Slow down and let me off this ride

Just a quick recap. Life is crazy. So much going on and so little time. Work has been nuts. Our future, possibly near future, is still unknown. Battled some IBS issues and turned 49. Oh yeah, I have not run in two and a half weeks and I'm running the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon this weekend.

Stay tuned for more craziness.

May Day MAYDAY

Since I have very few followers, I'm sure that not many people have missed my blog. In fact, the last blog I wrote was dated March 25th. Like some cruel April Fool's joke, one day passed, then another and another. I often thought about blogging, but always found something more important to do. Okay, maybe tv, Facebook and Twitter are not more important.

April just seemed to be the month that was a funk. Maybe it was the fact that I was turning 49 years old, although birthdays don't bother me. And I certainly don't feel 49! I suppose that the general malaise was a combination of things. Travel and stress at work, the continued unknown about where and when we'll be moving and if our home will ever sell.

I continue to battle my weight, it's winning. And my running activity has dropped to the level of almost complete inactivity. That would be one run a week, or four runs in the month. Yes FOUR runs totalling 31.5 miles. That included the Cooper River Bridge 10K and the Statue 2 Statue 15K in Birmingham. Yes it lived up to the reputation as the hardest 15K in the south.

It's May 1, 2009 and time for me to take control. Luckily I have an incredible wife and Gerri and I will tackle this challenge together. We've done it before, we'll do it again.

Without going into specifics yet, here are some preliminary goals for May.

1) Blog at least 5 times per week. Some may be very short, but I'm generally long winded.

2) Cook more often when I'm home. This will have the added benefit of helping our budget while also allowing us to make better food choices.

3) Read. One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to read one book per month. I completed one (QBQ)and are making good progress on 1L. Next up is Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley.

4) Run. I thought about setting a goal of running every day this month, even if it was 1 mile. I know it is unrealistic, unhealthy and totally crazy. But I do like the idea of implementing some easy short runs just to get back into a good habit. Of course, the Marine Corps Historic Half is two weeks away, so my goal there is to finish and enjoy the experience.

Guess that's a good start for May 1st. Looking forward to weekend ahead including seeing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers tonight at Boiling Springs High School, Yard Sale in the morning, watching the MUD Run tomorrow afternoon, an 11 mile run Sunday morning and of course NewSpring Church service on Sunday. Best part is I get to spend all weekend with Gerri!

5 miles on Fernandina Beach, FL

Well work caused me to miss my run on Tybee Island yesterday, so I was determined to get one in today. I got done with my restaurant visit in Yulee, FL and then headed east to Fernandina Beach, just north of Amelia Island. It was a beautiful afternoon, sunshine and 78 degrees. A slight breeze blowing off the ocean.

A quick Google search found me a mostly tree covered sidewalk/walking/running trail next to Amelia Island Parkway. After finding a parking spot at Scott Rd beach access, I quickly changed in my car. Once the Garmin located the satelites, I was off.

Ooops, about 30 seconds in and nature was calling big time. And it wasn't a simple matter of ducking in somewhere to pee. Both sides of the sidewalk are surrounded by trees, bushes, ponds, nature and who knows what kind of creatures. I saw an Beach access area that looked promising, but it actually led to a Condo complex. Luckily the pathway emptied at their pool area which included bathrooms. I helped myself and took care of business. Problem solved.

Back on the pathway, I quickly realized that this was going to be a tough run. Some shin/ankle discomfort was back, the heat/humdity took some getting used to, and with each step, I heard the sound of critters nearby. I don't like critters, especially the thought of snakes and gators. Luckily I didn't see any, but just the thought kept me tense. I was taunted by those little lizard things and one of my major nemesis, the squirrels, kept mocking me.

I went down, stopped about mile 1 to stretch some, then turned around and headed back. I eventually reached the end of the trail around Mile 3, another beach access spot. I took some time to enjoy the beauty. The sound and color of the ocean, the refreshing breeze blowing in off the water. The tension disappeared and as I headed back, I stopped only momentarily to watch some golfers teeing off. I finished the run strong and feeling good. Okay, so I missed my the turnoff for the car, but didn't mind the quarter mile cool down as I backtracked.

After the run, I got back in the car and drove the 2 hours back to Savannah. A perfect opportunity to reflect on the run while listening to some running podcasts; Two Gomers Run A Half Marathon and 4 Feet Running.

Three days to the Rumpshaker 5K.

6.25 Miles Downtown

Gerri was scheduled for an 8 miler today and was meeting her old Team Tiarra running buddies Christina, Drew and Emmitt in GVegas at noon. I wasn't feeling it this morning, but a gentle nudge from Gerri was all it took. In my mind, I knew that I needed, maybe even wanted to get this run in. I haven't run more than 5 miles since the Kiawah Half Marathon in early December, and given my pain/injury I figured 6 miles would be enough.

