O.K. enough of the hampster dance nonsense. Sorry 'bout that, just a blast from the past. But moving on to more fun things...

and i think this has made the rounds, but it's just too funny to not share.



Anyway, where have i been?

Well, i was off last week at Rotary PETS training for three days in K-Zoo.

What's PETS, well now here's a fun thing... President Elect Training Seminar. Yep, so not only am i rotarian, i also was elected the new President for the club. My social conscience knows no boundaries.

Just another example of my Vote of Mike'08 qualifications.

So, i've been gone and there may be little droppings about the great international work rotary does to eliminate Polio, and provide clean water; not to mention the local rotary clubs work within their respective communities.

Movin' On....

Due to Saturday being a Rotary Day, i missed my scheduled 20 miler. This sucks and i think i will make it up on this Saturday. This week is a scheduled 7 mile step back weekend. Well, i don't think i can step back anymore then the 20 becomming three last weekend. So, let's do it Saturday or Sunday.

At least then i will only be 7 miles behind for the two week total. i really need to focus as i seem to be cutting things too short. In reality, i am so far ahead of the first marathon plan, but i want to get a better time, so i am trying to keep my focus.

With the weather, finally, shifting, i ran Monday in the 80 degree day. Yippeeeeee!!!!! And, of course ran tooooooo fast. Nothing Painful, just a real fast, for me, under 8 minute pace, four miles followed by 4 at 8:20. Piece of Cake. Today's 8 miles will be a little slower, i promise myself.

So what else is new........

Well, Fun Guv and i have been watching documentaries lately. It's not been intentional, but so many good ones have hit our library lately. We saw;

An Inconvienient Truth , about bad spelling: Al Gore can be witty, who'da thunk it? Very candid, and i confess to being an Al Gore fan, if possible. Funny topic lately over lunch with a buisness partner was my friends firm disbelief in global warming. But ask for any true data,...well my friend didn't really have anything but right-wing opinion. At least Al had some facts.

When the Levees Broke, could be Spike Lee's greatest work. Wow!!! if you didn't see the HBO special, watch this. It's heartbreaking, honest, powerful, and loooooong!!! Too hard to watch in one sitting. Thank gawd, Spike broke it down to different Acts.

The US versus John Lennon, well this one really goes back to the video at the top here. But the nice back story, truly draws parallels to todays involvement in Iraq. Funny to see protestors 30+ years ago carrying signs to end the war, and bring the troops home or "Support our Troops". i think history has spun that protestors were anti-troops, not so. This documentary really brings home the paranoia created by using phrases like "homeland security", to gather support. The soundtrack is cool too. Ms Tessmacher, shame on you for not seeing this yet.

This Film is not yet Rated, ahhhh censorship, ...as american as apple pie. Want to see how the ratings board represents a cross section of Americana??? Not for the kids though, cause really this film avoided the voluntary ratings board, ....kinda. Lot's of deleted scenes from movies with original NC-17 ratings, that later received R ratings. Not for the folks out there who dislike violence, accurate depictions of sex, and/or marionettes defecating on each other.

That's it for now. As usual, i had a ton of other things i wanted to rant about, but..... another time perhaps.

thanks for reading

Aaaah, the classics!!!!!

Or more like a new spin on a classic.

Don't we all remember our first "joke" website?

A big hearty welcome to MIR!!!!

So in my curiousity about finding other Bayshore Bloggers looks like i've stumbled upon MIR. This is a serious runner. Check out the times for her races. Great Job!!!

And a hearty, thanks!!!, and shout out to BOB for the inspiration to try to link up other marathoners running the same race. Albeit, a wee bit smaller than Chicago. You da man.

Sorry no direct links just check on the sidebar stuff. You'll find Bob and Mir.

Saturday was a great day to run, but a little bit cold and windy here. But no snow, unlike this morning( that's another topic), and i set out as prepared as possible for an 18 mile run. i had....

Trusty Garmin ( and promised myself to go slower this week),

MP3 player,

Camel-pak, with...

2 liter of water

extra batteries

4 dollars

drivers license, in case of disaster, i had ID

4 pieces of leftover pizza from kids dinner the nite before

Cell phone, with Fun Guv's cell number ready to hit send, again in case of disaster, next of kin can be notified quicker, or what hospital to meet me at.

Brand new running shoes

Mack's Purple hat- see picture of me

long running pants, no shorts yet

Groovy Chicago Marathon jacket. So people know i mean bidness

i swear i look like a Borg when i leave the house on long runs (Star Trek Geek)

Anyone else ever feeling this way????

OK, maybe the pizza was pushing things, but i had no Gu and well, what if i needed carbs????

i blame the Dean, ultra marathoner for the idea.

Anyway, 18 miles became 16, cause they were two miles due north straight into the wind. Good enough, the Bayshore is 69 days away (yippee, i win) per countdown and what's two miles at this point? "Why it's simple rationalization, " says evil don't ever cut a run short voice?

Sorry no other stuff, or rants, but my brain has been filled with NCAA basketball stuff, although i do need to find out why so many of the newspapers carrying Ann Coulter's column just dumped her?

OK fine here it is

What a maroon...i can see why she's not a big fan of being politically correct. But good to know she can lead our armed forces in a pinch.

What a great representative of the quality U of M education available somebody sing "Hail to the Victors" Next thing they'll do is revoke AA, D'oh. Alas, the plight of the poor white americans, we've had it so hard through out history.

