and I logged 7 miles around the Fountain Lake in the center of town. I got someone to snap a photo of us at the end of our run (we wanted to look our best), but the guy took a picture of 80% sky and 20% people. Nice job... You get what you pay for.

Brice was cool enough to pull the pace back by a full minute per mile, THANK YOU. We started our run with the full moon over our heads. I guess summer will be exiting the valley soon. The run went well, the knee cooperated, and I walked with Brice after the run to warm down. I'm thinking that that will be a part of my routine moving forward. Also, I iced the knee for about 30 minutes right when I got home and everything seems to be moving smoothly. Next week we jump to 8. Keep your fingers crossed.

If you are reading this on Sunday, enjoy the day off. If you are reading this on Monday, then get back to work!

Crazy?

Run: 3.7mi
Time: 41:17
Pace: Just over 11 minute miles.
Temp: 78 it rained last night and the humidity was through the roof
Quality: 7/10

I'm totally slammed right now with work, so this will be a short one. The knee is doing very well right now. I did the shoes, insoles, slowed the pace, and I even had my Chiropractor (Matthew Teusink) do a little acupressure on the bad boy. Net result: I'm pain free for the moment.

I saw Brice doing his morning run and broke the news to him that I'd be backing off the pace. He seemed cool with it, but I'll double check with him later, as I totally respect that he's gunning for 10 minute mile pace.

Finally, I realized today that a couple of weeks ago I woke up one morning and randomly decided that I was going to do the RnR Marathon, and I never thought about asking my wife, Mary, if this commitment was cool with her. So I did that this morning and she replied with, "if you want to go and do something crazy like that, go for it." Thanks honey?.?.?.?

Now get back to work.

Girlfriend Named Katie

Run: 5.04 miles (as calculated by Eric's map suggestion on his blog)

Time: 59:26

Temp: 85 nasty, nasty, nasty.

Quality: 6/10

I'm still in negotiation with my knee, but it seems to be happier when I go slow. I've also promised it that I will shed about 10 more pounds in the near future, which forced me to forgo the mint chocolate chip ice cream that I craved last night while watching Phelps win the 200 Butterfly. Way to go Phelps. Anyway, my run was not as slow as the time above might have led you to believe. I made a stop during my run to visit my girlfriend, Katie. Here's her picture:

She's an 18-month old Bloodhound and I'm in love with her. Her owner is working hard to get her under control, as she regularly hops up on people, especially dog people. I've come home with lots of paw prints on my running shirts on many occaisions. So her owner asked if I'd help with her training. We made a rule that Katie can't get her puppy luvin until she sits like a good girl. This seemed to work for a bit, and her owner was very happy to see the progress. However, Katie gets so excited when I appear that she sits the moment she sees me. It doesen't matter if I'm a quarter of a mile away or ten feet away. If she sees me, her butt is on the sidewalk and she WILL NOT move until I arrive. We solved one problem and created another. Oh well.

Now get back to work!

Green Monkeys

Today's run: 4+ Miles in 47:26
Temp: Comfortable, probably 80
Run Quality: 6 out of 10
Note: Beauty of a sunrise, see above.

If I say to you, "Don't think about Green Monkeys." What do you think about? Yep, Green Monkeys. Why do I bring this up? Because the book, Chi Running, has really helped me in ways that the author might not have predicted. In case you didn't know, my right knee is my nemesis. It's been surgically "repaired" and never quite recovered. It is my companion on many runs and talks, sometimes shouts, at me the entire time. Grrrrrrrrr. Prior to reading Chi Running I'd look for it to talk to me with each step, and when you are taking 3000 to 5000 steps you can create your own self fulfilling prophecy; however, I found that when I concentrated on the principles of Chi Running (form, breathing, cadence, etc) my mind had no time to think about the knee. And when I stopped thinking about the knee, it pretty much stopped talking to me. Bye, bye Green Monkeys. If you've not read Chi Running, pick it up. It's a "must read" for any runner.

With all that said, Chi Running can only do so much. I toinked my knee during my long run on Sunday, which sent me into a panic. I was thinking, "great, started a blog a week ago and now it's over." Not to mention the fact that I REALLY, REALLY wanted to do long runs again. Some of my favorite moments on the planet have happened at mile 10 and beyond. Runner's High, maybe, but it goes beyond that and those of you who have logged some serious miles know what I'm talking about. So in my state of panic I ran out and purchased new shoes and shoe inserts (Superfeet) to help my knee. As well, I dialed back my run today, doing approximately 11 minute miles. Net result of the new shoes, new inserts, slower pace, and thinking about the Chi form as opposed to the knee, the run went reasonably well.

Conclusions:

1. when I have too much coffee, I shouldn't blog.
2. for me to do the RnR marathon in January, I think I'll have to dial back my expectations for the finishing time. I'm looking to break 5 hours instead of 4. I promised my body that I'd be good to it in the hope that it would be good back to me. I will fulfill that promise.

Now I need to talk to Brice (my long run partner) about my new plan for the marathon. I may be going solo on my long runs. Doh!

Now get back to work.

Long Run???

So I did my first legit "long" run. Why is "long" in quotes? Because the run was only 7 miles, which is a distance that I used to laugh at if someone had told me it was "long." But here I am at 39 and I'm very willing to call it long. My text message to Eric went something like this: ran 7 today, felt like 14.

Here are the stats on the run:

81 degrees
7 miles
68:27
quality of run 6/10

I was lucky enough to run it with my new found running partner Brice Moorman. He's looking to do 4:30 at the Rock 'n' Roll and I'm hoping I can keep up with him at this point. He did 9 last weekend while I golfed...bad Mike. We did our run around the fountain (see picture), which is the focal point for our little community of Fountain Hills. Yep, the guys who founded this place sure were original when they named it.

But back to the "long" run. Brice told me that he had taken precautions to ensure that no chaffing occured, to which I laughed a little. Precautions??? For a 7 mile run??? you have to be kidding. Alas, he was correct and now I have painful reminders of my age and shape. I'll be more careful next week.

Soon I'll be posting what my long runs are going to look like for the remaining 23 weeks for the marathon.

Oh, one final note, Shannon officially killed my Timex Ironman watch. I tried to revive it, but it's not firing on all cylinders. Oh, Oh, I also got a new pair of shoes (Saucony Grid Stratos 2) and a hydration pack. Reviews will be forthcoming.

Now get back to work!

Quality Control

Again, it rained last night. Actually, the thunderstorm felt very end-of-the-earth biblical, which explains why this morning the temperature was 78 degrees and felt comfortable for the first time in...months. I love the desert after it rains, and I defy anyone to find a better smell than the desert after a rainstorm. I ran 3 miles today in 29:05 and thought I'd turn it into a Fartlek. I inserted two segments where I upped the tempo for about a half of a mile. This was a very disappointing experience when it became apparent to me that my "up-tempo" pace was about an 8 minute mile pace. LOLOLOLOL.

Quality Control:

I know Timex runs their Ironman watches through some form of quality control, but those little machines can't possibly simulate the torture that Shannon (my 2 1/2 year old daugther) can create. She got her paws on my watch the other morning and, well you can probably guess what happened. Long story short, the next morning I put my watch on my wrist and was greeted by a blank screen. Not good. I changed the battery to see if that helps, but I have a feeling that there are bigger issues that need to be addressed.

Now get back to work