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

hello out there......

sorry to be gone so long, i truly am...but

life sometimes gets in the way of blogging.

i spent last week camping, and unlike my recent visit to PA i had no internet hookup at the campsite.

To recap:

a wonderful week with family and friends in northern michigan on the 6th most beautiful lake in the world, per National Geographic magazine.

camped with lots of runners so we ran. in the rain, on trails, on pavement, we ran

give me a day to get back into blogger mode, i'd like to provide a bit more info and thoughts after spending a week around a campfire.

thanks for reading

....and it'll be nice to run in familiar territory again. i love being home.

mike

i really think the hardest thing in sports is to hit a round ball with a round bat, but...

the combined physics is awe inspiring to me. the balls movements in the relatively short distance and time span. the speed of the ball varying from low 70's to high 90 mph. the speed, strength, and accuracely of the batter to maintain any control over the hit ball...

but to me....

Baseball is a little dull, but...

i don't like to watch it on TV, but take me out to the ball game and i'm in heaven. y'know why?

it's our national pastime.

i heard an interesting comment from a sports reporter a few years ago, this is a paraphrase of how i remember it.

If Baseball is our pastime, Football is our passion. Not sure who i heard it from, it's stuck in my vault of useless knowledge taking up space normally used to remeber a birthday or anniversary.

Sorry to seem like taking a long way to get to my point, but i seem to have raised an eyebrow or two with some comments i made to another running blog or two, with my thoughts regarding running and blogging and stuff. To those of you maybe reading this, assuming you've kept reading, who know me well,...this would not be too much of a surprise. it most likely results in a shrug and perhaps surprise it took me this long.

I am sorry if my comment that i find statistics a little boring offended anyone. Truly i am. i have so much gray matter consumed with trivia, statistics and pop culture nonsense you would think completely the opposite.

please, please understand my reasoning and the total fear i have of statistics.

Remember my OCD post? if not real quick...i'm a bit obsessive, and it can occasionally totally distract, ie consume, me. i'm trying to run, see eventually running comes into play, too, among other things, help me find a balance in my life.

While losing weight, i have found myself weighing myself up to three times a day. Blogging and reading Blogs is right now taking me from time spent with the kids. i've started to wear a little Wendy's Kids digital watch while running. It's from "over the hedge", it's the raccoon character. it's velcro and fits on my wrists. It is an exercise in retraint to only glance at the watch when i hit mile markers. Then i spend the entire time 'till a marker stressing over calculating pace.

If i let them, stats and splits will destroy my holistic feeling of running as one gestaltic experience and break things down into micromanaging my workout.

So i apologize that my fear may have leapt out my fingertips and into the keyboard.

thanks again for reading

Nothing witty or new today just some new training to report

ran for 55 minutes yesterday after chasing the stupid white ball around for a couple miles.

distance 6.65 miles
time 55 and some change

pace 8:16-20

Had to retire a pair of running shoes. i like my new shoes but felt some pain in my knee for the first time this morning. not good pain either, it was the oops something feels wrong pain.

any thoughts? it's the first time my bionic knee has felt any pain after running. It could be due to my increased pace but i'm not sure. Should i try to slow down or see what happens friday when i have a 4 miler scheduled followed by a 7 miler on Saturday.

The ACL really only applies to lateral movement, and sudden stops and starts. Any thoughts?

Back to Basics.....

Now that the first week of running as real training is over i decided to start the 2nd week with some interval training. I liked it, and had never done it before.

i ran 12 440's at a 1:30-1-50 pace with rest between to equal 3:00 per lap. my reward for running fast, more rest and vice versa. The high school track is 'bout 1/2 mile from the home so figure my 4 miles well spent. (love the rubberized track)

That was Monday, Tuesday i was actually sore. Wow, i haven't been sore in a while. It was a good kind of sore, not achy, but like i had pushed my physical limits. O.K. i'm a masochist.

Bible Stuff....

Finished Job, had to read lots of it twice to follow the gist. It ask tough questions to believers and non-believers. It may be the earliest account of a "lifes-not-fair" story. Deal with life as it comes, learn to deal with loss.

It's still very relative to today's world. Isn't it easier to worship if your life is filled with joy? a truer test of faith may be how it is maintained through adversity?

Anyway, i'm in the Psalms now and still going strong.

Political stuff....

thanks to all who read my last post which allowed me to indulge in my tongue-n-cheek views.

i met a candidate for the U.S. Senate this last weekend. He seemed to be a nice guy but we were at political opposites. i offered to wear a campaign sticker if he was willing to support gay marriage. We laughed for a moment, shook hands and sincerely wished each other well, but agreed to disagree.

Shout Out to....

the mom2moms who have stumbled upon my blog through the Fun Guv'nor,

Mike Barr for the encouragement as i continue to train, and the entire Barr family,

Running Rabbit and Running Girl for making me feel like part of larger community as we train for Chicago from all over the midwest, and finally

Mac, Mark, Scott, Tess, Gknee and my bride, Lisa aka Fun Guv'nor for always being there. No matter what stupid things i do. You're the best and i love you all.

thanks again for indulging me

This post has no running stuff in it.....

An interesting thought occurred as i was watching the Cherry Royale Parade after the race on Saturday....

Jenny...the hottest governor, in the U.S. was walking the route. Yes, it's an election year, but many government types walk this parade. One year Gerald Ford did it.

And of course she was met with more than a few boos and applause. It was heated from both sides. Fun Guv'nor even made a snide comment loud enough for a booer to hear about the immaturity of booers of our elected officials. i'm not a Bush fan but i would at least not boo him at a public appearance.

Personally, i applaud the mess she has had to try to deal with. Y'know she cut some programs, she had to start creating some sense of fiscal responsibility. Fastest shrinking population = less tax dollars to use, no free lunch, duh...

Anyway, my point. So after visiting Gettysburg i left struck with the feeling that as a nation we are not all that far removed from the Civil War. TV loves to do "news" articles about the extreme differences between the BLUEs and REDs.

We are so torn, and i have caused to reflect on the words spoken by my favorite president, ironically a republican. Also the first president to lose the popular vote and be elected. Also, believed by many to have been a homosexual, but waaaay of the point unless in context to right wingers being homophobic.

Anyway, Honest Abe asked questions about us, the people. Can a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal endure?
and Can a nation so divided be saved?

i'd like to add one more question...

Considering the passion by which people consider themselves RED or BLUE are we that far removed from our Civil War forefathers?

The buddhist in me says our nation was doomed to fail from the beginning. i will not go quietly into the night though...

i'm going to be nicer to republicans, or at least try.

it's a start. but if those bastard red staters keep taking and not giving back, i'll stop!!! ;)

15K ends or starts a great first week of training.

i'll get to the stats but first a few things i wanted to point out in the picture. This is the last turn off the parade route to the finish. The road is brick here. It's an original brick road in the city, somewhat repaired over the years. Who decided to end a 9 mile plus race on uneven bricks?

Also see the woman 3 people back from me? i was behind her when we turned the last corner. Somehow i was able to hammer down a sprint and pass three people in the last .25 mile. i'm really not the most competitive person but when i see a finish line the juices start flowin' and the race becomes all about me and the clock.

i had a few goals yesterday. Finish strong, under 1:20, don't break stride going up the hill. Man what a hill!!!

