Spinx Run Fest Race Report

Holy unpreparedness Batman. If you've been reading this blog, you are well aware that I have been suffering in the motivation department lately. Well since I had already paid the $60 entry fee for the half-marathon back when I was getting out and running on a regular basis, I forced myself to toe the line on Saturday.

I must say that it was PERFECT racing weather. Cool, overcast, with no wind, but a slight mist that couldn't even be considered a drizzle. Running is a funny thing, because it can make you feel like you are invincible and can run as long as you want, but it can also make you feel like you cannot take another step. The first 3 miles of the race were the invincible part, the last 10.1, not so much. Maybe there is something to this whole "preparing" for a race.

The first 4 miles seemed like they were all downhill, which had me worried about when we were going to have to pay the piper. It came at miles 8 and 9. Almost completely uphill with no breaks. But by then I had found someone to stick to as a pacer. Mile 11 was the hardest for me because I wanted so much to walk for a little while, but I knew if I didn't stop I would have a shot at breaking 2 hours. Once I got to the 12 mile market, I knew I had a shot, but the course was set up so that you couldn't see the stadium and , thus, the finish line until you were right up on it. I kept wondering if the 12 mile market had been placed to early.

So finally the Greenville Drive baseball stadium comes into view and by this point I was ignoring some of the pain and got swept up in the moment. Mile 13 was run at 7:30 pace and I ended with a chip time of 1:59:11 and a clock time of 1:59: 53. Overall it was a great run.

Not preparing for a race and then running better than expected is a double-edge sword. Part of me says, "Whoa, I could have really crushed my pr if I had trained for this race." But then another part says, "Why train when you can break out a sub-2 hr half with no preparation?" A year ago, I was in the midst of training for the St. Jude marathon and ran this same race (on a different course) at 8:40 pace. So when all is said and done, that's still 30 seconds per mile faster. All I can say is next year, the kids should be healthy, Rachel should be sleeping through the night, and I should have ample time to really put some good speedwork in to rip off a sub 1:50. Write it down...

Against Doctor's Orders

Well, against the advice of my doctor, I finally got back out yesterday for a good 5 miles. No I'm not sick anymore, but I did have a mole taken off my back that required a few stitches. The doc said to lay off from running for about a week. But I've taken so much time off lately and my fitness level is probably the lowest its been in 3 or 4 years. And the half marathon is coming up on Oct 25th. So I had to get out. I had to run with just swinging one arm so as not to tear the stitches, but it was a good run. About 45 degrees, perfect running weather.

For the better part of yesterday I was so pumped about getting back into running and couldn't wait to go again today, but Rachel's teacher called Kristal in the afternoon and she had a 103 temperature. So Kristal took her to the doctor and found it is a virus of some sort. So she's at home today and tomorrow, which means we are tag teaming between working and taking care of her...bottom line, no running today. Maybe she'll get over it today and be back at school tomorrow.

As for yesterday, 5 miles even at 9:27 pace.

Playlist: Phedippidations episode 146 - Running in the Ancient Olympics

In case you were wondering, my first church service on guitar went very well. No obvious mistakes came from me. Also, Luke was so excited for his daddy to be playing the guitar in church. He came into the sactuary before the service started shouting at the top of his lungs, "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY" in kind of a chanting manner. It was a little embarrassing when it happened, but now when I look back on it, I think that is the most proud I've ever been to be a "daddy." I'm thankful for this blog because I get to write down these snapshots that happen as I go through life. When I'm on my deathbed, I'm sure that will be one of the memories that I recall as a great moment in life.

New Pics

Luke and Papa Jim
The 1st pony ride
Which one is the Orangutan?
Luke and Rachel "wrestling" mom on the bed.

Its been a while since I've posted any pictures. Here are a few from our trip to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia this past weekend.

Sick and Tired

Everyone loves the fall. Cooler temps, leaves changing colors, clearer skies...not me. I long for the long days of summer. When you can get up at 6 am for a run and it is already starting to get lighter outside. When you can pick your kids up from day care and still have a good 3 hours of daylight to run around and play outside. And when you don't have to deal with allergies and sickness as a rule of everyday life.

My family has been passing around a cold for the last 3 weeks. Anyone that has children will know that a 3 yr old, a 7 mo old, and a severe cold do not go well together. Its been a while since Kristal and I had a full night's sleep. Sure we're irratable, but at least experience tells us now that it gets better as they get older. Luke is very rarely sick (I secretly think its because he has built up a killer immune system because I don't make him wash his hands before dinner). Rachel has yet another ear infection and a bad cold. We are going to the operating room this Friday for her to have tubes put in her ears. Hopefully this will be the "miracle cure" that everyone as told us it will be.

