Winter!

Well, it's officially Winter here in Michigan (and the entire Northern Hemisphere, I guess) and it's started to get cold. I really do enjoy the winter. Sure, it may be unbearably cold at times, and the snow makes it hard to drive, but the beauty of seeing the snow fall is something I truly enjoy.

One thing the Winter has done to make me mad is making the roads hard to run on. Because there isn't enough snow to plow, the roads I run on are coated in a healthy dose of ice, making it nearly impossible to get any traction. I've found myself slipping on the ice several times on the last few runs I've done, and I've almost fallen a couple of times. But, as much as I'm complaining about it, I still do enjoy it. It's nice to get out there in the frosty air and get active.

On a side note, Jake and Cal (I believe both of them) will be in Michigan on January 23, so I hope we can get as many of us together as possible and have a little drinky-drink time. Let me know. I'm out.

Race Updates

Well, I haven't logged quite as many miles as I did during the summer, but I've made it into December without taking too much of a break from running. I've surprised myself with that, because after a couple of months, I usually get bored with it, and make excuses that it's too cold, or that I can just pick up running later. Not this year, though. Something is different about this year. I've been wanting to race a lot this fall/winter and wanting to do well at the same time.

I've recently completed two races and felt pretty good about the outcome. First, was the Run-a-Munk 5K at Woldumar Nature Center in Lansing. My time was 21:59, which was good enough for a 10th place finish, and not bad for the course we ran on. It was on trails and there were a lot of tight turns, and hills to make this a difficult run. Average times were about a minute and a half slower than usual.

The last race I ran was the Christmas Stocking 4 Mile run, in Flushing. I finished 14th in that race with a time of 27:35, which was 25 seconds below my goal time. I was quite satisfied with this, because I had not been really training that well, and I wasn't sure I could get below seven minutes per mile.

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to run 1000 miles by December 31. I didn't start until mid-June of this year, and I'm close to eclipsing 600 miles. Not too shabby for half a year, but a bit disappointing, because I would have easily have gotten to 1000 had I worked a little in the winter. Oh well. There's always next year.

I'm out.

Hello Again!

I've found myself neglecting my blog over the last couple of months, for no good reason other than I'm lazy. I've found myself busier than normal when it comes to teaching, because I'm doing a long term gig, and I need to plan lessons. But, when I'm not doing that, I'm on the Internet just surfing.

Anyway, since my last post I had the luxury of running a half marathon. I finished in 1:39:18. I planned on a goal time of 1:45:00, so I was quite happy for myself. It was a tough feat to conquer, and I was impressed that I even finished. The half was made more difficult because 2 weeks before it, I had gotten sick and missed out on 10 days of training time. Needless to say, once I got to mile 12, my legs were fighting to keep the pace. I'm just glad I had a few supportive runners around me to carry me home. I'd recommend anyone who wants to challenge themselves, to give the half a try. I never thought I'd do it, but once I was finished, my mind moved to the idea of whether or not I could finish the 26.2 mile, full marathon.

I know this blog has moved more and more toward the topic of running, but I really have gotten back into it. I've lost almost 20 pounds since June, and it's been a great stress relief. With winter coming, I think my mileage will take a hit, but I hope to come out in Spring with a good base and start with that marathon training. I'll be posting my progress here.

Crim 10 Mile

What a gorgeous day for running it was. I got downtown sometime around quarter to seven in the morning, and it was a brisk 52 degrees. It was so cool, that I wore a sweatshirt. It reminded me of all of those late fall cross country meets we had in high school. Once I got out of the car, I took in all of the sights that surrounded me. Thousands of runners warming up, people chatting about running, and sun rising to warm up the air. It was a great feeling.

After a mile of warm up, I decided to take a walk to the starting line. It was an amazing sight to see. One that I'd never seen before. 10,000 or so people standing, stretching, and jogging in preparation for their journey through the greater Flint area. I knew this was going to be a great day.

At eight o'clock, I was finally at the starting area. It would still be more than five minutes before I would get to the official starting line, but the excitement was filling my body. It was finally here. All the training I had put in was finally set to pay off. As I walked up to the line, people were snapping pictures and doing their final routines to get themselves ready for the race. Finally, we hit the line and we were off.

It was slow going in the beginning, and I was about a minute off my goal pace by 3 miles, but after the crowded streets began to clear up, and the pack began to stretch out, I finally got the race pace to where I wanted it. At mile five, the Bradley Hills became visible. After a slight struggle with those hills, it was off to complete the second half of the race. In a matter of thirty minutes, the race would be over, and the journey complete.

I finished with a time of 1:17:56 officially. I was impressed by this because I didn't figure I would be much faster than 1:20:00, which is eight minutes per mile. I was excited for what is left for the rest of the year. I plan on doing the Capitol City River Run Half Marathon next. With a descent showing in the Crim, I feel this shouldn't be too much more difficult. For now, I'm just going to keep training. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up in the coming months.

I'm out.

New Update

After a busy month, I'm back with another update:

-Got married on August 1. We saw many of our friends and family there and we're glad we could spend our special day with all of you.

-Honeymoon in Florida was amazing. I wish we could have stayed another day, if not another week. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom and Kennedy Space Center. Both were great, and had awesome sights. I recommend if you have the opportunity and the means, you should make it down to see both.

-I'm running the Crim 10 mile race on Saturday. This will be my first race over an 8K, so I'm a bit nervous. But, I'm equally excited about the opportunity to run an internationally recognized race. All of this is leading to a half marathon sometime in September or October.

-Still no job, but I've applied to many places. Keep your fingers crossed.

Well, that's about it. I'll hopefully update sooner than before. Keep it real. I'm out.

Random Thoughts

-Well, only 16 days until wedding day. If you are fortunate to be able to make it, I look forward to seeing you. If you aren't so lucky, we'll be thinking of you, and hopefully we'll see you soon.

-I've worked my way up to over 100 miles running in the last month + a few days. I don't know if I'll get to that 1000 I was trying to get to at the beginning of the year, but I'm going to try. My main goal is to break 20 in the 5K by the end of the year.

-Signing up for Netflix was one of the greatest choices ever made. I've never been one to watch movies. But, with Amanda and I being off for the summer, the movies have killed some of those boring moments.

-Still no job yet, but I have received two letters saying that positions I've applied for have been filled and that I would not be called for an interview. Frustrating? Yes.

-Hopefully, if there is a snake on my plane ride on August 2, Sam Jackson will be sitting next to me.

-I'm out.

Gizzard Fest '09

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for the stench of deep fry and carnie to fill the Potterville air. That's right, it's Gizzard Fest '09! This year is a little different because we don't have Nelson here to celebrate with us, but we do have Casey and Amelia back, so I'll call it an even trade (although I don't see Amelia taking a hot dog bun, soaking it with Mohawk rum that spilled on the table, and then eating it). As a token of the 10th anniversary of the event called Gizzard Fest, post your favorite Gizzard Fest moment in the comment section. Happy Gizzard Fest, everyone! I'm out.