Maybe rehab is in her future.... it worked for "The Patriot" and "Kramer"

Thanks for reading

First Post Revisited:

Saturday, March 11, 2006

thanks to anyone who happens to stumble upon my blog. It started innocently enough as i was responding to a blog from a friend, who i am running a marathon with, regarding how she is writing a blog to document the training for said marathon. (Actually, it's the chicago one on Oct 22) I ended up creating a blog to respond.So what the hell? let's give a go and if anyone ever looks at this great. If not then o.k. too. It's sorta like a internet keroeke... kariokkee... kareoke.. for all the unpublished writers and most likely a few published writers to just babble.Which brings me to my point, or close enough to something to call it a point. Random thoughts, babble, just junk and maybe not some junk will be my topic du jour, or du bi-weekly, du whenever. etc. 'till next time
Posted by Mike at 10:16 AM

Well there it was and here i am. A year has passed since i wrote this note. i should have known it right from the start. Seems i'm not alone in the voyage of self-discovery, wanting to achieve more and push farther than previosly thought possible. (thanks, Sting)

i guess as i look back and occasionally read old post to see where i've been, i am pleasantly surprised that i have consistently improved the context of the blog. Somethings have changed, like the appearance, the counter, what i have done with development as a runner, etc.... but the consistent development of my voice, which is still developing, has been fun.

Anyway, nothing too witty to say about an anniversary, except, like most in my life, i'm a day or two late in doing anything about it.

Running Stuff: Maybe this should be health stuff, as i am beginning to really enjoy cross-training? i ran 2 miles on Monday. It was a unique occurance for mileage in the plan. Go with it. Except, Mack wanted to run with me. So i did my two, and ran a third with her at her pace. 12:00/mile, a couple walk breaks but not bad. She's still wanting to do a 5k this summer.

Last night was speed work. 7 miles total, with 3 1600's @ 7:32 pace with 800 meter cooldowns between. A couple miles getting to and from the track and, voila 7 miles.

This was the first real test and, with the wind and rain, i was set up to fail. i didn't. The 3 times were all under 7:30, or right at 7:30 (like the third and final). a few moments required a final 100m sprint, or what could have been called a sprint, and i think i came the closest that i have been yet to puking after a hard run, but it's in the books. No more running at the track for 2 weeks when i attempt 4 1600m's @ 7:32.

Other Stuff:

Soooo General Pace thinks homosexuality is immoral, indecent, whatever.... "i mean, i'm sitting here on the bench....i mean i'm sitting here on the group W bench, cause you want to know if i'm moral enough to join the army after being a litterbug"-- paraphrased for Alice's Restaurant

Cause our army has been asked to behave soooo morally.



Thank God, this soldier isn't gay. That would be immoral.

* btw...i sure this isn't the way all our soldiers behave, and this is not a "don't support the troops" moment. ...but just like a few extremists make all muslims appear scary to some people, a few moments like this can make all US troops appear scary to others

Thanks for reading

Monday Quick Hitters....

Running stuff:

Ran 29 miles last week. Too much as i made up 6 miles missed the previous weeks. i ran Sun, Mon, Wed & Sat; 6 mi, 4 mi, 6 mi (tempo 4 @ 7:50, total for 6 8:03 pace) & 13 miles (shoulda been 16 miles, oh well)

Lifted weights on Tues, and had tennis lesson on Friday, with about 200 crunches at least 4 times this week, i'm starting to feel a little better about my fitness and looking better ( i mean, i only have one direction to go) -shameless plea for sympathy.....

Running Lesson for the week, do not follow a tempo run with a long run and go out toooooo fast. Ooops, a couple contributing factors to the shortened long run, or just lame rationalizations: went too fast, dressed too many layers for spring heat, extra weight of 2 liter camel-pak, sore calves from tennis.

Part two of lesson; Burnout potential increased. i have to remember to enjoy the training and enjoy the next marathon. If i get too hopped-up on the idea of running a marathon in my home town, i could create a bad experience and a crushing emotional defeat. Relax, trust the training program, follow your own advice.

Non-Running:

Vote for Mike '08 (part 1).....Does anyone still think we did not go to war for economic reasons or that class warfare is not being waged in the good ole US of A? Bushco wants another 8000 troops to surge (escalate the war) on top of the 20000 already asked for. Same week....Haliburton decides to move corporate headquarters to.....drumroll......Dubai. Ta-daaaa!!!
(picture Drew Carey making hand gestures a la "The Aristocrats" while saying Dubai, wait...didn't you see it?)

(part 2)...FBI admits to abuses in the following of the Patriot Act, what a oxymoron of true patroitism, which led to 20,000 + (admitted) wire/phone taps of American citizens. we didn't see that one coming either...next thing....no weapons of mass destruction will be found, ...it's crazy....

(part 3)... this one leads into a little religion so i apologize, but....reading through the Bible, i have noticed that Jesus (fairly central character in the New Testament, and the Koran btw) tells his disciples, those who are not against me are with me. Rough translation, most likely, not a direct quote, a few thousand years and all....but the meaning is totally opposite of Bushco's "those who are not with me, are against me" mentality.

Still Reading the Bible:.....Scary moment of truth in Bible as i read it.....In Luke, if interested....Jesus cast out some demons and townsfolk ask...

hey, wait a minute how do we know you're not Beelzebub, and you're tricking us by casting out your own demons to gain our loyalty? Again, most likely not a direct quote, you get the gist.

Jesus responds in his very wise manner that a demon casting out other demons, would hurt their, the demons, cause. i like this passage as it shows the power of inclusion vs the destruction of division. Jesus even makes mention that a demon would divide with phrases like.... "those who are not with me, are against me"...wait.... sound familiar?...something reads deja vu -esgue....probably nothing, just ignore the feeling...it'll go away....

