The Running Family

With vacation last month, the increasing heat, and the loss of a running partner, I was starting to have some motivation issues with my running. So…a few weeks ago, as crazy and creepy as it sounds, I put an ad on craigs list for a running partner. I was concerned about some of the responses I might get, not wanting to attract weirdos with motivations not centered around running. Surprisingly, I got 2 responses, and they have actually been legitimate runners – no weirdos! One is a former Oklahoma University basketball player, who now works at a physical therapy office, who runs faster than I (not saying much) and really pushes me during our runs. We’ve actually only run twice, but I think that will pick up some. The other new running partner is a girl who just moved here from Colorado who is trying to adjust to the heat and train for her 2nd marathon. We’ve run 3 times, 2 of which has been with a big group of runners called The Running Family. She’s a little slower than I, but I’m willing to trade that off for the accountability so I’ll get my rear out the door and on the roads getting the miles in. My training now is focused on mileage, not speed, so it doesn’t bother me at all that I’ve been running at a slower pace. I’ve had some issues with my soleus’ anyway (lower calf muscles), so it’s been good to get the easy runs in.

The Running Family is awesome! I’ve never run with a group before. A few years ago, a guy who was a marathon coach for Luke’s Locker decided to branch off and start his program. But instead of charging everyone $200 or more like Luke’s Locker, it’s FREE! Every Saturday morning at 6am, they all meet near the Trinity River trail and run a different route each week. The person who creates the route also sets up an aid station along the course with water, Gatorade, M&Ms, pretzels, and ice cold towels. They run 3-4 miles to the aid station, and then do a few out and backs so you hit the aid station 2-3 times during the 12-13 mile run. There’s about 120 people on the “roster”, but typically about 30 show up each week.

Last week, I met quite a few really nice runners that I got to know on our 2 hour run. Then today, my new partner and I met at the trail at 5am to get 5-6 miles in before meeting up with the group at 6am for another 13 miles. Actually my partner ran 16 and I ended up doing 20 today. I saw most of my new running friends, and met probably 6-7 new runners. It was so much fun!! There’s just a certain camaraderie with runners that I’ve never experienced before. It also makes the miles go by faster and less painful when you’re having fun with other people. I actually feel better today than I have ever felt after a 20 miler. I even met 3 ultrarunners today! I’m hoping to soak up some knowledge from them since I’m training for my first ultramarathon (any distance over 26.2 miles).

One funny exchange happened with an older man I struck up conversation with after noticing his Palo Duro Trail Run hat. I told him I did the 20k last year and am planning on going back this year for the 50 miler. He said he did the 50 a few years ago and thought it was a beautiful course with top notch support. We talked about it for a few minutes and then I asked him about the “second wall” that ultrarunners get on a 50 miler that I read about…
“Yeah, it hits at about mile 26. Just stay ahead on your fluids.”
With a quizzical expression, I ask “Mile 26??” followed by another older man beside us who said “Didn’t you hear him say 50 MILES?!?!”
“You’re doing the 50 miler? You’re crazier than sh**!”
Me – “Well, I’m gonna give it a try”
“If you can do that, you’re a MONSTER. I only did the 50k!”

It was pretty funny. I need to hook up with the ultrarunners who won’t just think I’m a nutcase for wanting to go 50 miles. And I know I have a LOT I could learn from them. This weekend will be my second set of long run sandwiches, or back-to-backs. My 20 today will be followed by a 10 miler tomorrow. That strategy is supposed to get you ready for the long 50 miler, so we’ll see how my body holds up. I’ll increase my Saturday runs up to 32 miles about 3-4 weeks before the race. I think I have about 12 weeks now until race day. I’m starting to get excited, but these 50 and soon to be 60 mile weeks are starting to talk to me a little.

We have been foster parenting a beautiful Weimaraner for the past month, hoping she would get adopted pretty soon so we could 1)prevent her from being put to sleep, and 2)test drive an older dog that is past the puppy stage without committing long term. Well, for various reasons, she didn’t work out, so I took her back to the rescue center today. Before I even got home, they had called to let us know someone had adopted her – so that was great news!!

I don’t want to comment much on the Brett Favre drama. I’ll just say Ted Thompson is an idiot if he doesn’t have McCarthy start Favre…and if he doesn’t…I can’t see Favre playing anywhere else. That’s all I’m saying. It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend when Favre requests reinstatement from the NFL and reports to training camp.

I guess school starts back in about a month. I can’t believe we’ll have 3 in school! Kylie is ready to start Kindergarten, and Jenn is looking forward to only having Caleb at home during the day. Of course, he’s quite a handful so I don’t know how much of a break she’ll really get.

Some good friends of ours opened a snow cone stand, and we’ve been supporting them A LOT lately! We don’t always buy a snow cone – sometimes we’ll just go up there and hang out to try and make it look like a happenin place and attract more customers. They’re actually doing quite well with it. Makes me a little jealous! Wish we could do that and make thousands of dollars a month!!

Well, hopefully it won’t be 3 months before I post again, but I know you guys have come to expect that…so I’d hate to let you down. HA!

OKC Marathon

“You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can’t know what’s coming.” –Frank Shorter

April 27, 2008 - 6:00am

Jennifer and I arrive at downtown Oklahoma City and make our way to a free parking garage where I finish my oatmeal and sports drink. As I’m standing outside the van rubbing Vaseline onto my nipples, a girl drives up and asks if the parking is free. I tell her it is and she pulls in several spaces down, not so much as flinching at my prerace ritual. To anyone else, I guess the humor might be in the fact that I am rubbing Vaseline on my nipples while having a brief conversation with a stranger. But to a runner, the humor lies in the universal acceptance and understanding of rubbing Vaseline on my nipples. You see, it is almost certain that the stranger with whom I was conversing has experienced the after effects of an 18 mile run when rubbing Vaseline on her critical chaffing areas was forgotten.

It’s 41 degrees, windy, and a light rain is falling - miserable conditions to a spectator, but ideal to a runner. We begin our long walk to the starting line and both agree that we should have brought trash bags to wear just as most everyone else had done to stay a little drier. We find a spot in the ever increasing crowd near the starting line where I begin to try and stretch. At 6:15am, a moment of silence was observed, lasting 168 seconds to pay respect to the 168 victims of the Oklahoma City bombing 13 years ago. Soon after that was the national anthem, followed by the start of the wheelchair marathon. Jennifer wished me farewell and went to the sideline while I shoved my way toward the start, trying to inch my way through the sardines.

At 6:30am, the gun went off and the race was on. It was finally time to see how much all of my hard work would pay off. I had worked up to running about 45-47 miles per week, and my training was peaking at just the right time. My times had been consistently improving, and it had become much easier to run 16-20 miles at a time. It only took about 50 seconds to make my way to the official starting line. As I crossed the mat and heard the beep from my timing chip go off, I pushed start on my GPS watch and began my second marathon. Special attention had to be paid during the first mile as it was still raining slightly and people were shedding clothes, gloves and trash bags as their bodies started to warm up. The runners were still packed together pretty tightly, so with the slippery conditions and flying obstacles, the risk of tripping and falling was especially high at this point.

My strategy was to go out the first 6-7 miles at about a 9:00 per mile pace and then assess my body and decide whether to kick it up a gear, stay put, or ease off a little. During the week leading up to today, I had gone from hoping to finish in 4hours 10minutes down to 4hours 5 minutes, and finally thinking I had a long shot chance at a 4 hour marathon if everything went perfect. With regard to my 4:44 time just 4 ½ months prior, I knew my goals were ambitious, but I was feeling very strong. Trimming off 44 minutes would be huge, but it had become my goal.