Running downtown pretty much guarantees hills, and we had plenty today. North Main and McDaniel to name two. I really wanted to go slow, 11:30-11:45 was my goal so that I could finish and feel good. Things didn't work out that way. As much as I wanted to let them go ahead, my mind kept reeling them back in. We ran the 1st three miles or so at an 11:00 pace. Now it wasn't long ago that I would be embarrassed by that info, but I'm just happy to be on the mend and getting some conditioning back.

The last three miles, including McDaniel were run about 11:14 pace. Other than the hill, my ankle felt good. I ran most of McDaniel, with a few short walking breaks, but otherwise I ran the entire distance and actually finished the uphill section of Main Street pretty strong. Although I was tempted to run the entire 8 miles with Gerri and Christina, I knew I was smarter to stick with 6.

So another week in the books with three runs. Mileage still needs to slowly creep up, following the 10% rule. Sadly this was my highest weekly mileage since the 1st week of December. Or maybe I should look at the positive and proudly say this was my highest weekly mileage since December.

Picture borrowed from a great blog post by terrific Greenville athlete, Ashley Long. http://ashleylong.blogspot.com/

3 Miles in Madison Lakes (GA)

It's been a long day. Started in a restaurant in Chattanooga, TN at 6am. Then lunch with the KBE and FBC teams, followed by a trip to Krystal Corporate offices for a conference call with franchisee. Left Chattanooga in time to be in Atlanta rush hour traffic, but luckily it wasn't a horrible day in the ATL.

Changed my schedule from Conyers to Madison. This was a great change because it gave me a chance to get another run in tonight. A short distance from my hotel is a gated subdivision called Madison Lakes. I ran there once last year one morning, and knew it would be a perfect spot tonight. I parked near in a lot before the entrance and jogged in. I saw more people walking their dogs than I saw cars. The temperature was perfect and the sun low in the sky and setting.

This was my first back to back runs this year, and maybe as much as 5 or 6 months. After the horrible run yesterday, I had three goals 1) Go slow 2) Don't stop 3) Have fun. I'm happy to say that I achieved all three goals. Pain in my left ankle was noticeable, but not unmanageable.

I'll take a rest day tomorrow and then get in another run on Friday or Saturday.

4 miles @ Camp Jordan Park

Four miles sounds good, but it was brutally ugly. 1st mile was actually good. The weather was about 70 degrees, low humidity and the sun was shining. Camp Jordan is a large recreation complex with a two mile gravel path. I knew I was going to fast (relatively speaking) for my current conditioning level, but I was not able to slow down. Odd considering I used to preach to new runners doing C25K that when you think you are going slow, slow down even further. But my body/mind wouldn't listen.

Having recently been fighting shin, calf and ankle discomfort, I naturally started to take stock of how I was feeling. Surpisingly I found a new area of discomfort today, my groin. I should have focused on it because it wasn't long before my ankle discomfort (low front) started again. This time it was both ankles instead of just the left, and lower than in the past. I willed myself to run through it, but my mind is not cooperating these days and my body gave in.

I walked some, then started again, then walked again about a half mile later. And my mind is working overtime. Less than a year ago you ran a marathon and now you can barely run a mile. Over and over my mind ran this scenario. I saw may car, the two mile point and stopped to recover and stretch.

I promised myself that I would complete four miles, so back out I went. I felt okay, minor discomfort but once again could not force myself to slow down. The two miles were mostly slow running with some walk breaks mixed in. I completed my two laps, four miles and was happy to have it done. It wasn't pretty, but I finished.

Each run should bring me one step closer. Closer to where I was, closer to finding the joy, magic that running provided not that long ago. I'll get there one day when I'm older. Maybe when I'm 49. Who knows, it might be my magic year!

Happy Birthday Chelsea

Hard to believe but my little baby turns 18 today. That's Chelsea on the right, and Heather on the left. This photo was taken in the fall of 2008 in Charlotte at the Renaissance Festival, prior to the the Ded Bob show. That would be Ded Bob in the middle.

Gerri and I are anything but Renaissance Festival folks, but Chelsea loves them so we went so that we could spend time with her doing the things she appreciates and enjoys. As much as I dreaded it, we ended up having a fun family day.

Where have the last 18 years gone? The time has flown by and I'm sure the next 18 will go even faster.

Nice to know that 18 years later that I have an intelligent, creative, beautiful, and sensitive daughter. Chelsea, enjoy your birthday and everything that life has planned for you. The joy is in the experience, so be sure to enjoy the journey through the unknown paths that lie ahead.

Happy 18th! We love you.