As far as running, I've been pretty unproductive. I ran a grand total of 4.25 miles last week and have yet to get out this week. Until I can shake this cold, I don't see much running in my near future. Only trouble is that I am supposed to be in the meat of my half marathon training schedule for the Spinx runfest on Oct 25th. I hope I can get well in time to do a couple of long runs before it gets here.

I'm going to have to rearrange my schedule so that I can get out in the afternoon or some other time than my usual 6 to 7 am. It's still pitch black dark out at that time and my running routes around here do no have the best lighting. A couple of times in the last 2 weeks, I've set the alarm for 5:50 and just don't even roll out of bed. Got to work on my motivation...

On a different note (no pun intended), I practiced with the church band for the 1st time last night and it went really well. I don't play with others all the much, but that feeling you get when you're right on time with everyone else and you can actually feel the music is untouchable. I would rank it right up there with a great run. So I must have held my own at this first session because they invited me to play at the Sunday morning service. I'm nervous and excited about it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Here's our playlist for Sunday:

Lord Reign on Me segue into He Leadeth Me
God is Good All the Time
Change My Heart, Oh God
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)segue into Everything is in Your Hands

10 miler

Saturday was a weird running day for me. I knew I had to get a 10 miler in per my half-marathon training plan. My first attempt at this started at 6 am. I managed 2.83 miles at 9:47 pace before being forced to return home for a bio-break. Once again, never eat the "homewrecker" from Moe's the night before a long run! So at that point I decided to push the long run back to Sunday morning. But once the family went down for naps Saturday afternoon and I found myself restless, I thought what the heck and got back out there. I ran a new route that was exactly 5 miles out, which was nice because if I had arrived home with another mile to go, then I'm pretty sure that last mile would not have happened. In my humble opinion, the 10 mile distance is what separates the men from the boys. It is also a distance that I underestimated on Saturday. I have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I am in no way, shape, or form at a marathon capable fitness level. This time last year I was deep into my training plan for St. Jude's and I could run 10, 12, even 15 miles and not be sore the next day. NOT ANYMORE! Saturday's 10 miler was challenging to say the least. It didn't help that I did not prepare (leave water along the route) like I should have. My new 10 mile route was pretty hilly, but so is the new route for the Spinx half-marathon in October. No unchained dogs (sweet!), and it was very scenic.

So as I dragged myself up to the house and laid straight down on the floor, that familiar question came back to me..."Why do I do this?" As the initial shock of pushing past the comfort level that most people never venture from, thoughts of "this hurts" and "I won't be doing that again anytime soon" turned into thoughts of "it'll be easier next time" and "maybe I could have pushed a little bit harder toward the end." And then I thought, "That's why I do this, because I never want to stop searching to find just what I am capable of."

Playlist:

Phedippidations Episode 144: Moving to the Music
My G'N'R playlist featuring:
Rocket Queen
You Could Be Mine
Bad Obsession
My Michelle
Locomotive - my personal recommendation on this one for motivational running.
Breakdown
Nightrain

Let me introduce you to my enemy. On my 5 mile route, I come to this hill at about 3.2 miles into. It is a deceiving hill because it goes up and up and up and then the road curves about 90 degrees. So just when you feel like you're at the summit..BAM!... you realize you have part 2 ahead of you. When you read that I had to take a breather during one of my runs, you can pretty much bank on the fact that it was at the top of this hill. I never rest in the middle of a hill because that feels too much like quitting, but once I get to the top, I have no problem taking a minute or two to compose myself.

As for the latest run, it was yesterday (Thurs): 4 miles even at 9:30 pace. Even though it was cooler, I still didn't feel the euphoria of a couple days ago. I guess if I got that too often then I would take it for granted. So I have 15.2 in for the week so far with a 10 miler scheduled for this weekend. 25 miles per week seems to be the mileage where I can see visible changes in this spare tire I lug around. By the way, I've lost 4 pounds since returning from vacation, not changing much except trying to control portions instead of eating everything in sight every meal.

High Times

I finally found it today...maybe it was the cooler weather, maybe it was the pasta I ate for dinner last night and lunch today...but I finally found that place where you feel like your feet are not hitting the ground and you could go on forever.