This was the largest event i had been to yet. People from all over the U.S. were here.Of course most from Michigan. There was a 5k, a 5k walk and a 15k. i saw bib numbers over 2500. i was 452. My friend Mike Barr estimated about 800 runners at our start. The 5k folks started about 15 minutes before us. Then it was our turn.

From the start of the gun, it took us 25 seconds to walk to the mats and take off. It was a big race.

The course was awesome. 4 miles out the penninsula, across, and four miles back the other side, into downtown and 3/4 s of the parade route before turning on the brick road to the finish. Plenty of water and gatorade along the course and with the Michigan July heat and humidity much needed. Lot's of people with their hoses out to spray cool water on a runner. Great cheering sections as well the entire race. It was the most positive racing experience i have had yet.

THE HILL. It had an EMT on top just in case. The hill was serious. It ended a few people runs. It caused a lot of people to walk up it. It had three seperate rises, two water stations and an EMT. No shade. i beat the hill. Thanks to advice i have read regarding hills through the running blogs, i kept my stride, albeit a little shorter, and beat the hill. The run down another exercise in restraint, but a real good time to recover.

This race is a definite must run, if you can

Anyway the stats:

time 1:18:52 yay!! i beat 1:20
pace 8:31
overall 271 out of 539 finishers. no stats on the DNF's, but they were there
age group 30 out of 42, no hardware here

Why i run.....

i gotta throw this out for the world of blogshere to see....had enough....good, don't look anymore

This is about one year ago. My weight was probably in the 240-250 range. Funny thing is at the time i didn't feel terrible about my appearance.

i guess i felt numerous chins were an important sign of success. Maybe i was thinking that large man boobs hid the gut?

i must face the fact.... I WAS HUGE!!!!

How the heck did my wife look at me a say, "gotta get me some of that"?

Wait....she didn't.

Anyway i'm taking a moment to thank all my good friends who encouraged me to get back into a shape that's not ROUND.

i shouldn't be doing this, but here's a totally unflattering picture of me today... beware don't look if you frighten easily...










O.K. i'm not thin yet. But i'm getting a lot closer.


Wish me luck this weekend at the 15k. i'll be back on Sunday to update if anyone is interested.

thanks again for reading, and dealing with my insecurities.

Happy 50th Post!!!

Well this is a milestone. 50 posts.

So it's Thursday morning and my first week of training is almost done. i didn't keep track of time to accurately, but the distances are fairly good. i have one more run scheduled, the big 15k saturday.

This is how my first week (8 days) looks:

Sat 8
Sun 6.22 (10K)
Mon 4.25
Tues 7.00
Wed Walk 2 miles while chasing a little white ball
Thur 4.25
Fri Rest
Sat 9.33 (15K)

So that's about 40 miles running and a little walking thrown in.

i admit it's a little too intense, and overdoing the first week training schedule, but i'm punishing myself for the extra weight i put on while vacationing.

i should be back under 200 lbs again by Saturdays race if i eat right for the next two days, and rested enough to run well.

thanks for reading

OK, finally a vacation picture.

There may be more soon but first two things i need to address.

1. The name of the blog is "Mike has a Thought", so it's real unfiltered. i try to just think, write and publish. There may be spelling errors and diction issues. Music buffs out there.... i know who you are...consider it like improv. There are no real wrong or right notes, just poor choices. So yeah, i make some poor choices. Spell checking sucks a lot cause it always wants to capitalize "I". Occasionally, i have gone back to fix stuff, but i figure anyone reading gets the point. Yes, i realize "governor" was spelled wrong, i really was to lazy to fix it. Additionally, Lisa may be referred to as Fun Guv'nor, and
2. Tag, here goes...top of my head stuff.

4 jobs i have had:

1. cherry orchard worker
2. plastic injection molding machine operator, the only job i ever just walked out on
3. night auditor at a hotel
4. bartender

4 places i have lived:

1. Traverse City
2. Mt Pleasant
3. Madison Hts
4. Clinton Twp

4 Movies i can watch over and over:

1. Godfather; parts 1 & 2, not 3
2. Casablanca
3. Caddyshack
4. The Outlaw Josey Wales

4 favorite TV shows:

1. Rescue Me
2. The Office
3. My name is Earl
4. Desperate Housewifes...it's true i'm hooked

4 places i've vacationed

1. Ocho Rios
2. Disneyworld
3. Tawas State Park, camping
4. Mackinac Island

4 websites i visit daily

1. work stuff mostly
2. running blog stuff
3. my yahoo for fantasy sport stuff
4. whatever you call those random pages of jokes people email to me stuff

4 favoite foods

1. blueberries, i just ate a pint while typing
2. pizza
3. burgers
4. gyros

4 places i'd rather be; page up to vacation places

4 favorite bands

1. BRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUCE
2. BNL
3. REM
4. Green Day

i don't really want to tag anybody, nor do have anyone to tag as every blog i read seems to be tagged at this point so i will improvise a little with a last tidbit

4 greatest live shows i have seen

1. KISS destroys Tiger Stadium, opened with Sponge and the last appearance of Alice in Chains in concert. The original band back in make-up. What a treat!!!
2. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, another reunion tour, in 1998 the band had not performed together in 10 years. There was no new album to promote, just the hits. The concert focused on Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River albums. 3 hrs no intermission, no opening act.
3. The Concert for Change. OK, not to be redundant, but Lineup: Bruce, REM, John Fogerty. i had seen Bruce and REM before, but this concert was unique the way the artists played each others tunes and made guest appearances in each others set. For the finale, the Dixie Chicks came over to sing back-up vocals. There must have been 20 musicians onstage. In Cobo no less, could it have been any smaller of a venue?
4. New Years Eve 1999, the venue sucked, The Silverdome, but the lineup: Kid Rock, Ted Nugent and Metallica. Joe C was still alive, and all over the stage for Kid's set. Nugent came out riding his buffalo, Metallica was awesome. As with the Concert for change, plenty of guest appearances, and low egos. The Finale, Detroit Rock City, done quite unrehearsed, by all 3 acts. i didn't even like Kid Rock's music to that show. He made a believer of me.

Thanks for reading

So anyway i was going to post some vacation pictures today. That was the plan at least.

Then, i thought about answering Lisa's tag. It going to take a little time. Not much, but i have more important things to post today.....





HARDWARE






Wait.... want a bigger picture?

Or are you perhaps distracted by the handsome devil? Who really needs a haircut!!


Is that ...silver???

why, yes...it is

I was loser number one behind the winner for my age bracket.

STATS:

10k
00:52:48

Pace: 8:30

Oh Yeah, there were more than 2 people in my age group, there were 6 actually.

Of the 45 runners in today's 10K race i finished a absolute mean, median and mode overall number of 23

Wait number 23, Gatorade's gonna call with an endorsement deal.

like mike, i wanna be like mike, like mike ......

Truthully, thanks to anyone who has perused upon this blog and offered support as i totally stressed the idea of running a race after not running at all for a week while on vacation. holy run-on sentance Batman

Did i mention Hardware?

Thanks again for reading

We're back!!!!

Thank Gawd, i need a vacation from my vacation.

