9/25/2008

Another nice, round 6 miler for today. It's getting a little repetitive I know but while we're working, it's all we can muster. ha On our next few days off we'll go longer. We're both feeling really strong out there so it won't be difficult. We have Crossroads coming up a week from Saturday and we're looking forward to that. On another note, I am kind of wanting to find a new trail shoe to start wearing. I have been running the last several months in the New Balance mr790's (the yellow ones cuz they make me feel fast!!). I really like them but I am wanting a little more cushioning and support without getting a heavy shoe. I am really, really fond of the mr790's simply because they are sooooo light and minimal but I think my feet and legs would benefit from more support and cushioning. Any suggestions for good shoes or comments would be appreciated. I have also thought about just getting some really good, cushioned insoles and sticking those in my 790's. I still REALLY miss my old La Sportiva Slingshots!! They were PERFECT!!

9/23/2008

Busy night at work, Beautiful morning again, Ran 6 miles. Nuff said!

9/22/2008

Last night I had to work until 0300. The night wasn't too busy which is very atypical. That made it possible for me to get up a little earlier than I normally would. Anyway, I got up around 0945 and called Aubrey and we headed out to 1585 and ran 6 miles again. I just didn't feel like running 12-15 today. We're going to go back out tomorrow after work and see how that goes. Mondays are typically Hell in the ER so I can expect to get my ass handed to me on a silver platter but I definitely need to get the mileage in. C'est la vie!

9/21/2008

All humans should be forced out of bed early on mornings such as this one! Perfectly serene and amazing! It's cool and calm once again out there, another perfect morning for running. It's actually so cool outside this morning that I almost had to put on some running pants instead of shorts. I'm a real tit when it comes to being cold! I would never have survived the above photo shoot. It looks WAY too cold for me!! It is, however, one of my favorite Greenpeace photos.
Even though the morning was fantastic, we didn't have the time that we wanted to spend so we only ran 6 miles. Aubrey worked all night and has to get up early this afternoon for his grandson to come over. I am working tonight but only til 0300. I can get up around 9 or 10 tomorrow and we can get in a good 12-15 miles then I can go back to bed for work tomorrow night.

9/19/2008 An Early Fall??

The last couple of days have been fantastic. We have a hint of an early fall in the air and the weather is cool and calm. Just great for early morning running. Yesterday Aubrey and I ran a nice, round 12 miles. And then today we recovered with 5 miles at a little bit brisker pace. We have the inaugaral Crossroads Marathon in Odessa, Tx coming up on the 4th of October. We obviously don't know what to expect but we do know that it's put on by the Crossroads Fellowship Church there in Odessa so they should have lots of good volunteers. haha It's a Boston qualifier which is pretty impressive for a first time marathon. Again, we are just going to use it as a training run so no pressure to do well, just to finish and feel good.

9/17/2008

I had to take the last three days off because of work but I got back out there today. I got in a 6 mile run this morning. The weather was beautiful, just a little warm. It's so hard to run when I am working though. I gotta figure out how to get that done.

So this afternoon, Kenzie came in with Thor and I snapped a couple of pics. Isn't he gorgeous? I couldn't catch him with his teeth bared in typical chihuahua style but I got a couple of good shots! He wore the bikini for a second but I think he ended up ripping it to shreds.

9/13/2008

The weather here today is gorgeous. It's overcast and cool with a slight breeze. No telling what Hurricane Ike will throw our way later but right now it is great running weather. Aubrey and I ran 10 miles out on 1585 this morning. I'm really happy with how I am feeling day to day. It definitely bodes well for the marathon, 50 miler, and 100 miler coming up in the very near future. I am trying to focus on my diet more closely cuz I want/need to lose about 12-15 lbs before my 50 miler. If I get focused it should happen. We shall see.

Hundred Year Flood

Wow! Some of these pics are amazing! Apparently yesterday broke all the records in Lubbock. They cancelled the kids' school today due to RAIN, a first in the history of Lubbock! We actually have a little sun today but not for long I don't think. The rain is supposed to continue into the weekend and Hurricane Ike hasn't even come ashore yet! Craziness!
Aubrey and I ran a simple 6 miles this am and I'm feeling good but really wish the weather would lay so we could get in some more good long runs. Oh, well, we pray for rain and we get it!
Enjoy the pics of the Tech Stadium! This will bring a whole new concept to the sport of football! How will they ever swim with all those pads on??

9/12/2008

If you haven't been watching the news, check this out.

