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