Friday night lights. A little cliche now with the movie, the series, website...but there's so much meaning behind it. Just the thought of seeing the blaringly bright lights shining from high up above a high school football stadium on a Friday night in Texas is enough to make me shutter with excitement. Seeing them from a distance makes me feel like I'm missing out on something. Seeing them from within the stands is just a part of the atmosphere, along with the smell of popcorn, kids running around thinking their parents can't see them, the sounds from the band, the cheesy horn from the scoreboard, the cheering, the heart and emotion of the players giving everything they have, along with the constant stream of memories from the past. Memories from when you were in high school going to all of the games. If you're like me, memories all the way back to your first game at 6 years of age that was the beginning of football being a part of your life. And now, seeing the Friday night lights from within the press box. With coaches/coordinators shouting plays and coverages into the headsets, scouts from other schools charting every play, reporters from local newspapers, announcers, camera crews, free food & drinks...and me and another guy tracking the statistics of every single play. A new perspective for me that I can really get used to!
Overall, my first game was a really cool experience. We played LD Bell, which is a team that goes way back to the beginning of my football life, but I'll get in to that in the next paragraph. It was a lot of fun being around all of the scouts and reporters, but more than that, it was fun scrutinizing every single play. It was difficult at times when they went to a no-huddle, but I had a blast doing it! Even better, I calculated the quarterback rating and gave it to the coach along with a few other ideas, and he loved the rating and was very big on having us track things like yards after catch, yards after 1st hit, mistackles, etc. Those things haven't been tracked before, but the coach would love to see them, so we'll do our best to make it happen!
To better appreciate another amazing experience from Friday night, I'll rewind 25 years back to when the Wichita Falls Coyotes played LD Bell in the quarterfinals in 1982. I was 7 years old and REALLY wanted to be at the game, but it was an away game. So, I found the game on AM radio, and listened to a GREAT football game. What made this game so memorable was that with a minute and a half remaining in the game, LD Bell was winning 21-20 when so many fights broke out that the refs called the game off!! LD Bell advanced and my beloved Coyotes were sent home. So...having set the stage with that story, I'll tell you about the guy I sat next to in the press box. Along with scouts, reporters, coaches, etc, there were also some honorary guests, but I didn't have a clue who. Could have been the mayor, council members, or the owner of the local Dairy Queen for all I knew. Anyway, every once in a while I would talk to this old man who was sitting next to me. He had a special game bracelet on, so I knew he was an honorary guest, but he could have just been a player's grandpa - who knows? The more I talked to this guy, the more he talked. He tells me about how in the late 1950's, he was the football coach at Wayside, a middle school in Saginaw. Kinda cool, but no big deal, right? He says a few more things and then mentions that he had several of his players from LD Bell go on to play at big schools and a few in the NFL (one of which is Tommy Maddux). That perks my head a little and I ask how long he coached there. "25 years." WOW! So then I realize I'm sitting next to a local celebrity. I do the math and guesstimate that he was the coach of LD Bell in the early 80's. So I tell him that I remember in the early 80's when LD Bell beat WFHS in the quarterfinals after the refs called the game off. He finished my sentence before I could even get it out!! It was unbelievable!!! Luckily the other statistician was paying attention, because I missed several plays right then! I couldn't believe I was sitting next to and talking to the head coach of the team whom I listened to on the radio 25 years ago that beat the Coyotes! WOW!!! That was really cool! Needless to say, I was a little starstruck the rest of the game.
Who will I meet at this week's game??? I can hardly wait...
9.09.2007
8.27.2007
Wee-Chi-Tah Trail Race
This weekend was the Wee-Chi-Tah Trail Race, and it changed my running life! The trail is the same rugged trail that the mountain bike race was on...here's a brief description from the site - "The Wee-Chi-Tah Trail has been called the best urban off-road trail in the State of Texas! It is a fun trail with many short, steep climbs, and screaming descents." My expectations going into this half-marathon (13.1 miles) trail race were: 1)nervous about spraining an ankle on the uneven terrain, 2)expecting it to be fun, 3) expecting it to be more difficult than a half-marathon on pavement, 4)some paved trails mixed in with some dirt trails.
I ran it with my good friend and marathon training partner, Wendell, and we had a blast! standing around the starting line, a friend I saw there said his friend ran it last year and said it's not a matter of IF you will fall, it's more a matter of when you fall, how athletic enough are you to catch yourself without getting injured. Sounds exciting! The race director was giving a pep talk beforehand and said they did their best to remove all of the tree stumps, but it is possible that they missed one or two...thousand. HA! So we're standing around in anticipation of the starting gun, everyone all decked out in their endurance running gear, sipping water, doing last minute stretches, when the race director finally signalled our start...and we were off! All 106 of us. Starting out, it took about a half mile through a grassy trail to get from the starting line to the trail head entrance. I never like running in grass because you have to pick your feet up, which strains your lower legs and can cause shin splints (for me anyway), but luckily we hit the trail after only a few minutes. Immediately, we were running down a dirt trail with tree roots, rocks, trees, tree stumps, and holes in the ground. The exhiliration was pretty high at this point and you could feel it from almost everyone.
The "racers" quickly made it to the front and took off, leaving us "finishers" behind. Soon, the trail narrowed to about 2 feet wide, careening through a dense forest of trees with frequent descents and climbs up rugged terrain that would be challenging on a bicycle, much less running. About 2 miles into it, Wendell and I found ourselves leading a pace group of about 10 or so runners. Our strategy was to maintain an easy 10.5-11 minute per mile pace through the first half and then adjust depending on how we felt for the second half of the race. So, ignoring the runners who passed us earlier, and the strand of runners immediately following us, we settled into a good, steady rhythm. At this point, the trail was too narrow to pass people, so I just hoped for their sake that they were comfortable with our pace. Every so often, the trail would open up and 1-2 runners would pass. Of course, we passed quite a few of them at water stations trying to recover from overworking themselves too early in the race. It's always ok though, and you never judge anyone for their efforts...not seriously anyway, but it does feel good to pass someone who passed you earlier, even though you'd stop to help them if they needed it.
The running community seems to be a very friendly and caring group. It's rare to see someone without exchanging words like "good job", "keep it up", "you doing ok?", "you need some water?",etc., and when you see someone fall, runners always stop to make sure they're ok....now I'm speaking for us "finishers" who are less concerned with time than merely finishing the event. I assume the racers are also like this, but there may be some who are too concerned with winning than helping a fellow runner. I digress...
The course did not have mile markers, so we had to approximate the distance based on how long we had been running. So, feeling like we were at a 10:30 minute per mile pace, we guessed the first water station 32 minutes into the run was at about the 3 mile mark. We both felt good as we grabbed a cup of water from a volunteer's outstretched hand and kept on running. I carried 2 water bottles with me because I was uncertain how much fluids they would have to offer. So, I took a quick drink from the cup and poured the rest over my head. That's about the time I looked down and noticed my $100 mostly white shoes were solid brown from the dirt. We kept on running down the twisting trail, dodging branches, hopping over rocks and tree roots, steadily "run-bouncing" down steep descents of gravel/loose dirt/rock and powering up steep ascents of more rugged terrain. It was so awesome!! It satisfied the desire for adventure that most men have, probably more so than I have ever felt. It was about this time that my body started feeling good. By this, I mean my heart rate settled in to a comfortable rate, my breathing had slowed to a steady rhythm, my legs were loosened up and not hurting, and I was settling in for a good long adventurous run. Ahh....such a beautiful thing!
At the 45 minute mark, as planned, I took out an energy gel pack and sucked it down with some water. Nutrition and hydration are important on long runs. Your body uses up all of its glycogen, which is what makes you tired and hit the wall. Your body also sweats out all your salt, which is what dehydrates you, so you need to intake sugars, carbs, and electrolytes to replace these things. Too much water over a short period of time will dilute your body of sodium, which can be fatal in extreme cases, so you need to eat/drink sodium in the form of a good sports drink and/or gel/powerbar. However, even too much of the good stuff can overhydrate you, causing cramps or nausea, and even make you retain water and swell. I still have a LOT to learn in this department, but it can make or BREAK you in an endurance run, so I'm trying to be a good student. My plan was to consume an energy gel pack every 45 minutes with water. About 5 minutes after I ate the first one, I started feeling hungry, which wasn't a good sign since I still had a good hour and a half before I reached the finish line. I had 2 packages of oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, followed by a PowerBar 30 minutes before the race. I thought this was a pretty good breakfast, but 5 miles in to the run I had burned over 600 calories and my body was telling me it needed food. Normally these energy gels fight off the hunger feeling, but that wasn't the case now. I told myself I would rather feel hungry than injured or exhausted, so I just kept trucking along thinking I could take sips of water/gatorade frequently and maybe the hunger would eventually subside.
Being hungry didn't get in the way of me having the time of my life. It was so much fun being out there on the trail, in such dense and rugged terrain. And since I hadn't fallen or tweaked an ankle, I was gaining confidence in this trail running stuff (this was my first). At about mile 6 I believe, a volunteer on the course helping guide the runners down the correct path said "you're doing good, keep it up". Right as I said thanks, my left foot landed sideways on a rock followed by a searing pain in my ankle and an audible groan. Remembering that I heard you should run on a sprained ankle as soon as you can so it doesn't swell (not sure if this is ACTUALLY correct or not), I continued running, hobbling along, until finally after a minute or so, the pain went away.
We knew we had reached the halfway point, or were real close anyway, so we talked about how we each felt and decided to just play it safe and maintain our current pace since it was working out so well for us. We both felt great, reltively speaking. Part of endurance running is just that...running as you "endure" things like tiredness, sweat burning your eyes, hunger, weak and heavy legs, pains all over your body that shift locations constantly. First your knee hurts. Then it quits just in time for your shin to hurt, which quits just in time for your shoulder to hurt, which quits just in time for your hamstring to hurt...you get the point. So after 7 or so miles, feeling "great" means, yeah your legs are tired and a little heavy, you feel some pain in random places, your eyes sting, you'd love a big fat cheeseburger, but your cardio isn't stressed, you're not feeling any injury-type pains (there's a difference), and you have a positive attitude about continuing to run. I noticed at this point that my legs were feeling much better than they do after 7 miles on the pavement. I guess the softer ground helps reduce the impact on your body somewhat.
We recognized that we should be extra careful now that our legs were starting to get a little heavy. If we weren't careful, our feet wouldn't quite make it over that tree root or rock and we'd end up kissing the dirt. We saw a 55 year old man with a gut fall twice. In fact, throughout the whole race, we took turns passing each other, so we talked to him several times. One time, he was behind us on a very narrow part of the trail where passing wasn't possible. I could sense we were holding him back, so I told him we'd let him pass if he wanted to. He didn't say anything, but a few seconds later, he tried to go around us and immediately hit the ground! I felt bad like it was my fault and made sure he was ok as he stood up. He was ok, so he passed us and went on down the trail. We saw him svereal more times throughout the race. It was about this time, around mile 8 or 9 that I really felt a good rhythm. I was following Dean Karnazes' advice and just simply thinking about "putting one foot in front of the other", and not thinking about how my body REALLY felt. It's amazing what positive thinking can do. It wasn't really a runner's high that I felt, but I was overcome with a very strong sense of accomplishment and confidence in what I was doing. I felt great like I could run a lot farther, I was loving every second of it more and more, and was quite surprised that I didn't have any "real" pains in my legs. At the hour and a half point (just under 9 miles), I had another energy gel pack and some water and started preparing myself mentally for the final stretch. When you know you have 8-10 miles left, you don't think so much about it, but when you know you only have 3-4 miles left, you can't help start thinking about it, which can kill your positive attitude if you're not careful. You get impatient and start losing your drive to endure.
Somewhere around the 2 hour mark, I began to feel a little bit of nausea setting in, and I was feeling like I'd had too much to drink. My cardio was fine, but my legs were pretty tired. Wendell was feeling great still and pushing on. Thinking we still had about 30 minutes, I went ahead and had another energy gel, thinking this might get rid of the nausea and pep me up a little. Almost immediately, I felt a little worse, but knowing the finish line was up ahead, I suffered through it and kept running. Shortly, we exited the trail and ran along a grassy field back towards the finish line. I could sense that we only had a mile or so to go, so I told Wendell to go on ahead and finish strong. He refused and opted to stick together. As we reached the final straightaway to the finish line, I wanted to speed up and sprint across it, but I could tell that if I sped up ANY...I would surely throw up. HA!
So, I kept my normal pace, moved one foot in front of the other, and soon crossed the finish line 4 seconds behind Wendell. I ended up finishing 14th in my division and 75th overall. Nothing to brag about at all, but I finished it alive, without injury, and in the process, completely fell in love with trail running! I can not wait to run another trail!!
Here's a funny tidbit of information: when I run at home, I always run without a shirt. Well I wore a shirt during the race and didn't think I needed to put my antichaffing cream on my nipples. Big...BIG mistake! Not to be too graphic, but my nipples have scabs on them today, they literaly rubbed raw yesterday...and that hurts worse than my legs have EVER hurt!!! OUCH!!
OK, I'm too tired to type anymore so I'm going to go to bed now. Sorry if you weren't interested in the trail run story!
I ran it with my good friend and marathon training partner, Wendell, and we had a blast! standing around the starting line, a friend I saw there said his friend ran it last year and said it's not a matter of IF you will fall, it's more a matter of when you fall, how athletic enough are you to catch yourself without getting injured. Sounds exciting! The race director was giving a pep talk beforehand and said they did their best to remove all of the tree stumps, but it is possible that they missed one or two...thousand. HA! So we're standing around in anticipation of the starting gun, everyone all decked out in their endurance running gear, sipping water, doing last minute stretches, when the race director finally signalled our start...and we were off! All 106 of us. Starting out, it took about a half mile through a grassy trail to get from the starting line to the trail head entrance. I never like running in grass because you have to pick your feet up, which strains your lower legs and can cause shin splints (for me anyway), but luckily we hit the trail after only a few minutes. Immediately, we were running down a dirt trail with tree roots, rocks, trees, tree stumps, and holes in the ground. The exhiliration was pretty high at this point and you could feel it from almost everyone.