A fun filled week of a whole lotta doing nothing is three weeks away. The camping trip.

So today is was nice to run in familiar territory again. I ran far and hard, not the smartest thing with a 10K tomorrow, but oh well. During my week of not running and eating real bad, i gained about 10 lbs. This is a lesson well learned and i need to trim about ten lbs off before the 15K next week.

I should be fine for tomorrows run. 6-7 miles is my usual routine, and that's how i'm viewing it. Just with a few other runner's.

Nice thing is tomorrow is the first official training day.

So i too can begin to blog about training. it's been hell the last two weeks reading all my running blogger buddies in blogsphere starting to train as i second guess the program i was given.

Anyway today's run was 1 hr 12 minutes
distance 8 miles

so figure 9 minute miles. i'll take that. That'll put me at 56 minutes for tomorrows run, and still under two hrs for a 1/2 marathon.

My Bible reading took the same hiatus as my diet and exercise program. i'll get back to that soon as well.

Pictures from the trip are coming soon.

thanks again for reading

i cannot believe this.....

The robotic dairy farm is booked!!!!

We can't get in. O.K. all is not lost. We are heading home tomorrow anyway. The one day lost for our trip was the journey to DeeCee. No big deal. Truthfully, it would have been very rushed and not complete. Something we can look forward to in the future.

Assuming everything goes well, i should be back home tomorrow at this time.

Tonite after H-D, we played around the pool for a while. i also was able to go for a nice run around a York city park near the hotel. I ran a few laps around the park, about a 45 minute run in all. No idea on the distance, nor do i really care as.....

Pennsylvania is real hilly...

Bastards, i swear every step i took was uphill, and i was running in circles. How does that happen?

So tomorrow we go home. Saturday i bartend, and Sunday i get up real early for my first of two races next week.

No PR's here, just looking to finish. i know i sounded so enthusiastic about the run in Traverse, but this week of typical vacation bad food shot me outta the water.

Sorry 'bout not being able to report on the dairy farm.

But i gotta say.... this place is real proud of being the factory tour capital.

DYK.... not one H-D employee has ever lost his/her job on the line by being replaced by a robot? Robotics are used, but the employee is re/cross-trained to be able to maintain his/her employment. They are very proud of never down-sizing at the factory level. And it's unionized.

Hmmmmm..... quality product, name recognition, caring about employees.... remind anyone of Ford Motor Co a few decades ago. Both companies were born in 1903. I wonder if Ford has ever downsized at the factory level?

Sorry 'bout the midday entry here...

But the H-D Tour was fantastic.

It hasn't rained in a while so we are looking forward to a slow paced afternoon.

We're going to the Robotic Dairy Farm

I swear the first thing out of everyone's mouth when we ask what to do, is this damn dairy farm.

It's like a friggin' train wreck, i've got to see.

Fun Govenor is calling to book a reservation as a type this

gotta go... the rest of a post to continue later tonite.

It did not rain today!!!!

O.K., i promise to throw some pictures of the trip up next week when we get back.

It didn't rain today. The sun was out and although we were expecting scattered T-storms, it never happened.

Great day to spend at Hersheypark. There was flooding all around us, but the roads from York to Hershey were fine. The weather must have scared off some folks cause the park was fairly easy to navigate. None of the rides had any real lines to them.

O.K. now i admit to being a coaster junkee. The thrill of adrenaline, the weightless feeling, the falls and the speed really get me going. Here's the downer. I tended to evaluate all the rides in comparision to Cedar Point.

There are about 9 roller coasters here. i rode on 8 and they all a pretty good rides. Each unique and none boring, but after riding Milenium and Top Thrill Dragster, nothing compares to the rush.

i got to talking to some other coaster enthusiasts while in line and most were familiar with the rides of the east coast, but none had really been to Kings Island or Cedar Point. Although they had heard of the rides and meant to get to them. Most loved Hershey and thought it was the best place near the east coast to ride coasters.

Tomorrow, i visit Mecca. The largest Harley-Davidson plant. It's only two miles from the hotel.

Since we gave up on the DeeCee we are playfully contemplating the Robotic Dairy Farm. If just for the sheer mockery value. Not quite the same stature of the nations capital but close enough.

Anyway, it's real late and i've been going since 7:00 am, so i'll go into more detail later. Just wanted to create a quick update.

btw... does running to the next ride count as training? It's a real hilly park, does this count in my TUT?

thanks again for reading.

Guess what.... it rained again today.

whoda thunk???

i am so ready for the sun to shine.

Today was an incredible day spent looking at battle fields. We took a great tour of the Gettysburg visitor center.

O.K. for the record, people from Jersey are wusses compared to the Detroit area people. So we're in the visitor center parking lot waiting for a space. It was packed. So we see a van loading up and head over near the spot to wait patiently for it to open up.

So some yahoo from NJ must spot the taillights flash and scrambles over to cut us off from the spot. Now it wasn't raining, and the skies were farily clear. The van in the parking lot backs out, and the idiot cuts us off and pulls into the spot.

Now, you all know i'm not a violent man. i'm a dove not a hawk, but....

i got outta of the van and started towards the suv that stole our spot. Lisa's wiggin' out like a new battlefield will be established today. And i through in my best, "don't mess with me face" that i can muster. The kind that causes ManKenzie to start crying before i've even opened my mouth.

The moron rolls down his window and is like "Yes?"

"dude, did you see us waiting for this spot?"

"Ahh, no" LIAR, YOU HAD TO TURN TO GET AROUND US TO GRAB THE SPOT.

"well, look, we were waiting for this spot. Do you mind moving?"

"uhhh....." think moron think. Please don't call my bluff, if you say yes, i'm done.

"No,.... i'll move"

"thanks"....whew, don't let him see me shaking. Storm back to the car and wave your arms wildly so he can see i meant business as he sees me in the rearview mirror as he backs out. Thank gawd he didn't want to create a scene with his young kids in the car.

It really was the last spot in the parking lot.

I soooo, should play more poker!!!

Gettysbrew.... was closed due to new owners and a remodel....Those bastards!!!!!!

We go back to Bube's soon.

Anyway, loved the battlefields, blah,blah, blah.... turning point for the war.... blah,blah, blah...lots of causulties... blah,blah, blah... Lincoln speech...4 score and blah,blah, blah....

Tomorrow back to Hershey Park for rain filled fun in an amusement park.

thanks for reading, love the coments

total distance: 0:00:00
total time: 0:00:00

Guess what, i have a 10k this sunday and a 15k next saturday. Ouch!!!

rain, rain go away

no more griping bout the weather in Michigan. The grass is only greener due to the rain.

Yesterday's Factory tour of Bube's was nice. i love beer!!

Today hit a tour trap on the way into Hershey www.indianechocaverns.com

It was a cool little stop on the way into Hershey, we figured it was raining so why not. it's underground. Ooops, it was raining on us from the water seeping 100+ feet through the ground to the caverns. Oh yeah it rained on us, but the cavern was cool, literally and figuratively.

Today at Hershey we did the factory tour. Sorta, it's not really the factory but a mock-up version. The kids did it three times. We saw a cute 3-D movie about chocolate. And then watched the Hershey Park patrons scramble out of the park for a hour when the shies opened up on us again.

i am sooooo tired of chocolate. never thought i would say it, but it's true, no mas.