Yep, i'm breaking my rules for too many topics and too long of a post....massive brain dump going on here.... i mean the dump is massive, not so much...y'know...my brain.

Washington Twp: Ok... really i'm shifting gears here and not so much tongue-and-cheek, anymore. i've been watching a ton of stuff on a local, incredibly sad, tragic and horrifying murder in Washington Twp. As i have mentioned, this is thing i read about a lot, and so close to home, very scary stuff.

Essentially, although i guess this has made national news, husband reports wife missing after 5 days, she commutes to Puerto Rico, not unheard of. He gets a lawyer, doesn't share bank records with police, but he's seems to be enjoying the public eye....tv interviews, pleas to help find wife, etc....

A couple weeks go by, and friday night news breaks in with a search warrant for the home. Now really, the entire eastside metro detroit area is watching for breaking news on this odd case. People are divided on it, to this point....

...but Saturday morning, news reports wife's torso, is found in garage. Now this is all alleged and rumor, cause i want to stay impartial in case called to serve on the jury. Husband works at his dad's tool and die shop. Appartantly, his car was seen there at 4:00 am morning after the murder (why that was not reported to the police baffles me). After the horrific dismembering, body was disbursed throughout local park, and with recent snow covered. Husband goes back to retrieve torso, to avoid it being found by search parties going through the park a week prior to the search warrant. Essentially, everything else was small enough not to notice.

Husband disapears but, thank God for morons, uses his ATM card in northern Michigan and is found wandering a state park. No shoot out, and no attempted suicide (or a real lame, try to freeze to death, attempt).

So, my point, thoughts, whatever...what could have caused this? At what point does the social factors kick in? Is this a socia-path at work? Economic? Is a man whose own insecurities, with a more successful wife, the big issue? Tool-n-Die shops are hurting in this area, could work pressure play a role? Media coverage? Has this Peterson-like coverage, been due to the white upper middle class-ness of the case, while poor, and/or minority murders are ignored by the media? Was the husband given a bit of a free pass in the court of public opinion for the same reason? Up 'till the search warrant.

This isn't a sense to grasp a rationale for the murder, or justify anything. Obviously, a woman, and mother was killed, in home, allegedly, by her husband, while her children sat a few rooms away. And, we can be thankful, this didn't turn into a murder/suicide, with children as victims as well. My heart and thoughts go out to the families of both wife and husband, as both families are devastated, and to the children. 400 people showed up at a candlelight vigil outside the home recently. I believe people really do care, but.... and there's always a but with me.

Shouldn't we be just as upset about the thousands of US lives lost since the occupation of Irag? Or the estimated 650,000, dead civilian (men , woman, and children) iraqi's?

Still Reading? i think i'm done, whew...that was painful.

Thanks for reading

what's 3 more minutes? watch me.. well not me, more the metaphorical me the video, a la "Alice in Wonderland" y'know "drink me"

6 weird things about me....

but first a quick training update. i missed a 7 mile training run on Wednesday. Not something i do often, but my Rotary Club had a dinner meeting with 5 other clubs. Since i had a responsiblity to be there early to sell 50/50 tix, i missed my training run.

So do i make it up; over the next few days add a little here and there, or say "screw it" and move on?

Anyway, 6 weird things about me... thanks Animal

1. Right Angles.... not sure why, but everything on my desk is at a right angle, or 45 degrees, which i equate as a derivative of a right angle, cause two 45s make a 90.

2. i love Diane Keaton, and not entirely in a "love her work" way, but i've always thought she's incredibly attractive. Even at the tender age of 61, she looked HOT at the Oscars. LA-DEE-DA.

3. i like to use the word....Jujune. Why??? After watching "Love and Death", a Woody Allen movie starring....Diane Keaton; she used the word. We, me and roommates, had no idea what the conversation was about and had to look it up (pre-internet). Not very june of us.

4. i love to read Hemingway. This stuns me. i think his work is homophobic and racist, but i still enjoy the simplicity. Hemingway's stories about north Michigan capture the feeling of being there and i have read the Nick Adams stories over and over. There's such depth behind the simple sentences. i think i've read "The End of Something" a half dozen times throughout my life. No big deal as it's a short story. Every time i get a different feeling, in relation to my own life. No other writer has done that for me.

5. Serial killers fascinate me.... i've always had a morbid curiousity with Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Zodiac, Green River, etc.... i've read more stories on these "people" than i can remember, or even the names of all i have read about. Then Fun Guv exposed me to Ann Rule and the books she has written of true crime. The thought process of a social-path, or lack thereof..., the lack of empathy, the egocentric nature.... More on that, maybe, in another post.

6. i have no desire to meet or find out who my birthparents are.... This is a bit odd for the non-adopted folks to imagine. While i am thankful my birthmother choose to give birth to me, i am also thankful she opted to give me away. Most adoptees are portrayed in movies/TV as people who want to find out their history. i've met other adopted people who have met their birth parents and it never goes well. i prefer to keep Pandora's Box closed in this case.

Anyway, as it took me too long to update this post, as i had to filter out the really weird things about me, just to get to the palatable ones, don't expect another long delay in posting. i have a week of training to update (for those interested) and a preparation for a big one year anniversary of blogging.

Sunday is a 4 mile run in Detroit. It's a little pre-St Pat's thing, any body want to join me? Starts at noon. Anyone....anyone??? Registration is at old Tiger Stadium....

