Go, you chicken fat, go away!

First run of the year.  First run of my 40th year.  Gotta lose some serious weight this year.
 

Saturday I put my running clothes on and wore them all day without ever going for a run.  So this morning I put them back (without washing them) and went out and did the same three mile route I did on my last run.  The canal says it's not open for recreational use until March.  I hope that means for fishing.  I saw plenty of people running and riding bikes.  Maybe they have the same philosophy I do.  They have to catch me before they can prosecute me.  Did I just say cute me?  I probably shouldn't have that philosophy since I work for an irrigation district.  Anyway, runners are allowed to wear the same outfit again without washing it.  Right?  So today's run felt a lot better than last week's.  Faster pace, too.  When I was done my clothes smelled like wet dog.  But I think it has less to do with wearing it twice and more to do with the fact that I've had that particular pair of shorts since the beginning of time.

I just realized I ran less than three.  I thought it would be closer.  I took a slightly different route thinking the loop would get me to three.  Then I accidently stopped my GPS in the middle.  I couldn't go back, or I don't know how to go back, and look to see how much I'd gone.  Bummer.  I used to tell my friend that anything less than three was a waste of my time.  So I don't like that number up there.

Anyway, it was late.  Like 10:30pm.  I don't like running anymore when people can see me.  But today at church (I'm writing this entry the day after I ran) someone said they saw me.  Grrr!!  He actually lives right across the street from the park where the magic water fountain is located.  So, there's the canal, on the east side of that is the MWF, then east of that is the park.  The park is a big retention basin where the Latino population likes to play soccer on Sundays.  Did I offend anyone by saying Latino?  Anyway, it's about 20 feet deep.  I ran through it to cut to the MWF/canal.  It was freaking cold down there.  What the heck?  I'm glad my entire run wasn't that cold. 

Three unwasted miles.  36º may have been a little too cool for shorts and a T-shirt, but what are you gonna do?  I was watching my GPS so I could stop right at 3 miles.  It got to 2.97, 2.98, 2.99, then skipped right to 3.02.

Two days in a row. Whuuuuuttt???  My playlist started out kinda weak but ended on a high note with Ozzy's No More Tears.  Not literally a high note.

At first I was a little disappointed that I didn't get out earlier to run.  But I needed the rest.  I've been a tad under the weather lately.  And....it was a bit chilly.  So the warmer, the better.  And...I had the runs.  I thought I got it all out earlier.  But good thing I didn't leave the house before round two.

So I drove to Usery Pass.  I brought some Shot Bloks and some orange HEED.  I wasn't sure how many scoops to put in my water bottle, so I put two spoonfuls.  I started my ascent.  I also started wheezing.  Not too bad, though.  At mile 1.2 I pulled off behind a Palo Verde to make a wee wee.  I also stretched out and took a Shot Blok.  Right when I took off, a cyclist caught up to me.  He was riding on the other side of the road, but our paces were about the same.  I stayed with him for about a quarter mile.  (He was going super slow.)  I wondered if I'd be able to stay with him all the way to the top.  But he pulled away.  And I was left all alone.  At mile 2.6 I stopped again to blow my nose.  I stretched and took another Shot Blok.  I thought I had my GPS set to autopause when I stopped, but I guess not.  Anyway, it was at this point that I decided to only go 6 miles.  Typically I run to the top, or beyond, and it's a 7.3 mile run if I turn around at the top.  But since I haven't run more than 3 miles in forever, I didn't think it would be wise to try to more than double up what I'm used to.

I turned around a little after 3 miles and paused for one quick stretch.  Then I headed down at a stronger pace.  When I got to mile 4 I decided to accelerate the pace for a mile.  For the first time in forever I ran a mile in under a 9 min. pace.  Then I took it easy the last mile and cruised in.  My legs were tired, but my breathing was good.

I went out after dinner, which I hate doing, but I didn't eat a lot, so it was good.  I'm very excited to meet another blogger soon.  She hasn't blogged in over two years, though :(

I did not run today, but I did add another blogger to the List of Bloggers I've Met in Real Life.  Auntieem is in town to run the Coldwater Rumble 100 mile race this weekend.  Everyone wish her good luck.  She's been training hard.  We went to the Rainforest Cafe with my wife and my daughter, Emily.  Emily got some sensory overload with all the noises of the animals in the rainforest.  But Kelly loved her, and I'm glad she didn't kidnap her which I thought she might :)

I got up earlier than I usually do because I have a campout with the scouts this afternoon.  I thought it would be cold, so I put on sweat pants and a long sleeve tech.  Boy was I wrong.  I ran by the magic water fountain and there was a weirdo standing by it.  I'm pretty sure I freaked him out because he spun around real quick when I blasted by him with my music playing.  He probably just woke up from sleeping on the bench next to it.  Weirdo.
 

My first mile was a tad faster than what my normal pace has been lately, which made my remaining miles slower than my normal pace.  It seems there are quite a few bloggers coming in for the Phoenix Marathon this March.  I need to lose some weight before then because it's all about image.

Got to bed early last night, so I had no problem getting out of bed at 5am.  I got ready to go and headed out.  My Pandora playlist wasn't great.  I mean, I liked all the songs, but I really want to hear 80's hairbands while I'm running.  Some of the stuff this morning was a little too modern, like Blackened Blue Eyes by the Charlatans.  I kept thinking that it would get better because there are only so many 80's hair band songs without swears.  It finally did on the last song which was If You Don't Like it by Cinderella.

At precisely 5:47am I ran by a bus stop.  The bus stop is next to a Starbucks.  A lady was sitting down.  She had a coffee.  The smell was very strong.  She took a long sip.  I said, "Good morning."  She continued her sip and said, "Good morning."  I was nearly 50 feet away by then.

I considered this a recovery run, although really I was running the same pace I was yesterday.  But it was for a shorter distance, so that counts, right?

At precisely 6:01am I ran by the MWF and there was another weird guy sitting on the bench.  I don't know if it was the same guy as last time.  But I told him good morning.  He replied back with a good morning, but he didn't sound weird.  He sounded normal.  That's so weird.

