Monday, December 26, 2011

Men are Happier (not running related)

SOME DAYS ARE DIAMONDS...SOME DAYS ARE STONES.. 
WHY MEN ARE SELDOM DEPRESSED: 
Men Are Just Happier People -- 
What do you expect from such simple creatures? 
Your last name stays put.. 
The garage is all yours. 
Wedding plans take care of themselves. 
Chocolate is just another snack. 
You can be President. 
You can never be pregnant. 
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. 
You can wear NO shirt to a water park. 
Car mechanics tell you the truth. 
The world is your urinal.. 
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom 
because this one is just too icky. 
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. 
Same work, more pay. 
Wrinkles add character. 
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. 
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. 
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. 
One mood all the time. 
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. 
You know stuff about tanks. 
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. 
You can open all your own jars. 
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. 
If someone forgets to invite you, 
He or she can still be your friend. 
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. 
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.. 
You almost never have strap problems in public. 
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.. 
Everything on your face stays its original color.. 
The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. 
You only have to shave your face and neck. 
You can play with toys all your life. 
One wallet and one pair of 
shoes -- one color for all seasons. 

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.. 
You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. 
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. 
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives 
On December 24 in 25 minutes. 
No wonder men are happier. 
Send this to the women who can handle it 
And to the men who will enjoy reading it. 
Men Are Just Happier People 
NICKNAMES 
· If Sheila, Candy and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Sheila, Candy and Sarah. 
· If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman . 
EATING OUT 
· When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.. 
· When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators. 
MONEY 
· A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs. 
· A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale. 
BATHROOMS 
· A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel. 
· The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items. 
ARGUMENTS 
· A woman has the last word in any argument. 
· Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument. 
FUTURE 
· A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband. 
· A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife. 
MARRIAGE 
· A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't. 
· A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does. 
DRESSING UP 
· A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail. 
· A man will dress up for weddings and funerals. 
NATURAL 
· Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.. 
· Women somehow deteriorate during the night. 
OFFSPRING 
· Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams. 
· A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.. 
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY 
A married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing! 
SO, send this to the women who have a sense of humor and who can handle it .... and to the men who will enjoy reading it..

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Guest Blog Post

I was asked by my Dailymile, Facebook, and Google + friend Jennifer Luitwieler to do a guest article for her blog about "Why I Run".  I hesitated at first, but then thought why not.  I have a pretty decent story.  For your reading pleasure, here is the original article.



Why I Run
Jennifer asked me to share with you all why I run.  Though we’ve never actually met, Jennifer and I ‘friends’ on Dailymile and Google + and now Facebook.   I enjoy following her posts on DM and reading her writings.
Unlike many people I see posting on Dailymile, this whole thing called running was foreign to me.  I was never an athlete before running.  As a youth, I grew up on a farm and sports weren’t something I had the pleasure of pursuing.   I remember one year trying to go out for track.  I participated in shot-put and discus.  I eventually had to quite as my only transportation was my horse.  Yes, you heard correctly, my horse.
Anyway, how did running come into my life?  In order to tell you, I have to give you some background.  I was in the Air Force for 22 years.  I remember once back in the late 70s trying to take up running as a fitness routine.  It didn’t ‘take’.  I was able to run/walk my annual fitness 1.5 mile test every year and that was it.  Back in 2006, I was surprised by an early Christmas present.  On Dec 14th, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  At 49 years old, I was devastated.  After sitting down with my family and considering all my options, I finally settled on a complete prostatectomy.  At my fairly young age, it seems like the only logical option.  On July 16th (yes, 6 months later), I underwent the procedure.   
Now how does that relate to running?  Well, during my lengthy recover time, I put on a considerable amount of weight.  In fact, I ballooned up to 250lbs.  Considering I should weigh around 190lbs, I was extremely overweight; however, I was limited in what I could do.  My body had to heal.  The prostatectomy is a pretty invasive procedure.  I won’t get into everything, but let’s just say there were things that had to get better before I could strain or exert myself in a number of ways.  In January of 2009, a year and a half post surgery, I decided to test the body.  I went to a gym and asked if I could try things out.  If my body cooperated, I’d join.  Well it did, so I joined.   I was 50 years old!
After a month of going to the gym, my son approached me about running with him.  He had played freshman football in the fall and wanted to stay in shape.  I was starting to feel good about myself and thought why not.  Why not give this thing called running a shot.  The next morning, we got up at 5am.  We did our stretching and then headed out.  I no sooner got around the corner and I had to stop.  Seriously, I couldn’t make it around the corner to my neighbor’s house without having to stop?  Anyway, I keep going and probably stopped 3 or 4 more times before finally stopping back at the house.  How far was my first run?  One mile!  Yep, one whole mile! 
We did this a few more times that week until my son’s football coach told him he was an offensive player and he didn’t want him running.  Well, there went my running partner.  By then, however, I was beginning to think to myself that I could do this thing called running.  For the next couple weeks, I continued to run this one mile.  I was very determined.   In fact, during this time, my work started a “Fitness Challenge” and I decided to join up.
I kept up the running and before long I was able to run the whole mile without stopping.  Before I knew it, I was venturing out to other streets.  I remember at one point, my knees really started to bother me.  I wondered whether I was going to be able to continue.  I was really getting into this running thing and I seriously didn’t want to stop.  So what did I do?  Well duh, I prayed!  Yep, I prayed to the Lord to let me continue running.  And He did! Before I knew it, I was able to remove all those silly braces I was wearing.  I even went out and had my gait analyzed and bought a good pair of running shoes.  I was slowly becoming a runner. 
Over the next few months my running continued to progress.  When the end of the school came in late May, I was lucky enough to win the “Fitness Challenge”.  I had gone from 250lbs down to 203lbs!  At that point, I was probably running around 15 to 20 miles a week.  I was officially addicted.  I remember being at a restaurant one night with my wife and her looking at me and saying “you’re thinking about running aren’t you?”  I asked how she knew and she said my body wouldn’t stop moving.  At that point I knew I WAS a runner! 
The only thing missing by this time was running a race.  I don’t remember who it was that suggested I run a 5K, but in Oct 09 I signed up for and ran my first 5K race.  Like they say, the rest is history.  I have run almost 100 different distance races since then.  I have my first full marathon scheduled for Sep 2012. 
Why do I run?  I run to be healthy, I run to be fit, I run because I can!  I AM a runner!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Fat Burning Workouts