Thanks for reading

My Sport is your Sports Punishment

i love that phrase and it really rings true when other people say things to me like... i can't run, wow...a whole marathon, you ran how far on saturday?

....the list goes on forever, and even Fun Guv starts to eye-roll a little when somebody ask her how long the next marathon will be.

i've noticed that having just one marathon under my belt, gives me a bit of expert opinion (among the non-running masses), when talking with runners nervous about making the jump. For example:

i met a woman who was in Troy for training Saturday. She was staying at the little hotel i bartend at. and as she started talking with another couple, i noticed they were talking about how she runs to stay in shape. She was comfy with a 3-4 mile run, but TNT friends had talked her into training for the Freep/Detroit Marathon. She was real nervous, but hey, the marathon is a couple weeks after Chicago, she's got some time.

So, of course, i offer encouragement. She can do it. She'll have fun. Make this the first marathon, not the last. How to select a training plan, and then trust the plan. We all know the lingo, but....

Not only was she thankful, but having someone with a positive marathon experience really helped her mindset. She had heard about "the wall", the pain, suffering through endless miles of training, but not the joy during the race, running with a cell phone to call loved ones, taking pictures while running, the oneness of a group running together.

The concept of walking through a water break, or even walking while training, was foreign.

In my effort to live a humble, read....christian, life, i have always placed myself at the end of a table and allowed others to place me higher, if merited. As i read other running blogs and occasionally comment, i notice that as community, we all do that to one extent or another.

i've never read a blog entitled; I'm #1, or Eat my Dust.

i have read blogs sincerely asking for encouragement and advise. Sure, there's a little bragging about a PR once in a while, but really it's more of a "thanks for the help" variety. Something "we" all did together.

So where is this little thought headed. Well, like most maybe nowhere.-but i wanted to help friends who read my little corner of blogshere understand why i seem to under-value my abilities as an emerging runner. i can be a very vain person, if unchecked.

Sorry, no funny stuff, no political rants, and no 6 weird things about me (not yet at least), but some stats:

Ran 7 miles yesterday, through some slushy, icy areas, but finished in 1:00:10. i was a little tighter than expected after the long 14 miler on Saturday.

Thanks for reading

Last week report on training:

Well let's see last week was runs of 5,5 & 14 miles. Saturday was the nicest day to run. The weather was about 35ish, sunny, not too windy.

In true, old-school fashion, i dressed with an extra layer, filled up the camel-bak, grabbed a gu, my mp3, and trusty Garmin.

On the way out, i grabbed an apple to eat as i set out for what would be my longest run since the Marathon.

Since the Bayshore is a down and back marathon i figured to incorporate that style in my long runs. So i just ran, in a general direction for 7.5 miles, stopped, downed the gu, and headed back.

It was fun and i ended up with 14 miles and 1:58:05. Not bad. Since i was keeping track for a 1/2 marathon, i finished a 1/2 er about 1 minute/mile faster pace, than waaaaaay back April 1, 2006 when it took my 2:03 to run a half marathon. i think garmin had me at a 8:24 pace.

Extra special was the extra weight of the camel-bak and chillier than race-day conditions. Give me a race day scenario with a little warmer weather and i think i could have been faster. At least not slower.

My goal for the Bayshore, now seems realistic. It's a long 90 days away, but....3 hours to hit the 21.2 mile mark. If i can do this, i figure 45 minutes to go 5 miles and i can cruise the ending at a 9 minute/mile pace and if not, a 12 minute pace still keeps me at 4 hours.

Cross-training is going well, and even though Friday is a rest day, i did a little tennis that day. It was a little more work on my calves than i was expecting.

This week is a slightly shorter overall training week. No speed work, no tempo runs, just 3 basic runs of 7,7 & 6 miles.

It appears i have been tagged with 6 weird things about me....thanks Scott!!! Give me day to contemplate this....

of course, i can't divulge any campaign secrets.....hmmmmm???

Thanks for reading

Oooops, i almost forgot..... landmarks in the Patti Smith video....

The Murals from the Detroit Institute of Arts...
Joe Louis Fist....
Lafayette Coney Island....

A New Toy

A couple things i love about work, providing financial advice to help people get into the homes of their dreams, and the people i work with!!

That may seem strange but i've never worked as a loan officer in a place where i felt loyalty was appreciated. i tend to be very loyal to friends and clients. To be loyal to a lending company??? Well let's just say it really doesn't happen too often for anyone in my business. That's why i've been here almost 4 years and have no desire to leave, regardless of how weak the home buying market is in Michigan right now.

Anyway, back to the people i work with:

My Boss gave us all gift cards for Christmas this year. She likes to provide these every year. They're gift catalogues that come from an Amway person she knows. So, i guess even though Mr. DeVos isn't our running our state, i have some of his companies stuff.

Anyway, this year as i thumbed through the catalogue, i found a hydration pack. i'd seen lot's of mountain biker's using these and decided to get it.

It came last week. Since the weather was real cold i figured it would freeze and haven't used it yet. Check out Russ's blog in the sidebar for a confirmation of that thought.

Anyway, i think this weekend's long run, 14 miles, is going to be the perfect day to break out my 2 liter bladder/backpack.

Tonite is going to be a 5 mile tempo, 1 mile warm up, 3 @ 8:03 (i'm going to try for faster) and 1 mile cool. The temps are in the 40's finally. Should be fun.

Vote for Mike '08

It's time to put my money where my hands type. More on that later, but please check out my new work blog at the sidebar....more on that later

Serves me right for not running a Google search on Hamtramck.

i guess i always thought it was Polish. Damn you, lack of fact checking skills, but hey, at least someone's reading the blog.....