After 7:30 we entered the park for a preview. Hershey park allows a preview for tix holders after 7:30 till the park closes at 10:00. We did a few rides. It's nice. It was a preview so we didn't have time to see everything and the weather prevented all the coasters from being open. I rode three. One was a nice inverted coaster similar to the raptor at cedar point. It was only similar in riding style the ride had a few unique qualities.

Tomorrow will be more rain. So we will try our full day at the park on Wednesday.

Tomorrow will be Gettysburg. Since the entire town is a national park there will be plenty to do and most will be a driving tour or indoors. Screw the rain. It appears there is a brewery in Gettsburg, go figure, so i know where the tour ends tomorrow.

Due to the bad rain on the east coast we will most likely scrap the trip to DC. Philly is still 4 hrs away, so i won't be running up the library stairs, ala rocky balboa, on this trip. c'est le vie.

There's a treadmill in the hotel. i keep looking at it. Does this count as training? i mean at least i'm thinking of running.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's update, a la the michael clark griswold vacation.

Since DC might be scrapped we can make time for the robotic cow milking tour. Actually the tour and milking is robotic. The cows are real cows.

Fun Govenor is not happy with my last paragraph. Love the biz center in the hotel but she keeps watching me type. Hey, if we are both in the biz center, who's watching the kids.

thanks for reading...

we made it to York.

O.K. after 9-10 hours, including stops to pee and eat, we made to the hotel in your, unpacked, and took a well deserved shower. We arrived by 6:30

Not a lot to do on a Sunday around the York area, and it's been raining nonstop since we passed Pittsburgh.

By 7:30 we had found a local brew pub and after a beer and a sandwich are back at the hotel, as i type this.

Get this the name of the place is Bube's, pronounced boobies. i gotta get this phoenetic t-shirt...

It's the oldest brewery in the U.S. in it's original location. A speakeasy in prohibition, of course.

How's that for Americana???

btw...have a mentioned that marathon training starts next week. i knew i had a reason for a 16 week train in lieu of a 18 weeker.

Thanks again for reading.

Happy Birthday to Mark, or Maach as they say in New Hampshire

Here's your chance to shout out a Phu@ Y&^ to me. Consider it a long distance birthday gift, you haven't had a good reason to in a while and i'd like to provide one.

Funny how 44 doesn't seem as old as it used too.

This would normally be were i type something corny like how much it means that you signed on to be Jimmy's god-father.

But i won't... cause i too, love you for the kisses. Smoochie-smoochie

no wait that's Animal....

Hey... another reason to say Phu@ Y&^

Small wonder Lisa calls me "her gay husband"

Happy Birthday, have a good weekend.

thank god somebody got the "Vacation" reference.

Thanks to Drew, who the hell is Drew?, i now know two things about Liberal, KS.

1. The second largest ball of twine really is not in Liberal; and
2. Anyone who has ever lived in Liberal, is constantly reminded of the movie, by yahoo's like me, who see it and remember they know someone from Liberal.

Today is my oldest daughter's birthday. Since she doesn't live with me, and i if can't reach her by phone today,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALLISON

Anyway, she's 12 today.

O.K. so i have my training schedule posted on the fridge and the dates of each run and alternate dates in case of inclimate weather. My training begins the week we return from York. I have a run scheduled at the Pickerel Festival 10k, the Cherry Festival 15k, Mint Festival, 10k, and the run around Mackinac, or is it Mackinaw, Island 8 miles either spelling it's pronounced aw

That should be enough race experience.

Any thoughts regarding race experience from you seasoned, blog stalking, rather not make your opinions known, addicted to running, and, like myself, using what could be productive time in the office in this inane, yet hopelessly addicting and truly wonderful, manner.

Since i've turned off comment moderation, please feel free.

On the spiritual front, i've started to read Job. So i am still plugging away at the Bible. It would be nice to finish about the time of the marathon.

So i've handled physical and spiritual. i still need help on the financial well-being. Anyone need a loan? really just kidding, well not totally.

thanks again for reading

Anybody care to see cows being milked?

hey there, i best slow down before my vacation gets outta hand next week. The whole famn damily is heading to York PA, for a fun filled week of; Hershey, Gettysburg, Washington DC (which apparently has a new well marked running path, just follow the sidewalk poop stains around the various points of interest in DC) and York PA, which is the factory tour capital of the US.

Can this truly be better than the second largest ball of twine, which urban legend claims is housed in Liberal KS? I think not.

Anyway, i am looking forward to our fun family vacation. It'll be a little history, a little Americana, and little thrill, ie Hershey theme park, and, yippee, Harley-Davidson has a factory in York. They build the engines to my bike there, it could be a cool thing to see. After all York is the factory tour capital of the US.

"What else do the folks of York make?" you may be asking yourself. Well, let me tell you, they have a brewery there. Yippee, a Beer Garden, and a restaurant. Y'know what else the Brewery has? A factory tour, because....after all York is the factory tour capital of the US.

Let us pray for samples... just a brief moment of silence.

Now, i first must give credit to my lovely bride, Lisa, for finding this one. That's right, Lisa, affectionately referred to as Fun Govenor around the house, found a Dairy Farm tour. Ooooooh, the thrill is giving me goosenipples, pun waaaaay intended, as i type this. Not only is this a fun filled tour of a Dairy Farm, it's a robotic dairy farm.

The job is so dull that humans will not even attach the breast pump, udder thingy to the cows anymore, so let's make a factory tour out of it, because...after all York is the factory tour capital of the US.

And even worse, now that i have obviously been stalking other running blogs, through A Running Destination, all i can think about as i type is a recent post to the Running Rabbit Chronicles and nipples. So go to the links and find them. Read Not Born to Run for the DC pathway. I laughed so hard i was crying.

Ran 7ish miles this morning took about an hour.

thanks again for reading my, not so much running information, running blog

An old newpapers columnist in Detroit used to run a column he called his monday moanin' thoughts, or something to that effect. This is a small tribute:

Father's Day has come and gone. i have two close friends whose fathers have passed away. one greatly misses his father to this day, another never seemed to care for his father. Funny peculiar, not haha, thing is most of the time i have to remind my father he has a son.

i miss the E Street Band.

i really love The Seeger Session Band.

Anybody who gets a chance to see Bruce Springsteen should. The man is the most ultimate showman. i've seen E Street, one man shows, and now...the Seeger Session.

how come you can find three guys dancing together in the aisles at a Bruce concert, but take the same three guys put them at the movies and they have to take 5 seats due to the "i'm not gay" seats.

i love living in michigan. i grew up and have always lived here. i love the water, the weather, and the terrain is rolling up north, and yeah in case you get lost we all carry a map of the state with us.

i love when people laugh at Michiganders, when we hold up our right hands to point where we live.

i love we have stupid names for ourselves; yoopers, trolls, fudgies, etc....actually that's about it.

i love Kid Rock, Eminem, Bob Seagar, Martha Reeves, Barry Gordy, and even, just the music, Ted Nugent

i love that Kiss Alive I,II & most of III was recorded here. Detroit Rock City

i love that there ain't no party like a detroit party cause a detroit party don't stop

i love the pistons, wings, lions and tigers

i love our reputation as a no-nonsense place to live. People work there asses off here, and almost entirely for the benefit of the auto buying people of the world. Michiganders can be real passionate about where they live and the kind of people we are.

but how about some reality...

