New Found Passion for Running

I have never really enjoyed running. I used to be a very good runner, but I always took it as a form of punishment dished out by heartless coaches. I still remember my freshmen year of high school when the track coach decided that I would be a great distance runner. I didn't mind the sprints, not even the various 400m dashes done during practices, but I was not a fan of the drive and drop method; he would drive us 5 to 8 miles out of town and drop us off and tell us he would see us back at the track. That sucked.

Years later I now find myself training for a half marathon, which is much farther than I have ever needed to run before in my life.....and I'm loving every minute of it!? It's odd, but I really like what I am doing. I have a support group to run with, I'm tracking my progress with Nike Plus to improve split times, and I'm even studying how to be a better runner and how to eat like a runner. This is totally not me. Growing up I always saw my father as a crazy person. Every day he would come home, strap on the good ol' New Balance shoes and run 8 miles. I would even see him with ten pound weights in each hand while running to add a little more "oomph" to the workout. I am slowly becoming my "crazy old man." :)

Two weeks ago I traded in some credit card points for a subscription to Runner's World and every day since then I have gone to check on the mail like a little kid waiting to get a present. Nicolette noticed this the other day and made a bit of fun about it. I also signed her up for some magazines so I know she is just as excited about it...I'm just beating her to the mailbox.

Anyway, I'm hitting my running goals and on track for my 13.1 mile run on Nov. 15, (one day after my birthday...mark you calendars,) and I've currently dropped 8 lbs since starting my training a bit over two weeks ago. I have about 20 lbs more to lose and it would be great to drop it before race day, but we'll see.

Take it Like a Man

Tanner is quite the character. He has had a very hard last couple of weeks. He has been sick, he had various spider bites received while sleeping that bothered him like crazy, and he is just getting over a bad diaper rash that caused him tons of grief.

During all of this, he has started a new habit that is quite entertaining and a bit creepy all at the same time. When he is in pain now his cry has become very different. Instead of his typical I'm in pain cry that just breaks your heart, he has a very deep, manly, almost "Tim The-Toolman Taylor," type cry. I don't even know how to describe it. His face gets all scruntched up, and this deep, creepy voice starts coming out; almost like he is possesed and we are trying to exorcise the demon from him.

I am contemplating getting a recording of it and using it somehow during Halloween. Heck, maybe it could be my new ring tone.

Sports Sayings that Now Make Sense

We have all heard them; sports sayings that coaches quote to motivate us. "No pain, no gain...etc." You know what I mean. This last Saturday I gained a testimony of one specific saying, and it was the one that I would have least wanted to learn first hand. "Run until you puke."

Sorry about the nature of this blog, but yeah, I totally lost it on Saturday at the 4.5 mile mark of our five mile run. I actually felt great the entire run, and I had plenty of energy left. Jared and I were just passing my house and had another half mile to go so we just kept on running down the street. About thirty minutes before I had gone running I was cleaning up the house and I did what any good father would do; I made sure to not waist food that the kids didn't eat and downed it myself. I specifically ate chunky apple sauce from Trader Joe's. Yup, it's even called Chunky Apple Sauce. How ironic is that.

When the 4.5 mark hit I didn't have time to think. "It just came right out there..." (Sorry, but if you have seen the cartoon Anastasia you would recognize the quote.) Jared's first reaction was, "Bro, we can walk back to your house." My reaction was that I all of a sudden felt ten times better and wanted to keep running. It was pretty strange. It was humorous actually. The only thing that kept me from going back to take a picture of it for my blog was my little shoulder angel, oh yeah, and my wife that threatened to divorce me if I even mentioned that idea one more time.

Love and the Olympics

One thing that drives my wife crazy is that I will blurt out the most random fact sometimes when we are in a group of our peers. I have always found it entertaining to be a source of random facts. :) I visit various sites, read up on everything, and then share...share...share.

One of my latest web surfing ventures allowed me to come across this photo from the Olympics.

"Finding true love and harmony at the Olympics, priceless."

Yes, Nicolette, another random pic and bit of news.

This is Why I Run

I am just finishing up with my second week of training and things are going really well. It helps to have two other people training with me (Brent and Jared.) The increased mileage isn't as big of a deal when you have someone to run with to pass the time.

Brent, has mentioned a couple of times how every time he goes for a run he notices the bikers zipping right past him and it makes him question why in the world he would be running instead of on his bike training. Today he is actually riding 70 miles. He's a sport to be running with us because I know it is so much slower than what he is used to. However, I present exibit A (photo) on why running might be a good alternative to bike riding. Yes, I know that this is an extreme example, but very possible. Running on trails will at least help us to avoid certain death.

Happy ride...

Orkut.com

I have just recently come across a service that Google offers; Orkut.com. I know that you are all familiar with myspace, facebook...etc., and you probably have accounts there. I know that I do. What I like about Orkut is that when I sign into Gmail, Blogger, or Orkut I am signed into all three. I like the fact that I don't get popup adds of half naked people when I am logging on or off of the Orkut site. I also like the features and apps that can be added very quickly to my profile.

For all of you that are blogging you might like Orkut because not only can people see your profile on Orkut, but they can read you blog on the same site. It's pretty cool. It's hard to explain everything about it so my reccomendation would be to go to: www.orkut.com and activate your account. You can also find the site by going to the Google homepage and then clicking on the "more" tab on the top left of the screen.

Here We Go

Today I begin my 11 week training for my half marathon. The training schedule I am using isn't too bad, except for Saturdays. The runs during the week are to just stay in a groove, but every Saturday you turn it up a bit and run a bit more. It should be fun. :)

I am using Nike Plus to track my progress. It's convenient; it keeps track of my times, tracks my distance, and I can load it all onto the computer and see graphs of my progress. I think the hardest part of all of this is just to be consistent, and to keep the diet going strong. I am used to weight loss meal plans, but eating for a marathon is a bit different. It includes a lot more carbs.

I'll jump on here from time to time to give updates. Wish me luck!