Here i am running out of gas at the end of the Crim.

i guess i miss judged the finish line cause at the end i started my finals kick to finish about 200 yards to early and just didn't have anything left in the tank at the end.

Bummer? not really, cause i'm still happy with my finish

After a few days of perspective i finally realized my favorite part of the Crim...

BEER....

It's so unique to the Crim. Between mile 3 & 4 you pass a little pop & shot corner bar. For 17 years, per conversation with other runners, this bar has been setting up their own version of a water station. That's right...

BEER....

little dixie cups of beer. What a spectacular way to carbo load!!!

Now, i could pass up the fraternity guys handing out crispy creams at the third mile, but,

BEER....

no way am i missing this.

Least favorite part of the CRIM. Bloody nipples...

Not mine, but some guy at the finish in a white cotton tee shirt with a bloody stream running down his shirt. I just about ralphed....

Dude, get some body glide next time, or at least a bandaid.

Anyway, i ran a good 5 miles tuesday and had a real fun 8 + yesterday. Summer must be almost over as i find myself running in the dark again. Time to break out my blinking lights again. As if i think it'll help cars see me.

thanks again for reading

1:26:01

Well, not a PR but a good run.

The Crim was a great time.

Never ran with a race so big. 8300 runners for the 10 miler. Yeehaa.

Here's a couple quick observations and rationalizations to deal with being three minutes slower from 2 weeks ago at the 10 miler in St John's.

Jostling really slows you down at the beginning of a race. i'd say the first 3+ miles was a bit uncomfortable. i wasn't really able to find a good stride with the amount of people i was with.
This is definitely something to consider for Chicago.

Flint is a little hilly. Whoever told me there were only 3 hills to be concerned about should be lashed with wet noodles.

A good thing was i was able to manage negative split time as my 5 mile split was 43:05 and the second 5 miles was 42:56, baby steps but hey nearly 2 seconds a mile quicker. Take the good where you find it.

Another good thing was the way i felt after the race. i felt great. Not too tired but a good workout and i kept a strong form the entire way. Relaxed shoulders, unclenched fists, standing straight...these were my goals for training and i was surprised by how well i felt. At mile 6 i felt i finally had hit a stride than i could've ran for another 10 miles. It felt that good and relaxed.

Sorry for the boring posts today. i just wanted to put the stats out.

thanks for reading

Well, i guess i'm used to the whole 38 thing

Thanks again to Fun Guv'nor ("FG") for ambushing my blog.

Anyway let's talk about this weeks training.

Monday, i had a short 5 miles on the schedule and FG came along on her mountain bike. It went well and it was nice to have a coach help me with my form. Technique may be the next way i look to improve time. i was losing form trying to push harder. Funny thing the whole work smarter not harder thing. i was trying to brute my way to faster times. Thanks to her, for following me, even if it wasn't much exercise for her.

peddle, peddle, coooooooaaast, repeat 5 mile.

Wednesday was way better. i had 8 miles to do. It's been a while since i felt so good. i pushed when i could and pulled back when needed. Thought about technique the whole time, and balance, and relaxing.

Unbelievable. It was a great time. Both enjoyment factor and literal TIME. i ran with no watch but checked the clock on the way out. Nothing official here but 8 miles, 62-63 minutes.

i've been riding high on besting 8 minute miles for the last two days.

Now the real test. Can i repeat for The Crim? If so, a 10 miler in 80 minutes is a real possibility.

Another shout out and thanks to all the other running bloggers out there that i have been stalking for inspiration and advice. Yes this may be you i'm thanking, all levels and experience of runners. From a guy named Vic somewhere in Texas to Running Girl somewhere near Indy. Of course, BOB, who not only has taken the time to put together a Chicago bound community but has even taken to at least once perusing this blog and called me out on some radical posts.

Thanks again to all of you.

Moving on to some non runner stuff.... it's been a few days and i need to unload useless data

So i'm reading the Free Press today and a couple headlines jump out at me....

Relearn the System.....i can deal with the fact that i'm not sure of all the countries in Europe. My wife is of German descent and i learned one Germany. USSR? Gone... o.k. Good thing but i have no idea of all the relatively new countries in the world. But dammit....