What is better: cardio, resistance, or cardio with resistance?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-greenfield/fat-burning_b_1154259.html?ref=health-and-fitness&ir=Health%20and%20Fitness

Running Terms Made Sexier?

This a good read.

http://www.runaddicts.net/start-to-run/nerdy-running-terms-made-sexier

Thanks to my DM friend Jason for posting this on his blog.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Pace Calculator

Runner's World simple pace calculator.

http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/pacecalculator/0,7823,s6-238-277-398-0,00.html

Heart Rate

It is important to keep tabs on your heart rate, however, in order to do that, you need to some baseline information. There are many websites that can help you determine that.  I found this one and thought it had the basics.

http://www.cchs.net/health/health-info/docs/0900/0984.asp?index=5508

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Make it to the Line Recap

Best Race Shirt Ever!

I look forward to this race every year. You never quite know what the weather will end up bring on race day.  I had been watching the weatherman the last few days and it looked like it had a chance of being a nice day.  There was a 20% chance of rain though.

This race has a start time of 10AM.  Something I appreciate since I live about an hour away from the race.  Got up early and headed out to be there around 8:30.  As you know if you read my race reports, you know I like being to my races early.  Anyway, it was a bit overcast when I headed out.  In fact, I think I noticed a little bit of sprinkling, but as anyone who lives in Florida near the beaches knows, the weather in one place has little effect on the weather in another.  It was a bit chilly, but the weather ended up being perfect for morning run.  The sun even came up right at start time.

Me, Kelly, Griffin, Patrick, and Teresa
We had a Dailymile meet-up at the race too.  I got to meet Kelly M. and Griffin P. for the first time.  Both great people.  I just love my DM friends.  Also made 3 new running friends.  Patrick Willi and his wife Teresa Hess and Anna Hallex.  Patrick and Teresa are both PRA members and in our Grand Prix (which I run).  Anna, I come to find out is one of the areas best runners.  I though I had heard that name before.  I hope to have all 3 of them on DM pretty soon.

2nd AG
Anyway, on with the race.  I knew as soon as I got up, that my hamstring was, or could be, a problem. That really bummed me out since I usually do well at this race.  1st in AG the past 2 years.  I didn't feel real confident that I was going to be able to "run".  I even told Kelly that I would hang back with her and run at her pace.  The race got off without any problems.  I was hanging back with Kelly.  Now I had skipped my usual warm-up run because of the sore hammy, so essentially, this was the first test of the leg. To my surprise, it wasn't bothering me much at all.  I stayed back at a slow pace for about 3 or 4 minutes, but then found myself slowing picking up the pace and passing people.  I say Patrick and Teresa up ahead and set my sights on them.  By the time I reached them, I was feeling fine.  I pushed on past them and settled into a pace around 7:50.  I continued to pass runner after runner until around the 2 1/2 mile point were I came up on a young lady I had been trying to catch.  She was beginning to struggle a bit so I told her to press on.  She stayed with me until about 3 1/4 miles and then dropped back.  There was one more person in front that I wanted to catch, but by then my legs were tired and I was starting to 'feel' the hamstring.  It wasn't bad, but it prevented me from pushing hard to the finish.  I ended up about 40 seconds behind the guy with a finishing time of 31:35.  About a minute slower then last year.  Considering I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to run, I was elated.  The time resulted in 3rd in my age group, but 2nd for awards since the first guy won the Grand Master award.  Not too bad!

The DM crew and our new friends Patrick and Teresa hung out for the awards and we were fortunate that 3 of us were able to place.  I have to say, this ended up being one of my best race experiences ever.  Funny how the company can change how you feel! Thanks guys!!!
Kelly and I

Well my friends, as always, remember, "Real athletes run!  All others just play games!"


Saturday, December 10, 2011

PRA Cross Country Trail Run Recap

I could do an entire blog just on my job these past few months!  My goodness!  The life of a school technology coordinator!

Anyway, I'm here and I want to talk briefly about my last race.  The PRA (Pensacola Runners Association) Cross Country Train Run put on by the University of West Florida Cross Country team.  For me, this is the first trail race of the season.  One of my favorite races.  As with most trail races, at least around here, there aren't many people that run this race.  Usually around 50 runners.  This time was no different.

