it's official...

i'm old, or boring as this will be my first NYE in god knows how long at home, with the wife and kids just watching a movie or playing some GH III with the family and watching the newer, greener ball drop.

i am now, officially...my father.

But all is not lost as i did manage to squeeze in a little over 900 miles running for the year. i feel pleased being able to look back and see the distance. Even with almost two months sidelined, i did ok and hitting 1000 miles is do-able but....i don't feel the need to keep track so anally for this year.

Looking back on a post from last year, i think i did a few things right...

i went for a midnite 20 miler and got that ultra-marathon feeling, by running when most up so late are finishing off last call at a local watering hole.

i took my ever expanding banker/finace career into a new and exciting direction.

i quit smoking,... again. This time it may stick....other than being the occasional have a smoke with Animal on increasingly rare days (as i have been designated the friend to have a smoke with now and then...) i haven't bought a pack in months. and while i may wax poetically about having a smoke, in truth, it would taste terrible as my tastebuds seem to have been awakened from my own tar induced comatose state. As i can no longer order top-of-the-line thai food and claim to enjoy it, hot does nicely....thank you

OK, sure i'm a little heavier than i would like, but tipping the scales at 205-210 is just temporary thing. What's an extra 10 lbs after quitting smoking.

So what for next year, from a endurance standpoint....

Well, as stated before, i'm looking forward to running in the Bayshore again. More on that in future posts as that an immediate planning goal.

Do a Tri, or two....this means a little time in the water. Swimming seems like a great way to cross-train during off days from marathon training, right????

Dances with Dirt, a can't believe i have been invited to join a team

Run the Detroit Marathon. destination marathons are great, and yeah i've heard mixed reviews of Detroit. The up side.....the bridge to Canada, the underwater mile, mostly flat....the down side, a reputation of not being the most scenic route (except the bridge), not having enough water at the water stations (which i seem to have experience in...See Chicago), and fine... Detroit doesn't have a great reputation in general. Than again neither does Flint but the Crim seems to draw ok.

Anyway, more to follow when i get a better chance to post without the time constraints of watching the ball drop.
Thanks for reading

WOW!!!!!

NOT OUR HOUSE BUT A FEW MILES AWAY.....THOUGHT I'D SHARE.....

MAYBE YOU PREFER TO SEE THE VIDEO....

NOTICE THE SUSPENDED IN AIR WITH FISHING LINE, FOOTBALL IN THE CHRISTMAS FOOTBALL FIELD...NOTICE ANTLERS IN HELMETS

Merry Christmas!!!!

Typically, this will be a hectic few days but after an afternoon spent watching the Lions squeek out a victory, and most likely losing my fantasy football championship weekend, a few thoughts.

i watched yet another episode of Triathlon, this time a 70.3 1/2 iron man in St Croix. How is this interesting to watch??? i'm not sure but i think the road to Iron Man is a long one. First the lingo gets me confused....folks like me are called "age groupers" instead of just amatuer. This is the first change.

After checking out the lingo, i also noticed that i can't just seem to sign up. There seems to be a membership and some qualifying stuff. Honestly...i can train for anything but.... paperwork??? This is why i am a salesperson, i have an assistant for paperwork....this is not a big time ego comment, just an understanding of my strengths and weaknesses. i can do the "big picture" stuff and follow a plan and hit goals, but i'm not so much on the organization....ergo me and Fun guv', we balance each other....she's the yin to my yang.....i should probably leave my yang outta the blog post, eh??

So i will do a Tri....i have one picked out close to home... a "sprint" in New Baltimore this summer. And yes....a did the math for an Iron Man....i figure give me 3 hrs to swim 2.4 miles....best guess......but...a 16mph pace gets a 7 hour/112 mile bike ride....so figure 10 hours in and i have 6 hours to finish a marathon....it's just a matter of breaking the large event into smaller managable pieces. That's not to say some heavy duty training is not involved but.....

i am using the same math for this years planned 40 miler. Which may occur earlier than planned depending on Tange's visit and if he chooses to join us. OK got a crew...and folks to join for a few miles or so, or ride along on a bike....we're good there, always room for more but so far...things are good. 40 miles, five miles an hour and 8 hours or so....boom 40 miles.....it's not i'm planning anything else for the day. Running a 12 minute mile could be the hardest part for me (ok...weee bit of ego there, you got me), but it's the distance not the time.

But moving on to more important things....like marathon's. Well, actually...the Bayshore, as it looks like there may be 5 Steers there. Maybe 6 if i can strong arm a certain new mommy i ran with last weekend into signing up for the 1/2 or 10k. 10k would be good, cause than the Steers would be represented in each run.

But more to the point....the logo.....big thanks to GLRG, and the poll is in no ways binding, how to put it on a tech shirt and where to leave ample space for a bib, and of course.....what about our names on the back????

i'm still trying to achieve balance between; home, work, running, life and updating the blog (not to mention my blog mojo, so thanks to the friendly emails to update this thing) More on blog mojo....

i've said this, or typed this before, but to risk a long blog.....my idea to document an attempt for a BQ failed miserably after a minor injury.....so what can focus on???....random thoughts seem too random and although i believe the blog has a pace and diction, feel, mood that is honest to myself....but

i want more

i have come to realize that a few people, some who read this blog and many more who don't, have been inspired (that feels like too strong a word, but a less ego-trip inducing one escapes me, but no real ego moment) to push themselves through running, or changing a career, or approaching life differently...due, in part....to my successful (so far) reshaping of my body, through running and the changes it has brought to me.

So from those convesations....i'm trying to find a meaning to the blog....and not every post, but an occassional one....without dumping the whole thing and starting over.

So if i seem a little disconnected, my apologies as i look for a deeper, but not too deep, meaning. (whatever that's supposed to mean) - - - with occasional oxy-moronic slips, and bad punctuation...let alone spleeing.

Where was i again?? oh yeah.....

Merry Christmas!!!!!

And just due to the size, a seperate post of just pictures from a house near us.....Danny Devito watch out...you might be able to see this one from space....No flash used and pictures taken at night.....

thanks for reading

Ran a Great 4 miles with the lovely Miss Techmacher saturday morning...she's in there somewhere.

Anyway, with the Lions playing so bad lately, i've had a good chance to flip around the channels on Sunday afternoons and well.....

i've decided....after watching the "Versus" network...formerly "OLN", .....four words i want to hear after my name....

"you are an ironman"



Not sure when, or exactly how, but see what happens when a person googles "ironman"????

Thanks for reading....

Happy Holidays!!!!

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

or........

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

yippee!!!!!!

Fun Guv's going to leave me for using her picture, she likes to avoid pictures

thanks for reading

40 on 40

i truly need to credit this gem with the orignator of the Steers moniker. Thanks Tange, no really, thanks

He sent me an email about his endeavor to try for this on his 40th and so i joke about it with GLRG, and Voila...

a challenge has been issued, well not so much a challenge but a chance to try for it.

Why not??? After all, like i'm gonna let a trumpet player do this to me, a bone. It's a band thing.

Since we both turn 40 within days of each other a couple rules:

We need a support vehicle, no running with camel-baks.....sig-other(s) can follow and meet with water and gu... and god knows what else a person needs when running a marathon and a half in one day.

We can't do this on the day of the summer BBQ, 'nuff said there

Friends and family are encouraged to join us on bike or foot for a couple or hell, all the miles, except those manning the support vehicle, what do ya say, Nitmos, got a few miles in ya???

And there may be more rules to follow and maybe even an idea of a route. Like an area downhill and going from west to east the whole time, to take advantage of prevailing winds, that's using my noggin!!!!