Planets seem to be something constant. A planet is just that.... Until some rat bastard scientist discovers UB313 and my favorite school house rock segment is trashed. Sing along... interplanet janet, she's a galaxy girl....

so now Pluto the farthest planet from the sun, with it's elliptical orbit bringing it closer than Neptune every couple hundred years, is just a little ball of ice. Screw you guys....Georgia is a state not a country

Rich Rebuild after Katrina, the Poor Can't.... really??? How is this news? What parents wasted college education for some journalism graduate offspring to write this article? Let's sum up the article in one word...

DUH

7-Eleven Clerk is Killed over Taco.....someone in Sterling Hts store was shot over an argument for a $1.13 tacquito. How does this happen? A father of three gunned down over a crappy piece of food...WTF

Black Kids sent to Back of Bus.... apparently a bus driver in the south, go figure, assigned seats to students. No problem, just don't assign all the black kids to the last two rows of seats. Especially, if it's so many kids the little ones have to sit on the laps of the bigger kids. What millenium are we living in???

One little Political thing.....

Kudos to US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor for having the balls to rule the Bush Administration version of domestic spying unconstitutional!!!

I'm not denying there may be reasons to wiretap. However, there is a system is place called FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which legally allows for wiretapping. Why can't the Bushites just work within the existing system?

I just remember learning, as a small child, that our Government is based upon a three ring (circus) system of checks and balances (School House Rock, again) with each branch making sure that power is not abused or exploited.

But i also learned there were 9 planets....

See how i tied it all together here???

Thanks again for reading

Happy 38th Birthday Mike!!!

Fun Gov'ner here again, I just wanted to hi-jack Mike's site really quick and wish him a happy birthday.

Wasn't he just a cutie? Those are 6 months, 15 months and 2 years. Then the teenage years - that's 10th grade below...hey, he's almost that skiny again!

Love you honey!!!!!

12 rainy miles

Did i mention the rain? oh yeah, it came down today. but as i am totally cool with running in the cold, and winter, what the hell? Let's go!!

Thanks to the Fun Guv'nor for meeting me twice with water.

Since this is the farthest i have run since the 1/2 marathon in April, i took it slow. Plus the route wasn't exactly littered with sidewalks so i had to dodge some traffic, jump some puddles, and stop for a few major intersections, so no worry about time.

The total route was actually 12.6 miles so i ran till i knew i was passed the 12 mile marker and slowed waaaay down for the last bit. i made a quick pit spot at the local library for a pee break, so i didn't care about time after the first 10 miles.

My hands and feet have never been so pruney and my body glide must have started to wash off in the rain as my left nipple is screaming in pain. Normally i'm a little into that, but definitely a topic for a non-family friendly blog.

Next week is The Crim. Funny, it'll be nice to only run 10 miles, somehow i need to add another 4 that day.

Anybody have any thoughts regarding my golf league? It's on Wednesday afternoon, but those are also running days and the miles are starting to build. Can i do both still?

Thanks again for reading

First.... Thanks to my lovely bride for guest posting for me!!!

She completes me.....but she had me at "hello" sigh

Anywho, i'm feeling great after spending two days at King's Island.

Man, do i love The Beast. It is truly the greatest wooden coaster ever. And i gotta say "Tomb Raider", is that spelled right, it just looks wrong for some reason, is the strangest ride i have ever been on. Any details would ruin it, but it's worth a look for any high intensity amusement nut cases out there.

Best part of my second day there was the time i spent with the kids. Anyway, i'm a coaster nut. i love them all. From my first ever at the age of 14 on the Loch Ness Monster in Busch Gardens Virginia to 23 years later on the Beast i can't get enough.

But now....

MacKenzie, my nine year old

...opted to spend some one on one time with me, riding some of her favorite rides. We had a blast as we rode her favorite, The Scrambler, but then ventured out into the coaster world.

The memory of her first blood curdling scream on a coaster is a memory i cherish. Her first understanding that the fun of coasters comes from the rush and their life affriming nature, and a good scream can be half the fun is one of my happiest moments.

As a father, i've always felt i can do more for my kids. i'm getting to feel it's really the little things the kids remember. When Mack decided to increase the intensity of the rides she did so with an excitement i was glad to help create for her. And when she decided to ride everything from the front seat, the only place to ride a coaster, how could i not almost cry at this american coaster entusiast in the making? And when she lifted her arms in the air for a drop for the first time, holding them high above her head, screaming her lungs out, laughing in the face of terror, i think i may have shed a tear while laughing.