It was a brisk morning with the temps somewhere in the mid to high 40s.  Perfect for a run actually.  Did my usual mile warm and then waited patiently for the race to start.  I thought I noticed more 'little' people then usual (kids) for this race, so I wanted to be sure to get up front.  I don't usually take off like a rocket, so I had to be sure to get some distance between me and the kids.  If you have ever run with young kids, you know why!

The race starts in a small field and then heads up into the woods after about 75 to 90 yards.  I managed to get in front of most of the kids, but not all.  Once we got in the woods, I found myself behind a young boy and his mom.  Lisa F. (from Dailymile and a local friend of mine) was in front of me and the son and mom in front of her.   Our pace was slowed way down.  I didn't check my Garmin because on a trail run, you want to keep your eyes on the trail.  Nothing worse then taking a tumble on a trail run (which btw, I have done a few times).  At one point, Lisa managed to dart past them.  The path narrowed quickly, so there wasn't time for me to get past them as well.  I had to wait a minute or two more before the path opened up enough for me to get past.  Once pace them, I settled into a pretty good pace.  This course is a steady up hill for 3/4 of a mile.  Then you get a nice steep downhill that goes past the original point of entry.  We then loop back up the hill for the second loop.  The second loop is longer and has a pretty steep uphill.  By the time I reached this point, I was plum tired!  Legs were definitely burning.  I have to admit, I slowed to a walk a couple of times going up the last big climb.  The nice thing about that last hill is that you get to go down.  I relished the downhill.  It gave me a chance to make up some of the time I lost on the uphill.  I got to the original point of entry and then there was another 100 yards to the finish.  I pushed myself as best I could on some worn out legs.  I crossed the finish line at at time of 25:13.  Not too bad.  You never know how it is going to go on a trail run.  Some say you can usually expect a minute or more slower time on a trial then on a road race.  My time would indicate that is true.

The after party was nice.  The UWF cross country team does a great job with the help of the PRA.  It was a good time spent socializing with the local runners and meeting new people.  I actually got to know the mom and her son that were in front of me at the start pretty well.  She is one of the leaders in our Grand Prix series which I manage.  Her and I are now friends on Facebook.  That is one of the things I love about running, the people.  I am constantly meeting new runners and making new friends.

Me and a pretty girl! 
Anyway, I digress.  The awards were wonderful as always.  I wasn't sure how my time would fair.  I didn't notice who was in my age group and on a trail run, it's hard to see who is in front of you.  Lisa ended up taking Grand Master, my new friend Angela took 1st in her AG and her son took 2nd.  Numerous other friends did well in their age groups also.  Me, well, I ended up taking 3rd in my AG.  No idea who the guy was the took first, but the guy that took 2nd is one of my major challengers.

All in all, another fun,successful race!  As always my friends, remember, "Real athletes run, all others just play games"!

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Pensacola Beach Jingle Bell Run for Arthritis - 28 Nov

One of my favorite races of the year.  One that is very special to me.  As a sufferer of 2 arthritic conditions, I appreciate all the the Arthritis Foundation does.  This is also my first 10K of the racing season.  There have been years where the weather was a bear for this race.  Not this year.  The weather was about perfect.  Perfect for the beach anyway.  If you have read my race reports before, you know that the wind on these beach runs can be brutal.  It might not have been brutal this year, but the winds were pretty strong still.


The race got off on time at 7:30.  Since this was a 10K, I wanted to keep my pace around an 8 min mile.  I managed to keep this going until about the the 5th mile.  The winds had kicked my butt!  I usually don't stop on a 10K, but I did on this one.  And not once, but twice.  This ended up being one of my worse 10K ever. The worst one in a couple of years for sure.  I'm sure it didn't help that I had just ran a hard 5K only 2 days earlier.  Anyway, I finished at 53:25.  Good enough for 3rd place in my age group.  That was a complete surprise.  However, I was benefited by 2 of the runners in my age group winning the Master and Grand Master awards.  Hey, I'll take it!  LOL

Pensacola Beach Turkey Trot Recap - 26 Nov

My first #1 Race!

Nothing better then to run a race Thanksgiving morning.  Good way to pre-burn some calories.  This was the first ever beach Turkey Trot.  They were rasing funds for "Communities Caring for Christmas".  Participants were also asked to bring one new toy for "Toys for Tots". Both very good causes!

Marianne C from Dailymile
I also got to meet another local Dailymile member.  Marianne C. stopped by to congratulate all the runners she knew that were running the race.

Interesting note.  There is another Turkey Trot at Seville, downtown Pensacola. I heard rumor that some attorney was upset with this group for naming their race a turkey trot.  I say whatever, this area is big enough for two turkey trots.  Even more so considering this one was actually on Thanksgiving day and at a totaly different location.  That said, let's get to the race.

The race had a late start time of 8:30 which I appreciated.  I was glad not to have to get up too early on Thanksgiving morning.  Since this was a first time ever run for this group, I was curious to see how things would go.

