Go, you chicken fat, go away!

Congratulations to all the participants in yesterday's St. George Marathon.  I found these pictures of a couple of the bloggers as they came in to the finish.

Walter Brown took a wrong turn but luckily found his way back on course for an 11th place finish.

Jeff McClellan came in 2nd place overall.  Here he is sharing a tender moment with his pet parrot, Paulie, who provided some much needed inspiration.

Zippedy doo da!  I finally got a run in.  My calf has been feeling better, but I wanted to wait until today, just to be safe.  I did 50 sit-ups, 10 push-ups, a few jumping jacks, and hopped on the stationary bike just to loosen up.  Then I went and stretched outside while my Garmin was syncing up.  I felt good.  Then I started to run, and it felt a little tight.  I got worried, but went on anyway.  After a while it seemed to loosen up, but my ankles felt more and more tender as I went.

It was nice to be outside again.  I've been seeing more and more people out because of how cool it's been getting.  My how I've wanted to join them.  Today Never-Look-at-Me lady didn't even say good morning to me.  In fact, she stayed to the left (her left) as I ran by her.  This isn't England!  We drive in the right lane!  I also saw another new lady twice as she was pushing her stroller, and we were going opposite ways around the loop.  Ooh, and then there was this new gorgeous looking blonde that was walking with her Ipod.  But since I like older ladies, there's not much to say about her.

Time - 25:23 (avg. pace 8:28) - right where I wanted to be.

Splits - 8:18, 8:37, 8:29

Temp - 63 - beautiful

I got all decked out in my all-blue outfit; blue shoes, blue shorts, blue body armor shirt, blue Ragnar long-sleeved technical T, and blue Garmin.  I was looking pretty cute.  I wanted to do another nice and easy 3 mile run.  However, I was approaching East Village Loop North, and I saw this lady about 200 yards ahead of me.  I would have none of that.  So I picked it up a tad.  I was hoping I would catch her by East Village Loop South, but I couldn't tell if I was closing the gap or not.  She looked pretty strong.  Then she turned on 222nd St.  Oh well.  

I figure once I've seen people more than once, I can dub them a name.  So I saw Single-Stroller lady again twice today.  But this time she was running behind me on East Village Loop North, and then opposite me on East Village Loop South.  Weird.  She was wearing her Pat Tillman race shirt.  I told her I have that same shirt, but I don't think she heard me.  I also saw Interracial Couple.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that, Lyns, I'm just calling it as I see it.)  Actually I don't know if they're interracial.  From a distance the lady looks like she's Native American and the man black.  But as you get close, they look maybe Puerto Rican.  Anyway, that's the name I've chosen for them, and that's what I'll stick with.

Time - 23:16 (avg. pace 7:46)

Splits - 7:54, 7:38, 7:44

Temp - 56

Apparently I ran too hard yesterday, because I woke up pretty sore this morning.  I did some push-ups differently this morning, but it's too hard to describe and I'm sure no one cares, so I won't, 50 sit-ups, and stretched out.  While I was stretching I was thinking my calf felt 100%.  I resolved not too run as fast today.  I started to go and right away my calf felt a little stiff.  But it loosened up, and I think it's going to be okay.  Everything is going to be okay.

I didn't see any of the regulars this morning.  I'm pretty sure I saw Sis. Yarn and her daughter roller blading.  I said, "Good morning Sister Yarn." halfway under my breath just in case it wasn't her.  I saw a new gal that looked like she could out run the girl I saw yesterday.  Where are all these speedy girls coming from?

Time - 24:58 (avg. pace 8:20)

Splits - 8:31, 8:22, 8:07

Temp - 62

 On the way to work I saw Double-Stroller Lady again.  I guess she's running later in the morning now so maybe I won't see her as often.  I also saw a rainbow.  It's barely visible in this picture, but it's there.  Whenever I see a rainbow and it's not actually raining or there's no threat of rain, I get real sad.  You see, the Mormon missionaries came to our house when I was a wee lad and showed that old Church slide show I'll Build You a Rainbow.  It's about a young boy named Jamie.  His mother is about to die.  Right before she does she tells him that families are forever and she'll always be there watching over him.  He says, "How will I know?"  She say, "I'll build you a rainbow."

I found this picture of Riverton Paul who just had an incredible PR in the Saint George Marathon.  Most people wait a few days and do a recovery run.  This is what Paul likes to do.

Put your hips into it, Paul!