The "racers" quickly made it to the front and took off, leaving us "finishers" behind. Soon, the trail narrowed to about 2 feet wide, careening through a dense forest of trees with frequent descents and climbs up rugged terrain that would be challenging on a bicycle, much less running. About 2 miles into it, Wendell and I found ourselves leading a pace group of about 10 or so runners. Our strategy was to maintain an easy 10.5-11 minute per mile pace through the first half and then adjust depending on how we felt for the second half of the race. So, ignoring the runners who passed us earlier, and the strand of runners immediately following us, we settled into a good, steady rhythm. At this point, the trail was too narrow to pass people, so I just hoped for their sake that they were comfortable with our pace. Every so often, the trail would open up and 1-2 runners would pass. Of course, we passed quite a few of them at water stations trying to recover from overworking themselves too early in the race. It's always ok though, and you never judge anyone for their efforts...not seriously anyway, but it does feel good to pass someone who passed you earlier, even though you'd stop to help them if they needed it.
The running community seems to be a very friendly and caring group. It's rare to see someone without exchanging words like "good job", "keep it up", "you doing ok?", "you need some water?",etc., and when you see someone fall, runners always stop to make sure they're ok....now I'm speaking for us "finishers" who are less concerned with time than merely finishing the event. I assume the racers are also like this, but there may be some who are too concerned with winning than helping a fellow runner. I digress...
The course did not have mile markers, so we had to approximate the distance based on how long we had been running. So, feeling like we were at a 10:30 minute per mile pace, we guessed the first water station 32 minutes into the run was at about the 3 mile mark. We both felt good as we grabbed a cup of water from a volunteer's outstretched hand and kept on running. I carried 2 water bottles with me because I was uncertain how much fluids they would have to offer. So, I took a quick drink from the cup and poured the rest over my head. That's about the time I looked down and noticed my $100 mostly white shoes were solid brown from the dirt. We kept on running down the twisting trail, dodging branches, hopping over rocks and tree roots, steadily "run-bouncing" down steep descents of gravel/loose dirt/rock and powering up steep ascents of more rugged terrain. It was so awesome!! It satisfied the desire for adventure that most men have, probably more so than I have ever felt. It was about this time that my body started feeling good. By this, I mean my heart rate settled in to a comfortable rate, my breathing had slowed to a steady rhythm, my legs were loosened up and not hurting, and I was settling in for a good long adventurous run. Ahh....such a beautiful thing!
At the 45 minute mark, as planned, I took out an energy gel pack and sucked it down with some water. Nutrition and hydration are important on long runs. Your body uses up all of its glycogen, which is what makes you tired and hit the wall. Your body also sweats out all your salt, which is what dehydrates you, so you need to intake sugars, carbs, and electrolytes to replace these things. Too much water over a short period of time will dilute your body of sodium, which can be fatal in extreme cases, so you need to eat/drink sodium in the form of a good sports drink and/or gel/powerbar. However, even too much of the good stuff can overhydrate you, causing cramps or nausea, and even make you retain water and swell. I still have a LOT to learn in this department, but it can make or BREAK you in an endurance run, so I'm trying to be a good student. My plan was to consume an energy gel pack every 45 minutes with water. About 5 minutes after I ate the first one, I started feeling hungry, which wasn't a good sign since I still had a good hour and a half before I reached the finish line. I had 2 packages of oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, followed by a PowerBar 30 minutes before the race. I thought this was a pretty good breakfast, but 5 miles in to the run I had burned over 600 calories and my body was telling me it needed food. Normally these energy gels fight off the hunger feeling, but that wasn't the case now. I told myself I would rather feel hungry than injured or exhausted, so I just kept trucking along thinking I could take sips of water/gatorade frequently and maybe the hunger would eventually subside.
Being hungry didn't get in the way of me having the time of my life. It was so much fun being out there on the trail, in such dense and rugged terrain. And since I hadn't fallen or tweaked an ankle, I was gaining confidence in this trail running stuff (this was my first). At about mile 6 I believe, a volunteer on the course helping guide the runners down the correct path said "you're doing good, keep it up". Right as I said thanks, my left foot landed sideways on a rock followed by a searing pain in my ankle and an audible groan. Remembering that I heard you should run on a sprained ankle as soon as you can so it doesn't swell (not sure if this is ACTUALLY correct or not), I continued running, hobbling along, until finally after a minute or so, the pain went away.
We knew we had reached the halfway point, or were real close anyway, so we talked about how we each felt and decided to just play it safe and maintain our current pace since it was working out so well for us. We both felt great, reltively speaking. Part of endurance running is just that...running as you "endure" things like tiredness, sweat burning your eyes, hunger, weak and heavy legs, pains all over your body that shift locations constantly. First your knee hurts. Then it quits just in time for your shin to hurt, which quits just in time for your shoulder to hurt, which quits just in time for your hamstring to hurt...you get the point. So after 7 or so miles, feeling "great" means, yeah your legs are tired and a little heavy, you feel some pain in random places, your eyes sting, you'd love a big fat cheeseburger, but your cardio isn't stressed, you're not feeling any injury-type pains (there's a difference), and you have a positive attitude about continuing to run. I noticed at this point that my legs were feeling much better than they do after 7 miles on the pavement. I guess the softer ground helps reduce the impact on your body somewhat.
We recognized that we should be extra careful now that our legs were starting to get a little heavy. If we weren't careful, our feet wouldn't quite make it over that tree root or rock and we'd end up kissing the dirt. We saw a 55 year old man with a gut fall twice. In fact, throughout the whole race, we took turns passing each other, so we talked to him several times. One time, he was behind us on a very narrow part of the trail where passing wasn't possible. I could sense we were holding him back, so I told him we'd let him pass if he wanted to. He didn't say anything, but a few seconds later, he tried to go around us and immediately hit the ground! I felt bad like it was my fault and made sure he was ok as he stood up. He was ok, so he passed us and went on down the trail. We saw him svereal more times throughout the race. It was about this time, around mile 8 or 9 that I really felt a good rhythm. I was following Dean Karnazes' advice and just simply thinking about "putting one foot in front of the other", and not thinking about how my body REALLY felt. It's amazing what positive thinking can do. It wasn't really a runner's high that I felt, but I was overcome with a very strong sense of accomplishment and confidence in what I was doing. I felt great like I could run a lot farther, I was loving every second of it more and more, and was quite surprised that I didn't have any "real" pains in my legs. At the hour and a half point (just under 9 miles), I had another energy gel pack and some water and started preparing myself mentally for the final stretch. When you know you have 8-10 miles left, you don't think so much about it, but when you know you only have 3-4 miles left, you can't help start thinking about it, which can kill your positive attitude if you're not careful. You get impatient and start losing your drive to endure.
Somewhere around the 2 hour mark, I began to feel a little bit of nausea setting in, and I was feeling like I'd had too much to drink. My cardio was fine, but my legs were pretty tired. Wendell was feeling great still and pushing on. Thinking we still had about 30 minutes, I went ahead and had another energy gel, thinking this might get rid of the nausea and pep me up a little. Almost immediately, I felt a little worse, but knowing the finish line was up ahead, I suffered through it and kept running. Shortly, we exited the trail and ran along a grassy field back towards the finish line. I could sense that we only had a mile or so to go, so I told Wendell to go on ahead and finish strong. He refused and opted to stick together. As we reached the final straightaway to the finish line, I wanted to speed up and sprint across it, but I could tell that if I sped up ANY...I would surely throw up. HA!
So, I kept my normal pace, moved one foot in front of the other, and soon crossed the finish line 4 seconds behind Wendell. I ended up finishing 14th in my division and 75th overall. Nothing to brag about at all, but I finished it alive, without injury, and in the process, completely fell in love with trail running! I can not wait to run another trail!!Here's a funny tidbit of information: when I run at home, I always run without a shirt. Well I wore a shirt during the race and didn't think I needed to put my antichaffing cream on my nipples. Big...BIG mistake! Not to be too graphic, but my nipples have scabs on them today, they literaly rubbed raw yesterday...and that hurts worse than my legs have EVER hurt!!! OUCH!!
OK, I'm too tired to type anymore so I'm going to go to bed now. Sorry if you weren't interested in the trail run story!
8.09.2007
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!
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!
7.24.2007
Final Piece of the Puzzle?
For the past 2-3 weeks I have been trying to locate an old friend, and I feel like it's turned into a puzzle that is finally about to be completed. The reason I'm trying to get in touch with this old friend (Doug C) is because to my knowledge, he is the only ultramarathoner that I know. If my memory serves me correct, I have not seen him since I was about 9-10 years old. We used to go to church with him back then until he moved to Katy, Texas. I've always thought he was a neat guy, for several reasons. In 1970, he led, with Joey Abboussie, the Wichita Falls High School Coyotes' football team to the state championship game as the quarterback. They lost by one point. He used to take a bunch of boys from church to Lake Texoma for an annual camping trip. It was on one of these trips that I experienced my first snipe hunt. It was either me or my brother that got so scared at the sight of these snipe birds that I(he) literally ran across water. It was also on one of these camping trips that Doug got out of his sleeping bag (not in a tent) and approached the female park ranger who paid a visit late one night in only his underwear! HA! I also remember being in his wife's Sunday School class and getting in trouble with 2 other boys for writing bad words in the Sunday School book. We were in the 2nd or 3rd grade. Doug sat us down like adults and explained to us that we should not have done that, told us he understood we were just being boys, and told us he wouldn't tell our parents what we did. It was also Doug that participated in a Hands-On-Marathon where he kept his hand on a truck for many many hours (maybe a few days) hoping to be the last one standing to win the truck. If you took your hand off the truck, you were out of the competition. On occasion, the contestants would get a short break, and Doug would choose to run instead of rest. He made it pretty far, but got tricked into checking a little message attached to a sandwich causing him to remove his hand from the truck and consequently himself from the competition. It isn't until now that I more fully appreciate something else he once did. He, along side a doctor, giving him a special solution of electrolytes, attempted to run the 100 mile course in the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred bike race. He made it approximately 75 miles before stopping. Amazing!
So lately, I have had this burning passion to become an ultramarathoner. For those still reading who don't know what an ultramarathon is, it's basically any run that is longer than a marathon, or 26.2miles. My goal is to run a marathon in December and then run my first ultramarathon next spring. I'll start with a 50k race, which is 31 miles, and over the next few years, hopefully work up to 50 or even 100 miles. I LOVE the challenges of endurance running - you have to have a lot of stamina, learn how to treat your body during the run, stay hydrated, stay fueled up with carbs/protein, stay smart and focused, and ignore the pains until the endorphines kick in and then keep hydrating/refueling so you avoid exhaustion (the wall) where your muscles fill up with lactic acid and are unable to burn up anything else. It's much more a mental challenge than a physical one. Anyway, I'm very driven to train towards this.
One of my philosophies in life is in any new endeavor, educate yourself as much as possible by going straight to the horse's mouth. Talk to people who have direct experience with whatever endeavor you are seeking. So, I've decided to try and contact my ultramarathoner friend, Doug. I've gone through quite a series of twists and turns to get in touch with him. I started out by trying to find him on the internet in Katy, Texas, but was unsuccessful. My dad told me he recently ran into an old friend who said he had recently talked to Doug. So, I called this guy's dad wanting to get in touch with him, who coincidentally was sitting right beside him! He recommended I try contacting these other 2 guys who are friends with Doug. I tried contacting one, but haven't been able to connect. When I tried the other, it was actually this guy's father I was calling, whose wife informed me had passed away 5-6 years ago. However, after explaining my situation, she gladly gave me her son's phone number as well as her granddaughter's number (my age) and said either could probably tell me how to get in touch with Doug. I tried her granddaughter several times but could never connect. This guy's mother informed me that he would be out of town until this past weekend. So, I called him tonight and actually got in touch with him!! I also knew this guy from 20+ years ago, so it was neat to talk to him. He said he hasn't talked to Doug in several months, but he knew Doug was about to move to Dallas. He didn't have his home or cell number, but he gave me 2 possible phone numbers to try at Doug's work. He wasn't sure if either number was actually good, but it was more than I had before so I thanked him. After trying the 2 numbers, one was not in service and one was the technical support line for some energy company. So, for grins, I typed in the company name and Houston in google.com. Low and behold, there's a company by that name in Houston! I called the number and maneuvered my way through the voice prompts to the directory. I punched in the letters for Doug's name, and guess what I hear on the other end? A recording of Doug saying his name! So, I pushed pound to connect to his line, heard his voice mail, and left a message. WOW - what a journey to finally reach him!! So, I finally feel like the last puzzle piece is being put into place. Hopefully tomorrow he will return my call and my journey will be a success. Then I can pick his brain about being an ultramarathoner...and if all the stars line up, maybe if he's in Dallas, we could actually meet up and run together! This other guy that gave me Doug's number (sort of) said Doug just had a rare form of leukemia 2 years ago, was treated, and is now completely cancer free. He said he stopped running for awhile during the treatments, but he thinks he's started back up recently. So maybe that was a long and boring story, but it's a big deal to me, and I look forward to talking to Doug. I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm finally able to run again. I've been running 5 times in the last 9-10 days, and each time I feel better and better. I am now completely pain free and am back up to 5 miles. My pace is only about 10-15 seconds per mile slower than my pre-injury pace. I suspect I will be back to my 6-8 mile runs at a sub-10 minute mile pace within another week or two. Last night was the first time I was able to let go, relax, and just run...as opposed to counting laps and worrying about aches and pains that could be a lingering injury. All of my running recently has been at the track, which in some respects has been a complete beating! Do you know how intensely boring it is to run 20 laps around a track?? However, I am sooooooo grateful that I'm able to run again, so I'm not complaining.