Mighigan has one of the highest unemloyment rates in the country. Last figures i saw showed 7.2 %

New housing starts in Michigan are below national averages.

Communities in metro-detroit area havea 60 month inventory of current homes listed on the market.

Michigan is the fastest shrinking population in the country.

Detroit is the fastest shrinking city in the country. 1000 per month are leaving Detroit to head out of Michigan. Last one in the city turn out the lights

Ford Motor is looking to build another plant in Mexico.

Bruce sang the song "How can a poor man stand such times and live?" in reference to rebuilding New Orleans. And in one of his Springsteen-esque moments rambled on before the song about the importance on New Orleans. Which, hey, i agree lets rebuild, but wait a moment, Michigan's not going to be hit with any natural disaster large enough to destroy our community.

That's right no natural monster size disasters. No major floods, tornadoes, hurricaines, earthquakes, volcanoes, mudslides. Just more public golf courses per square mile than any other state, more shoreline than any other state, except Alaska, no shark attacks, all this clean water.

So if you're paranoid of natural disasters, we are the place for you. All of our disasters are manmade.

thanks again for reading.


provided, hacked, sliced and diced, cut/paste, whatever by Backstreets.com a Bruce fansite

June 17 / Detroit, MI / DTE Energy CenterNotes: A beautiful, warm summer night -- looked pretty hot onstage, actually -- in the far north suburbs of Detroit. And well attended, compared to previous shows -- the pavilion was virtually full, with the biggest lawn crowd so far. "Hello, picnickers!" Bruce hollered. There was no pit tonight, but that didn't seem to have any real effect; the crowd was boisterous enough, and there was no need to call for any Detroit asses to get out of any Detroit seats. A very similar set to Cleveland, dropping "Into the Fire" but adding "Further On (Up the Road)" before "Long Time Comin'." The latter was again dedicated to son Evan, whereabouts unknown at first -- Bruce said he was probably asleep backstage, since them teenagers like to stay up all night -- but he came out after the song to bring his pop a a guitar. Patti remains absent, but when a fan called out for her, Bruce said she'd "be back soon." Speaking of moms, Dave Marsh's mother got a shout-out tonight, with a dedication of "We Shall Overcome."

Setlist: John Henry/O Mary Don't You Weep/Atlantic City/Old Dan Tucker/Eyes on the Prize/Jesse James/Cadillac Ranch/Erie Canal/My Oklahoma Home/Further On (Up the Road)/Long Time Comin'/Mrs. McGrath/How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?/Jacob's Ladder/We Shall Overcome/Open All Night/Pay Me My Money Down

Encore: Bring Them Home/Rag Mama Rag/You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)/Ramrod/When the Saints Go Marching In

Egad....i'm shrinking??....

So here's the deal. i was working the bar last night and our sous chef noticed i've lost a lot of weight and says, "dude, you look like your shrinking"

"Well, yeah, i lost about 45 lbs since January"

"No, i mean you look a lot smaller. When you first started you had a larger than life quality. y'know long hair, and you were a big guy. You had a large presence to ya."

Great, i'm shrinking.

O.K. so my golf league has been going for a couple of weeks. i have got to be the worst golfer in the world. i don;t really care, cause my costs per stroke is real low. Also anyone can play from the fairway, where the grass is short and the lies are easy. Dammit, i prefer the challenge of the rough. That's where the real golfers play. Plus, i feel bad taking huge divots out of the nicely manicured fairways. The rough is supposed to be....wait for it...rough.

Anyway, so the number of my leaguemates who saw the difference in my weight from October to May who said things like, "Mike, are you o.k.?, are you sick? Is there anything you need?" is comical.

No real point just a funny thought. i'm still surprised by people's reactions to my new appearance. i've always thought of myself the way i currently appear. Funny thing how mirrors are one-dimensional. i guess i've been living in denial for years about my appearance. Dumb thing that actually motivated me was "The Biggest Loser". Once the people on the show started to weigh less then i did, it was time to make a change. Just one of many motivators.

Marathon Training: i was given a marathon training schedule for beginners that is a 16 week train. Which means my official start date is July 3rd. i can't ever begin to imagine who developed it, but it came from "Runner's World, August 2004". Since it appears many of my fellow gluttons for running are officially starting earlier than i, i am wondering why i went with the shortest beginner marathon train i could find.

Life as a procratinating obsessive-compulsive. i'm real committed, really focused, but let's wait to the last possible moment to start preparing.

Thanks to all the well wishers

Even Animal who also had to deal with the memory of an old embarrassment. and thanks to Mark for that one.

Anyway, i did the only thing i could think of to get away from my self-inflicted misery. Of course, that meant a long run with real loud music. i went for my long run, with a watch but figured i would map out the distance after getting home.

1:11:17 later, i was home. After mapping it out online, i discovered i had ran 8.02 miles. Now i was running at a real good clip and after looking at the distance the minutes per mile time was a little bit of a bummer. but....

i had two major traffic lights which i hit both with real bad timing and stood at both of them for between 3 and 4 minutes each. so i figure i most likely would have gained an extra 5-6 minutes of the 1:11. So really i figure about 1:06 for the distance. That puts me at about a 8:30 mile.

Maybe it's a reach but hey, a guy's gotta do something to feel better. Which, at least today, i do.

i even felt good enough to ride my mountain bike to work this morning. First time i tried this and it was really enjoyable. A change of clothes in a backpack, and i wasn't too sweaty to create a big stink in the office. i need to do this more often.

i had forgotten how the muscles used in biking are so different than running. i really need to crosstrain more.

Anyway, i'm approaching the Book of Job in the bible. shouldn't there be an E in Job somewhere? This next section may be the most difficult to read through as i am entering the wisdom books. Lot's of poetry here. i may have problem with wisdom but i enjoy reading poetry, not too sure about hundreds of pages of poetry, but i'll keep plugging along.

If i could read through pages of Jim Morrison's stuff the bible should be a piece of cake. Just cause you were a moody pop star doesn't qualify you as poetic genius.

Did anyone see "Rescue Me" last week and thoroughly enjoy the last 5 minutes as much as i did?

thanks again

Real Quick Update:

I just wanted to say thanks to the people who have stumbled on this blog and left a comment.

So most recently, and in no real order, other that the way i wrote them down on a post-it note;

thanks to:

Spindrift, an absolute "just found you randomly" comment, i love that

Running Jayhawk, who i really hope meet in Chicago, i'll be the guy in the running suit and a bib, and

Jane Henry, a feel so international now, good luck with the book, goooooooo english football team, although i'm a bit partial to Germany, my wife's maiden name is Kaiser, i don't really have a choice, but T&T...could be history in the making. maybe..... Dumb american's only watch football, o.k. this is me trying to be trendy, i mean soccer, every couple of years, what do i know? i thought a striker was a position in that stupid game in Harry Potter books.

anyway, thanks for the comments and reading the blog.

Sorry it's been over a week since i've posted.

it's been a bad week.

i cannot seem to remember the last time i've been this depressed.

and apparantly this disjointed in my thoughts.

