For Whom the Dogs Bark

October 31, 2024

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Location:

Cypress,TX,

Member Since:

Oct 10, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 24:22 (March 2010); 22:33 (October 2010); 20:47 (May 2011); 21:05 (May 2012); 21:33 (September 2012); 21:23 (November, 2013); 22:31 (September 2014)

5M:  39:22 (November, 2012); 35:54 (November, 2013); 36:03 (March, 2015)

10K: 44:08 (November, 2010); 49:20 (July, 2013); 44:07 (April, 2015)

12K:  56:03 (December, 2013); 58:58 (December, 2014)

10M:  1:11:58 (October, 2012); 1:15:24 (October, 2014)

Half Marathon:  1:53:xx (London's Run 2010); 2:05:21 (Cowtown 2010); 1:37:04 (Gusher 2011); 1:42:19 (Huntsville 2011); 1:33:47 (Baytown Jailbreak 2012); 1:33:50 (The Woodlands 2012); 1:42:52 (Texas 2015); 1:49:17 (Jailbreak 2015); 1:38:34 (The Woodlands 2015)

25K: 2:01:47 (Fifth Third River Bank, May 2014)

Marathon: 5:51:35 (Texas Marathon 2009); 6:21:36 (Ogden 2009); 4:58:29 (St. George 2009); 4:13:45 (Texas Marathon 2010); 4:04:12 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2010); 5:11:14 (Hartford ING, 2010); 3:41:43 (Richmond SunTrust, 2010); 3:39:27 (Texas Marathon 2011); 3:41:46 (Utah Valley Marathon, 2011); 3:30:35 (St. George 2011); 3:41:51 (Richmond 2012); 3:49:15 (Texas 2013); 3:46:59 (Paavo Nurmi, 2013); 3:34:04 (St. George 2013); 3:49:51 (Texas 2014); 3:31:59 (Richmond 2014); 3:28:34 (Boston 2015)

Short-Term Running Goals:

3:20, 1:30, 0:20

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'm 60, there is no long term.

Personal:

I live, work and run in Houston, Texas.  I have run 17 marathons, some good ones and some others.  I prefer straight, flat, cold, sea-level marathons, still waiting for my first one.  I feel like there are more PRs out there.  When I have them, I am told it is time to dial it back, run for healthy reasons.  I'm sure that's right, and I'm sure it won't happen.

My wife and I are from the mountains of the west.  We have five kids, three granddaughters and three grandsons.  The kids and grandkids are native Texans but we are not -- you have to be born here.

As for my blog title: I run most of my miles before sunrise, sometimes hours before. On the back road of my neighborhood two hours before daylight, I can depend on a pack of mutts behind the boundary fence lighting up when they hear my footsteps. I have wondered what they wanted; but according to Hemingway I needn't ask.

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
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One hour on the elliptical at the hotel.  I couldn't work out on Friday due to our travel and work schedule and I had a limp most of the day.  I kept working it though, walking whenever I could and forcing myself to put pressure on the ankle.  I am doing this entry on Sunday morning in Hong Kong -- basically the ankle felt great during the workout Saturday morning and I had no limp all day long.  It got a little tired toward the end of the day but is otherwise OK.  Hopefully this is behind me.  Probably good for me this week to work it hard without overdoing it, and then let it rest.

So Friday and Saturday I was in Shenzhen, which is across the border from Hong Kong in China.  It used to be a sleepy little fishing village, but China decided to pour money into it to compete with Hong Kong, so it has broad boulevards and large new buildings, very different from Hong Kong or Beijing, the only two other places I have visited in China.  The hotel there was opulent but had a strange, sterile feel to it.  It is built on a Spanish theme; the doormen are even dressed like matadors.  It felt out of place; just like you wouldn't go to Wall Street for barbeque, you wouldn't go to China for Spanish culture.  I mentioned to someone that the decor felt like one of Saddam Hussein's palaces, and others seemed to agree with that description, though none of us has ever been to Iraq.  Anyway, we enjoyed the visit and particularly the company of the Chinese members of our party -- we had a good time and we got a lot done.  We start back home in the morning (Monday), arriving late Monday Houston time.  This hotel in Hong Kong doesn't have a gym, so it may be Tuesday before I get to train again.