First off, they only expected about 50 to 75 runners.  By race start time, they had closer to 300.  That should tell you right there how things might go.  They had no official time keepers and that usually means trouble. The race off on time.  They have lots of races at the beach and they used one of the usual routes.  They only problem was they started at the wrong place and ended up making the route a tad short.  Not a really biggie.

The weather was really nice, except we had a pretty strong wind East/South wind.  It had to be gusting over 20 MPH at times.  There were times when it felt like I wasn't even moving.  Pretty normal actually for the beach.  Seems every race they have there, the wind is killer.

Wind and all, I finished with a pretty good time of 24:01. Not a PR, but a dang good pace nonetheless.  Here's where the part about being a first time race comes into play.  After hanging out and congratulating many of the finishers as I always do, I made my way to where the awards were taking place.  I walked over to the table and noticed there were not many awards there.  Come to find out, they had the age groups set at 10 year intervals and not 5.  I hate that!  And, and here's the kicker, they were only awarding awards to the winner of each age group and not the top 3.  And yes, there is more. They stopped at 50 and awarded a winner in a 50+ age group.  Needless to say, I was pissed.  Why diss on the old people you know?  Oh and they didn't have a Master, Grand Master, or Senior Grand Master award either.  What really made me mad was that I ran a fast race and would have done pretty good in my age group had it been a 'normal' race.  Oh well, maybe they'll do better next time if they do it again.  If they make some changes, I'll be there with bells on.

The turkey after I told him he was going in the over!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I got a picture with the turkey too.  Yeah I know he looks more like a chicken, but hey, what can you say, he tried.

As always my friends, remember, "Real athletes run, all others just play games!"

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Sorry!

I have not posted in a bit over a week.  Work has simply nuts!  I have been running and have been racing.  I'll post recaps of both my races in the next couple days!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Seeds of Hope 5K Community Walk


This walk was held to honor all those that have lost their lives to suicide and to bring awareness about depression.  We walked in honor of our son Brandon who lost his life to suicide on May 27, 2009.  We miss him terribly!  The weather was terrible!  It started to rain as soon as we got there.  That really affected the number of people that showed up.  I honestly thought they would have had a big crowd.

They did a pretty good job with the event.  Like the title says, it was suppose to be a 5K walk.  They ended up stopping at 2 1/2 miles.  I'm sure the rain was the cause.   We walked as a family and in honor of Brandon!

That's was what the event was all about anyway!  We love you Brandon!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

In marathon training, the long run is overrated!

Stolen from the "RunKeeper" blog!

http://blog.runkeeper.com/running-training/the-marathon-long-run-is-overrated

Posted on  by Jeff Gaudette

Update

Been a pretty busy work week so far.  Not much time for blogging. That said, my running and workouts have been going on as usual.  Been at the gym every day this week. Racking up the miles on the bike and the recumbent and my usual 3 to 5 miles on the TM.

I get a lot people commenting about me running on the treadmill when I live in Florida. They think that just because I live here, I should be running outside all the time.  That would be nice if it were always possible.  First, I am still struggling with getting up for early morning runs!  I use to get up at 5 AM every morning and hit the streets.  I just can't make myself do that anymore.  So, I have a routine where I go to the gym every workday after work.  I am able to get my cardio on the bike and the treadmill and also my weight training.  It is just easier.   Yes, I love to run outside and yes, I do it when I can.

No race this coming Saturday.  My family and I will be attending the "Seeds of Hope" community walk at our local college.  It is a walk to bring awareness to suicide.  Some of you may know that we lost a son 2 1/2 years ago to suicide.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Hog Trot 5K - Race Recap

Wasn't sure how this race was going to go.  I did run 11.11 miles yesterday.  When I went out on my warm up pace, I knew straight up that my legs were toast.  I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to be able to run a decent time on this race.

I meet up with Karly.  It was her second race.  She had been dealing with an ankle injury, so we weren't sure how she would fair.  Well, she did great.  She set a new PR too!  Yay Karly!

The race went off on time and I set out to push my way through my sore legs.  I was able to keep a consistent pace throughout this entire race.  And to my amazement, I was able to keep that pace under an 8-min mile.  The second half of this race is a steady incline to just about the 2.8 or 2.9 mile point.  There was a time or two that I caught my pace slowing down to just over 8/m pace.  That steady uphill was killing my sore legs.  I put my head down and pushed harder.  I was able to get my pace back under the 8/m pace.  Once I made the last turn towards the finish, all I wanted to do get the best time I could.  When I saw the clock at the finish, I knew I couldn't break 24, but I knew I could bread 24.30.  As usual, I sprinted to the finish line finishing at 24.24.  I was very pleased with my time considering my very tired legs.

But here's the kicker.  When the results started to post, I checked to see what my official time was.  My time was 24.24 like I said, but my division place was 7th.  7th out of 9.  I was in shock!  7th?  How the hell?  I finished 42 out of 269. Not bad right?  This was the strangest race I have ever run as far as age group placement.  There were some fast older runners out there.  The top 4 AG placers ran under 22:30!  That's amazing to say the least!