The Bayshore.....is looking like an event to debut the Steers Long Distance Project jerseys at....if they exist by that time. There may be 4 steers there....2 halfer and 2 fulls....a maybe a 5th if i can sell Kim COG, to sign up for the half and recruit her into the SLDP. SWEEEEEET!!!!

Dances With Dirt!!!!!!

Welcome to the dark side of running.
Weak, wimpy, treadmill running pansies who are afraid to get some dirt in their shorts need not apply.
Expect to be scratched, muddied and bruised by the beauty of this unpolished gem.
Expect to get out near the edge where life is full color.
Expect a day that leaves you knowing you are fully alive, awake and crankin' on all cylinders.
Expect insanity, stupidity and nirvana.

Amazingly....i have been invited to join a 100k existing team for DWD next fall. If this works out...i will get to run 2 legs of this monster. un-effing-believable.....




Somehow, the story of me withstanding the heat in Chicago and finishing impressed a few people on a team and when they had an opening....my name came up....no pressure here, eh???

Anyway...thanks for reading....and i think i may be due for a political tirade....after all.....looks like Obama might win in Iowa. The guy looks like a runner and is also struggling to quit smoking right now!!!!

About Last Night......

What a nice evening for a run. i had a client meeting in the evening and arrived home around 8:00, Dancing with the Stars be damned....i was going for a run.

It was great!!!! The days rain had eased into a steady downfall of white fluffy snow. Y'know the kind of snow that just floats; no wind; no rain, just a light dusting on the ground. i was in heaven.

i really love this time of year. Not enough Christmas lights on yet, but thats ok. My neighborhood allows for a simple route that lets me get an easy 3 miles in without ever leaving the subdivision. Since Fun Guv was still at work, i was able to pass by the house a few times making sure the kids were fine.

3 miles, or 23:56, later...workout done.....and i was still able to watch the second dances of the finalists. Still not gay....not sure how....but guilty pleasures are exactly that....guilty.....kinda like the ABBA on my mp3 player....nothing beats a tempo run to a swedish blond chick, and her wing-girl...




C'mon click it!!!!

Anyway back to the point. As i ran through the sub, i remembered times growing up and how much i knew about my neighbors as a kid. Y'know when everyone knew each others names. Like the Davis's across the street, or the Craven's (whose lawn i mowed), the Rice's, Gauthier's, etc.... With people who would smile and wave in that old soooo1970's way and with a goofy smile. People who didn't mind telling my folks when i was seen acting like a moron, or were given my parents permission to corporal-ly punish me (the ultimate embarrassment), but mostly people who i liked and at least seemed to like my folks and through osmossis....me.

Well, truly today, know a lot of my neighbors and they know me. Across the street are Tim and Jackie, who moved into the house the Jackie grew up in, as her mother has had a few bad years. Across the other side (we live on a corner lot), is Tony, retired and lives alone but friendly enough. Next to Tony is Jerry and Ginny, 30's no kids and Jerry has 7 screws holding his back together after an accident a few years ago, Lucky to be alive...let alone walk.

Next to us on one side is John and Shelly, again early 30's, but kids....had a few tooooo many adult beverages with them this summer and learned all about how Shelly was a homecoming queen in high school, a little embarrassing for her and John as Shelly's folks, also a bit of a party-ing crew, loved to talk about her time as a high maintenace high schooler. Lot's of Fun , and fellow Billy Idol fans. One Saturday, sleeping with the windows open, Fun Guv and i were awakened to the Kareoke Stylings of MONY MONY at about 2:30 am

Gotta watch the cussing....the kids read this.... y'know????

Anyway....on the other side is Lynn.....Looooove Lynn..... and our occasional Friday nite Happy hour(s). Well....the happy hour(s) started innocently enough, but none of the neighbors join us....so usually it's Mike (ME) and Lynn, drinking until one of us is ....done.....and Fun Guv enjoying the talk with her Diet Coke.

Well, i guess as i ponder sociatal changes, and risk this post getting as long winded and tiresome, as if written by a college professor...of music, i know that many of my other neighbors only know me as that weird, ex-hippy guy on the corner, who runs a lot.

i wonder how much of my out-going nature and desire to know the neighbors, is a leftover from growing up small town northern Michigan??? Most people i talk to while knocking on doors, plain ole'cold-calling, part of the new job and a definite, take-a-person-out-of-their-comfort-level meet people and shake their hands, never seem to know anybody they live next door to.

Once i met a nurse, who had a nursing student living next door, neither knew the other person, and i introduced them. Not my neighbors, just people i met door-knocking.

Where was i going with this again???

Thanks for reading

Well back by popular demand, a running post

It's been a good few weeks of running around here. i am starting to use the treadmill a little bit. With Fun Guv picking up extra hours at work and my new career, i must admit to finding the DREADMILL to be an easy way to log in the miles, of course a working TV and DVD or good sports game helps.

Anyway....looks like i am hitting my favorite time of year to run. The early winter around the holidays, what a fun way to stroll through the neighborhoods; a lite dusting of snow, a crisp dryness to the cool air, and of course, the Christmas Lites. I even have a totally dorky looking Red-n-Green Christmas colors oufit to wear. Not quite the GLR Chick's little running shirt but to each their own, right? Like i could pull off the red and green look with a shirt on?????

On to a borrow Post Race Marathon Report:

Tange sent me this little gem after his outstanding showing at Richmond, sorry no pictures.

Mike,

I still have a ways to go to get to 2:57. Kim saw the pics tonight and asked what I was doing with my hand.

I told her “Steers running club” she just rolled her eyes. I like the ones were both my feet are off the ground.

Here is a mini recap of the race If I haven’t sent it to you yet.

I ran my first half just as planned (no miles faster than 7:30 miles and split the half in 1:39:00. It was actually 1:39:04). Then around mile 15 I hooked up with 3 guys who started picking up the pace around mile 18 and I ran my fastest 10k of the race from mile 20 on. 6 of my fastest 8 miles were after mile #18 including my fastest mile of the day, a 7:10, to finish the race. I thought I had a 3:20 in me, maybe a 3:19, but no way I thought I had a 3:16:30 in me. Before that race, I thought the negative split marathon was just fiction, or people just slacking off for the first half then getting serious in the second half.

Richmond is a great course, decent crowd support and if I guy who hasn’t seen a hill in 4 months can do the rolling hills of Richmond, anyone can. The course starts out going due west for the first 4 miles before any turns, so that helps out a lot in not having to weave around people and keeping the 26.2 mile race a 26.2 mile race and not 26.7 miles.

Nice job, Tange!!!!

Moving to other running things, i'm going to try to stop taking my good fortune for granted. At least from a running stand, i tend to forget that i have dear friends who can't run at all due to medical issues, while i tend to whine about my pace being off a couple seconds from one week to the next. And some of these people are folks who would like to run a little.

That said, i have picked a spring marathon to train for, or maybe it picked me again as the Bayshore seems to fit into my schedule perfectly, with another runner or two i know doing it. What the heck??? Let's enjoy the training, enjoy the race and try to run the best race i can run on that particular day.

Anyway that's a long way off. There will be plenty of time to keep posting about running and stuff i think about while running in the next few months. I think i have worked out a decent work/life schedule finally.

We'll see

Thanks for reading

i promise to again return to posting thoughts about running....it is a running blog, right??? or was....but right now...a favorite Thanksgiving traditon, and not the whole song....just a minute or two....



Go Lions!!!!, i love Favre and all but really who isn't a Lions fan on Thanksgiving. If you time the turkey coma right.....you can miss the whole second half!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanks for reading

From the mouths of babes, or

Strange Handwriting on the Wall, or

What Jimmy drew on the back of a paper placemat while waiting for food at a local restaurant.