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I'm pretty sure I saw the blonde lady I couldn't catch from a couple of days ago.  This time she was running opposite me.  I think she might be my neighbor.  My daughter's kindergarten teacher lives about 5 houses down the road.  Apparently she was a state champ track star in hurdles back in the day.  How sad is it that I really don't know my neighbors well enough to recognize them when I see them?

Time - 46:43 (avg. pace 8:21)

Splits - 8:19, 8:16, 8:17, 8:31, 8:24, 4:56 (8:14 pace for 0.6)

Temp - 63

Dear Nan,

Today I wanted to run 10 miles, but I had to help a widow lady in our ward move at 8am, and I got out at 6:30am, so I only ran 7.

Sincerely,

Burt

P.S.  I saw Surgical-Mask Lady today.  I yelled, "On your left!", and she dramatically turned around and almost tripped over herself.  It was awesome.

I got up earlier than usual this morning because my daughter was going camping with one of her friends.  I only had time for three.  So I made it a good three.

Time - 22:51 (avg. pace 7:37)

Splits - 7:54, 7:45, 7:12

Sad news.  One of the participants of the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay was struck and killed by a drunk driver over the weekend.  More details here.

I saw a guy out running today that I haven't seen for a while.  I better name him.  I shall call him Run2day because his license plate says RUN2DAY.  He looks pretty fast.  Very friendly.  As we were passing each other I said, "Let's run today!"  I'm not sure if he heard me because he was saying, "GOOD MORNING!!" at the same time.  I think he's my new best friend.

Time - 44:12 (avg. pace 7:53)

Splits - 7:52, 7:47, 7:58, 8:01, 8:02, 4:32 (7:32 avg.)

If I had run another 0.60 miles at a 7:07 pace, I would have beat my PR in the 10k.  I'm excited about that cuz it was just a training run.

I have been so excited all day for tonight's run.  It's October.  That means everyone goes out to Schnepf's Farm for some festive fun.  In years past this means major traffic along Rittenhouse.  It has long been my fantasy to go running down Rittenhouse passing all the cars in the jam.  So as soon as I got home I changed my clothes because I was burning daylight.  2 miles out and 2 miles back.  That was the plan.  That should put me in the heart of it.  But guess what?  No more traffic other than the regular traffic.  I'm really depressed right now.

Time - 34:14 (avg. pace 8:34)

Splits - 8:31, 8:42, 8:31, 8:31 (one of these miles is not like the other...)

Temp - 73

VICTORY!!  I finally did it!

 After four attempts at running home from work, I finally made it on lucky number five.  I think the main factor in not making it on my previous attempts was the heat.  I probably could have made it last time, but it was getting so dark that it was no longer fun.  I knew I would do it today.

Miles 1 thru 3 - 8:51, 8:39, 9:00 - According to Yahoo, the temperature was 89.  A little hot, but better than the 100+ degrees that I had been starting out at in my previous attempts.  I kept telling myself not to start out too fast.  Trust Bonnie.  She knows what she's talking about.  However, my legs felt really tight.  That's kind of weird.  I only ran 4 miles yesterday at a 8:34 pace.  I began to worry if I could do it.  Then I told myself that they would loosen up.  Sure enough, at 1.7 miles they felt great.  After three miles I stopped and popped a chocolate GU.  Then I downed some Gatorade that had begun to melt.

Miles 4 thru 6 - 9:09, 9:32, 9:41 - The Gatorade bottle was now a little lighter and a little easier to hold.  I came up to the hole I fell in last time.  Since that time I've driven past it, and I always chuckle because it's such a delightful hole.  How wonderful it was that I ran right into it.  But what you can't see when you're driving is that the hole is full of large stones and concrete blocks.  How in the heck did I manage to not get hurt? I popped another GU (Vanilla) shortly after mile 6 and drank more Gatorade.  I'm still trying to figure out if they do anything for me.  I guess?  I made it home.

Miles 7 thru 9 - 9:47, 9:57, 10:19 - I saw a football game going on.  Higley High School I think.  Stinky turf.  I saw 7 bunnies.  I remembered that I always see bunnies along this stretch.  But why didn't I last time?  Oh yeah, because it was pitch black.  Between miles 8 and 9 I saw the foundations and first tier of some new electrical poles that "they" are putting in.  I wondered if the poles were there last time, and I didn't see them in the dark.  Probably not.  I would have ran right into at least one. I knocked on each one as I ran by.