While I was definitely disappointed that I didn't place, I am happy with my time.  Like they say, you can't place in all of them.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Veterans Day - 11.11 on 11.11.11

Today's run was dedicated to all those that have served this country.  Those men and women that have dedicated their lives to protect the freedom we enjoy!  God bless them all.


http://www.dailymile.com/people/stevemilller/entries/10928657

Sunday, November 6, 2011

No Race Report Report

Abbie Miller
No race this weekend.  Saturday was my daughter's last cheerleading competition. Hopefully next year she will be a high school cheerleader.  It was a very long day!  But well worth it.  Her squad took 1st in their division and then went on to win the Overall Grand Champion award.  We are so proud of her and her whole squad.  Coaches and trainers too!

I did run this past week.  Got my usual miles in at the gym and street running yesterday and today.  I got a 4.6 mile run in Saturday and today I got a awesome 9.52 mile run done.  Today's run was one of those runs where you feel great.  The weather was perfect!  I felt strong from the start.  I didn't really think about my time.  Didn't take my Garmin with me.  I just wanted to run a nice, steady, easy run.  But like I said, I felt strong right off.  There was a slight ache in my right inner tight, but I just concentrated on my stride and keep going.  It really didn't bother me much at all.  I went out on one of my usual routes.  I knew that way if I was feeling good, I could pick a neighborhood or two and add some miles.  I also knew that if I wasn't feeling it, I could skip that and just head to the house.  But remember what I said?  I felt strong so I added a couple extra neighborhoods and ended up getting just over 9 1/2 miles.  If it wasn't for a birthday party we had to get to, I'd have added a bit more and got an even 10.

I love runs like this.  Unfortunately, they don't happen all the time. Just everyone once in a while.  Cherish them when they do happen.  With a run like this, you sorta lose yourself in the run.  I had my iPod and had it set to a local country station.  They were doing the usual countdown, so I had some good tunes to chill out to.  As I mentioned earlier, the weather was great.  Not too cold.  A bit windy out of the East, but not bad at all.  One thing about the wind, you usually get a nice tailwind also to cancel out the headwind.  That was the case today.

Oh, I took my "Simply Hydration Bottle" with me on this run.  I thought I'd stop for a drink around mile 4 or 5.  But you know what?  I'm one of those stubborn runners that doesn't like to stop.  No matter what, I hate stopping.  I had such a good rhythm on this run, I didn't want to interrupt it you know what I mean?  Well, sure enough.  I got to around mile 4 or 5 and just keep on running.  I told myself I'd stop up the road a bit around mile 6 or 7.  Nope, didn't stop then either.  LOL   Was just feeling too damn good!  I ended up running the entire time without using the damn bottle.  What's up with that?  What is SO bad about stopping to get a damn drink?  Is this just me or do other runners do this?  I wonder!  Seriously though, had I been dying of thirst, I'd have stopped for some water!

As always, remember "Real athletes run, all other just play games!"

Found this Interesting

http://prsfitlive.com/2011/11/06/3-unconventional-ways-to-dominate-your-running-form/

Monday, October 31, 2011

Monster Dash Recap

This was the first year for this race.  Proceeds from the race benefit the Andy Mac Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization that serves local Ducheene Muscular Dystrophy affected families to help create times of happiness through integration, activities, opportunities and support.  It also supports those who reach out to touch the lives of those with disabilities by sponsoring scholarships through Milton High School.  The Andy Mac Foundation has awarded 9 scholarships since 2009. 


The organizers expected about 30 participants. They got more like 100!  Due to the expected small turn out, they only had awards for the top 3 male and female finishers.  According to the race director, they just didn't think enough people would show up.  There were pleasantly surprised.  I was told that they would definitely have age group awards next year.  


When I run in a smaller race like this, I have an easier time judging who my competition is.  That wasn't the case with this race.  Knowing that I wasn't competing against anyone made it harder to concentrate.  I am very competitive!  I have to be honest, I even had thoughts of skipping the race.  I know right?  What the hell was I thinking?  Anyway, the smarter me talked me out of that stupid idea.  


The race director must have told us at least 5 times that it was a good route and that we would enjoy it.  Well, I don't know about enjoying it.  We started on the school track and then headed out the gate to the street.  Within 3 minutes, we were faced with a pretty big uphill.  That lasted til about the first half mile.  We had a small downhill and then right back to another uphill.  That finished the first mile.  The next couple miles was winding in out and out of neighborhoods and then a run through the local cemetery.  The final 3/4 mile had it's own character.  There was a long steady uphill and then the route finished by going into the parking lot.  That meat going up a very steep hill and continuing to the track.  There you had a small downhill side walk and onto the track itself to the finish line.


The hills really slowed me down.  I had a hard time keeping my pace under 8 minutes per mile.  I have to admit though, I really enjoyed the finish on the track.  I never ran track in school and I took the opportunity to sprint my way to the finish line.  I stopped my Garmin at 24:07.  Not bad considering my lack of motivation at the start and the hills.

While I was feeling pretty good about my time, I again looked at my Garmin.  That's when I noticed the distance.  The route was .1 mile short.  Add that into the equation and the time wasn't very good at all.  In fact, it came out to over an 8 min/mile pace.  Definitely not my best time for a 5K.  Like I said though, the hills were pretty tough.  Something I'll have to work on next time.  Yes, they'll be a next time!  I'll definitely do the race again.  Of course, they'll have to fix the course and add age group placements.  



Oh and I was able to run with one of my teachers from school.  Katie Huggins, one of our art teachers, knew the one of the organizers.  Here is a picture of Katie and I just after she finished.