In his words....as told to his mother...and grandmother....

The American Flag, dead people, lots of blood.

Is he ready to sign up for Young Rebublicans yet????

Well, Fun Guv needs the computer for some auction thingy so i'll just end here.

thanks for reading

All great stories start with a well written sentence.

That's not to say this is a great story but as i have been away from updating for various work and running related reasons let me at least be comforted with the fact that at least today i am putting digits-to-keys again and enjoying some time to dump out some thoughts....

Random eight things....

Not sure about the task...as i haven't really read or typed in a while and my brain has turned to mush, i seem to have been "tagged" with a task of posting of 8 random things...if i post eight....well...not quite random in preparation eh?

But to move on....sorta random

Superman....y'know the illegal immagrant who wears his underwear as outerwear

i've always been a big fan....and while big blue tends to not make a good impression on the big screen the ideal of Superman....why???

Well, Superman represents Americana, yet the character was created by Canadians, Toronto was actually the inspiration for Metropolis, well nice idea but really Supe's inspires me because of the nature of man. In his case...

Absolute Power does not corrupt absolutely

In an odd way i associate Superman to my grandfather, the two are intertwined as my grandfather died during the death of superman story-line from 1992.

Now, this is not meant to be a melancholy post....it's just a reason why for ten years i collected every Superman comic i could get my hands on. So i guess maybe there are two reason i tend to idolize Superman.

Anyway....as the posts rambles on.....my dear friend, Scott, actually listened to me one day when i mentioned putting together a mix CD of popular songs with Superman references in them. And so for my birthday, a year ago he gave me such a CD. With a nifty little bit of a cover to the jewl-box and everything.

As i listened to it today...i realize the thought that went into the gift and, while the songs aren't quite what i would have picked, i don;t think i have ever properly thanked him...So....Thanks!!!!

Moving on from this, or with this....or something....i think it's is again time to update the look of the blog..... maybe another revamp of the appearance will inspire me to type more often. This post has been tedious and yet it's more of a rustiness, with some familiarity......y'know, that feeling of re-hooking up with an old girlfriend after a year or two apart....familiar yet.....the exact words escape.....hmmmm. Well that's the tedious part again.

Moving on to another random thought....and i realize i haven't read any other post in a week or so, but ....isn't quoting yourself redundant??? Like referring to yourself in third person.

Mike thinks as Mike types this post that Mike's an ass, not really mike's...i mean....my usual diction, eh?

Congrats to Tange, sometime stalker, as he nailed his last marathon and finished in 3:16:something. Great Work!!!! (how's that for a random statement??)

Let's get back to the man crush.....

Saw the Boss last week. remeber when i used to post regular about stuff? He is the man!!! If i could pick one person to shake hands and gush about how much i admire his work....it would be his....



Actually, this features two of my favorites...honestly they could have been promoting clubbing baby seals and i woulda jumped at the chance to see these two on stage together.....

But, for last weeks show....great show....great new album....if i wasn't such a big fan, i would have been bummed cause it was definitely not a greatest hits style show. Great set list....but again not the hits.

And just cuz Jimmy hasn't been on a post in a while



That's my boy!!! Dancing with the Stars???? watch out, this kid is ready to mambo!!!!

Thanks for reading, if you stuck around long enough to see if i updated.....

(Thank goodness for GLRChick, to send me an email once in a while to update a post)

A little Starbucks research for a friend.....

Well one week down and 16 more until i head back to St Louis for the final step in my training. The difference this week folks is i opened for bidness. So it's been a few days of walking door to door, timeblocking phone sessions to stay in contact with people i met through knocking on doors, and client meetings.

Friday was an entire day of meetings, not with clients but with the region of Financial Advisors in the area. So Saturday i made up for the day with two client meetings and a little marketing in between.

Needless to say, i haven't had much time for other things.

but i have a new website.

Anyway, back to the post as i notice a friend has mentioned she should buy Starbucks as she's always at said coffee place. Well Compliance prevents me from making a recomendation here, but here's some public knowledge stuff.

Anyway, it may seem i have a dull job but not really. Although the long days seem to keep me from running or blogging or blogging about running and reading others blog about running, or just blog for the sake of things....i really like the idea of building a new bidness.

Since, i would now be unemployed had i stayed in the mortgage bidness, since my old office is closing in a week and all the loan officers were let go last week.

But really....last Monday the bottom of our hot water heater decided it didn't want to be part of the hot water heater any longer and struck out searching for it's own independence...... which sounds great except for the water left to freely pour out of the bottom of said water heater.

Three inches or so of water through the basement....not so much a good thing.

But i have a new hot water heater now. Should be good for at least ten years.

But luckily this emptying and drying has really allowed me to look back on things i have hoarded over the years and why. If i ever get a chance to post again before the freshness subsides, i'll try to mention what i have found.

thanks for reading

We have met the enemy and it is us....

This has been a few days in brewing but honestly i gotta put the blame on the fiasco in Chicago on....

the runners.

As i watched the race from the inside, and never ran out of water at any waterstation, i realized that somewhere between me and Great Lakes Running Gal, there was a lot of water being taken. Too Much....

i actually felt like i was abusing the system cause for the first 1/2 i took one gatorade and one water at each pit stop. Looking at my Garmin i ran a good run for the first 16 miles. i knew my bodies limitations and felt like i understood the heat. For the first 14 miles i kept very cloe to my 7 mile an hour basic plan. i gave myself a walk break after 7 miles of 1:30. My 14 mile mark was around 2:05 but i took another walk break at the halfway point.

It was here that i started to notice a distinct change in the mood. This is where i noticed the number of discarded pace bands on the pavement. This is where a toe on my left foot gave me one of two problems.

1. keep running and it feels numb no pain, but the running....and at a marathon of all places
2. take a walk break and feel the white hot pain...what was this???? Should i stop and join the incredible masses of walking wounded, or not walking, under the medical tents....what if they lance a nasty ass blister and won't let me continue???? And really there are some folks under the tents with some REAL issues...i mean, really....i have a toe that hurts.

Anyway i swear i never missed water but somewhere around mile 19 there were tables set up with water, but no volunteers. That was weird.

Chinatown....wasn't this on the race course somewhere? i seem to remember it from last year....oh wait there it is.....yup.....marathons are a lot longer than remembered when you run them.

mile 23-24....heading north...with sun beating down on my back....i look up and see a marque for a little church with the time and temp....98....well, i think to my self, that's in the direct sunlight.....WAIT A MINUTE....I'M IN THE DIRECT SUNLIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!. i think about taking a walk break here, and do.

mile 25......Marked wonderfully with two of Chitowns finest....Standing in the middle of the street, saying something like....

"The race is over"
"Please Walk the rest of the way"
"The race is over"

Over....was it over when the germans bombed pearl harbor?"

Well, this really to me explains a lot about the oxymoronic implications of.....POLICE WORK.

So let me see if i understand??? i'm 1 mile from the finish, and you are directing me back to the finish/start area, where all my crap and bride is. Because the race is over. Well if the race is over, why am i here and i want to get going than so maybe to hurry things up i'll jog a bit of the way....ok???

And so i begin the last mile of my last chicago marathon for a while. It was so surreal. i got to the finish in a fairly uneventful manner except for the mass which prevented me from crossing the mat without waiting for a few seconds.

Funny observations:

At time of 3:30 i figured Nitmos had been done for a few minutes
i still beat Oprah
i got to finish....i feel tremendous empathy for those who didn't get to finish. But that's not me. From my experience, the marathon was well run. There was plenty of water, but i was through the gate less than two minutes from the start, so a lot could have happened afterwards.
i was stunned to hear about waterstations not having water, after seeing as much as i did.