Today is Emily's birthday.

So, I stayed home from work yesterday because I was sick.  Maybe I'm getting pneumonia or something.  I also have been trying to lose weight for the whole month of January by being on a diet.  I lost about 7 lbs., but it seems like it's not coming off as fast as it used to.  I think I'm going through "the change."  So I mentioned to my wife that I should maybe use some fat burners.  She got me a bottle of Hydroxycut.  The bad thing is, it says that one pill has the same amount of caffeine as two cups of coffee.  You're looking at a guy who maybe drinks a Barq's Root Beer once every two years.  But I took the recommended dosage yesterday; one pill at 6:15am, one pill at 11:30 am, and one pill at 5:30pm.  I was up until 4am this morning!  I think it was a combination of the caffeine and being sick.  Anybody have any thoughts on this?

FAIL.  So Tuesday I went to the doctor to find out why I've been sick for a month now.  I was diagnosed with allergies.  Allergies?  Hmm, I guess that means I can run.  Nope.  I got a mile and a quarter in and had to stop.  I couldn't catch my breath.  So I walk/jogged the rest of the way home.  I now know that I have bronchitis.  So I'm on a low grade steroid, antibiotics, and cough syrup.  I think I'm feeling better.  At least sleeping's not such a chore.  (Writing this of Feb. 18th)

This was my 17th Ragnar.  Let's never talk about this one again.

I had a couple of bloggers stay at my house for the Phoenix Half Marathon.  I'd never met them before, but they weren't crazy. 

Yes they were.  It was nice to meet the creator of the blog finally in real life.  He's quite pleasant.  His son Benjamin is a great kid. 
 

No running to report.  But I did quit my day job this week.  So hopefully that will free some time up for me to lace 'em up again.

I have running to report.  It was real slow and I still have quite a bit of tightness in my chest.  Residual bronchitis?  Anyway, I'm in a new neighborhood, so I found a route on Google maps that appeared to be close to 2 miles.  It ended up being just a tad shy of 2.  For part of it, I ran along the east side of the RWCD Main Canal, from whence I just quit.  I did text my old boss and told him there was a shopping cart in the canal.

Last night was not a good night.  I ended up kicking my son's girlfriend out of the house at 2am.  That was some major drama.  I don't even think I got more than 4 hours of sleep.  Then this morning we had to go put some of the screens on the old house that we just had rebuilt (the screens were rebuilt, not the house.)  Two of them weren't wide enough so we had to take them back.  Then, we had to meet the carpet cleaning guy at 9am because we had another guy scheduled at 2pm yesterday, but he ended up being a jerk and wanting to overcharge us (which we were going to pay), but he decided to just leave.  My wife had to leave at 9:45am to get to work, so I had her just leave me there so I could pay the (more expensive) carpet guy and run to the new home after.  Our landlords showed up, and I'm sure they wanted to do stuff, but oh well.  We're supposed to do the final walk through at 3pm.  I'm hopeful we'll get our deposit back.  I think it looks pretty good.  Better than when we got there.  We'll see how nitpicky they are.  They're real good friends with the, I'd like to call him a name, but I won't, across the street.  They have him come over and take pictures of our lawn when it's not mowed.  Our backyard lawn.  He actually opens our back gate, comes in, and takes pictures.  Pretty sure that's not legal.  Anyway, his son-in-law died last night.  Not sure how.  I think he might've killed himself.  That's why I'm refraining from calling him names.  So it was about 10:40am when the carpet guy finished and I took off.  It was 74°.  Felt pretty warm.  I carried a water bottle in one hand and my phone in the other.  I just trotted along.  Still don't have full lung capacity yet. 

Running in my Saucony's still.  They're the only pair of shoes I have unpacked.

I'm saddened by the death of the Ultimate Warrior.  But I'm happy he was inducted into the Hall of Fame this Sunday before he passed.  Grieve with me.
 

Feels like things are coming back together.  Slowly butt Shirley.

I'm slow.

I haven't taken Ginger on any walks or runs since we've moved.  Somewhere in an unpacked box is a leash, a leash that I use to take her on walks.  And runs.  Today I decided to get creative and find something to tether her up with.  I knew of the perfect belt for the job.  Somewhere in an unpacked box is a belt, a belt that I use for holding up my pants, and a belt that is perfect.  So, I found my traveling bag and I used the strap.

I took her behind the house to the East Maricopa Floodway.  I let her run loose until we approached people or other dogs.  A lot of people like to walk their dogs around here.  We ran south.  There is a single trail that runs down the middle of the Floodway.  As we'd approach people, I'd move over and run in the grass.  This meant getting a bunch of cattails in my socks.  We ran down to Main Street, crossed the Floodway, and got on the east maintenance road of the RWCD Main Canal.  That's when Ginger decided to check out the Canal.  She went down the bank and took a few laps of water.  Then she decided to swim a few laps.  The problem was, she was right next to the radial gate and the suction was pulling her toward it.  I got on the catwalk, layed down, reached and grabbed the travel bag strap, and pulled her out.  Then we ran home, but I had to take it easy with her because she was semi-choking.  Probably her collar is too tight.

I do have to say, people are real friendly in this new neighborhood.  It's hard to hate everyone.

This was a fundraiser run for the mother of the lady that works at the boot camp my wife used to go to.  I ran pretty hard, but it was super slow.

I was going to do more, but decided I would do this today and tomorrow.  Now that I'm typing this, I'm realizing that today is Wednesday.  I should do it Friday, too.  Or maybe just Friday and do 4 tomorrow.  I'm doing a mud run Saturday with one of my daughters and two of my sister's-in-law.

My legs were sore when I started out.  I guess that made me not be able to run by feel and my first mile was a lot faster than my average lately.  That made the rest of my miles slower than average.  Have a wonderful day, bloggers.

There wasn't a whole lot of running going on here, but there was a lot of fun.

