It's been...one week since i updated, why, so long it's not really like me not to post????

Well, two or three reasons and trust me this one is not meant to be a brain dump. i'm gonna go go with the drive-by quick hit approach:

Daughter Allison, 13 year old, is visiting from waaaaay up north, geography buffs---up means away from the Earth/ down means closer to the ground, therefore no such thing as up north/down south. It's been great to see her, it's been since the Bayshore Marathoon. It's amazing how fast little girls grow.

After passing the Series 7, General Stock Licensing Exam, i still am not done with exams. I had last week and until Thursday at noon to prepare for the Series 66, Financial Advisor Exam. 100 questions, 71 right to pass, 2 &1/2 hour time limit. This is the State Securities Laws exam. As each State can set there own laws for state registration it's fairly generic based on big picture stuff. Of course, since it's a law exam it was written by lawyers. I've had to study 278 pages this week, mostly new material, and take 1000 practice test questions. Next week is another 600 practice questions before Thurdays 1:00pm test.

My back is FUBAR'd. Or at least it was....i have seen the back-quack a total of three times and although i am expecting a clear to run date on Monday's final(?) visit. i've been in some pain.

Leg strain has been determined to have been caused by hip misplacement (where'd it go???) Leg feels tons better now and back is sore. i swear i was in better physical shape when i smoked 1/2 pack a day.

After a hopeful Series 66 passing score, a two week preparation for the Michigan Life and Health Insurance Test. That will be the end of standarized test and i get to spend a week or two in the near future in St Louis, to train on how to actually use my new knowledge.

So next week: Allison goes by up north, Boooo; i get to re-start marathon training, yaaayyy; i get to take another test and hopefully pass, yaaaaayyy; i get to start studying for another test, boooo.

Being a huge fan of live music: i finally was able to see The Police live last Tuesday. Love'd it, great show, opened with Message in a Bottle, right into Synchonicity II, right into Walking on the Moon, from there it was a never ending blur of hits....but since i figure i'll never get to see this band again, why not do Spirits in the Material World or Synchonicity I???? i know you gotta leave the fans wanting more, but i ain't waiting another 25 years for the chance to see them again.

Fun Guv started a new job this week. Customer Service for a local furniture chain. She can't be Lisa anymore. Apparantly, there is already a Lisa there, so she had to pick another name. Although LISA and i thought Neveah would be a good choice (it's heaven spelled backwards), her new employers opted to pick her middle name, Michelle. No lie, this has got to be the dumbest, most de-humanizing policy i have ever heard of. It's almost like a Toby moment

Ok, wrong scene, but in hind-sight, i figured equating Fun Guv's new job to a scene from Roots could be a little bit over the top.....so i went with this scence from Flash Gordon, go Flash go, which might quite possibly the worst movie ever made with a somewhat decent cast of supporting legitite actors, hell even a James Bond.

Woooo, could i get anymore of topic of this posts???????

Big Welcome to Roz, welcome to the family. i can't wait to be that funny "uncle" who teaches you to pull my finger.

thanks for reading

Big time running withdraws...

When the back-quack told me to stop running for a few days, after he adjusted a few of my lower vertabrates, i cringed. Two days later for a follow up adjusted, he said i could walk but to do nothing jarring. Riding a bike could be ok, but i shouldn't push anything.

Wednesday, i go back for a third and hopefully final pushadjustment. He knows i am trying to marathon train, and like every other sane person i know, is real big on letting my body heal.

Since, i can't seem to post about running and i don't feel yet like typing about new work things, let's go back to a nice political rant.......

i guess i still remember hearing that George Bush doesn't care about black people, and now it seems to be the entire GOP. Big shock, eh? At the recent NAACP convention in Detroit, all presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties were invited to attend.

One Republican showed up. One...Tom Tancredo, who used his time to talk about illegal immigration. Now this seems dumb to me cause, in a convention center filled with members of the NAACP, i guess you expect the majority of the attendees to be...black. Why not speak to your audience??? When many members of group you are speaking to can trace their origins back to slavery, ergo...immigration via abduction and cruelty....

i just think it may not be the front-running topic for the NAACP.

...but Giuliani was right here. He attended a $2500.00 plate fundraiser is Novi. Half an hour drive to Cobo Convention Center Downtown. Sure demographically, most members of the NAACP vote democratic, but what a snub. It wasn't even worth an hour of Rudy's time to make an appearance.

...alas, the now defunct "vote for Mike '08" did not receive an invitation to attend

i love a good conspiracy theory....

O.k. here's the deal...Once in a while, i get to thinking about terrorism. i think how our own government tells us terrorist may or may not be planning to attack us. And while i stare blankly at the idiocy of such a comment, i know many people begin to panic.

And while i never stocked up on duct-tape to protect my family from the non-existent dirty bombs that were en route to my little suburb via non-existent inter-continental iraqi weaponry, i know many who did. Sad but True

After reading the Downing Street Memo's i do not believe anything our government says and little the media tells me. Cause the media is just a pawn, and freedom of the press is dead....

So....i don't really believe the two unexploded cars found in London were planted by terrorist.

Sounds dumb, but i figure in a country where leadership just changed and a new prime minister could be rallied by public support to get out of iraq; it's not in the terrorists best interest to ensure Great Britain stays in Iraq....but it sure is in USA's best interest.

Since when do we hear about unexploding car bombs.....
Since when do terrorist have two that don't explode at the same time....
ooooh, don't we all feel just a little un-safer

pass the dust-tape....

i really need to get back to running soon....

thanks for reading

84%

13 % to much studying. Just kiddin', Thank Gawd this one is over. 260 total questions:10 practice experimental in the mix. These don't count one way or the other, but no way to know which 10. 130 per 3 hour session, with a mandatory 30 minute break between.

I thought after the first session i was dead in the water. It took almost 2 &1/2 hrs of the alloted 3. No gimmees...

The second half was much better. i managed to butter-up the proctor a little to get an indication not to panic. After all they see the scores, after the first half, i don't.

The second half was like a negative split. i seemed to know all the answers, or at least didn't question myself as much. i only marked one answer for review after the test, and finished in under two hours...

Oh crap, did i go too fast??? Did i skim over to many wordings of trick questions?

First rule, never change your original answer. Second rule, if you are positive of the answer because of wording on further questions, then skip the first rule.

I didn't change any answers for the first half and for the second, i only marked one for review. Then press the END key and wait for the test results.

The longest ten seconds spent staring at a computer screen, not remembering to breathe, until.....

Pass 84%.....whew

Thanks to all the well wishers from everyone who wished me well. Thanks isn't enough. i love positive vibes.

Next up...a chiropractic appointment to see what damage i have done to my back after 8 weeks of studying from the wrong type of chairs. Maybe this could be affecting my running, or lack thereof, ability???

Followed by 2 weeks to prepare for the next licensing test. The dreaded Series 66, investment laws, 100 questions, get 71 correct. Then two weeks of insurance studying and the Life and Health insurance test. Only now i get to add market research to the mix of studies.

In the immortal words of Flounder "This is gonna be great!"



Thanks for reading, and maybe soon a running update

And maybe soon, word of Animal's Spawn, kinda stirs up images of Todd McFarlane, for the comic fan-boys out there

In a Preachin' to the choir kinda way....

Another quick Clerks II moment. It's tough to find a pg-ish moment in these movies but every once in a while.



Anyway, it's hot. Holy cow it's hot. So, i ran for 7 miles Saturday and today i am hoping to get in 5 maybe when the sun starts heading down. It'll be a good way to clear my head before the big test tomorrow morning.

It's a a bit nerve-racking to know that i will either pass and still be employed on fail and not. i'm ready and have passed all my pre-test but who knows what will happen tomorrow? All i can do is remain confident in the training and my preparation. Sound like any other activity i participate in????


OK last one i swear



Thanks for reading

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July. After my weird morning, everything was back to normal and the kids spent the day around and in the pool as we didn't go anywhere.

We just hung out for a bit and i did some studying. Next week is the big Series 7 examination. It's basically the general stock brokers exam in simple terms. Not exactly the Bar or a CPA examination, but it has required 8 weeks of preparation.

