6.20 miles in 53'38"

i beat the skinny kid! my official time at the finish was 53'38". that's 16 seconds faster than my previous PR and at least 22 seconds faster than the scrawny runner i was aiming to beat! i was pretty pleased when i crossed the line, but it wasn't all sunshine and roses during the race.

i took off pretty fast at the beginning of the race in an attempt to get ahead of the mob. i didn't want to be dodging people for a long time. there were several runners who shot past me, but more were behind me than in front. i ran for a short time with ryan k and travis p, my dailymile friends, then let them go. they were running way faster than my goal pace and i didn't want to die before the finish line.

we did a few zig zags to the west and south and i ended up passing one runner on that stretch before turning east on maple and running parallel to the railroad tracks. even with my slow down, i still managed to hit the 1-mile mark at 7'20"! crazy!

running along the south side of town, i made my way to the first of the two cross country sections. having walked this part of the course earlier with my family, i knew the northeast wind was going to hit me hard when i rounded the barn. it was faithful and did exactly as expected. i ran across the grass and up the hill back toward town at a slightly dampened pace. this was not a hill i was willing to die on.

rounding the corner back onto the streets of haviland, i got to the first aid station, took a sip of water, then doused my back with the rest of it. i was well hydrated going into the race and didn't want to get waterlogged.

a few more zig zags got me to main street where we had a little down and back. i ran down, circled the cone and started back north. that's when i passed the other guy in my age group going south. it was good to know where my friend, donnie, was. i waved and kept going as donnie and marshall b, another DMer, ran on.

a block or two more north, there was a change in course. the map had shown a straight shot back up to elm and the finish line of the 5K, but we were diverted east a block, then north and west a block. i guess they figured out that their distances were off a bit.

i completed that detour, then ran north and east through the finish line. my time at that point was around 25'23". i was pleased. that meant i could lose a little time on the back half of the race and still beat the skinny kid.

the 10K course started with a short run up to wichita street where we got a second glass of water. i tried sipping a bit, but couldn't manage it without a huge slow down, so i poured it down my back and ran to sycamore where i turned east.

sycamore plunged down a steep, short hill and ran along the north edge of town, then it took a couple of curves to get around the sewage pond. not so great smells hit my nose as i started the second of the cross country sections. this segment had tall grass and deep double tire ruts. it was crazy! i was right behind two runners at that point. both younger than me. in fact, everyone ahead of me was younger than me. no respect for their elders! grrrr!

we turned north onto a sandy road that google maps doesn't even bother to name. i passed one of the runners ahead of me, shouting encouragement to him as he stopped to walk. "i know it hurts, but you can do it. i was puking at this point last week. just keep going!" he started running again.

we took that sandy road north to the corner and turned west on a second road that was even more sandy. for almost a mile we trudged up one hill, through a small dip and then up and over another slight hill. on the second incline i had to count steps to keep my mind occupied.

after cresting the final hill, i ran a bit faster down to the paved road back into town. i had just passed the 5 mile marker at around 44'21", so i knew i needed to keep going to beat the skinny kid. no negative splits here, folks.

i rounded the corner and looked back to the east. i could see two runners coming down the hill - the kid i'd passed and someone that looked somewhat like donnie, my age group nemesis. i picked up the pace.

when i hit the 6-mile mark on the edge of town, i glanced at my watch. i had to pick up my pace or risk losing to the skinny kid. i willed my legs to turn over faster. my youngest daughter who had finished her 5K some 20 minutes earlier, ran me up and over the last little hump and around the corner where the finish line came into view.

the flags flying and the people yelling and clapping gave me the energy i needed to cross the finish line twenty-two seconds before the skinny kid crawled in gasping for breath. considering i probably weigh 30 pounds more than that high schooler did in 1984, not bad.

i ended the day seventh or eighth overall and first in my age group. it was great to see my wife and daughters get awards in their age groups too. the winnings? baked goods provided by a church group in town. i got pumpkin muffins.

my wife, second in her age group in the 5K, got apple bread! our eldest daughter got first in her age group and third over all in the women's division of the 10K. our youngest was second in her age group in the 5K. only the middle daughter didn't get a prize. she probably could have placed, but she was loyal to her mother and pushed her in to the finish line instead of running ahead. pretty special!

after the awards, all the dailymile runners who were still around gathered together for a group shot. pretty fun to meet up with all of them.

we're home now and ready for bed. another big day tomorrow. i'm running at least a half marathon distance with adam m who's running 100 miles for the same cause. hope i can hold out.

a bright, sunshiny ride

i'm not good at sitting around. after sleeping in until around 8:00 this morning, i hopped on my bike and rode a nice and easy 14 miles out to danville and back. i'd only planned on riding 10 miles, but i just couldn't help myself. the sun was shining and riding felt great! (14.01 miles @ 15.1mph)

cold, dark and slow miles

cold and dark is not my favorite combination. in fact, i think the only other combination i like less is cold, dark and windy. this morning the wind was practically non-existent, so, hey, it cold have been worse.

the other "bleh" factor on this ride was the speed. i was intentionally keeping things super easy so my legs wouldn't be harmed before sunday's 10K. so i crept along in the cold. my fingers went numb first, then started to hurt just a little. i was wearing thermal gloves. grrrrr!

nothing much to report other than these minor complaints. i didn't scare anyone and no one scared me. all the animals were in the caves or holes or what have you. there weren't many cars and no close calls.

so i guess i'll quit and get this posted before the electricity goes off. there's a scheduled outage from 7:00-9:00 this morning. don't know what they're doing, but i guess i'll survive. (20.19 miles @ 13.4mph)

2.99 miles in 22'54"

with the completion of this afternoon's run, i finished off my training for this weekend's 10K. running these three miles also pushed my total mileage for this month up to 100 miles, a personal high mileage mark.

i took off running hard from the beginning of this workout. i made it about two miles before i started fading a bit. i worked that out and was able to pick up the pace a bit toward the end. it was warmer this afternoon than any of the other runs i've done this week. since it's supposed to be around 70 on sunday afternoon, i'm glad i got a "hot" run in beforehand. i'd hate to go from running in the 50s to running in the 70s without a test run.

my plan for the rest of the week includes an easy two or three miles tomorrow just to make sure my legs don't forget what to do and then rest on saturday. my race starts at 3:00 sunday. i don't know if i can do it, but since i've already beat the skinny kid i'm aiming to bury him with a sub-8 average.

The new is better...

"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 'The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

"'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'

"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:7-13, NIV)

Under the old covenant, the people's side of the bargain was pretty daunting. Follow all the rules all the time. Always do what you’re supposed to do. Never do what you're not supposed to do. Follow the rituals. The blood of sheep for this. The blood of a bull for that. And there's no power within to help. It's all willpower and determination. And it's impossible for any sin-bent man or woman to do.

The human side of the new is by far better and much easier. What do you have to do to get in on the new? Put your faith in Jesus. Confess your sinfulness to God. Believe Jesus died for your sins. Accept God's gift of eternal life. Amazingly simple, right?

Still, most people reject these terms. A few of Jesus' words tell us why.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:16-21, NIV)

People reject the new covenant because their sin is exposed. Under the old covenant, you could cover up your sin with a sacrifice or two. In the new, God asks you to confess your sin and be done with it. Those who love darkness, those who want to keep on sinning will not admit their failings, will not believe. They miss out on eternal life and so much more. God's promises for those who enter into this new covenant with him are amazing! Listen to what he offers those who believe.

"I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts." (Hebrews 8:10, NIV)

The old covenant offered no power to fulfill it. Men and women bent toward sin were told not to sin, but their bent overpowered their will and they sinned. It happened over and over and over again. They knew the law. They broke it. They sacrificed a bull. They knew the law. They broke it. They sacrificed a goat.