My wife's sister, Missy, the blonde one, got 4 free tickets to the Arizona Mudathon, which is held twice a year.  So she invited me, my daughter, Mary, and my wife's other sister, Suzie.  I think there were more people this time.  We got in line for the race about 45 minutes before it started.  It was overcast and a little cold.  We talked to strangers.  We got started in the third wave.  Immediately after they open the corral, there are some tires on the ground that you run through and there are tires hanging from ropes that you have to dodge.  We sprinted to these because once a lot of people get going, the tires really start swinging.  But right after that you have to climb over a stack of tractor tires.  Actually, they probably aren't tractor tires.  Maybe those huge earth movers.  Anyway, Suzie took her earrings off so she wouldn't lose them.  So we ended up being the last people in our group to go over the tire pile.  Then, right after that, there is the first mud pit.  It was about 2 feet deep.  One lady lost her shoe in it.  She ended up finishing the race with only one shoe.

I like this race because it has an abundance of obstacles and mud pits.  After one mile you arrive to the cargo net climb.  The net is draped over a wooden beam about 20 feet high, like a tent.  There was a long line, so we just waited in line.  Some people opted not to do it.  One person cut the line.  That was douchearific, but we didn't pay for the race, so I guess we can't really complain.  So, when it was finally our turn, I let the girls go first.  Nobody had any problems this time.  Except me.  As I was crossing the beam at the top, I got a huge splinter under my nail.  It's still there even as I type this, which makes for a horrible blogging experience.

We kept going, at a snail's pace.  At times I would stop and empty the rocks out of my shoes just to be able to run and catch back up.  And to get the rocks out of my shoes.  There were two 7-foot vertical walls on the course.  We used team work to get everyone over the first time.  I had to boost Suzie up, and then go over to the other side to catch her.  However, the 2nd time I boosted her up and Missy and Mary were supposed to catch her.  I'm not exactly sure what happened, because I was on the other side of the wall, but I'm pretty sure they dropped her.  Anyway, that was it for her and the obstacles.  She finished the 5 miles at least. 

This year I was determined not to let Missy show me up on the monkey bars.  They were pretty slippery when we got there.  I went first and wasn't sure I'd make it because of the slipperiness.  However, I found out that it was just the first three or four that were slippery.  After that, they weren't slippery anymore because everyone had slipped off.  Say slippery one more time, McCumber!  I dare you!  So, I made it.  The trick was in the grunt.  Suzie didn't try.  Mary made it to one.  And then Missy went.  She made it to two.  Haha!  In your face this time, Missy!

There were a few more obstacles and then on to the cargo net/monkey bars.  I could see that nobody was having any luck.  So I got up there and showed them how it was done.  You have to swing your legs up into the net and crawl upside down.  I blew everyone's mind.

Ouch.  It still hurts to type, btw.

A few more obastacles and on to the finish line.  There was supposed to be a mud pit at the finish line.  It was more like quickdry cement.  Holy cow!  What chemical additive did they mix in there to form this peanut butterlike substance?

Now I know what it's like to be in quicksand.  It's not as scary as the movies.  All in all, we had a good time.  Ooh, I forgot to mention that at mile 3 it started to pour.  It made it cold, but even more fun.

The whole idea for me quitting my day job and starting my own company was to free up more time for me to do things like run, study scriptures, be a better dad.  So far, it's been an epic failure.  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  2.62 miles (10% of a marathon) today.  I used RunKeeper to track my mileage.  I like her voice.  I'm pretty sure she's Kira Soltanovich.

I wasn't feeling great today.  Too much Cinco de Mayo food yesterday.  I was using the RunKeeper app again.  Kira was telling me how slow I was every five minutes.  At the three mile mark I got a phone call which I took.  I started walking.  It was Jeff Wimmer.  He wants me to start an engineering group with him.  Not sure I want to at this point.  He's going to really have to sell me on it.  Anyway, it didn't register the distance that I walked, but I've run this route before, so I knew it was 3.91.

Ok, maybe it 3.73

Well, I'm thinking this actually is 3.73 miles.  Last week I ran this same course and thought it was longer and that it didn't record properly because I walked a portion of it while I got a phone call.  I did get two phone calls today, but they were short and I basically stopped each time.  I'll have to go back and edit the distance on last week's run.

A former co-worker of mine from RWCD used to play this game with me where he would snap a picture, usually of a screw up made by a contractor, out in the District somewhere and ask me where it was.  Today I snapped a picture of a pile of horse poop on the side of the canal and asked him where I was.  He got it right :)
 

I had to go to the printing company this morning to pick up some plots.  So my wife and I took two of our younger daughters to school and went to Mesa Blueprint.  It's exactly 7 miles from my house.  My wife also had to take a dress to the dry cleaners so I told her I would attempt to run home and for her to be ready if I called.  She wasn't ready.

About half way through this became a zombie march home.  So I'll tell about the part that I remembered before losing rational and conscious thought.  The most enjoyable part was the smell of the Backyard Taco.  I know that sounds like a skanky brothel, but it's not.  It's a restaraunt now owned by a family that used to make Mexican food in their backyard.  They would make it for free, and if you wanted to give a donation, you could.  That's how they were able to get away with not having to follow typical regulations of running a business and having to comply with health code standards.  Well, I guess "business" got so good for them that they finally decided to do things right.  They've opened up shop on University.  I've gone there once.  It's pretty good.  But it smelled great this morning.  And I had one lady say good morning to me before I could say it to her.  That's all I can think of.  Goodbye.

I took Ginger with me for a recovery run.  I just took my time and took it easy.  But the reality is it ended up being just slightly slower than yesterday's pace.  I was crashing pretty hard yesterday.  Ginger was a good girl.  She saw a bunny.  She run towards it and it scampered off into the bushes.  She got real bouncy.  Not sure what she would've done if she'd caught it.  Looked more like she wanted to play.

I have some friends, Marc and Marianna, that are also Rangar Ambassadors.  They wanted to put on their own race.  It sounded like a neat location, so I decided to support them.  I think this was their first event.  They want to do others and maybe turn it into a full time job.  This event was a 5k run/1 mile walk held at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix.