I spent the first 2-3 miles trying to settle in to a good rhythm. At around 2.5 miles, the 4 hour pace group caught up to me, marked by an experienced runner with helium balloons attached to her that read “4:00”. I decided to run with them for awhile and see how it went. Somewhere in there, to my right I hear a “Hey Kirk!” It was my friend Daniel from Wichita Falls who I knew would be there. He’s faster than I, so we didn’t plan on running together. Knowing this, I wish him well as he passes by and tell him I’ll see him at the finish line. In a gentlemanly gesture, he replies “I bet you’ll pass me.” I shrug it off and feel comfortable with my 4:00 comrades. About 3-4 miles down the road, I’m still keeping up with the 4:00 pace group, feeding off their company and the coaching of their leader, when lo and behold, I hear a “Hey Kirk” to my right again. I look over and as Daniel passes me he says “Told ya you’d pass me.” Confused, I say “You must have stopped at the bathroom.” This was followed by a “Yep.” I proceeded to leave my 4:00 group and pace with Daniel for a bit. We chit chat for a few minutes about our goals and strategies, and after about a half mile of running at a 7:30/mile pace, I tell Daniel to go on ahead and have a good race as I drop back to an 8:30 pace. I have become so spoiled with my GPS watch because it constantly tells you what your current pace is, and that is key to having a good run. You have to know what your pace is. It was too nerve-racking trying to stay with the 4:00 pace group, so I was much happier being a few minutes ahead of them. I hated the pressure of knowing that if they passed me I would be playing catch up the whole time, or kissing my goal goodbye.

I studied the elevation map ahead of time and knew that there were 2 3-mile stretches of almost constant uphill. The first began at the 8 mile mark, so as it approached, I hunkered down and tried to get ready for it. The second one would come between miles 21-24, which I thought was very cruel. I had been pushing my pace pretty good the first 8 miles, so I was already starting to feel worked over a little bit. I sucked down an energy gel and felt the burn in my legs pick up as the hill came. My pace slowed a little over the next 3 miles, and when I finally topped the hill at mile 11, I felt pretty worn out. I was actually concerned at that point that maybe I had pushed it too hard and would end up gassing out in the 2nd half of the race. I decided not to worry too much and just kept running. The relief after the hill was surprisingly enough that I recovered pretty quickly and felt good again.

I have a Texas Longhorns visor that I wear when I run, and I didn’t even think about wearing that in OU country until the first Texas-hater told me I was brave for wearing that hat. HA! It was in fun, but that’s when I realized I may end up getting more attention than I care to have. Surprisingly though, I ended up getting way more comments from Texas fans than OU fans.

I was coming up on the half marathon mark, which I also knew was about the point in the race that would take us through about 3 ½ miles of trails. I was looking forward to that. Last week on a training run in Georgetown, I shattered my previous half-marathon time by over 5 minutes for a new PR, and I knew in this race I was on pace for another potential PR. I ended up missing my PR by 34 seconds. I did a quick assessment at the halfway mark and felt pretty good so far. My legs were definitely feeling like I was pushing them, but I had a lot of juice left in them. My cardio was fine, my overall body felt ok, and mentally I was doing great. I knew I was having a good run, and a 4:00 marathon was still a possibility, so that kept my spirits high. I was somewhat haunted by the fact that I knew I was only a couple of minutes ahead of the 4:00 pace group. I would not allow myself to turn around and see how far back they were as I knew that could be devastating mentally. Once we hit the trails, we were greeted by a nice view of Lake Hefner and a very nasty headwind that slowed everyone down. A half mile down the trail, the course turned a 180 and that headwind became a very nice tailwind that ended up pushing us most of the way back to the finish. It was beautiful.

At the 15 mile mark, I did the math and realized that “mathematically” I was on pace for a 3:50 marathon. In fact, I knew that as long as I averaged 10 minute miles or faster from this point forward, I would finish in 4:00 or less. I was so pumped, and I concentrated probably a little too much on my pace over the next few miles as the excitement carried me on. I knew my pace would slow down late in the race, but I thought I had enough of a buffer that I would be ok. We exited the trail and started the journey back through town after about 17 miles. I was still pushing it pretty good at this point and was surprised to still be kicking out some 8:30-45 miles. As I got closer to 18, I tried to mentally prepare myself for the 21-24 uphill stretch, which would time itself perfectly with the wall. Maybe that’s a bad choice of words – there’s nothing perfect about the wall. Anyway, I decide to start eating a little at each aid station, so I would grab a few pretzels and slices of banana from here on out. Hopefully this would lessen the blow of the wall, which I knew was unavoidable. I long for the day when my body becomes more accustomed to switching its fuel source from glycogen to fat, though I don’t think anyone ever completely avoids the pain of the wall.

I was on autopilot as I cruised through the 20 mile marker, feeling tired but still pushing it pretty strong. I glanced up and noticed my wife cheering me on, which was a nice surprise and a good mental boost. Of course, she didn’t offer me a ride back to the finish line – HA! That change of pace pulled me out of my spell and I started getting ready for the last 6 miles that I knew would get progressively harder. They say the first half of a marathon is the first 20 miles and the second half is the last 6.2 miles. There’s a lot of truth in that. Your body can carry you pretty easily through the first 20 miles, but it’s the last 6.2 that really tests your fortitude. How well will you be able to battle the pain and keep pushing on? I was about to find out.

I started taking energy gels at mile 8, and my plan was to take one every 3 miles. The course description said they would have energy gels at the aid stations, beginning with mile 16. I had my last one at mile 17 and was ready for another at 20, but what they failed to mention is that there would only be TWO aid stations with energy gels, and I hadn’t made it to the second one yet. I did not bring anymore with me. Hopefully that wouldn’t affect me too much, but I knew my body was used to that little shot of energy every 25-28 minutes. At mile 21, I had already started to slow down, but I didn’t feel like the wall had really hit yet. I had wanted to stop and walk since about mile 18, but I hadn’t felt the overwhelming desire yet. I ate some more banana, which helped wake me up a little, but it didn’t last long. I was drinking powerade at every aid station, which is a challenge while you’re running, but if you fold the paper cup in half and hold it to the side, you can usually get a decent drink without choking or sloshing the water up your nose. The powerade was starting to be too sweet, so I switched to water.

As I crossed through the mile 22 marker, I remembered that this was only the second time to be running beyond 22 miles, so it was still relatively unfamiliar territory. Looking at my watch I knew I had been slowing quite a bit and was getting nervous that a 4:00 time might be a little out of reach now. I expected the 4:00 pace group to catch up any moment, which made me want to pick it up a little, but I was giving it all I had. I still would not allow myself to turn around and look for them, but I finally reconciled that if they did pass me, I had to be ok with it because I’d had one heck of a run so far and I was giving it 100%.

I think around 23 is when I really slammed into the wall. Mentally, it became a major struggle to keep running. My body wanted to walk, but my mind wanted to run. I had to play little mind games and not think about how I still had 3 miles to go. I would pick a street sign 50 feet ahead and just tell myself all I had to do was run to that street sign. When I did, I would celebrate for half a second and then tell myself I only had to run to that tree 50 feet ahead. This cycle continued for the next few miles. At one point, the body almost won. For a split second, my mind realized that my body was stopping to walk, so my mind had to force the body to keep moving. It was a strange sensation, like I wasn’t in control of my own body. I knew it was going to be very difficult to make 4:00, but I just couldn’t find the energy to speed up. I was sucked dry of everything. All I had left was willpower, but luckily my tank was full in that department. I remembered from my first marathon that this was the point where you have to dig down deeper than you have ever had to in your entire life to win the battle against the marathon beast. However, I had an advantage this time…I knew I could.