Miles 10 thru 12 - 9:53, 10:20, 11:06 - I decided to wait until 9.5 miles to pop my next GU.  Strawberry banana.  Now my Gatorade was completely melted.  Why did I wait the extra half mile?  Gave me a chance to pee in seclusion.  Now it was getting dark.  That's why that 12th mile was 11 minutes.  I could not see hardly at all.  Started thinking it wasn't fun again.  I even said a little prayer that I would make it home safe.  I got a little tender mercy as my path was lit by a stop light for a while.

Miles 13 thru 15.08 - 10:49, 10:44, 11:02, 0:53 - I think I popped my last GU at around mile 12.5.  Mixed berry.  They all tasted so good.  This one I took on the run.  Well, jog.  I swigged some Gatorade.  Then I cut through the Queen Creek Marketplace parking lot.  Why are so many people going to Chick-fil-A?  They must have a special going on.  I ran past McDonald's.  Do you think they're hiring?  Then I got to Ellsworth Road which is part of my Walmart loop.  At this point I knew I only had 2 miles to go.  I finished the rest of my Gatorade.  Should I be writing that like this - Gatorade (R)?  I was still pretty thirsty.  Then I remembered there's a drinking fountain at the park.  So I ran past the skaters and through the basketball courts.  I saw a pudgy 12 year old stuff his grandmother.  In your face, Grandma!  I got a quick drink and took off for the home stretch.  I thought about cutting through the golf course, but it was dark, and I would probably run straight into the lake.  Plus I knew I wouldn't reach 15 miles if I did.  So I stayed on the sidewalk.  When I got to the roundabout I called my wife and told her I would be home in about 4 minutes.  I asked her to stay on the phone with me.  With 0.3 miles to go my son rode his bike and his friend ran me in the rest of the way.  My wife had a nice tall cup of ice water waiting for me.

Well, that was a long entry for not being a race.  How pathetic am I?  But it was a moral victory, and I want to remember it.  I hopped in the shower, and that's when my calves started to feel like they were going to fall off.  Ouch.  Hmmm, maybe I don't want to run another marathon.  My scale said I weight 192.  That means I lost 10 lbs today.  Ha!  And that was after the nice tall cup of water.  Well, I'm sure I'll gain it all back in a hurry.  Now the temperature is 84.  My legs are feeling better since I ate dinner.  And I'm exhausted.  Not from running.  From writing this entry.  Good night!

Today was the Buddy Walk.  That's the annual fund raiser that a local charity, Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona, puts on to raise money for certain families in need.  I was on the committee for it.  I was in charge of the Extreme Events which included four bouncers, the train ride, the pony ride and a rock climbing wall.  I wore my Garmin to see how far I walked throughout the event.  8.1 miles (I'm not going to count them as running miles.)  The actual walk was a little over a quarter mile.  I ended up walking that three times; once when it started, again to see how much garbage was littered around, and again to pick up the garbage.  I got a nice sunburn, too.

Emily was so cute.  She looked like she was on a mission. 

Nice and easy recovery run.  Not really.  My lower back was bothering me.  I slept well over the weekend.  Two naps and no trouble falling asleep at the end of the day.  I saw Surgical-Mask Lady putting on her surgical mask.  That was kind of embarrassing.

Time - 47:24 (avg. pace 8:27)

Temp - 75

This morning I thought my boy was going to be late for the bus.  So I had him hop on his sister's bike while I ran next to him.  We got to the bus stop and nobody was there.  Usually there's a pack of kids and parents.  So I ran 0.3 miles to the end of the block and then back.  By that time a few more kids had arrived.  Then the rest of them showed up, and AJ had a good time showing off his freshly shaved head.  I shaved him bald last night.  After the bus came I attempted to mount the bike and ride home.  It was kind of awkward.  Then Johnny-Come-Lately almost ran me over trying to get there before the bus left.  Haha.  Didn't make it.  When I got home I ran my neighborhood loop giving me just over four miles total.

Time - 30:59 (avg. pace 7:43)

Splits -

1 mile - 6:55

2 mile - 8:05

3 mile - 8:05

4 mile - 7:50

I got up earlier than normal today because I actually needed to be to work on time.  I brushed my teeth, shaved, got dressed.  Then I went downstairs to wake my boy up so he wouldn't miss the bus.  I saw his snakes needed water so I grabbed a cup and filled it with water.  He still hadn't got out of bed so I dumped a little on his forehead.  (He's used to that.)  Then I went outside and did my pre-run stretch routine.  I came back in and he still wasn't up.  So I yelled at him to get moving.  I did my Wal-Mart bypass loop and knew that if he was still there when I got back, he was not going to catch the bus.  Sure enough, he was still there and not even dressed.  My wife said she came downstairs and found him asleep on his chair.  So now I was mad because I couldn't be late, and my wife was going to have to take him to school 10 miles away.  I made him pay me $2 for gas money.  The usual punishments of grounding don't seem to be working, so let's see if hitting him in the pocketbook has any affect on him.  Any thoughts?