OK, just so I can say this blog is not JUST about running, is it just me or is Drew Carey an odd replacement of Bob Barker on The Price Is Right?
So lately, I have had this burning passion to become an ultramarathoner. For those still reading who don't know what an ultramarathon is, it's basically any run that is longer than a marathon, or 26.2miles. My goal is to run a marathon in December and then run my first ultramarathon next spring. I'll start with a 50k race, which is 31 miles, and over the next few years, hopefully work up to 50 or even 100 miles. I LOVE the challenges of endurance running - you have to have a lot of stamina, learn how to treat your body during the run, stay hydrated, stay fueled up with carbs/protein, stay smart and focused, and ignore the pains until the endorphines kick in and then keep hydrating/refueling so you avoid exhaustion (the wall) where your muscles fill up with lactic acid and are unable to burn up anything else. It's much more a mental challenge than a physical one. Anyway, I'm very driven to train towards this.
One of my philosophies in life is in any new endeavor, educate yourself as much as possible by going straight to the horse's mouth. Talk to people who have direct experience with whatever endeavor you are seeking. So, I've decided to try and contact my ultramarathoner friend, Doug. I've gone through quite a series of twists and turns to get in touch with him. I started out by trying to find him on the internet in Katy, Texas, but was unsuccessful. My dad told me he recently ran into an old friend who said he had recently talked to Doug. So, I called this guy's dad wanting to get in touch with him, who coincidentally was sitting right beside him! He recommended I try contacting these other 2 guys who are friends with Doug. I tried contacting one, but haven't been able to connect. When I tried the other, it was actually this guy's father I was calling, whose wife informed me had passed away 5-6 years ago. However, after explaining my situation, she gladly gave me her son's phone number as well as her granddaughter's number (my age) and said either could probably tell me how to get in touch with Doug. I tried her granddaughter several times but could never connect. This guy's mother informed me that he would be out of town until this past weekend. So, I called him tonight and actually got in touch with him!! I also knew this guy from 20+ years ago, so it was neat to talk to him. He said he hasn't talked to Doug in several months, but he knew Doug was about to move to Dallas. He didn't have his home or cell number, but he gave me 2 possible phone numbers to try at Doug's work. He wasn't sure if either number was actually good, but it was more than I had before so I thanked him. After trying the 2 numbers, one was not in service and one was the technical support line for some energy company. So, for grins, I typed in the company name and Houston in google.com. Low and behold, there's a company by that name in Houston! I called the number and maneuvered my way through the voice prompts to the directory. I punched in the letters for Doug's name, and guess what I hear on the other end? A recording of Doug saying his name! So, I pushed pound to connect to his line, heard his voice mail, and left a message. WOW - what a journey to finally reach him!! So, I finally feel like the last puzzle piece is being put into place. Hopefully tomorrow he will return my call and my journey will be a success. Then I can pick his brain about being an ultramarathoner...and if all the stars line up, maybe if he's in Dallas, we could actually meet up and run together! This other guy that gave me Doug's number (sort of) said Doug just had a rare form of leukemia 2 years ago, was treated, and is now completely cancer free. He said he stopped running for awhile during the treatments, but he thinks he's started back up recently. So maybe that was a long and boring story, but it's a big deal to me, and I look forward to talking to Doug. I'll let you know how it goes.
I'm finally able to run again. I've been running 5 times in the last 9-10 days, and each time I feel better and better. I am now completely pain free and am back up to 5 miles. My pace is only about 10-15 seconds per mile slower than my pre-injury pace. I suspect I will be back to my 6-8 mile runs at a sub-10 minute mile pace within another week or two. Last night was the first time I was able to let go, relax, and just run...as opposed to counting laps and worrying about aches and pains that could be a lingering injury. All of my running recently has been at the track, which in some respects has been a complete beating! Do you know how intensely boring it is to run 20 laps around a track?? However, I am sooooooo grateful that I'm able to run again, so I'm not complaining.
OK, just so I can say this blog is not JUST about running, is it just me or is Drew Carey an odd replacement of Bob Barker on The Price Is Right?
7.11.2007
Injury Update
I'm working from home right now, but there's a lot of waiting while each process runs in the background so I thought I'd blog. I am suffering severely from not being able to run. At first it was endorphine withdrawals, and now it's a physical deterioration. I feel bad a lot now, I'm less motivated at work and home, I can't think as clearly, and I'm obsessed with the fact that I can't run and it's killing me! Running is amazing on so many levels, and the realization is magnified in its absence. I won't bore you with the reasons I love running, but I love it even more now that I can't do it. ARGH! My foot is feeling much better, but I don't think it's completely healed yet. Last Saturday morning it was not hurting, but when I ran a slow mile around the track, it started hurting again so I immediately stopped, went home, and iced it. Since Sunday it has not hurt at all, but I'm resting this whole week too so I don't rush back into running. I will try again this coming Saturday and see how it is. I HOPE it's better. I'm thinking it's probably not a stress fracture, but tendonitis instead...but I can't be 100% sure. Meanwhile, I tried learning how to swim freestyle so I could swim laps until my foot heals. Wow - there's a lot to think about, it takes coordination, and it just flat out makes me tired after 1-2 laps!! I've also tried riding a bicycle, but the last 3 nights I had issues with a tire/tube. Tonight I finally rode, but it was too dark and there was more traffic than I was comfortable with. ARGH! So much for cross training!! I can't wait until I can run again!!
Keep crossing your fingers - the football coach at Boswell called me tonight and there's still a good chance I'll get to do stats at the games! I am so pumped about that!!
Fantasy Football is right around the corner. Both the Texas Thunder Thighs and the Lambeau Leapers will win their respective leagues this year!! Take that to the bank!!
Keep crossing your fingers - the football coach at Boswell called me tonight and there's still a good chance I'll get to do stats at the games! I am so pumped about that!!
Fantasy Football is right around the corner. Both the Texas Thunder Thighs and the Lambeau Leapers will win their respective leagues this year!! Take that to the bank!!
7.01.2007
Football Stats and Stuff
OK, so I missed the entire month of June. Sorry! A lot has happened in the last 6 weeks, but I'll just do bullet points instead of my normal 647 page blog.
- I got fitted for new running shoes and they are amazing!! My first test run I went 14miles and felt great! One week later, after a few more 6 milers, I got a little too motivated and ran 16 miles (thanks to Dean Karnazes - check out www.ultramarathonman.com). Something bad happened. The outside of my left foot started KILLING me about 2 hours after my run. I sure hope it's not a stress fracture, but it could be a slight one. The pain eventually went away for the most part and this past Thursday I ran a slow and easy 4 miles on the track (soft surface) and didn't have any trouble with my foot. So yesterday I go on my normal 6 mile course and finally, just past the 3 mile marker, I had to stop and walk home because my foot was killing me again. UGH! It still hurts today. This is very upsetting, a big mental setback...hopefully not too much of a physical setback. My marathon is not until Dec 9th, so I have time to heal, I just hope I can find the patience. I've lost 34 pounds now and I can just see the weight coming back on since I can't run for at least a week now. ARGH!!!
- Seriously, go check out www.ultramarathonman.com. This guy seems perfectly normal, but he runs marathons just about every day. Oh except for his weekly 100 mile training run. He has run 262 miles straight without stopping - that's 10 marathons!! He orders pizzas while running. They deliver pizza to him and he rolls it up like a burrito and eats it without missing a step! He ran for 75 hours, through 3 nights without sleeping and actually fell asleep running!! I just HAD to buy his book and I read the first 100 pages Friday night!! I have NEVER read that much in one night! NEVER!!! It is so fascinating.
- We sold Lambeau. It was a very difficult decision, but ultimately my kids' livlihood won out over the dog. They didn't like going outside anymore because he always knocked them over, stole their toys, ran away and chewed them up. I think he went to a good home.
- I also sold my truck! I finally sat down and listed it on autotrader.com, paid extra for the 8 week listing, and less than 16 hours later had sold it for $200 more than what I had hoped to get! If you ever need to sell a vehicle, I fully endorse autotrader.com!
- You know what I love about work? Coming home from it! I'm so lucky to have the family that I do! I love my wife and my kids and I love being at home with them. I think it's about time to teach Caleb how to pee off the back porch. HA! I was throwing the football with him today and I must say...he's pretty darn good! I showed him where to position his fingers on the laces, and he actually kept trying to do it by himself quite a few times! And the girls...isn't it crazy how three daughters from the same set of parents growing up in the same house can all be so different? I love them all and everything about them that makes them unique. Jenn, I love you and thank you for supporting my habit (running-ha!) and for making our home a place I look forward to coming home to and for loving and caring for our kids and being a wonderful mom!!
- I'm giving some serious thought to buying the Sunday Ticket this year. It's a little pricey, but we would LOVE the chance to watch Favre and the Packers every single week!! Since it will probably be his last season. Can't wait until late November when they come to Dallas!
- Have you ever met someone for the first time and then thought about the brief encounter all day long? Well, I did today. At church this morning, I overheard a guy introducing himself, and his name perked my attention. I knew the name but not the face. So I sat there small-talking with a friend while listening to the head football coach of Boswell (Saginaw) tell another guy about some of his expectations for the approaching season. WOW!! How cool is that?! The opportunity didn't come for me to introduce myself to him right then. The service started and I saw him sitting out there, and admittedly, was distracted the whole time I was playing keys in the worship band with introducing myself to Coach. After the service, I tried to catch up with him, but he left very quickly. So as I'm at the nursery door telling Jenn that the head football coach from Boswell was at church, she laughs and tells me she just met his wife and exchanged phone numbers and talked about getting together. Jenn asked if I met him and right after I said no, he comes walking by so I stop him and introduce myself and Jenn to him. Jenn tells him that she just got to know his wife, etc. After exchanging greetings and kid talk and "where ya froms" (didn't like telling him I went to Rider when he asked, because Rider ended Boswell's season last year!), the conversation quickly leads to football, and before you know it, he's telling me he needs someone to do stats at the games if I'm interested! WOW!! You better believe it!! It's a dream come true!! I'm going to call him and talk more about the details of doing it, so it's not a for sure thing yet, but I am literally beside myself with excitement at the potential!! It has been difficult for me to think about anything else all day today! HA! I would absolutely LOVE doing that! Keep your fingers crossed...
OK this is long enough. Maybe I'll try to blog like this more often to avoid the HUGE postings. Hope you're doing well!
5.20.2007
Half marathon a huge success!
It is truly an unbelievable feeling to have accomplished what I did today. Just 2 short months ago (maybe less), completing a half marathon was a distant dream that I wasn't sure could ever happen. Now, I'm sitting here with sore knees and tired eyes after successfully running 13.1 miles this morning. It was a great run in so many ways! New scenery, the company of very strong runners, nice course, lots of people cheering on the sidelines throughout the whole run, and most importantly, I felt very strong!! I'm used to hitting a wall in about the 7th mile(the point in a run where you lose everything and are overcome with an intense urge to stop running - do you give in to your body's request or push it to the next level?). However, today I never hit the wall. I started at a slow 11 minute per mile pace so I could conserve as much energy as possible without running TOO slow. I don't know if it's a subconscious muscle memory thing or what, but I'm amazed at how close I can get to my goal pace. The first 3 miles I literally ran at exactly 11:00 each. Starting in to the 4th mile, I was pleased at how I felt, so I got off rhythm a little and accidentally kicked it up about 20 seconds per mile, but as I passed the 4 and 5 mile marks, I didn't get too concerned because I was feeling very strong still. During the 6th mile, I maintained my 10:40 pace and mentally started preparing for the approaching "wall". I sucked an energy gel pack down and got two cups of water at the next water station (ever try to drink water from a cup while running? It's not easy - I choked 3 times!) . At the 6.5 mile marker, we turned around and headed back, and I was still feeling strong, no wall. Miles 7, 8, and 9 came by, and I was still at my 10:40 pace feeling great! After 9 miles, I started paying more attention to how many miles were remaining instead of how many I had run. I got excited when I realized I only had 4 more miles to go!! I was starting to think I may finish this run without having to walk! At the 10 mile marker, I crossed over and told myself, from this point forward, I'm setting a new personal distance record. There's nothing that hypes me up more than breaking a distance record!!! However, my excitement was tapered a little by the pain in my knees. I've been fighting off tendinitis in my right knee, and at this point in the run, both knees were pretty sore. It wasn't enough to concern me, it's just typical soreness from pushing your distance - so I kept on at a slightly slower pace. I also try to "glide" more as I run through the discomfort to decrease the impact as much as possible. I eventually made it to the 11 mile marker and my knees finally reached the "numb" stage, where you know they're sore, but you can't really feel it anymore. There was a water station at 11 miles, so I got two cups again and settled in for an attempted "strong" finish. Emotions started rising at this point as I knew I was nearing the end, and I was passing runners who started too strong and were losing the battle. Let me rewind for a minute - at about the 1 mile point, I noticed a girl about 10 feet ahead of me who had about the same pace, so I just kept an equal distance from her, especially after hearing her tell one of her friends who was passing that she was at an 11:00 pace, but would kick it up to 9:00 at 6-7 miles. So, I figured I could try to pace myself with her until she kicked it up and then I would just stay back. About 5 miles in, she steadily increased her speed and I eventually lost sight of her. Well...just past the 11 mile marker, lo and behold, who do I see up ahead?? Yep, it's her. I could tell that I was slowly gaining on her, which added to the emotion of the race...so I kicked it up a notch without increasing my cardio too much. You can probably guess what happened at the 11.5 mile marker...yep, I passed her! I felt so victorious!! I kept my pace up and ran hard. As I crossed the 12 mile marker, I was in such disbelief of how great the run was going that I attacked the last mile like there was no tomorrow. The excitement and a deeper sense of accomplishment than I have ever felt in my entire life propelled me forward. I was almost overcome with joy, pride, satisfaction, and yet disbelief at the same time - it was indeed an emotional experience. A few people I passed looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't care. I wasn't just merely going to finish this half-marathon, I was going to OWN it!! Kill it - crush it - make it MINE! I knocked over a minute off my pace time in my 13th mile and then did a full out sprint the final one tenth of a mile. It was incredible!!! Such a rush!! Those last two miles I was in such a state of euphoria, it's almost like an out of body experience. Amazing.