She didn't ride any of the big ones, but she's well on her way, and at her own pace.

Quick note on running on my not so much running, running blog:

Mackenzie ran her first mile last week. It took about 14 minutes and she did stop to walk a little. She's well on her way to prepare for a 5k. That's her long term goal.

Funny how it's the little things.

Anyway, thanks for reading

oh yeah, one last thing...

Happy Birthday to Lisa

Hello, Fun Guv'nor here...

Just want to give a quick update on Mike's run today since he's at work and won't have time to post until who knows when.

As you can see he was 1:22:57 (actually, officially it was 1:22:58, but it was race time, not chip time so take off about 10-15 seconds)

The numbers.....an 8:18 mile and #42 out of 91 runners

He's happy with the numbers. And to think we were all up late the night before imbibing in a little more wine that we should have and then up at the butt crack of dawn for the race...oops!






Scott ran the 5K - his first race ever and finished nicely as well.









Official time...31:00, a 9:59 mile and #88 out of 124 runners (again, race time, not chip time)

I have to say I was quite impressed with Scotts form. When the runners got to the track they had to do one lap before completing the race. This gave me ample opportunity to watch him run from the bleachers. As he's running - I see the left arm shoot out and suddenly he's air guitaring along to his music????? Honestly, why am I not surprised?

Hopefully I got everything .... Mike will be back, hopefully in the next couple of days.

The boy who cried wolf.....

maybe a better title for this post would be

White Noise

i guess that's how i feel about yesterday's news from England regarding the terrorism threat, arrest, plot, etc...

We've been hearing it for years. When to be concerned, have a plan, duct, not duck, tape to stop dirty bombs, store water, blah, blah, blah....

Call me a cynic but i just can't help but wonder about the timing with regards to the current Israel/Lebannon issues.

Anyway, on to more important issues....Leonid did not gather enough votes to move on in America's Got Talent, bummer. When does the next Survivor start?

And, even more important, tomorrow is the next big race. I'm so excited. 10 miles is the farthest i have raced since the 1/2 marathon. Funny how my anxiety to even finish has been replaced with excitement for the chance to finish well. i'm at least 20 lbs lighter than the first race.

Well, those are my thoughts for the day.

thanks for reading

Leonid the Magnificient needs to win $1,000,000.

O.k., i'm hooked on reality TV, or let me type, i'm hooked on the spectacle on reality TV.

America's got Talent? you bet and the man(?) that most controls the stage and demands attention in Leonid.

The man makes Boy George look like a burly truck driver.

Electrical tap over his nipples? hysterical, why isn't this guy on stage doing Rocky Horror Somewhere?

i voted for him yesterday, 40 times, 2 cell phones, landline and internet.

Anyway, ran 7 miles yesterday in one hour.

Saturday's 5k has turned into a 10 mile race. i hope to finish in 1:25. The course is flat, no major hills this time to slow me down.

wish me luck

thanks for reading

i vote, therefore i bitch

That's been my philosophy for every election, and with yesterday's primary vote and few municipal items to vote on, i still feel this way.

i'm a registered democrat, so i debated voting on the republican ticket, and foregoing voting for a democrat, to cast my vote for the republican i thought least likely could defeat a democrat. It was a few second delay in actually casting my vote.

i didn't, but with my one vote counting for about 5 yesterday, given the low turnout, i enjoyed the power of my one vote.

i love how it's easier to buy i "support our troops" magnet than it is to actually exercise your right to vote. i get a little upset with low voter turnout. Historically, i think back on the number of men, women, and minorities who have had to fight and die for this right we take for granted.

Being your typical male WASP, with a little native american thrown in, i've always tried to be aware that many groups of people haven't been able to vote.

Think on this...less then 100 years ago

Women could not vote...
Minorities were denied voting rights, and in some places i bet still are...
Wounded Knee massacre...O.K. not voting related, but still relative...

100 years ago may sound like a long time, but consider my grandfather, not great grandfather, was born in the 1870's and fought in the Spanish-American War. He died in the late 1940's, my mother was born in 1939. He was a stud, eh?