Coming up on mile 24, I could hear the familiar voice of the 4:00 pace group coach coming, barking out her encouragement and words of advice. I instinctively picked up my pace, which was very painful, and I tried to keep pushing to stay ahead. I knew they were on my heels but I would still not turn around and look. Up ahead, I saw an aid station, which could help me out if they walked through it. I didn’t know if they would or not since time was quickly running out for a 4:00 finish. I snatched a cup of water as I ran through the aid station and moved back out to keep running. It sounded like I may have lost them for now, but I wasn’t sure. I just kept on moving one foot in front of the other with painful tenacity. About a half mile later, I heard them coming again and when I tried to pick up my pace, nothing happened. I was at top speed and couldn’t do anything about it. So, with 1.7 miles left in the race, I moved over and conceded my position to them as they slowly passed me by. The competitive side of me felt defeated, but I didn’t beat myself up. I knew I had run to the best of my ability and I gave everything I had. However, I couldn’t help think that their last minute strength could have come from conserving early on, and had I stayed back and ran 9:00 miles instead of 8:00 – 8:45 through the early to mid miles, maybe I’d be right there with them cruising to a 4 hour marathon. Or maybe not…

Normally 1.7 miles is about how long it takes to get a good rhythm, and it goes by quickly without even really noticing it. But when it’s the last leg of your second marathon, after pushing hard through 24.5 miles, time seems to stand still. I knew I was getting close to downtown and could feel the end coming near, but it just wouldn’t get here. I remember in my first marathon getting mad at this point, feeling like the finish line was afraid to show its ugly face to me. I didn’t feel that way this time. There was actually a part of me that felt like the finish line was encouraging me to finish strong and cheering for me to beat the 4:00 mark. I trudged along as hard as I could without causing myself to fall down or throw up or die, and I was still under 4:00 when I could finally see the finish line down the road. I knew it would take a miracle to make it happen, so I just hunkered down to see how close to 4:00 I could get. About 30 yards in front of the finish line my left foot cramped up. I felt a little twinge in my Achilles tendon and my big toe curled up under my foot and just locked in to place. I let out a groan and kinda limped along trying to release my toe, but it wasn’t happening. However, I didn’t make it this far to have a weak finish, so I picked it up and tried to run as fast as I could until I crossed the timing mats at the finish line. Luckily, when I stopped, the searing pain went away as my toe released and the cramp went away. Finish time: 4:01:10. I’m very happy with that. In 4 ½ months, I shaved 43 minutes off my marathon time. Who can complain about that!

I walked down the chute and someone put a foil blanket around me and someone else congratulated me and put a finisher’s medal around my neck. I thanked him and found my way to the refreshment tent where I began to guzzle a powerade down when I suddenly felt very faint. I expected this to happen since it happened at the last marathon. I walked over to the side and sat down. I knew I just needed to get some sugar in my blood. Two medics came by and tried to put me in a wheelchair and take me to the medic tent, but I convinced them I was ok, I just had low blood sugar, just like everyone else that just finished. I kept drinking, and after 2-3 minutes I started to feel better. So, I thanked them and they moved on to other finishers who needed help. I found Jennifer and then went and got my finisher’s shirt and a cheeseburger. I didn’t see my friend Daniel, so I called him and learned that he had an incredible run, finishing in 3:34:26. Not only was this a new PR, it was only 3 minutes and 27 seconds away from qualifying for Boston! That is heartbreaking, but he will do it in the fall at his next marathon. I, on the other hand, because of my age, have to finish a marathon in 3:10:00 to qualify for Boston. To put that in perspective, I finished this marathon at a 9:12/mile pace. To qualify for Boston, I would have to shave off an entire 2 minutes from every single mile to qualify. It requires a 7:15 pace. Unbelievable. Maybe one day I’ll be old enough to qualify for Boston since they increase the time as you get older. HA! I went to the massage tent, got a leg and shoulder massage, and we left.

Overall, it was a great experience, and I learned that I can push my body harder than I think for longer than I think. I will continue my training now and start working on my first ultra marathon in October. A 50 mile trail run in Palo Duro Canyon. Bring it!

"If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." - Emil Zatopek

Half a Century

Have you ever pushed yourself beyond your perceived physical and/or mental limitations and found out that you are capable of accomplishing much more than you ever imagined? There's a little place in your brain that tells you what your limits are, and understandably enough, you believe it. You think you can only go so far, whether it's related to athletics or stress or anything really, but it's only when you push the envelope past those limits that you realize how quickly the body adapts. An expansion of those "limitations" occurs and a whole world of new possibilities opens up to you. Sure, I'd call it a transformation.

Dean Karnazes, a well-known ultra-marathoner whom I strongly admire, in his book titled "Ultra Marathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner", quotes something that was an inspiration to him, that helped him realize that there's so much more to life than 12 hour days, a six-figure income, and the imprisonment of work pressures. Something that helped him realize there are people out there brave enough to push the body and mind past their perceived limitations and defy all expectations from the norm. Something that inspired him to break out of his mundane cycle, truly examine the void he felt in his life, and with incredible determination, explore the depths of his physical and mental capabilities. Here's the quote: "I read a story in the paper yesterday about the first mountain climber to scale Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. Nobody thought it was remotely possible to climb the highest mountain in the world without using bottled oxygen, but this guy went and did it anyway. A reporter asked him afterward why he had gone up there to die, and you know how he responded? 'I didn't go up there to die, I went up there to live.'"

Admittedly, my daily runs of 6-9 miles are not always enjoyable, but I love the feeling I get towards the end of the run and after the run. Running cleanses your body in places a shower can't reach. However, I can say with all honesty that I ALWAYS enjoy the long runs - anything from 14-20+ miles. I've always been motivated by distance, and I think it's because of the feeling of accomplishment that follows a long run, especially when I feel good after the run. Even though I've been able to run that far for some time now, I routinely catch myself saying "Wow! I can't believe I just ran 18 miles." The feeling of self-confidence and pride and knowing that I have again defied what was once well beyond my perceived physical limitation is intoxicating and very addictive. It's true what they say, running is a drug. Why else would you voluntarily wake up at 4-5am every Saturday morning to get a "long run" in.

About 10 months ago, when I was highly motivated to run farther every time I ran, I wondered what would happen when my mileage got high enough that continuously increasing my mileage wasn't feasible. Would I be happy stopping at the marathon distance (26.2mi) or would I just turn in to a complete nutcase and start wanting to do 50 and 100 mile ultramarathons? I remember deciding that MAYBE one day I might be interested in trying to run 50 miles, but I'd never consider 100. Well, last weekend, I finally embraced the challenge of the 50 miler. Next month, I'm running the Oklahoma City marathon, and then I'll begin a 6 month regimented training program that will culminate in a 50 mile ultramarathon trail run in Palo Duro Canyon in October. I've been on a running high ever since I fully accepted the challenge without any reservations. I have been so pumped all week, maybe somewhat obsessed. In fact, this week I ran 45 miles, the most I've ever run in one week. I even woke up at 4am on a Thursday to get in a good run before my new 6am men's fraternity group at church. Jennifer sort of laughed at me when she saw that I had printed a 16 page "guide" on how to run your first 50 miler, but there is so much planning and strategy that goes in to successfully running 50 miles, you can't just go out there and hope for the best! You have to learn when and how to continuously feed your body a source of energy (food or energy gels). You have to decide when to walk and for how long (a 5:1 run:walk ratio is recommended, but a lot of people walk the uphills and run the straights and downhills). You have to plan a bag drop and decide what to include in your bag for the 2nd half of the race. You have to eat/drink electrolytes to avoid drinking too much water and getting the deadly hyponatremia. I'm going to love this challenge! If only I can remain injury free! I guess I'm so excited because it's another opportunity to push the envelope on what I think are my physical limitations, and I'm confident I can exceed them.

Brett Favre Hangs Up His Cleats

Brett Favre. Heartbeat of Green Bay. Man's man. Favre Magic. Lambeau Field. Inspiring. Love of the game. Emotion. Toughness. Constant. Funny. Loving. Husband. Father. Hero. Champion. Legend.