Running stuff: Now is not quite the time for running on back to back days. i had a nice 5 miles on Tuesday and, due to thunderstorms, a not so nice 4 miles on the new dreadmill on Thurday afternoon. Even with one of my favorite Star Trek episodes playing, it was a definite labor of love to run.

Yesterday was another 5 mile run in the plan. Alas, i am not ready for back-to-back days as my body has completely rejected any idea of running. i went a painful 1/4 mile and turned home. Fun Guv and i took the dog for a walk instead.

Looking ahead i hope to be able to go at least 10 miles tomorrow.

Health wise, i seem good. Weight is back down 191 so with BMI, if i am 6'1" my index is 25.19, if i am 6'2" i am 24.52.

Lastly, but perhap a longer moment to reflect on the voice of the x generation. Not Kurt Cobain, i love Nirvana but alas, a la the Lizard King, Cobain did not last long to enough to be more than a legend whose impact has been grossly overestimated....No i mean the genius of Kevin Smith. Who else captures the mentality of the slacker generation???

Since my favorite Great Lakes Running Gal, LISA hasn't seen any of his movies, a teaser or two. Perhaps we will have a View Askew Film Festival and watch them all in a row....

The beginning....



and then, a budget and color...




and the science fiction movie




Why Sci-fi??? according to the director, it would take science fiction for a lesbian to sleep with Ben Affleck

Next, the thought provoking, extended can God create a rock so big she can't move it, joke

look at the size of that budget...Remember who plays God??? Doing Cartwheels....and check out the logo on Chris Rock's shirt, while on the train.




And then the worst, but perhaps funniest of them all. an entire movie of inside jokes reflecting on the previous movies.




and then the Bennifer monster strikes down a decent movie. J-lo's character dies 10 minutes into it but Gigli backlash and no Jay and Silent Bob, but really funny (almost a family movie)



and then the most recent, this time in color....



Hero to the slacker generation!!! With adamantium balls

Thanks for reading (viewing)

The Pseudo-ceremonial passing of the gavel

Last Saturday was the Anchor Bay Rotary Club's installation dinner. Which means i went from President-Elect to President and our President becomes our Past-President, and somewhere another person went from President-nominee to President-elect.

A lot of titles for the guy that just rings the gavel and bell twice a meeting and tries to stay on the topic of top secret Rotarian stuff during the weekly lunches.

Well not so top secret and i keep saying i will someday post about why i joined a Rotary Club. But not today, it is relevent to the rest of the post with relation to a rotarian motto "Service above Self"

And more on that later but first on this 4th of July, a running update:

Yep, i'm running again. Not as fast as i would like, but running.....yippeeeee!!! After Sunday's Bronze medal winning performance, i went out for a nice 5 miles. i averaged a 8:35 pace, and as slow as it feels, it feels good to just run.

Weight: 194, so no big gain during the off time and still lots of time to improve before Chicago. i have a little tightness still in the hamstring, but the stretches are working and it's not a pain to run, more of nagging tightness.

...and running stuff...Great Article about my favorite running store clerks. If you get Runner's World you can see a picture of Brian Sell in the middle of Paint Creek Trail. The PCT gets a lot of publicity via a few southeastern Michigander bloggers maybe this small view of the trail helps explain why.

....the article is good, but the true wonder with the distance project is when a beginning runner goes to buy your first pair of shoes at their store. The runners are the most humble, helpful....it's hard to put words to the feeling. Fun Guv got her shoes there and the clerk, Melissa White (picture in the issue) helped her, it was me who asked about her running in Chicago, and i asked how far she runs in a week.

When i bought my first shoes, i mentioned trying to run a marathon and the clerk, Trent, not pictured in the article, was so positive about the ability i will have for finishing. That i should stop in with any questions during the training. Anybody there would help.

At first, i thought it was just a pitch....but he made no attepmt to sell me the most expensive pair of shoes. Heck...he didn't even push a Brooks on me. But i got the best shoe for me and i try to be a loyal customer. See it's a little service above self here....

Once in a while an event can occur which defines man. No i don't mean, Defines "a Man". That would be some personal individual moment. i mean, what it means to be a man, what is expected and how we react, as a gender. i had one of those moments last evening and this morning.

Lynn is my next door neighbor. She's a single mom, 40 ish with a 14 year old son. Thank god, who was at his dad's last night. Around 1:00 am our phone rings. Lynn can't find one of her dogs, Brandy. Brandy is a little old but she can still jump a fence if she thinks about it or gets scared. With the number of fireworks going off in the neighborhood, and our own cowering waterlogged dog, it's easy to understand how Brandy may have gotten spooked. Or, she's old, maybe like dogs try to do...she found a hidden corner in the back of the yard to curl up and die. i have always heard that dogs are more comfortable dying alone and will try to avoid their owners this way.

So i went through Lynn's yard with a flash light and every possible corner of her basement. Brandy is a medium sized dog, but a little girthy as most old dogs get. But....no Brandy.

7:00am. Phone rings again.... Brandy is found. Lynn went looking for her a 6:30 and found her in the middle of 19 Mile Road. She had been hit. So she called us for help. Lynn was a wreck and i wish she hadn't seen her dog this way. She wanted to help bring Brandy off the road, but Lisa stayed with her while i went with a blanket, and, this part is a little gross, a shovel to get all of Brandy off the road.

i didn't want Lynn to see her dog this way. Although she had driven by, she hadn't seen what i was able to see, or had to pick up. Basically 19 Mile Rd, by our house, has a 45 mph speed limit. This is Michigan, so most people go faster. It was night, and Brandy was a black dog in the middle of an unlit street. At least she didn't suffer.

So as i stand in the middle of the road. First i figure Lynn will want her collar. i had to remove that, and then figure i need to clean it before giving it to Lynn. Then i have to roll Brandy and parts into a old blanket. Then make sure old blanket rolls her up, completely wrapped and pick her up, making sure stuff doesn't fall out, and put her in the back of my van.

I should have brought some large black garbage bags with me. A lot of blood soaked through the blanket and got on the back of van's carpet. Which meant it soaked through onto me as i picked her up to place in the back of the van. Yay

Get back home and then make sure Lynn is distracted while Lisa goes to clean off the collar. And use two big black garbage bags to surround Brandy and duct tape overlapping ends to spare Lynn from seeing all the blood soaking through the blanket. And oxy-clean the crap, outta the back of the van. Oxy-clean does a good job at this.

i get wigged out cleaning fish. i don't hunt because the idea of field-dressing a deer makes me want to hurl. i love zombie movies because they are fake gore. Real gore and me~~not a good combo. But it was either i do this or Lynn does.

This isn't a macho thing, but these type moments define what makes men, men. i've had a few hours to take it all in, and being a terrible situation, i'm glad i was able to help my neighbor. i'm glad she was able to call us. i'm glad her son didn't have to be involved, or her ex-husband.

Ironically, Lynn's on-again/off-again boyfriend/one-time fiance was over. He bartends and had gotten over about 3:30am and they are spending the afternoon at his parents house. He didn't get up to help. Too tired.

Service above Self

Thanks for reading

Nothing like a race to help get through the emotional upheaval of an injury...

That's my story and i am sticking to it. As per LISA's advice i took last week off completely from running. Since the previous week was also a disaster what could go wrong?

Last year i ran the Pickerel Race in Algonac and finished second in my age group. This morning was the Pickerel run again. Well, injury are injuries and i figured a nice 10k would let me know if i was on the mend and give me a reason to actually finish. Also, a fellow Rotarian and friend Rich was running the race. We ran together and really just chatted through a gorgeous morning.

I finished in 52:05, with a final sprint to get 3 seconds ahead of Rich. i ended up in third for the age group and really think the small injury prevented a first place. De nada.

More important. i ended with only minor aches and a positive feeling about training again. i should be able to get back to the training program on the next scheduled run, Tuesday. i will be ignoring pace for a few weeks and just easing the hamstring back into shape.

Thanks for all the support and help to everyone with advise as i dealt with my first, hopefully, minor injury.

With regards to other athletic family members.....Jimmy received a week of tennis lessons from his grandmother.
Check out the form???? He's the second from the left. Watch the whole minute of fun....



thanks for reading

i'm not running yet.

Well this strain muscle thing just sucks. i tried to run twice last week and both time were extrememly disapointing. Sunday i set out for my 10 miler and made it two. No pain free strides and it took 20 minutes to run the 2 miles.