The weather here feels identical to Houston, warm and moist -- now if they could just make the ground flat.

Comments
From SlowJoe on Sun, May 02, 2010 at 10:51:40 from 184.79.24.255

Sounds like a cool experience.

I rolled my ankle a few months back and when I started exercising it (doing ankle circles at my desk, etc) it started getting better more quickly so I think that was a good call to start using it and putting just a litle pressure on it.

From Burt on Mon, May 03, 2010 at 12:34:23 from 206.19.214.144

Hope your having a great time despite the ankle.

From Smooth on Mon, May 03, 2010 at 17:08:58 from 174.23.172.155

Your comment on the left: "they make the road go up and down...put it back after the race?" makes me laugh soooo hard!

Hey, I was born in Hong Kong. Fun reading about your trip to HK and Shenzhen. Definitely a place more for shopping than for running.

I noticed you ran the Texas Marathon this year. GREAT time! I want to run that marathon some day. My daughter lives in Kingwood and I have run the Greenbelt trail there many a times when I visited her and the grandkids.

Hope your ankle is doing better now that you're back to "flatland"!

From Burt on Mon, May 03, 2010 at 17:33:51 from 206.19.214.144

Flatlander, meet Smooth. Smooth, meet Flatlander. Just so you know, both of those names are aliases. I found out Smooth wasn't her real name when I was trying to track her last year on the Boston Marathon.

Smooth's husband is a stake president just like you Flatlander.

From Burt on Mon, May 03, 2010 at 17:34:07 from 206.19.214.144

I'm totally spreading rumors here.

From flatlander on Mon, May 03, 2010 at 17:34:26 from 75.239.194.21

Joe, back in the U.S. now, sitting in the Newark airport, thanks for the comment. My ankle still feels fine, so if I am not too jet lagged I plan to go for a regular run in the morning. I think it is properly rested.

Burt, thanks, it was a great trip and the ankle is ready to go.

Smooth, thanks so much for the comments (and for the comment on my 1-1-2010 race report). I have seen your blog and enjoy reading it. I was telling somebody during this trip that I think Hong Kong is one of the top 5 cities in the world. It is a very exciting place, very efficient with a great mix of big-time business interests and tons of unique local flavor. I hope to visit again sometime soon.

I live over on the northwest side of Houston, but I have friends in Kingwood, some of them may know your daughter's family. I'm already registered for the Kingwood marathon this year. The following year (2012), New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, plus they moved Cowtown to Sunday so we are fast running out of marathon options around here. Hope to see you down here for it sometime. Great job in Boston, by the way.

From flatlander on Mon, May 03, 2010 at 17:37:17 from 75.239.194.21

Burt, LOL, that will never happen. The church is a little thin here but not that thin!

From baldnspicy on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 03:43:27 from 72.77.121.216

I'm sure you'd make a great Stake Pres, flat, if you really aren't one. Wouldn't ever happen to me in my stake. Too many lawyers, doctors, presidents of major corporations, etc. :-p But hey, I'm happy to be in Primary (where I've been since we moved here 4 years ago) and leave all the "big" callings in the ward and stake to those that want them.

From flatlander on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 12:56:33 from 76.31.26.153

Wes, thanks, really not one. That is just a rumor that Burt helpfully started. Actually, I am on the high council, which is a lot of fun. Second time I have done that, did it years ago during law school when I lived in New York City.

For all on the blog who aren't LDS and are scratching their heads as the Mormons rattle on, please forgive us and our jargon. There is actually nothing all that mysterious about it. Mormons have a lay ministry and these are all different offices in the church that ordinary people do for a period of time apart from their regular jobs and then it rotates to someone else. A stake president is a person who presides over several congregations, a bishop presides over one congregation (called a "ward") and reports to the stake president, high council is a body that advises the stake president, to name a few. Wes teaches "primary", which is Sunday School for young children, one of the best jobs of all. He must be good or they wouldn't have let him do it for four years. We take our duties seriously but honestly we don't consider one job more prestigious than another, and we don't believe that God does either. But we do honor and revere our leaders, especially our prophet, and we certainly have a lot of fun and joy in our service. So there you have it, Mormons 101 in a nutshell.