Retired.

My day started off with an email from Josh breaking the news of Brett Favre's retirement. A day I knew would eventually come...but not this year. After a 13-3 regular season and a playoff run that ended one game short of the Super Bowl, and almost all of the Packers expected to return next year, I didn't think Favre could walk away yet. Getting to the Super Bowl next year is such a huge possibility. But, it can't be as simple as that. Though I deeply mourn Favre's decision to retire, I have to support it and respect him. He's 38 years old. He's tired. He's never missed a game in 17 years. That statement deserves to be repeated. Brett Favre has played through sickness, injury, & tragedy and has never missed an NFL game in the 17 years he played. Dislocated finger? Big deal...walk to the sideline, have it yanked back in place and be back in the huddle without missing a play. Concussion? Big deal...convinced the coach to put him back in and immediately throws a TD. Tragedy in his family? Definitely a big deal, but those times were some of his best performances of his career. Having a 4-12 season? Big deal...keep your head up, believe in yourself and your team, and lead your team to the NFC Championship game. These are a few of the things that makes Brett Favre one of the most legendary quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. In fact, he should have been inducted in to the Hall of Fame today...forget about having to wait 5 years. I guess he could change his mind, but I don't expect that to happen. He's been mulling this over for a few years now. Just like Mike McCarthy and Steve Mariucci have both said - Favre won't come back unless he knows for certain he can commit himself 100%. And I'm sure that's what led Brett to this decision. He's physically and mentally tired. Now he can be with his family year round. Now he can take his youngest daughter to school in Mississippi instead of going to practice in Green Bay, only seeing her on the weekend. Now he can be at home for his oldest daughter in college when she returns for school breaks. Now he can hunt on his farm any day he wants. As much as I'd love to see him return to football, as a coach, analyst, or commentator...I don't think that will happen. Sure, he loves the game, and it's hard to imagine him walking away from it, but he also loves his family and his farm and has been looking forward to the day when he can be there every day. Sure, he didn't win the Super Bowl this year, but he had an incredible season and went out on top. He holds almost every NFL passing record. He leaves behind a team poised for another strong playoff run, and Aaron Rodgers at the reins. We saw this year against Dallas how capable he is. Brett Favre will live on, and so will the Green Bay Packers. While today is a very sad day in the NFL and Green Bay, we have to congratulate and thank Brett Favre and his family for the success he brought to Green Bay and the league, and we wish him the best of luck in his new life.

Complete Devastation

Where do I begin? It has been many, many years since I have been this devastated after a football game. Possibly since 2003 when the Packers lost to the Eagles in the playoffs...also by a field goal in overtime. However, the knife dug in much deeper this year as the unthinkable took place last night. Mr. Eli "whiner" Manning and the little Giants ripped the Super Bowl right out of the hearts of the Packers community. The players, the coaches, the staff, the Green Bay residents, the fans in Wisconsin, the Favre fans everywhere, the Packer fans all over the country, and especially the die-hard fans in a warm & cozy house in Saginaw, TX. A loss hurts, but an overtime loss in the playoffs is just so much more devastating. Particularly when it occurs courtesy of a team who shouldn't have even been in the championship game. The football life has literally been sucked out of me. I really don't think I can even watch the Super Bowl this year. As much as I hate the Patriots and want them to lose (they certainly could have to Green Bay), I don't want a team like the Giants to even have the opportunity to win or lose. There's no doubt they will get slaughtered by the Patriots, so now we have a wasted Super Bowl between two teams in which only one is deserving to be there. I know I'm spilling bad grapes, but there is some truth to it. I am so devastated.

A few things became clear to me in this time of darkness. I'll admit I've felt somewhat guilty the last few years as the realization has hit me that I'm a bigger Green Bay fan than my good ol' home team Dallas Cowboys. But last week, when the Cowboys lost to the Giants in a very close playoff game, I could care less. I really felt like it served them right for being a bunch of jerkoffs the last 6-8 weeks. I do not want to hash on the Cowboys, because I will always watch them and support them (unless they play the Packers), but the biggest epiphany I've had in the last 24 hours is that they just don't have an identity. Jerry Jones is an idiot and cares way too much about money and not enough about building a solid franchise with people of high integrity and work ethic. I can't even keep up with who is coaching them year after year much less who plays at each position and I even watch the games. There's no reason to be a proud Cowboy fan other than the HOPE of a successful Tony Romo. There's a few other good guys like Marion Barber and Jason Witten, but where is the TEAM? Anyway, this blog is not about the Dallas Cowboys. I just think that the final ounce of hesitation in coming out and admitting that I am 100% a Green Bay Packer fan was removed this weekend. Talk about identity. Green Bay has it. You will not find a more committed and dedicated fan base in the NFL than the Packer fans. Even the team is such a close-knit group of professionals. You never see them in the news for getting in trouble anywhere. But you do see EVERYONE building each other up, even after making mistakes in a game. The coach and the GM and the players and the position coaches are all on the same page. They're the oldest team in NFL history who still resides in their original town, and their ownership's legal documents stipulate that the proceeds of the sale of the franchise would go to a specific charity, so it will never be in anyone's best interest to want to send the team anywhere else in the country. The Green Bay Packers have always been and will always be in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Right there with the spirit of Vince Lombardi and Ray Nitschke and Paul Hornung and Reggie White and Bart Starr and Brett Favre. Talk about history. Wow. That spirit is real too. I felt it when I first stepped foot into the atrium of Lambeau Field and it brought me to tears. There is a presence that resides in Green Bay and in Lambeau Field that will make any unbeliever think that maybe there really are football gods. But despite this rich history and unity of past, present, and future, the games still have to be played. And sometimes, like last night at a bitter cold (-25 to -35 wind chills) January playoff game in Lambeau Field, even with Brett Favre, the football gods allow fate to take its course. Who knows why the Giants had to win that game. Surely it wasn't a cruel joke from Vince Lombardi who once coached with Tom Landry in New York! HA! No, but there is a place and a purpose for last night's loss that is just as much a part of Packers history now as all 12 of their Super Bowl and pre-NFL-merger championship wins. And that is why I can proudly hold my head up high and voice that even though I do not live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, my heart is with the Green Bay Packers. And I am proud to show my colors even the day after a devastating NFC Championship loss to a team who almost didn't make the wildcard round. If this year is for the Giants or Patriots, then so be it. Because my Green Bay Packers are not going anywhere. As cliche as that sounds, the Packers will remain at Lambeau Field and continue to be the example of a true NFL team and will be ready for next year with or without Brett Favre. Aaron Rodgers proved against the Cowboys he is a capable quarterback. However, I don't think Favre can walk away just yet. He'll be back to claim next year's Super Bowl title with the rest of his team, his coaches, his GM, his owners (who happen to be the community of Green Bay, Wisconsin), and his unwavering fans, who all make up one cohesive unit. The fans will still line up next year for the opportunity to sweep snow off of the seats and field before their games. The streets of Green Bay will be completely bare during all of the home games. Fans from all over the country will travel to Green Bay every single home game to experience the incredible feeling of being at Lambeau Field and truly feeling the unbelievable presence of history and tradition.

However, despite my unwavering support, it will take time to heal from this devastating loss. But I have to admit...Caleb made a little headway in that department late last night. I was tucking him in to bed and telling him about the game. He's too young to understand, but he will learn about this game when he is older and I want to be able to tell him that I told him all about it that night. I was amazed at how captivated he was. He listened to me with an unusual amount of sincerity, as he normally will laugh or do something silly to make me laugh. I think he sensed the weight of the conversation. He did say Brett Favre and football a few times, but he took me seriously. It was funny. When I speculated with him over Brett Favre's return next year, he said "Brett Favre no home". Impressed with his statement, I asked "Will Brett Favre go home next year or will he win the Super Bowl?" Know what his response was? "Brett Favre. Super Bowl." I LOVE IT!!!!!!!