Big thanks to LISA who gave me a little advice and common sense, and some stretches and the idea to take a couple anti-inflamitories.

So, as i am not running at all this week, i am biking. i will most likely attempt to get back in the running schedule a week from today. This really sucks and, if i let it, could put a nasty damper on the BQ attempt. Or perhaps serve as self-motivating.

Anyway, after talking with LISA, i thought i should go into more detail as to not offend anybody. With regards to my feeling good about getting into a starting corral....i never meant to insinuate anything about others runners. Christ knows i am not the fastest out there.

It was just a goal. For me, the only runner i compare myself to, is me. i can be very competitive and always with myself.

So if anybody was offended, please accept my humble apology.

Anyway....my weight is about 191-195 still as i have lost a little motivation due to this time off. i hope i can start running again next week.

thanks for reading

Well, would somebody please insert an Al Gore drowning polar bear joke here.....??

No... ok

How about a reference to this being a picture of the whole family....somewhat explaining the lack of Fun Guv pictures on the blog....

No...not that either...She does seem to enjoy taking the pictures while her ernstwhile ham-it-up husband and children make ok subjects to her art.














Well here we all are at The Detroit Zoo....pleasantly located in Royal Oak, MI. Why so far outta the city. Well being one of the oldest zoo's in the good ole US of A. It's close to the fair grounds, where the circus to this day comes to set up for the greatest shows on Earth. Cept for the really big ones, they go to the Palace or JLA, not Justice League of America, you comic book geeks out there, Joe Louis Arena. Mostly it's a Shriner's type circus at the fairgrounds.

Anyway....once upon a time, the circus's would leave town and forget an tiger or two, and....voila....a zoo is born. Actually, these animals weren't accidently forgotten, they were usually ill or old or both, maybe they were a little cranky and the handlers needed a quick ditch.

So Detroit has a nifty zoo. Since my dear friend L*I*S*A seems to be cynical of all things Detroit, i like to throw out a little culture about my adopted home.

Anyway... Day 3 of training, Wednesday was rest. Which meant crosstrain via stretches.

Day four....Walk the zoo. And go to run 5 miles. Forget about speed work. After three steps, it ain't happening, so i opt to jump on the bike for a few miles to warm up. A nice thing about having 2 reconstructive knee surgeries....i really know how to stretch on a bike.

7 miles later, i'm home and at least run/walk 2 miles. Sheer...utter....agony!!! physically...it hurt, psychological....even worse. i felt worse than 18 months ago when i tried to run my first mile. But compared to having a screw strip itself outta your bone, like your bone was wet plywood...not so bad

On the upside....i feel better and i am confident that i am on the road to recovery. Also, the pain may be just the right emotional preparation for a BQ run. i'll ice it again tonite and keep stretching it out. Unfortunately, my insurance doesn't kick in until July 1st, and a running injury is not worth a COBRA payment. Where's Michael Moore when i need him to take me to Cuba????

Big News...i checked out my registration and officially i am in the Corral C to start the marathon. i feel like a seasoned legitimate runner-type. and.....

we are now proud owners of our first Dreadmill. So the thunderstorms and -15 Michigan winters may not be slowing me down anymore.....once the leg heals.

...and of course....why dogs make better companions than cats (not really big news, i'm a dog person)



thanks for reading

The carousel video has been fixed. YouTube was having issues, I re-uploaded it. Now you can enjoy!!!


Day 2:

Egads! First day of actual training running 6 miles at an 8:11 pace and 4 miles into it my first ever true running injury.

Don't know what happened. I was going fairly slowly. No record pace here. My left leg started to bug me, not the reconstructed knee, that's fine, but the area around my buttocks.

At first, I thought it was left over from the uncomfortable chairs watching the 5th grade graduation ceremony and it would work itself out. But no.

After walking a few steps I realized the idea of running at all was not going to happen and I limped 20 minutes to get one mile. I was still two miles from home. A gracious pedestrian noticed my limp and offered the use of his cell phone to call for a pick-up.

After reading a recent issue of Runners World, I think I have a groin pull based on where the pain is located. Caused by one of two things or a combination of both...overtraining and not stretching....sound like anyone you know????

So now, after consulting with another runner, I'm going to stretch and perhaps not overtrain, nah, I'll probably still overtrain, but I will stretch and take the rest of the week light. I'll make every attempt to run the miles, body willing, but forget about speedwork or pace work. At least it happened early in the training.

For a better understanding of body parts check out Jimmy's Kindergarten picnic performance. In case you can't figure out which ham is mine, he's on the end in the bright yellow shirt.



Thanks for reading!

Day 1:

Well the first training day is over. Whew.....tough day of rest or crosstraining. i did a little ab workout and took a nice walk.

Some stats:

Weight: 192

Food from yesterday: breakfast-Cinnamon Tost crunch ceral Lunch- 2 small slices of pizza Dinner-2 hot dogs. I snacked on some grapes and strawberries.

Not the healthiest of food choices but yesterday was the kids last days at school so Mack had 5th grade graduation to middle school pseudo-ceremony, and Jimmy had kindergarden picnic.

To celebrate some weight loss, i reset my Garmin to display my weight as 195 lbs.

Today is a 6 mile 8:11 pace. It sounds great as to not stress the final weekend prior to training i did not run.

Summer is here as a first sign of summer around our house has been the opening of the TIger Lilly's. Global warming must be true, as they are about a week or two early. Not the stinky ugly mess of Animals Death Metal Man Eating Flower that attracts flies, but to each their own.....i guess.

Anyway.....irony of ironies...while typing, like right now....i get a phone call from right to life. It's a recorded response survey. Any oddity to right to life using a recorded message??? Where's my living person????

Anyway.....

Congrats to Kim again. i think i read somewhere that the difference between a runner and a jogger is that runner's fill out race entries. So if you had any doubts...you're a runner.

Thanks for reading.

Since the marathon training begins next week, i thought i'd take it a little easy this week.

Not!!!!

Here's the deal...it's been nice working at home lately and although it will not last forever i've been taking advantage of some free time and study breaks with some afternoon cross-trains.

Wednesday i rode my bike for 18 miles. Per the Garmin i averaged 4:40 pace. Hard thing about using the Garmin for biking....i kept forgetting to stop and start at lights. So nothing is set in stone but the mileage was about 18 miles.

Thursday...i went for a tempo run. To build up endurance in hit a warm-up first mile, then three speed miles and a cool down last mile. I was at home after 4 miles so i grabbed a leash and took Schubert with me for the last mile.

The Stats:

mile 1 7:40 pace
Mile 2 7:22
Mile 3 7:20
Mile 4 7:17
Mile 5 8:21 damn dog slowed me down too much

Total time: 38:03 pace 7:36

i am sore today, so i think a nice 4-5 mile recovery at about 8 minute miles should work out a few new kinks that have been popping up.

As far as an ice bath goes....the pool is right around 80 so a quick dip is awesomely refreshing....

right Schubert????

Nothing new to add with regards to weight issues, as i will begin posting updates information early in the weeks, although i am still 6'1" tall.

So figure, next week the real work begins. "This is gonna be great!!!!" (to quote Flounder)

Good Luck to Kim....as she runs her first 5k at the Race for a Cure downtown tomorrow.

Thanks for reading

Finally.... to end the last post with the obligatory ride on the merry-go-round at Greenfield Village



Later

As Foretold.... a new look.


As always first things first.



Let's get to running as this is now going to be all about progress training blog. Yeah, sure the occasional stupid opinion of mine will be there, but this is a blog of my thoughts and i have been thinking a lot lately about getting faster, thinner, heck dare i say...athletic?




It happens like all potential mid-life crisis must do i guess. A last shot as an approaching middle age mindset with a young mans game. Maybe? i won't deny the feelings of gaining 5 minutes to Boston Qualify, next year, with mixed emotions.




I also figure that based upon my eating, drinking, smoking, malaise, etc... habits over the last 10 years, it's only by the grace of God that i am as healthy as i am. Truly, if there is a higher power, i expect that it would have bigger concerns than me, but hey, whatever....