I've been struggling with my running lately and honestly it has seemed like more of a chore than something I love doing. But today changed that. I've read all the theories about runner's high, the endorphins and the adreneline and all that. Please allow me to give you my perception of the runner's high. Running basically involves 3 things...leg turnover, breathing, and heart rate. Sometimes your breathing is too labored for the leg turnover you want to achieve. Sometimes your heart rate is skyrocketing when your lungs seem fine. Maybe your legs feel like rubber even though you're not breathing all that hard. The thing is, there is a special, magical place out there on those roads when, like a finely crafted watch, all the gears synch into place. That is my version of a runner's high. Your heart rate, breathing, and legs are all moving in synch with each other and they find that cadence that makes you feel like you are not really running at all but floating and you feel like you could go on like that for a very long time. Of course, anyone that has pushed their body into the upper reaches of endurance knows that there is a limit to how long you can sustain that runner's high before aches and pains start to creep up on you. But today, it happened for me and it reminded me why I get out there...

Ended up with 6.23 @ 57:41. That's good for a 9:16 pace. I don't know how to pull up my mile splits on my Garmin 305, but I feel that the last mile and a half was probably done at around 8:30 pace.

By the way, my playlist today was the Crash Test Dummies album "God Shuffled His Feet" in its entirety. Not exactly upbeat running music, which makes today's experience all the more abnormal.

IOP

This past Sunday to Sunday was spent in the IOP, which anyone in the Carolinas knows stands for Isle of Palms. IOP has a very special place in my heart because when I was a young District Manager for one of the Big 3, I was assigned the Charleston district and I scraped together enough money for a downpayment on a condo that was almost directly across Hway 17 from the Isle of Palms Connector in Mt. Pleasant. The floors squeaked, the pipes were made of polybutalene and leaked, only 1 of the 2 showers worked, the carpet was stained, but dang it, I loved that place. Kristal and I got married while I was living down there so it was our first place together. Once she moved in, she promptly put her touches on it. New carpet, and a great new paint job on the walls (our first attempted at painting), and before we knew it, the place was quite livable. We definitely took advantage of living that close to the beach (about a 4 minute drive) as we were down there in all seasons. I love that it still has that local feel to it without the skyscraping hotels and the throngs of sun worshippers.

We stayed at a condo in Wild Dunes. I love having kids young enough that we can vacation when all the other kids are in school. Next year will be our last chance to do that. The place was a ghosttown (probably also because of the hurricane scare from the previous week). We literally had the beach to ourselves.

I only managed to get in 2 runs while on vacation. I was hoping for a lot more, but a teething 6-month old tends to make you want to sleep in in the morning when you get the chance.

Managed to get out on Tuesday for a 4 miler. Went our via the nice wide sidewalks and came back on the beach. That beach running in strenuous to say the least. I was sweating like no tomorrow despite the nice ocean breeze. Stats: 4.09 @ 9:18.

Wednesday: I ran north this time and after a mile and a half, I came to a point (literally) where the land just ended. So I only managed 3.01 @ 9:14.

I did manage to get out today. I am determined to get my mileage up this week (even considering 2-a-days) to make up for my sloth for the last 3 weeks. I spent the morning just trying to clean out emails that piled up and finally managed to get out about 11:30. I paid dearly, but I was determined to get in 5 miles day. I accomplished that, but had to take 2 breaks and really REALLY wanted to take a 3rd break. Ended up with 5 even @ 9:25 pace. Note to self: How bout let's try to get out before the sun comes up next time. WAY too HOT!

Hamburger Helper

First off, happy 6 month birthday to the happiest baby on earth...Rachel!

"...I don't know why they call it Hamburger Helper...it tastes just fine by itself to me Clark." - Cousin Eddie in Vacation

Alright, as a symbol of just how domesticated I've gotten in my old, married age... one of my favorite things to is pick out Hamburger Helper flavors at the grocery store. I mean, seriously, how many different ways are there to prepare meals using 1 lb of hamburger meat? Apparently quite a few. Since I can never narrow it down to just 1 flavor, today I came home with "Bacon Cheeseburger" and "Cheesy Ranch Burger." We went with the Ranch Burger tonight and it did not disappoint! Unexpected bonus today because HH has on sale for $1 per box. Really, pay about a buck fitty on a pound of meat and a buck on the HH, feed the family and you still have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Plus Luke eats the stuff like nobody's business. Where's the downside? I'll be back at Ingles tomorrow to take further advantage of the $1/box deal. Until then, on to running...