....maybe from beyond the grave, but someone's reading.

Anyway, i don't normally post on a daily basis but i just finished a new read.

i highly recommend it, but typically it's a "preaching to the choir" type book. i assume most liberals read it with a little chuckle and right-wingers look for holes to punch threw the rhetoric.

For me, it also brought a sense of what initially drove me away from organized religions, other than to experience and understand cultures different from my own upbringing.

While reading the book, i kept my Bible close to verify citations and context, and well....i find myself asking the question, asked many times on the book, although i don't believe the phrase was coined by the Author...

"Who would Jesus Bomb?"

Anyway, looks like i'll be running 24 miles this week; 5 today, 5 Wed (tempo), and 14 Saturday. Temps look to be near 40 this weekend. Maybe, i'll break out the shorts??? Maybe not...

Thanks for Reading

Weekend Report:

Well, hello again happy readers, and let me report this week was a good week for training and general health stuff.

Sunday.... chest, back abs 100 crunches
Monday...ran 6 miles, 100 crunches
Tuesday...Arms and shoulders 125 crunches
Wednesday.... ran 5 miles 3 at 7:30 pace on treadmill with 800 meter warm, recover, and cool
down 125 crunches
Thursday/Friday...rest
Saturday.....12 miles outdoors, finished in 1:39 per the Garmin. 150 crunches

Weight....197

Quit Smoking??? Well, i seem to have relapsed a bit, but don't quit quitin', right???

Good luck to Tange, as today is his marathon in Gainesville. Make sure we get a report.....

Tuesday is Fat Tuesday, which in Detroit area means paczki day!!!!

So i figure, i'll have a poonch-key. Somebody teach the damn poles to spell....paczki is missing an N, Hamtramck is missing the I, to become Ham-tram-ick......back to the point....

These damn donuts have something like 800 calries, Polish spellng fr calories....So next weeks update, my weight may be higher...damn they are tasting, fatty, treats.....avoid the prune-filled, not so tasty.

Not Running Stuff:

A funny thing has been happening as the blog has developed over the last nearly a year. i seem to have more to say and think than i think is truly appropriate for blogging. See, to me, a blog is a quick one-hiter. i like to read lightly and move on make a point, but avoid the rhetoric, if possible. i also take notes of funny things i notice to comtemplate blogging about. Well, funny to me.

i liken it to work emails. At work, too long or too short of an email, and my brain shuts out all the info in the email. For me, it's more of what i can truly concentrate on while at staring at a computer screen. It's a hard length to define but i know it when i see it. To really think, ponder a point, i prefer to read true text.

Maybe i'm a throwback to pre-email, text, instant technology??? i like to think so. Fer instance, if you tell me a funny story or email me one, i prefer (Ha,Ha) to LOL, or let me make the distiction for myself and i'll laugh out loud too.

Anyway, i'm danger of breaking my own rule. Maybe if the margins weren't so wide???? LOL

thanks for reading

Quote from a current read

Cause in 2007, blind faith in your leaders or in anything will get you killed.....

Ran a nice 6 miles last night. It was real chilly. i love the easy run after a long saturday run. it always my most refreshing run. Yesterday was no different.

not much to add today just wanted to update some housekeeping stuff.

i'm feeling a political rant festuring, my apologies as i try to be more running and a little cheeky, but between reading the Bible over the last year, and trying to negotiate my personal beliefs through the religous right, i seem to have stumbled upon a viewpoint i agree with....

it's a little stuck in my head,

More Running Stuff:

i seem to have aquired two novice runners asking my advice on preparing for a 1/2 mary. Since i think of myself as a novice as well, it seems funny that they have came to me for advice. I am happy to help. More on Coach Mike as we go along.

thanks for reading

First Week of Marathon Training:

Well lets see. One down, 15 to go to the Bayshore, which i am now officially registered for. Which brings my total up to 2 marathons registered for this year.

Saturday was a beautiful day to run. The weather was in the 20's and the wind did not affect too much. Additionally, i was well layered for the cold and nothing froze and subsequently fall off. Yippee for the little battles!!!

Anyway, last week broke down to 3 runs of 6 miles, 5 miles (tempo) and 10 miles.

This week bumps up by 2 miles so i'll be hitting 6,5 and 12. The five miles are speedwork. As we are currently in a winter storm watch for the next 3 days, and up to 8 inches of snow is expected, i may be doing some treadmill stuff.

Weight is currently 200 lbs. i am working on cutting out the Carbs a little and being a little more aware of the foods i eat. French Fries, a life long friend and nemesis to losing weight and keeping it off, are going away for a little while.

Since, i have decided to actually crosstrain, i have broken out the Soloflex. We bought one a few years ago with all the attachments. Although i have not used it recently and when the weather changes i'll do more biking, i'm putting a 5 day rountine in place that involves running 3 days a week, light weight training 2 days a week, 100 crunches a day for 5 days a week.

Outta my Monday Moanin' Mind: (a la Bob Talbert)

"Blister in the Sun", somehow the Violent Femmes are mainstream classic rock enough to be used by Wendy's. This disturbs me on so many levels...

Met two IT people from Cleveland, Tennessee at the bar last night. As i am bartender to the world at the little hotel i part-time work at. So this is a thanks to Chris and Margaret, welcome to the great state of Michigan. They were interested in my blog and maybe they'll actually see this. Vote for Mike '08, moves across the mason-dixie. Sorry not a lot of politics in this entry.