Jenn and the kids arrived 12 minutes after I crossed the finish line, but the directions I gave her were not as specific as they could have been - it was my first time there, all the way in Dallas, so I didn't know exactly how to tell her to get there. Sure, I wanted them there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line, but even more than that, I felt bad that she had a hard time finding the place with 4 kids in the van. Thanks for trying Jenn (I'll take credit for not doing a better job of getting clear directions beforehand - sorry!)!! We'll plan the next one better.
So where do I go from here? I've been reading about how you should "recover" from a half-marathon (or full), and surprisingly one of the common side-effects is a mild state of depression. I honestly don't see that happening to me right now because of how excited I am still, as well as my new goals I have embraced, but I guess I'll have to monitor that (let me know if I weird out on you, Jenn). Other than that, I think I will take it easy this coming week and just do some walking and light jogging, maybe 2-3 miles. I could also gain a few pounds as my muscles retain water to aid in the repair and recovery process, but that weight should come back off within a week or less. Now for the big thing - I am going to run a full marathon December 9th in Dallas!! Or maybe we'll plan a trip in November to Austin or San Antonio for a marathon there. Honestly, today I feel like if I would have maintained my pace in the 12th and 13th miles, I could have run 17 miles. With 5-6 more months of training (double what I've already done), I feel very sure that I can complete a marathon. Key word - complete, not WIN! I'm excited about that! When I first started running, I dreamed of a half-marathon, but never even considered a full marathon until just recently. There's a good lesson here...you should always dream big. Don't blow something off because you think it's unattainable, just dream big and take one baby step at a time...eventually you will gain confidence in reaching your dream. I recently read a statement in my Runner's World magazine from John Kelley, multiple winner of the Boston Marathon in the 50s & 60s (in fact, 8 years IN A ROW). He said "Follow your heart, it's the one thing you can count on. Let your passion ignite bonfires, and feed the flames every day. The things we do should consume us. If they don't, our lives won't have any meaning." I love that. I recognize the potential danger in allowing our passions to consume us, but if you can keep a healthy balance, you can accomplish it. Dream big. If you don't know what your dreams are, take a few moments (by yourself with no distractions) and think about it...everyone has hope for something...a material possession, a vacation, a new skill, an accomplishment, anything. If you're married, share it with your spouse and see how each of you can help each other achieve them! Jenn, I thank you for supporting me in training for this half-marathon, and I want to help you achieve your dreams!!
Just for grins, you can go to http://www.thrustonracing.com/results/070520.html and see the results from today's race. In my gender/age group (men30-34), I came in 17th place!!!! That sounds really good, until you throw in the part about there only being 21 finishers in my gender/age group! HA! Yeah, I'm slow, but I finished!! :)
I'm going to bed now, but real quick - I am LOVING my Jeep!! Everytime I ride in it I love it more!
5.10.2007
Jeep
So I finally get to cross off another achievement on my lifetime dream list - today I took the plunge and bought a Jeep Wrangler! When I set out for my purchase about a week ago, I was specifically looking for a few things that I wanted in my Jeep - black, soft top, 6 cylinder, and standard. After seeing the small price difference in a base model 2007 and a used 2003-4, I decided to test drive the 2007. I plan on keeping this Jeep forever, so I might as well consider a new one, right? Well, the 2007's are very nice, but I think they're almost too nice. They've made DRASTIC improvements to the body (length/width), drive train, suspension, etc - it is a much smoother ride and you can get power windows, locks, and keyless entry. I'm sorry, but this is a JEEP, not a luxury vehicle. Jeeps are supposed to be bouncy, muddy, and MANUAL - EVERYTHING MANUAL. So I decided I definitely wanted a 2006 or older model. Well, I found a 2005 Sport model at James Wood - and guess what. Black. Soft top. 6 cylinder. Standard. AND I got it for about $2,200 under NADA market value. WAHOO!!! I pick it up Saturday morning! I AM SO EXCITED!! Here's a few pics, but don't think that top will be staying on long....
Just real quick, here's an update - I've lost 28 pounds now. I did good in my 10k Zoo Run a few weeks ago. My biggest accomplishment was starting slow and finishing strong. The first 3-4 miles people were passing me, but I maintained the pace I wanted. The final mile and a half, I kicked it up a notch and probably passed 50 runners who were struggling to finish. It was an awesome feeling! Since then, I have increased mileage a little. Last Sunday I ran 9 miles and this Saturday I'm running 10. Next weekend (May 20th) is a half-marathon in Dallas. It's sooner than when I wanted to try one, but the next one after that is not until November!! So, I'm going to give it my best effort. If I run the first 5 miles at an 11 minute pace, then I feel like I can finish the full 13.1 miles ok. I must admit, I'm nervous about it, but at the same time I think it's definitely possible to run the whole thing without stopping. If I stop, it won't be until mile 11 or 12, so if I conserve my energy, don't run too fast out of the chute, find my rhythm early, and stay hydrated enough, I think I can pull it off. I'm thinking it will take about 2 hours and 20 minutes. I can't imagine the feeling that will overcome me at the finish line...that is what motivates me. Couch potato to half-marathon runner in 11 weeks!! I'm no superman, I just made a decision to do it, and have religiously stuck to it - anybody can do it, that's for sure! So, what are you waiting for??? :)
4.15.2007
Major League Hail Storm
So Friday evening as I'm pulling in to Saginaw, I hear the tornado sirens going off. I can see a few funnel clouds, but no tornados falling from the sky yet, so I rush home to check on the family. As I pull on to my street, I notice something I have never seen this close before! Practically right above our house, I see a HUGE funnel cloud with circulation just a few hundred feet above the ground!! I meet Jenn at the door and let her know it is serious and to put the mattress over the kids in the bathtub. Now I, on the other hand, am so fascinated by such an incredible sight that I stay outside and watch the developing tornado. It was un--be--lievable. Sure, it was probably a stupid thing to do, but I accept that. Thank you. As the funnel cloud continues on to the neighborhood behind us, golf balls (and larger) start falling from the sky, so I run inside to check on the family. I say nothing of the funnel cloud behind us, but I explain to kids that the sirens are going off because of the hailstorm, trying to keep them as calm as possible. They did great! The hail storm lasted a good 5 minutes! Jenn had put the van in the garage knowing the potential for large hail was great, but our roof probably got dinged up. Insurance settlement maybe?? :) Anyway, here's a few pics of the hail -
What a crazy night!! In other news, the running is going well but the weight loss has stalled. I've lost 18lbs and have been at this same weight now for 2 weeks!! Any advice from people who have been in this situation would be appreciated. I know I could eat better. I mean, I'm doing pretty good, but I could improve on the eating thing. Still no sodas...7 weeks so far! I'm to the point where I could probably have one and be ok, but I'm scared that if I drink one, I won't be able to stop. My running is going quite well in my opinion. I've been running 5 miles every other day, and today I started a new 6 mile route! My time has also dropped to about 10.5 minute miles. I don't care so much about that, but it's nice to see my time improving without focusing on it. I'm just trying to get up to a half-marathon (13.1 miles). Maybe by the middle to end of the summer, but I'm concerned about the increasing summer heat and how that will affect my endurance. It would be nice if I could run on a treadmill on the 100+ degree days, but I can't do it. I went to the recreation center yesterday when it was cold to run on the treadmill. I set the speed so slow I was almost going backwards. Still, after about 0.8 mile, I was in a lot of pain with shin splints, so I quit and went to the weight room instead. I don't know why I can run 6 miles outside and NEVER get even a twinge of shin splints, but 8 minutes on a treadmill and I'm dying. I checked the incline and it was flat (0.0), but I'm wandering if there's a slight upward slant to the treadmill itself. Anyway, I just hope I'm able to run in the heat.
This next picture is of the same funnel cloud that went over our house. It went on toward Texas Motor Speedway, which is where this pic was taken from.
What a crazy night!! In other news, the running is going well but the weight loss has stalled. I've lost 18lbs and have been at this same weight now for 2 weeks!! Any advice from people who have been in this situation would be appreciated. I know I could eat better. I mean, I'm doing pretty good, but I could improve on the eating thing. Still no sodas...7 weeks so far! I'm to the point where I could probably have one and be ok, but I'm scared that if I drink one, I won't be able to stop. My running is going quite well in my opinion. I've been running 5 miles every other day, and today I started a new 6 mile route! My time has also dropped to about 10.5 minute miles. I don't care so much about that, but it's nice to see my time improving without focusing on it. I'm just trying to get up to a half-marathon (13.1 miles). Maybe by the middle to end of the summer, but I'm concerned about the increasing summer heat and how that will affect my endurance. It would be nice if I could run on a treadmill on the 100+ degree days, but I can't do it. I went to the recreation center yesterday when it was cold to run on the treadmill. I set the speed so slow I was almost going backwards. Still, after about 0.8 mile, I was in a lot of pain with shin splints, so I quit and went to the weight room instead. I don't know why I can run 6 miles outside and NEVER get even a twinge of shin splints, but 8 minutes on a treadmill and I'm dying. I checked the incline and it was flat (0.0), but I'm wandering if there's a slight upward slant to the treadmill itself. Anyway, I just hope I'm able to run in the heat. Just as you thought you escaped all the running talk, I realized I forgot to blog about the Race For the Cure! :) Thanks again to all who helped me raise $150 for the fight against breast cancer!! My very first sanctioned run was a success. I won!!! Just kidding. It was crazy at the start of the race. They had all of the non-competitive 5k walkers and 5k runners start together. So when the starting gun blew, it was pandamonium (I think that's the first time in my entire life I've actually typed that word)! After about 5 minutes of weaving and zig-zagging through the walkers, it finally started thinning out enough to run in a straight line. All of the excitement and adrenaline from such a huge event caused me to push it a little harder than my normal pace, so it was actually a bit of a challenging run. I averaged about 11 minute miles. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience though and look forward to many more events. In fact, I have signed up for the Fort Worth Zoo Run in 2 weeks. I'm going to run a 10k!! That's 6.2 miles, which is about 2 minutes longer than what I ran today. I'm hoping to run 7-7.5 miles next week sometime before the Zoo Run, but if not, I still think I'll be ok. I may not break any speed records, but it's the long-distance that I love so much about running. I'm addicted!! The feeling of accomplishment that I get every time I beat my previous distance record is so exhilarating!! I think that feeling is my drug, it's what I long for when I run. However, I'm pretty good about not pushing it too hard just to get that feeling. I only increase my distance about once a week now. When I run a route several times without increasing distance, it's also pretty exhilarating to run as fast as I can the final mile. During my last 5 mile run, after running 4 miles with some good uphill stretches, I kicked it up a few notches and finished very strong. I ran mile 5 in 9 minutes and 20 seconds...which is slow for seasoned runners, but I was pretty excited about my personal accomplishment. OK, I just realized I have been rambling about weather and running and you guys have probably had enough. Thanks for reading! Happy tax day!
3.29.2007
Enjoying the success
Well, it's been 31 days of no sodas, no sweets, LOTS of water, less food, healthier food, working out, a LOT of running (by my own standard), and if you were to see me, you would actually see 15 pounds LESS of me! WAHOO! It's really going quite well in my opinion. I'm sure in 31 days, if I had followed an actual DIET like south beach or north beach or lemonade and pepper or something, I would have lost more, but I am very comfortable with the way I am doing it. It's more of just a change in my diet/exercise that I feel I can live with long-term. I even had a cheeseburger Sunday night at 9:30, a greasy stromboli for lunch Tuesday, two tostados loaded with cheese last night, and I actually broke through a plateau and lost 3 pounds this week! HA! To top it off, I feel like a new person! I have more energy, I'm happier, I feel WAY BETTER, and I can focus on things easier and can tell I'm a little sharper mentally. The best is right after a good run, I guess it's what they call "runner's high", I don't know. I'm up to running 4 miles every other day and I hope to stretch that to 5 miles within the next week or two, but I won't do it if it hurts too much. My dream of running a half-marathon appears to be getting closer, but I know I'm still a long ways away. My 5k Race For the Cure run is coming up - April 7th. Thanks to everyone who sponsored me with their donation. I've raised $130 so far, and a few other people have said they plan on donating. Awesome! I teased Jennifer about wearing a shirt during the run that says "Jog for the Jugs" or maybe "Support Our Rack" (Iraq). HA! She was not amused, but I thought it was funny. Obviously, I'm not taking breast cancer lightly, so I apologize if that offends you...I guess I just have a warped sense of humor. :)
A few thoughts -
* Stop voting for Sanjaya
* Read the biography of your favorite person
* Smile if you recently fertilized your yard before all this rain (like me) :)
* Download iTunes and search/download some of your favorite music
* Stop voting for Sanjaya
* If you hear of a way to buy some shares of the Green Bay Packers, CALL ME!