I think we'll have to make another trip up to Green Bay next fall.

Which Candidate Should You Vote For?

Check this out. You can take a short survey on key issues and it will tell you which presidential candidates most closely match your views.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/president.shtml

Go Long

Since my early college days, I have tried to live by the motto, "Whatever It Takes". Whenever you face a challenge of any kind, you examine where you are today, where you need to be to reach your goal, and then you do whatever it takes to make it happen. I relied on this A LOT through my bachelor's and master's degree. Today, I think I discovered a new motto, if you will. "Go long". I'm sure it's because of the versatile connotations it has, namely in football and in running. My childhood and teenage dream was to be a quarterback and I love the deep ball. And now as a distance runner, I love to "go long". I'll try this out in life and see how it works. Endure...persevere...no shortcuts...think big...go long.

Rewind a few months back to last August. You would have heard me saying ridiculous things like "The Packers' defense will be one of the best in the league, and will be a huge surprise to everyone." "If Favre returns, the Packers will make the playoffs, possibly even the NFC Championship." Not so ridiculous now, huh! The Packer defense is playing at a superb level and the Packers are playing the Football Giants this weekend in the NFC CHampionship, led by the NFL's toughest man, Brett Favre! Not only are they in the big NFC game, I think they should be able to handle the Giants and earn a trip to the Super Bowl where they will bring an end to New England's perfect season. I know, people in the know will roll their eyes. Oh Kirk, you're just a hard-core, biased Packer fan. Yes, that is true. But don't write me off...or the Packers. The Packers' defense will slow them down enough for Favre, Grant, Jennings, and Driver to hang enough points on the board to beat the pretty-boy girly-man Tom Brady...as long as they can continuously bring pressure to Brady. Brady will get mad and start forcing the ball. He'll slip a few by you and score some TDs, but I'm telling you...do not count out the Packers. This is gonna be fun...

My Achy Breaky Foot

Here we are, exactly one month from the marathon, and I've been out of commission ever since. My foot still has this nagging case of tendinitis, forcing me to sit on the sideline against my will. Surprisingly it hasn't been as bad mentally as my injury last summer. I'm DYING to start running again but the withdrawal has been much more manageable this time. I guess because I reached my goal and I'm no longer pressed for time to train for my first marathon. I have gained 7 pounds though. I'm starting to get a little antsy too. There's a lot of exciting runs coming up, and I need to be out there training for them. Since I won't be running the full marathon at Cowtown in late February, hopefully I can help my friend train for his first half-marathon and run it with him. If not, I'd like to go up to Lake Texoma that weekend for a half-marathon trail run on a course that has a reputation for being very difficult. I'm halfway considering joining up with "Team In Training" to help raise money for Leukemia and earn an all-expense paid trip to Alaska where I would run a marathon with my team members and running coach. I'd have to raise $4400 which seems like a lot. The marathon is in June, so I'd have 6 months to do it, but I'm not real comfortable asking people for money. Especially since I just did last month. Another ambitious run is the Pike's Peak marathon in August that I would LOVE to do! You run up a trail to the summit and then back down. The difficulty of that challenge really wets my appetite! Anyway, there are plenty of local runs to train for, but these 3 are sort of the "big dogs" I'm thinking about. They may not be feasible logistically or financially this year, but maybe 2009.

I got a GPS watch for Christmas from Jennifer. It is awesome...except for the fact that I haven't even really been able to use it. It will allow me to step out the front door and just run wherever my feet want to take me. I will always know exactly how far I've been and I'll be able to back track if I don't remember how to get back home. It will also give me all kinds of stats like time, pace, calories burned, elevation changes, etc that can be uploaded into a computer program, which makes for a pretty sophisticated training log. Hopefully within the next week or two I can start using it.

We finally bit the bullet and got a new Dell computer. It is so awesome and was a great deal! Initially I selected a base model until I found a coupon code online that allowed me to save $350 if I spent $300 more! So...I beefed up everything a little, entered the coupon code and got a much better computer for the same price as the base model! How cool is that! Some of the highlights of the computer are the 19" widescreen flat panel, Vista Home Premium, upgraded sound card, and stand alone video card with dedicated memory - all of which are very, VERY cool! The coolest thing so far on Vista is the Windows Media Center. It lets you watch Internet TV for free, consisting of all sorts of current news reports and tv shows. It's like TV on demand! Instead of reading news articles or entertainment blurbs, you can watch short video segments! I can see society continuing to become more and more reliant on media and technology...maybe in 75 years we won't even need to learn to read anymore! HA!

With each of the last 3 presidential elections I have become more and more interested. This year I have actually been following the caucus and primary in Iowa and New Hampshire and I'm looking forward to Michigan. It's been interesting to see these candidates and know that one of them will be the next president of the United States. I will be voting republican, but I'm not sure who will receive my vote yet. If I had to guess, I think right now we will probably end up with a democratic president - UGH! I still need to study each candidate's stance on the key issues. I will say this - Hillary Clinton makes my skin crawl. I am not at all against a woman president, so long as it is Condoleeza Rice instead of Hillary Clinton! Too bad she's not running! And that Barack Obama - what an amazingly charismatic speaker! He could be the antichrist that unites everyone together! HA! I can see a lot of fence-walkers, or uninformed republicans deciding to vote for him because he's so likable and sounds so good in his speeches. However, despite not knowing much about his actual stance on key issues, I have to be skeptical because after all...he's a democrat. When he says he will provide a tax cut to the middle class, I'm not THAT gullible. One of two things will happen...he will either classify "middle class" as $20,000/yr income or less...or he will raise everyone else's taxes to offset it. Democrats don't lower taxes. I have heard that his plan to reduce health insurance premiums is supposed to be pretty good, but I'm not sure what his plan is. I'm sure it involves raising taxes though and making the government bigger. If anyone has a good website where I can study the candidates' views, please let me know!

There will be some GREAT football games this weekend! Both Green Bay and Dallas are in the divisional playoffs, so it will be very exciting! I also get to see if my prediction from about 4 weeks ago pans out. Call me crazy, but I think Jacksonville has a GREAT shot at beating New England! If their secondary can play well, their pass rush will knock Tom Brady off his game, making him mad. The Jags will control the game with a successful running attack (remember Baltimore vs New England?) and in the end, I think the Jags just might pull off the upset win! My Super Bowl prediction from 2 weeks ago...Jacksonville vs. Green Bay.

Work sucks. Seriously. Tomorrow is Thursday and I have already put in close to 40 hours this week - about 10 of which was from home. The market finally fell through its support line so we've been repositioning our accounts every day this week. On top of that, the guys from Indata (the software we have been trying to convert to for a year and a half...yes, I know...ridiculous, you're preaching to the choir) are in the office this week wanting to spend most of their time with me. Also, our transfer agent left a few weeks ago (ugly mess) so we are short-staffed and having to pick up her slack. So I've been reviewing resumes, interviewing, checking references, and discussing opinions with my boss all in between helping my trader buy/sell securities and hiding from the Indata guys! HA! All I really want to do is come home, play with the family, run, play with our new computer, run, and dream about what it would be like to enjoy my job!

I didn't make any New Year's resolutions. I just need to heal so I can run again. Sure, I'd also like to be a better husband and father, read more books, eat better, etc etc...but running makes me feel content and I think makes me a better person overall.

One night last week when I was a bachelor, I went to the dollar movie ($1.75 now) and watched Saw 4. I love those movies!! Jenn and I watched the new Die Hard this weekend and it was pretty good. I want to find a cool DVD to watch on our new computer! Any ideas? It has dual optical drives - a DVD-Rom/CDRW and a DVD burner...not that I would burn DVDs or anything. ;)

The last UFC fights were awesome! My man Chuck Liddell won an INCREDIBLE fight against his toughest opponent ever. Also, Matt Hughes lost! He's a cocky dude and I don't like him.