Rain creates emergency status in city
By Josh Hull | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
Friday, September 12, 2008
Story last updated at 9/12/2008 - 2:27 am

While Lubbock looked east the past few weeks to see if hurricanes would bring evacuees here, the city was drenched by storms coming from the west as six inches of rain caused numerous problems Thursday.
More rain is possible through this weekend, which could cause cancellations or rescheduling for community and sporting events.
No high school football games have been canceled yet, but athletic directors across the area said they will monitor the situation to make sure no one will be in danger.
Thursday's impact was widespread:
• Lubbock, Cooper and Frenship schools are closed today in anticipation of flooded streets.
• Reports of cars trapped by floodwaters across the city poured into Lubbock emergency offices across the area, including some confirmed reports of flooded homes, said Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin. For thousands of other drivers, the heavy all-day rains made driving a chore and some roads were also closed.
• Martin said he planned on declaring a state of emergency for the city to respond to flooding he believes will reach the status of a hundred-year flood.
• City officials said they were using Lubbock County inmates to fill 5,000 sandbags to place in the heavily flooded areas, particularly the area around 66th Street and Avenue W.
• Martin said normal city services, including trash pick-up, may be canceled during the next few days until water levels start to recede. Also as a result of the flooding, wastewater from the water treatment plant was released into the Yellowhouse Canyon to accommodate excess water which is overloading the system.
• Lubbock County Judge Tom Head said he planned on declaring a state of emergency for the county also as rain water continued to flood roads across the area. "Please try to stay in your homes unless it's an emergency," Head said. "If you are in a car, do not drive through water as it only takes a little to lift a car."
Because the city has been on standby to receive evacuees from Hurricane Ike, Martin said the shelter facilities could be used to house Lubbock residents displaced by flooding.
"A lot of people are concerned about the hurricane, but at the same time we have a disaster of our own in Lubbock," he said.
Martin said the flood would not affect Lubbock's status as a possible placement site for refugees from the Gulf Coast, though an emergency city council meeting was scheduled for 1 p.m. today to discuss appropriate responses to damage caused by the rain.
An emergency callback system was activated by the city to notify people in areas heavily affected by flooding about the possibility of water reaching homes.
Officials warned people to stay out of floodwaters and out of the playa lakes as they pose a significant danger for drowning.


So obviously I haven't been able to run the last couple of days. haha Aubrey and I are headed out for a short run this am between rain storms. I'll let ya know how it goes this afternoon.

9/6/2008

Last night was busy as Hell! It always seems to be nowadays with people using the Emergency Rooms for primary care. It never ceases to amaze me what people will come to the ER for. Anyway, I was pretty exhausted when I got off work this morning but I still got out and ran 8 miles with Aubrey. I bought new shoes to wear to work and last night was my first time to use them. THEY SUCKED!! My feet were torn up before the shift was half over. It made my run painful big time. Crazy freaking shoes! Don't ever buy Street Cars! Seriously, the balls of my feet were on fire and the backs of my ankles were blistered. I've never had a pair of shoes do that to me. Back to my Nike Frees for work! They're comfy!

9/4/2008

Okey dokey, things are going really well. Aubrey and I put in another 5 miles today and I am hoping to up the ante tomorrow and put in more like 8 miles in the morning if I can haul my ass out of bed early enough. I start back to night shift tomorrow night and will be on for 6 shifts. That's way too many in a row as far as I'm concerned but I'm still on orientation. I will be off of orientation at the end of this 6 day stretch then my schedule will be back to a little more normal. Ok, so, running plans. First the Crossroads Marathon on 10/4 as a training run, then the Palo Duro Canyon 50 miler on 10/18 which is a training run for the Javelina Jundred on 11/15-16 if my entry goes through. Lots of running coming up so I hope I am up to it. If I feel as good as I do now it won't be a problem. We shall see!

9/3/2008

I'm sitting here relaxing, listening to some bad ass music and just thinking about how good I feel right now. After the marathon on Sunday I had to work Monday and Tuesday so I didn't run. I don't think that I would have felt like it anyway since my calves were pretty tight. However, today was a new day and I headed out for a recovery run of about 3 miles. I ran five instead. I just felt great! Yay, ME!! I went ahead today and sent in my entry for the Javelina Jundred in November. I don't know if they will accept it or not but the website says that if the entry is postmarked by Friday they will consider it. I guess we'll see. There's another marathon coming up on October 4th in Odessa so that will be a great training run two weeks before the Palo Duro Canyon 50 miler on the 18th. Strange to be using all these races as training runs but I really like it that way. That way there are more people around to keep me motivated and inspired. See ya down the road!

8/31/2008 New Mexico Marathon

I tried to blog a little this morning from my cell phone while I was waiting for the race to start but I couldn't log on from there. Oh, well. As I said before, Aubrey and I just used this race as a training run. We used a run 20 minutes/walk 5 minutes ratio and we only finished 15 minutes slower than last year when we ran the whole thing and hurt like hell afterwards. This was MUCH better. The day couldn't have been any better. It was completely overcast and cool, like in the 60's all morning. There were plenty of fun people on the course as well which always makes the time more endurable. We finished in around 4:28 I think. As you can see from the course profile there is a great long downhill part of the race. This is why I think that this would be a great course for a marathon PR or to try and qualify for Boston if that's what your into. I'm not!