Those who enter into God's new covenant receive the power to say no to sin. Listen to the words God inspired Paul to write down.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14, NIV)

When God gives us his salvation by grace, we receive the power to say no to sin. The law is written on our hearts. We are given the "want to" to stop sinning. We are given the "want to" to live holy lives. The Holy Spirit within us is our helper in both. He gives us the strength we need to overcome our bent toward sin. When we let him control our actions, our decisions, our words, we can do the good he designed us to do.

"I will be their God, and they will be my people." (Hebrews 8:10, NIV)

Peter says a lot about the new relationship God has with us in his first letter to the church.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:9-12, NIV)

If you are a believer, you are part of a chosen people. You belong to God. Your job as one of his new covenant people is to declare his praises and live a good life, a life that points the world to God, a life that is attractive to those who are watching. You have the power to do that. I do too! It's what we were created to do.

"...we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

"No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." (Hebrews 8:11, NIV)

Under the old covenant, very few knew God intimately. Only a handful of Jewish men and women ever heard him speak to them. Most of the people had to get direction from him through someone else - a priest or a prophet.

Under the new covenant, God is known by all who put their faith in Jesus. God listens to the heart cry of every one of his children. He hears you when you pray. He hears me when I praise. He hears each question and answers.

Yes, God speaks to each believer personally. He guides you. He guides me. He helps each one who loves him. He teaches truth to young and old alike.

Do you understand? You are not dependent upon a pastor to understand God's truth. You do not need someone else to tell you the path you should take. Human go betweens are no longer necessary! God himself is your guide and teacher and he will lead you. He might do so through the counsel of another godly woman or through the words of a sermon. But he might just give you his direction as you’re praying or reading your Bible alone one night. Pay attention. You are known by God. You know him. He will teach you.

"...I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:12, NIV)

I remember some of the wicked things I've done. My guess is you do too. I bet you still beat yourself up for some of those sins. You can stop that now. If you have believed on Jesus, God has forgiven you. If you have confessed your sin to God, he does not remember it any more.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NIV)

That's a new covenant promise. Wickedness forgiven. Sin remembered no more.

God is good, isn't he? When the old covenant was broken to pieces by fallen human beings, he didn't give up. He made a way for a new covenant to be made. He sent his Son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for sin and then he offered eternal life to all who would ask for it in faith.

Have you asked?

If you will believe, you will be given all that the new covenant offers. Power to say no to sin and yes to what is right. An intimate relationship with God. Direct guidance from him and forgiveness for your sin.

Praise God...the new covenant is better by far than the old!

To receive my once or twice weekly message via email, send a blank email to webmessage-subscribe@associate.com. Past messages are available at freegroups.net/groups/webmessage.

encountering humans

one halloween when i was in high school, i climbed up in a tree in front of our house and jumped down, scarying the daylights out of people. the reactions i got were priceless. screams! crying! lawsuits! i'm exaggerating a bit, but i thought it was great fun. i now wish to apologize to those whom i scarred for life.

why this sudden change of heart? well, what goes around, comes around. i had the daylights scared out of me this morning.

i was riding along, minding my own business, when out of no where, there's a man on the side of the road! all i saw was a white bag and then there were booted feet and long dark legs in pants. since i know that 99.99% of hitchhikers are murderers - http://tinyurl.com/hitchhikersmurder - i got this great shot of adrenaline and pedaled hard past. whew! that was a close call.

i kept on rolling toward home, hoping not to meet up with any more stealth persons of interest. (that's cop code for suspected criminals. dano said it on the episode of "hawaii 5-0" i watched last night.) i made it back to town and was riding past the old moyer building when i saw feet at the side of the road again. there were two pairs of feet wearing athletic shoes. the shoes and the feet filling them belonged to my running friends, keri and jean. i tried not to scare them. honestly, i didn't want to startle them. i just wanted them to know i was there. all i did was say, "there are reflective shoes," and they gasped and OMGed and screamed and cried.

i suspect i'll be served papers later this afternoon. just what i need...another lawsuit! (16.03 miles @ 16.0mph)

2.99 miles in 25'44"

my eldest daughter, freed up from afternoon volleyball practices, is now ready to train for this weekend's race. she stopped by my office and asked me to run with her. i was ready to go, so i grabbed my stuff and headed home.

we both got ready and then headed out the door just as my wife was getting home from work. she and our youngest decided to go on a bike ride while we were out.

we started out at a pretty good pace despite the strong north headwind we encountered right away. turning west we discovered that the wind was a norwester (i made that up) so we had to deal with a head on blast for a bit longer. we did the little jog north and west just past the school then headed south.

the going was easier when we were going south or east the rest of the way around town. thankfully there weren't too many sections of westward or northward trekking.

i checked our time at what i thought was the two mile mark and thought we were going much slower than we actually were. i had us over a 9'00" pace. boy, was i wrong. i was off by almost a block on where to check. i'll know better next time.

so we made it back around to the park and my daughter took off sprinting. since i had already had a hard run this morning, i didn't want to push too much so i just watched her run away. i kept up enough to see her finish about 21 seconds ahead of me. her pace for the run was 8'29:. mine was 8'36". i'm happy that an easy run is now at that pace. that means my pushing it pace will be much more than i need to beat the skinny kid again on sunday.

2.07 miles in 15'12"

i started walking my wife to work, but it was too cold to walk that slow. she had a warm jacket on. i did not. two blocks from the school i said, "it's too cold. i'm running."

i took off at a brisk pace. my feet were flying along. i turned south at the first block and sort of circled back by the house. from there, i pushed the pace as i looped around the north side of town.

i don't know what to say. i felt good! really good! not once did i feel nauseous or faint. i kept my cadence high and did my best to hit the ground mid-foot. i knew this one was special. everything was right!

i sped past the school and pushed it on in to home. i stopped my watch at pine and vine. when i saw 15'12", i was a bit giddy. that was only a little over my normal time for the loop without the extra. i walked for a bit to cool down, then came inside to see what kind of damage i'd done.

i mapped my route, plugged in my time and smiled really big! 7'20" per mile over two miles. one of my best runs ever! i ran 1.12 miles at 7'02" once and 1.85 miles at 7'08", but never had i covered two this fast. i hope i can run like this for 10K sunday. that would show the skinny kid!

from past experience, i knew that this loop is 1.8 miles without the little extra i did to get back to the house.

grade card

i took my bike into the shop for a little work yesterday and everything worked perfectly this morning. shifts were smooth. the chain was silent. the pedal spun around and around with little effort. bike: a+

the weather, however, was a little less than perfect. i don't believe i've ever felt so cold at 50 degrees. brrrrr! my fingers were close to numb by the end of my ride. my feet were chilled. weather: c-

i mentioned the trouble i'd been having with my bike computer while i was at the shop and my mechanic took a look. corrosion was covering the contacts, so he took a pocketknife and scraped it off. the little booger worked fine today though i couldn't see what it read very often. i had on dark gloves that don't reflect light backwards from my headlight very well and my headlight low battery indicator started flashing early on, so i rode without any lights for most of my ride. the moonlight and the white line on the side of the road were my guide. crazy, i know. unsafe. yeah. yeah. i actually enjoy a good ride by moonlight. it's peaceful. there's not much traffic on highway 160 until after 6:30, so i was fine. i just turned on the lights when i saw a car coming. accessories: b+

i met up with a skunk who trundled off into the ditch. i was chased by travis, evil dog's replacement on the other side of danville. i frightened a couple of raccoons who were messing around in the middle of the road. i didn't see any possums squished or unsquished. animal kingdom: a- (would've been higher if the stupid dog hadn't chased me.)