Anyone out there with some positive energy to help me get through some rough times?

Please help!!!!

sorry 'bout the blatant pity party, i'll be back to my old self soon. i swear, i must be entering my mid-life.

1:20:42

that puts me at 8:40 per mile.

It was a pleasant run and i felt good at the end

that pace puts the 1/2 marathon at 1:53. ten minutes faster than April 1st. i think i could have gone another 4 miles at the same pace.

I should be a little faster at Traverse City with the extra boost of adrenaline and water stations, gu, etc...

Whoopie!!!

Here is my Running Plan for the Day.

i have set a 15k course, it's 10:00 am. 10:30 i run it.

This is for time. Not really going for a PR. Just a good run.

i'm hoping for less then 1:30.

i had a bowl of oatmeal and some peanut butter.

gotta find a new battery for my mp3 player.

i have some time to stretch.

i'll be back later with the time.

Another Stupid Thing

Well here i go again. Running with no thought regarding conditions. So Sunday, i go for my usual weekend run about 6.7 miles. i'm thinking it'll be a piece of cake right? no way, it had to be the hottest day of the year, but since i'm going to bartend that night, i go in the morning. And once again forgot to eat any breakfast. Sooo about 5 miles into the run, i'm feeling good, great pace, it's about 11:30 and the sun really starts to heat up. Then....

BAM.... i'm outta of gas. It happened so fast, i didn't have time to adjust my pace, i just stopped running. i walked for about 1/2 mile. i never walk that far, but i just couldn't seem to pick the feet up anymore.

Eventually, i found a second wind and finished fairly strong to get home. Mentally, i was mad for not adjusting sooner and allowing the long walk, so i punished myself by pushing harder the last mile.

So thinking running out of gas was due to the lack of breakfast, i ate a small bowl of oatmeal and an apple on Monday morning. Then i made sure i was hydrated for the long Holiday morning run. Then...

BAM AGAIN... My bride wants to hit the grocery store before it gets to busy. So i figure go ahead, i'll wait till you get back and then go fo my run. So about noon, she's back. 12:15 or so, i'm out the door. Oh my Gawd, the heat of the day. 90+ outside, and unbelievably humid, and no shade anywhere. See, i had decided today would be a good day to try a new route. i felt i had fallen into a rut with the old routes and i started heading towards my office.

About two miles in the run i noticed nobody was outside working and the lawns, as the drone of A/C units created an eerie sense of dread with my decision to go for such a long run.

Remember the movie "Maximum Overdrive"? i think that's the Stephen King movie There's a scene with a kid riding his bike through neighborhoods with no living souls near him. Just the sounds of the machines. That's how i felt.

Luckily, a few people had decided to water their lawns. Real dumb idea given how hot it was, the water would most likely burn the lawn. not my problem. i was able to get some relief by adjusting my route from one side of the side to another, to run through the water.

Anyway, i get to the office and thank gawd the lobby doors are open. i run in, hit the drinking fountain for some water, enjoy the A/C for a few moments and head home.

2 miles from home i run low on hydration again. So a quick detour puts me in an ice cream shop. The store clerk looks at me like i'm a moron, i am, for running in the heat of the day, but she gave me some water. i'm then out the door again. 15-20 minutes from home.

Finally, 1:30 ish, i'm home. Of course my bride has gone out looking for me cause, given the heat index and that i don't usually take so long, passing out from exhaustion is a real possibility. Fortunately, she gets home a few minutes after me.

Anyway, i had a hunch i would lose a lot of water, but i was still amused to see i had lost 5 lbs, just water, during the run. Even after stopping twice to rehydrate.

Have i mentioned i really enjoy running it those 20 -30 degree mid-winter days?

Have i mentioned what a fan of "Rescue Me" i am? Great season opener, open her, u brought her, u open her, last nite.

Have i mentioned anything about The Bible today? No. Man, it's got some real difficult sections, but i'm plugging away. i should finish up 1st Chronicles tonite. To be honest, it's been fun to read, and surpising to rediscover all the old testament kings and judges, whom i learned about it Sunday school class as a child.

Man, this post is too long. Sorry 'bout that. i must engage my filter. There is so much crap that i want to put out, but time is running short and the Piston's game starts in 15 minutes.

Larry Bird was wrong. Dwayne Wade, not Michael Jordan, is God in basketball shoes. i love the "stones" but man, Wade is good. Wouldn't it have been nice if the "stones" had a chance to draft this guy? Doooohhh!!!

ACT Question:

Darko Milicic is to the Pistons as Sam Bowie is to ...

Must... Pull.... My... Self... away from .... keyboooaard.
Must... engage... publish key...........

Cha-cha-cha...Shrek??


Here is Jimmy's latest obsession. The Chia, i can never rember if it's spelled Chia or Chea, Shrek. Ironically or more likely coincidentially, Shrek was bald in the movies. At least in ogre form.

Well, my youngest child, who loves all green skinned characters, Hulk, Shrek, Yoda..... walked away from a Christmas Mock Gift exchange with this beauty.

5 months later he still remembered we had it and, with the change in weather, the shrek planting season was upon us.

and here we are, a few days later....

of course, Jimmy thought he would just sing the Chia song over a 30 second time span and the stuff would just grow.

But everyday he would sing the song as he walked by the, ummmm i guess you call it a "planter?"

and eventually we had this.......

And i'll finish with some basic housekeeping stuff:

Haven't run since the last post, but i'm due for a good one today.

Almost done with 2 Kings and should be heading into Chronicles soon. 2 Kings is a tough read.

Later

8:50 per mile.

Super Whoppeeee!!! That was my pace for a 6.7 mile run from Tuesday. It felt great, this was a painful run and although i still do not have a stopwatch i am very comfortable with putting this time down.

i ran the fastest and farthest yet. Sub-nine minute miles are now a realized goal. i may not always run this way, but Tuesday felt great. Funny thing though, i fell. a small area of undeveloped land, through which i run, has no sidewalk. i tripped on the edge where the sidewalk started up and had to take a few minutes to dust off and check for damage and restart the MP3.

On one hand the short rest may have helped for time, on the other it was a couple minutes from my running. How should i gauge this?

On that note my current best songs to run to(top five):

1. Crazy... i actually prefer Alanis to Seal. best line "in a world full of people only some want to fly. Isn't that crazy?"
2. It's My Life... O.K. i know Bon Jovi. insert joke here. best line "i ain't gonna live forever, i just want to live while i'm alive"
3. C'mon C'mon... Detroit's own Von Bondie's. Thank Gawd "Rescue Me" 3rd season starts soon. Best line...."C'mon, C'mon" Duh!!
4. Welcome to Paradise.. Green Day. No great lines, just a kick a$$ jam, and
5. Kickstart my Heart...Motley Crue. Same as Green Day.

What no Bruce? Sorry but Born to Run is not a great running tune, at least not current top 5. But Mary Don't Weep is creeping up, best line "Moses smote the water with a 2X4, Pharoah's army got drowned"

Sorry for any misquotes.

Btw the way...hey la di, la di, la di...= pay, me my money down. i never knew that

thanks again!!

Saturday was a great day for a run.