Next week, the training officially begins. And this is the place where everything is going. Workouts, crosstrains, Body Mass Index figures, diet, weight, alcohol consumption and if nessecary.....nicotine consumption.




So let's start with some basics:




Height: 6'1", i measured halfway through day, with bare feet. This is the one figure that should stay the same all training.
Weight: 194, per bathroom scale. wearing just a smile. i figure to spare you the picture of this
Body Mass Index: 25.59, so i guess i am still overweight??? bummer



i ran a little over 20 miles last week. Not exact, but that starts next week.



i can count on on hand the number of drinks i have had since the Bayshore.


4....the number of cigerettes since the morning after the Bayshore. 2 bummed from Animal's Mom ( how sad is that) at their baby shower. Not Animal and his Mom, that'd be odd eh??? Animal and Ms Tessmacher. No more cravings and they actually smell bad when i bartend, ...again not Animal and his Mom, the cigerettes, geeesh


Second things second......


it is with great regret that i think my little "Vote for Mike '08" is at an end. As fun as pretending to campaign is....it really takes me away from other stuff. Plus there are soooooooo many politically stupid things going on i couldn't filter the ones to blog about. There was tooooo much material: but to save time....



....Free Paris.....not really, i mean, talk about a train wreck
....Love Rosie, and btw Elizabeth.... if you support the war, and since both you and your athletic husband are both under 42.... enlist!!!! put up or shut up.... Lord knows how much the Army loves having football players in the ranks. (ok low blow, but no lower then essentially saying " i support the war, and the troops, as long as i don't have to be one")
.....War on Terror, no such thing, it's all a ruse to distract us from the war on class (literal and figurative)
.... on and on, blah blah blah



Third Things......

Rock Stars, Cars and Guitars at the Henry Ford Museum.....




Mack meets Kiss..... not really, but maybe their car.....







a custom Prowler with a neat


soundboard as a trailer.







How about "the" little Deuce Coupe???





i hope this helps to explain why "cut loose like a deuce" makes sense while....


"wrapped up like a douche" is just gross











But wait this is Rockstars, Cars and Guitars where are the axes....?????

Anybody recognize any of these?????














Oh.... and of course. The absolute pinnacle of the display. The Rolls Royce owned by John Lennon.






Of course a trip to the Henry Ford isn't complete without a quick trip to Greenfield Village to ride the Carousel...

Dammit, Utube is taking so long to load the video..... Soon will be the video of Mack riding the carousel...

Thanks for reading

The 7 minute mile barrier.....

...is no more.

This is huge as my new plan has me starting with some tempo runs with 6:49 pace. i ran 6 miles tonite. 3 were quick 6:54, 6:46, 6:52. 3 after that were all around 8 minute miles.

When did 3 8 minute miles become so easy???

This is just a short update, a kinda start moving away from the Bayshore and really start to concentrate on Chicago.

Also, the new job has really been keeping me focused. So not much time to blog these days. I good ole brain dump is brewing, but as i'm starting to feel stale about the look of the blog, it may be time for another change in appearance.

This is all going to be put together this weekend. Maybe.....honey-do's permitting.

I can do this.....

Thanks for reading

Final BayshoreThoughts.....

Well friends, it's been almost a week since the Bayshore and some Star Wars-esque thoughts.

Saturday after the race, while sitting around the hotel room, with many witnesses, words that came out of my mouth.

"i'm going to try for Boston"....

Wha...what....wait a moment. What words were uttered?

So in front of Steve, Annette, Animal and Fun Guv....those words popped outta my mouth.

Well, why not??? It's really my last chance before getting another 5 minutes after hitting the 40 milestone.

Of course, Sunday night the History channel had an awesome Star Wars special, which tied historical mythology to the Star Wars movies. Great stuff and yes, we did record it for Animal. I was of course reminded.....

There is no try...you either do or do not.

Maybe not the exact quote but close enough. So, i am going to BQ. i have a start of a tough training plan in the sidebar, any thoughts from anybody????

Speaking of sidebar.....

With the Bayshore over, i have moved the Bayshore links to the running blogger, or blogging runner area.

i also have added a link, a blog written by an Attorney with a client, maybe more, living not-so-comfortably in Cuba...anyway, it's a powerful site, and with Gitmos attrocities with regards to basic humanity, i'm highly recommending taking a glance at.... fer'instance a story about a 20 yr Canadian who was brought there 5 yrs ago, yep, since he was 15.

Bayshore stuff...

final thought...as great as i feel after the Bayshore. There was one moment i wish i could have redone. While standing with Nitmos prior to the race.... A woman walked by and i noticed Miranda on her bib. Now, this may not have been the same Miranda i have been reading about, but it could have been...

Bummer, of a missed opportunity eh???

i need to avoid those.

Anyway, let's move on the next Big Run and get back to my meaningless babble.

Thanks for reading

3:44:20

the other big numbers.....

8:34 per mile pace

#375 overall out of 1292 finishers

#47 out of 111 in age/gender division

based upon my finishing time i was given an estimate of a 1:46:22 halfway point and that was dead on.

i'm thrilled with my time. i'm thrilled with the time i ended with.

i am 2/3rds of the way through 3 marathons in a 12 month period,.....and i love running a marathon more after the second one.

Lets do the quick(?) post race report narrative:

After not being able to sleep, i opted to post about the prerace jitters. Since the hotel was full of runners i was able to meet a few half marathoners who were leaving to get to one of the busses going to the half marathon starting point. i was a ble to watch the sun rise as our hotel sat on the east arm of the bay.

The slight reddish hue brought thoughts of "red skies at night...sailors delight, red skies in mornin', sailor take warning...." the possible rain. Forecast had rain getting there by late afternoon, the race itself was going to be incredible. As the sun rose, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

After a cup of coffee, and the halfers left, it was nearly 5:30, so i cancelled my wakeup call and decided to shower before the race. Lisa was just getting up as i exited the shower and i went through my pre-race routine of double checking everything. Batteries in MP3 player, Garmin charged up, socks, shoes, bib hanging in a comfortable manner, pace bands.

Pace bands were new and thanks to Tange, i had a way to use them. i printed 3 and hung them upside down on my shirt. So i could look down and check my goal pace with actual pace. Why 3??? well, stacked on top of each other and safety pinned to my shirt i had my goal time 3:45, sandwiched between my dream time 3:40 and my worse case be happy with time of 3:55.

Fresh, dressed....like a million bucks....we headed out the hotel and made our way to the college. Fun Guv dropped me off, and i took in the sites. After a quick pee, i found Nitmos, and with his wonderful wife...made pleasant talk of BQing and other upcomming races.

Finally the national anthem... it was time to get ready, a horn sounded and we were off, in a cloud of shuffling feet slowly making their way to the start line mats.

ring, ring, ring, ring goes all the mats and with a quick start the timer on my Garmin, and we were off. All conversation ended as we were discussing the merits of the Mackinac Island races with another runner, but that was pre-starting mat. Now were are racing. i wished Nitmos luck and off he went....

Mile One was a bit conjested, but it did help me keep my pace down. Pace was 8:28, perfect i thought, but the crowd slowed me down, now we were spaced out (insert joke) what was going to happen now?

Mile 2 through 8, all in the low 8 minute pace range. This is a little nervous time for me. i am going much quicker than expected, and i am banking time in my dream pace. a little devil appears on a shoulder and says",you're going too fast, you'll never make it, slow down. That little twinge you feel in your hammy is going to snap, and that slight pain in ankle is a stress-fracture. slow down....slow down"

Then the little angel pops up on the other ",screw that guy!!! you're in the best condition of your life. Keep going this fast, and after a few more miles let's go faster. The hammy will loosen up as will the calf/ankle. Of course you're faster, this is the first long run you have done all year without a 5 lb weight on your back. Most important....enjoy the speed, embrace it...put out your best effort now"

So, i kept going, at a nice controlled clip, relying on the training and feeling natural at the 8 minute pace.

Mile 9 through 13, as i was passing some people an gentleman nodded and said "hi, nice pace." i thanked him and didn't think much about it until a few seconds later i realized he had fallen in, right behind me. Could it be???? A few more seconds and i have to ask.

"Am i being drafted?"