Henry Ford Museum has a wonderful new display called "...and Justice for All" which details the fight for justice, and really, just the fight to vote. This one little thing... the right to vote... perhaps the one truely american institution that, regardless of political affiliation, sets us apart from every other country.

Neal Peart wrote, and Geddy Lee sang "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.." o.k. i know they're Canadian, eh, still relative

That's great, but low turnout is mostly apathy and i didn't see too many protestors encouraging people to not vote.

So anyway, i voted, i get to bitch. If you didn't you don't.

Sorry no running stuff here today. Yesterday was a rest day, and tonite i run 7 miles, after chasing the little white ball for a few miles.

thanks for reading

3 Great Runs

gotta say i'm feeling good about my runs these days. Not sure why but i've gotten away from the watch and the mp3 player. Depending on the mood i'm in i may use one or the other but not both so much. Sometimes i leave them both home and just listen to my body.

gotta love Zen

Anyway, first run was Friday afternoon. It was hot and after work i laced up the shoes and went for a long run. Somewhere between 8-9 miles, i took sections of my 6-7 mile runs and combined them into a longer one. Told the Fun Guv'nor if i was gone over an hour and a half to come look for me, and dashed out the door. Man, it was hot and i really should figure out how to manage water on these runs, but after 7 miles or so, i ran by my local firehouse. The bay doors were open and after a few seconds of shouting "hellooooo" no firemen answered. With the heat and humidity, who could blame them? So i wondered through the garage area, found a drinking fountain, took a drink and kept running.

So the second run on Saturday was at a local ACS Relay for Life event. Since i'm on the planning committe for another relay i thought i would attend this one and offer support for a friend who manages a local library. They had a team and needed walkers. Walk? Nay, Nay. So i combined ACS support and training and ran 32 laps. Yippee, another 8 miles. Originally, i thought that this would be a dull run, y'know 32 laps, yikes. It wasn't, i turned into a bit of an oddity. Kids tried to race me for a couple 400s. A couple walkers ran with me for a bit just curious about why i was running. A bunch of teams gave me water, as my bright green running shirt turned dark green from the sweat of running 8 miles at 11:00 am on a hot August day. One team kept track of my laps, by adding a bead to key chain fopr every lap. At the end of my run i had two keychains loaded with beads, and i gave a donation to their team for the help. My last mile was a Rocky II moment as 5 people joined me for my final lap. Sort of. i blew them away in the first 200. They couldn't believe my fastest lap was my last. It was fun.

Monday was a short 5 miles, and i made it in under 45 minutes, so i feel good. i'm keeping my training times under 9 minute miles and hopefully i can keep my race pace around 8:30. That's been consistent, we'll see. i have a 5k this weekend.

One last thing is i have new shoes. Exact same shoes as the last good shoes, and they are wonderful.

Thanks for reading

Atlas as a small child playing in the sand

Well here's a bummer... looks like my runner girl buddy, see previous post, received some bad news. Training may be out of the picture for the Chicago Marathon. Which problably means the same thing for the marathon. My heart goes out to her on this one and, more importantly, wishes for a speeding recovery from a nasty little injury.

Anyway, i've signed up to walk for a Relay for Life tomorrow. i figure i can use the time to run the track and get a bunch of laps in to check my rate. i figure i'll run tonite and tomrrow morning then go to the relay event and run some laps. i'm totally looking forward to spending some real me time running. The exercise value is great but mostly i enjoy the lonely me time. i've started to get away from my mp3 player for pace and listen to my own thoughts.

The Harley has a CD and radio on it. Similarly, i occasionally ride with no music to let the sounds of the wind and road dictate my thoughts. The feelings of riding and running are very similar. It's hard to explain the similarities other than type that everyone should read "Zen and the Artof Motorcycle Maintenance" to understand.

Which segues me to today, and the annual trip many bikers make to North Dakota. I've never been to Sturgis but it's on my list. Definitely something to be done when the kids are a little older. Not exactly family friendly.

One small problem is that the growth of the party is getting very close to Native American Holy Land of the plains states tribes. Lands where many native american pilgrimage to during the same time.

Think of attending church service with 500,000 bikers next door to you, drunken and some naked. It could be a little distracting from your reflective period.