Did a nice easy run yesterday starting at 5:55 am. Completed 5.09 @ 9:29 pace. These early morning runs keep getting darker and darker. Wouldn't it be nice to have the long days of summer with the cooler weather of winter?

Got out a little late today for 3.05 miles @ 8:28 pace. That is the fastest I've run in a while and it felt nice. It was tougher on my legs than I thought it would be. Must be something to the whole fast twitch/slow twitch muscle fiber theory. I seem to always get side stitches when I fall in the 8:30 range. That didn't happen today, it was just my legs felt like rubber. Nearly a year ago I ran the Spinx Runfest Half-Mary at 8:40 pace. I REALLY need to work on speed to get back to that level of fitness. Of course, at the time I was training for St. Jude so the half was ONLY a 13 miler in my training plan. My gameplan starting now is to try to pick up the pace a little for my weekday runs and save the slow plodding runs for the weekend. What a novel idea, how come no one else though of that. Oh yeah, that's basically the crux of every training plan known to runners.

Tanner

Anyone in the Greenville area has heard of Big O Dodge. It has been an icon in the upstate and happens to be the largest Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealership in South Carolina. The driving force behind the business for the last 5 years has been Tanner Odum. He was thrust into the roll of Dealer Principal after his father died in a motorcycle accident in 2003. He was 24 years old at the time. I had just become the Chrysler District Manager for the upstate and the first time I met Tanner, I remember feeling sorry for him because he was dealing with the loss of his father and was forced into running a multi-million dollar business all at the same time. During his time at Big O, he has faced personnel issues, facility issues, and many other issues, but he never failed to learn something from every experience.

I spent a year working in the Greenville market and Tanner was still getting his feet under him when I left. I spent 4 years in Atlanta and Savannah and when the Greenville position came open again, I put my name in the hat. Tanner was a completely different person when I met him again, in a good way. He was in control of his business and no longer had that deer in the headlights look. Sadly, Tanner Odum died in a car crash early Monday morning near his home. In this business of dealer/factory relationships, there are not many chances to make good personal friends. Tanner was one of those rare exceptions for me. He will be missed...

Run: 3.3 sad, hot miles at 9:30 pace.

Catching Up

Enough with the non-stop emails and the incessant telephone calls begging and pleading for me to post another blog. I apologize, I've been out of town and life's been pretty hectic. OK, so no one emailed, and not a single phone call, but I have to think that SOMEONE was hoping I would catch up soon.

So basically I was in Atlanta 3 weeks ago, Orlando 2 weeks ago, and then Orlando again last week. Usually I get to get in some good running while I am away for work because I get pretty good sleep and don't have contant family commitments. However, I wasn't as disciplined as I would have liked for the last 3 weeks.

Week of August 11 - 17:
Spent this one at a Marriott in Marietta, GA. The location was not at all conducive to running. And the hotel gym lacked any sort of air circulation whatsoever, so I'm sure I lost some fitness this week. Toward the end of the week I just had no motivation because I didn't want to get mugged outside and couldn't put up with the dingy, dungeony basement gym. Hopefully, my company will not pick that as a destination hotel again.
Monday: 4.02 miles at 9:15 pace in Easley.
Tuesday: 5.04 miles at 9:24 pace.
Wednesday: 3 miles at 8:57 pace.

Week of August 18 - 24:
This week I was at the Shingle Creek Resort. Now THAT'S more like it. Good points, plenty of cart paths and sidewalks for some great running. Bad points, our stay was in the middle of a freaking HURRICANE! So no running outside again during the workweek. The gym was light years ahead of the Marriott from last week. Nice and cool with good air circulation.
Monday; 6 miles @ 9:20 pace on treadmill.
Tuesday: 3 miles @ 9:20 pace on treadmill.
Wednesday: 5.25 miles @ 9:20 pace on treadmill.
Saturday: Back home for long run. 7.02 miles @ 9:36 pace. After 2 weeks on the treadmill, it was great to get outside again.