"hope you don't mind??" Is he kidding me? Mind? This is great!!!! "you moving real good and you have some broad shoulders to catch the wind"

"No problem, glad i can help...." i'm being drafted. Me....my second ever marathon. i've only been running a little over a year, i used to weigh almost 70 lbs more then at this moment, and i was being drafted.

So now, i'm rreally going and living off new adrenaline. 3 of these mile are under 8 minute pace. Alas, my new running partner, parasite, bails just passed the 12 mile mark. He couldn't keep up, but by this point i had seen a few returning marathoners.

Just past the mile12 marker, i realize i hadn't seen Nitmos yet. How fast was i going??? The i saw him and i waved as we approached each other. He looked real strong, and i guess i did too at this point. He hadn't expected to see me so soon.

Nimos.....red shirt

Halfway.....1:46: somechange, per the Garmin. Rock on!!!! do a 2 hr half and finish in target.

13 through 16....wow, i really am cruising. Heading back, i see the masses of runners behind me. And they're encouraging all the runners heading back to stay strong. you got a good pace going. Keep going. It's a very Zen feeling, to encourage runners miles behind you to keep moving and stay strong, while they are wishing you the best at the same time. The down and back, what a great way to run. Who needs spectators to cheer when the runners can all cheer each other?? More fast miles, mile 16 was my second fastest mile of the day at 7:49.

Spectators... every 4 miles was a viewing area along the route. Where traffic from a side street could meet the running route. The crowds were great. The enthusiasm more than made up for the size. My quickest recorded spurts were all through these little masses, usually bookending a water station.

At mile 16, just past the crowds i took my first walk break. I was just under 2:10 per the garming.

Mile 17 and 18, even with a short break, mile 17 was under 9 minutes and mile 18 was my last low 8 minute pace mile.

OK, maybe i went too fast too soon. The i begin the mantra "keep moving forward"

19 through 21, i'm under 3 hrs. first goal a success, and right about 5 miles to go. 3:55 is in the bag. 3:40....not so much, but 3:45 looks good.

Somewhere here this picture is taken by the local running shop. i must look dead, but as i walk the camara guy says "keep going, you have a great time going"

"thanks, i'm beat, the sun is really starting to hurt"

"want a salt tab?"

Thank god, salt and some water. This is going on my future marathon list of things to bring.

Mile 22 to 26 i met a guy named Tim, he looked a little beat and i thought about passing him for a second then opted to pace him. We ran the finals miles together. Keeping the mantra going. Nice and slow we made our way the final miles. A joke now and then and positive words for each other. Another fond memory. At the final mile, i wanted one more walk break, just to try to look my best for my friends and family. Garmin had time at 3:35, one mile to go a short break, recover a little and hit my target. Off Tim went.....he offered to stay, but i told him to keep going, he was looking strong.

.2, this is a partial lap, and the only negative to the Bayshore. You have to step up a curb to get off the road, run of some dirt/grass to get to the track. The only negative. The final lap is great. As i smiled, and enjoyed the cheers of numerous strangers, and scanned the sidelines looking for friends and fam....finally....

The race was awesome. I had a PR and can apply for a starting corral in Chicago.

Well that's the nuts and bolts of the Bayshore. It's a beaut.... Best Finishers Medal, best price, best shirt (technical tee). We lucked out on the weather.

i'll finish for now, but i have one more post race thoughts post in me, before saying "good-bye" to the Bayshore.





Thanks for reading

It's 4:53 am in Traverse City and what am i doing before the race.

Not sleeping.....

So, thank goodness for the biz center in the hotel.

At least i can let the family sleep, cause my tossing and turning couldn't have been helping.

On the plus i did get at least 5 hrs of sleep. More than enough and didn't sabotage of today's efforts with greasy food last night.

Maybe i should cancel the 5:30 wake up call???

i swear the entire hotel is just runners here. Everywhere you look....runners legs.

i think i'm really understanding how this is a marathoners marathon, and i'm getting that "i'm the most out of shape guy here" feeling, that i had waaaaaaay back April 1, 2006 at the first 1/2 Mary.

i was able to stroll through my high school gym. It was a nice walk through the past. Last time i was there, was 21 years ago, i won a car then. Yesterday, i received a nice technical shirt and carb bar. So not a car but less of a taxable burden.

Anyway, this is about as witty and thoughtful as a man can be at 5:02am.

It's the prequel.

thanks for reading

ok i lied

i received a call from my roommate Tange, all the way from the Orlando area.

We lived together a few years at Central and he was a sub 3 hr marathoner back then and occasional tri-athlete.

i smoked and drank too much, why were we roommates?????

funny how life works that way but Tange had(s) a heart of gold and he called just to wish me well, and check on my training. We haven't actually seen each other in almost 10 years...the magic of the internet.

So thanks Mr Gore for inventing it.....

Which brings me to another issue....after the marathon i can get back to political satire. Thank Gawd, like Barb and Mike, if mike looks at this once in a while, like to hear about bad Detroit news in their Chicago digs?????

Who are Barb and Mike, wellll, what blogs are you stalking then???? But thanks for the encouragement

Also, a shout out to the Hitman...Brett, who also wanted to call and wish me luck. Thanks buddy. If Nitmos and i can talk one more Steer into running again, we may have a relay team for some serious distance stuff.

Just think, ..... Canadian Death Race Relay Team named Steers, a castrated bovine....with Tange, King, Hitman, Nitmos and Luki, anyway back to reality......

Post race report to come soon.....

Thanks for reading

This may be the last post prior to the Big Run Saturday.

So, in case i forget, thanks to all the well wishers who have called or emailed or commented with support.

Taper, Smaker.....

i had a nice 3 mile taper run, slow easy.....not.....really....it was a good base/good weather/short run combo that led to an 7:09 average pace.....21:28, not bad eh????

Yep, dear friends, my warm-up mile was 7:20, followed by a 7:02, dammit almost a <7:00 mile, and a 7:08. This wasn't even difficult.

i promise to go slower at the start saturday.

Anyway on to the folks i will be missing:

Namely....Mark and Lisa....sorry you won't be there. i admit that while gknee is so far away, i will get a happy warm fuzzy wishing me well, and with the distance...that's great, i miss you lot's and love stalking your blog.

New work is going well, but things are a little hectic as i am trying to finish up a 45 hr week prior to leaving on Friday afternoon. 4 hrs to TC, check in to hotel, register to run, eat pasta and go to bed (but no sleep)

This week, finalize running gear, get GU, charge up batteries for various equipment, pack,

Don't Forget Shoes......

People to think about while running marathon

1. Fun Guv
2. Allison
3. Mackenzie
4. Jimmy
5. Animal
6. Tess
7. Roslyn
8. Tyler
9. Mark
10. Lisa
11. Gknee
12. Mom
13. Kim
14. Kim
15. Nitmos
16. King
17. Brett
18. Steve
19. Annette
20. Runner Girl
21. Russ
22. Miranda
23. Jim
24. Cheryl
25. Chris
26. Carey

.2 me

i don't mean to sound sappy, cause actually i am ready to get started. i am so excited to get this one over with.

Let's hope for good weather

Thanks for reading

Bib #580

There it is. The official Bib # 580, for the bayshore.

It's really here. This is a big moment when the marathon is now real in my mind. i have a bib#

Since i am midway through the taper a few reflections.

Since i am running my second marathon, i have my goals in mind, as far as finishing and time and with respect to what i can control.

But with respect to what i cannot:

-i consider myself fortunate to have not suffered through any running injury yet. As i have stalked other blogger/runners, i noticed that recurring theme, both bayshore and non-bayshore. Two of my fellow bayshore bloggers have had injuries that will prevent them from running/finishing or even starting the attempt to finish the full or half. To both Russ and Runner Girl, my deepest regrets you will not be able to run.

-i will be giving myself up to the elements next weekend. 7:00 am late May, can be chilly along the shores of Grand Traverse Bay, but it can be unbearably sticky quite quickly. Average temps be damned, i know to expect 40's at the start and up to 80's by the finish. That's just life in Traverse City and it could always rain.

-Phantom aches and pains of the taper are normal. i know to trust the healing of the taper as preparation for the long run, and with less miles i will not lose my current fitness level, but i'd be lying if i didn't desire to be running more.

-What do i do next? Three weeks is a 10k trail/adventure run. Y'know dirt/mud/river crossings/massive hills; do i give it a go? It's close to home. i have an inkling to give it a go.