"Roxanne".....not my favorite Police song, mostly thanks to Eddie Murphy and 48 hrs, but i guess it was a better choice then "Every Breath You Take"

Kudos to the Dixie Chicks for sticking to their guns, being texans i'm sure they have guns. Radio statistics say the song they played at The Grammy's has only been played 15 times since it's release, in the Detroit Metro Area, as heard on 96.3 fm 5 minutes ago. 16 including what they played while discussing it. i sure that's 16 more times than in Cleveland, Tennessee airwaves have played it.

thanks for reading

My Last Daddy-Daughter Elementary School Dance....

It was a truly wonderful affair and if any of the PTO mom's happen upon this entry....

...as Fun Guv is on the board and tends to promote my blog better than i do....

i just wanted to shout out a big THANKS for all their hard work.

Anyway, in typical DD dance fashion after we arrived MacKenzie found a friend and we sat at a table, i met her friend's Dad and the girls???.....off like a prom dress....really i should stop using that phrase as my daughters are entering that phase of scholarly life.

A couple short observations and thoughts of the night. Mack was asked to fill in a little sheet with our names on it. It also asked why her dad is so special, and a song to play. If her name was picked she would get a little box of candy.

OK fine...i did not help and Mackenzie picked this song..... (the one playing unless you stopped the song....unpause....)

Miss Independent was here, i removed it to not have it constantly repeat anymore as i updated with new post. thanks

Truthfully, the song means nothing, but Mack picked it. i was honestly surprised she didn't pick something from High School Musical but this was her choice.

Anyway, fast forward to the dance and we did all the standards, Hokey Pokey, Chicken Dance (sober, never did that before), some stupid song...slide to the left....slide to the right....jump up 5 times....whatever the damn name is, the Macarena...however the stupid thing is spelled. btw this dance is fallen out of the collective unconsious of America as i noticed none of the girls really knew it correct, thank gawd, 100 variations on a line dance. Also no dads danced to this, and of course....YMCA.

Anyway...to the point....so occasionally the DJ would introduce a selected daddy/daughter; what made Dad so special, and their song to be played... Now look, i know Mom wanted to be involved but, truthfully what 8 year old girl would honestly pick "Daddies Little Girl" without Mom's coaching??? Cause Dad??? He ain't picking that song either. Or this big winner.... "Butterfly Kisses" and of course.... "My Girl" oooh the motown sound.

So i guess in the big picture, Zen, Karma moment i realized that my daughter picked a song about being independent. She's nobody's girl,.... she's her own, even if she doesn't truly realize it with the song she choose.. The subconsoius mind is a tricky thing and i think the groundwork is there for everything i always wanted for Mack. Cues sounds of ice tea being stirred and fingers snapping

Anyway, i'm off to run 10 miles today. i'm just wasting time waiting for the sun to warm things a little bit. Post run report to come tomorrow. Hopefully no penisicles, honestly how can i use plural here?, thanks for the new word Bob.

I'm feeling a political tirade coming on....vote for mike update soon.

Registered for the Bayshore....finally.... more on that too.

Thanks for reading,

SCOREBOARD: MIKE 2 ARTIC WIND 1

Well.... Yesterday was another run on a treadmill. 5 miles of tempo. 1 mile at 8:30 pace, 3 at 8:00, and 1 at 8:30.

i only almost fell of the teadmill one time. i tend to zone out and just run focusing on a smudge on the wall. It helps to actually visualize my true running route. Except i drift a little and an occasional heel hit the side of the runner, throwing me a bit off-balance and thrusting me back into the reality of not really moving.

Saturday is a 10 mile run. No way can i do that on a treadmill. It's gotta warm up, i gotta get outside....

Temps may be in the 20's, close enough, i'm hitting the road.

The marathon that never ends....

Well, i received my official results book and finisher certificate, suitable for framing, for the Chicago marathon. My official time was the same as my unofficial, go figure. The book is nice.

Never give an Obsessive-Compulsive this book......

"Ultra Marathon Man, Confessions of an All Night Runner"

Cause the first thing i start doing is running numbers. What pace would i have to maintain? How much weight would i need to lose to really finish? How to begin to train for an Ultra?

Then, all kidding aside with regards to the Canadian Death Race, are there any close adventure races to where i live?

Then, i find one, near Hell, MI

Turns out i know someone who runs this every year as a relay.

Never tell an Obsessive-Compulsive they can't do something.

i think, in my quest to find a race that i would be iffy about finishing, i have found one.

Two things: first, Fun Guv' vetoed it, Second my relay friend laughed at me when i asked him about it.

But i'm thinking....commit to losing 20-25 lbs, work up to 8 hr training run, get a support team together, heckuva warmup to the next Chicago Marathon.

10:45 pace should qualify for the WS 100.....

oh wait, you thought i was thinking about the 50k, not the 50 miler....

Oh well

Thanks for reading

Scoreboard: Mike 1 Artic Wind 1

Well, it goes like this. Fun Guv', again using the brain that i seem to be missing, vetoed any notion of me running in the apparantly dangerous conditions. i begged to even just run the mile around our neighborhood 6 times, stopping in to update my status every lap.

But, the look i received meant that even if my privates didn't freeze and subsequently fall off, they were not going to be put to use any time soon. Soooo, plan B.

Mother-in-Law has a nice treadmill, and only lives a few miles away. Kids like to see their grandmother, so a quick pack and we are out the door.