Week of Aug 25 - 31st:
Ritz Carlton - Orlando. One thing about Chrysler, even when we're hemorraging cash, we still know how to pick the hotels. Did not run on Monday evening like I usually do because I got persuaded to eat at one of my favorite places, Amura Japanese Steakhouse. Which leads me to my Tuesday morning run. Please note, never, ever have the filet and salmon combo with extra fried rice and then try to get up early the next morning and run. Especially if you unfamiliar with the running trails. I was looking so foward to running the cart path at the Ritz, and all I could manage was 2.96 miles total before having to return to the hotel with extreme intestinal distress. One funny thing that happened was I was getting directions to the cart path and the lady actually said, "Oh yes, there are alligators in the ponds and surrounding areas, but most of the time they just run away from you." Most of the time?!?!?! What happens when they don't run away? So Tuesday afternoon we were let out early and I played beach volleyball all afternoon, so that counts as cross training in my book. I was actually pretty sore in the gluteus area on Wednesday. We went home on Wed and I enjoyed some much needed family time so no running on Thurs or Fri.

Saturday - Longest run so far in this training cycle. 8.01 miles at 8:50 pace. It was an early morning run and the weather was perfect. Felt really good about my fitness level after this run because even the hills that normally kill me were management on this run.

So there it is, finally caught up with my blogging. I must try to do better because once I miss a few blogs I feel overwhelmed and it just keeps snowballing. Also, I don't really like to write, "Well I'm down in Orlando for another week" translated - my wife is home alone with our children and anyone looking to rob the place would have an easier time this week.

The Travelling Chrysler Show

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, and I am still on the road. I'm writing this from the Shingle Creek Golf Club in Orlando FL. Anyone that has turned on the TV in the last 24 hrs is aware that the ENTIRE state of Florida is under a hurricane warning. Why this company I work for would fly its entire Southeast Division sales team down in the middle of a hurricane I have no idea, but I'll take it and run with it...get it?...run with it?

Last week I was in Atlanta all week. I wasn't very disciplined with my running last week. After a 5 mile run on Monday at home, I only managed to get on the hotel dreadmill for 3 miles on Tuesday and no more running after that. Anyone that has small children/infants and travels for work knows that there's an unwritten rule that says if you spend the week away, then you get full time night duty for the following weekend. Rachel has not been sleeping well at all so Fri and Sat night did not go all that well. Plus I want to soak up as much family time during the day with Kristal and Luke, so I couldn't exactly excuse myself. So bottom line, a weekly total of 12.1 miles including the 4 miler on Sun.

So the break down goes like this:

Sun, Aug 11: 4.02 @ 9:15 pace
Mon, Aug 12: 5.04 @ 9:24 pace
Tue, Aug 13: 3 @ 8:57 pace

The training plan called for a 5K race this weekend, so I didn't miss any high mileage runs.

Off to a pretty good start for this week, with 6 miles at 9:20 pace. The formentioned hurricane will probably keep my runs indoors this week, so I'm trying to make the most of it. As long as the ipod stays charged I should be in good shape.

Still cooler...

Another great morning for a run. Stepped out at 6:10 and it was the first time I've actually been chilled before a run in a long time. Bring on the fall weather! I ran 4.02 at 9:15 pace this morning. Its weird because I didn't feel like I was running nearly as fast as I did on Saturday, but who know's, I don't think global positioning satallites lie.

More bad dreams for Luke last night. I went up there at 2:03. He said his stomach was hurting, so I laid down with him and proceeded to get kicked for 25 minutes until he finally said he had to "poo poo." Well, he just pee pee'd and back to be for another 20 minutes of kicking. Then I said I was going back downstairs because I'm supposed to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed. No protests but he was still awake when I walked out. I didn't hear anything else from him but I always wonder how long he lays up there in bed and is not asleep.

Saturday - 1st Long Run

My first "long run" of this half marathon training cycle. I'm almost embarrassed to call a 6 miler a long run, but I have memories of when 2 miles required multiple walk breaks. So I try not to take it for granted. You could not have asked for better weather for running. We were at my father-in-law's in the big town of Blacksburg, SC. We took Luke to Carowinds (more on that later). Although it is a little hilly in B-burg, it is more gentle rolling hills and not the shocking 45 degree quad busters I run around in here in Easley. So I felt really good, not to mention that it was in the low 60's. It was one of those days where I felt like I could maintain my pace forever. But, alas, I had to adhere to my 6 miles because we were due at the Carowinds ticket desk promptly at 10 am. I ended up with 6.23 miles at 9:17 pace. I must have started out really slow because I felt like I was booking it for the last 2 miles. Then I got back here on Sunday and read that Shut It and Run ran 18 miles at 8:30 on Sat morning. Nothing like a little cold water to splash on the ego.