Thank Gawd the sun is finally shining. It's been a few days since the rain has stopped and even the wind seems to have gone away with it. Saturday, Jimmy had a T-ball game and it was quite a ways from the home. Probably the farthest possible elementary school in our school district from the house without crossing M-59.

So i wore my running gear and after the game ran home. New territory, how much fun is that?! Not as many sidewalks, and since i'm a bigger fan of running on pavement, so i had to dodge a little bit of traffic trying to keep on pavement with some occasional oncomming traffic.

i don't live in the most urban area, so i'm not sure why drivers can't share 1/4 of a lane with me?

Anyway, the run was about 6.5 miles and it was right around an hour. i'll take it.

btw....i confirmed my registration in chicago, per my traing guide, the first official training day is July 2nd. Funny thing is i have a 10K race that day in Algonac... pronounced al-go-nac not al-gone-ac at their Pickeral Festival..., pronounced wall-eye not pick-er-al.

Anyway, my goal for the marathon is 9:30 per mile, about 4:08:54 total time. I guess i really just want to finish, but once i've gotten past the fact that i will finish, barring an injury, i've been thinking about pace.

i started to read 1st Kings last night. The Samuel books were good, and i enjoyed the stories, perhaps lessons, to be read regarding Saul and David. Everyone take a moment and Read 2 Samuel, chapter 7. i'd be interested in any thoughts, i.e. comments to interpretation. Any takers on this one? I have my own but would rather not share them now. perhaps later. btw...It's a short chapter.

thanks again for reading

Oh The Humanity.....

DaVinci Code... It was a great read, some neat twists and turns and i loved it. I wonder how many protestors took the time to peruse it?

Remember the islamic uproar over "The Satanic Verses"? i seem to remember christian people defending the author. i remember statements similar to it was fiction and muslims should be more accepting of different viewpoints.

i seem to remember Jewish communities anxious over the release of "The Passion..." and possible backlash over the portrayal of Jews, and anti-semitism. Again, christians spouted their superiority due to the acceptance of different views. After all, free speech must always be defended!!!

but....

Dan Brown must be the devil!!! How dare his fictional book, with just a wee bit of truth, used to add some spice, question Jesus. More than anything, i think organized religion is questioned, not Jesus. Remember, i've read the book unlike most of the protestors, who blindly follow spoutings of evangelicals who are most likely bandwagonning to further their induh..vidual careers with the personal integrity of an old west snake oil salesman.

Ironically, Karl Marx said "religion is the opium of the masses"

Notice he didn't say Faith, or Belief in God, he said Religion

i know i'm not all the way through the bible yet, so i'm no expert, nor will i ever claim to be, but i haven't come across anything yet about not honoring your religion. Not honoring God, you bet it's there, but nothing about religion itself. i'll keep looking for it though...

beginning 2nd Samuel tonite

running long tonite as well

thanks again, keep the comments coming....

It's happened again!!!

y'know here in Michigan and perhaps in other parts of the country we had been warned about the West Nile Virus and keeping our pets away from dead birds, lest our pets become infected.

perhaps the same warning regarding the bird flu wouldv'e been a little helpful.

i read it online it must be true

So anyway, i tried running with the dog yesterday. Not a great idea. Puppies tend to want to go in their own direction, and they tend to want to stop and smell everything. Maybe if i took some time and trained him it would work, but i'm getting ready to go full throttle into marathon mode. This is not a time for recreational running. i gotta focus.

i'm finding out i'm not really a morning runner. It's not as easy to get out of bed in the morning to run. i guess i'm also finding out that i prefer running in the winter. It's a bit chillier but less distractions like yardwork, golf, honey-do's, pool maintenance, on and on... to get in the way.



So i've fallen off my running routine. i will get it back this weekend.

This may seem weird to some people who know me, but i've started reading The Bible. i've always been a bit of a cynic, and bible thumping, religious right people annoy me. So, i figure if someone is going to use religous text to make a point, i better know what they're using to make a point!! i love how holy rollers use the Old Testament to justify capital punishment, "eye for an eye" while ingoring the "turn another cheek" from the New "Christ-stuff" Testament. Anyway i'm really enjoying the challenge. i started "In the Beginning" and am trying to go straight thru to "Amen".

Honestly, i would be lying, nice oxymoron there, eh?, if i didn't admit that the book has made a huge impact on my beliefs and thoughts. and i'm most likely reading the book in the wrong order. A pastor friend of mine has tried to advise me, but OCD's remember, i gotta go linear start to finish.

Anyway, i'm just about half done with 1 Samuel, and i can't seem to put the book down.

i'm sure i'll misquote something and the thumpers will come out like droves.

thanks again for reading

More information regarding Bird Flu!!!

Recent developments have given evidence that the virus has mutated to several species

As seen in the example to the left the virus has leapt to reptiles. It seemed simple enough as waterfowl, ie infected pink flamingoes and ducks must have been eaten by these animals and the virus mutated.


Floridians watch out..








O.k. new topic, back to an old topic:

i saw most of the presidents little speech on illegal immigrants. Thank Gawd it was short, but the Pistons were on and i had to bounce back and forth a lot.

i admit to agreeing with him on a few points. The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem. But, there's always a but, if we do this temporary work permit so employers can hire people, i'm seeing a little problem.

It's already illegal for employers to hire illegal immigrants, and employers already hire them to avoid paying even minimum wages and taxes for the work being done.

So what's the incentive for these employers to hire a registered temporary worker? Won't they then have to pay some minimum amount, claim the work for tax purposes, etc...? Since they are already breaking the law hiring the way they are, doesn't it make more sense, i.e. $$$$, just to continue doing so?

A much more liberal viewpoint.... O.K. this goes through and we now have a sub-class of non-citizenry. Making much less, legally than citizens doing the same work. Wages are then driven down, and citizens are forced to take lower wages just to get work, and our new class in the workforce, is legal, continually allowed to be paid less, and cannot vote to affect policy.

Remember Ferris Bueller, anyone... anyone... what another term for trickle down economics...anyone...anyone.... VOODOO ECONOMICS

illegal immigration may just be the next front in class warfare being waged against the middle class??

ok....i'm paranoid

O.K. i'm obsessive-compulsive,

not about things like spelling and grammar, but the real unimportant things, like my desk at work.

Everything in my desk is placed at 90 degree angles, or 45 degree which i consider to be derivatives of 90 degrees. Not sure why it's my compulsion... i just obey.

Per Tess, see previous post for picture, i have begun to move one or two things in a more obtuse way, obtuse as in angle. i'm working on finding a balance in my life and my OCD's are getting in my way. My mother, Happy Belated Mom's day, was a borderline horder. It started with my sister and i and our mother had to keep every homework assignment, project, etc... we even did, forever. Then it evolved into just about everything.

"i don't know why i go to extremes" -Billy Joel

Thanks Billy, that song really sums me up. i'm either too high, or low, and there sure as hell are no in betweens. If i decide to take up running, what do i do? develop slowly, not me, i sign up for a marathon. If i go out and have a drink with some friends, there really is no such thing as a drink, it's gonna be drinksssss. If i buy a motorcycle, is it a nice cruiser? Not me, i get a Harley Touring class bike with all the bells'n whistles; fairings, windshield, CD player, heavy bags, plush seat, mp3 input, custom paint, etc...

i guess i'll keep looking for balance.

