Go, you chicken fat, go away!

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.)