* The Ultimate Fighter is about to start back up
* Tip your waiter/waitress enough for them to take notice, unless of course they were bad
* Don't leave crayons out unless you want your kid to draw a masterpiece on your wall
* Do something nice for someone today
A few thoughts -
* Stop voting for Sanjaya
* Read the biography of your favorite person
* Smile if you recently fertilized your yard before all this rain (like me) :)
* Download iTunes and search/download some of your favorite music
* Stop voting for Sanjaya
* If you hear of a way to buy some shares of the Green Bay Packers, CALL ME!
* The Ultimate Fighter is about to start back up
* Tip your waiter/waitress enough for them to take notice, unless of course they were bad
* Don't leave crayons out unless you want your kid to draw a masterpiece on your wall
* Do something nice for someone today
3.05.2007
6 lbs and counting
Yes, my loyal and dedicated blog readers, in the last 7 days, I have lost 6 pounds! How? Why? Whoa boys and girls, settle down with the questions, I will explain. Ya know those little blood pressure chairs you see in WalMart and Target that make you think "I wonder how my blood pressure is?" as you walk by them only to be distracted by the question of "How did Michael Phelps get on the can of Barbasol shaving cream?" and as you turn the corner you think "Why do I always feel sort of 'taboo' when I walk by the condom section?"....and sure enough, as quickly as the thought of checking your blood pressure enters your cerebral vortex, it vanishes and you never actually sit down in one of those chairs to see how close you are to having a stroke. Well, last Saturday I stopped myself in Target and actually sat down in one of those chairs and discovered that I have borderline hypertension. I believe it was 143 over 83!! WHOA NELLY! I realize to people who actually have high blood pressure, this is probably a good reading, but I've always been closer to 110 over 70 or something like that. So, that concerned me a little and gave me some motivation to take better care of the only body I have. Also, the next day in church, our pastor mentioned how he's lost 18 pounds in 4 weeks. I talked to him afterwards and he said he's not following a diet per se, he's just drinking A LOT of water, exercising, and eating less at mealtime but a little more frequently. I can do that! So, in the last 7 days, I have not had a single soda, I have drank at LEAST a gallon of water every day, I have exercised 5 days (walking/jogging/weightlifting), I have cut back the amount I eat at mealtime, and I have tried to eat healthier snacks...like instead of a Mr. Goodbar, I eat a banana or grab some natural, unsalted almonds. I can not TELL you how good I feel! Physically and mentally. My body feels SO much better...I'm not as tired during the day, my stomach doesn't feel gurgly and sick from 4-6 sodas per day, I feel stronger, my attitude is better, I'm happier, etc. Can you imagine where I'll be in a month? I know 6 pounds isn't much, but it's a GREAT start to what I hope is a major change in my life. Seriously, I've gotten to the point (according to the scientific charts) where I am probably 35-40 pounds overweight. I'm not necessarily trying to lose that much (although I might), but if I can lose 25 pounds and be healthier and in better shape, I will be happy. I mean, I'm not going to put myself in prison in terms of a strict eating regiment. The only way I can make this work is to still eat whatever I want (sensibly), just eat less of it. For example, last week the boss bought everyone pizza. I ate 2 slices instead of 4. Three nights last week, I had my microwave popcorn, but I only ate half the bag instead of the whole bag. Probably, because of this, I won't lose 40 pounds, but losing 25 pounds and still enjoying the foods I like is a good compromise to me.
For the past year or two I have thought it would be a rewarding accomplishment to run a half-marathon. The only problem is that I never wanted to actually TRAIN for it. So, last week, I decided I would pick a sanctioned 5k run about 2-3 months away and work up to that. Understand that I do not run at all...so I'm starting from ground zero. Today I walked across the street to make a deposit at my bank and saw a pamphlet for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure sanctioned run to raise money to help fight breast cancer on April 7th. I took one back to the office with me and looked it over, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. Even though I may not be able to run the entire 3.1 miles in a month, I can give it my best shot and walk the rest while feeling good about my registration fee going to a good cause. There's even a place in the pamphlet to list donations from various people you get to sponsor you. Awesome!! So, not only can I get a jumpstart on my goal to do a 5k run, I can try and raise money to help fight breast cancer! It's a win-win! A lady at work has already said she will donate money! You can win prizes for raising money, but that is sincerely not what is motivating me. What motivated me to try and raise money is something in the pamphlet that says "IF every participant raises $100, over $2,000,000 will be collected!" All to fight breast cancer - that is awesome!! So, I'd like to try and raise at least $100 just to play my part in that! So, if you're interested, let me know.
With this new motivation of attempting to run 5k in a month in mind, tonight at the gym (Saginaw Recreation Center - $20 annual membership - I know, that's CHEAP!) I got on the treadmill with the intent of walking 5 minutes and then jogging until I had to stop. Then tomorrow night and each night thereafter I would increase my time by 30 seconds. Every night up until now, I have only walked for 30 minutes at a very brisk pace. I was fully expecting to run for 5 minutes and then have to stop, go to the locker room, and puke my guts out. To my surprise, 5 minutes rolled around and I was feeling pretty good...my legs burned a little, but I wasn't breathing hard yet. Granted, I was jogging pretty slowly, but still. Pretty soon, 10 minutes passed and I was still feeling good and wondered if I should stop and not overdo it. Soon enough, 15 minutes and 20 minutes passed and I was still jogging! I had started to breath a little harder and my legs were getting tired, but by now, I wanted to finish my 30 minute workout, so I pushed it 5 more minutes and then cooled down. I ended up running 25 minutes without stopping!! WOW!! That was VERY encouraging! I'm sure you runners out there are not impressed, especially because I only ran 1.7 miles in 25 minutes, but to me, that FAR exceeded my expectations! I felt great afterwards too! I went into the weight room and worked on my upper body. Here I am now, almost 11pm, and I haven't fwlt this good in a very long time. Running is definitely a drug. I've heard that running one mile is like taking a prozac. HA! I believe it! I can't wait to do it again tomorrow night!
There's several other things in the pipeline that are worthy "feel-gooders". We've just decided to go with a small group from our church and help lead a weekend retreat in Winter Park, Colorado in early June. There is a brand new church in Denver that our church has adopted that is just starting up and they have asked us to lead a retreat for their church leaders to help them get on track with growing their church. I will help lead worship and possibly teach a class or help with the backyard bible school for the leaders' kids. The details are still being ironed out, so Jennifer is not sure what she will help with yet, but there will be plenty to do, so I know she'll find her place. That is exciting! We will be staying in cabins in the mountains! Colorado is my favorite place in the country, so I can not wait to bask in one of God's most beautiful creations!
Another "feel-gooders" - I talked with my boss and asked him if he could give me an idea of what he's thinking for me salary-wise over the next 5 years. He was very receptive to that and is putting a plan together that he'd like to show me sometime in the next week or two. He gave me the impression that part of my salary may be linked to assets under management, and could easily turn in to a salary close to what a marketing person would make (six figures). If this is indeed his plan, I am completely on board with that. This basically means I would get a set salary plus a small percentage of the assets we manage. Since I began working here 2 years ago, we have grown about 25-30%, which is good, but it's actually a slower rate of growth than the previous years. Anyway, I'm not intending to boast or build it up or anything, it's just exciting that we very possibly could be making a very nice income in the coming years.
Still another "feel-gooder" - I think I may actually be getting close to FINALLY getting rid of my ugly junker clown pickup and getting a jeep! Maybe next month!!
OK, as always, this is a very large post, and thanks for reading this far (Alyssa, you didn't skip paragraphs did you? I didn't mention the economy or politics or sports ONCE!). Hope you all are doing very well, and I'll probably post again in a month! I'll at least let you know how the 5k run goes! I will leave you with the following response to an email Jennifer received from our sister-in-law. Feel free to leave your own responses in a comment!
1. What time is it now? 11:14pm
2. Name? Kirk
3. What are you afraid of? how I will react when my children have to take practice TAKS tests
4. What do you drive? S-10
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? no, but I probably looked like one during my first snipe hunt
6. Where were you born? Glendale, AZ
7. Ever been to Alaska ? no
8. Ever used toilet paper for decorating trees? I wouldn't call it "decorating", but yes
9. Croutons or Bacon bits? both
10. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
11. Favorite restaurant: Texas de Brazil
12. Favorite Flower: that's gay
13. Favorite sport to watch: do I even need to answer this one? (football)
14. Favorite drink: Sangiovese
15. Favorite Ice cream: Oreo
16. Disney or Warner Brothers? I don't know
17. Favorite fast food restaurant: Taco Casa
18. What color is your bedroom carpet? Beige
19. How many times have you failed your driver's test? none
20. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? Marcela
21. What do you do most often when you are bored? Watch recorded shows on my DVR
22. Bedtime? I hate going to sleep...usually somewhere around 12:30am or 1:30am.
23. Who will respond to this email the quickest? Jenn
24. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond: Chris Deges
25. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses? Josh Burgess
26. Favorite TV shows? The Office, The Ultimate Fighter, American Idol (please don't take my man card away), Saving Silverman Program
27. Ford or Chevy? I don't care
28. What are you listening to right now? Lambeau snoring
29. What are your favorite colors? blue and red
30. How many tattoos do you have? I've thought about it, but none
31. Which came first the chicken or the egg? God could have created either first
32. What would you like to accomplish before you die? I want to see my kids grow up to be healthy, self disciplined, and wise decision makers...marry wonderful people and have happy lives. I'd also like to see the northern lights, run a half marathon (maybe marathon after that), and own my own business.
33. What are your favorite birds? Quiet ones
34. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? none - I'm blogging it!
35. Do you recycle things? only bad jokes
For the past year or two I have thought it would be a rewarding accomplishment to run a half-marathon. The only problem is that I never wanted to actually TRAIN for it. So, last week, I decided I would pick a sanctioned 5k run about 2-3 months away and work up to that. Understand that I do not run at all...so I'm starting from ground zero. Today I walked across the street to make a deposit at my bank and saw a pamphlet for the Susan G. Komen Race For the Cure sanctioned run to raise money to help fight breast cancer on April 7th. I took one back to the office with me and looked it over, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. Even though I may not be able to run the entire 3.1 miles in a month, I can give it my best shot and walk the rest while feeling good about my registration fee going to a good cause. There's even a place in the pamphlet to list donations from various people you get to sponsor you. Awesome!! So, not only can I get a jumpstart on my goal to do a 5k run, I can try and raise money to help fight breast cancer! It's a win-win! A lady at work has already said she will donate money! You can win prizes for raising money, but that is sincerely not what is motivating me. What motivated me to try and raise money is something in the pamphlet that says "IF every participant raises $100, over $2,000,000 will be collected!" All to fight breast cancer - that is awesome!! So, I'd like to try and raise at least $100 just to play my part in that! So, if you're interested, let me know.
With this new motivation of attempting to run 5k in a month in mind, tonight at the gym (Saginaw Recreation Center - $20 annual membership - I know, that's CHEAP!) I got on the treadmill with the intent of walking 5 minutes and then jogging until I had to stop. Then tomorrow night and each night thereafter I would increase my time by 30 seconds. Every night up until now, I have only walked for 30 minutes at a very brisk pace. I was fully expecting to run for 5 minutes and then have to stop, go to the locker room, and puke my guts out. To my surprise, 5 minutes rolled around and I was feeling pretty good...my legs burned a little, but I wasn't breathing hard yet. Granted, I was jogging pretty slowly, but still. Pretty soon, 10 minutes passed and I was still feeling good and wondered if I should stop and not overdo it. Soon enough, 15 minutes and 20 minutes passed and I was still jogging! I had started to breath a little harder and my legs were getting tired, but by now, I wanted to finish my 30 minute workout, so I pushed it 5 more minutes and then cooled down. I ended up running 25 minutes without stopping!! WOW!! That was VERY encouraging! I'm sure you runners out there are not impressed, especially because I only ran 1.7 miles in 25 minutes, but to me, that FAR exceeded my expectations! I felt great afterwards too! I went into the weight room and worked on my upper body. Here I am now, almost 11pm, and I haven't fwlt this good in a very long time. Running is definitely a drug. I've heard that running one mile is like taking a prozac. HA! I believe it! I can't wait to do it again tomorrow night!
There's several other things in the pipeline that are worthy "feel-gooders". We've just decided to go with a small group from our church and help lead a weekend retreat in Winter Park, Colorado in early June. There is a brand new church in Denver that our church has adopted that is just starting up and they have asked us to lead a retreat for their church leaders to help them get on track with growing their church. I will help lead worship and possibly teach a class or help with the backyard bible school for the leaders' kids. The details are still being ironed out, so Jennifer is not sure what she will help with yet, but there will be plenty to do, so I know she'll find her place. That is exciting! We will be staying in cabins in the mountains! Colorado is my favorite place in the country, so I can not wait to bask in one of God's most beautiful creations!
Another "feel-gooders" - I talked with my boss and asked him if he could give me an idea of what he's thinking for me salary-wise over the next 5 years. He was very receptive to that and is putting a plan together that he'd like to show me sometime in the next week or two. He gave me the impression that part of my salary may be linked to assets under management, and could easily turn in to a salary close to what a marketing person would make (six figures). If this is indeed his plan, I am completely on board with that. This basically means I would get a set salary plus a small percentage of the assets we manage. Since I began working here 2 years ago, we have grown about 25-30%, which is good, but it's actually a slower rate of growth than the previous years. Anyway, I'm not intending to boast or build it up or anything, it's just exciting that we very possibly could be making a very nice income in the coming years.
