Good run

I think waiting an extra 30 minutes in this heat and humidity is the best thing to do. Went for a run around 7:30 last night and the sun was going down so it wasn't as hot but the humidity was very high still. I ran a good first mile and half with a 9 minute pace and then slowed it down to a 9:30 pace. I didn't bring my water bottle with me and it wasn't bad with out it. I was having a little stomach issue that made me walk a little but I worked through it. I am planning on doing 10 miles tomorrow morning on the greenway.

We are planning on going to the comedy club tomorrow night with all the neighborhood parents and it should be a good time with lots and lots of cold beer. I am wanting to run an easy 4 miles on sunday to help"earn" the cold beers.

Burning Rubber

I went for an easy run last night at 7 and in the second mile I started to get a couple of whiffs of what smelled like burning rubber. I didn't much of it and kept on chugging along. It was very hot and humidity was in the upper 90%. I stopped for a water break at the 2 mile mark and then started up again at a slower pace. I smelled the burning rubber again and then noticed that my feet and shoes were melting. I was born and raised in south Florida and am very experienced in the dangerous effect that heat and humidity have on a body, so I knew that I was not going to break any records and needed to take it easy and relax. I relaxed my shoulders and stopped focusing on the pain from my melting feet and took it very easy. When I became overheated I would stop and drink water and find some shade. I got home and looked like I went swimming, was happy to get the run done and over with.

4 miles
38:32

event filled weekend

I worked a half day on friday and was hoping to get some stuff done around the house. We had a retirement dinner to go to friday night and by the time we got home from the store, it was time to get ready for the dinner. We were late for the cocktail hour (which I am glad cause it was cash bar) and got there just as dinner was starting. We ended up having 2 drinks which I was happy with and wanted to get a run in in the morning. I had a lot of things to do to get ready for a dinner party at our house so I decided to get things ready first and then if I had time I would run. Well I never did get things done and never got a chance to run. We had lots of fun with the 5 other families and drinking cold beers and good food was making me forget about the missed run. The party lasted til 10:30ish (which is early for our group) and I cleaned up the house inside and out as the back yard was trashed. I did go for a run on sunday afternoon but was not able to finish as I didn't eat anything and the heat was too much. I am planing on trying again this evening. I am ready to pick up training and would like to do a 10 mile run on sunday.

winning the lottery and scuba running

Its been a couple years since I put all my scuba gear on and went for a dive on a reef. Now that we live in Charlotte and are hours away from a good dive, it seems to me that I have been wanting to don my gear and hit the streets. The first 3 miles felt like I had the whole ensomble with me, fins, knife, booties, weight belt, and pack with tank. Somehow when I stopped for a quick water break at the 3 mile mark, I lost all of the gear and really enjoyed the rest of the run. I forgot I was running and started to think about what a great day today is for me to be able to go for a run and everything I have in my life. I sometimes wonder what would it feel like to win the lottery. I have everything I could ever want and am the luckiest man alive. I am healthy and able to do things and see my family every morning and evening. I thought of the firefighters, all the people (military and civilians) away from their families, and all the people that have to travel for work and don't get to see their families. Thinking of all these people I really became focused and picked up the pace and felt great. I don't care if I win any money from the lottery cause I have everything that money can't buy!

7 milesish- 60 minutes

Charleston fire fighters

Having spent 4 years in Charleston and worked with all of the law enforcement and fire departments there while in the Coast Guard, it is very sad and hard to hear about the 9 heroes that lost their lives doing what they do best. I had the option and opportunity to join the fire department after serving my 4 years but decided to not stay in Charleston. I will keep the families and friends of the 9 firefighters in my prayers.

Weekend fun

Had a good weekend and a great run saturday morning. We did a different 6 mile loop with hills the last 2 miles that were not fun. We ran a 9:22 pace for all 6 even though he is a 8:30 pace runner. We started out with the first 4 miles around a 9:10 pace but the hills got the best of me. I usually hit the hills first and the rest of the run hurts, but having the hills at the end of the run was not fun either. I am going to run this again wednesday or thursday evening and hope we can do 8 miles on saturday. It was nice running with someone as he definetly helped push me to finish strong.

We went to the baseball game saturday night as a family and really had a good time. The setup they have there is real nice and there is a kid section with a merry-go-round and bouncy house that the kids can play on and my son had a blast. He stayed up all night and we watched the fireworks after the game. I didn't get to spend any time with him cause of the in-laws were taking him to the play area. I think in a couple years he will want to watch the game more and the guys will enjoy the game.

I set up a spiderman slip and slide yesterday and the big boy and I played on it for a little bit. He ended up with cuts and scratched all over his feet and legs and he doesn't even slide, he runs down the slide and drops in the landing area. We are having a neighborhood party on saturday at the house and he and all his neighborhood friends will be playing with it and his play set.

Have a great monday!