Time - 45:44 (avg. pace 8:09)

Splits - 8:24, 8:08, 8:13, 8:08, 8:14, 4:37

Q: What do you do when you see a 200 pound man barreling down the sidewalk?

A: You move out of the way as fast as you can!  That's a no-brainer.

Three little brothers and sisters were walking to school this morning.  Cute as buttons.  Dumb as doorknobs.  I kept thinking, "Any second now they're going to move over for me.  Any second.  Hello?  Giant man moving right at you at a high velocity.  Please move.  What are you staring at?  They're not moving."  At the last second I had to dart around them.  The littlest one looked like the little boy on Daddy Day Care.  So cute.  It was hard to stay mad at them.

Time - 24:46 (avg. pace 8:15)

Splits - 8:28, 8:22, 7:58

AM Run

This morning I met my Ragnar team to do some hill work.  Only one of my teammates showed up.  It was a fun time though.  We went to South Mountain.  That's a very popular place for runners, mountain bikers, and hikers.  The parking lot fills up quickly.  We got there at 6:30am, and it wasn't too bad yet.  I was quite proud of my parallel parking job.  I saw (close your ears allie) a coyote run across the road. 

We ran for 2 miles up the mountain, then back down.  The first mile had a net elevation rise of 170 feet.  We covered it in 10:20.  The next mile had a 340 foot rise.  That took us 11:54.  Coming back down that first mile took almost as long because it was so steep and rocky; 11:39.  Then we hit the dirt road and cranked out an 8:10.  We wanted to get 5 miles in so we ran on the paved road for half a mile (80 foot descent), and turned back around to finish up.  The last mile took 8:28.

It's been a while since I've done hills.  I could feel the burn in my calves.  The view from the top of the mountain was pretty.  I shoulda took a picture.

PM Run

I wasn't content with only 5 miles today so I went for 3 more this evening.  It was dark out, so I kept it nice and easy.  Plus I was wearing a cotton shirt and I didn't want to irritate my areola.  My splits were 8:47, 8:40, and 8:37.

What a beautiful morning for getting on the front page of the mileage board.  Should people aspire to get on the the front page of the mileage board?  Heck ya!  Whatever motivates you.  I did my 5.6 mile WalMart bypass loop.  I heard a cock crow right before the sun broke the horizon.  I got to the '2 miles to go' point and realized I needed to stop at the bank and make a deposit, if you know what I mean.  With 1 mile to go I was hoping I wasn't going to overdraw my account, if you catch my drift.  As I reached my driveway I was hoping nobody was watching me because I was doing the tight-legged walk to the front door.

After balancing my check book, if you smell what I'm cooking, I went back out the door for my second lap.  At the end of my street I darted out in front of my wife who was coming back from dropping my boy off at the bus stop.  Now I was regretting not taking the time to put some more body glide under my arms where my sleeveless body armor shirt was rubbing me raw.  Other than that thought, I was feeling really good this morning.

What comes around goes around.  At about mile 9.3 I heard a soft gentle female voice say, "On your left."  It kind of startled me.  Mostly because I was surprised to hear a soft gentle female voice uttering those words.  How could someone of the female species with such a pleasant sounding voice be passing me?  I turned around and saw that she was on a bicycle.  I tried to act cool like nothing happened, but I'm sure she saw the shiver go down my spine.

At mile 10.2 as I was approaching the elementary school my 6 year old goes to I came upon a mother, a daugher, a son, and a dog.  As the mother and dog were hugging the left side of the sidewalk, I made sure to yell to them loud enough and early enough to warn them.  "On your right!"  The mother turned around and saw me.  The son didn't have a clue.  She desperately tried to get the stubborn kid to move out of my way.  He reminded me of my kids when we tell them to do something, and they have to know why first.  I was thinking, "This is one of those situations where you yell at your kid to get out of the street before they get hit by the car, and they don't listen.  Ma'am, would you like me to smack him upside the head?"  Ultimately I had to run off the sidewalk and around him.  But instead of saying what I thought, I mustered up my nicest voice and said, "Good morning."

At mile 10.6 after I'd passed the elementary school a young boy was riding by on his bike.  I usually don't say anything to the kids, because you can't in this day and age.  But he surprised me with a hello.  So I said good morning to the next kid that came by on his bike and got nothing.