The best part of running at "pop pop's" house is his pool in the back yard. I was cruising down the street and noticed movement in the back yard...yep, that's my 3 yr old son at 7:15 in the morning already in the swimming pool (did I mention that it was in the low 60's?). The water was still warm and I went straight around back, took my shoes, socks and shirt off and jumped in. Boy is that nice. The closest our newly constructed development has to a pool is a sign that says, "Coming soon, pool and bath house." I'm not sure what a bath house is, but it sounds like somewhere cowboys used to go to in the wild wild west to partake in the pleasures of the flesh.

On to Carowinds. It was a perfect day for an amusement park trip. 1st stop, Nickelodeon section. Luke got to see Dora and Boots, ride in the Lazytown helicopters, drive a boat, a car, and ride the carousel, all within the 1st hr of being there. We ate lunch (Carowinds food could be improved upon). Then it was on to the water park. I've never seen a kid with a smile stuck on his face for an entire afternoon. We spent most of our time in the kid's pool, until it was closed because, well, its a kid's pool, so you can probably guess what happened. He rode the waterslides, even went in the wave pool and loved every minute of it. I spent all day thinking how great it is, and also looking foward until Luke is 6 and Rachel is 3 and we can all go and enjoy it (I'm looking foward to the roller coasters too). Special thanks to Pop Pop and Gi Gi for keeping Rachel all day and giving us the opportunity to have a special day with Luke.

PS - The picture is Luke and me at Carowinds, could my hat be any more uncool???

2 Runs

Well I finally got on a half-marathon training plan. I am using Hal Higdon's Intermediate plan. I might pump up the long runs later in the training cycle. This is the first plan I've been on since the full at St. Jude's. I really miss training for a marathon. I love being able to see changes in fitness level, and actually seeing myself getting leaner when I'm putting in the huge mileage requirements of a full marathon. I'm starting to get the bug for another one, I'm thinking late fall of '09 or early spring of '10.

Yesterday...5:50 am....dark outside...I get my running gear on and am lacing up my shoes when I hear the famous..."Daddy, I'm awake!!!" coming from Luke upstairs. Dang it, I almost made it out the door. So instantly I go from dadrunner mode into dad-making-breakfast mode. I like to let the wife sleep in whenever I can because I'm a morning person and she's..well...not. So my run was put off until the afternoon. Severe thunderstorm warnings caused me to head to the gym and do my scheduled 3 mile tempo run on the dreadmill. It wasn't that bad because I lucked out and got on one that is directly under the a/c vent. So 3 miles even at 8:20 pace. Did not feel all that challenging at all. I can see how people that do 100% of their race training are shocked by how much more challenging running in an uncontrolled environment is.

Today...Got out the door just in time. I shut the front door at 5:50 and Kristal said the baby got up at 6:02. It was much cooler out today, but by no means chilly. Another great pink/purple sunrise this morning. Ran 5 miles at 9:23 pace. My half-marathon training plan only called for 3 miles, but for some reason I don't feel like its worth the effort unless I get in 5 miles. This weekend's long run calls for a 6 miler. No hill for a climber...

Both kids have been sleeping good these last few nights...man I love that!

Me First

5 miles today at 9:22 pace. Not bad. I was a little worried about taking my ipod this morning because as I was getting ready I kept seeing bright flashes of lighting coming in through the blinds. I didn't hear any thunder and stepped out to no rain. I've had an ipod get turned into a paperweight from running through a storm before. But I decided to take it and I'm glad I did. I listened to an old playlist I haven't heard in a while. "Me First and the Gimme Gimmes" have a special place in my heart. I dabble on the guitar a little and I've said for many years now that if I were in a band, I would like to take old classic songs that everyone knows and turn them into a heavily distorted rock tune. I stumbled upon "Me First..." about a year ago and this is exactly what these guys are doing. I'm putting up a playlist of some of the ones that were available. They form an album based off of different genres of music, they have albums of all R&B covers, showtunes covers, country covers. I know its not for everyone, and if you feel your old songs are sacred, you're probably not going to like it. But they are upbeat, and only last about 2 minutes per song, so you won't get board. My wife cannot understand why I dig this music, I guess its just because this is what I've always wanted to do if I were playing in a band. Enjoy!