-Since i have received all of my study materials and i start the new gig monday, how much running will a be able to do?

So in retrospect, mid-taper here's where my thoughts are:

i'm excited to get to another marathon
i'm excited to get to another race after the marathon
i'm excited to start a new career
i'm excited for Nitmos as he attempts a try for Boston
i'm excited to think i could give it a go, in a future marathon attempt
i'm ecstatic that i have not yet suffered through a nagging running injury

i'm in a good place right now. Piston's are still winning, Wings are in another great playoff series, Tigers still exciting in this early season, and the Lions are off-season.

Anybody else have any positive things to say???

Life is good, anything else i can jinx????

Thanks for reading

Happy Birthday Fun Guv'nor

Yep, today is a big day around the house and i always think Fun Guv gets a little pimped in the month of May. Our Anniversary, Mother's Day and Birthday are usually within 10 days of each other.

Anyway..... Happy Birthday.




Wha a ham.

Yesterday's 5 mile run was great. And at 38:54, it felt fast. Today is a crosstrain day and with Lisa's Birthday, i'll be eating lots soooooo a nice relaxing bike ride should be nice.

Brush with Pseudo-Celebrity......

Well, i thought a video with Velvet Revolver would be a hint.




He bellied up to the bar Saturday night after VR played a show in Royal Oak. Matt and, i think, the tour manager just had a couple glasses of wine and tried to get some food delivered for Scott, Slash and Duff.

Now, i've had a few brushes with folks at the hotel over the years. Kennedy, of Mtv Fame, was a doll and nothing like her old persona. Aaron Neville may be the largest man i have ever met. Neal Diamond requested all hotel employees turn and face the wall if he walks by because he didn't want to have eye-contact with anybody. Hank Williams, Jr may have been one of the coolest as he was in for the SuperBowl and just wanted to meet and greet and take pictures.

Matt was a drummer in one of my favorite bands, heck, two if you count The Cult.

i was extremely surprised that he was such a great guy to talk with. The bar was empty, and security had to keep some groupies away from the hotel just of the Scott and Slash factor but who wanted to see the drummer???

Well, he was cool, and i got a sense that he's asked about GnR a lot. So i didn't ask about Axel or Slash or any GnR stuff, but i did extend my appreciation of the groups he has been in and we left it at that.

Anyway, it was a fun night at the bar.

Thanks for reading, and happy birthday Lisa

.....And now batting for the Clinton Twp, Bronx Bombers, wearing number #8

Jimmy.





we opted to spare everyone but yes he did go on to score. Actually, at this level everybody scores as no outs are called and no score is kept, seven batters a side take turns and the lucky 7th batter gets to hit a home run regardless of power or lack thereof at the age of 5 & 6. Once and while a ball does trickle out of the infield.

At the end of the season, every kid gets a league champion trophy. AAaaaaah, what a wonderful world of peace and harmony......well, except for the parents.....or maybe just me.

As you may be able to see, there are no bleachers at these games. Basically parents sit up some summer folding chairs and watch the games. All the teams in the league play at local schools which happens to have two fields. At the first game, everybody gets pictures taken, teams and individual, and games are fairly tightly time monitered to stay on schedule, between t-ball, machine pitch, coach pitch, minors and majors about 20 game need to be played.

Anyway, Fun Guv sits down and i open up my chair next to hers and Macks and sit down to watch Jimmy play.

Then i hear....

"so that's the way it is then," right behind me.

So i turn and look and a guy is standing there, with 4 folding chairs and i guess i didn't see him as i walked up to where Fun Guv and Mack were sitting. i tend to get a little lost just looking at the surroundings and Fun Guv needs to rein me in to the smaller picture.

i guess i had sat my chair in front of where he was setting up chairs for his family.

Totally, my bad, So i apologize.

"y'know, i'm real sorry, i was just sitting here next to my wife and daughter, i didn't see you."

Now, Lisa had sat next to another Mom, with whom she had struck up a conversation, so she was fairly set, and i guess i could have moved, with the 10 -15 feet of room to my right, where nobody was sitting and be closer to the diamond.

If so, sitting on the third base line for this game. pecking order would have been...

homeplate, third base, a few parents, 10- 15 feet space, me, guy with four chairs, Mack, Fun Guv, Mom with said convesration, or

homeplate, third base, a few parents, guy with four chairs, me, Mack,Fun Guv, Mom with said conversation.

So the guy just won't let it go. He keeps on about how i wouldn't move, just talking to nobody really. He starts to move the chairs and just keeps on about how he can't believe how difficult i am being, and how he has to move to sit, and see the game.

Now, i assume he's got a kid on the same team as i do. And looking back, i should have handled things differently. i could have extended a hand in friendship, offered to help reposition his chairs, struck up a conversation, but.....

...and not to make an excuse, i had bartended the night before. It had been busy at the bar, so getting home after 2:00 am and back up at 7:30am to go to a t-ball game had left me tired. i basically sat, and opended up my new issue of Runner's World and sat to nod off in between Jimmy's T-ball action.

i really felt the honest, humble apology was enough, but it wasn't.

i know, at most it took him 30 seconds to move these few chairs, but after i apologized he first stood behind me and kept on me, the as he moved the chairs he just kept on me, and finally i snapped....

"Will you stop??!!!"

"huh??," the guy looked at me, as i snapped my head up, and turned to face him. i stayed sitting in my chair.

"Look, i tried to apologize, apparently that wasn't enough. You would rather keep on-and-on, if you want something ask. Get over it, this is the first game of the season and we may be seeing each other at every game. Thanks for helping to start the season great. If this is the way you will be at every game, i can't wait!!"

"well, you know, you sat right where i was opening up my chairs"

y'know, i got that. i understood. i had felt bad for doing it, not so much anymore. i didn't want to have a scene here, with the kids, and really, it's a stupid no-competitive t-ball game. i finally, just responded in the only way possible, without dropping a f-bomb or getting vile...

"will you just, SHUT YOUR HOLE!!!"

That seemed to do the trick, and he must have really wanted to pounce, but while still sitting down i had actually used my gutteral, scream at the rookies on the marching band practice field, or make MacKenzie cry, voice.

So he kinda got real quiet, real quick and slinked off, presumably to find back-up.

Now i had to apologize to ALL the parents, who were looking at me like i was born with 666 birthmarked into my scalp.

"i'm real sorry 'bout that. i swear, i'm not a jerk."

And y'know what? Everybody seemed to have heard the entire exchange and thought i was okay.

i think the funniest part, if there is a funny part, is that remember how i mentioned there were two fields at this school? Well, eventually the guy came back, with his entourage, in case things escalated, to collect his chairs cause.....

yep.....

he was at the wrong field. D'oh

anyway, no fun running stuff, except i had a wonderful 12 miler saturday. The taper is on!!!!

thanks for reading, next post preview....brush with semi-celebrity.oooooh the suspense, but i have left a clue

post 8 mile speed work, the ABC's of Mike, note the third person reference, and iced coffee.

Let me take a moment to defer any notion that this will be a long post on my dear friend, Animal, and since it takes extra time to link, feel free to hit the link on the side bar, after reading this post, cause he has tagged me and left me with the option for a post, that runs on and on...like this sentence.

Anyway, first things first, in my not so much thinking just running blog. Speed work!!!! A few things with me and speed work. first, contrary to some folks opinions, i'm not really fast, so me trying to identify if Speed-work is oxy-moronic or redundant, to me.

Second things second, or maybe a 1b category, training to run a first versus a second marathon. Actually this could be it's own subject but for the sake of not rambling on too much, short answer - it's different. For the marathon debut, training was just build a base, do enough miles to prepare for a long slow run. This second training session has had additions to just maintaining the base, it's added activities designed to prepare for the long run by doing better defined work: e.g. prepare to run through being tired by hitting real fast miles and then still run 1.5 miles slow, but run to get replicate the exhausted feeling.

i opted to attack the run, this was my last chance to really hit some fast speeds and maybe feel like an elite or perhaps nitmosic runner. All four speed miles were under 7:20, and i put my garmin to the test, and learned a way to improve this type of training in the future. Miles 1 & 3 were 7:01 and 7:06, miles 2 & 4 not so exact as my laps were set by the mile, but i had half mile recoveries between speed burst, but you can really tell by the graphs, so not exact but 2 & 4 werre around 7:05 -7:10.