My treadmill cherry was popped last night. i hate to admit in a Sam-I-Am way, that the treadmill wasn't the worst thing in the world. After the treadmill/storage rack was unearthed from the stack of old junk mail, correspondence, clocks and smoke detectors in need of new batteries, Fun Guv ran her mile. Then i ran my 6.

O.K., i ran. i wasn't bundled up, no wind, just me and running shorts in a hot sweaty room, no circulation. It was a sauna. i think this may have been the first sweat to actually fall off and land on this treadmill in it's existence.

i think i'll try to do my speed work on it.

Movin' On:

Good luck to Marc St Angelo, (Tange) as his next marathon is only 12 days away. Run strong buddy and ex-roomy. Looking forward to an update from you. Tange---post a bib number and the website to the marathon to the comment section, and i'll see if i can stalk your progress.

Sad note:

MacKenzie has to deal with a loss as her 4yr old Guinea Pig.

Mary, was found dead this morning. The pet store guy told us Mary would live to be about 4 when we got her. So i think Mack did a great job with her first pet. Mary was a great part of our family and will be missed...

Mary's remains are scheduled for cremation this afternoon....

Condolences to MacKenzie may be left on the comment section of this blog. i am sure she would appreciate any thoughts....

thanks for reading

Scoreboard: Mike 0 Arctic Wind 1

Well here we are at the beginning of an arctic blast. Temperatures yesterday were in the teens, windchill in the single digits and off I go for my typical Saturday morning 10 mile fun-run.

The wind was out of the south & west, oddly enough...arctic wind from the south? So I started by heading west for 2 miles and then south for a mile and a half. Anyway, all bundled up per my previous post description of winter running gear I felt pretty good.

So when I reached the farthest south and west points of the run I really looked forward to running with the wind at my back. That was fine for the next 2.5 miles. I even flipped the face mask up.

Then a new pain, and actually it's one that crept up when I made my long run to the in-laws a few weeks ago. I've never written about this in the blog before....BUT...here's the deal, I think I made a bad choice in underwear. See, I switched to boxer briefs a few years ago and while they are very comfortable, they don't really support too well. So I think my exposure to the wind froze a couple parts of my anatomy. Like, froze. Millions of nerve endings frozen, chafing against loose fitting cotton briefs. With each stride causing more irritation. To the point of a standing fetal position, wretched in agony, to trying to walk with a glove in my pants trying to warm things up, to my bare hands cupping the area in my pants walking thru the neighborhood like a pervert.

Eventually, I warmed up enough, sort of, to manage a short jog to the BP and coerced the attendant to let me make a phone call. Fortunately he didn't speak english so he wasn't sure what he was agreeing to at first. Luckily, I was only 2 miles from home so I was able to warm up while waiting for Fun Guv to make the little trip to pick me up. I bought a PowerAde and came home for a well deserved shower.

So gents, any thoughts? Tomorrow I have a 6 mile run scheduled and temps will be in the single digits with negative wind chills. Although Fun Guv & I don't intend on having any other children, I'm not sure I want anything to freeze and fall off. Any advice?

One item though, this is man vs. nature ~ no treadmill.

I think my brain froze yesterday too as I have no thoughts regarding the Vote For Mike '08 campaign other than updating my video that got pulled from YouTube for apparent copyright infringement.

I must have "the man's" attention. Establishment pulled a video from YouTube after I used it with a voting connection. Maybe I'm just paranoid.

Thanks for reading.

So Mack tried to help with a picture for my blog Wednesday



Unfortunately, you can't see the frozen eyebrows.

This was after a 5.5 mile run on Wednesday late afternoon. I seem to have acclimated to the cold weather. My times were down in the 8:15/mile range.

New snow had fallen on Tuesday. Just a dusting, but enough to slow me down as i couldn't see icy areas under the dusting. Of yes, ice was there and the occasional slide kept my stride a little tighter than normal.

Needless to say, running in shorts may be delayed for a few weeks. Gear for this month looks like; wicking mock turtle, heavy sweatshirt, running pants, heavy long socks, double insulated-gloves, scarf, ski-cap (with a face mask).

Official Marathon training begins Monday, finally, and the forecast is somewhere in the minus(es)---that's F not C for my Canadian friends---6 miles,....piece of cake

Vote for Mike '08, update....

As yet another previously war supporting demon-crat surfaces to announce his/her plans to campaign for president.... i wonder....

....Why...., in a world where named storms crash into the Neatherlands in the winter, ....or a massive tornado rips through Florida in February, ...and oil prices soar to an all-time high again after a year of record oil company profits....

...aren't the leaders of the demon-cratic party rally-ing, around the one politician who has been warning us of the dangers with global warming, and had the guts to call out BushCo on the truth behind Iraq and its costs in lives and the economy, and already won the presidential election once? ...until big money, i mean, oil money, pulled the biggest coup in history

Vote for Mike '08, unless Al Gore decides to run, or i can talk him into being my running mate.... The best VP to never shoot his friend in the face with birdshot...

Thanks for reading

Suburban Bliss

More on the link in a paragraph or two, but first the stats...

Ran 8 miles yesterday. It was cold. I was bundled up in a big hat that had the flap down to cover my face. It SUCKED. I guess compared to last year as a beginner runner running only 1-2 miles the snow was much easier. Now, the snow seems to cause calf strain, hamstring strain, quad strain. I feel like a first time runner all over again. On the one or two occasions when someone actually plowed their sidewalk I could get into my normal stride. But that may have cause more discomfort as I had to adjust again when I reached the 3" two-track for most of my running route.