I wasn't feeling great, so I decided to run with my friend, Lisa, who was the captain of my McDowell Mountain Ragnar last year.  She always takes off real fast and dies out.  So I let her get out ahead of me for the first quarter mile.  Then I caught up to her, but she started slowing down.  Slower than even I wanted to go, so I kept going at my 10 min./mile pace. 

The race wound its way around a downtown Phoenix neighborhood.  It was an urban trail race.  We had some "hills" climbing up and over the freeway and back.  Marc said to be on the lookout for a painting of Homer Simpson and a yard with a life-size chess set in it.  I didn't see either.  The course wasn't marked great.  Marc had taped pink pieces of paper with arrows to the sidewalk.  Someone or someones removed some of them.  He was out on the course to help guide us, but everyone, and I mean everyone got lost!  Funny stuff.  There was probably less than 30  runners that attended.  I had a couple of gals ahead of me in my sights, but after I came over the bridge and back through a park, I lost sight of them.  I went straight through the park and didn't see any signs.  I figured I'd better stop and try to find where I was.  I realized I was on the other side of the park that we already ran through.  At this point I decided to just keep going to the other side and run the course backwards to the finish.  I figured I'd be pretty close to a 5k anyway.  3.09 miles is what my Runkeeper recorded.  Close enough.  Not long after that Lisa finished.  Hers said 2.6 miles.  The race wasn't chip timed or anything, so it wasn't a big deal to me.

After the race we got to enjoy the gardens.  I never knew this place existed.  I guess Marc and Marianna come here often to meditate and stuff.  It's a pretty place.  Enjoy the pictures.

Marc, Marianna, me, and Lisa

This is their mascot.  In their sister city of Himeji, Japan, the Shachi, not to be confused with Chachi of Happy Days, sits upon a hill protecting the castle.  I mean honestly, who is going to mess with a fish dragon?

Each one of these rocks was brought over from Japan and handplaced along the bank of the pond.

You can see the koi fish, which are the same kind of fish RWCD uses to control aquatic vegetation in their canal.

After I dropped my girls off at school I drove over to Usery Pass.  I brought some ice water in a water bottle.  It stayed pretty cool for most of the run even though it got pretty warm.  Often when I run this the wind is blowing south against my back as I climb the hill.  Today it was blowing against me as I went up.  It was kind of nice because it provided a cooling breeze.  I could definitely feel the difference as I ran down.  But it was down, so it was ok.  At mile 6 I remember saying, I've had a pretty good workout.  I'm happy with it.  I wish I was done.  But I still had another mile and a half to go.  There were some construction workers parked in the parking lot by me.  I contemplated asking them for water, but saw that one guy just had a jug.  I didn't want his jugs.  I always park in the parking lot in front of the sherriff's office.  I probably could have parked in Salt River Tube Rentals parking lot if I'd been paying attention.  It's usually closed.  But since school gets out this week, they have it open.  The funniest part of the workout was when I was leaving there were some workers controlling the traffic with their slow/stop signs.  They were staring at girls in bikinis going to rent some tubes to float down the Salt River.

I stopped once to take a picture.  The saguaros are in bloom.

I went to Usery Pass again, but this time I had in mind that I would turn off at the three mile mark where there is a horse trail.  I really want to be ready for the McDowell Mountain Trail Ragnar this year, so I though I'd check out the trails.  The three miles up was nice and steady.  I only saw one cyclist out today.  Kinda weird.  I guess everyone must have jobs or something.  Then I got on the trail to go exploring.  Only it wasn't a trail.  It was a very sandy wash.  You people make your horses walk through this?  Mean!  So, I said to myself, "This is no fun.  Why don't I go try to climb that steep hill?  Bag a peak, as they say."  I changed my Runkeeper to hike mode.  Then I proceeded to go up this steep slippery hill.  It looked high from the bottom, but it wasn't that high.  I realized when it only took me 5 minutes to get to the top it just wasn't as high as I'd like to brag about.  Then I had to scoot on my butt to get down.  That wasn't fun.  From now on I'll stick to the road.  Enjoy the picture show.

On the way back down my right nipple started to bleed.  I noticed it right as I saw a lady cyclist coming up the hill.  So I lifted my shirt up and pretended like I was fanning myself because it was so hot.  I think she bought it.  Then I ran the rest of the way without a shirt. I saw three more cyclists and lots of ladies in bikinis at the tube rental.  While I did not take a picture of the ladies in bikinis, I did take a picture of my nipple.

I got up at 6:30am and piddled around for an hour and a half before I got out the door.  (I just looked up the definition of piddled.  I did not do that for an hour.)  It was already 78°.  I brought a water bottle with me and stashed it at the bridge by the RWCD Canal.  I felt real good at first, but the heat seemed to drain the energy out of me after the first two miles.

Crikey!  I almost forgot to blog today!  My phone battery died right when I hit save for my Runkeeper activity.  But it looks like it saved, so I'm good.  I ran up to McKellips today.  Don't know why I don't do that more often since it's uphill to there and downhill back.  Actually I do know.  It's because there are more roads to cross.  It was 82º by the time I got out the door.  I brought another water bottle which fit comfortably in my pocket.  When I started running, it felt like a recovery run.  So I went with it.  Nice and slow.  And hot.

Emily wanted to go running with me this morning, too.  She didn't make it very far, but she did pose for a bunch of fake running pictures :)

What can I say?  I like my bed.  I finally rolled out of bed at 8am.  Got out the door at 8:30.  Started running at 8:45.  It was hot and I got real sweaty.  I saw a bird with a lizard in its claws.  I'm not sure what kind of bird it was, but it didn't look like a bird of prey.  It looked more like a dove.  I ran my normal route down the East Maricopa Floodway and back up the RWCD canal.As I approached Adobe St. I could see half a mile away on Brown Rd. a slow moving white truck.  I guessed it was an RWCD zanjero truck.  I was right.  I did a 180° and met him at the radial gate.  It was Rion, who was my lead zanjero for most of the time that I worked there in the field.  We had a nice short talk.  Which is saying something because that guy likes to talk.  And to tell truth, I used to love to listen to his stories.
 