Not so Funny:
As disappointing as it was to hear of a runner dying....it unfortunately wasn't too surprising. It's extrenely tragic

Sorry no pictures maybe later. This has been a difficult post to put together because the emotions are still lingering over the RunChi. But, and it pains me to say this....The experience, for me, was a good one.

thanks for reading

Wow, it was hot!!!!

hi there, just a quick little post to thank everyone for the thoughts and well wishes prior to and after the Chicago Fun Run!!!!

Or.....

Chicago Marathon of the Living Dead.....honestly it was like walking through a zombie movie.

As i am in St Louis for a week of opening business, the full report will come shortly. Maybe a few days....hopefully by then my aching toenail will have fallen of and i will have some new brundlefly-esque condition to report from the "fun run"....

....but a small tidbit or two....

while shuffling towards the finish line, i heard an announcer say "slow down the marathon is over....today is a fun run"

for the record....nothing about this ordeal was "fun" except the bizarre people watching and all the bananas a person could eat through the water stations, and....

the extra few seconds added to my time due to the number of people bunched up at the finish, i figured i new my time and hit my garmin. waited for the crowd to shuffled forward and sauntered through the mats while holding the Steers victory symbol above my head.

btw....recovering from a marathon is a lot easier when a person walks 1/2 mile out of every two miles for the final 10k....you can do the math.

more to come

thanks for reading

OK here we are....



Egad, i feel pumped but man it's effing hot here. and humid....



new plan for tomorrow, run fast to finish early and beat the sun. To steal a quote from Out-of-shape-guy Mike...."i'm thinking 2:15" should beat the sun.



Speaking of....i ran into Mike and Barb at the Expo. So while i will be missing the post run party, it was nice to chat and wish well to each other.



Pre-race jitters, you bet.....good luck to all Chicago and Twin Cities Runners i have stalked and been stalked by....



i wonder if i'll get a pre race 5:30 am post in this marathon????



Thanks again to all the friends and family i think about when running..... Trust me...it's a long ways....i have a lot of time....if you think you are on the list....you are....



Let's hope i don't wilt in the humidity.....



thanks for reading

OK, it's official...i'm excited!!!!

Bring it, Chicago...you are gonna be my biaaaatch again.

And why???/ why the chance of heart. Cause i'm feeling the need for speed again...finally two runs of under 8 minute paces. Finally, a nice 3 miler yesterday at 22:41, ok not the fastest i have gone but each mile was faster than the previous, and today a great 5 miler at 49:00/ 7:48 pace.

Now, really i'm not talking about a bq or anything, but i think i may surprise myself this weekend. i think i have an outside chance to.....dare i type it?....a....fear not......just type.....PR??

Why not, weather should be good and i'm not even taking throwaway gloves with me...

but on to more important things like young boys and rockets.....Jimmy is a Tiger Cub this year and what a great way to relive childhood memories.....through your own child....without the nasty baggage of ugly childhood memories.

Now, while i do not, and most likely will not be donning a boy scout uniform as Den leader, what am i thinking? But the other den leaders do...and truthfully grown men wearing boy scout uniforms is a little odd. Sorta like baseball managers wearing the jerseys. i mean really picture Pat Riley pacing the sidelines of a heat game in a Heat uniform. weird eh???

but, moving on Jimmy had rocket launch day and man was it fun.....i think he had a good time too!!!! Except for the yawning part.

Oh yes the count down and the fun of hoping that the ignitor was correctly installed.

With cloud of smoke....yep...all things are good and i sure hope the parachute opens cause it may be an early day if it doesn't....

....yep it opened. yippee!!!! a rocket for another day!!!!

Anyway thanks for reading

and thanks for wishing me luck this weekend.

Man Crush part 2

Take a moment to check out the new single.



Man, finally a song that ask the question......"Is anybody alive out there?" If you've been to a live show you know what i mean.

Man, i really love the new stuff. The hard part for non-bruce fans is well, that a lot of these tunes will be sound fantastic live. i have a bunch of "live" cd and all the studio ones (actually, i'm missing one, but it from the non-e street band two album/one release fiasco)

Guess which ones i listen to most.



okay, he talks a little in concert, but not as much as rumored.

Fun Guv loves to watch and point out that only at a Springsteen live show, do men dance in the aisles. Honestly i never noticed, as i did my white-guy-concert-bobble along to "Badlands" many years ago. But her observation is absolutely correct. Funny thing how "badlands" live at her first show turned Fun Guv into a fan.

She is my "Mary"

Thanks for reading

We have our tix for the show.

Now i just heard the album....

way cool stuff!!!!

Aaah yes, man crush

want to hear it for yourself?

the new album, a preview

Now, the chance to load this sucker into the mph3 player and listen to it while running the marathon???

that's exciting....nothing like a little Bruuuuuuce to get the blood pumping!!!!

and why bruce, cause at a very tender age i was exposed to Rosalita and i can't remember by whom or how, but Rosie's always been the tune.

As Bruce and the band previewed some stuff on the Today show, i had to watch. Man, was the Today showunprepared...better idea only book Bruce...let him just play and stop looking like idiots as you try to move to other things like... diet ideas, needlepoint....but he just keeps playing....Meredith and Matt...what a couple of tools!!!

thanks for reading

EVERTHING MUST GO!!!!!





Huge Liquidation Sale!!!!!

We gotta be crazy.....




Make an offer, historic office building for sale. built in 1879.....

Gotta move it real quick, current owners to consider all serious bids....


Aaaah....Michigan....Let's recap.....


To help promote voters to elect a Republican Governor, the republican michigan house and senate opt to repeal the Single Buisness Tax.....cutting taxes paid by well....businesses.....and the business owners like this but....


...to not scare off voters, the same house and senate propose no plan to replace, cause that would mean higher taxes to the people who actually vote, the.....i believe....10 billion in revenue, but.....


act surprised when the state has run out of money a year later.....


....but let's not talk politics, as the republican senate leader kills every bi-partisan solution, cause he wants to run for governor next election.....but i just saw him on the evening news begging the governor to not shut down the state...



but in reality people only care if.....they can't buy lottery tickets, booze and the casinos have to shut down!!!!


If the people from Myanmar want democracy and we seem to be the country who tries to bring it those who want it.....why haven't we invaded there???? At least the citizens of that country are willing to help stand up for democracy....


.....how close to China is Myanmar???? They could bomb our new troops there with lead-based painted bombs....that would be bad. Maybe we should stay in Iraq.



And, i don't care where the leader of another nation is from....dammit, if he or she is a sovereign leader and wants to visit the UN, let him....and if he wants to lay a wreath at ground zero....maybe take it as the olive branch that it could be....why does the entire country seem so damned happy to keep Iran an enemy....


i saw Colin Powell speak once about when Yuri Andropov, during the end of the USSR, Mr. A looked at the distrust in Mr P's eyes, threw his head back, laughed and said "you need to find a new enemy, cause we're not it anymore" Okay a paraphrase....


i mean would trade between the US and Iran be terrible.....next thing i'm be supporting opening trade with Cuba....i must be anti-american. It's just another country our business owners could send jobs too.


Movin on to running....i gotta admit to no real excitement with the big run in Chicago. It could be taper madness but mostly, i just want to go, have a nice morning run and go to St Louis on a business trip.


On the plus side....i have my 2 rooms, $29 a night, downtown, 5 blocks from the starting corral, verified yesterday. You would think that would be enough to gather a carpool with another runner, from the metro area (perhaps the one who is using the other room, with her girl crush, alas their tender weekend be cramped)....so dear Fun Guv doesn't have the long drive home alone after i board a plane at Midway, but....c'est la vie (mock french...more anti-american propaganda) Man, nobody has a sense of humor anymore!!!