my legs were a bit sore and stiff at the beginning of the ride, but they loosened up. my heartrate and breathing stayed under control even when i had to stand to climb l'alpe d'anville with the wind in my face. body: a-

today is going to be a good day. why? because this is the day that the Lord has made. i will rejoice and be glad in it! day: a+ (23.63 miles @ 16.0mph

3.15 miles in 26'23"

this morning's outing was one of those crazy faster than i thought runs. i wasn't looking to break any land speed records. i just wanted to get in a few miles before work since i'm going to be gone this afternoon and evening. no sense in wasting a day when i can get a little something in.

i walked my wife to work at the grade school and then started off as soon as i could. it was cold and i needed to warm up. it took awhile, but i was toasty by the time mile two came around. i just kept plugging away.

when i hit main street again, i decided to go back up to the school and double back to home. i was pretty sure this would get me close to a 5K.

at pine and vine i when stopped my watch it read 26'23". a decent time. like i said, i wasn't trying to set any speed records. i just wanted miles. these were good ones.

a comedy of defects

please don't laugh when you read this post. it's NOT funny!

i woke up and got out of bed. that is about the only good thing that i can say about today's cycling fiasco. what followed that decent start was not so good.

i couldn't even get dressed completely without something going wrong. i pulled the shoe covers that i bought with my christmas money last year out of their packaging and guess what? they don't fit over my shoes. grrrrr! i threw them down in disgust and decided 44 degrees wasn't cold enough for covers anyway.

next my brand new, just purchased yesterday watch got into the act. i went to put it on. the first time i tried, it wasn't tight enough, so i pulled on the band to release it and the band came off. seriously! the strap and the watch were two parts instead of one! i got out my tiny screwdriver set and tried to fix it quickly. it would not fix, so i grabbed my old watch, the one that won't light up, and strapped it on.

i went to the garage to get my bike. everything was fine there. the tires were inflated. the lights worked. i looked at my changable lens glasses as i was about to put them on. the pads on the ends of the temple bars had almost been lost many times before. with the way things were already falling apart, i did the only sane thing. i pulled the pads off before i even got started. i was wearing my skull cap to keep my ears warm and they wouldn't dig into my head anyway.

i rolled my bike out into the driveway, mounted up and headed out. the trash truck was in the way down the street, so i turned and zigzagged my way to the highway. when i hit a particularly nasty bump, my odometer went blank. i defibrillated it. i did that several times until i finally just gave up. (more on the odometer later.)

i turned onto the highway. i shifted down, decided that the little ring was too easy and attempted to shift up. you noticed the word attempted, right? i could not get my chain to hop up to the big ring. i stopped and looked at everything. the chain was in place and working properly. i got back on and tried repeatedly to get into the big ring. after who knows how many tries, i gave up and played fabian cancellara. "spin it to win it!"

by now, most of you would have turned around and gone back home before you got a flat or something. not me. i kept going. i was short on time because i slept later than usual, so i was planning to turn around at the six mile mark. i wasn't paying attention at that point, so i ended up halfway to the seven mile mark before i was aware of my position. when i realized where i was, i decided i'd go ahead and pedal on. no sense turning around mid block.

so at the base of l'alpe d'anville, i turned back toward home. with the wind at my back, i really needed my chain to move to the big ring. i tried shifting again. same result. no go. i rode for a bit longer, spinning like crazy and still not getting enough power. i tried one more time and the crazy thing slid smoothly up. amazing! something worked on this ride.

the trip home was a blur. i rode harder since i had the umph to do it and found myself cruising along at near 20mph. i rode down drouhard hill and around the correction curves. i flew toward town. my driveway was beckoning me.

finally, just after 6:30, i rolled to a stop at home. i stopped my stopwatch and put my bike up. when i went to log my miles i discovered that the odometer had actually been working. it was only seven seconds off the time i'd gotten manually. since i was sure my math would be off today, i decided to just go with the computer's results and be done with it.

at breakfast i told my sad tale to my children. they laughed. "you'll probably be hit by a truck later today," said one.

i'm staying home! (13.91 miles @ 15.6mph)

6.27 miles in 54'27"

i started out running at a pace much more within my range than i had on saturday. i stayed close to my redline, but did not push past it at any point.

i finished my first three mile loop in just over 26 minutes, so i knew the goal was within reach. i didn't get too excited though. i just kept my pace while i endured the strong south wind in my face. it was only when i turned back north that i risked a bit of a speed up.

with the wind at my back, i flew back into the heart of downtown argonia and around the west side. i ran up past the grade school and rounded the corner toward home. i past the house at 52'05" and knew that i needed at least a lap around the block to complete my 10K. i really picked up my pace. my eldest daughter who was in the front yard came out and ran most of that last lap with me. she only faded as i pushed myself to the redline on the last block. i hit pine and vine and stopped my watch. my time: 54'27".

i nervously went in and logged on to dailymile. i mapped my route carefully. when i was done, my heart leapt for joy! i'd done it! after a little over two and half months of training and 240 miles, i finally met my goal! i, of course, want to do even better in next sunday's race, but it feels good to have made it to this "finish line" of sorts. one second per mile isn't much of a margin of victory, but it was enough today. i beat the skinny kid's 10K time! i am pumped!

Live by the Spirit...

How does one live the Christian life? How do you serve God faithfully?

These are two important questions with a profoundly simple answer: by the Spirit! By the Holy Spirit of God.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 sums it up: "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes."

Under the New Covenant, when we accept the salvation offered through Christ Jesus, we're given the Holy Spirit of promise. John 14:17 says, "He abides with you and will be in you." And when the Spirit comes to live in you, He'll cause you to walk in keeping with God's statutes. "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth." (John 16:13)

Oh, beloved, Jesus has left us, but He has not left us without a Comforter, without a Guide, without an Enabler. Live His life in the strength of His Holy Spirit! Serve Him in His power.

- Kay Arthur, Search My Heart, O God, (Waterbrook Press, 1999) p. 327

spaced out

i was a bit spacey during this morning's ride. i decided at the beginning that i'd push it a bit more than i had been, but i soon forgot my determination and found myself daydreaming as i drifted along. it took me more than six miles to figure out i was in my small chainring instead of the big ring and i didn't think to drink anything until i'd ridden eleven miles. i'd better wake up before i ride tomorrow. (16.46 miles @ 15.7mph)

8.97 miles in 1:30'22"

i tried to deny it this morning when i ran with the west side wackos. a couple of people called me a wacko as if i fit in with the weird folk who regularly run and puking pace. "i'm not a wacko!" i insisted. "winston is a wacko! patrick is too! not me. someone else did the nose and the hat!"

i am wacko! i admit it. my wife invited me to run along with her tonight after we got back from watching our high school girls lose a heartbreaking volleyball match at sub-state. i said, "sure, why not?" we talked our middle daughter into going along too.

we started out with a plan to run once around town. "it's only three miles," we told our daughter. "you can do it." she fell for it. we ran a complete circuit and everyone felt like running a bit more, so we kept going. we were together for a little while then the young one decided she was tired of running mom's pace and took off. i let her go until my wife said, "i think i'm ready to finish." (she ended up running 3.99 miles total. her longest run to date.)

"i'll chase down shanny then," i said. i picked up my pace considerably and caught up with her in about four blocks distance. daughter and dad running together! it was awesome. her pace was pretty fast considering this was the longest run she'd ever done. we circled around by the elevator then she said she was ready to head home so we turned on walnut and headed that way. several times she wanted to quit and walk, but i made her keep going to the corner of pine and vine. (she finished with 4.43 miles total. her longest ever run.)

from there, believe it or not, i kept going. i found a moderate pace that felt comfortable and i settled in for the long haul. i did another complete loop with a few odd variations to avoid running on as much gravel as the first time. i took every spur i could and returned againg to pine and vine. my watch said 1:18'34" and i thought, "i can't stop now! i need to make it an hour and a half." so i ran across pine and kept going.

a little meandering here and there got me what i wanted. my total time when i stopped the clock was 1:30'22". my total mileage for the day: 18.17 miles! by far my highest mileage day ever and it came at the end of what is now my highest mileage week ever - 41.33 miles!

yippee! i'm a wacko!

a bit of a spike!

there was a bit of a spike in mileage this week. next week will be a bit tamer since i need to taper off before my race on the 31st.

