12/31/2008 Last entry for 2008!

The weather around here is freaking nuts! Yesterday we ran in the afternoon and I started out in shorts and a long sleeve technical shirt. We only ran 6 miles but by mile 2 I was hot as hell! It was 79 freaking degrees out there! I ran the last 4 miles shirtless. Crazy! Today I had to wear pants, a jacket, gloves, and a beanie cuz it was only TWENTY NINE DEGREES!! Ridiculous! Oh, well. I got in a beautiful 12 miles this morning which was just fantastic! I work the next two nights and then off for one day. I will try to get in about 16-18 miles on Friday. At least that's the plan.
Ok, so everyone have a great New Year's Eve and be careful out there! I'm on duty tonight but don't really want to have to do anything! Peace and I'll talk to ya in 2009!

12/28/2008 On the Horizon

Today brought warmer weather with less wind so it was perfect out there. I may have dressed a little warmer than I needed but I felt okay. We ran a 10 mile out and back on 1585 and I am feeling strong and painfree. Good news since the Bandera 50K is less than 2 weeks away. I haven't had any ITB issues either which makes me extremely happy!! Thank the Gods for the discovery of the foam roller. Something so simple yet so effective! I'll probably run a little shorter tomorrow and then longer on Tuesday and Wednesday.
On another note, I have registered as a volunteer for the Gore-Tex TransRockies Run in August up in Colorado. Chris, one of the gals I ran with at Javelina, said that she had done it this last summer and it was loads of fun. So I will be hanging out in the Colorado Rockies for 6 days getting cool stuff from Salomon and Windstopper! Oh, and manning aid stations and such for a bunch of cool runners as well. They said that it will be hard work but lots of fun. Sounds great to me! I'm a little torn because the Lean Horse 100 is on August 22-23 and the TransRockies starts on the 23rd so I won't be able to run it like I'd originally planned. I figure the TransRockies Run will be a really good trade off though and I'm looking forward to it!

12/27/2008 Let's Get It Going!

Ok, so.........WOW.........thank the stars that all of that is over!! I feel like a fat freaking pig! Time to get busy now. I hit the elliptical yesterday for about 30 minutes on an easy setting and did a little bit of strength training and that was about it. Today Aubrey and I got out there and put in an easy 5 miles. I definitely could have gone longer but thought 5 was a nice number to start with. I have a few days off and the kids are with my parents until next Saturday so I can really focus on my running and my stupid weight. My "resolution" is to make my body weight 155 lbs a reality for this year, in which case I would have to lose about 15 lbs. Shouldn't be too hard. I am going to buy some kettle bells and get a training DVD and see if they are all they are cracked up to be. I hope so. Plus I plan on doing a LOT of racing this year.

12/25/2008 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

For today that's all there is to say. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS from Me and Mine!! I love you all!

12/23/2008

Work has had me by the tail the last few days. Tonight is my last night of five and it's gonna be tough to make myself go in. I've not gone and run at all the last few days simply because I've been exhausted (and it's been pretty fricking cold!). Hopefully tomorrow morning will see a little 5 miler or something but I doubt it. We have to travel to Amarillo for Christmas Eve with my family and then drive back home the same night. Anyway, I have a few days off coming up this weekend and I can put in some time running. I'm ready. My brain is really needing it. Running is to my brain as Roto-Rooter is to a stopped up toilet. It flushes the shit out!

12/18/2008 Spurring in the New Year

I thought about making this post a recap of the last year and as I was typing...........I got hand cramps. A LOT has happened this year! I'm just going to let the previous sentence suffice for all I have (or had) to say! I have even MORE stuff planned for '09 so I am primed and ready to go. Aubrey and I put in a nice, easy 8 miles this morning and had a great time. The weather was perfect! I head back to work tomorrow for a 5 night workfest which sucks big time. Again, I really hate work.
It's obviously the Christmas season so it will be busy for the next week and a half or so but I am hoping to keep the miles coming on a pretty regular basis. With Bandera looming on the horizon I feel that I need to put on the proverbial spurs and kick myself into a higher gear. YEE HAW, 2009, HERE I COME!!

I cannot wait to see this!

This movie comes out on May 1st! I am a huge superhero movie freak! I love seeing the characters that I read about as a kid come to life on the big screen! They are way too much fun! Luckily my wife and kids feel the same way. Nothing like a family of freaks!!

Oh, and no running today. Maybe tomorrow before work.

Don't I Wish!?!?!?

I always love having a little fun with Photo Shop! I got to playing around with it tonight and came up with this little farce! Cool, huh?

12/15/2008 Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

The high was only like 32 today. We waited until this afternoon to get in a little 6 mile run. The wind was out of the northeast around 5-10mph so a big improvement from yesterday. It wasn't too bad once we got started since the winter clothes they make nowadays are just soooo good! You can be VERY lightweight but incredibly warm at the same time. So we're planning on a little further distance tomorrow. It's supposed to be a tad warmer so we'll see.