Anybody looking to carpool??? But i'll try to give the Steers salute as i cross the finish line


thanks for reading

Start slow and then taper off....

Well, as the entire marathon training program has been a bust due to a couple un-foreseen issues, i must admit to enjoying my last 20 miler for a while. i figure, since i really didn't train too hard a 20 two weeks before the marathon will give me plenty of time to recoup prior to the big run.

i gotta admit i feel good. My leg is still about 90% and it's still tight but not uncomfortable to run on and although i don;t plan on setting a PR in Chicago, or going for a BQ i think i will have a good time...and so the goals for Chicago '07...

1. Finish, sounds dumb but honestly this is actually more important than having fun. So much has been wrapped around my work schedule and this marathon that if i don't finish, i will feel like i let so many people down who helped organize a schedule to get me from Chicago to St Louis, a day later than i am supposed to be there.

2. Have fun....i worked hard to gather starting in a corral. i want to enjoy the feeling. i ran my 20 in just under 3 hours and felt real strong the last 2 miles. In many ways this was the strongest 20 miles ever, not due to time but the way i felt when done.

3. Beat Oprah...don't ask me why but i just like the sound of it.

4. Race the best race i can race on that day. Lord knows the unlimited positive and negative factors that may exist in two weeks. i could slip fall and give myself a concussion to running with the wind at my back the entire time in 50 degree sunny, dry conditions. If i stay honest with myself and my abilities i should enjoy the day.

Short and sweet but that's the goals, no time goals (other than Oprah), more of a zen feeling of the day...and i almost forgot...

Keep Moving Forward!!!!

Not sure why but as different songs come through my MP3 player while running certain songs become a soundtrack theme...This marathon seems to be Kid Rock's "Somebody's got to Feel This/Fist of Rage." It has seemed to inspire to fight through the injury and force myself to keep trying.

But let's move....

As my Frother, his term, invited fun guv, me and kids to meet his new daughter, we were treated to returning to CMU to attend band-day. That great day of inviting local high schools to the big university for a chance to play at a college football game, recruit potential new students, and give the marching band a week off from preparing drill and tunes....the introduction



but even better his rousing technique of wielding his little conducting stick a la Hermione trying to make a feather float in first year classes at Hogwarts. Just play along a recite Levioso, every 8 beats.

Followed by the rousing hair flips. Rock on!!!!

Or as Fun Guv says....picture Mickey Mouse trying to control of those brooms. Stay with it for the BIG FINNISH.




Honestly and it all seriousness. Congrats Scott!!! Thanks for inviting us to go. i can think of no honor greater then being asked to conduct the CMU Marchings Chips!!!!

Hey, i can count to 4, when do i get a turn???

Thanks for reading

OK i hate to admit this but lately my mornings have been spent at home preparing for a day of prospecting new business. So as i prepare and catch up on some paperwork, i admit to a guilty pleasure of watching a little Good Morning America in the morning.

As my regional leader suggest writing a little each day, i'm going to force the muse back to me by taking his advice and trying to do so in this format. But after having a little white noise provided my GMA i gonna go off a on a completely different arena than i have in the past. Cause....

i gotta admit to a little sympathy for Britney Spears.....ok, sure....i watched the VMA's and yeah...what a train wreck...but c'mon...

No having a beer for 12 hours prior to seeing her kids???? Sure sounds great, we gotta protect the children and i'm all for that but...wait a minute...

i enjoy an occasional beer in the evening, and Oh my God....my kids are in the very next room. What will they think???

Or, no using of illegal drugs prior to seeing her kids... This is dumb, because by definition the drugs are....illegal. So is the court saying using illegal drugs, if she isn't seeing the kids, is OK. How can a court make this ruling???? The drugs are il....ergo not....legal.

Now sure, i agree, again, be redundant...i'm all for protecting children but....if i slippery slope this logic...what happens to stay at home moms, or dads....who may want to have a beer while watching a game on TV and maybe the kids are at home????

and really if the courts are really going to get involved with personal demons to protect our children, shouldn't we all just get in line????

Free Speech.....moving on....i gotta say that, and i'm really a liberal guy....that yahoo who caused the disturbance with John Kerry should consider himself lucky he only was Tasered!!! What an idiot....not really a free speech issue. Yes... make your point, but then to create a disturbance, and have to be asked to leave, and yeah, i watched the video, to resist arrest???

See...in a demonstration regarding free speech, don't move!!! don't talk!!!! if the police, dps,whatever escort you out...go with them.or....

you might get tasered....duh

what a moron...oh yeah, and maybe be aware of the climate around the country regarding safety concerns at universities due to Va Tech.

Fer instance....while traveling and using a public restroom in an airport...don't say things like "Man, i just dropped a bomb in there, whew, toxic" when exiting the restroom. It may be misconstrued by the authorities.

Just a little thought or two. And i haven't even had a moment to put some time into OJ's moromic misadventure. Maybe there's just too much crap in the world to actually post about?????

Thanks again

The big 200th post.

at least if my counter is correct. Truthfully while i find round numbers interesting and i thought about making a big todo and recap of the past near two years of running for at first, weight-loss, then to see how far i can go, but am opting for otherwise....

But first things first....i think i'm back to about 90% of where i was pre-injury. i type that as i ran for 15 miles on Sunday morning and, while not quite the 20 i should of done i figure this week is a good week for a 20. In many ways this training, or lack thereof, has been a "see-how-it-goes" train, and while i intend to taper the last 2 weeks, i think i haven't done any of the muscle damage normal training would drain from me...so a shorter...less taper in the taper, taper.

To follow the 15 miles, i hit 7 yesterday and seem to bee quite comfy at a 8:30/pace. So i think i will finish in Chicago, and if i was forced to pick a time goal, i would think perhaps 4:15 is very do-able. As with the Bayshore, i use a 7 mile hour as a benchmark. Well i haven't done a lot of work but my 14 mile point was 2:01 from Sunday, but i make no claim to be able to continue to 21 miles after three hours.

This is the fun part about loooong running. See, to me the mental part is more fun than the running. The planning, the mental conditioning to run a smart race. There is an internal part of running with a strong gut that means so much more to me than the physical work.

i must take a moment here to mention how i seem to have lost my blogging muse. Or perhaps she has abandoned me. i admit to have lost my focus while developing my new career. Or better typed....focused on other things like starting my own business.

i'm actually 2 short weeks away from opening....after the months of study, followed my intense weeks of market research and training, and learning the logistical things like actually opening accounts and preparing presentations completely different than presentations i have done in past....i'm going to open shortly.

odd. Cause a big part is going "then what???"

i truly feel like Ralph Macchio from the Karate Kid movies....y'know i've waxed the cars, painted the fence, sanded the deck...but now i'm going to a tourney and man i don't even know what belt i should have on.

To draw a real life comparision...it's a lot like training for a marathon. i was given a training plan, and told if i just follow the plan i will finish and enjoy the trip. Well, i am hitting the taper portion of training and i feel like i should be hitting longer miles, while everyone who has ran this before is saying to trust the plan. i need to just trust the plan.

At least in moments when i start to stress out, i have this little guy to keep me laughing...




what a ham...dancing to the music from his gameboy...while watching himself in the reflection of our picture window.

it's the stuff that keeps me moving forward when i get tired.

thanks for reading

Back in the saddle.....


This could be a hopeful sign as i ran 15 miles over the weekend. Now sure i stretched it out over a couple days...5 sat and 9 sunday, but it felt good.


i think the stress of passing, lifting....helped lift my desire to run.


Thanks, thanks and thanks to all the great comments of support to the running and non-running bloggers out there. and yep Fran...feel free to gather advice as i will most likely never be licensed in Canada....somehow it's still another country. wacky!!!