I subscribed to a Quote of the Day service from Runner's World. Here are my two most favorite quotes so far -

"Run when you can. Walk if you have to. Crawl if you must. Just never give up" Dean Karnazes

"If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."

OK, I guess that's enough for this month...

Dallas White Rock Marathon

Sunday, December 9, 2007
5:25am - I wake up 5 minutes before the alarm goes off and pop up out of bed. After putting shorts and shoes on, I decide to shove several shirts in my bag and decide what to wear once I get to the AAC (American Airlines Center). I down a glass of water, grab my bag, get my oatmeal and banana and load up in my Jeep.

6:00am – Back out of driveway and stop by a gas station on my way to the AAC. The guy next to me must think I’m an idiot standing out in the high 30s temperature putting gas in my Jeep wearing shorts. Had he noticed my “26.2” decal he might have understood better what was going through my head. Little did he know I was about to set out on an adventure of a lifetime. Just 7 months ago, the idea of running a marathon was something that was so far out of reach it was not even a consideration. 26.2 miles is just way too far, it’s ridiculous. I grab my receipt, climb back in, and take off towards 820 east. Normally, the fact that I had to use my windshield wipers would not have mattered. However, on this morning, it caused me to embrace mother nature and prepare myself to accept the rainy 26.2 miles ahead…exposed. I’ve run in the rain before and it’s actually quite peaceful, but I’ve never run in the rain with temperatures from 38-42. But that’s ok, nothing was going to stop me at this point.

6:40am – I pull in to the parking lot of the AAC, find a spot, and go find a bathroom in the AAC to get rid of my pregame jitters. I’m scheduled to meet my running partner in about 30 minutes, so I decide to sit down in the sheltered AAC for a little while as opposed to my cold Jeep. There are already thousands of people scurrying by in all sorts of disarray. Relaxed, nervous, tired, chirpy, fast, slow, short, tall, chunky, skinny. I decide to make a choice on my wardrobe before getting back to my Jeep. I go pee again and head out to my Jeep to get dressed. I opt for my long sleeve thermal under armour shirt with a short sleeve dry-fit shirt over it. This well thought out strategy should serve multiple purposes. It will keep me warm in the beginning of the race and give me the option of removing the under armour in case the weather warms up. It also means my nipples should be safe from chaffing as long as the under armour is on. OK, maybe that was too much info, but I’m trying to give you the whole experience here. So after changing shirts, I meet a guy next to me who is also getting ready for the run. As we put our timing chips on our shoes and pin our race bibs to our shirts, we make small talk. He missed qualifying for Boston last year by 4 minutes, but he feels pretty certain he will qualify this year. Wow – this guy is fast. Many marathoners never qualify for Boston. I tell him how I’m a little nervous due to my short taper and he tries to convince me that I’ll be fine since the last 6 miles is 100% mental anyway. I stuff my energy gels in my shorts, hoping once again that 5 gels are enough. I’ll drink water with these and Gatorade at the other rest stops, and I’ll eat often at the well-stocked aid stations. Hopefully this will help prevent hitting a wall, though I suspect the wall will be inevitable. I’ve never run more than 20 miles at one time, and I’ve only done that twice.

7:10am – I make my way back to the AAC to meet Wendell at the bag check in place. On my way, I notice a Vaseline tent and can’t believe I forgot to lube up my thighs to prevent chaffing. That’s enough to make a grown man cry like a little baby. So I grab some Vaseline and relish in the humor of how acceptable it is to rub Vaseline on your inner thighs all the way up to your crotch in public. I even put a little extra since I’ve never been those extra 6.2 miles. I find Wendell and his family near our meeting point and give him a pregame high five. It’s really cold outside and a little misty. As we start to stretch our legs out, I eat my banana and notice that the guy next to us who is also stretching is wearing the same Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 shoes that we are wearing. This guy looks like he’s an experienced runner, so my confidence rises slightly. Yeah, maybe that’s a little silly, but I’ll take what I can get. We try to find better shelter from the light rain that started to come down, but eventually decide to just huddle under Wendell’s wife’s oversized umbrella.

7:45am – We watch the elites and wheelchair marathoners take off and then tell Wendell’s family bye as we make our way to the starting line. We find our way to the 5 hour pacers so we don’t get mixed in with racers who run 4 minute miles. It’s so crowded we can’t even stand in the street. I look around and start taking in the atmosphere. There are people everywhere you look. Some look like they’re in shape, and some look like you’d be safe betting on them not even finishing half of the marathon. But what do I know? More power to them and good luck. It is cold and I can’t wait to start running so I can warm up. At this point, I wish I had brought my gloves and ear warmers, but I don’t let it bother me. Wendell and I talk briefly about whether or not they’ll do the F-16 flyover since it’s so overcast. The rain had stopped, but it looked like it could rain again any second.