My paradox is that i have membership to both groups. i ride and have a little native blood running through my veins.

Nothing too Earth shattering here. Just one of those things that cause me to stop and ponder.... hhmmmm... why do people seem to be polarizing themselves when obvious answers exist to allow for understanding and celebrating our different cultures?

"What a piece of work is man? How noble in reason?..." -Bill Wigglestick

Maybe i'll watch Braveheart tonite, and reflect on the lessons of Mel "what's so funny 'bout peace. love and understanding" Gibson. "FREEEEEEDOM, unless your views are different, somebody get me a beer"

thanks for reading

Adventures In Running

i meant to post a comment to Runner Girls blog but thought later that i would just create a post to her predicament. Since i had a rest day yesterday there is nothing to report, except man is it hot.

And screw the people from Arizona who deal with this and say things like...."but it's a dry heat"

This isn't dry it's really effing humid. See living in the great lakes state means lot's of water all around and y'know what? The heat brings the water into the air and guess what...humidity.

Anyway back to my little open letter to Runner Girl:

As someone who has been through two major reconstructive knee surgeries, i can totally understand the pain you are experiencing. i'm not saying i know the exact pain, but i understand how it can be deflating both emotionally and physically.

i also can understand how potentially, other joints may be stressing trying to compensate for an injury causing more health problems.

After my first torn ACL, i looked to sports figures who had recovered from this one time career ending injury. This was years before Jerry Rice had returned to football after a torn ACL during the same season. My favorite example and what i consider a true sports hero, if such a thing exists, is Bernard King.

King played bball for the Knicks and he was an offensive dynamo. Probably Jordan, before Jordan played. King could score anywhere. Accurate 20 footers and the ability to slash to the hole, and jump out of the building. Couldn't D, but nobody did in the early '80's. Hall of Fame career ahead of him, and with DR. J showing some age the next media superstar. Then...

POP... there goes an ACL. No such thing as grafting or donor tissue, just removal of the ligament. Lateral movement is gone, knee is dead, end of career. Except it wasn't....

He fought back. it took time and there were setbacks similar to yours, but he never quit. King made it back to the NBA and guess what happened.....

POP... there goes an ACL. Other knee but same as before, end of career. Except it wasn't...

Again, King put himself through rehab and pushed to return to the NBA, at as close to the same level of play he was prior to the first injury. Total time away was between 4 and 5 seasons with both injuries. Why bother? Players salaries weren't near today's players, so why?

Love of the game.

It pushed King to keep trying. Did he make it all the way back?

Bernard King is the only man to ever play in an NBA All-Star game without an ACL.

When i tore my ACL i stuck a picture of King on my mirror. This served as inspiration to attack my PT as much as possible.

3 years later i tore the graft and the donor tissue ACL ripped. Actually, it was the my bone that splintered. The graft held on a bball injury. The screw literally stripped itself from the bone about 1/2 inch, then the graft popped. To visualize, pull a screw out of a piece of wood, see how the wood splinters....that was my femur.

So again back to the surgeon, rebuild the bone, reattach a new piece of donor ACL, rehab, stop exercising out of fear of the pain, gain 60 lbs over the next 10 years.

Funny thing about starting to run is that people ask about the strain on my knee. I don't know what really caused more strain, weighing 250 -260 or weighing 195 and running to build strength in the leg and keep my weight down. Probably the extra weight was more strain.

Anyway, sorry for the long history of me, but i just wanted you to know you are not alone. If you are unable to run in Chicago, that's cool. Don't worry cause some day you will. i've never ran a marathon so i can't really comment on how much is mental vs physical, but some is physical and if it's not there in Chicago it will be....

Just look to Bernard King.

thanks for reading.

4 angry miles....

that was me yesterday. Not sure why, but i started too fast and tried my damndest to keep up the pace.

it sucked and i hated the entire run. Man, i was sucking some wind, but like i said, it was an angry run yesterday. Maybe it was the heat?

not sure why as i feel good, but anyway times aren't exact and the mileage is fairly close but

4 miles/ 31 minutes. i like the time but the run wasn't comfortable yet.

i so glad my training schedule is done with the four mile stuff for a while. It's time to add some real distance.

Anyway, back to work

thanks for reading,

mike