Anyway, to openly respond to my little grate lake running chick.....i mean, conservative right-wing in general to the other professionals in my chosen field. Typically, as in the past in banking and lending roles, i was the odd liberal out. So in no way was my comment in the last post in reference to the actual readers of my blog.


So let's just say in the world of finance, i expect the same. Although there are some Earth friendly strategies gaining ground in the field. Mostly, i now will be representing the investor/stock holder....who may not care if jobs are sent overseas as long as the bottom line is a larger yield.....gawd, i'm already getting more boring, i know...i always was.


Anyway...this is the 199th post so the next one will be a biggy. Perhaps a brief reflection on where i was and where i am. oooh great, another yawner....


Additionally, as i am still working to build my own section of the professional universe....i apologize to everyone for not being able to keep up as diligently with those i stalk....i try...but seriously the 75 hour work weeks are already crimping my running style.....life style...parenting time....i swear it'll only be another few really tough weeks. Cats in the Craddle and all. Maybe another odd video.....found this on You Tube...real funny stuff.....




wow...i just typed for a few minutes and said absolutely nothing.



thanks for reading

i passed

73%

Funny how somehow going from a failing 69 to a passing 73 makes all the difference in the world.

It's a 100 question exam. 2 questions one way and i'm short of getting licensed. 2 questions above the required 71% and i studied too hard. Not really.

But, huge kudos to my bride, the nefarious Fun Guv for putting up with my ugliness this week as i got cranky and studied all week. Why...just to get an extra 4, just four more questions right to become eligible to be a fully licensed investment professional type person.

Truth is, i can't really do anything yet as the license will not be activated for 3 more weeks, but it's done. and now to concentrate on more important things like running the marathon. oh yeah and learning to run a profitable business.

Thanks to all for the good thoughts about the test.

Another big question???? Can a liberal-minded mind exist in a world of capitalist, and mostly conservatives(?)??? Well, this should be a fun new career, eh. How many republican dinner parties will i find myself invited to now????

Maybe, i can concentrate on GREEN, investing??? Or hometown....state....USA products. Wouldn't that be patriotic???

Thanks for reading

Aaaaah, the joy of a new first grader on the first day of school or....Pee Wee Herman as a child. You pick.

Woo, slow down...what's this two days in a row of back-to-back post. Well back by popular demand, namely Kim asking for a political rant, i felt inspired...but first...there's always a but first right????

Tomorrow morning i sit for a second attempt at the Series 66, Uniformed Combined State Law Exam. Sounds scary as i missed the first attempt by 2 questions. Quite honestly, this test sucks. It was written by lawyers and dammit can they ever just write a simple question??? appartantly not.

Wish me luck and think of where i will be at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Please Gknee, you've been a good luck omen to me.

Also...Terese, call me, since she reads this little thing once in a while, i want to discuss the merits of the Deathly Hallows, and not ruin an ending for anybody waiting for the movie in 4 or 5 years.

But on to political rants.....

VW has appartantly decided to pull out of Michigan. Basically, their office in Auburn Hills, home of the Palace, home of the Pistons and a soon to be Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show ('nother topic/'nother day), it's purely administrative for the US operations and employes about 1000 folks. They're heading South....

So our Guv, is again scramblin' to try to keep another company from pulling up stakes and promising the world if they (VW) stay in Michigan. Just like she has been trying for the past 6 years, as companies have been heading away from Michigan.

Now right-wingers out there... love to blame the unions and love to blame the high wages companies pay to michiganders. Right-wingers love to blame our liberal governor, who is best served as a little junket representative for bridge runs (kidding, wink wink...nudge, nudge).

So, thinking about it....which i do,, and this is just a little thought, but....i'm ready for the governor to grow a set.

Next time a company pulls out of Michigan, i want her to call up the CEO and offer to help them pack. If they want to go elsewhere then go. Tired of paying high wages....go see what you get when you move everything to China....right Mattel???

The entire industrialised economy, of the world, is based upon the inventions of Henry Ford (albeit, an antisemite and ealry on supporter of Hitler, not without faults, but...) and the development of the assembly line. We did it. The mid-west work effort defines the state of Michigan.

Companies want to leave to cut cost...go!!! everybody gets what they pay for. Good luck getting people in the South to work mandatory 7 days and double shifts cause production picks up. That's what we do here.

Cheap labor will mean cheap product. So governor, ...please,....as a salesman for the past 8 years i've realized that you can't be everything to everyone, and there is a value to the work ethic inherent to the midwest. It may cost more to stay here, but the risk of moving to a cheaper work force may prove costlier.

That's a winning mentality. The idea of placating every company with tax cuts who threaten to move without them is loser thinking. i guess when i hear folks wish a business person ran things, maybe they want a salesperson in reality.

just a thought

thanks for reading

Keep moving forward!!!!

That's been my mantra for the past year or so. Just keep going and as i approach the Chicago marathon i realize.
...i'm not ready.

And even as i try to blame circumstances beyond my control, i realize i have lost a bit of my running mojo.

See, the little leg injury really started the ball rolling. The more i tried to force a good run, the more pain. The more pain the less i wanted to run.

The new job has taken control of every aspect of my life. And being an admitted obsessive/complusive, not as much time to run. Little excuses like it's too hot, i need to study, my leg hurts, i have to finish the Harry Potter book or my head will explode.....kept me of the not so beaten path of training....

Well, here i am....no much studying left for work....i finished the Harry Potter book (worth staying up 'till 4:00am to finish)...my leg seems fine...my weight is still the same as the end of the Bayshore Marathon.

No more excuses....well....one....after the Chicago Marathon i need to catch a plane to St Louis for another fun filled week of training (starting Monday at 8:00am)

Kind of a bummer, as i will not be able to truly enjoy the afterglow from a good run...better to scramble towards an airport and try to make a plane...yay!!

But, i run, and i figure any training plan is garbage now. Any thoughts for a BQ....gone. Can i finish...i don't know.

This is in no way a cry for pity or encouragement. It's just reality. i haven't properly trained and i know it. i hope in the next few weeks i can put on some decent mileage, take a shortened, but smart taper, and run 26.2.

It will be painful. It will be the hardest race i have ran. It may break me. i may not finish.

But, i will keep moving forward!!!!

congrats to my friend LISA and her fun run across the Mack Bridge.

Watching, or rather, hearing that Michigan lost Saturday meant nothing is respect to watching the extremely moving opening of the college football season through the eyes of VT students, and players. ESPN did a great job in not hyping the moment but letting the pregame just unfold for us. i truly believe nothing brings a campus together like a college football game. Additionally, the fact that Va Tech players enter the field to "Enter Sandman" is phenomenal!!!

Yesterday i ran 8.50 miles, longest run since the midnite 20.....this was more at my pace, at 7 miles the leg flared up a little.

thanks for reading, and understanding that i haven't had the time or motivation to keep up a running blog when i'm not really running.

on to a completely different subject and mood fo the day:

i don't ever want to find myself shedding tears while watching "college game day" on espn again....

Aahhh yes the Steers to what do we owe the name of our beloved moniker too???

but first




if you think this secene is funny....you are on your way to steerdom

or perhaps if before a big game or a big run you like to listen to music to gear up like....




well...this might make you a steer as well.

but maybe you prefer a little bit more cerebral comedy



again, you get the point. And if you understand the meaning of the word



JUJUNE....you're in.

Because waaaay back in the late 90's there was a residence hall on the campus of Central Michigan University named Tate Hall. Up on the third floor was "Hell", i lived in Hell. Along with roommates, Tange, Piss-boy and Alki, i was Luki. (Tange, now a regular stalker of this blog, and commentator).