3.00 miles in 29'15"

i had a half hour break between my puking 10K and the 3 miler that was planned for the grand opening of go run wichita. i drank several glasses of water and ate something light during that time and was feeling a lot better when 7:30 rolled around.

we all left the store and gathered in the parking lot for a group picture. (sure wish i had one of those shots!) we also, with a little prompting, said a few phrases for what i assume will be a future go run tv ad.

with that out of the way, we headed north on maize toward 29th. i warned the barefoot runner behind me not to run in the grass along the path. i didn't want him stepping in puke unawares.

i felt great for the first mile or so. i was still with the group when we turned into the fox ridge housing development. i talked with a couple of guys and kept my feet moving.

when we hit 1.5 miles, we turned around and headed back. that's when the earlier hard effort started kicking my rear! i slowed a little at first, then more and more.

we turned south out of the housing development and the wind hit me full in the face. that did not help things. (i'm not sure about runners now. cyclists would ride into the wind first then turn around and let the wind assist the ride back. runners run with the wind at their backs first. i like my runner friends, but the jury's still out on their wisdom. i won't say more.)

bryan dropped back and jogged with me. it was nice to have company as i suffered. misery loves company! it's true!

we made it back to the store and i stopped my watch at 29'15". not sure if the mileage was exact, but 3 miles was planned, so i'm counting them.

we hung out and ate bagles for awhile. i put my entry for a drawing into the hopper at the store. i talked with a few people and finished off my gatorade. about 8:30 or so bryan and i dragged ourselves to his car and headed back to wellington. (i should say that bryan may not have dragged himself back to the car, but it felt better to imagine him in as much pain as me.)

a little after 9:00, bryan dropped me off. after a stop at wal-mart for an energy drink, i drove home and showered.

6.20 miles in 55'10"

i woke up before my alarm clock went off this morning. 3:55! i was wide awake, so i got up and got around. i needed to leave by 4:35 to meet up with bryan j in wellington. bryan invited me earlier in the week to go with him to wichita to run with the WSW (west side wackos!) and then take in the grand opening of go run wichita.

i got out the door a little earlier than planned and made it to our meet up point about 4:45. bryan showed up around 5:05 and we headed up the turnpike to wichita.

traffic was light, so we made it to go run by 5:45. no one else was there, so we stretched and talked for a bit. i offered bryan some of my ford ironman prize ultra protein peanut butter crunch granola. he took a pack and i opened my own and downed it. (pay attention! that granola will come up again later.)

about five minutes later, amy showed up. she stepped out of her vehicle, looked at me and said, "you're mike, aren't you?" the first of many dailymile connections this morning! i met jason, patrick, zach, jeremiah, winston and probably someone else i'm forgetting. i also saw karla. it had been months since our cycling meet up, but it was good to see her again.

just after 6:00, our planned start time, we headed south on maize road toward 21st street. i ran along easily with the front group, chatting with those nearest me. we hit the intersection and turned east on 21st street.

for quite some time i felt great and kept up with the group. then ever so slowly i started dropping toward the back of the pack. finally, i was spit out. i did my best to keep the group in sight and somehow managed to do so until ridge road where they'd stopped to pick up stragglers. (that would be straggler. i was me.)

i hit the group and stopped for about ten seconds before they started up again. i could have used a bit more of a break, but i'm not complaining. i came to run. soon the group was dropping me again. i couldn't keep up their pace. karla stayed back with me and we ran a shorter route than the rest of them.

karla was a godsend. she had a garmin which helped me know where i was as far as mileage. her first report gave me a little hope. i was at a better pace than i imagined. don't remember exactly what it was, but it was okay.

we ran north on ridge to 29th street and turned back west. we hit mile five and i finally had enough light to see my stopwatch. i was at 45 minutes. i got excited. with just a little push, i could beat the skinny kid! i said something to karla and then stupidly started sprinting. (sprinting is a relative term. i would have laughed at this being called a sprint when i was in high school. today, i call it a sprint and tell those who laugh to shut up!)

i ran that pace for about a quarter mile, maybe two quarters. (i could to reduce that fraction to 1/2, but two quarters sounds better right now.) at the end of my stupid sprint, i began to feel nauseous. i slowed drastically and suddenly found myself heaving. remember the granola? i told you'd it'd come up again. literally! yuck!

for a while we ran fairly slowly until i was feeling better. we picked up the pace as we turned south again on maize road. running faster was a bad idea. i started feeling nasty again. i puked again, this time without stopping. not sure the total number of up chucks, but it was somewhere around four or five. i think that's the number of times i apologized to my incredibly patient friend, karla. by the way, peanut butter granola isn't as unpleasant the second time around as some foods. it is survivable. just thought you might want to know that bit of trivia for future reference.

anyway, we ran by go run and to the 10K mark where my watch was stopped at 55'10", my second best time at that distance. a little off the skinny kid's pace, but next week i'm going to get him. he's going down even if i have to puke again.

weird weather

the weather was weird today. i turned east onto the highway and was met by the southeast wind i expected.

the road was wet, but no rain was falling. i'd looked at the radar and knew there was a small patch of rainlessness over argonia, so i wasn't too surprised. i figured i'd run into the light rain that the green on radar indicated eventually. i didn't. about two or three miles out of town, i got hit by a smattering of large drops. i didn't count them, but there couldn't have been more than 40 or 50 that actually hit me. i rode through that and never felt or saw a drop falling from the sky again. a little mist of the cars passing by was all the precipitation that followed.

back to the wind now. i rode under the clouds and suddenly everything got eerily calm. i mean it was prickles on the back of your neck calm. after an in your face blast early on, i was just a little nervous. about three or four times a year i get hit by a headwind going both ways. i couldn't help but wonder if this was going to be one of those days.

i continued on east, riding really easy today. i just wanted miles. nothing special.

i got to chicaskia road and turned around. the wind hit me hard. i groaned. it was going to be a long ride back if i had to deal with a headwind all the way. did i mention that the weather was weird today? in just a mile or two, the calm was back and i cruised along with no problems at all. a little later, the wind might have picked up a bit, but it was at my back then.

i had to ride out and around a deer carcass just after milan road and there was a bloated possum somewhere along there too. i shed a tear and rode on. i arrived home almost exactly at 6:30.

the only other thing to report is the missing light button on my watch. somewhere along the route there is a tiny plastic button that decided today was a good day to sow some wild oats and go out on its own. it will be missed. i went to my watch salvage yard and found another button to cover up the pin and spring, but the light doesn't work. grrrrr! i hate it when stuff like that happens. (20.13 miles @ 14.6mph)

passing kris

kris r was ahead. i had to ride again. my lead of four miles, be it ever so small, is a lead nonetheless. as an added bonus, this ride put me over 100 miles for the week. strangest thing about this ride...it felt colder than my ride in the dark. basically the same temp, maybe a degree warmer. lower humidity by 5%. brrrrr! (12.26 miles @ 16.4mph)

saving my running legs

for so long i was only a cyclist. all my miles were on a bike. if i ran, it was from my office to home for something and maybe back. (it's only .04 miles one way!) so this morning as i took it easy on the bike again it just seemed so wrong. i was holding back on my cycling effort today so that i can be fresh for a run on saturday. weird! my dear cycling friends, please ridicule me and shame me back into riding hard. i need some anger to push me.