One of the reasons I like to run in the East Maricopa Floodway is because I can run right under University Drive without having to stop for traffic.  Today as I was approaching the bridge I saw a dude ride his bike down and stop under the bridge.  He had his house packed on his bike.  I don't think he saw me coming because he was disrobing as I got there.  Or maybe he did...
Also, I completed Day 5 of the 30 Day Ab Challenge.  Well, I've completed all 5 days so far.  I just hadn't said anything about it.

The plan earlier this week was to go on a group trail run this morning.  However, I was up late last night trying to hit another deadline at work.  So it didn't happen.  Plan B was to run at the hottest time of the day.  I made sure to make that happen.  It was 104º.  I headed out on my normal course and saw a zanjero truck at the radial gate on 3 1/2 - 1/2W.  I went over to say hi.  It was Danny.  I knocked on the back of the truck.  That's a little thing I do since some zanjeros are known to jump and/or scream like girls when someone surprises them.  Danny was on the phone.  I waited a bit.  After a while it started getting awkward, so I slowly started to walk away.  Just then he opened his door.  We talked a while.  Then I took off.  I stopped a couple of time briefly to drink from my water bottle.  Then I did Day 7 of the 30 Day Ab Challenge.  40 situps, 20 crunches, 20 leg lifts, and a 30 second plank.  They add more (reps? sets?) each day.  So far I've been able to keep up.  But I don't know if I'll be able to soon.  I might have to start breaking them up throughout the day.

Usery Pass this morning.  I saw two horses, one bunny, some cyclists.  It doesn't seem like there's as much cyclists out anymore.  There were quite a few, but I don't see them in packs of 20 anymore.  The biggest pack I saw this morning was three.   But I'm sure it was really two and one because I saw the two ladies on my uphill (their downhill).  When they were coming back up and I was going down I said, "Great job ladies!"  They smelled nice.  Like sunblock.  I'm in love.

Was going to go running with one of my daughters and her friend, but my daughter didn't make it very far before she started walking.  Most of this was walking.  Her friend was brave enough to go inside the 72" storm drain while I lifted the grate for her.

I started running at 8:40am.  It was pretty warm out, so I took it easy.  There was a guy walking his dog.  I let him know I was coming up on him when I got about 20 feet away.  He had fast reflexes.  So I decided to see how many times I could use the word morning to talk to him.  I said, "Good morning.  It's a warm morning this morning."

It was 9:40am by the time I got out the door today.  I didn't look to see how hot it was, but today's high is 105º.  As usual, I took it nice and slow.  My wife was texting me, so I stopped a few times.  I know I promised Tracy a picture of the tunnel yesterday, but I was too lazy to go running.  I hope she'll forgive me for waiting until today.

This is what it looks like from the outside.  You can lift the grate up from the bottom because it's hinged up top.

This is what it looks like on the inside.  Does anyone want to go exploring?

I saw this coyote today.  Usually you only see them early in the morning.  This one did not look healthy.

Here is the nudifying hobo.

I ate entirely too much yesterday.  But isn't that what Father's Day is all about?

So Sunday was Father's Day, but it was also my anniversary.  We celebrated our anniversary yesterday by going out to Macayo's.  It's a Mexican restaurant.  I ate a lot of chips and salsa.  I wanted to run Usery Pass this morning, but I didn't get up early enough, I was still feeling bloated from all that food, and my back was hurting.  I decided to just run my regular route.  I was going to do the 3.75 mile route, but it was getting too hot, I wasn't feeling great, and I'm getting stressed out.  In between work piling up on me and my neighbor calling the police on my boy for skateboarding late last night, I decided to cut it short and get my day started.  So, no blogging or facebooking, or Words with Friending today.  See you all tomorrow.

Usery Pass.  It's getting far too (not fart oo) hot for this run.  I got up early, too.  I did a lot of walking in the last half mile.  And it's downhill!

Thursday I didn't run because I was volunteering at the Adventure Run and there was a chance that I might be one of the volunteers to run with the masses.  They had two others pace, which was fine because it was over 100º.  So I went to bed in my running clothes and then didn't run at all yesterday.  I'm sorry to admit to you all that I still have them on and finally did go running this morning.  I didn't feel great so I kept my pace above 10, but that's nothing new lately.  Have a great weekend everyone.  Going to shower now.  I hope I remember how.

I had to go visit a site today that was near Usery Pass, so I decided to run it.  However, it was 9AM by the time I got there, so I didn't run all the way up to the top.  I just ran 1.7ish miles and turned around.  It was windy on the way up, which was nice, but I knew it would be an oven on the way down.  There were still a few cyclists out.  My phone said it was 88º.  I keep saying it, but I really need to get up earlier.

My back has been bothering me lately.  I hope to be back at it soon.  No pun intended.  And if it was, it was a terrible one.

My back finally started feeling better-ish.  I felt great when I started.  My first half mile was way faster than what my normal pace has been lately.  But then I slowed down and started to feel it.  Still, my overall pace was faster than normal.  So, I guess that's a good thing.  I joined a team for the Colorado Ragnar.  Hope to see you all there.

Just two miles this morning with Ginger.  My left calf was hurting.  Feels fine now. 

I've been sick for 2 weeks.  I finally feel a little better, but still a little congested.  Maybe I'm not supposed to run anymore.  But I get fat when I don't run :(

I went to one of my sites today.  I had mapped out the washes from aerial photos, but I wanted to walk them to verify.  I also wanted to meet the homeowner and get his input.  Anyway, it was already 100º out at 10:30am when I went there.  I brought a bottle of water with me, ducked under the barbed wire fence, and took it nice and slow.  I hope I can get into a better routine now.