12/14/2008

I really wish that I could have gotten a picture of the wind today. It was gusting up into the 40+ mph range. The sand and dirt that were blowing would have given you a facial that Joan Rivers would be proud of! Anyway, Aubrey and I figured we would wait until the wind laid just a little. So around 5pm or so we headed out to 1585 and the wind was still about 20mph. But it wasn't too cold........yet. We planned on doing the same thing as yesterday by parking our cars 5 miles apart and then just running with the wind at our backs. However, my Xterra's battery cable had other ideas. It just didn't want to start once we got our there so we just called off the run for tonight. Also, about the same time, the cold front from up north blew in and we felt the temperature drop about 20 degrees while we were working on the car. We'll see what we can do tomorrow after I put in a new battery cable.

12/13/2008 Whoo Hoo

Ok, so Aubrey joined me this afternoon and we ran a fantastic 5 miles out on 1585. The wind was pretty outrageous so we parked his car at the first mile and then ran east to my car 5 miles down the road with the wind at our backs. It was really nice! My legs felt really good and so did everything else. I was actually able to kick it up for the last 200 yards to a 5:03 pace! Anyway, we are heading back out tomorrow for a little longer run for me and then Aubrey will catch on to the back side of my run. Hopefully 8 or 10 miles will happen for me. I'll let ya know. Hopefully I've beaten the African Sleeping Sickness! We shall see!

12/12/2008 Lazy Man Sittin!

I've had the last two days off................and haven't done shit but sleep! I've been completely exhausted! I'm wondering if we've had an outbreak of African Sleeping Sickness here in Lubbock!?!? Today marks the one week point since I've run. Last Friday I ran the 10 miler and then I went back to work. It's been really busy and I guess it's just worn me out! I am sitting here trying to kind of force myself out the door for a few miles before work tonight but it just ain't happening. I am just going to put it down to a "well deserved break" and not sweat it. I have Bandera coming up in a month!! I think that my base is good enough to handle any mileage jumps I may have to make in the next couple of weeks, which is good, because I am going to HAVE to make those mileage jumps. Aubrey says that he wants to run tomorrow so that will be a good motivator. He can meet me for the back half of my run, that way I can go longer. Anyway, the plan is to get back into it tomorrow! I have 6 days off after tonight so it should be doable. Now if I can just get over this damn guilt!

12/9/2008 Zach's Big Band Concert

Tonight is Zach's first band concert. Obviously it will be Christmas music that is played, among other things. He's in the 6th grade and it's his first year in band. He's a percussionist and he's actually pretty good. I don't get to go to the damn thing cuz I gotta work ,which sucks big-time!! Kelli is going to video it for me so I WILL actually get to see it in some form or fashion. Sometimes I really hate working!

12/8/2008 Rainy days and Mondays

Rainy days and Monday always get me down! That's actually a bunch of bullshit but I liked the song growing up. LOL It definitely is Monday today and it definitely IS raining but I be feelin ok. No running today simply because I'm tired from working last night. It was busy again, as usual. I thought I would get up a little earlier this afternoon and plod out a few miles but with the rain I am going to have to pick the kids up at school. They don't have far to walk but Zach has percussion equipment and I don't want it to get wet. Costs too much! Aubrey and I will try again in the am to see if we can get out there but Mondays are usually hell at work so I will have to play it by ear. Bandera's not too far away so I need to get some good runs in.

12/5/2008

Well, Christmas is just around the corner so I am trying to get as many runs in as I can before the holidays take their usual toll. I always try to keep running but sometimes the snacks and goodies get a little too enticing! Today's run was fantastic! I ran a nice, simple 10 miler with my Ipod out on 1585. The temperature was pretty cold but I made short work of that with my North Face pullover. I love that damn thing! So glad it was on sale that day. haha Anyway, I seem to have completely recovered from the leg "thing." I just keep using the roller and it seems to keep my troubles at bay. I am going to start strength training the legs big time and hitting the hills out at the lake. I think some hill repeats would do my legs some good.

12/4/2008

MAN, IT'S CHILLY OUT THERE!! About 39 degrees minus some for wind chill. I bundled up (cuz I'm a puss when it comes to cold) and headed out to 1585. I had originally planned to just put in about 4 miles again and ended up running 6 instead. I just felt pretty good so I kept going. I hit the foam roller before AND after my run and my ITB's are feeling ok. I plan on getting out a little earlier tomorrow and running but I'm not sure what kind of mileage I am going to put in. I guess I'll figure it out while I'm out there.

Okay, so Kelli and I want to go tomorrow night and see the movie, Twilight! We've been wanting to go since it came out but haven't had the time. If you haven't read the books, you need to! They're really amazing. They are actually written for older teens and younger adults but Kelli and I both have read the entire series and thoroughly enjoyed them.

12/01/2008

I got the 4 miles in this morning. The weather is better than yesterday, that's for sure. It is, however, still freaking cold. It's about 25 with the wind chill which made for a very brisk run. This was only the second run for Aubrey in a month so he is just now getting back into it. Depending on how work goes tonight we'll put in some more miles in the morning. I still need to figure out what my next race will be. I think I am going to take December off and start looking at January for my next one. Maybe Ghost Town 38.5 in January and then Rocky in February. Are there any other good races out there in January?? If you guys have any ideas, let me know!