so what can i report. it was cold out. 50 degrees with an 86% relative humidity will go right through you, especially if there's a little breeze to push that chilled air along. not sure what i'm going to do when it really gets cold. bundle up even more i suppose.

no roadside critters to report today. very few cars on the road. no one buzzed me and only one honked to say hi. the moon was cool. it's almost full and on the way back toward town it was dropping toward the horizon. pretty awesome sight! looked amazing through my amber lenses.

now to check to see if i'm ahead of kris r. (20.14 miles @ 15.4mph)

3.94 miles in 35'21"

it was a bit warm this afternoon - 78 degrees. i much prefer the cool of morning or the breezes of evening, but when there's time to run i've got to take it. i figured out the route that would take me at least the 3.89 miles i needed, then headed out. i didn't run very hard, because i didn't want to overheat. i just ran around the farthest outskirts of town. i never felt like giving up. never felt like slowing down even. it was good and then it was done. with the completion of this run, my 10 mile goal for the day is complete. 2.37 + 3.74 + 3.94 = 10.05...mission accomplished! my diagnosis memorialized with 10 miles running and 20 riding. a good day!

why i'm training

run for missions 2010 promotional video from casey roberts on vimeo.

this is why i'm running as hard as i can. as a member of the evangelical friends church, i care about the church's missions work and want young people to be trained for service.

3.74 miles in 34'11"

since this was the first time i'd run twice before work, i wasn't sure what to expect. my first run of my diagnosis day went well. i felt great. my legs clipped along at a steady pace. my second run wasn't quite as fast nor was it as pleasant. my legs felt okay, but the spring i felt earlier was gone. i kept moving because my 10-mile goal is impossible if i don't move.

where am i at? i ran 2.37 miles early this morning and then ran 3.74 miles just now. that leaves me with 3.89 miles to go. i might make it four this afternoon just for grins.

10-20 ride

i really wanted to ride more than 20 miles this morning. i wanted to make it a real challenge for kris r to keep up with me since he's made it his goal in life to wear me down. but i didn't ride more than 20 miles. i rode 20 miles and no more for a very important (to me) reason. today marks the one year anniversary of my diagnosis. on 10-20-09, a neuropsychologist looked at me and said, "you have ADHD." i had just miserably failed the wisconsin card sorting test, something i should've passed with flying colors considering my IQ which he had tested days earlier.

so today i rode 20 miles. i plan to run 10 miles later to complete my 10-20 day challenge.

the only thing of note on my ride...i almost hit a skunk! (20.07 miles @ 16.0mph)

2.37 miles in 19'25"

my first run of the day was a good one. i had twenty minutes to speed around the north side of town while breakfast - baked oatmeal - was in the oven. i didn't want to get in a rut, so i ran the opposite direction of last night's spin around the north side. i also added in a couple of spurs to increase my mileage by about a half mile.

my goal for today is to run a total of 10 miles in as few workouts as possible. why 10? because today is 10-20-10, the one year anniversary of my ADHD diagnosis. i'm running 10 miles and biking 20. (i've already got the biking in.)

why not do it the other way around? i'm not up to running 20 miles yet. maybe next year. not today.

1.80 miles in 14'55"

i came home from my daughters' volleyball matches and decided to run a victory lap for them since both the JV and varsity teams won everything tonight. my legs felt rested, ready to run, so i let them go. i ran a relaxed, moderate pace, not pushing too hard, but not lollygagging either. i've run this loop faster, but i'm not sure i've ever enjoyed it quite this much. it was just fun.

pain is

"pain is just weakness leaving the body. or your muscles tearing. or injury. or your body telling you that you should have stuck with the training plan and not gone out so fast."

- reverend run on dailymile this morning

pain is

"pain is just weakness leaving the body. or your muscles tearing. or injury. or your body telling you that you should have stuck with the training plan and not gone out so fast."

- reverend run on dailymile this morning

short ride #2

the theme for my second short ride of the day: "tomorrow!" as in, the sun'll come up tomorrow! maybe.

the thermometer reads about the same as it did when i got back from my first ride, but it seemed a bit colder on this ride. i actually pulled on my full-fingered glove liners after just a mile.

again, there's not much to report about the ride itself. i rode out. i rode back. easy recovering effort all the way both ways. (12.25 miles @ 15.0mph)

short ride #1

i woke up at 5:45, so i didn't have much time to ride before i needed to be putting breakfast together for my sleepy family. i got dressed as quickly as i could and went to the garage. there i found two bike tires that needed to be topped off with air, so i pumped them up, strapped on my freshly charged headlight battery and off i went.

the theme for this first of two short rides is "take my breath away". it was cool and windy enough to do that on it's own. throw in a semi passing at 70mph blasting me with wind as i climbed bruce hill and the story is complete. the air literally forced air back into my lungs.

i kept a steady rhythm on this ride, recovering from yesterday's long run and vigorous ride against the wind. (8.24 miles @ 15.2mph)

milestone passed!

woohoo! i passed 200 miles running today. i didn't look at my training totals on dailymile this morning. i can't believe it! i ran for the first time on august 1. my pace was somewhere around 12 minutes per mile that day. i now run consistently in the 8s with occasional sub-8s. can't wait for my race on the 31st!

keeping the bike happy

my bike was pouting when i went out to the garage to take him for a spin this evening. he thought i had forgotten him since i'd run twice today and the daylight hours were quickly slipping away. he snapped out of it once i clicked in and started turning the pedals. all was forgiven.

unfortunately, the wind was not nearly as kind. it fought me tooth and nail for the first 8.5 miles. my average to that point was a mere 13.1mph. it was awful.

the next eight or nine miles were a little better. the wind was coming at me from the side, so i was sheltered from it by the occasional bank of trees or a farm building near the road. i turned south in conway springs averaging 14.1mph.

all the suffering into the wind paid off. i practically flew down conway springs road to highway 160. with little effort, i cruised along at 22mph. my average increased incredibly to 16.3mph. not overly fast unless you consider my start.

i gained another half mile per hour on the final stretch. the wind was just enough against me for the seven miles home that i couldn't gain much speed. i just kept spinning the pedals, pushing the beam of my headlight closer and closer to home.

i turned onto pine street just before 8:00, glad to have been out on the highways and byways, but just as happy to be home since my right hamstring was aching just a bit. nothing serious, i'm sure. just a little soreness that a bit of massage will work out.

really happy with my day's workouts - both runs and this ride. great to be able to get out while it's nice out. (30.52 miles @ 16.8mph)

1.78 miles in 19'24"

i told my wife about track work the other day, so today when we went out to run she wanted to try it. we walked up to the school and then ran a mile around the track to warm up. after our warm up, we stopped to stretch then ran about three quarters of the way around before my wife decided she'd had enough of this fast pace and we slowed down for the rest of the lap. we ran one more lap then walked to the corner of allen and high. from there we jogged .28 miles home. so 1.5 miles on the track plus .28 gave us 1.78 for the total workout. it was pretty windy this afternoon, so it was a bit harder than it would be on a calm day. we'll have to try it again another time.