Katie and I
Well, that wraps up another race report.


As always, remember "Real athletes run, all others just play games!"




Ok, you all have to check this video out! Funny as hell!!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Garcon Point Bridge Run Recap

Not the best shirt ever! The color - yuck!
Once again, the Santa Rosa Education Association put on a great race.  I should point out that they use volunteers for all aspects of the race.  They do not have a race director.  Volunteers from the organizations that benefit from the race organize the whole thing from beginning to end.  And I have to say they do an awesome job!  Here is a link to their website:  http://www.santarosa.k12.fl.us/sref/index.htm

This is my second time running this race and I will probably keep it as an annual event.  For one, I live in Santa Rosa County and my children go to school here and, well, like I said, it is a great race!

The temperature was just about perfect.  Probably in the high 40s or low 50s.  This is a one-way race.  You take a bus from the Lowe's parking lot in Gulf Breeze to the toll booth on the norht end of the bridge.  Then you get to run back for 4.8 miles with 3 miles over the water!  Like I said, this is a great race.  There is the usual 'hump' like you have in just about all bridges and a small, and I mean small, downhill just before the finish.  As long as you don't get a strong headwind, it's a good run.  One you can PR in if you are running good.

I got the the bus area early like I always do.  I'm not one of those runners that can show up 30 minutes or less before a race and then off we go.  No, I have to get there early so I can calm the nerves and get my warm up run and stretches done.  So, like I said, I got there early.  The start time for the race was 7:30.  I got on the bus at about 6:30.  By the time they took off, we got to the start at about 6:45.

This is where things got a bit interesting.  Like I have mentioned before, I like to get a good mile warm up before my runs.  This time was no different.  After I got done with my stretches and the usual potty stop, I headed out for my warm up run.  Now I don't know if I have mentioned this before on this blog, but I have asthma.  It is pretty much controlled and I don't have to use an inhaler often.  However, the cold is a good trigger for an attack as well as nerves.  I usually take a couple puffs of my inhaler before every race.  For those races like this one where I have to take a bus to the start, I use the inhaler before I board the bus.  Well, this time I forgot.  So, combine the nerves and the cold, and bam, asthma attack.  I probably hadn't gone a 1/4 mile when I started to wheez (sp).  Not bad mind you, but wheezing none the less.  I actually considered getting on one of the busses and going back to use my inhaler.  I didn't!

I got my warm up mile done, got back to the start and relaxed a bit before the race.  We did the anthem and then we were off.  Like I said earlier, this is a 4.8 mile race.  I didn't want to start off too fast and not be able to finish strong.  I keep my pace around 7:45.  First mile, no problems.  Was holding a steady pace.  Had a young lady about about the same pace and her and I stayed together for about a mile or so.  Right around the 2nd mile, I started to feel heavy in the chest.  I could really hear my breathing.  The wheezing was worse then it had been on the warm up.  Oh and this just happened to be a time when I was running with no music.  Perfect right?  NOT!

At around mile 3 I started to get a little worried. I mean I could still breath and all, but I keep thinking that I still had almost 2 miles to go and if it got worse, I was in trouble.  I pushed on.  I tried to keep my breathing consistent.  I couldn't really draw in a big gulp of air, so I was breathing at a more shallow level.  You know, just like you would do if you 'couldn't breath'!  LOL  I manged to get up and over the 'hump' in the bridge and that left me with just a little over a mile to the finish.  I knew then that I was going to be able to finish, I just wasn't sure how strong I could finish.  I push it as hard as I could and finished at 38.57.  Just about a minute slower then last year.  Not bad, but considering the weather conditions and the course, I really wanted to PR this race.  The asthma put an end to that.

Fatma and I
My son's best friend's mom  started running a few months ago and she was at this race also.  I got the news photographer to get this picture of us just after she finished.

The after party for this race is awesome.  Probably the only time that you will see 250 people eating huge hamburgers for breakfast (not me, I passed on the hamburgers).  I placed 2nd in my AG last year and honestly thought I had a chance of placing this year.  Alas, it was not to be.  I placed 4th.  Only 30 some seconds behind the 3rd place finisher.  I'm very competitive and this bothered me to no end.  Of the 3 people that placed in the top, I didn't recognize a single one of them.  Unusual considering I race just about every weekend.  You can be rest assured that I will pay closer attention to those around me next time.  I know I could have pushed hard enough to have caught that guy!  LMAO

Anyway, overall it was a good race.  I managed to finish without have to cross the finish line in an ambulance!

As always my friends, remember "Real athletes run, all the rest just play games"!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Monday, October 17, 2011

Run for the Reef Recap

This was my first time doing this race and I can tell you right now that I'll do it again next year.  Before I recap the race, I have to talk about my achilles.

Last week, Wednesday I think, I noticed some tenderness in my left achilles.  Not pain, but definitely discomfort.  Since I was racing Saturday, I decided to not do any running on Thursday or Friday.  I got my cardio on the recumbent and elliptical.

Best Shirt Ever!
Ok, now for the race.  What can I say, this was a great race.  Not really sure why I didn't do it last year, but I can assume it was a conflict with another race.  The weather was perfect.  Well, maybe not perfect, but a heck of a lot better then if it had been hot.  I think the temp was in the high 50s or low 60s.  It was a 7:30 race, so I got there about 6:30.   I like to get to my races early so that I can relax and get my warm up in.  My warm up went really good.  I felt pretty strong and the foot didn't bother me.