Since the plan called for 7:22 miles, i can take a moment to savor the victory, cause this was a battle of will. Since it's basically 1.5 miles around my sub-division, i just did laps through the sub. And since it was noon, and all the neighbors working, i ran with no short on, ooops i mean, no shirt on. Holy naked mile, Batman

but on the plus side....i was able to put water and powerade out on my driveway and drink a little as needed. Since this was a work-like run, not an easy one...no mp3 player.

i do confess this run was a confidence booster. The times did surprise me, since i couldn't have hit them a few months ago.

Well, here we are a third of the way way through the title of the blog..... Movin' On

The ABC's of Mike

A- Available or Single: my heart has hopelessly belonged to the same person since 1990, really hopelessly, i've tried...even if my body was not completely committed; heart and body since we re-hooked up a few years later, thanks to Animal

B- Best Friend: i guess it would be Fun Guv. it's kinda like taking "friends-with-benefits" to a higher level. and keeps things a little spicy...wink, wink...nudge, nudge....know what i mean....

C- Cake or Pie: Pie, wasn't it Homer who said "MMMMM Pie?" Pecan, oooooh i love Pecan Pie, and will repeat a la "When Harry met Sally" to everyone's annoyance out of sheer excitement over PeCaaan PIIIee. Apple is a favorite too.

D- Drink of Choice: Warsteiner Beer, cause life is too short to drink cheap beer.



E- Essential Items: Not much really, the basics. Shelter, food, clothing, family and good friends

F- Favorite Color: Gunmetal Pearl, the color of my bike

G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Gummi Bears to eat, worms to fish

H- Hometown: Traverse City, Michigan. "when the lights go down in the city, and the moon shines on the bay" ok not San Fran, but it holds the same meaning.

I- Indulgence: Blogging, and movies by George Romero

J- January or February: May

K- Kids: 3, Allison, Mack and Jimmy

L- Life is incomplete without: not sure, nobody completes life with an empty "IN" box

M- Marriage Date: May 6, 1995, i think, has it been 12 yrs already????

N- Number of Siblings: 1, i grew up with, sister, Kim; a bunch of in-laws, some step-in-laws, some pseudo-steps i've never met, through my fathers second wife; and my tribal brothers and sisters

O- Oranges or Apples: apples, who ever heard of orange pie???

P- Phobias/Fears: i don't think i have any phobias, just fears, like drowning. i love being in the water but would hate to drown, hence no icefishing for me. When i was a kid i was afraid of Spontaneous Human Combustion, so static electricity freaked me out, y'know like flannel pjs and flannel sheets, i thought i would explode. i seem to have outgrown this fear. oh yeah and reanimated corpses

Q- Favorite Quote: "They're coming to get you, Barbara"

R- Reasons to smile: Tess belly dancing, really i can't think of this and not smile. Oh gawd, now everytime i look at Tess and smile she'll be thinking, that i'm thinking of her belly dancing, i think. Maybe the blog should be renamed "Mike has a thought of Tess Belly Dancing, and He's Smiling"

S- Season: Cheyenne pepper is nice, but carribean jerk works well too

T- Tag Three: Let's see if anyone will play along, Miranda, Russ, and Kim

U- Unknown Fact About Me: not really an answer but i get bothered by these type of questions. If it's unknown to me, then shouldn't some one else type, "mike doesn't know this but he tends to ..., or if i spill my unknown to others people here, well, then it's known fact, and not really appropriate in this ABC portion....for the sake of conformity.....if i fall asleep at night on top of the bedcovers, and get cold, i tend to have Zombie movie like dreams until i scare myself enough to wake up and get under the covers. Sometimes i fall asleep like this on purpose, cause i love zombie movies.

V– Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: i love to eat dead animal flesh, with cheyenne pepper, maybe a little carribean jerk. No worms though, just Gummi Bears

W- Worst Habits: Smoking, biting my fingernails, engaging mouth before brain, premature e.... wait too honest

X– X-rays or Ultrasounds: Ultrasounds baby, i had one once cause i lifted incorrectly and felt a strain, so off i go to have my testicles ultrasounded for damage. SOoooo i'm laying down, naked, waist down, and an fairly attractive nurse comes in and puts that ultrasound lotion, y'know on the boys. Let me recount the number of sports stats running through my head that afternoon to avoid any bad habits from occurring

Y- Your Favorite Foods: Pizza, French Fries, Pecan Pie

Z- Zodiac: Born in a year of a monkey, Leo by month

Iced Coffee

i seem to have found a new favorite morning beverage, cause i can really drink a lot of coffee this way, and it seems to energize my long saturday morning runs.

Anyway, thanks for reading

It's a beautiful day for an 8 mile speed run.

Well, that's the goal today, and i will be putting the trusty garmin to the test as i can't go run on my local track as school is in session and since i have to bartend tonite, i have to get my run done prior to 2:00.

i must admit to not being great at being between jobs. i seem to be making my way through my honey-do's and the pool is almost open. The yard is in great shape. The garage is clean.

What else do i do with my time?

Well, good question. Jimmy is spending the most time with me that he ever has, and we are really having fun. Most of Jimmy's life, i have been working a full and part-time job. Ooops, not exactly father-of-the-year stuff but, he hasn't spent a lot of time in daycare.

Thanks to my friend Steve, who let me borrow his extra copy of Guitar Hero II. What guy hasn't danced around his bedroom as a young child, air guitaring with a tennis racket????? And while Fun Guv is tired of the click-click noise of the pseudo-guitar, she's had moments when she wants to play too.

And now Jimmy and Mack's favorite song list consist of "Shout at the Devil" "Surrender" and "Tattooed Love Boys" Rock On

Yesterday, my new laptop and printer arrived from the new employer. It is nice to see work stuff showing up but.....passwords and study materials still need to arrive. Soooo, right now it's just a big box in the middle of the family room.

Lastly, just a quick thanks to all the well wishers on the new job. Thanks Everyone.

Well not quite last, but as i typed this, UPS man shows up again with another packet from new employer. Yipppeeeeee!!! Now i just need my study material, schedule and first conference call info.....i almost feel like a working man again!!!!!!

Thanks for reading.

Over 400 miles and counting.....

Since i really went off on a tagent last post, i'll try to behave better this one and keep to running, mostly.

Today was a nice 7 mile run. Reminding me again that a body needs to recover somewhat after a 20 miler, i was a little sore for the first two miles. i did end the trip on a nice 7 miles 58:39, and after the first two, i went a little too fast, no Nitmos here, but i did take a 3 minute walk break in the middle and left the timer going as i walked.

So i have ran over 400 miles this year, i don't really have a goal in tracking mileage, it's more of a curiousity. The biggest shocker is that today is the 8th of May and i have already gone 43 miles.

About the taper. i really have a couple more hard training runs ahead. Technically, Thursday is my last speed day. 8 miles, 1 mile warmup, 4X1600m @ 7:22 pace w/ 800m recovery, 1 mile cooldown. Saturday is a 12 miler. So although 12 miles doesn't sound long in my head anymore, it is still going to take about 1:40 to run it, so it's not really "taper time" yet.

But with the taper starting on May 15, Fun Guv's birthday, i have 8 runs until the marathon.

2 this week, already in this post
6 during the taper, real short and less intense although some tempo work,.....finally
1 Marathon.....

On a happy side note, i am happy to report that while i do not train to lose weight, i am down to 195 and a smidge, per our bathroom scale.

More true rambling to follow

Thanks for reading

i made the final 20 mile run a fun one.

Yippeeeee!! one more tough we week of training and bring on the taper. i am sooooo ready for it. i give mucho thanks to the healing powers of the taper. And, laugh, in the face of temptation to run more miles in disbelief of THE PLAN, btw side bar here....my many college friends, i mean who actually, teach college.....D'y'know the greek word for the plan.....is.....Syllabus.

So next semester, please feel free to just put "THE PLAN" on top of your plans that you hand out to your wee little pupils, cause i'm starting to feel like,....well it's tough to put into words....i mean being an X generation guy, another sidenote to a sidenote, great band, rocking punk, Billy Idol and all. i'm hearing the college grads are now taking their parents to job interviews after college, and interviewing companies are letting them, and actually marketing to the parents to enlist their kids.