The race finally starts at 8:00am and we slowly scoot our way through the crowd onto the street and toward the starting line. About 3 minutes later, we hit the starting line and start our stopwatches as we cross the line. We’re off! Who knows what the next several hours will bring, but right now, we’re both feeling good and excited to finally begin the most difficult physical challenge either of us have ever attempted. We start off at a slow pace and I can’t help wonder how long Wendell’s bum knee will cooperate. Just 5 days prior, he tried to run 2-3 miles and had to stop 3 times, so from what I could tell, I really thought he would start to struggle pretty early on. It didn’t take long for me to really soak in what was happening. I was in heaven. Not only were I running with thousands of other runners, but there were also thousands of spectators lining the streets clapping and cheering us on. Ahhh….what a beautiful morning. Running through downtown Dallas on our way to White Rock Lake. The only downside at this point was the fact that I needed to pee. I knew it wasn’t going to go away, so I stopped at a port-a-potty 3 miles in to the race and relieved my bladder. We immediately hit the road again. It was about at this point when a funny thing happened that ended up being a lifesaver throughout the race. We were very comfortably strolling down the course when these two girls who were spectators yelled “Go Kirk – Go Wendell!” I waved as Wendell asked who they were. As he was asking me, it hit me that our names were on our racing bibs. How cool is that!! Every couple of minutes we heard people calling us by name cheering us on and encouraging us to keep running strong. It made an unbelievable difference mentally. Huge booster. We kept running at an easy pace, and after 5-6 miles we both agreed that we felt great and felt like we hadn’t even started running yet. Things were going great and Wendell’s knee was even doing surprisingly well. The weather for the most part was pretty pleasant. After about 9 miles or so, we finally reached the lake. The scenery opened up a little and we started feeling a little more wind coming off the lake, which was a little chilly to say the least. We hit a pretty good little hill around mile 10 that finally made our legs talk to us a little bit. Along the way there were a few live bands that were fun to listen to. It really helped me get pumped up a little, but I was disappointed to see that so few bands showed up. There was supposed to be a band at every mile but I guess the wet weather prevented them from being able to setup their equipment. It was enjoyable to run around the lake and chat with Wendell. We were still feeling pretty good despite the cooler weather and occasional sprinkle. We hit the half-marathon point and had just begun to start to feel things physically. Our 13.1 mile time was about 2 hours and 17 minutes, which was 7 minutes slower than my PR (personal record), but we were intentionally running a bit slower to ensure we could finish the full distance. It wasn’t much longer after this that we saw a little kid run by. We talked to him and found out he was running a 5 mile leg on a relay team, and he was 11 years old! He enjoyed the encouragement he received from us and other runners nearby and yet he continued to remain calm and patient in his running, keeping a good steady pace. Most 11 year olds would run too fast out of the chute and not be able to finish. Eventually, after a few miles he slowly took off and left us behind. Sometime around this 13-16 mile point I began to notice that the aid stations didn’t have food. I was a little concerned, but I thought maybe they were saving the “well-stocked” stations for the last 5-8 miles of the race when you needed it the most. Two very memorable events occurred around the 16 mile mark. First, I understood how Dean Karnazes (ultramarathonman.com) could eat cheeseburgers and pizza while running long distance. I started feeling famished and I relished at the thought of a big juicy cheeseburger. I would have paid 20 bucks for one right then and there. The second thing was pointed out by Wendell. As we came around a corner at the lake, suddenly, far off on the horizon we could see downtown Dallas. I mean, if you closed one eye, you could completely cover it up with your thumb. It was a very small piece of scenery on the horizon many, many miles away. Big deal right? Well except for one small fact - downtown Dallas is where the finish line was! Holy shnikes!! You mean we have to run all the way back there?!?!?! For a brief moment, it was a rather daunting thought. However, I quickly embraced it and starting telling Wendell how it was not a problem. We’ll just keep putting one foot in front of the other and make our way back….it was nothing we couldn’t do and we were going to do it. I’ve never asked him, but sometimes I wonder if Wendell thinks it’s annoying how I always talk out loud about how good we’re doing and how we’re going to keep on pushing on and finish the race. It helps me mentally to talk it out and think positive, while Wendell tends to keep it all inside. But I know he’s not afraid to tell me to shut up, so I guess he’s cool with it. Around the lake there weren’t as many spectators and we were really starting to miss that. Having a cheer squad is HUGE mentally and we were getting to the point of the race where you have to start relying on “mind over body” to carry you on. We finally finished the loop around the lake and were making our way back into neighborhoods when Wendell needed to stop and stretch his legs, mainly because of his knee I think. I had told him early in the race that we weren’t going to think about his knee and I wasn’t going to ask him how it was feeling anymore. So we stopped at around 18.5 miles for about a minute while he stretched out and stuck a Tiger Balm heat pad on the back of his knee. As we started back up I reminded him of what his doctor told him Friday…his knee wasn’t torn, so other than being in excruciating pain, he couldn’t really damage his knee anymore by running on it. I also gave him permission to tell me to shut up. HA! I was sort of tongue-in-cheek telling him to suck it up and finish this race even if his knee hurt. Of course, at this point, I was starting to feel the looming wall hit me in the face. We pushed on for a little ways and at mile 20 we agreed to stop for a minute. Wendell stretched again and I just kept moving. We started running again and the pain was excruciating. You probably know that the wall is the point where you feel like you just can’t run anymore. Well, you can, your body just doesn’t want to. See, your body can only hold so many calories before it stores them as fat. When you run, you burn up those calories in the form of glycogen (sugar from carbs). Typically the average person can hold about 2000 calories (maybe a little more if you carb load the night before). If you figure that you burn about 100 calories per mile, then after about 20 miles, you have no more glycogen to burn up, so your body tries to burn fat for fuel, but fat is not nearly as efficient as sugar. The result? Your body feels like it has NO energy and has to work harder to burn that fat for fuel, so you want to stop running. You can try to feed yourself carbs in the form of energy gels or oranges/bananas/etc or even Gatorade, but my experience is that once you reach this point, it’s hard to feel a noticeable difference. On my last 20 mile run, I tried to stay ahead of the wall and ate some orange slices and a whole banana and some energy gels and I felt great at mile 20, but as I mentioned earlier, the aid stations in this marathon were not well-stocked with food. We had a few orange slices here and there, which is good because it’s simple sugar and easy to digest, but I craved food intensely. Digestion requires blood, but when you run, the blood is sort of pushed away from your stomach making it difficult to digest which is why simple sugars are the best because of their easy digestion. So even though I craved a cheeseburger, it wouldn’t have been easy to digest. On top of the fact that your body has been literally depleted of energy, you’ve just ran 20 miles so your legs are hurting a little. OK, a lot. This is why running is soooo much a mental game. Your body is capable of moving on, it just doesn’t want to. So you have to fight against your body’s desires and keep on running. We continued the self inflicted torture until mile 21 where we again agreed to walk for a minute and then we started running again. At mile 22 and mile 23 we did the same thing. Now, I don’t fully understand as well scientifically how you break through the wall as much as why you hit the wall, but it happens. My thought is that your body just finally realizes the mind is winning the battle, so it quits trying to tell you to stop running. I don’t know. At about the 23.5 mile marker a truly amazing thing happened. And talking to Wendell afterwards I found out a similar thing happened to him at about that same point. It will be impossible to describe this accurately, but I will give it a shot. As I’m drudging along, I begin to realize many things. First, we only have 2.7 miles until the finish line. I think back to March of this year when I started running and kept on running. I thought about the moment after my first half-marathon in May when I embraced the challenge of training for a marathon. My injury/setback this summer. My many, many hours and hundreds and hundreds of training miles. Something began to stir deep inside. I have never in my life had to dig down this deep to finish anything. My MBA was a piece of cake compared to this. But right here, right now, I am so close to accomplishing something bigger than I have ever attempted in my life. Beyond my physical limitations. Beyond my mental limitations. I was pushing myself beyond limits I didn’t think was humanly possible. I am in awe right now as I recall this feeling and how deeply emotional it was. I fought back the tears and said to Wendell “This is sheer determination. I have never in my life had to dig down this deep. I am going to beat this beast.” I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of anger that I had never felt before. It felt like anger but it was probably super-intense will power and determination. It was an intense emotion that I had never felt before and I almost lost it several times. I was not going to let this marathon beat me. In fact, we didn’t stop running from this point forward. Also, neither of us spoke another word the rest of the race. As we got close to the American Airlines Center I was searching for it through the buildings like a warrior searching for its prey. I was getting mad at it like it was hiding from me, feeling like it was a coward not wanting to stand up and fight me. It knew I was going to conquer it. My legs hurt, I had no energy, I was light headed, but I was running to the finish line and nothing was going to hold me back. Finally, we turned a corner and several hundred feet down the road we could see the finish line. It was a glorious sight and I could sense that it had a life and was standing there, waiting for me. I focused on the banner above the finish line and quickly had tunnel vision, completely blocking out everything except the banner. Maybe 50 yards away, Wendell, the warrior beside me who couldn’t run 3 miles 5 days prior said “C’mon, let’s go”. I knew what this meant and as I said “I can’t, go ahead”, I found myself sprinting as fast as I could until we crossed the finish line, side by side. Two Davids had just defeated the Goliath. Except now those two David’s had become William Wallace’s. We beat the beast.

12:47pm – As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was completely spent. Completely depleted of everything. I high-fived Wendell and said “we did it.” Someone placed a space blanket around my shoulders and back and then told us to keep moving down the line. They took the timing chip off our shoes and I was so light headed I felt like I would pass out. We had our picture taken in front of a “FINISHER” backdrop. I searched around for something to replenish my body with. I was surprised and angry to not see anything…no water, Gatorade, food…nothing. We made our way down the chute to where the spectators were waiting and I found Jennifer. So many emotions and thoughts were speeding through my head. As Jennifer and I got close, I didn’t know whether to say something, laugh, or cry. She said “Are you alive?” Behind holding tears back, all I could get out was “barely”. I immediately went with her and Wendell to the side of the AAC and sat down. I felt like my blood sugar level was dangerously low and I was only seconds from passing out. It really felt like it was going to happen. Wendell gave me his last energy gel and Jennifer went and got me a coke. Within about 10-15 minutes I started feeling a little better. My brother and his wife were there too, and that was cool to have them there to see my accomplishment. I felt bad that they had to stand in the cold so long waiting, but I was glad I could share the celebration with them. We went inside the AAC for warmth and saw that they had food and stuff on the floor of the AAC but there was no way we were going to walk down those stairs. We found out later that they really only had popcorn down there. Jenn bought me some pizza and we found a place on the floor to crash. I absolutely can not believe after 38 years of having this marathon, with 15,000 runners and a $95 entry fee, that they can’t even give you a cup of water at the finish line. Every race I’ve done this year offered food and drinks at the finish line, except for the biggest race of the year. I’ve already sent them my feedback.