The race got off late, but got off none the less.  I always hate that because I'm ready to run and then I have to wait.  I felt strong like I said, so I had a good pace going at the start.  I steadily pasted runner after runner.  At about the end of the second mile, I felt like I was slowing down a bit.  I had to push harder then I was expecting.  By the end of the third mile, I was pushing hard.  I knew my pace had slowed some.  I sprinted as fast as I could to finish the last tenth of a mile.  I crossed the finish line at 24:22.  Not a bad time, but honestly I thought I would was going to do better.  It was flat out and back course.  One that I was hoping to PR on.  Oh well, my time was still good.


Best Award Ever!
I got to meet Karly from Dailymile and her family.  It's great meeting my friends from DM!  This was her first race ever!  She did great BTW!  Her and her family stayed around to see how I did.  The only negative about the race was that they didn't post the results anywhere.   It's not a BAD thing, but I'd like to know how I did in case I had to leave.  Anyway, they stayed around and I didn't disappoint.  I ended up with 1st in my age group.  Yay me!  Oh and they had the best, hands down, award ever

While the race was a complete success, my achilles wasn't.  It was really giving me problems as I left the post party.  Going down the stairs hurt.  I took Sunday as a complete rest day and will not run on it for a couple more days.  I have a 4.8 mile race Saturday and have to be ready.

As always my friends, remember, 'Real athletes run, all the rest just play games'!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Tiger Trot Update and other stuff

WOW, what a crazy week!  Between work, working out, church, and now school, my days are full!  I'm still crazy busy at work.  With all the online testing going on school, my work days have been very busy.  As the technology coordinator, online testing takes up a lot of my time.  I also started a technology class at Pensacola State College.  I was offered training in 3 tech classes for free through a grant.  They are "Security +", "Network +", and "A+".  To top that off, they called me last week and asked if I wanted to take a 3 day cert class on VMware.  Yep, it's free too!  So I said sure.  And of course, I still go to the gym everyday.  We can't forget Wednesday church either.  Oh and I asked my church if I could start a running club and I was given the go ahead last Wednesday.  Can't wait to see who signs up!  That will take up my time Tuesday evenings!

Ok, enough about why I haven't been posting.  Now on to this past Saturday's race, the Tiger Trot to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Pensacola.  This is my 3rd time running this race.  It offers a 10K and a 5K.  Last year and this year, I signed up for the 10K.  It was my first 10K of this season.  The weather was great.  A bit breezy, but cool too!  What runner doesn't like the cooler temps right?  The crowd wasn't as big as last year, but I think they had about 4 other races going on in the local area.  All in all, still a decent group.  This race is put on by the GE Volunteers.  As in years past, they did a great job.  The route was well marked and there were plenty of volunteers at the turns.  The route is fairly flat for the most part.  There's one hill at about 5.25 miles.  Just enough to force you to dig down deep to finish strong.  I pushed myself a bit too much for this being my first 10K of the season.  I keep a 8-minute pace for the first 5 miles. But that last 1.2 miles was tough.  I ended up stopping twice before the finish.  Not for long, but just long enough to get my legs back under me.  I pushed up that dang hill and then had just under a half mile to finish.  There was this lady that I had been running with for just about the whole race with me and she's like, "come on, you can do it!".  I tried, but I had to stop one more time.  Then I gathered my strength and pushed my way to the finish.  I crossed the line at 51:48.  Just about a minute and a half slower then last year.  Considering I stopped twice, I was completely satisfied with that time.

Emily and I after receiving our awards!  All smiles!
I got to meet 2 more of my Dailymile friends.  I meet Emily and Jennifer.  Great ladies.  They both were running their first 10Ks.  So proud of them.  Both Emily and I placed in our age groups.  Emily got 3rd in her group and I was fortunate enough to get 2nd in mine.  This race does the 10 year age groups (which I hate by the way) and I finished behind Gary Lambert just like I did last year.  The medals were awesome this year.

Well my friends, til the next time!  And remember, "Real athletes run, all the rest just place games!"

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Riverwalk Run 5K Recap

What can I say, this is one of my favorite races.  It is my inaugural race.  3 years ago I ran my first race ever at this event.  I posted a time of 28:28 that day and thought there was no way I was ever gonna get fast enough to compete in my age group.  Boy how some training and running can change things.

Last year I posted a time good enough for 2nd pace in my AG.  I wasn't sure how I would do this year.  You all know I have had some issues regarding my recent races and my times.  However, over the past couple of races my times have started to come around.  I know, I know, you all keep telling me it's the summer heat and just like every year, you are right.  When the temps start getting cooler, the times start getting better.

This race was awesome.  It actually didn't start off that way though.  After I got there and got my race packet, I was getting ready for my warm up mile and when I put my Garmin on, the dang thing would not power on.  Needless to say I was torqued.  I have come to 'need' my Garmin.  Anyway, I headed out on my warm up and made my way to the start.  This race usually has a good turn out and this year was no exception.