15 minute explosion

I had a great interval run last night and picked the pace up to around 9:30 as a core. I wanted to see if I could keep up with a faster pace as tomorrow I am running with someone from the neighborhood and he runs a 8:30 pace. I timed the intervals to coincide with hills and then decided to extend the distance to include the uphills as well. It has been a couple years since running a 8:30 pace and I don't know if I kept that pace for 6 miles. I was happy with my performance last night and am glad to see I still have some kick.

The little guy had an explosion as I was putting him to sleep last night and was uncontrollable for about 15 minutes. The last 5 minutes I spent trying to calm him down and when he finally did calm down, he was like it never happened. He laid down next to me in his bed and we talked about the cars he has and then he grabbed me for a big hug and kiss. He was out for the rest of the night about 30 seconds later and BSW(beautiful sexy wife) and I discussed the resemblance he has with her. Like a little version of her. By the way, the cause of the explosion was I turned his TV off as a commercial for a ice skating movie was coming on Disney channel.

We are planning on going to a minor league baseball game tomorrow night as a family and invited my in-laws to come also. They live about 10 minutes from us and help out tremendously with everything. I am looking forward to going to the game and letting my son experience a baseball game as my dad did with me and my brothers. Being from south Florida and having all the spring training camps close by was great and know the big boy will enjoy it as well as all of us will.

Happy Fathers day!!

The move to Charlotte

Had a good run last night of 4 miles that started out a little rough. By the 2 mile mark was feeling a little better and the last 2 were stronger. It was stormy around the neighborhood and it started to rain when I started, but it was only my street and once I was on my way it cleared up nice. I am planning on another 4-6 mile run thursday in hopes of running saturday morning 8 miles with a neighbor.

Before we moved to Charlotte, I was running everyday during lunch at work with a good group of coworkers. We had a some strong runners in the group and I was always in the back. My boss was a 100 mile runner and could do a marathon in under 4 hours. He is an amazing runner and really got all of us into running. We had several routes we could take through downtown Spartanburg and they all had hills, some were the worst I have ever seen. After running for over a year and half with my coworkers, we moved to Charlotte and I got a different job that is in downtown Charlotte and does not have any of the luxeries I had in Spartanburg (locker room, shower, and time) to run during my work day. We moved in to our house in September and in October I had the phase II melanoma removed and off the chart cholesterol counts. I was right on target weight wise and was a pretty healthy "specimen", but my Dr. told me that he wasn't worried about the skin cancer but we had to get my cholesterol down or I was going to die young.

I became a case study with a group of doctors cause of my cholesterol count. I was started immediately on Vytorin and it has helped lower my cholesterol but I still had a high count of tiny particles of cholesterol. He then started me on Niaspan and it helped lower my particle count a little. I have not had any side effects from my medicine except when I up the dosage of niaspan, I have a flush feeling the next day. Nothing that has slowed me down. The skin cancer has been the thing to slow me down in that I have to take precautions when ever I am going to do something outside. I have to go to both doctors office every 3 months and get blood drawn and my birthday suit checked out. When I get my blood drawn I can't eat or drink anything before I do so I usually go first thing in the morning. For my dermatology doctor I let her look me over over head to toe, inside all crevices included, which takes about 5 minutes and then pay my $45 copay. The derm. appt. goes to every 6 months once I hit the two year mark in October with no other melanoma. On top of all this, I have my second colonoscopy coming up in July and have to get one done every three years unless there is no other history of colon issues in my family.

All of this is very manageable and "easy" compared to others out there and I am very aware of how lucky I am to have it this easy. It does however make you think of how short life is and how important it is to Carpi Diem. Coming from a family of ten, I am very lucky to have the good health and good life that I have and I try not to take advantage of that. Fathers day is this weekend and I can't wait to be with the family all weekend and enjoy our great times together.

No run weekend

I didn't get a run in friday night cause of lightning striking trees in the back yard. I can handle rain but I know what damage lightning can do. We didn't get a drop of rain even though it was black as night all around us. I had family things to do saturday and then spent sunday doing chores around the yard. I have been asked to run with someone from another subdivision in my community, who is training to run the marine marathon in october and is looking to have company on long runs. I have run alone since moving to Charlotte 2 years ago but ran with a group everyday before that. I hope to pick up this training and take to the next level. Hoping to do 4 miles tonight but there are storms in the area again. We need the rain though.

Busy Bee

This is the play set we built in our backyard and part of the reason for my busy schedule with the honey-do list. It is awesome and the little guy has a great time playing in "his" backyard. I am at the point where I don't have to spend all day working on things and hope to pick up on weight training and running. I did go for a good run last night on the demand from Jason.

4 miles
9:30 pace

Congrats go to Jason on a great duathlon last weekend and I am very impressed with the big change he has made in his life. We worked together for a while and everything I know with computers I owe to him. He is a great guy and an amazing instructor that does a really good job no matter what he does. His wife and daughter are great also and wish we were still around greenville to hang out with them. The greatest thing about Jason in my mind is we have the same birthday (even though I am one year older). I would love to run the Richmond marathon with him but not sure at this point, we shall see.

Have a great wednesday!