Still another "feel-gooder" - I think I may actually be getting close to FINALLY getting rid of my ugly junker clown pickup and getting a jeep! Maybe next month!!
OK, as always, this is a very large post, and thanks for reading this far (Alyssa, you didn't skip paragraphs did you? I didn't mention the economy or politics or sports ONCE!). Hope you all are doing very well, and I'll probably post again in a month! I'll at least let you know how the 5k run goes! I will leave you with the following response to an email Jennifer received from our sister-in-law. Feel free to leave your own responses in a comment!
1. What time is it now? 11:14pm
2. Name? Kirk
3. What are you afraid of? how I will react when my children have to take practice TAKS tests
4. What do you drive? S-10
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? no, but I probably looked like one during my first snipe hunt
6. Where were you born? Glendale, AZ
7. Ever been to Alaska ? no
8. Ever used toilet paper for decorating trees? I wouldn't call it "decorating", but yes
9. Croutons or Bacon bits? both
10. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
11. Favorite restaurant: Texas de Brazil
12. Favorite Flower: that's gay
13. Favorite sport to watch: do I even need to answer this one? (football)
14. Favorite drink: Sangiovese
15. Favorite Ice cream: Oreo
16. Disney or Warner Brothers? I don't know
17. Favorite fast food restaurant: Taco Casa
18. What color is your bedroom carpet? Beige
19. How many times have you failed your driver's test? none
20. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? Marcela
21. What do you do most often when you are bored? Watch recorded shows on my DVR
22. Bedtime? I hate going to sleep...usually somewhere around 12:30am or 1:30am.
23. Who will respond to this email the quickest? Jenn
24. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond: Chris Deges
25. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses? Josh Burgess
26. Favorite TV shows? The Office, The Ultimate Fighter, American Idol (please don't take my man card away), Saving Silverman Program
27. Ford or Chevy? I don't care
28. What are you listening to right now? Lambeau snoring
29. What are your favorite colors? blue and red
30. How many tattoos do you have? I've thought about it, but none
31. Which came first the chicken or the egg? God could have created either first
32. What would you like to accomplish before you die? I want to see my kids grow up to be healthy, self disciplined, and wise decision makers...marry wonderful people and have happy lives. I'd also like to see the northern lights, run a half marathon (maybe marathon after that), and own my own business.
33. What are your favorite birds? Quiet ones
34. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? none - I'm blogging it!
35. Do you recycle things? only bad jokes
2.07.2007
February Posting...
Well, the biggest news of recent days is Brett Favre's decision to play again next year! WAHOO! The Packers finished the season very strong and have a majority of players returning next year, so I think we will most definitely see the Packers in the playoffs next year! And guess what - the Packers play Dallas next year...IN DALLAS! When the schedule comes out in April, we will be purchasing tickets to that game! We'd also love to go back to Green Bay again...yes, I said we...Jenn actually mentioned it, but it's not really a serious thought right now. Of course, the way my job has been going, with the mounting stress and insurmountable increasing workload, I've been fantasizing of running away with my family to Green Bay to teach math and coach high school football!! :)
Karissa went to the orthodontist yesterday for a checkup (expander) and he said she would probably be ready for braces this summer. WHAT?! If any of you readers out there (if anyone still keeps up with my sporadic postings) have knowledge or experience with this, please let us know. The plan would be to just put braces on the top as part of phase 1 of her orthodontics plan, which is the "restructuring of the mouth" phase. Phase 2 would begin around 12 years of age and be the "teeth straightening" phase. I have a lot of research/understanding to do, but my uneducated thoughts now lean more towards thinking it may be a little early for braces. She's 8! Even between now and when she is 12, she will grow a meaningful amount, so what will that do to the structure of her mouth?? I don't know...any thoughts?
In case some of you don't know, I am a nerd. Here's proof: I have been watching the tryouts to American Idol, and have compiled my prediction for the top 15. Here it is in just an approximate order:
1 Haley Scarnato (I think she could win)
2 Jory Steinburg (could also win)
3 Jason Sundance Head
4 Nicholas Pedro
5 Brandon Rogers
6 Jordan Sparks
7 Jenry Beranjo
8 Shyamali
9 Alaina Alexander
10 Sanjaya
11 Chris Sleigh
12 Paul Kim
13 Sarah Kreuger
14 Bailey Brown
15 Ebony
Last year, the very first time Taylor Hicks auditioned, I told Jenn that he is by far the most talented and should win, but I didn't think he would because people wouldn't understand him. Obviously, people DID understand him and made the right choice! So anyway, it has become a personal competition to try and pick the winner or top contestants just based on their very first audition. Hey, I have to do SOMETHING for entertainment while not working during the football offseason, right?
Caleb is becoming so much fun and I'm LOVING the dynamic of having a little boy in the mix of our brude of children. He's such a good natured boy. I look forward to the days when we can sword fight and shoot each other and play football and pee on trees and see who can spit the farthest and fix things (or learn together) and take Lambeau swimming in a lake and teach him how to be a man (I'm still learning) and all sorts of cool masculine things...but I'm also thoroughly enjoying the present.
I've been reading the biography of Vince Lombardi and absolutely love it! Jenn gets to occasionally hear something extremely boring to her that I find remarkable in the book. :) If you haven't read a biography, I encourage you to find a successful person in an area of interest to you and get their biography. This is the 2nd biography for me, and I'm starting to think I'll never need another fiction book in my life - I love biographies! It's so cool to read so much about a person's life - it's like finding hundreds of puzzle pieces about a person that you never could have even imagined existed. I find it very fascinating! I'm also being forced into reading the bible more as I go through this "learning" phase to co-lead a small group, as well as starting a very structured systematic theology class at church with weekly exams and everything! It is setup like a theology class and you are actually graded on your exams. It won't earn a PHD in Theology, but it will expand my theological knowledge greatly, and that is awesome! I learned a LOT tonight about how the bible was written, who wrote it, how it became the authority, the history of the old and new testaments separately, why each was translated from language to language over the years and the persucution that followed, along with a brief history lesson of the last 3500 years or so. Very interesting stuff!
Karissa went to the orthodontist yesterday for a checkup (expander) and he said she would probably be ready for braces this summer. WHAT?! If any of you readers out there (if anyone still keeps up with my sporadic postings) have knowledge or experience with this, please let us know. The plan would be to just put braces on the top as part of phase 1 of her orthodontics plan, which is the "restructuring of the mouth" phase. Phase 2 would begin around 12 years of age and be the "teeth straightening" phase. I have a lot of research/understanding to do, but my uneducated thoughts now lean more towards thinking it may be a little early for braces. She's 8! Even between now and when she is 12, she will grow a meaningful amount, so what will that do to the structure of her mouth?? I don't know...any thoughts?
In case some of you don't know, I am a nerd. Here's proof: I have been watching the tryouts to American Idol, and have compiled my prediction for the top 15. Here it is in just an approximate order:
1 Haley Scarnato (I think she could win)
2 Jory Steinburg (could also win)
3 Jason Sundance Head
4 Nicholas Pedro
5 Brandon Rogers
6 Jordan Sparks
7 Jenry Beranjo
8 Shyamali
9 Alaina Alexander
10 Sanjaya
11 Chris Sleigh
12 Paul Kim
13 Sarah Kreuger
14 Bailey Brown
15 Ebony
Last year, the very first time Taylor Hicks auditioned, I told Jenn that he is by far the most talented and should win, but I didn't think he would because people wouldn't understand him. Obviously, people DID understand him and made the right choice! So anyway, it has become a personal competition to try and pick the winner or top contestants just based on their very first audition. Hey, I have to do SOMETHING for entertainment while not working during the football offseason, right?
Caleb is becoming so much fun and I'm LOVING the dynamic of having a little boy in the mix of our brude of children. He's such a good natured boy. I look forward to the days when we can sword fight and shoot each other and play football and pee on trees and see who can spit the farthest and fix things (or learn together) and take Lambeau swimming in a lake and teach him how to be a man (I'm still learning) and all sorts of cool masculine things...but I'm also thoroughly enjoying the present.
I've been reading the biography of Vince Lombardi and absolutely love it! Jenn gets to occasionally hear something extremely boring to her that I find remarkable in the book. :) If you haven't read a biography, I encourage you to find a successful person in an area of interest to you and get their biography. This is the 2nd biography for me, and I'm starting to think I'll never need another fiction book in my life - I love biographies! It's so cool to read so much about a person's life - it's like finding hundreds of puzzle pieces about a person that you never could have even imagined existed. I find it very fascinating! I'm also being forced into reading the bible more as I go through this "learning" phase to co-lead a small group, as well as starting a very structured systematic theology class at church with weekly exams and everything! It is setup like a theology class and you are actually graded on your exams. It won't earn a PHD in Theology, but it will expand my theological knowledge greatly, and that is awesome! I learned a LOT tonight about how the bible was written, who wrote it, how it became the authority, the history of the old and new testaments separately, why each was translated from language to language over the years and the persucution that followed, along with a brief history lesson of the last 3500 years or so. Very interesting stuff!
1.15.2007
Pardon the Indecency
Seriously, can a dog get any more comfortable than this? I laugh almost everytime I see Lambeau sleeping, because most of the time he's sprawled out on his back like this. I don't really have anything else. Just wanted to share this image. He's doing MUCH better on the "pooping in the crate" issue. In fact, he hasn't in a week now. I think it's directly related to the better food we started using. I went to a feed store and talked to a "dog food expert" :) who helped me decide to try Purina Pro Plan. I've been very pleased so far. I went back to the feed store Saturday and got the stuff to give him his 2nd round of immunizations. Jennifer held him while I gave him a shot in the skin on his back. He whimpered a little, but only for about 2 seconds and then it was over. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is not nervous giving shots. I could take him to the vet for the same thing and pay $100, or I could get the shot at the feed store for $10. Hmm...I think I'll save the vet bill for later.
1.06.2007
Happy New Year!
Here's my monthly post, and here's Lambeau! Just as Lambeau Field is football in its most pure element, our dog, Lambeau, is a dog in its purest element. Just look at him...you can't get anymore "dog" than that! I love him! Except for the endless nights of pooping in his crate and cleaning up after him 1-2 times during the night and bathing him every single morning to get the poop off of him. He's worse than a kid in that respect! At least they poop in a diaper and it stays contained until you change them...well, most of the time. I know he will be housetrained soon, but it's not too much fun right now making sure you take him out every 30 minutes to an hour. It's ok, I know he'll be worth it.
We had a good Christmas and New Year. It was a stressful Christmas this year for me, but I think the kids enjoyed it. Work is very stressful and it was difficult to keep that from carrying over into my Christmas spirit. Hopefully things will settle down in the next 6-8 months. I got a bunch of really good gifts, including an espresso maker, the biography of Vince Lombardi, a new football, and many other great gifts! Oh yeah, I got Taylor Hicks' CD! I'd like to buy Chris Daughtry's CD now. Also, if you've never played Guitar HEro 2 on the playstation, I would highly recommend it. It's fun for all ages, genders, and skill levels! It's like karaoke on the guitar, but you don't have to know how to play...similarly to karaoke - you don't have to know how to sing.
We watched a silly movie last night, the Da Vinci Code. I know it's just a bunch of theories and there's no real proof to it, so I can accept watching the movie for its entertainment value, but I was hardly entertained. I felt like it was an overdone drama that tried to manipulate my thoughts, but failed. At least it was a free pay per view.
As you all know, I live for football. Here we are, one hour before the first playoff game, and I am pumped! I have been looking forward to these playoffs for about 6 weeks, knowing that it was actually going to be a good playoff bracket this year. I'm sure you don't recall, but in week 2, I posted on my blog that San Diego and Chicago would be in the Super Bowl. I still feel pretty sure San Diego will be there, but I don't think Chicago will make it. I'm sure you are all interested to know my playoff predictions. Dallas will beat Seattle. Philly will beat the Football Giants. Overrated Patriots will slide by the Jets. My upset pick - Chiefs will run past the Colts (Larry Johnson will rush for 200 yards). Round 2 will be Cowboys over Bears and Saints over Eagles. I know it's crazy, but I think we could see a Dallas-New Orleans NFC championship. Dallas plays all games on the road, which is good for them. Seattle is hurting very badly in their secondary and they have trouble stopping the run. I think Dallas can beat the Bears because the Bears can not do ANYTHING offensively, and their defense has been falling apart. That's what it hinges on. If the Bears' defense returns to midseason form, they'll make it to the Lombardi match. Anyway, round 2 of AFC, we'll see the Chargers beat the Chiefs and the Ravens beat the Pats. Then the Chargers will beat the Ravens and also beat whoever makes it in the NFC. What an exciting playoff bracket we have!! On top of all this, I found out this week that the Packers are playing in Dallas next year!!! WAHOO!!! Tickets will go on sale in mid-April when the schedule is released, so be sure you buy yours! Especially if Favre comes back next year...which is a real possibility. OK, sorry for me football indulgence. I bleed football and can't help it.
After such manly talk of dogs and football and stuff, I feel a little girlish saying this next part - I'm looking forward to a new season of American Idol!! I'm going to try and predict the winner in the initial tryouts. OK, I need to go get ready for football to start. By the way, a special shout out to my brother - he's getting married today in Czech Republic to a girl he is madly in love with. She works for the organization that he is going through to go to Tanzania to work on a childrens' orphanage. She's already been to the orphanage to work, and they plan on returning there together later in the year. I'm excited to meet Katerina in a few months!