Tange, ran swam and biked
Piss-boy, a business major and dip addict
Alki, drank a lot
Luki, well i slept a lot, 2 time resident hall "skipper"

But we all played pick-up basketball, and when intra-murals came out we and others in the hall needed a team name....so the story is rather dull, but we went with steers cause the Bulls were still getting beat up on by the Pistons back then....and....the definition of a steer in a dictionary is....

a castrated bovine

try to say those words out loud and not giggle or snicker a little. So Steers became the name and till this day exist.

As Steer players have some and gone, fer instance, Nitmos....brother of King (who lived in Hell) have both been members of Steers basketball teams.

And so the name lives on.....sometimes in odd ways....The Steers, Da Steers, AAA Steers (for higher alpha placement and earlier games)

So the secret of the Steers moniker is out. And all are invited to become members of the new Steers Running Team. Maybe.... Stampeding Herd (sounds like a Marshall thing, maybe not)

Now as i have gotten a little older on wiser...the idea of joining a team named after a castrated bovine seems oddly enough.....appropriate????

Lady Steers??? welcome to the group, but what the hell are we supposed to cut off of you???

Steers Team must do's.....listen to Def Leppard prior to a big game, recite Caddyshack and laugh at Woody Allen movies....and this is not required but a good idea to understand the mentality.....

watch the movie "Eraserhead" one time and try to explain it. Good luck with that one




Thanks for reading

In an effort to post a thought about as the Animal updates his blog, i figure an update is due.

first things first; sorry to not have an update following the 20 mile midnite run. It's been so long and i figure LISA's site covered it and moved to the CRIM and beyond, but a quick little 3:04 am snippet from the night....




...with a little song thrown in....



But since i have been not really updating and am using videos to take up space to avoid typing any real thoughts...let me say i loved my 10th annual 30th birthday party....next years midnite run will be a 40 miler in anticipation of the big 11th 30th party.....funny math for the Germans also know as Kim and Uwe who brought me my favorite beer as a gift....and i'm drinking one now...yep it's....




oooh the alcohol abuse.....but why WARSTEINER?????

three magical little words GERMAN PURITY LAWS

See the germans made it a law that only four things can go into beer around 400 years ago....oddly enough one of the things that can go into the making of beer is.....

wait for it....

...water. oh my god....what can the other three things be....

barley....malt...hop extract....

isn't that truly amazing????? look on the bottle for ingredients and that's what appears.

Cause life is too short to drink cheap beer. thanks guys

The party had beer from canada and germany, and vodka from the ukraine much fun was had by all....so.....

LET'S PLAY MEXICO

Moving on to a little snippet from late in the evening

long distance on the phone with Zack in Utah....

must have been the vodka

thank goodness Kim was there to open the vodka bottle as i had trouble....

open the european style bottle....

again good thing Uwe was distracted

a good time was had by all. How am i going to do this again next year after running 40 miles to commemerate the event. And who is going to join me for this one????

Maybe we can get shirts.....like.....STEERS RUNNING TEAM shirts. Something like a running with the bulls but more of a running with the steers. With individual names so marathon cheerers can root for us. Maybe even a "bib-goes-here" spot for bib....duh.

...and of course the official steers "rock on" wave to other runners gesture...wait for it...it's only another minute long....

you mess with the steers and you'll get the horns....

thanks for reading/watching....whatever

das-be-danya....i can barely spell english...how did you think i would spell this???

later.....

confessions of a half-night runner:

Mission Accomplished

20 miles under cover of darkness.

More to follow

Well let me tell you how much fun i am having.

Meet me in St Louis never rang truer than when 100+ sales people meet to get trained on how to be better sales people.

This may be the most intense, yet educational experience of my life.

More on the later but first:

This week's 20 miler is gonna be great cause the temps will be lower than the 100's the weather has been here. Yesterday i ran 3 miles on the dreadmill at 5:30 in the morning before hitting a shower and training all day. Then a classmate asked me to join him for a run of 3 miles after class, in the gawd awful heat. yippee!!!!!

Hottest day of the year....let's run.....

Sorry to be brief but i just wanted to assure everyone that i'm still here having fun and looking forward to the big 20 miler this weekend.

Thanks for reading

Today was my first ever run west of the Mississippi river.

The plane ride to St Louis was thankfully uneventful and the last day has been spent getting to know my fellow classmates. All in all, this is quite fun.

But after breakfast this morning i figured it's time to get back to training. What a wonderful place to do it at. Except, i really am not acclimated to August in a more southern climate. When i headed out from the hotel, temps were in the high 80's and it was 10:00am.

Wow, this is hot, but being an easy run, i went real easy. Guess what....

No leg pain. My strides were conservative but i figured on about 10 miles would be fine.

The hotel sent me towards a park which has a path which encircles a lake. It was new territory and i admit to being excited. But the run to the lake was about 2 miles. Then 4 miles around the lake and i took about a 2.5 route back to the hotel.

There really are some hillier areas here then i was used too. The return trip had stairs to climb. 220 stairs. And since the temps had risen a lot, i was a bit pooped.

y'know that so hot you feel chills feeling? i had a little of that so i stopped a lot to chat with many of the numerous folks on the trail.

Go figure, i met a runner finishing up his first of two 20 milers before his first marathon. i guess the Lewis and Clark marathon. Sounded fun. He looked in great shape to finish in his 4 hour goal. Of course i cautioned him to be wary of sudden gastro-intestinal issues that may occur while marathoning.

Maybe it's just me but i seem to be comfortable with ALL running topics with other runners. Well, he didn't seem offended so no harm no foul.

Looks like i have found a partner or two to run some shorter distances in the evenings this week.
No one wanted to join me when i said i was going about 10 miles, but there are so other runners here. It could be fun.

Looks like i may get to experience one of my New Years Resolutions soon. Of course i called my great lakes running bud, L*I*S*A to tell her of the beautiful course around the river. and yes i called my wife when we landed to tell her i made it to MO ok.

As Lisa has agreed to help be a rent-a-husband on Friday prior to the 10th annual 30th birthday bash. She may just stay over, go with Fun Guv to pick me up at Detroit Metro and go for her 20 mile run in the morning prior to the party.

i suggested we leave at 11:00pm, due the 20 then be well rested for the party Saturday afternoon, instead of running in the morning. i quest to experience the feelings i.e. thoughts of an all-nite-runner, albeit not quite the whole night is a curiousity.

It could be the start of a new tradition for the 2nd annual running of the 11th annual 30th birthday bash, next year.

Egads, well the hotel pool is calling so i will end this little post with something completely different....or how i ran when my leg/back problems were bad



thanks for reading

84%

That's the score. Yippee. i passed my State of Michigan Life and Health Insurance license exam.

So, on one hand i am a bit bummed that two erroneous answers now have me studying again to attempt the Series 66 Investment Advisor Law exam to be fully licensed, but i am still on track for opening my own office....

Tomorrow, i head to St Louis, MO. You bet this is looking better after passing todays exam.

Somehow, my leg doesn't hurt so much and my back feels tons better. Any relation?????

Enough work stuff, as next week will be fairly intense, let me get back to the streak....

Day 4....maybe it should be a rest day as it was the worse start in a while to get the pseudo-normal stride. Eventually the pain subsided and it turned into an almost pleasant 3 miler. The running through some pain has brought an old, borrowed mantra

"run till you can't run, walk till you can't walk, crawl till you can't crawl"

It's not so bad that i crawl yet, but i will somehow find a way to finish my next marathon.