Today's Playlist:

Hava Nagila
Rich Girl
Auld Lang Syne
The Boxer
Heart of Glass
Country Roads
Come Sail Away
I Write the Songs
Superstar
You've Got a Friend
Strawberry Fields Forever
Mahogany
Stairway to Heaven
Mother and Child Reunion
Only the Good Die Young
Coming to America
The Harder they Come
Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
East Bound and Down
Take it On the Run
Delta Dawn

4.2

No great sunrises, no life changing events. Just a 4.2 mile run at about 8:30, which made it a little hotter than I was hoping for. There was a slight breeze which helped out a lot. Overall, 4.2 miles in 39:30. Music again today. I went back to one of my older playlists that I listened to when I was training for St. Jude's.

Playlist:

Bring Me to Life - Evenescence
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Crowd Chant - Joe Satriani
I Am the Bullgod - Kid Rock
Alive - P.O.D.
Soldier - Eminem
Just Like a Pill - Pink
Cherub Rock - Smashing Pumpkins
The Audience is Listening - Steve Vai

Also, for your enjoyment I happened to catch one of those sunsets I mentioned in a previous blog. This is driving down the road at 55 mph, so it doesn't do it justice, but it still shows that we have the best sunsets here.

Upstate Sunrise

In my 32 years on this planet, I've lived in Columbia, Michigan, Winston-Salem, Charleston, Atlanta, Savannah, and....upstate South Carolina. Without a doubt, the upstate has the best sunrises and sunsets around. The only place that can come close is Key West. Even as a beer swilling teenager at Clemson, I was always amazed by the sunsets in this part of the world. My roommate said it was because of the textile mills put something in the atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Not sure about all that, but I do know its beautiful.

I had the chance to enjoy one of those little gems this morning. Again, up with the baby at 4:30. There is zero chance of me going back to sleep, no matter how hard I want to. Just in case, I made myself lay in bed until 5:30 before hitting the roads. A slight hint of sunlight at 5:40. But as the run went on, the sky kept getting more and more violet and the clouds turned into this bright pink color. Like something you'd see on the cover of a Pink Floyd album. I feel like I got to soak in something that few people see, and if they do, they are too busy to really take it in. I wish I had had a camera with me...NOTE TO APPLE COMPUTER CO: How's about the next generation Ipod include a digital camera. Come on, they put them in phones nowadays. What runner worth his/her salt wouldn't jump at the chance to upgrade their Ipod to a version that will let them snap a few shots of some of the interesting things we see on the roads?

It seemed a little cooler today. I ran 5 miles at 9:19 pace and did not require a rest break. Went back to straight music today because I've been getting just a little too much of Steve Runner.

Playlist:

The Distance - Cake
Promontory - Charlie Gear
Better Now - Collective Soul
My Hero - Foo Fighters
Freedom! '90 - George Michael
Keep Away - Godsmack
Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
Just Like a Pill - Pink
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd

Music

You may have noticed that I have attached a playlist of some of the songs I find motivating while running. Of course, not all will suit your musical taste, but these are some of my favorites. I'll change it up periodically, maybe with some themed running playlists (religious, cover songs, 80's). Enjoy, and if you have any music recommendations, please let me know.

I also listen to Phedippidations podcast by Steve Runner a lot when I'm running. I find it very entertaining, but my wife can't stand it. So its up to you.

Restless

One of those nights were you just can't get into a deep sleep. Luke has been waking up the last few nights crying. The thing is, he's still asleep. So when we go up there we ask him if he's ok and he doesn't seem to know that he has been crying at all. Any parents out there with experience in this dept, please let me know. Rachel was tossing and turning all night too. Darn that stupid baby monitor, a drip of drool can fall from her mouth onto the crib mattress and it sounds like a shotgun going off through the monitor. I know you can adjust the volume, but its either almost silent or it picks up EVERYTHING, there's no in-between. But even before the Luke/Rachel all night party, I still had trouble getting to sleep. Turned the light out at 11 and tossed until about 1. It's on nights like that where I am determined to get up and run in the morning because that seems to be the only thing that makes me go right to sleep when my head hits the pillow.

So, 5 am, out the door. I can tell the days are getting shorter. But its still so freakin' humid out there. Toward the end of the run there was a hint of breeze, but it was still pretty much a sweat fest. I stopped once to change playlists on the ipod (OK, I REALLY needed a break and used the ipod as an excuse to stop). So 5 miles even at 9:18 pace. The pace would have probably considerably dropped if I hadn't taken a short break.