I got another free new pair of shoes for volunteering 3 times at the Adventure Run.  It's been a while since I've gotten some.  I had to quit volunteering right around the time they started only letting you get New Balance shoes.  Luckily, they now let you get New Balance, Mizuno, Asics, and Brooks.  I picked up a pair of Mizuno Trail running shoes and wore them today.  They're fine, but they pick up a lot of small pebbles in the treads of the heels.  Wouldn't you think a pair of trail shoes would not want to pick up pebbles?  Oh, well, the Mizuno road shoes have a tendancy to pick up large stones in the arch.  Still, they're the most comfortable shoes to me.  Have a great week everyone.  Thanks for making me #1 on the charts, and #1 in your hearts.

A little more than yesterday.  A little slower than yesterday.  I usually like to run in the floodway, but with the recent storms we've had, it's, wouldn't you know, flooded.  So I ran on the east maintenance road of the RWCD canal.  When I got to Main Street I turned around.  I actually touched the gate before I turned around because somehow, if I hadn't touched the gate, the entire run would have not counted.

Found this video of Julie at the 2010 Top of Utah finish.  She had quite the muscle spasm after finishing.  And I think the clock broke.

I was having a stupid dream this morning that I thought I really needed to wait and see how it played out.  My life depended on it.  So yeah, it ended up with me sitting on the toilet for 30 minutes.  Yeah.  Great dream.

Finally got out to run at 9:30am.  I ran along the RWCD Canal again.  Saw lots of kois and amirs.  I was surprised to see so many because they usually they like to hide in the shade when it gets hot.  But maybe the heat causes the algae and moss to grow, so it's prime feeding time.

Woke up to some pleasant sprinkles this morning.  It made my run enjoyable.  Still slow though.  Right Joe?  Zanjero.

I wanted to run about 6 miles this morning.  As soon as I started running I realized I had to make a pee pee.  I knew there was a public restroom at Gene Autrey Park.  About a mile and a half in I felt my ankle getting irritated.  I thought perhaps some pebbles had gotten in my sock.  When I got to the restroom I realized my sock was too low and my shoe was rubbing against the back of my ankle.  I knew if I kept running it would get worse, so I called my daughter to come pick me up.

I've always wanted to do the Colorad Ragnar.  Now I never want to do it again.  But I did have a fun time and a great team.  And it was a beautiful course.  The problem was I never got acclimated to the altitude.  I knew it was going to be rough after walking up the first flight of stairs at the motel.

My first leg was 7.4 miles with an 800 foot climb from 9000 feet to 9800 feet.  It was extraoridinarily difficult.  Here are a couple of pictures.

My second leg was at night.  It was 9.1 miles.  There was more downhill than uphill, and it was a little lower in altitude.  So I was able to get it done at a pace a little over a minute faster per mile than my first leg.  No pictures.

My last leg was 3.0 miles.  It was uphill again, so it pretty much sucked.  It wasn't even that steep, but I was spent and it was hot.  I stopped to take this picture.

Colorado is a very pretty place.  Too bad everyone there is a pothead!  Right, Nan?

Recovery run.  Nice to be back in a place where I can breathe, even if it is extremely hot.

I took Ginger with me for my first loop.  She's pretty good about staying with me.  As soon as I hit the Floodway I let go of the leash.  I didn't see anyone else around or I would have grabbed the leash again.  When we got to University Dr. I still let her run free.  She did wander out into the road for which she got scolded.  But there were no cars around.  She was doing so good that when we left the Floodway I still let her run free all the way home.  After a while I decided to go back out and do another loop.  It wasn't the same because I went north this time.  Ended up being pretty close to the same distance.  I saw Gene, one of the zanjeros and talked to him briefly.  Other than the humidity, it was pretty nice out.

It rained last night.  I let Ginger sleep in the laundry room from 2 to 5.  It was a nice sweat run.

It was raining this morning again.  It felt like a tropical rainforest because it was 83º.  I wonder how much of the moisture trapped in my shirt was from the rain and how much was from my sweat.

This is the run I wanted to do a couple of weeks ago (and then some), but I started forming a blister on my ankle and decided to call it quits because Ragnar was right around the corner.  The funny thing is, (by funny I mean queer.  By queer I mean strange.) last time I attempted this run, I had to make a pee pee.  And today I again had to make a pee pee!  So I stopped at Gene Autrey Park.  They have such nice facilities.  Then I headed north again.  As I approached to the turn around point at McDowell Road, I saw a couple of trucks parked near the canal.  Turns out they were City of Mesa trucks.  RWCD is very protective of their canal, so I texted the old inspector and let him know.  Then I headed back down the canal and the COM trucks moved over to McKellips and the canal.  They weren't blocking the access or anything, so that was good.  Then I kept going south and saw a truck near Adobe, which is the road I turn off of to go to my house.  I wondered if it was them again, but I couldn't tell.  As I got closer I could see that the truck was actually inside the gate half way between Adobe and University.  And it had it's driver side door open so I could tell that it was an RWCD truck.  I decided to keep going and see who it was.  Hence the 'and then some.'  It was zanjero, Charlie.  He was eating his lunch.  I hope that was all he was doing because he seemed rather nervous.  Anyway, I ran back home because I had to go clean the leaves out of our green pool before the landlord got there.

My daughters still go to school in our old neighborhood because that is where Emily's special education program is.  Emily rides the short bus to school, but we have to drive Abby and Katelynn.  So, I had my wife drop me off there, too.  I asked my daughters if they were going to be embarrassed when I got out.  "You're getting out??!!??"

:)

Anything faster than an 11:15 pace is jiggle speed.  I had to discover this in order to not jiggle.  Jiggling hurts my incision.  If I'm not jiggling, I'm fine.
 

Today's run didn't hurt my belly as much as yesterday's.  And I found a quarter!

A.M. 2.59 miles.  Decided to go the extra mile.  I didn't notice it, but I kept getting faster and faster.

PM. 2.65 miles Decided to go more extra miles. :) I volunteered at the Adventure Run.  This was the first time I actually ran it.  Sometimes they have volunteers take groups out for people that are new to the Adventure Run.  They had me go out with a group.  I was hesitant because I had already ran this morning, but I didn't want to look like a wuss.  Also, I didn't want to sweat.  And you guys know how I get when I sweat.

Can you see my incision?