12.04.2006
A Tribute to Troy Gilbert
As most of you know, a friend of ours was killed in an F-16 crash in Iraq last Monday. He leaves behind a wife and five children. He was flying a combat mission, bringing aerial support to American ground troops when apparently a mechanical issue caused his plane to go down. A week later, as I continue to think about Troy and Ginger and their family, my heart is still deeply saddened by their loss. It is unfathomable to think about Ginger and her children and what they must be going through. There is nothing that I can do to make the situation any better, but I have made a vow to pray for Ginger and her family every single day for the next year. I can’t go to the memorial in Arizona (Kelly, please pass on our condolences), so I wanted to write a little tribute, if you will.
Troy was absolutely one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Always smiling, he had an infectious personality – people were drawn to him. He loved his family, God, and his church. My fondest memories include the surprise 30th birthday party he threw for Ginger at his parents’ house and the tour he gave me of Sheppard Air Force Base. When I was pursuing Officer’s Training School in the Air Force (6 years ago) and giving thought to applying as a pilot or navigator, Troy took me all over the pilots’ main building and showed me everything he could. He even got special permission to let me try out the instrument simulator – VERY COOL! What I remember most about that tour is Troy’s genuine interest in wanting to help me in anyway he could. He truly was a great guy who put others before him. I guess we’ll never know the exact details of this tragedy, but we know his F-16 flew erratically before nose-diving and he never ejected. If only for my own personal reasons, I’d like to speculate (100% speculation here) that American ground troops were under heavy fire and needed help from the air…so Troy answered to his call of duty and flew into enemy territory to fight off the insurgents to save American lives when his plane suddenly malfunctioned. Though he tried, he couldn’t gain control of his plane, so he steered it away from American troops to crash without injuring anyone else. I’m sure you could find holes in this speculated theory, but this sounds like something Troy would do, unselfishly putting others before him.
May God continue to bless the lives of others as a result of the life Troy lived, and may God take care of and begin to heal his family.
Troy was absolutely one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Always smiling, he had an infectious personality – people were drawn to him. He loved his family, God, and his church. My fondest memories include the surprise 30th birthday party he threw for Ginger at his parents’ house and the tour he gave me of Sheppard Air Force Base. When I was pursuing Officer’s Training School in the Air Force (6 years ago) and giving thought to applying as a pilot or navigator, Troy took me all over the pilots’ main building and showed me everything he could. He even got special permission to let me try out the instrument simulator – VERY COOL! What I remember most about that tour is Troy’s genuine interest in wanting to help me in anyway he could. He truly was a great guy who put others before him. I guess we’ll never know the exact details of this tragedy, but we know his F-16 flew erratically before nose-diving and he never ejected. If only for my own personal reasons, I’d like to speculate (100% speculation here) that American ground troops were under heavy fire and needed help from the air…so Troy answered to his call of duty and flew into enemy territory to fight off the insurgents to save American lives when his plane suddenly malfunctioned. Though he tried, he couldn’t gain control of his plane, so he steered it away from American troops to crash without injuring anyone else. I’m sure you could find holes in this speculated theory, but this sounds like something Troy would do, unselfishly putting others before him.
May God continue to bless the lives of others as a result of the life Troy lived, and may God take care of and begin to heal his family.
11.28.2006
Lambeau Field Journal
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Before I begin this journal, there is absolutely no way to express this experience in words, but here’s my best effort. After a smooth flight to Minneapolis, lunch in the mall inside the airport, and another smooth flight to Green Bay, the time had finally come to see Lambeau Field. As soon as we landed in Green Bay, I immediately focused on the series of events that had to occur in order to not miss our Lambeau Field tour. By the time we walked out of the airport, we had precisely 45 minutes to find a taxi, drive to our hotel, drop off our bags, get back in the taxi, drive to Lambeau Field, and find the meeting point for the tour! Not only did we make it, we had 20 minutes to spare! It wasn’t until when we were in the taxi, on the way to Lambeau Field when we saw it from a distance for the first time, that it finally hit me that we were really there – it was an exciting feeling! We arrive at the front entrance and get out to be greeted by the tall statues of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi. Seeing these life-like statues sent a wave of history and tradition through the air and I was immediately in a very respectful state of mind as I recalled what I know of the history of these two men and what they brought to the Packers’ organization as well as the NFL. We walk in to the atrium and are amazed at the size of it. After we find the meeting place for the tour, I’m standing there looking at the pictures of greats like Bart Starr, Reggie White, Ray Nitschke, looking at the yard lines painted on the floor of the atrium that actually line up with the real yard lines on the field, feeling the presence of everything Green Bay Packers, anticipating the moment I get to see the field for the first time, and it’s just too much. I can think of 5 specific times in my adult life that tears were brought to my eyes. At the birth of each of my four children and now Lambeau Field. Yeah, maybe it’s a little corny, but if you shared the same appreciation of the Green Bay Packers - who they are, who they’ve been, where they came from, the legends born over the past 85 years, how they have changed the game, how the community owns the team and stands in line to sweep snow off of the field for free, how people literally come from all over the world to see the Packers, how season tickets have been sold out since the early 1960’s, how there is a 25 year waiting list for season tickets, how people put their name on the list so hopefully their grandkids can get season tickets, the Lambeau Leap, the Ice Bowl, the ACME Packers, Brett Favre and his magical ability to do anything on the field and yet be so humble while leading his team to success, Favre’s uncanny ability to perform at his highest during times of emotional and physical stress like losing his father, brother-in-law, finding out his wife has breast cancer and shaving his head to support her through chemo, Curly Lambeau inventing the forward pass, Vince Lombardi inventing the sweep, and the list goes on and on – but if you shared the same appreciation as me, and so many other people do, and it became your dream to see Favre and the Packers play at Lambeau Field, and then to have that dream enter your life as not a dream, but a real experience…maybe you’d also shed a tear or two. Soon after this minor breakdown, the tour begins. After a brief introduction, the tour guide led us outside to the statues and gave us a brief history of Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, and the Green Bay Packers up to where they are now with Coach Mike McCarthy. Then we went up to the 6th level and went inside a $30,000 per game luxury suite for 49 people. The anticipation of seeing Lambeau Field for the first time was killing me. I wanted to push everyone out of my way so I could rush in there and see the field. I finally entered the room and the sight of such a beautiful field made my stomach drop and I really think my heart skipped a beat. It was so much more awesome than what I imagined it would be. Again, the history of what I was seeing hit me like a ton of bricks, but luckily I was able to keep my composure and save some embarrassment in front of the other 30 people in our tour. All I could do was stare at the field and replay game moments from the past that actually took place on the very field I was looking at. I was so entranced that I probably only heard half of what the guide said. We left the suite and went down to where the locker rooms are. We didn’t get to go in the locker rooms, but we saw them from outside. The next thing was something that was truly an unbelievable experience. We walked into the player tunnel and they played a recording of what it sounds like when the players are in there – the announcer announcing their entrance and the crowd roaring outside. It was quite the adrenaline rush! Knowing that I was walking down the same tunnel that Favre and the Packers and the Packer greats from the past walked down was almost an out of body experience. I closed my eyes and could feel the presence of all the players as I walked down the tunnel, especially at the place where they preserved actual cement and bricks from the original City Stadium before the modern-day Lambeau Field where Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi actually stood to address the Packers. What an amazing thing to see and feel! As we reached the end of the player tunnel, we had arrived at the grass of Lambeau Field. It was a sensory overload! I couldn’t believe I was actually standing on Lambeau Field! I’m sure it’s illegal, but as Jennifer took a picture of me touching the grass, I pulled some and stuffed it in my pocket. I will forever have a piece of Lambeau Field! I also touched and leaned up against the green wall where Packers perform the Lambeau Leap. Of course I imagined Donald Driver catching a pass from Favre and then running up to the exact point where I was standing to leap up over the wall where the fans would catch him and celebrate with him. Hopefully we’ll see quite a few of those tomorrow! After this, the tour was pretty much over after the practice facilities were shown to us in the distance. Here I am, the night before the game recalling the events of the day, and I can’t believe it will get even better tomorrow! I will actually see Brett Favre and the Packers play a game from the 4th row in the end zone! I literally can not believe we are actually here in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and will actually see the game tomorrow. Most dreams are never attained, but this dream of mine is being fulfilled right now! I am appreciating and taking this in as much as humanly possible. I will try to get some sleep tonight before going to the tailgate party and the game tomorrow!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
We wake up early in the morning, get ready, and board the bus to Lambeau Field for our tailgate party. It is probably 25 degrees, which is much colder then 25 in Texas…it feels more like 10! We arrive at the tailgate party, 2 blocks from Lambeau Field and make our way in. There are tents set up, tables, a DJ, and Gilbert Brown (former Packer on 1996 Super Bowl team), and TONS of fans, both Packers and Patriots fans. The fans on both sides are very classy and respectful of each other. We stand in line for the food and listen to the music, which is all Packers parody songs…songs like “The Bears Still Suck” and our favorite was “I love Brett Favre” to the tune of Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar”- very funny! I fill up my plate with bratwurst, a cheeseburger, Brett Favre’s jumbalaya, and cookies – at 9am!! What a breakfast!! The food was delicious! We then go to find a drink, and were humored to see that you had 3 options – beer, bloody mary, or screwdriver! Again, at 9am!! What a tailgate party! I guess it’s so cold up there that they have to drink alcohol to stay warm! HA! Anyway, I grabbed a screwdriver that had been sitting for awhile with the vodka settled at the bottom and enjoyed a nice glass of orange juice. ;-) After hanging around for a bit, we make our way into Brett Favre’s Steakhouse where we bought a cheesehead and then a few more souvenirs on our way to Lambeau Field. It was a party the whole way to the field! At one point, I look over and see Vince Lombardi himself walking around with a Super Bowl trophy, so I had to get my picture with him! He was a very good look-alike. As we get closer to the entrance, we enjoy looking at all of the tailgaters in the parking lot – it was a very fun atmosphere! To our surprise, when we entered the stadium, we got free towels (like Pittsburgh’s terrible towel) and Brett Favre statues! Cool! We found our seats and were AMAZED at how close we were to the field! Being on the 4th row, we were only like 8 feet from the grass. Jennifer got excited too, she didn’t realize we would be so close. By then, it was probably 30-32 degrees or so, and in the sun, we could take our coats off (we each had layered clothing on over thermals), but when the sun went behind a cloud, it got COLD again. Seriously, it felt like the temperature dropped 15-20 degrees when the sun went behind a cloud! The players started coming out for pregame warm-ups and it was awesome to see them so close! Eventually, the game started, and it was absolutely one of the coolest experiences I have ever had! As the game went on, it was a little frustrating that the Packers were so flat. They never got pressure on Tom Brady (most overrated QB in the league), they couldn’t establish the run, and they couldn’t put together a string of completions. They also had a hard time stopping New England’s offense. The Patriots weren’t impressive or anything, they just nickel and dimed us. They had just lost two in a row, so I knew they were very beatable, but the Packers had to have some things clicking, and they just couldn’t get it going. Now, if you can imagine the irony of the situation here…Favre has started 251 games in a row, which is something that is just unfathomable as a QB in the NFL. It’s a testament to his toughness and ability to play through injury and pain. However, as irony laughs in my face, Favre goes down with 2 minutes left in the half. He of course pops up immediately, but is in obvious pain, holding his arm and wrist. The trainers come out to check on him, and funny enough, so do the refs! HA! After a few minutes, he looks like he’s about to go back to the huddle, but the trainers grab him and make him walk to the sidelines. He’s carted off to the locker room for testing. It was definitely a setback, but I tried to look at the positive side…I told myself that maybe it was luck that we got to see Aaron Rodgers play too – the future QB of the Packers after Favre retires. However, he didn’t have a good game. After halftime, Rodgers comes back out and Favre never does. I kept expecting Favre to come out any minute and come back in the game, because after all, Favre doesn’t get hurt – EVER! I notice early in the 3rd quarter, maybe the 1st or 2nd series, that Rodgers starts limping a little. It turns out that Rodgers had broken his foot and finished the entire game on a broken foot, which required surgery and a screw the next day! Must be part of being a Green Bay QB – no injury keeps you from playing! A few minutes later, Favre comes out of the tunnel and to the sideline, which of course was met by an eruption of cheers from the crowd. I kept waiting for him to come back in, but he never did. The Packers ended up losing 35-0. So here we are…living my dream at the frozen tundra in Titletown USA and the Packers lose to a team I think has been overrated for a decade and don’t really respect that much, and Favre gets hurt. Sure, I could have let myself sulk and get real upset at the result of the game, but it was seriously overshadowed by the fact that I was there in person. What an amazing experience! I knew the Packers lost 35-0, but they weren’t beat by the Patriots, they just simply didn’t show up to play. The Patriots weren’t 35 points better than them, they didn’t get shut down by an amazing powerhouse team, they just didn’t show up. So the game is over and we have 45 minutes to go back to the bus. I lingered in the stands as long as I could, because I knew it could easily be the last time I see Lambeau Field in person. I knew my perspective of the field would be changed forever, since I was there in person, but I just couldn’t let go…I couldn’t say goodbye. Finally, I gave it one last sincere lookever, and we left the frozen tundra. As we were walking underneath towards the exit, I felt as if I were on the other side of a new page in the history of my life. Major events come into our lives and carve out moments in time that become a reference point forever…for me, it was Lambeau Field. We stop at a concession stand since we didn’t get up the entire game and got some hot chocolate, a soda, and another bratwurst. There’s just something amazingly delicious about their brats – I don’t know what’s different, but they are soooo delicious! We make it back to the bus and eventually back to our hotel room, where we crash and watch the second half of the Dallas Cowboys game. What a game!! They beat the Colts!