As predicted, i did not go for any runs during the weekend, or this morning. And i'm eating like garbage again. i find myself in a little bit of a funk.

no more of this internal revelational crap. i'm going back to the basics after this.

thanks again for reading!

O.K. i swear i'll give me little thoughts about my obsessive compulsiveness in the next post.

Today, i am thinking about my long drive to go see my daughter Allison. i haven't seen her since before Christmas and it's just been too long. It's one day really, i pick her up Saturday morning and drop her back on Sunday morning.

She'll be visiting for three weeks this summer and that will be the longest we have ever spent together. i'm not always confident that Allison really wants to spend anytime with me so i can get a little nervous before seeing her. Since she is almost 12, and nearly a teenager, i think she may begin to regret the weekends we do see each other, or the occasional weeks during the summer, because it takes time away from her friends, especially as she gets to be a teenager.

i may be able to spend some time running this weekend, in the old hometown. Not too much though, if i leave Lisa to play stepmom too long with Mack and Jimi (it's my blog, i'll spell his name anyway i choose [ 'Scuse me, while i Kiss the Sky]) things can get a little hectic.

i really hope for a relaxing weekend, but most likely it won't be that way.

thanks again for reading

i just received word that the Bird Flu has hit a trailor park!!!

It was on the internet, so it must be true. Sorry Gknee, dead pink flamingoes as far as the eye can see.

Started running in the morning today. i woke up a little early, laced up the shoes and headed out for a quick 4-5 miler. i'm not as concerned with distance anymore. It's mostly the speed right now. I ran last night, after spreaing a yard of mulch, on my medium route of 6.5-7 miles. i'm really not convinced on the accuracy of the gmaps pedometer, so i figure it's an estimate. i finished the run in 58 minutes, again an estimate. Worst case scenario a 8.92 mile pace/best case 8.28, either way less than 9 minute miles. i'm thrilled.

best case this morning, i ran in 28 minutes, and there must be some problem with my calculator that's a 5.60 mile or 6.22. No friggin' way. i'll check the math and get back on this one.

On the project 190 front. i must be getting a little quicker, because as of this morning, per my bathroom scale, i weighed in at....

1... that's right the first digit is a one. wait for it.... 198 ...btw thats pounds not kilograms.

but not a digital scale and not 100% accurate but given that per the same scale in December i had hit 240, i feel amazing. i remember 2 years ago i had gotten up to about 260. EGADS!!!

Have i mentioned to anyone that i'm obsessive/compulsive? Next time i'll write about that.

thanks again for reading!!!

What a great weekend !?

Spent the whole weekend working on the lawn, landscaping, outside stuff.

i'm not sure why i feel so energized about it. Tonite i get to spread new mulch around all the freshly torn out, re-prepped flower beds, yippee!!!

Great things that happened last week:

11th anniversary with wife, btw the steel year, and
shot a 45 at golf league, took 19 of a possible 22 pts, and
Jimi played his first t-ball game.

Grating on my nerve things that happened last week:

didn't get to really run a lot on the weekend due to all the landscaping, and
focusing on work has been real difficult, and
nearly a week gone by with no updates to the blog.

guess i gotta work on a few things.

'till later

Weight Watchers Journey

Came upon this blog while randomly looking at recently updated blogs last nite. i must say i was still running high on the fact that someone actually reads this stuff.

i don't know who Me is, or anything about her. i assume "her" because she has a thinspiration posts with pictures of women. So i assume Me is a woman.

In my minds eye, she probably isn't really as fat as she thinks. Most likely, i picture a late teen, early twenty something living in the stress-ridden world of comparing herself to all the top models, or worse, typical stereotypes of the way midwesterner/rust belt staters like myself think of the appearances of "California Girls".

My nine year old daughter is an athletic bean pole. Typical of a girl who spends her entire afternoons on her bike or rollerblades. Y'know what? She thinks she's fat. I mean she's nine and super athletic and real long and lanky. Fat?? not really in the description, is it?

Even though i don't have any real connection to Me, i'd like to encourage anyone reading to read her blog, and even offer some postive support. The one thing i've learned while marathon training is that you can do anything with positive support.

What the world needs now.... C'mon everybody sing along

O.K. my luck could be that Me is actually some 40 yr old, cop whose job is to bait pedophiles, which i am not, in those sting operations i keep hearing about on the news.

Again for the record, NOT A PEDOPHILE!!!

thanks for reading, i'll be back soon

Someone actually reads this stuff!!!!

Gotta say how much i appreciate the comment posted by to my "Happy Mawlid" post from a few weeks ago.

O.K. everyone go back, reread and then check out the well thought, with citation, comment. Then come back...

no really, go read it...

Welcome back. Is that cool or what? Thanks Mr or Ms Anonymous, and please feel free to comment anytime. i admit to not checking out the links yet, but i will. But that's not my point. i'm so thrilled that someone, someone i don't know, some random person came across this idiots site, idiot being me, and opted to peruse it. And if that wasn't enough, felt compelled to comment. And i'm not talking, writing, whatever about a "you suck!" comment. This is someone thoughtful and somewhat agreeable with me. O.K. i admit the last sentence is a little oxymoronic; thoughtful, agreeable, me.

i know i'm double dipping on my posts here today, but it's been a week. Plus, i'm real energized to keep typing away, again thanks to Mr/Ms Anonymous.

back to the running thing:

Running my 5 milers at about a 9:00 pace. i still do not have a stopwatch, so nothing is official, just estimates conservatively based on the high side. 8 milers on the weekend are about the same pace.

Weight seems to be hovering between 200-205 instead of 205-210. I think a good strong BM can bring me below the 200 mark.

Two things have gotten me worried in the past few weeks. Just about life in general.

first... some techno cop in my company has been blocking me from updating, posting, and even accessing my blog from my work computer due to some company internet policy. For christ's sake, i'm not looking at porn. Trust me, in my business i actually have to be careful opening email's from other salesmen cause that's pretty much what they send. So here i am with at least three or four people who may get an occansional chuckle or just want to see how i'm doing, and i can't seem to update anything.

second... what the hell is the world of unlimited political correctness coming too, when i must now refer to illegal immigrants as unregistered immigrants. Now if someone wants to argue the points of class warfare with me. i will. not at this post, maybe later. but...

and i'm not going to argue about borders gates and fences and blah,blah,blah, but...

There are really two ways to immigrate to the good ole US of A. Legally and, well here i go again with semantics, but Illegally. One being the legal way and the other....illegal, or not legal, ergo illegal immigrant.

Noah Webster spins like a kids gyroscope in his grave, right next to a gyrating George Orwell, Holy Newspeak Batman.

i felt the same about the 2005 dehumanizing word du jour... refugee.

one who seeks refuge, or safety, is called a refugee. That's the definition, whether it be political, economic, or a state sponsored destuction of levies to test the effectiveness of FEMA. Sorry, i spun into conspiracy theory and class warfare there.

So in the new spirit of humanizing everything it's time to rename of illegal activities to something warm and fuzzy....

My first thought Drug Dealer

Let's go with unlicensed pharmacists

I feel better already!!!

Love the new Bruce CD. Tix's are bought for the June 17th show at Pine Knob, DTE my Arse!!