I saw Joe walking down the canal today.  Not SlowJoe.  Joe is a guy I go to church with.  He has some mental issues.  He's real nice.  He's just not all there.  The first time I met him was about a week after we moved.  My wife and I went to an adult activity (not the kind you're thinking of) that we have in the church every so often.  Maybe once or twice a year.  As we were driving home, he flagged us down and asked for a ride.  I said, "Hop in, buddy."  It was pretty easy to tell that there was something different about they guy, but he was pretty sharp.  He knew all the streets by heart to get back in his neighborhood.  About a month ago he asked for a ride home from church.  Then he asked if he could come over for dinner.  I told him we were already having company over, but we could bring him a plate.  So later that afternoon when I brought him the food he answered the door in his underwear.  Glad I didn't send one of my girls to the door.

Emily wanted to run with me today, but she got distracted and did something else.  When I got home she remembered that she wanted to run with me so she put her shoes on and made me go back outside.  We just ran up and down the driveway while we blew her "duck whistle".  Then we took our shoes off and laid on the driveway in the shade watching the clouds.  I haven't done that in forever, and it was very enjoyable.  Then I went and cleaned the leaves out of the pool.  After that I took a nice refreshing dip.  Feels good to relax every now and then.

My back was bothering me yesterday, so I spent much of the day with my TENS unit.  It was still bothering this morning, but I went running anyway.  I saw Ronnie from RWCD.  He's not a zanjero.  He's in the outside crew.  That man is older than muck.  He drives the Gradall and the weed sprayer truck.  That guy sure can scoop out the muck.  He was spraying weeds this morning on the east side of the east maintenance road.  He didn't see me until I got right in front of him.  The old man got out and we talked about the old days.  I left and saw my sister walking.  Usually she just walks in circles around the cul-de-sac, but I guess today she got a little adventurous.  Glad she didn't get lost.

Just a little run to see how my back would do.  I didn't break in half.

I wore my brand new shoes so that I could get them dirty.  I took Ginger with me.  I saw some shoes hanging on the power line.

Glad I didn't bring Ginger with me today.  I passed 7 other dogs.  I'm not counting the two I saw on the other side of the canal.  Lot's of people out today.  And dogs.  Weather is beautiful.  I dressed as a runner today for Halloween.  And let me tell you, it was pretty scary.

I had every intention of running today, but it wasn't until 11:30pm that I decided I'd better get out the door.  I didn't have time to change, so I just wore the street clothes I was wearing.  I put on my headlamp to practice for Ragnar next week.  I don't like to run on the Sabbath.  I had about 22 minutes before midnight so I decided to run for 10 minutes and then turn around.  Not running on Sundays is a personal choice for me.  It's one of my ways of expressing my devotion to God.  I know some people choose to run on Sundays because they are grateful for their health, bodies, the beauty of the earth, etc.  And that's fine.  One of our greatest gifts from God is our free agency and our right to govern ourselves.  God is merciful and though keeping the Sabbath Day holy can vary in activity from person to person, He does require our complete devotion to which we must put forth the faith and effort to find out what that is.

I was a little faster than normal today.  I hope that's a good sign.  I'll be running with the Frozen Burrito Legion this Friday and Saturday at the Ragnar Trail McDowell Mountain relay.  I should do a hill run tomorrow.

I have done zero hill training in preparation for the trail Ragnar I'm doing this weekend.  So I wanted to run Usery Pass yesterday, and I just got too busy.  Finally went today at 11am.  It was warm.  I hadn't eaten breakfast yet.  I brought two water bottles with me.  One with ice water to drink after I was done, and one with a tablet of Nuun, fruit punch.  I felt strong on the first mile uphill.  Then I really struggled on the second mile.  So I turned around.  Felt like a waste to drive 27 miles round trip only to run 4 miles, but oh well.  Going downhill felt great.  In truth, running up Usery in no wise simulates the frequent up and down hills I'll be running at Ragnar.  But better than nothing, I guess.

Ragnar #19. 

I was runner #4 on the team.  My first leg was the green loop, 3.1 miles.  It was hot out at 1:30pm.  I took it nice and slow and felt good.  So good even that I was able to run up the final hill which I wasn't able to do at all last year.  All three loops have that last dreaded hill.  So that was a win.  My buddy Mike was our last runner, runner #8.  He had to do the yellow loop, 4 miles.  A little after mile 2 he rolled his ankle and broke his 5th metatarsal.  He finished up, but he was done.  We decided to continue on and see who was up for covering his last two loops.  My next leg was the red leg at about 10pm.  It was 8.4 miles.  I was stretching before my teammate came in for the handoff and I set my water bottle down.  I totally left it there and forgot it until I was about 100 yards in.  I decided it was nice and cool and I wouldn't need it.  FAIL!  I actually was feeling real good again.  There is a monster hill that I charged right up.  But right before mile 5 everything started to unravel.  I think I was getting dehydrated.  They had a water station, but I had no cup.  So I put my mouth under the jug and drank like an animal.  I hoped it refresh me enough to do the last 3.4 miles.  But I was still cramping up and feeling like I was going to puke.  I just wanted to lie down and take a nap.  There was a lot of walking over the next 2.5 miles.  When I saw the 1 mile to go marker I was able to run for a bit longer.  I couldn't run up the hill this time, but at least I finished.  Yago was our first runner, so he decided to run Mike's next leg and then continue on and do his leg.  Next was our team captain Fredi.  She got to the top of the mountain on the red loop and her knee stopped working.  She had to be rescued.  It took a couple of hours.  After that we decided to call it quits.  We still got our medals, but we'll get a DNF.  It was fun, but I feel bad for my injured teammates.  Been there, done that.  I also apologize for my snoring in the tent.  That tends to happen when I'm not sleeping in my own bed.

Ragnar recovery run.  Saw one of the gates open for the RWCD canal, which is a no no.  I was about to text the boss when a zanjero pulled up.  I went and told him about the gate and told him I would lock it for him.  Turns out it wasn't an RWCD employee that left it open.  At that location they are interlocked with SRP and Flood Control.  Not sure whose lock it was, but I locked it.