I ran by my house just as my wife was backing out to take the other kids to school.  I motioned to her that I would be doing one more mile.  That would put me over 12 miles for the run, and should at least allow me to be on the first page of the mileage board for a little while, even if it doesn't last the day.  My 12th mile was my one and only mile over a 9 minute pace.  What was that all about?  Oh well.  I still felt really good.  Must have been the chili dogs and ice cream I had last night.

Time - 1:46:30 (avg. pace 8:41)

Splits - 8:33, 8:32, 8:37, 8:42, 8:41, 8:45, 8:36, 8:45, 8:49, 8:37, 8:38, 9:01, 2:15 (8:42 pace)

Recovery run.  It was kind of cold.  My ankles and shins were tight.  I saw this fat guy out running.  (I'm allowed to say that for obvious reasons.)  We both got to the intersection at the same time.  I had to wait for the light to turn green, and he got to keep going.  Under my breath I said, "I'm coming for you buddy."  I couldn't catch him, but I think I made some ground up on him.

Time - 48:59 (avg. pace 8:45)

Splits - 8:42, 8:39, 8:45, 8:31, 8:57, 5:26 (9:05 pace)

Temp - 55

I was fortunate enough to see April finish her first marathon at the Wichita HHM.  What she didn't tell anyone, because she's so modest and humble, is that you had to hula hoop the entire 26.2 miles.  I snapped this picture of her coming in to the finish.

Another run home from work.  This time I wanted to take my bike route so I could get 17 and change.  I wanted to do this to determine whether or not I would do the Mesquite Marathon.  I really started to crash towards the end.  I know some of it was because it was dark, but still I was cramping up pretty bad.  I don't think I'm ready for a marathon, but I haven't ruled out the half marathon.  The marathon only costs $55, and the half marathon costs $45.  It seems silly not to pay the extra $10 and not do the marathon, doesn't it?  Such a bargain price.  Actually $55 is a steal for a marathon.  I don't know of any cheaper.  And $45 for a half is pretty reasonable.  But I know there are a handful of bloggers that will be there, so I'd like to go.

I wanted to try Hammer Gels out on the run home tonight, but I forgot to go to Sports Chalet.  On the way to work I swung by, but they don't open up 'til 10am!  I planned on eating pasta for lunch to carb up, but my friends Brad and Stefani took me out to lunch.  We had delicioso Mexican food.  Thanks guys!  I stopped at Fresh and Easy on the way back to the office to see if they had any Gels.  All they had was Power Bars, so I bought two of them, chocolate and cookies & cream.

At 4pm I shut 'er down at the office and went to change.  Problem.  I accidently packed two Body Armor shirts instead of my Performance Underwear.  Dang it!  Well, I guess I'd have to go commando and hope my shorts weren't too see through.  My saving grace would be that it's getting dark shortly after 6pm.  (Why on earth would I tell the world that I wasn't wearing any underwear?  My grandkids are going to read this someday.)

I took off with the plan to stop every four miles, eat half a bar, and drink a quarter of my 32 oz. Gatorade.  It was 64 degrees when I left, and I wondered if my Gatorade would actually unthaw.  Around mile two it seemed like it might actually melt.  However, my hands were frozen.  I stuck to the game plan with the exception of eating on the run and stopping only to swig down my Gatorade.

When I got to the halfway point I tried to text my wife "half way."  Texting while running is a talent I lack.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized I texted "hale yax."  Now it was starting to get dark.  I was running on the dirt with the traffic, but when it was too dark I crossed the street and ran against the traffic in the bike lane.  I didn't like that.  The posted speed limit on Ellsworth Road is 45mph, but the average speed is 60mph.  Then when the bike lane ended, I went up and ran on the farm road, and that's when my times really slowed down.

I got to the round-about which means 0.4 miles to go.  I called my wife again so she could talk me in.  My son ran the last 0.15 miles with me.  I was dead.  Dead tired that is.  I didn't have the energy to go upstairs and shower right away.  Dinner was almost ready, so I opted not to shower but made sure to keep my distance from everyone because I stink bad.  My home teachers came over at 8pm.  I had to sit in an isolated chair with my legs together.

Time - 2:51:25 (avg. pace 9:51)

Splits - 8:41, 8:56, 9:00, 9:04, 9:05, 9:09, 8:42, 9:05, 9:27, 9:24, 9:51, 10:07, 10:40, 10:52, 11:26, 11:27, 11:32, 4:59 for 0.41 (12:00 avg.)