9.53 miles in 1:38'16"

i'm not sure i've ever felt like this in my life. i suppose that's to be expected since i've never done what i just did. i ran 9.53 miles non-stop. forget the time i did it in. i've never run more than 6.92 miles before. how do i feel? sore. tired. no make that spent. and, strangely enough, happy...sort of.

i've known for quite some time that i need to get in some longer runs before my race at the end of the month. i just haven't had the time to do anything longer than five or six miles. if you were to look over my calendar, you'd break into a cold sweat. i don't have much down time. so when i woke up at 4:00, i decided to pull on my running shoes and go for it. i mapped out my course, drank some gatorade and a little water and left the warmth and safety of my house for what i was pretty sure would be a painful experience.

everything started out as usual. i ran my usual town loop beginning with just a few minor side trips. a jog around the high school. a jaunt north through the new housing development. otherwise it was same old, same old until i hit the southern city limits. that's when i ran straight out of town rather than turn and loop around lucky lane.

it was dark out in the country. the sky full of stars didn't light up my path much, but they were beautiful. i ran to 30th avenue, the furthest i'd ever run out of town, and kept going. my goal was 50th avenue at the top of tracy hill. i ran quietly past all the tracy houses so as not to disturb any of their sleeping dogs. i ran past 40th and kept going.

just after crossing 40th i encountered my first car. i ran to the other side since there wasn't anyone coming behind me. i didn't like the idea of being splated by a farmer who would never expect to see a runner out at that time of the morning on his road. the car passed me and i kept running. a few minutes later...a second car. i did the same cross the road trick. chickens of the world, it can be done!

back on the left side of the road, i continued to climb toward 50th. i kept watching for it in the darkness. it wasn't until i was just 20 yards from it that it appeared seemingly out of no where. i ran up to it and circled around to head back north toward argonia.

my run back was enjoyable for a time. going down hill gave my legs a bit of a break. it was easy to put one foot in front of the other as i coasted down the slope. it was when the hill bottomed out and i started running across the flats again that things became a little unpleasant.

you've heard people say, "you should go before you go"? they're right. i began to have this really uncomfortable feeling as i approached the chickaskia river crossing for the second time. not sure how to put this politely, so i'll just say it. i needed a bathroom and there wasn't one i knew i could access for at least three miles.

grin and bear it. that's what i did for the next two miles or so. i made it back to town still smiling. (or was that a grimace?) i ran around lucky lane and boys street and headed north on main. the need was getting a bit more urgent by this time. i ran on out of necessity. i needed to get home.

i crossed the railroad tracks just before a train came to impede my forward progress. i was really glad. i don't know what i would've done. grrrrr!

i ran up to walnut, turned east and ran the four blocks home. i seriously considered running an extra half mile to make this a ten-mile run since i was so close to double digits, but i decided against it. the call of nature was too strong. i finished my course, stopped my watch and waddled into the house.

i feel much better now. i'm relieved, showered, shaved and ready to eat breakfast. i don't think i'll be running again today...unless, of course, my wife insists on going out at 4:00. we'll see.

2.79 miles in 33'58"

my wife wanted to run, but didn't. you know how that goes. so we walked a bit to warm up, then ran slow zig zags west then east then west then east until we'd pretty much covered the north side of town.

the weather out was perfect. no wind. 68 degrees. clear skies. the stars were beautiful.

protecting possums

mike works nights to keep marsupials - more specifically, possums - safe. he sees little of his family and gets little sleep. why does he do it? because possums are awesome! they're worth it!

3.00 miles in 25'05"

i wanted to get one more run in before my busy weekend, so i headed out after work for a single circuit around town. what was supposed to be a pleasant workout became a sufferfest. this loop was not enjoyable at all.

it started immediately. i pushed it up pine street toward the school. my legs felt like lead and it felt like i was breathing through a plastic bag. my lungs heaved as my heart pounded out the time. it was all i could do to keep going after only five blocks. i didn't want to, but i ran on anyway.

i never got to that point where i felt better. i just made my feet do what they are supposed to do. left. right. left. right. left. right.

i must've looked like death warmed over to my running friends. i passed two of them. jon jumped out of his car as i shuffled by. "this is not fun today," i said. he laughed as he headed for the house. i saw jean on main street when i raised my slumping head. i might have attempted a wave hello. not sure. that might've tipped me over.

when i got to main and garfield, i urged myself on. i had to coach myself like i did my wife last night. run harder. it's just three blocks more. two blocks. now push it! one block!

done.

all the way alone!

is there anything more amazing than a solo cross-country trek on a bike? if there is, i don't know what it is. my dailymile friend, janeen, just finished her journey across the US. can't wait to read all about it on her blog. amazing!

goodbye, old self

amazing dramatization of what every athlete goes through when their workout gets hard. shutting up the "stop" voice is sometimes the hardest thing you do all day.

another scrap paper production

those of you who know me, know what this picture means! a video is in the works!

this film will have an international documentary feel to it. a friend on dailymile has already been warned that he will be making a cameo appearance.

i came up with a new name for my film company this morning - scrap paper productions. kind of captures the essence of what i do. stay tuned.

possum patrol

i patroled one mile east and seven miles west in my capacity as protector of marsupials today. i didn't spot any new roadkill and did not witness any possum carnage. i feel good about that. it means i'm doing my job.

as far as speed and distance is concerned, not much to report. a little over 15 miles isn't praiseworthy. doing that distance at 15.8mph a yawner. my maximum speed was a measly 16.1. so there's my report. (15.58 miles @ 15.8mph)

2.15 miles in 22'13"

after the football game, my wife and i went out for a quick little night run. we walked up to allen street, then started running. she said she wanted to push the pace, so we did. i let her lead the way until she got tired, then i tried to keep her going.

we made our first loop around town and i thought she'd be done, but she wanted to keep going. we ran another little square with a zig or zag extra which brought us back to main street, four blocks from home.

it was there that i urged her to pick up the pace. she ran harder and we made good time on the three blocks east. when we rounded the corner, i told her to give it her all for one block. we ran - and i mean ran - for a block. it was awesome!

a four block cool down walk brought us back home. the facts: this is the fastest run i've done with my wife ever! 10'20" pace! she's incredible!

cold, not old

42 (that's the temperature, not my age) is cold (not old)!

sorry that's an inside joke for a high school friend who read my workout report on facebook yesterday and wondered how i got to be 53. silly girl!

anyway, i got up at about twenty till 5:00, bundled up and went out for a ride despite the colder temps. the wind was out of the west, so i turned left onto the highway and headed toward danville.

just after crossing the chicaskia river i rolled past the mangled body of a possum who tried unsuccessfully to cross the road. i'm sure it was the same one i scared away from certain death two or three days ago. alas, he tempted fate one time too many. his protector was not there to turn him away from the path of destruction. being the protector of marsupials is not an easy job.

when i got to danville, i kept right on riding. i had a little extra time because i'd picked up some pastries for a video i shot yesterday and i didn't have to get back to fix breakfast.

at about mile thirteen i decided i could definitely make it to the city limits of harper, so i pressed on. two miles later, i passed the "welcome to harper" sign and turned around.

nothing was happening at the fence post restaurant or at the bar across the street. rolling back past the dew-eze factory, vehicles were pulling into and out of the parking lot. shift change.

the entire eastbound portion of this trek was pleasant, but cold. my fingers started to ache a bit about mile 20. my nose was nipped some too. but the wind pushed me along over hill and dale and i arrived back home with five minutes to spare.

post breakfast, i showered and shaved and walked my wife to school. now i've got to walk back up there again. she forgot her lunch. i thought only kids did that. (29.83 miles @ 16.1mph)

3.01 miles in 23'11"

53 doesn't feel too bad when you're on a bike with a long sleeve jersey, a windbreaker and tights. it feels down right chilly when you're wearing shorts and a long sleeve base layer readying yourself to run.

once my wife safely delivered to work, i wasted no time hitting the pavement. i had to run or i'd freeze my legs off. brrrrr.

i didn't have my mp3 player with me today, so i just tapped out my own rhythm on the streets. i felt great, so i played a nice disco beat with my toes as i dashed around town.

at the one mile mark i was at about 7'30". at two miles i was just over 15'26". i kept pushing it knowing that i was doing well and i felt invincible. so i ran north into a slight headwind, circled around a few blocks and returned to my starting point.