I had told myself that I was going to push the pace a bit on this race and see if I could break the 25 minute time I had set the last couple of races.  Without my Garmin, I wasn't sure how I was going to watch my pace.  I figured I just 'feel' my way along.

One thing I did make sure of this time was to get closer to the front of the pack.  If you remember, at my last race I was hindered by a bunch of young kids at the start.  There are a couple of hills on this race and one steady uphill in the first mile.  I looked at the runners around me and was able to keep a pretty fast and steady pace.  I could tell I was pushing it, yet I wasn't over-pushing it if you know what I mean.

Sprinting to the finish!
At around the one mile point, I could feel this person coming up behind me.  As they came up on my left, I noticed it was this young lady.  She was pretty fit and pushing a good pace.  It was as this point that I decided to go for it.  I picked up the pace just enough to stay right with her.  For the next mile and a quarter we ran pretty much side by side.   At just over two miles, she started to pull ahead of me.  I knew I was getting tired and we still had a mile to go, so I keep my pace nice and steady and kept her in my sights the rest of the way.  At the half mile mark there is a steady uphill climb.  I pushed hard to get up that and then when I made the final turn at .2 of a mile, I sprinted to the finish.   When I saw the clock was under 24 minutes, I ran as hard as I could, but there just wasn't enough time left.  I finished at 24:10.  You can see the determination in my face in this picture.

As I said, this was a great race.  My time was good enough for 2nd place in my age group for a second year in a row.  Ya me!  LOL

2nd Place AG
Oh and I did find that young lady and thank her for helping me finish with a great time. Her efforts paid off for her as well as she also won an award.

The race was a success for the local parks as well as I just read they raised over $18,000!  I can't wait to do this race again in the many years to come.

As always, remember, "Real athletes run, others just play games!"


Saturday, October 1, 2011

Garmin Forerunner 305 Reset

Here is a good video on resetting your Garmin Forerunner 305.  Good news?  It worked!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyAw-4GjUJA

Plantar Fasciitis Prevention Tips

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Plantar-Fasciitis-Prevention-Tips.htm?cmp=17-1-1352

No Time to Blog/Seafood Festival 5k Report

Work has been SO busy these past few weeks, I haven't had the time to dedicate to this blog like I need to.  I'd like to at least post something 2 or 3 times a week.  Between working, working, out, church, class, and now the running club I am about to start, I don't know how I'll have any time to dedicate to this.

None the less, I'll try to at least post my race reports.

That said, my last race was last Saturday.  It was the popular Seafood Festival 5K.  Once again, this race was downtown Pensacola.  There were about 800 runners and walkers.  This year they gave out an awesome black technical shirt.  Best one yet for this race.  Unlike the Semper Fi race the weekend before, this race brought out the speedsters.  The top runner in my AG ran it in a time of 19:11.  That's a pace you'll never see me run.  My time ended up being almost the same as the Semper Fi run, 25:14.  Good enough for 6th of 34 and 136th overall.  Not bad at all.  My goal for today is to break 25.

The temperature was definitely an improvement!  Fall is in the air!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Semper Fi Charity Run 5K

Sorry it took me so long to get this race recap posted.  Work has been just plain nuts since the beginning of school.

Anyway, great race last Saturday.  This is always a popular race around here.  In fact, this year's race set a record for participants.  Almost 1000 runners and walkers.  You can tell fall is in the air.  The weather Saturday was pretty nice.  I mean, it wasn't perfect.  It wasn't 50° or anything, but it was in the low 60s.  Awesome considering how hot it has been this summer.  I wasn't sure how it was going to go.  If you remember, my last race was the Bushwacker and it about killed me!  I had one goal in mind.  I wanted to give it my best and push a consistent pace.  And to my credit, I did just that!  I pushed a consistent pace of around an 8 minute mile.  I finished the race in 25:02.  To my surprise, good enough for 2nd place in my AG!  It seems all the runners in my age group decided not to run this race.  In fact, my time is actually about 20 seconds slower then last year.  No complaints, I like getting a bit of bling!  I have to give props to the organizers this year.  The shirt was great as usual and this year, they gave out awesome medals.

Great shirt and awesome medal!
I have been getting a fair amount of miles in each week.  Between walking, cycling, and running, I have been averaging between 55 and 80 miles a week.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been wearing a pedometer at work and like I have known for years, I put on some serious miles at work during the day.

Monday, September 12, 2011

9/11 Tribute Run

Yesterday, I dedicated my run to the victims of 9/11 and all those that have given the ultimate price to serve and protect our country.  To the thousands that have come home changed forever, either physically or mentally.  Yesterday I ran for America!

I had planned for months on running 11 miles in honor of 9/11.  I wasn't sure how it would go, but it didn't really matter.  What mattered was that I ran it.  Maybe some walking would be involved, maybe not.  Again, it didn't matter.


I carried a small American flag with me the entire run and proudly waved it at every passing vehicle.  I received many waves and honks!  It made me proud!

I can't tell you how emotional I felt while out there.  So many thoughts went through my head.  I spent 22 years of my life serving this country and I am so proud of our men and women of the armed forces.  They serve with honor and pride!  They serve because they want to!  They serve to protect our nation and our freedoms!

So the next time you pass a soldier, a sailor, a marine, or an airman, take a moment to say thanks!  Thanks for keeping me safe!

God bless the USA!