8/28/2008

Ok, so Aubrey and I got out and ran 8 miles this morning as a last minute training run before our BIG training run this weekend. We are stoked and ready to go. I always love heading out of town for races. Albuquerque is a great place for a marathon. I am going to rest up for the next couple of days and then be ready to roll. I work again tomorrow and then off for the weekend. I will let ya know how it goes on Sunday night. Til then, wish me luck!

8/24/2008

Man, what a lazy ass I've been. Well, not really. In all actuality I've been busy as Hell this week. I've been in hospital and nursing orientation during the day Monday-Friday and then we've had the kids' open house at school two different nights, with baseball games, and post-wedding parties, and the list goes on and on. Anyway, needless to say, I've not been able to get much running in. I ran a whole 2.6 miles yesterday in the middle of everything. Yeah, that'll help! Finally today I set my alarm early enough that I was able to get out of bed and head out for a really nice 15 miles. Believe it or not I felt really good. Maybe the time off helped or something. I was really pleased with how it went. I head back to work Monday and Tuesday then I can get in another 15-18 miles in before the marathon on Sunday.

8/17/2008

Another beautiful day for running! 65 degrees overcast with no wind. It just doesn't get much better. Also I had a new running partner for today. Her name is Tricia and she is a travel nurse from Montana. She works in the recovery room at UMC with my wife. I met her for the first time at Deborah's wedding where we danced and drank wine. haha Anyway, her son-in-law was killed in Iraq almost a year ago and she and her daughters made up their minds to run the Marine Corp Marathon in October in memoriam. She came over last night for supper and as we got to talking I found our that she was needing to run 12 miles today. What a coincidence! Me too! So she came over this morning about 0930 and we took off out to 1585. This was to be her longest run to date and she was thrilled to have the company. Anyway, her pace is considerably slower than mine but it worked out well since I could run ahead and then loop back to pick her up. She did really well and I feel like she is right on target to run the marathon quite comfortably in October. All in all, it was a really nice run. My total mileage for the day ended up being 12.8 miles. I am still really feeling good so I'm stoked. And Tricia was totally elated at making the 12 miles. Man, I love running!

8/16/2008

It rained like crazy last night. The whole town is flooded still. 1585 wasn't too bad so I was able to get out there and run a cool 8 miler. It was still relatively overcast and the high for today was only 76 degrees. VERY nice! I am going to have to run alone for the next week since Aubrey and his wife left this morning for an Alaskan Cruise. They'll be gone for a week. I'm jealous! Kelli and I have been wanting to do that for years. Oh, well, maybe in the near future. Anyway, training is going well and I'm feeling good. It's great to be home. I miss my friends in Hobbs but I plan on pulling some extra shifts there as much as possible for extra money. I am hopefully going to be able to get out and run 10-12 miles tomorrow. We'll see.

8/13/2008

I talked to Aubrey last night while he was at work and he wasn't sure if he would run this morning since he was working all night. He's an RN in a Pediatric ICU, just in case I haven't ever mentioned it here. Anyway, I told him if he wanted to run then just to call on his way home around 0730 or so. If he didn't call I would get to sleep late and run later in the afternoon. I woke up around 0800 and he hadn't called yet so I fell back to sleep. Then..........he called. haha He had gone out to breakfast with his wife and in-laws. Anyway, we headed out to 1585 around 0900 or so and ran a really great 10 miles. Both of us are feeling really strong on the longer runs which makes me really happy. I was even able to bump it up to a 7:45 pace for the last mile. I won't be able to run again until tomorrow evening after work. I work 0700-1900 tomorrow and Friday.

8/11/2008

Today was FANTASTIC!! It's cloudy and cool, and it rained all night. I got up fairly early for me, around 0830, and Aubrey and I hit the road out on 1585. We ran a nice, round 10 miles, maybe just a little over. The coolness made it a lot easier and more enjoyable. My training is fairly on track I think. We'll up the mileage next week to 12 and 15 miles then get in an 18 miler or so the following week before the New Mexico Marathon. Now that I am home it will be a little easier.
I start tomorrow in the ER at Covenant. I will be on orientation for around 5 or 6 weeks. A little long for an old ER vet but oh, well, I will enjoy it. I am really happy to be home and can't wait to start loading the house up with good groceries and start cooking again. I may try and do a detox for a couple of days before I get back to really focusing on my diet. I need to find some fantastic vegetarian recipes and get to cookin'.

8/8/2008

Well, today's Deborah and Scott's big day! Deborah is my wife's older sister and she is getting married today. This is her first, and hopefully ONLY, marriage so it's a pretty big deal. Anyway, I'm an usher so I've had to be part of the rehearsal and all that kind of stuff. I'm ready for it all to be over with. haha My wife tells me to shut up cuz I ain't having to deal with ALL of it like she is. She's the Maid of Honor so she's been pretty busy too. With all the wedding stuff and family coming in and all that jazz I wasn't able to run yesterday at all. I did, however, make it out this morning for a 5 mile speed workout. I'm feeling pretty good out there so that's a plus. Amyway, once we're all settled and everything I can pick up the mileage. Gotta get ready for New Mexico.