As soon as we got home from the marathon, Jennifer was running fever. Kevin and Katerina went home and Jennifer got in bed with a fever with what ended up being strep throat. So, after my marathon, I got to take care of kids the rest of the day. Fatherhood can be a wonderful thing at times…..but not all the time. HA!

Monday around 2:00pm my right foot started hurting. It’s the same place on my foot that I had the injury this summer, but on the other foot. By Monday night it was KILLING me and felt like it was broken. Now, late Thursday night, it still hurts but not as bad. I’m hoping I only have to take 2-3 weeks off from running because I’m ready to start training for the next beast. Oh yes, I will run one again. And another, and another, and another, etc. It is in my blood and the more I reflect upon it, it is truly one of the most enticing things I know.

3 Days and Counting

Well here I am, Thursday night, 3 days away from the big day. What "big day" you may ask? The Dallas White Rock marathon where I will run 26.2 miles. I plan on getting up tomorrow morning at 4:45am for my last training run...which reminds me, why am I still up at 11pm?! Oh yeah, I went to the doctor this evening to find out I have an upper respiratory infection and the waiting time at Walgreen's for my antibiotic is 2 hours! So in 30 minutes I'll go get my medicine, take one, and go to bed. Things could be a lot worse, as I'll prove in a minute, but isn't it ironic that I can train for sooo long and then be sick right before "game day". I should have better prepared for the possible side effects of my 2 week taper (when you decrease mileage right before race day). I was up to running between 40 and 45 miles per week before the taper and then dropped to 26 last week and unfortunately only 16-17 this week. I read an article about the taper that said marathoners can get sick during the taper because your body is used to training at such a high level it works really hard and your immune system is in overdrive. However, when you start to taper off, your body sort of sighs a big relief and therefore your immune system doesn't try so hard to keep up resulting in a weak immune system and in my case...an upper respiratory infection. Now, I haven't studied this theory, but it sounds logical enough to accept on the surface for now. The benefits of tapering are significant though, so I guess you're supposed to take more vitamins or something during the taper to try to keep your immune system up. Anyway, I think I'll be ok, but it's forced to me to only run 16-17 this week instead of the 24 I was aiming for.

Wendell, my marathon training partner, has unfortunately hurt his knee and will be struggling a lot on marathon day. He tried to run tonight and had to stop a few times on just a 2-3 mile jog. I don't think you can even begin to imagine the disappointment this brings. You train and sacrifice and work HARD for 6 months with this goal being the #1 driving force...and then your knee goes out and you can't run. If this doesn't bring you to tears, you're not a normal human being. I will run with Wendell on race day until he can't run anymore. It will be very hard to leave my partner behind, but we both know he will end up walking at least half of the 26.2 miles. We have already agreed to run a marathon again in early 2008, maybe the Cowtown in Fort Worth in February, but that doesn't even come close to fixing this one.

My other training partner, John, whom I run with 4 mornings a week, has been GREAT accountability. We ran a 10k last Saturday in Arlington and did GREAT! We finished 5th and 6th in our age group. We wanted to at least finish at a 9:15/mi pace and we ended up blowing by that goal and finishing at a 8:53/mi pace! It was awesome!! I give John another 6-8 weeks and I expect he'll be asking questions about the marathon. He thinks it's near impossble now, but so did I in the beginning. He likes the distance part of running and has increased to 6-8 miles very quickly.

Well I'm sure I could type more, but I'm going to go get my meds and go to bed. I'll post again after the marathon. If you're interested, you can go to runtherock.com, click on the Runner Tracker link, search for Kirk Wimberley, and have either an email or text message sent to you as soon as I cross the finish line! Pretty cool!

Life is Good

Since it's been 2 months since my last post and I doubt anybody even reads this anymore, I'll probably keep this one short.

* Training for the marathon is going very well! I ran 18 miles 2 weeks ago and felt great. I'll run 20 this Saturday, maybe 13-14 next Saturday, and 20 again the following Saturday (also 4-6 mile runs during the weekdays) and then start a 2 week taper, reducing my mileage a little to rest up for the big day on Sunday, December 9th where my friend Wendell and I will not only complete the 26.2 mile marathon, but we will kill it!! I am so pumped. I catch myself daydreaming of that day and how incredible it will feel when I cross that finish line. It is so close I can taste it. I have never worked so hard for something before, and the gratification is indescribable. The last few weeks I've been meeting a friend (head coach of Boswell High School football team) at the track at 5-5:30am. He wants to start upping his mileage so I'm helping him train for his first 10k while he helps me increase my weekly mileage to build a bigger base for the marathon. Some days I get up at 4am and run to the track (3.6miles), run 4-5 miles with him, and then run home. That is a completely new experience...running 11-12 miles before the sun comes up, getting home before anyone else wakes up, reading a magazine until the kids wake up, fix them breakfast, get ready for work, and then go to work at 8:30am already feeling like I've accomplished a lot. Gives me a whole new perspective of work, which has become something I just have to do in between running and living life. Surprisingly, I have really come to love getting up that early. We'll see how long it lasts...

*Football season has been a lot of fun. Tomorrow is our last game - we didn't make the playoffs. It's been a blast though. It has allowed me to "plug in" to football without the commitment of coaching. I've learned a lot, met some good people, and watched a lot of football.

*I think running has made me a more relaxed person, and has given me so much fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment I've never had before. I think this has allowed me to love being at home with my family even more than ever. I love coming home from work and seeing the kids run and jump into my arms. Especially now that I've been having breakfast every morning with them, it's like I get home and think "OK kids, where'd we leave off?" A lot of mornings they just argue at the table, but I'm still glad I'm having breakfast with them. I know one day thaey will be grown and out of the house...I think about that too much probably, but I think it helps me try to take advantage of them being home now. I also feel like I have a deeper love and appreciation for my wife. Lots of times in the past I would think about doing or saying nice things, but I rarely would follow through. Last week I acted on a thought and brought her flowers one morning after a run. I saw a new dry-erase board on the fridge tonight and wrote "Daddy loves Mommy" on it. I don't know what exactly has changed me, but I have to think my increased level of running has something to do with it. I was only running 3 days a week and now it's up to 5-6, and I'm starting the day with it instead of ending the day with it. Endorphins are an incredibly powerful thing! Work is not very enjoyable, but I've become content right now that work is literally just something I do in between running and living life with my family. Maybe it's somewhat of a defeatest mentality, but I'm happy that I don't feel like work has to be my identity.

*I seriously am a very happy person right now, almost feeling like things are just too good to be true. I love my wife, my wife loves me, we have 4 beautiful kids who are happy and love spending time with Jenn and I, I love Saginaw, I'm about to run a marathon, I have a Jeep, we have great friends at our church that we like a lot, I'm playing keyboard in the worship band, the kids are doing well in school, our extended family lives closeby, the list goes on and on...when I stop and think about it, I/we are truly blessed. Life is good. At least for right now, who cares that I'm not happy at work...my whole perspective on that has changed.

So much for a short posting, like you actually thought that would happen! HA! As we head into the holiday season, take time out to stop and appreciate the little things and the reasons for all the celebrations. Celebrate life! I'll end this with a picture of Caleb, our future little quarterback! At just 2 years old, look at the great QB form he has - you're either born with it or you're not...looks like he has it!! :)

Boswell Pioneers

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...

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!

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!