I only meant to go 5 miles.  I saw a zanjero at Lateral 3.  Since it's Wednesday that means he would be finishing his 7-day shift in just a few hours.  Then my brother-in-law would be taking over.  I asked him what time my BIL should get there because he typically works the night shift, but this week he is covering for someone on vacation.  Even zanjeros get vacations.  I continued running up to Lateral 1 and then turned and ran back home.  On the way back I saw the crew from the Main Pumping Plant.  Their job is to maintain the pumps at the MPP and the wells that are all through the District.  They were working on the well at 2 - 1/4 and the MC.  I talked to Jason from the other side of the canal since he was the only one I knew.  But he's not a zanjero, so SlowJoe won't have any interest in this part of my entry.

Now that I'm 40 and old, it seems people don't give me a second thought about saying good morning to them.  In fact, they probably expect it from me.
 

This was a fun one.  Our team consisted of me, my daughter, my wife's sister Missy, my wife's sister's friend Daylene, my wife's sister's husband's cousin, and my wife's sister's husband's cousin's son.  We had an 8am to 8:30am start time.  We went in the second wave of that allotted time.  A ton of people did this race.  They needed two days to accommodate everyone.  So there will be more people running it tomorrow.

The first ridiculous obstacle was the World's Largest Moon Bounce.  Next was the Drop, just a big bouncy slide.  Next was the Jump Balls.  You've seen Wipeout?  Similar to that, but not as big.  I fell off the first one and just bounced on the rest.  Missy had a fairly nice wipeout.  Next was the Foam of Fury, basically a foamy slip and slide.  Next, the Sweeper.  This was a balance beam with a sweeper arm that tries to knock you off.  There were two balance beams on each side of the sweeper arm.  One way made you running against the sweeper, the other, running with it.  We chose to go against it.  So, I just crawled underneath it.  I regret not standing there and letting it knock me over.  Next was the Tarzan Swing.  They told us to grab high on the rope.  Good advice, but I was too fat. 

Now we were half way through the obstacles.  My daughter was getting tired, but I urged her on.  The next obstacle was the Gorilla Bars.  Probably 30-feet worth of monkey bars.  My daughter went across by swinging her feet up into the bars in front of her and crawling upside down.  I was able to make it all the way across by going one at a time.  When I got down I noticed I had ripped some skin up from the palm of my hand.  It's like when you have blisters from doing yard work and then you rip the blisters open from doing more yard work a couple of days later.  But my thought was, "You're such a pansy.  You haven't done any physical labor in ages.  How did this happen to you?"  Next was the Tight Rope Traverse.  You have one tight rope to walk across and one about shoulder height to balance yourself.  It was easy at first, but the further I went, the more wobbly it got.  Next was Cool Runnings.  This was my favorite one.  You had to carry an intertube up a giant inflatable water slide.  Since there were six of us, we decided to race each other down.  I raced Missy's cousin-in-law.  I had a slight lead on him until I started bouncing into the wall.  I think we tied.  Next was Get it Up and Over.  This was an 8-foot wall to scale.  There were two boards that stick out about an inch and a half near the bottom to step you up, but the last 5 feet you have to do yourself.  I stepped on one of the braces holding it up to get my fat tummy over.  Next was the Wrecking Ball.  This was right by the finish line, so my wife was there to take pictures and videos.  They hand you a life vest before you go on.  There are rotatating balance beams you have to run across over 4 feet of water while two large red wrecking balls are swinging around in a circle.  I didn't see anyone make it all the way across without falling off the beam and landing in the water.  My wife said she saw a few make it.  I made it about two thirds of the way before the beam got to spinny and I just decidide to let it take me.  The final obstacle/finish line was the World's Largest Inflatable Water Slide.  We decided to race each other again.  This time I raced my daughter.  We were pretty much going down at the same rate, but I slid further than her at the bottom.  Must have something to do with physics.  Anyway, that was it.  We all had a great time. 

This morning's run was cold.  My phone said it was 39º, but it's been known to be wrong.  It might have been a little warmer, but that's still too cold for me.  I didn't like it.  However, it only took a half a mile before I remembered that my two extra layers of fat keep me warm once I've been running a few minutes.  So, that's good.  And this was the first time in forever that the entire run didn't feel like a plod.

Every day I'm feeling a little faster less slow.

Yesterday was the Adventure Run.  I was the only person out of 400 people to dress up.  It might have been a cruel joke on me.  Anyway, I did run about a half a mile.  I was wearing a sock that was too low and my shoe rubbed a blister on to the back of my heel.  I wasn't sure if it would hinder my running this morning, but I put some Vaseline® on it and a Bandaid®.  It did all right.

I just wanted a nice easy run this morning because I plan on going to my kid's elementary school tomorrow and put a hurt on all the little kids at the Turkey Trot.  I took Ginger with me.  We were going to run 2.5 miles, but closing in on mile 2 she started to limp.  I stopped her and checked her paws for thorns.  I saw she was bleeding.  So I carried her home.

Today was the Turkey Trot at my kid's school.  They had each grade going at different times.  I have one daughter in 6th grade, and they started at 8am.  Each kid was supposed to carry an index card with them so that each time they completed a lap, they got a letter added to it.  The goal was for them to spell TURKEY TROT.  But when they started my daughter's class didn't have their cards, so I waited with her until she got hers.  By that time some of the kids had already completed one lap.  I was going to run with her for a lap or two, but she stopped running after about 100 feet.  Yes, feet.  So I kept going.  Some times there would be kids passing me.  There were so many that I couldn't tell if they were legitametly passing me or if they were just sprinting and stopping.  I was able to do 7 laps before they called out to stop.  TURKEY T.  By my GPS it was 1.48 miles.  And I did a partial lap for warm up.  I have another daughter in 4th grade, and she was supposed to go right after the 6th graders, but she stayed home sick.  Emily is in 2nd grade so I came back at 12:30pm to run with her.  We didn't run that much, but we went around twice.  Another sweet little girl stayed with us.  She told me that she always helps with Emily.