From Burt on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 13:20:05 from 206.19.214.144

Welllll.....there's a certain level of wisdom, spirituality, and experience you have to obtain to be called as a stake president. You ooze that. Wes and I haven't quite reached that rung of the ladder.

Is there a goof ball rung?

From flatlander on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 14:52:59 from 198.207.244.102

Goof ball is not good, very ominous. Goof balls become bishops, because they relate so well to teenage boys.

From SlowJoe on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 15:00:58 from 131.59.200.82

Hmmm, ok Mormons...here's some Catholicism 101 since we've been around awhile - you don't want your bishops relating TOO well to teenage boys.

JK! (Probably shouldn't have gone there, sorry God!)

From Burt on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 15:15:32 from 206.19.214.144

Oh shoot, Joe! I've been holding my bladder here at my desk. I almost lost it there.

From flatlander on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 15:34:34 from 198.207.244.102

There was a little tiny voice in the back of my head telling me not to make the bishop comment. Of course I forged right ahead.

From SlowJoe on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 15:41:47 from 131.59.200.80

Sorry to take the class out of your blog Flat, most people are mature enough to resist...most people.

From flatlander on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 15:49:38 from 198.207.244.102

No problem, if I had waited just a minute I would have seen the connection and worded it differently, but no, not me. I wonder if Burt is back yet from his afternoon break?

From Burt on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 16:49:58 from 206.19.214.144

I'm back now. I can't help but feel partially responsible to the downward spiral of this conversation.

From Burt on Tue, May 04, 2010 at 16:50:30 from 206.19.214.144

Smooth probably hates me by now.

From baldnspicy on Wed, May 05, 2010 at 00:05:23 from 72.77.121.216

Burt, actually, I think I was the one that started it on it's way down. You have to forgive me for my jaded view of callings. I fully believe that the people that are called (no matter what the calling) are supposed to be there. I support each and every one of them.

Let me explain my (warped?) view of our ward. If there are ward members that actually read my blog, maybe they'll learn something. Our ward spans from about 5 miles from the city to about 25 miles. The rich people live up north, us poor people live in the "ghetto." There is a very distinct line - typically drawn by zip codes (yes, Utah bloggers, we have wards that span more than a couple of blocks haha). So there's that division.

Then the types of people that comprise our ward further divide. As I mentioned, we have a disproportionate number of "white collar" lawyers, doctors, CEOs, and even a Pittsburgh Steeler. Not only that, but we get the medical and dental residents that move in, stay for a couple of years, then move out. The funny thing is that all of these students live better than I do (on student loans) and are social climbers. So, when they find out that I'm just some computer nerd that lives in the ghetto, they move on. No skin off my back.

So you have the haves, the have-nots, and the students (have-nots, but will eventually be haves). We've had a couple of families that we were friends with from the time we moved in (they were students) but as soon as they were doctors, they moved up north and they were assimilated into that social group, never to talk to us again.

I have held "big" callings in the past, but I've never aspired to them. I like my Primary calling, working with the 10 year olds, and doing Scouting. The Bishop asked me if I wanted a change and I told him no way. I'm happy where I am.

Sorry for the long post, but I feel like I had to explain my comment so that non-Mormons wouldn't think that people that are called to be Bishops, Stake Presidents, High Counselors, etc. is because they're rich, powerful, etc. That has nothing to do with it, and I don't want people thinking that I believe it does. Some of the best leaders I've ever had were ones that were not well off. They were humble, willing to help, compassionate, and were sensitive to your particular situation. I've also had an incredible Bishop (he's now our Stake President) who is the CEO of a network TV station here. He's probably one of the richest people in our stake, but he is the most humble, kind, warm, personable person I think I've ever met. He didn't get called to be a Bishop or Stake President because of his money, power, influence, or anything like that. He was called because he is a very good man. I respect him highly.

Now, if you've read this far, I hope I've explained myself better. After rereading my post, I see how it could be taken the wrong way...

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