Monday, November 20, 2006
We got up, went to pickup our rental car, and drove back to Lambeau Field. Being at Lambeau Field 3 days in a row was something I could get use to! It’s so amazing how every time I saw it for the first time in the day, it was such a rush! Even on the 3rd day, I couldn’t believe we were actually in Green Bay, Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Unbelievable! We still had tickets to the Packers Hall of Fame as part of our package deal, so we (or at least I) wanted to take advantage of it. The tour was self-guided and took about 2 hours. It could have easily taken 3-4 hours if you stopped and looked at every single display and watched all of the videos and read all of the signs. It was really cool seeing the progression of the Packers from 1921 to the present, with actual equipment from the players of old and new. Leather helmets, jerseys that snap at the crotch like onesies, 80 year old cleats and shoulder pads, notes written by Vince Lombardi on the 7-4 defense, a hand-drawn chalk drawing of the infamous sweep play. There was also a setup of Vince Lombardi’s office, as well as life-size statues of players in formation at the Ice Bowl that you could stand next to. I stood next to Bart Starr and looked into the eyes of the Dallas Cowboys’ linemen and linebackers who were hungry to tackle me with all of their ferocious strength and it was quite intimidating. Very cool experience! We saw the three Lombardi trophies and made our way out of the Hall of Fame. After buying a few more souvenirs, we drove away from Lambeau Field toward Appleton, Wisconsin, where we would begin our journey home. It was a sad moment, leaving such an amazing monument behind, but life must go on. I have experienced a part of history that nobody can ever take away from me, and I hope to go back one day…with my son (and any other family member interested) :-).
Jennifer, thank you for agreeing to experience this dream with me! I am truly lucky to have a wife who loves football! YOU ROCK!
Before I begin this journal, there is absolutely no way to express this experience in words, but here’s my best effort. After a smooth flight to Minneapolis, lunch in the mall inside the airport, and another smooth flight to Green Bay, the time had finally come to see Lambeau Field. As soon as we landed in Green Bay, I immediately focused on the series of events that had to occur in order to not miss our Lambeau Field tour. By the time we walked out of the airport, we had precisely 45 minutes to find a taxi, drive to our hotel, drop off our bags, get back in the taxi, drive to Lambeau Field, and find the meeting point for the tour! Not only did we make it, we had 20 minutes to spare! It wasn’t until when we were in the taxi, on the way to Lambeau Field when we saw it from a distance for the first time, that it finally hit me that we were really there – it was an exciting feeling! We arrive at the front entrance and get out to be greeted by the tall statues of Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi. Seeing these life-like statues sent a wave of history and tradition through the air and I was immediately in a very respectful state of mind as I recalled what I know of the history of these two men and what they brought to the Packers’ organization as well as the NFL. We walk in to the atrium and are amazed at the size of it. After we find the meeting place for the tour, I’m standing there looking at the pictures of greats like Bart Starr, Reggie White, Ray Nitschke, looking at the yard lines painted on the floor of the atrium that actually line up with the real yard lines on the field, feeling the presence of everything Green Bay Packers, anticipating the moment I get to see the field for the first time, and it’s just too much. I can think of 5 specific times in my adult life that tears were brought to my eyes. At the birth of each of my four children and now Lambeau Field. Yeah, maybe it’s a little corny, but if you shared the same appreciation of the Green Bay Packers - who they are, who they’ve been, where they came from, the legends born over the past 85 years, how they have changed the game, how the community owns the team and stands in line to sweep snow off of the field for free, how people literally come from all over the world to see the Packers, how season tickets have been sold out since the early 1960’s, how there is a 25 year waiting list for season tickets, how people put their name on the list so hopefully their grandkids can get season tickets, the Lambeau Leap, the Ice Bowl, the ACME Packers, Brett Favre and his magical ability to do anything on the field and yet be so humble while leading his team to success, Favre’s uncanny ability to perform at his highest during times of emotional and physical stress like losing his father, brother-in-law, finding out his wife has breast cancer and shaving his head to support her through chemo, Curly Lambeau inventing the forward pass, Vince Lombardi inventing the sweep, and the list goes on and on – but if you shared the same appreciation as me, and so many other people do, and it became your dream to see Favre and the Packers play at Lambeau Field, and then to have that dream enter your life as not a dream, but a real experience…maybe you’d also shed a tear or two. Soon after this minor breakdown, the tour begins. After a brief introduction, the tour guide led us outside to the statues and gave us a brief history of Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi, and the Green Bay Packers up to where they are now with Coach Mike McCarthy. Then we went up to the 6th level and went inside a $30,000 per game luxury suite for 49 people. The anticipation of seeing Lambeau Field for the first time was killing me. I wanted to push everyone out of my way so I could rush in there and see the field. I finally entered the room and the sight of such a beautiful field made my stomach drop and I really think my heart skipped a beat. It was so much more awesome than what I imagined it would be. Again, the history of what I was seeing hit me like a ton of bricks, but luckily I was able to keep my composure and save some embarrassment in front of the other 30 people in our tour. All I could do was stare at the field and replay game moments from the past that actually took place on the very field I was looking at. I was so entranced that I probably only heard half of what the guide said. We left the suite and went down to where the locker rooms are. We didn’t get to go in the locker rooms, but we saw them from outside. The next thing was something that was truly an unbelievable experience. We walked into the player tunnel and they played a recording of what it sounds like when the players are in there – the announcer announcing their entrance and the crowd roaring outside. It was quite the adrenaline rush! Knowing that I was walking down the same tunnel that Favre and the Packers and the Packer greats from the past walked down was almost an out of body experience. I closed my eyes and could feel the presence of all the players as I walked down the tunnel, especially at the place where they preserved actual cement and bricks from the original City Stadium before the modern-day Lambeau Field where Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi actually stood to address the Packers. What an amazing thing to see and feel! As we reached the end of the player tunnel, we had arrived at the grass of Lambeau Field. It was a sensory overload! I couldn’t believe I was actually standing on Lambeau Field! I’m sure it’s illegal, but as Jennifer took a picture of me touching the grass, I pulled some and stuffed it in my pocket. I will forever have a piece of Lambeau Field! I also touched and leaned up against the green wall where Packers perform the Lambeau Leap. Of course I imagined Donald Driver catching a pass from Favre and then running up to the exact point where I was standing to leap up over the wall where the fans would catch him and celebrate with him. Hopefully we’ll see quite a few of those tomorrow! After this, the tour was pretty much over after the practice facilities were shown to us in the distance. Here I am, the night before the game recalling the events of the day, and I can’t believe it will get even better tomorrow! I will actually see Brett Favre and the Packers play a game from the 4th row in the end zone! I literally can not believe we are actually here in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and will actually see the game tomorrow. Most dreams are never attained, but this dream of mine is being fulfilled right now! I am appreciating and taking this in as much as humanly possible. I will try to get some sleep tonight before going to the tailgate party and the game tomorrow!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
We wake up early in the morning, get ready, and board the bus to Lambeau Field for our tailgate party. It is probably 25 degrees, which is much colder then 25 in Texas…it feels more like 10! We arrive at the tailgate party, 2 blocks from Lambeau Field and make our way in. There are tents set up, tables, a DJ, and Gilbert Brown (former Packer on 1996 Super Bowl team), and TONS of fans, both Packers and Patriots fans. The fans on both sides are very classy and respectful of each other. We stand in line for the food and listen to the music, which is all Packers parody songs…songs like “The Bears Still Suck” and our favorite was “I love Brett Favre” to the tune of Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar”- very funny! I fill up my plate with bratwurst, a cheeseburger, Brett Favre’s jumbalaya, and cookies – at 9am!! What a breakfast!! The food was delicious! We then go to find a drink, and were humored to see that you had 3 options – beer, bloody mary, or screwdriver! Again, at 9am!! What a tailgate party! I guess it’s so cold up there that they have to drink alcohol to stay warm! HA! Anyway, I grabbed a screwdriver that had been sitting for awhile with the vodka settled at the bottom and enjoyed a nice glass of orange juice. ;-) After hanging around for a bit, we make our way into Brett Favre’s Steakhouse where we bought a cheesehead and then a few more souvenirs on our way to Lambeau Field. It was a party the whole way to the field! At one point, I look over and see Vince Lombardi himself walking around with a Super Bowl trophy, so I had to get my picture with him! He was a very good look-alike. As we get closer to the entrance, we enjoy looking at all of the tailgaters in the parking lot – it was a very fun atmosphere! To our surprise, when we entered the stadium, we got free towels (like Pittsburgh’s terrible towel) and Brett Favre statues! Cool! We found our seats and were AMAZED at how close we were to the field! Being on the 4th row, we were only like 8 feet from the grass. Jennifer got excited too, she didn’t realize we would be so close. By then, it was probably 30-32 degrees or so, and in the sun, we could take our coats off (we each had layered clothing on over thermals), but when the sun went behind a cloud, it got COLD again. Seriously, it felt like the temperature dropped 15-20 degrees when the sun went behind a cloud! The players started coming out for pregame warm-ups and it was awesome to see them so close! Eventually, the game started, and it was absolutely one of the coolest experiences I have ever had! As the game went on, it was a little frustrating that the Packers were so flat. They never got pressure on Tom Brady (most overrated QB in the league), they couldn’t establish the run, and they couldn’t put together a string of completions. They also had a hard time stopping New England’s offense. The Patriots weren’t impressive or anything, they just nickel and dimed us. They had just lost two in a row, so I knew they were very beatable, but the Packers had to have some things clicking, and they just couldn’t get it going. Now, if you can imagine the irony of the situation here…Favre has started 251 games in a row, which is something that is just unfathomable as a QB in the NFL. It’s a testament to his toughness and ability to play through injury and pain. However, as irony laughs in my face, Favre goes down with 2 minutes left in the half. He of course pops up immediately, but is in obvious pain, holding his arm and wrist. The trainers come out to check on him, and funny enough, so do the refs! HA! After a few minutes, he looks like he’s about to go back to the huddle, but the trainers grab him and make him walk to the sidelines. He’s carted off to the locker room for testing. It was definitely a setback, but I tried to look at the positive side…I told myself that maybe it was luck that we got to see Aaron Rodgers play too – the future QB of the Packers after Favre retires. However, he didn’t have a good game. After halftime, Rodgers comes back out and Favre never does. I kept expecting Favre to come out any minute and come back in the game, because after all, Favre doesn’t get hurt – EVER! I notice early in the 3rd quarter, maybe the 1st or 2nd series, that Rodgers starts limping a little. It turns out that Rodgers had broken his foot and finished the entire game on a broken foot, which required surgery and a screw the next day! Must be part of being a Green Bay QB – no injury keeps you from playing! A few minutes later, Favre comes out of the tunnel and to the sideline, which of course was met by an eruption of cheers from the crowd. I kept waiting for him to come back in, but he never did. The Packers ended up losing 35-0. So here we are…living my dream at the frozen tundra in Titletown USA and the Packers lose to a team I think has been overrated for a decade and don’t really respect that much, and Favre gets hurt. Sure, I could have let myself sulk and get real upset at the result of the game, but it was seriously overshadowed by the fact that I was there in person. What an amazing experience! I knew the Packers lost 35-0, but they weren’t beat by the Patriots, they just simply didn’t show up to play. The Patriots weren’t 35 points better than them, they didn’t get shut down by an amazing powerhouse team, they just didn’t show up. So the game is over and we have 45 minutes to go back to the bus. I lingered in the stands as long as I could, because I knew it could easily be the last time I see Lambeau Field in person. I knew my perspective of the field would be changed forever, since I was there in person, but I just couldn’t let go…I couldn’t say goodbye. Finally, I gave it one last sincere lookever, and we left the frozen tundra. As we were walking underneath towards the exit, I felt as if I were on the other side of a new page in the history of my life. Major events come into our lives and carve out moments in time that become a reference point forever…for me, it was Lambeau Field. We stop at a concession stand since we didn’t get up the entire game and got some hot chocolate, a soda, and another bratwurst. There’s just something amazingly delicious about their brats – I don’t know what’s different, but they are soooo delicious! We make it back to the bus and eventually back to our hotel room, where we crash and watch the second half of the Dallas Cowboys game. What a game!! They beat the Colts!
Monday, November 20, 2006
We got up, went to pickup our rental car, and drove back to Lambeau Field. Being at Lambeau Field 3 days in a row was something I could get use to! It’s so amazing how every time I saw it for the first time in the day, it was such a rush! Even on the 3rd day, I couldn’t believe we were actually in Green Bay, Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Unbelievable! We still had tickets to the Packers Hall of Fame as part of our package deal, so we (or at least I) wanted to take advantage of it. The tour was self-guided and took about 2 hours. It could have easily taken 3-4 hours if you stopped and looked at every single display and watched all of the videos and read all of the signs. It was really cool seeing the progression of the Packers from 1921 to the present, with actual equipment from the players of old and new. Leather helmets, jerseys that snap at the crotch like onesies, 80 year old cleats and shoulder pads, notes written by Vince Lombardi on the 7-4 defense, a hand-drawn chalk drawing of the infamous sweep play. There was also a setup of Vince Lombardi’s office, as well as life-size statues of players in formation at the Ice Bowl that you could stand next to. I stood next to Bart Starr and looked into the eyes of the Dallas Cowboys’ linemen and linebackers who were hungry to tackle me with all of their ferocious strength and it was quite intimidating. Very cool experience! We saw the three Lombardi trophies and made our way out of the Hall of Fame. After buying a few more souvenirs, we drove away from Lambeau Field toward Appleton, Wisconsin, where we would begin our journey home. It was a sad moment, leaving such an amazing monument behind, but life must go on. I have experienced a part of history that nobody can ever take away from me, and I hope to go back one day…with my son (and any other family member interested) :-).
Jennifer, thank you for agreeing to experience this dream with me! I am truly lucky to have a wife who loves football! YOU ROCK!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