3.01 miles in 23'11"! woohoo! that's a minute per mile faster than i need to run to beat the skinny kid. unfortunately, i have to run more than twice as far as i did this morning. can i do it at this kind of pace? time will tell. i felt like i could keep going longer this morning. i just ran out of time.

bike rider, marsupial protector

since breakfast was all ready to go before i went to bed last night, i had an extra half hour to ride this morning and i took full advantage of those thirty minutes. i rode straight into the wind going up pine to the highway. when i got there, cars were coming from both directions, so rather than stop, i turned and circled around the high school parking lot and then hit the road.

the wind was a little stronger than yesterday and felt every bit as cold even though it was a couple of degrees warmer this morning. the cold snap, it turns out, won't hit until tomorrow morning so i didn't have to pull on shoe covers or full-fingered gloves or a skull cap this morning. i was pleased with that.

on my way back, it felt like the wind shifted so it was in my face a bit more than on the way out. an almost straight north or straight south wind is so hard to judge. it didn't do me in, but i did lose a tenth of a mile per hour over the final twelve miles. i also saved another possum from certain death. he was walking toward the road, saw me and turned back just as a semi went roaring past. i will soon be in possum lore as the greatest marsupial protector of all time. i shall wear the title with pride. (24.37 miles @ 16.0mph)

3.69 miles in 33'09"

i tried to keep my pace nice and easy as i meandered around the north side of town this morning. i wanted my legs to have a chance to recover after yesterday's harder effort. i had a little more time today, so even though i was slower, i ran a bit farther. enjoyed myself as i jogged around turning this way and that, kirk franklin pounding in my ears. perfect!

turn around, possum!

i woke up a bit earlier today, so i had time to put in a few more miles. it was a cool, crisp 51 degrees out. the wind was a little stronger than yesterday out of the northwest, but the relative humidity was only at 98% so there wasn't any fog this time. there was a possum, though - a live one which i saved from certain death by scaring it away from the semi coming down the road.

i rode west to danville and turned around. it was a little earlier than i thought i absolutely had to turn back, but i didn't want to be late so i did it. i realized about five or six miles later that i had time for a few more miles, so i doubled back again and added about three miles more before uturning once more to head for home.

3.09 miles in 26'01"

it was a bit chilly when i started my run this morning. my legs were tingly with the cold until i started moving. then the frost melted away and i ran like the wind. i felt great and i ran hard for the first half of this run.

then a stupid dog came out of no where! grrrr! the little ankle-biter startled me and made my heart rate spike. his owner, a good friend, called him off, but it was too late. my good feelings were gone. i felt physically drained for the next 3/4 mile. ugh!

then the "alright" feeling came back and i picked my pace up again. i ran back up main and through a couple of zigs and zags to the corner of pine and vine, my finish line today.

i went inside, got ready for the day, then mapped my route. 3.09 miles! close enough to 5K for me to call it one. my time? 26'01"! a new PR for that distance. my best before this was around 27'00" when i was halfway done with the 10K i ran with ryan in haviland just over a week ago. yippee! take that, skinny kid!

light-consuming blackness

i slept late this morning and didn't get out of bed until 5:53. i dressed quickly and got my bike rolling by 6:00. crazy, huh?

on the way out, i noticed some patches of fog, but nothing terribly thick - just a bit of mist here and there with clear skies above - so i kept riding. i rode to the far side of danville and turned around.

the wind which had been in my face was now at my back. i rode faster. up and over the danville overpass. across the flats lickety split. down drouhard hill and toward the river. when i hit the river bridges, the patchy fog became a light-consuming wall of blackness. for a short time, i could see only as far as my headlight shone. then i was in the clear again. a mile or so later i hit another patch of inky darkness. looking up i could see stars. looking ahead...nothing!

the shroud of fog was rolled back as i entered argonia's city limits. i pedaled my bike home to safety. (16.05 miles @ 16.5mph)

3.51 miles in 40'40"

after a few minutes of hoping my just finished dinner didn't come up, this run with my wife was rather enjoyable. we started out slow and gradually picked up our pace. at the end, we were flying. my wife wanted to be done, so she started running in earnest. funny how she can do that when the end is in sight.

since i was on call tonight, we never really got very far from our starting point - the ambulance station at the corner of vine and main. at our furthest point out we might have been seven blocks away from an emergency response. my pager didn't go off, so it didn't really matter. my partner knew what i was doing, so he would've waited the extra minute or two for me to get there. wonder how fast i can run in when a pager-induced adrenaline rush hits me. hmmm. i'll have to find out some day.

the weather was quite enjoyable. 74 degrees and calm. it was twilight when we started and quite dark when we finished. we walked the three blocks home by the light of the city street lights.

3.98 miles in 33'51"

i was hoping for at least one good run this week and today i got it. i felt great this morning as i flew around town. that's what it seemed like anyway. i covered my first mile in about 8'10". don't have a clue on the rest of the miles since i haven't figured out exactly where they are. i obviously slowed down a bit since my average pace ended up at 8'30", but i don't care. i got what i wanted. a slightly longer run at a decent pace. the kind of run i wanted, but couldn't deliver on wednesday. hope if feel like this on race day.

miles

all i wanted this morning was eight miles. anything over that was icing on the cake. eight miles put me over 100 for the week. while getting over 100 miles each week isn't an official goal of mine like my year-end goal of 8040 miles, i know that i need to maintain at least that number of miles per week to have a chance at the other.

miles was all i got today. no real excitement. i rode out eight miles. i rode back eight miles. seven of the sixteen miles were ridden without a flashing taillight due to my barely awake state at from the start. thankfully, my headlight is bright and i was still visible from the rear. a cattle truck even passed me in the other lane! (16.05 miles @ 15.9mph)

2.23 miles in 19'26"

running is so weird, so unpredictable. i ran easy this morning and my pace was almost a minute per mile faster than yesterday. my recovery pace is getting faster and faster. i can run 8'42", the pace i need to beat the skinny kid in the 10K, with no problems at all. i don't know if i'll ever get over the craziness that is running.

i felt pretty good for most of this morning's run around the northside of town. there was a moment or two of uneasiness in my throat, but it went away almost as soon as it started. i just kept my head up, my back straight, my arms swinging easy and my legs following one after the other. i moved my body more than two miles. two months ago i could barely run four or five blocks. wow! double wow!

a first

there's a first time for everything. today a cattle hauler slowed down and waited for another car to pass in the opposite direction before proceeding cautiously around me. that has never happened before. not to me anyway. maybe somewhere in the universe it's occured in the past, but never near me. bull wagons usually pass at full speed right next to me if another car is coming the other direction. occasionally they go full speed past me on the other side of the rode if the other lane is open. only once - and it happened today - has one ever slowed down and eased around me.