Hu'h How did this happen?

Can we just name this generation "our lamest generation" or maybe, "the guilt of the baby boomers"

Okay, i admit to being real far off the topic of my 20 mile run, which i didn't call my dad to ask him to for permission to cross some streets without holding his hand, i did it all by myself. Ain't i a big boy?????

But this is the kind of stupid crap that gets out, and then some yahoo in another country, that's being controlled by US interest, looks at the US and says "these friggin morons can't even raise their brats to think for themselves, yet they want control the, whatever i have that the US wants in hypothetical country, oil, bananas, oil, kiwi, oil, etc....pick one, maybe,.....Oil, well screw them!!!"

And so he gets a few buddies together and then a few more and then...Someone says ",hey, let's blow some stuff up", it's a Y chromosone thing, mostly we get out of it, with y'know bottlerockets or playing baseball with frogs from a local pond. Every neighborhood had one of those kids in it. Not me, mind you, but my neighborhood had one.

Anyway, i ran 20 miles, thought about moronic 20 something year-old teenagers and the idiot companies that see these idiots as leaders.

The was able to slippery slope myself into a rationale that this type of stupidity is a cause of terrorism.

And now a campaign issue, if i want to go to Canada and enjoy all the fruits of Windsor, i bet my canadian friends cuckle at that, i just want to have an ID and a Birth Cert.

Vote for Mike '08

We'll get homeland security, oxymoron alert..... cracking down on the real idiots who put our culture at risk.

Thanks for reading

A little self discovery is good for the sole.

i just need a moment here to do a virtual jump up and down in near ecstatic glee over a great 7 mile tempo run.

The plan called 3 miles at 7:49, and four miles of just running, no real pace indicated. No big deal, but i figured 3 miles at 7:49 would be a piece of cake, see previous post.

Does a 10k PR count if it's in a training run? Not intentionally, i hit some new speed record for me. i started with the goal of 2 miles easy run, 3 tempo, and 2 easy, to warm up, hit the hard stuff, and cool down.

Well, my warm up was right at 8 minutes, so i figured i'd just do the tempo workout begining mile 2. i know i always say stats are boring, but....miles 2, 3 & 4; 7:32,7:25 &7:35....

After 4 miles my time was 30:32, and the hard part was over so mile 5, 8:21. And i feel real strong, and it's requiring effort just to restrain my running from being fast. Don't misunderstand, i feel tired.... but strong. Plus i get new appreciation for those 7:11 paces that Nitmos seems to be hitting.

But, back to me, and my little tale. So 5 miles at 38:53, but mile 6, speeds back to the 8:01 a little faster and total time is now 46:54. Now i admit to being a little jazzed up looking at my distance for the .22, to complete the 10k. Per the trusty Garmin, i hit the 6.22 mileage at 48:24, beating out my time at the Turkey Trot.

Anyway, 7 miles, 54:58, the last mile was 8:04.

Let's bring on the last 20 miler for the training this weekend!!!!

Anyway, on to life stuff:

Thanks for all the support from everyone. i just received an email from my new employer that my new materials for studying will be arriving next week. There will also be a laptop, to log hours and provide online support.

So, i go back to school, it should be fun.

Since, Nitmos asked what he can do to help.... i'll be looking for some new clients, you may be on the list of prospects. We'll see how it goes.

Stepping away from lending has allowed me to compare the two fields, lending versus saving. In lending, i had to negotiate interest rates with my clients. The higher the rate, the higher my commission, so while i provided sound lending rates and advice, i financially benifitted by selling the highest rate. Which meant that i never made very much money per loan, ergo i'm out of lending.

i very much looking forward to see the difference with personal finance, with a savings emphasis.

oops sorry to be redundant there.

Anyway, mostly i wanted to update my running stuff with this post.

Thanks again for reading.

Where to Start????

Let's start at the beginning and go with a quick running/training update.

Last week was a great 27 miles. 3 runs of 9 miles, all easy pace. i'm still probably running too hard as my pace seems to be in the low 8 minute range, but the addition of some walk breaks after 7 miles, to hit a 7 mile hour seems to be working.

Again, i hope to train harder than the actual pace i plan to run in Traverse City. As always, the goal is to finish and enjoy doing so. But hey, the chance to maybe move into a starting corral for the Chicago Marathon is a great motivator. If not ready for a BQ attempt, how about a starting corral attempt, Babysteps baby.

Anyway, this week looks like a nice 8 miles yesterday, 7 miles with 3 tempo at 7:49 pace, piece of cake, and my last, final, 20 mile run until the big 26.2. That means Saturday will be my last run with the camel-pak for a while, as the following week has a long run of 12 and then the taper.

Now for the sake of my running blogging buddies, that's the running update, but how about real life?

Well, this is going to be a little while to get through so everyone, grab a soda, take a pee break or whatever you need to do. Cause, in breaking my rule about too long of a post, and for my great friends, who are also clients, i really need to go into detail regarding the complete break in my career path.

Last Wednesday, after a few months of interviewing and making some personal assessments of what i want to do, i have left the home financing business. This was a tough decision, since i have been involved in lending for about 8 years. But the time has come to move on, to advance, into an area that allows me to still develop new clients and business relationships, and in a way that further allows me to help provide financial advice.

Now this is a huge step. Not without some risks, but the rewards can be great, both financially and mental health wise.

From a mortgage lender standpoint, i really look to the great times of the refinance and housing booms as a negative. A few years ago let's see....i worked 70 + hours a week, and wrote more business than ever believed possible, and made more money than ever, but.....

i weighed 260 lbs. i never saw my wife or kids. walking up one, that's right one, flight of stairs left me winded.

i had decided that i was just going to be a fat guy for the rest of my shortened life-span. Adult diabetes was most likely a few short years, if not months away. i ate every meal at my desk and only left my desk to get more food, usually chinese take-out, and hit the bathroom.

Feeling like i only really had a few good years left before i started to truly fall apart, i began to give as much as i could to friends and family. If i was going to live unhealthily, i was going to enjoy it.

So, Pistons season tix's, yep....Concert tix's....yep, always spend big and take a loved one along to enjoy.

Life was good, and thankfully, the market shifted.....The refinance boom ended.....the housing market stalled and loans were harder to come by.....

As i sat in the office i began to take inventory of who i was. i actually had the time to consider some items....

Although my kids had a nice, comfortable life, i couldn't take time to play with them, or even have the energy anymore to do so.

My relationship with Fun Guv was miserable, and she'll agree to this one. We had contemplated splitting apart a few times, and never because of infidelity (at least, not me, who wants a 260+lb work-aholic??), but because of lack of real time together.

i missed....me. i had deteriorated so far from the person i had been, and the self image of myself, that i didn't recognize myself in a mirror any longer. i had been so busy being the mortgage guy, that i let everything important, everything that i had cared about, become second to writing loans.

The exact opposite of what led me to want to write mortgage loans in the first place.

So what happened....????

So today, 60 lbs lighter, significantly in love with my bride, involved in my kids lives, happy with my self and extremely, financially poorer,.....honestly feel the richest that i ever have.

This is the big thank you to my family and friends.... Although i owe so much to so many, and i am sure to leave people out, here goes.....

Mark....for being the friend, who has also struggled with diet issues and helping me see the difference between a low fat and low carb diet;
Mac and Gknee....for showing me 38 isn't too old to change careers
Tess...for actually telling me, and believing, i could get into better shape, by just running, even real slow
Brett...for our lunch discussions about family, and how the simple things are most important
Fun Guv....for not leaving me, or giving up
My ex-co-workers... who have shown me the real meaning of "friends are friends and business is business"

In a small way, mortgage lending is that last bit of old me.

This is one of those reflective post. i guess it really means to bridge the difference between a journal and my need to write. To have anominity and be honest and open.

For a few running bloggers out there, still reading this non-running so much post~ Thanks for sticking in all the way to the end of the post.

More to come on, i've gotten some free time as i am off work until May 21st. i need to use posting as a good excuse to get away from the ever increasing list of honey-do's.

Thanks for reading.