OK, Suburban Bliss...Fun Guv's favorite blog to stalk. Written by the woman that coined the phrase "Momtini" (and lives in Royal Oak, MI) was on the Today Show on Friday to discuss whether or not it's ok for a mom to have a glass of wine while at a playdate with the kids.

Didja watch it? What'd you think? C'mon go watch it! (The Today show, not the YouTube video)

Now these are the social issues that Vote for Mike '08 is based on:

~since when is being a mom babysitting?
~why is it ok for dad to sit around and watch the game while watching the kids and have a beer or two and moms can't?
~why do we perpetuate a belief that drinking alcohol is taboo & wrong instead of teaching our children about drinking responsibly by having a few drinks in front of them? (this doesn't mean allowing your kids to drink with you in the house, that's a totally different subject)
~why are women so judgemental against each other? (this is why Hillary could never win, she's a woman ~ as far as we know ~ and she'd be catty against other women)
~why does our so called left-wing, liberal media (in this case the Today Show) perpetuate a belief that stay at home moms aren't entitled to the same lunch breaks & afternoon breaks that any other professional is? My point is the Today Show used a professional, working mother who obviously works outside the home and engages in adult conversation as a counterpoint to a work out of the home, full-time professional mommy. The playing field wasn't level ~ instead of apples to apples, they used apples to oranges.
~The Today Show used a public opinion poll on ivillage.com (what a piece of crap that is) to dictate their slant for the piece.
~The Today Show also used a professional speaker to debate a writer on live TV (not really a social issue, but not really fair, a speaker is always aware of their appearance and has experience in presenting their points....a writer (in this case a blogger) has the opportunity to edit and contemplate words before hitting the publish button ~which some bloggers actually do, not so much me) Fun Guv says I have to mention that Melissa (the blogger) did very well on the show considering she was ambushed. We really don't think she's the raging alcoholic they tried to make her out to be...for the record, her husband is a marathon runner, he's run the Detroit Free Press Marathon at least twice, ergo, fitting discussion for a running blog.

OK, so, not the complete platform, but just a general level playing field philosophy that Vote for Mike '08 is based on. Remember it's a grassroots effort, write in only. Spread the word.

More to come....

Not sure how the campaign structure will work as '08 was the year I was going to run the Canadian Death Race. Maybe this is just a distraction to avoid actually training for 125K uphill, across rivers, being chased by bears in the middle of the night.

Thanks for reading and for your vote.

"In Cold Blood"

Weird coincidence, but that's the only Capote book i've ever read. What does this have to do with my running blog? Not much, well not anything but it's a good read. Fun Guv and i just watched the movie, Capote.

Which is about the research and the changes that Truman Capote went through while researching and writing this book. i'm not trying to ruin the movie for anyone but it's not a feel good story if you haven't seen it.

Anyway, after my long run two weeks ago i took a little time away from running. Not a long time, but as marathon training starts in a few weeks, i figured it would be a good time to just work and hang with the kids. Scheduling for a family, work and training can be tough as we all know. So a week off, and i feel refreshed and ready to go.

Additionally, figuring into my running time was a recent read "Forever Peace" by Joe Haldeman.

"Forever War" is one of my favorite reads.

The Social Economic factors persued in Forever Peace seem almost prophetic when written 10 years ago. A world at war but not with individual countries, with terror cells. Many questions asked by Julian, the protaginist, are the same questions many people have today with our so called war on terror, conspiracy, etc...

It takes a little of Fiction out of the term Science Fiction.

The book also deals with a Doomsday, end of time, scenario. Which i find amusing as the End of Time clock folks have decided to move the doomsday clock forward two minutes. Mildly amusing as i read the book of fiction and learned that in reality, due to environmental issues and the expanding development of nuclear weapons, we now sit at 11:55 pm.

When i actually read the phrase "Mission Accomplished" in the book, again written 10 years ago.... i had to put it down and laugh....

Which brings me to yesterdays guest post my my bride, the fun guv. Cause she was tired of me not updating she gave a nudge to push me to a brain dump. And i am, cause if you are still reading, i'm getting to a point. ......i hope.

The time spent running has allowed me to spend a lot of time inside my head. So as i look at the democratic candidates for the next presidential election, i wonder....

why bother, they all now hate the war yet are unwilling to do anything to bring the troops home. Somebody please define "Victory" stop throwing the word around like it's a baseball game.

none are willing to take a stand with regards to illegal immigration, i don't believe any americans have lost jobs to unregistered immigrants, americans lose jobs to american companies sending their jobs across borders.

i live in a state with the 2nd highest unemployment 7.1% and growing as pfizer just announced 2500 Michigan jobs going away. Although they posted 12 billion in earnings.... And the unemployment doesn't count the automotive buyouts and the upcomming buyouts in the next 6 months.

i live in the highest foreclosure metropolitan area. Foreclosures tripled in Macomb County last year to 1 in 39 homes in the county, per Detroit Free Press 1/25/2007. Oakland County, 1 in 68, and Wayne (Detroit) 1 in 21.

With foreclosures, property values in Michigan have the largest decrease in the country for 2006.

[[: Property taxes keep going up, again causing more people to miss tax payments due to unemployment, causing more tax liens and more foreclosures, lowering values, :]]

So anyway....i've had it with the liars and cheats and big money and adulterers and the fleecing of the american way of life i have always cherished....

Vote for Mike '08 ( i think "i like mike" was a little old fashioned)

it'll be the biggest write-in in history.

i figure i can't do a worse job than anyone else.... (how's that for an honest campaign slogan?)

Vote for Mike '08

thanks for reading, and for your vote