Puzzle Solved!

Sorry for the delay, but if you read my last post, you know I had been trying to reach a long lost friend. Well, I finally found him and left him a voicemail one night. The next morning at 9am he called me back!! We talked for about 30 minutes and it was so awesome!! I hope to meet up with him soon and visit in person.

Not that anyone cares, but the running is going very well...I ran 8 miles tonight. I was pretty sore from last night running 100yd sprints and walking the curve of the track. Wow - what a workout!! My hamstrings were killing me today. I was hoping a good, slow run tonight would loosen them up, but I don't think it worked. Oh well, it's a good pain....and you know what they say...no pain no gain. I'm hoping to find a renewed vigor toward weight loss so I can drop the next 10-15 pounds. If I can do that, then I'll just try to maintain at that point. Losing another 10-15 will help my running too! Anyway, enough about that...I have a half marathon trail run coming up soon. The Sunday after the Hotter n Hell 100 is the trail run in Wichita Falls. I'm a little nervous about running on a trail since I NEVER do that...I sorta have weak ankles and can turn them easily so the uneven terrain makes me nervous. But, Dean Karnazes' first major ultramarathon was a trail run, so he's inspired me to give it a try!

It's official. I will be keeping stats for the Boswell (Saginaw) High School football team!! I am SOOOOOO pumped about that!! Their first scrimmage is August 25th. AWESOME!!! I must admit...deep down inside, I'm fantasizing about this opening some doors allowing me to SOMEHOW get into coaching football or becoming a trainer or something like that where I will be surrounded by football for my job! Sure, it's a long shot...but DREAM BIG BRUTHA!!!

I thought I would include this in my blog tonight while I was running. Do you know what the most common smell is in neighborhoods while running all over town? Nope, not car exhaust. Nope, not grilled food. Wrong again, not garbage. Give up? I would have never guessed this, but it's fabric softener!! HA!! Seriously! Everyone's dryer vents blow that stuff outside, so you smell it all the time while running! Or at least I do...maybe Saginaw is just a clean clothes sort of town. Ha!

An interesting, yet extremely controversial debate ensued recently at work. All parties involved were pro-life with respect to abortions, except for this one lady who is from the northeast...a democrat. Yes, she gets harassed a lot. :) Anyway, she refers to an abortion not as the termination of life, but the termination of a pregnancy. At the baby's age during an abortion, the baby can not sustain life by itself outside of the womb, so she claims an abortion does not end life, rather it ends the pregnancy. She says pro-life people feel the baby is "alive" at conception for religious reasons, but it is not medically supported. I haven't researched it enough to know the medical theories they claim to this regard. She believes the baby is alive as well, and hopes people choose not have an abortion, but she is pro-choice because she very strongly feels that it is not the government's business what she decides to do to her body. You don't know someone's situation unless you've walked a mile in their shoes. Anyway, very thought provoking conversation. And for the record...I am pro-life and I believe the baby is alive at conception regardless of how medical researchers want to spin the fact that the baby is a living organism inside the womb. Maybe my belief is deeply rooted in a religious reason, but as far as I'm concerned, scientifically, the baby is alive at conception.

Jenn, are you proud of me? I didn't make this blog JUST about running!! Although I would like to mention that it was a blast taking the family to the track last night (read Jenn's blog). Kylie was so impressive, it was truly unbelievable!! After the first lap, Jenn said Kylie sorta cried and said she didn't want to run anymore. Jenn told her she didn't have to and to go sit down and drink some water, but Kylie said no and kept running. It was soooo cute! Maybe she has a strong drive and determination!! Maybe we have a little runner in our family! Even when Jenn and I quit running and started walking, Kylie kept running and yelled back over her shoulder "I'm faster than you!" I honestly didn't know a 4 year old was capable of running as much as she did!! Caleb was cute too...he ran a little and had his arms swinging back and forth for about 3/4 of a lap before he quit. Karissa thought she could run faster than me because I'm old...so I had to set her straight. :) Cara did great too, but she was probably the least interested in running. She just liked to cut across the field and say "Look dad, I found a shortcut!" HA! It was a lot of fun!