Which being a little less than 2 months away still seems far enough away to prepare for, but....

i have opted to ponder more the WHY i run as the idea of a BQ diminishes. Given that this has been a terrible training experience, can i walk, limp, hobble, slither away from this marathon knowing that it may be slower, yet still satisfied with the fact that it will be my third in a 12 month interval???

i think i can

Now, the plan today is to end the streak at 5. So i plan to run a little today. For the record, i count a run as 2 miles or more. Why 2????

It goes back to stupid CMU days when keeping track of how many days in a row a person went drinking. 2 drinks counted as plural. ergo... drinking. Same logic applied to running

so running less than 2 miles is one run while 2 or more is running. (Yes, this is a blatant attempt to win the hearts of the running stats folks out there)

Why don't runners get tattoo's of there favorite shoe logo like bikers with HD tattoo's???

Nice segue to Lisa's decision to not get the could-be-chinese for Tyler tattoo. Go with an Aerosmith logo with Tyler Joseph replacing the band name script. i think that may be the idea to go with, as Animal will be getting a KISS something inked into his saggy man-boobs, and he wanted to go along.

Which really is the segue i wanted to get to Cranial Flatul...just call it brain fart, it's so much easier to spell

Since you will never throw away the parenting books....consider this. Think of parenting kinda like changing a poopy diaper...See this helps cause you're changing a lot right now. Now infant poopy diapers don't start all rank and unbelievably hideous. They start out small and not nearly as stinky as they'll get later. Cause if you had to start with a two-year olds mess nobody would be able to adjust. See, you and the poopy diaper evolve as the poopy diapers get nasty and nastier. By the time you're changing poopy diapers of a two year old...you can almost do it an the dinner table between courses.

Now Roz is just an extension of the poopy diaper....See, first you hit the basics...food, cleaning, health, sleep. That's it. And if you think you love this blob of flesh now...wait till you get a real smile, not one you think is a smile...the walk in the room and her eyes light up....man, it's a killer...

But back to the point....as Roz's needs change, i am sure your instinct's will kick in. Relax....she won't be asking if she can go out on a date for years...and when she does, you'll be ready then, without having to consult a book on what to expect from your teenager.

So this turned into a long winded post about advice on ignoring advice on parenting. Am i being redundant or Oxy-moronic???



And thanks Gknee for the well wishes, you seem to be my exam day good luck vibe

Thanks for reading

A stress free one mile.

This is good news as yesterday, during my 3 mile run, i was able to stretch out and get to old groove back.

It brought back that great feeling of a good run again. Even if it was only one mile, it was back. Now, if it doesn't happen again today, i'll be bummed. Alas, fear will not paralize me, i will try to go again a short distance.

On the new job, things have been going about the same as my running. Tomorrow i sit for the State of Michigan Life and Health Insurance License Exam. 150 questions, 70% to pass. i have passed three pre exams this week with scores of 74%, 82%, & 80%. i think i am ok for tomorrow.

Too bad, i scores a 69% on my first attempt at the investment advisor law exam, Series 66. i missed a passing score by 2 questions.

Let's hope for the best. i pass tomorrow, then go to St Louis for a week, (any good running areas there???), come home late Friday night, and drink beer the next day (more on this later in the post). Start my market research and planning while sneaking in some study time to prepare to retake the series 66 exam.

Piece of Cake, Right????

O.K. next little tiny issue. Next Saturday, the 18th is the 10th annual Mike's 30 birthday-slash pool party. i will be leaving Saturday the 11th for the gateway to the west, and coming home Friday the 17th, arriving at Detroit Metro at about 8:30 pm. Since i am unavailable to assist my lovely bride next week.....she needs a rent-a-husband.

Now of course for those of you who know the Fun Guv this will not be a surprise but....She'll need someone who is good at following direction. Or at least as good as i do (so the bar is set real low)....to help prepare the homestead. Any takers??????

odd observation: i received an email from Fun Guv's uncle, i get a lot of emails from him. Y'know the generic joke emails of funny pictrures and movies.....but this one was odd pictures of....PLANE CRASHES...ooooh for christ sake!!!!

Anyway, i'm off for another short run tonite. The streak is currently at 3 days, tonite i go for 4.

Thanks for reading

What we've got here is.... failure to communicate....

Well, let me say the running without a GPS for the past few days has been enlightening. Now, i will be returning to the GPS soon enough. But being injured, and i think being able to start running again, i am having a better time listening to the clues ones body gives them, when not having these bodily clues argue with a per mile pace.

i have decided to streak for a few days. Meaning that since i am doing a lot less miles at a time, i'm going consecative days now. Yes, i am sure i need more rest but...i've put on about 8 lbs through this, and the reality of hitting 200 lbs is a benchmark i am looking to avoid. Weird thing is i can actually feel the added weight.

Not that failing to communicate has anything to do with my running blog, but actually to yet another disappointment in the incredible saga of realizing how a man can ignore the son he choose to adopt 30 some years ago.

Yep, this is a fatherly-son vent. As i have stated before, sometimes i need to remind my father he has a son. i guess i needed to do this last Saturday. Let me set the stage.....

At my Grandmothers 90th birthday party, the summer version for those of us unavailable to go to Florida back in April, my father had the nerve to tell me i do not call my grandmother enough. Now my anger could be an indication that he hit a nerve with me that i realize i don't call her enough. This may be true and coming from anyone else....i would have listened, but for Christ sake...

My grandmother's 90 birthday was in April. i could not make the party in Florida. So i called her the next day, knowing everyone would be gone and without calling the day of said party, we would be able to enjoy a lengthy pleasant conversation.

Which my grandmother and i did. Which even included an explanation from me as to why i did not call during the party. She was busy with other family and i thought it rude to call the day of. Plus being 90, i figured she would be exhausted the day of the party.

Anyway, back in April my sister tried to lecture me that i didn't call. Cause she had left the morning of the day i called and was unaware that i did call. Since my father left the same morning, he too, did not know that i had called. But he decided to wait until the next time we spoke, yep, almost 4 months later, to lecture me that i do not call my only grandmother enough.

Now being the spiteful man i am, i always call my father on his birthday to wish him a happy birthday. Sometimes i send a card. Sometimes i even use the excuse to ride my motorcycle. It's only an hour away. And visit for a few hours.

Apparantly, from my fathers perspective, i made him look back by not calling. Cause, she received a lot of calls that day. Which in hindsite i should have lied and said that i had tried but the line was busy.

So when i lambasted my father in a quiet-yet very stern manner that his argument held no water coming from him. That he couldn't pick the last time he had called me to wish me a happy birthday, and i could tell him all the most previous dates i had called him. That he hasn't bothered to speak with or try to see his grandchildren since December 23. That even though we only live one hour away, they never have been over to our house for a family dinner, because i got tired of asking and being told they couldn't attend because of church functions. Very Christ-like eh????

Please let me vent more, whose blog is it???

My father had no idea i have changed jobs. i had the opportunity to tell him of the change when i called him prior to the Bayshore, but figured why bother. i didn't need the lecture about changing jobs in addition to being told he wouldn't be in Traverse that weekend. i was hoping he would be in Traverse that day and might like to attend. i guess thinking he might call after the race to see how i did was hoping for too much. Hell, my sister lives there and she couldn't bother to attend, but she did offer to let me drive the 20 plus miles out to her house from the Bayshore to visit.

Another little vent, even though my sister knows i write a little blog, and Fun Guv has the link on her email signature, my sister has never read a post.

i wonder if my father thinks i don't call enough, where the hell he thinks i learned it from.--- " 'Cause the new jobs a hassle, and the kids got the flu but it was sure nice talking with you, dad"






Am i the father or son in this song??? At least, the dad in this song called once.

Thanks for reading, my self therapy, sorry if it's a little dis-jointed.