"thank you, mr. trucker. i don't know your name, but i love you!"

i posted my bike route this morning to prove to some of my skeptics that i do indeed have a few routes that aren't straight as a pin. this "pin" was a bent one. i intended to ride about 28 miles this morning, but accidentally got in 30. i would've turned around at 14 miles out, but there was a car coming from behind me and i couldn't quite figure out where it was since i was on a curve, so i waited a mile to do my 180.

the ride out and back were pretty uneventful with the exception of the aforementioned livestock-laden vehicle incident mentioned above. my intent was to take it easy and i did. (30.29 miles @ 16.4mph)

stealth ride in the dark

everyone was out and about when i got home from kids club tonight, so i took care of the laundry really quick and jumped on my bike for a "late" night stealth mission. how many miles could i add to my total to make it easier to make 100 miles for the week.

it turns out 18.03 miles is what i could do. i rode out past danville and back pushing it pretty hard. i thought i was averaging around 18.0mph, so i was shocked when i clicked around to my actual average. 19.4mph! crazy!

it was nice to ride in the evening when it's actually warm. 73 degrees tonight. hope i can sneak in some more miles in the morning. (18.03 miles @19.4mph)

adding miles

i woke up just before 5:00 this morning and was out the door riding by five after. i felt great accelerating out of my driveway and up pine street, so i picked up my speed a bit when i hit the highway.

i rode ten miles out then turned around knowing i might have time for more, but not wanting to be too far from town if my headlight decided to conk out. i had it on low beam, but i'd run it for about an hour earlier in the week and don't trust it to go longer than three hours on high.

i rode back to town and still had fifteen minutes to spare, so i turned south and rode down to 30th street south of the river and back. i still had five minutes when i got back to town so i rode out to the top of mock hill and back. that took about twenty minutes, so i just changed breakfast plans and we had oatmeal. in the microwave you can have a hot bowl of cereal in less than five minutes.

riding nearly 30 miles made up for not riding at all yesterday. it was really hard at the end of the day to resist going out for a run or a ride. i was feeling great. i held off till today anyway and i'm glad i did. i felt really good this morning. only my fingers and toes were not happy in the cold. (29.55 miles @ 17.3mph)

4.15 miles in 39'49"

i bit off more than i could chew this morning. i felt so good on the bike, i decided to push it on my run. i felt really good for a short time then started to feel awful.

i tried my best for fifteen minutes or so to push through the suffering, but i finally gave in to the urge to stop and walk. i picked a landmark a little way up the road and started running when i reached it.

my second running section was not long. at twenty-one minutes i stopped to walk again. the energy i felt in the saddle earlier was gone. breakfast was not supplying what i needed. i once again chose a landmark and reluctantly forced myself to run again.

i thought i could make it back to the edge of town on this third run, but my will gave out again a short time later. at minute 27 i slowed to a walk once more. ugh! i felt as un-wonderful as i have ever felt. i walked all the way to the south city limits and started to run again. this time i was determined to run to the finish line.

from the edge of town to my house is just a smidge less than a mile. i made it all the way without another "i'm too tired to keep going" moment. i ran - slowly - to the corner of pine and vine before stopping for good.

i am so glad that every day's run is not like this day's was. i'd have quit weeks ago. grrrr.

6.24 miles in 55'10"

it was still dark at 7:00 when i pulled up at ryan k's house in haviland saturday morning. he and marshall b were out waiting for me when i pulled up to the curb. we walked down to the city park were we met up with travis s and josh b. donnie h didn't show up on time, so we just left without him.

about a block after our start we passed the bank thermometer. it read 57 degrees, but the brisk north wind made it feel much colder. early on ryan and i set a slightly faster pace than the others. the three amigos stayed within a block of us for most of the lap then josh and marshall dropped back and travis started chasing ryan and me down. the bank thermometer read 56 this time around.

after our second lap, travis was within a quarter block of us. ryan and i started to up our pace a bit near the schools. i was doing fine, cruising along until we turned onto chestnut. it was there, three blocks from main on lap three, that i started feeling pretty lousy. since i've puked on a run before, i knew what was coming if i didn't slow down.

i'm not especially fond of bile, so when we hit main i told ryan to go. i was just going to slow him down. i dropped my pace a bit and got the nausea under control. travis passed me. i kept going.

when i passed the barclay college gym, my wife spotted me and asked me how much i had left. at the time i thought i might not finish my planned 10K, so i told her, "at least a half lap."

i ran around the east side of town and back to the city park where i had to make the hard decision: to stop or keep going. i kept going. i glanced at the bank as i ran past it the last time. 55 degrees. minus one degree per lap!

before i got to the schools for the last time, i was feeling a lot better. i picked up my pace and dealt with the headwind for the last time. turning past the barclay college gym again, i upped it even more. i looked at my watch. "if i work hard, i can make 54 minutes," i thought. i ran!

turning south i flew down the street with the wind at my back and a slight downward slope. i kept pushing and pushing and pushing. i rounded the corner and saw ryan and travis waiting. i ran as hard as my legs and lungs would allow.

i stopped my body and my watch at the city park. 55'10" for 6.24 miles! a new PR for 10K since starting up again in august. i only need to take a few seconds off of each mile to put the skinny kid in his place. i'm going to beat him!

thanks, ryan for helping me set a good early pace. thanks travis, josh and marshall for showing up. it was great!

3.09 miles in 28'39"

the walk to school with my wife was a bit brisk this morning. i was wearing tights and a long sleeved jersey, a jacket, my skull cap and gloves and i still felt a bit cold. i imagine it was worse for her since she hates the cold.

this is the first cold weather run i've done since high school, so i wasn't sure how to dress. i was hoping i hadn't overdone it since i hate being hot while i'm working out. i think i did okay this time, though i had to unzip my jacket and jersey a bit toward the end of the run.

i didn't really have a goal this morning, so i just ran how i felt. i didn't feel all that fast, so that meant recovery pace. i suppose that was the kind of run i needed after saturday's suffering with ryan, marshall and the others.

i circled around town, stopping once to make sure i could see the highway traffic before crossing. the sun was blinding me and i didn't want to be hit. i also walked about a half block on lucky lane trying to get my mp3 player to quit skipping. not sure why it was acting so funky. a little fiddling around cleared things up and i ran the rest of the way home.

39 degrees

it's hard to get motivated to go outside when the thermometer reads 39 degrees. that's what it read this morning and i had to push myself to get on my bike. once i did it, i was okay. i rode with little enthusiasm, though. it's hard to get excited when riding fast is so much more difficult. i may have to try embrocation this winter.

the biggest excitement of the day was having to come to a complete stop at the intersection of pine and highway 160. before 6:00 there are seldom any cars coming and i normally slow just enough to make sure the roadway is clear before proceeding into my turn onto the highway. today there was a slow moving car on an intercept course with my body, so i pulled up and waited. not too keen on being another bicycle vs. motor vehicle stat.

i had a little less than an hour to ride, so i rode to conway springs road and back. a few times in there, i got lost in thought. it's really strange to come back to reality, realize you're on a bike and you have no idea where you are. in the dark, it's sometimes hard to figure out too.

i was dressed properly for the weather, i guess. i kind of wish i'd worn another layer on top, but i probably would've regreted the addition had i actually put it on. i didn't regret any of the other clothing choices i made. my skull cap was definitely needed this time.

hope all of you are enjoying warm weather and calm winds. (14.29 miles @ 15.7mph)

just had to get 100

i couldn't stand being close to 100 miles and not making it, so i called someone and got them to cover for me for an hour this afternoon. i rode a mile east, figured out the wind was against me and turned around for a ride west.

i rode to the base of l'alpe d'anville, turned around and headed back to town. nothing exciting to report other than surpassing 100 miles for another week. (15.31 miles @ 15.9mph)

a ride on the nippy side

had to wear gloves again today. it was a bit nippy and my ears were feeling it by the time i was done. thankfully there wasn't any wind to make 47 degrees feel colder. i'm not sure i'm ready for that yet.

i forgot to have someone cover for me this morning from 6:00 to 8:30 so i could get a few extra miles in, so i was stuck with the having to get back to the house by 6:00 for my ems shift. since i woke up at 4:30, i was able to get in a few more miles than i had expected when i went to bed last night, but still not enough to bring my week's total mileage up to 100 miles. this is the first week in ages that i haven't hit that mark and i won't be riding tomorrow.

i rode out to the conway springs road and back then up to 30th street north and back to get in my 18.59 miles. i kept it at a nice easy spin so my legs wouldn't be shot for tomorrow's run with ryan k and marshall b. i found out another friend is running with us too. donnie h is a nut! he'll keep things interesting. can't wait! (18.59 miles @ 15.0mph)