Playlist:
Last 25 minutes of Phedippidations 134: Online Training Logs
One - U2
Prison Bound - Social Distortion
Going Down - Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson
Freedom '90 - George Michael

New Mizuno Wave Precision 8's came in yesterday. I didn't run in them this morning, but I'm going to wear them today to break them in a little. That should bring my pace well below 8 min/mile when I where those bad boys. OK, well maybe not that much, but its still cool getting new shoes.

Humid Morning Run

With children 3 yrs and 5 mos, and a 14 yr old dog, getting a full night's sleep is like a unicorn. You've heard of it but haven't really ever seen one. That's why last night was so good, everyone slept all night and I awoke this morning ready to hit the roads. I was expecting cooler temperatures at 6 am. I suppose they were somewhat cooler than my run yesterday, but dog gonnit there was some humidity. The kind you feel like you're swimming through the air. But overall it was nice, the sun wasn't out and I didn't have to take any breaks.

I'm looking foward to running the half at the Spinx Runfest this year. I'll start the training cycle soon. Running a half doesn't get me as pumped up as running a full, but I just have too many things going on right now to train for a full marathon. I love the respect that the full marathoners command at the races. Even at check-in, the people working the desk seem to realize that these are a different breed of people. It's the one chance in any sport that I know of that mere mortals get to feel like an elite athlete.

Back at it

Well, Rachel is now nearly 5 months old. She's sleeping better for the most part, and our life has now retained some semblance of normalcy. I've started sneaking out every now and then for a run in the mornings when I can. I find that it helps me stay awake during the day if I can get my run in the morning.

I am going to try to do a better job at maintaining this blog for running and plus add a few personal thoughts and updates on the family. I've had blogs in the past for specific races (if you'd like to see the blog I kept while training for the St. Jude's Marathon in December, just go to www.myspace.com/palassis1). But it always seems to peter out and I lose some of the memories of those times in my life.

A little background that I promise never to bore you with ever again. I turned 32 in May, I am extremely happily married with 2 beautiful children (Luke is 3.5 and Rachel is 5 mos). Running has been my hobby for about 6 years now. I have 3 marathons under my belt, and countless race t-shirts in my closet. I live in the thriving metropolis of Easley, SC, where the drivers seem to take a special satisfaction in making me dive into a ditch at the last minute to avoid a very painful collision with their vehicle (Seriously people, would it kill you to swerve just a little into the other lane if there is no oncoming traffic?). I am by no means a fast runner, my PR for 5K is just below 22. I don't think I'm built for speed, but I can slog through high mileage runs and have a certain tolerance for pain. My PR for the marathon is 4:07. I want desperately to break 4 hours before I leave this world. We moved to the upstate from Savannah, GA in Oct 2007. The wife is from Gaffney and I am from Columbia and we both went to Clemson, so we were definitely excited when we found out we were returning to God's country.

On to today's run... most of my runs up to this point have been a 4.2 mile loop. We just returned from a vacation and my Garmin 305 is still packed up somewhere. But the old fashioned wristwatch shows it was completed in 40:20. I waited a little too late before getting out, it was probably in the low 90's by the time I started at 9:45. Not a breath of wind and no cloud cover. But hey, its getting me in better shape for those fall races. I am going to try to attach my running stats using the online log from "RunningAhead." Had to stop once in one of the very few shaded parts of the course for a breather.

I am a novice at this blogging thing, so if there is anything I left out or you would like to know, feel free to ask.

Jay

Nevus Shmevus

Well, its been nearly 3 weeks since Rachel was born. With the exception of still only getting 2-3 hrs of sleep at a time, things have settled down. My world was turned upside down when she came out and had a huge birthmark (called a congenital nevus) on the backside of her head. You have this mental image of what your child is going to look like when it comes out, and when it doesn't come out looking like that, it can be shocking.

For the next week after she was born, I went through some serious emotions. Why did this happen, how can she have a normal life. Then I did some researching and found out that other kids making fun of her might be the least of her worries.

Since then, while I'm not completely happy about our situation, I do realize that my sole job as her dad is to make her as happy and self-confident as possible. The rest is in God's hands. By the way, it still isn't fair. Luke has been an absolute dream in welcoming our new addition into our home. I've heard some horror stories about other siblings having a real hard time with it, so far he has been great.

Regarding running, I've gotten back onto the treadmill a couple of times this week. Its nice to get the blood flowing again, but I can't wait until Rachel's sleeping becomes more predictable so I can sneak out every once in a while for an outdoor run. I'm looking forward to the day when I can tackle another marathon. Must be the single biggest feeling of accomplishment in the world.