And so this is Christmas.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas with lots of love and laughter. I worked everyday except Christmas and then came home to a sick wife and a loving son. I didn't get any chances to run or workout over the holidays but enjoyed the time with the wife and son. Still working on the new tv and hiding all the wires in the walls, which has left me with lots of scrapes and sliced up knuckles. The hard part is done now with patch and painting left. The hard part of this holiday is that I didn't start my shopping until an hour before the store closed on Christmas Eve but I finished it with plenty of time and all items were available.

I am planning on going for a run tonight (60 degrees) and then on New Years day (40 degrees). I am very busy at work over the holidays as well at home.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest.

chore filled weekend with a run in

I had lots of things on my honey-do list and it started Saturday morning at 7. I had to take the beautiful wife's vehicle in to get serviced at 7 am so I woke up early and headed out. I decided to do some Christmas shopping across the street while the shop worked on the vehicle and nothing was open for another hour. So I walked around the plaza planning out the shopping exercise until Target opened at 8. Vehicle was done early and I finished the shopping soon after that. I got home and started on the honey-do list right away. When I was done with setting the TV up, I went for a good 6 mile run in a light mist. Felt great throughout the whole run with 5 miles being my usual route through development, the last mile or so was through the small trail we have in our development. If I run the development trail I usually start with the trail in the first part of the run and finish on the road, so this was different but great. Some of the low areas had mud and water so I had to be careful through there but was nice to get some trail running in. Finished with 6 miles done with a 9:30 pace for the whole run. I started right back up the honey-do list upon my return and didn't stop until dinner time.

Sunday was family time and the big boy and I played outside some and then played with some neighbors inside. We had a blast with our neighbors while catching up with all the goings on. I did not complete the choir list as well as the Christmas shopping so I am a very busy man this week.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

relaxing evening

I didn't get a run last night or a daily core exercises in either. I don't fell bad or worried about except for the fact that I am going to a hockey game and lots of beer drinking tonight with coworkers. I haven't done anything like this on a weeknight since being married, so I deserve this. I will have to get a run/workout done thursday night and friday night.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest!

Weekend work and run

Had a very busy weekend with a 52" LCD tv mounting and installation complete with running all wires through the walls. I was thinking that it would only take up some of the day saturday but I started at 8 am and didn't stop until 9 pm. We moved are old projection tv to a friend of ours house so I moved that and my butt muscles are sore now. It is all complete now and we are so happy to be done and enjoying our new tv. I woke up early sunday and decided to go for a run in the cold morning. I was bundled up though for a good 5 mile run even though I warmed up after the 2 mile mark but was so happy to be outside. I then came home to enjoy my coffee so I could put up my neighbors Christmas lights as they are too old to do it and I like to make everyone happy.

I am going to list my HBBC points on the right side of the blog to keep track as suggested by Run to Finish. She asked me about my core workouts and if there were any that helped with my running. I do a mixture of exercises starting with a 20 rep of dumbell curls or something similar. I then do 30 sit-ups, followed by 30 pushups. Then 20 leg lifts followed by 30 closed grip pushups. Then 30 crunches followed by 10 pull-ups. I do this everyday and also a 30 push-up, 20 ab-roller, 15 closed grip pushups first thing in the morning. The morning routine drives my wife nuts but I love it as it gets me up and going for the day.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and you need to tell them your love for them every chance you can also. Live everyday to the fullest.

full moon run

I set out last night for a 4 mile run and was lucky enough to not have any rain during the run. It was a little warmer during the run then it has been in a while so I really enjoyed that. The light coming off of the full moon was awesome as it lit some of the ground and all of the sky, very beautiful night. Did my core workout exercises before the run again which took some of my energy away from the run. Was a great run though and I was happy to be outside running.

HBBC= 7 points + 1.5 points for workout two nights before.

I am planning on getting two runs this weekend even though my schedule is full setting up our Christmas present of a big LCD hdtv above the fireplace and other things around the house. Looking forward to it all.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest!

finally a run

I went out for a run last night finally even though it was a little cold. I layered up nicely so I was not worried at all about the cold weather. I did my 4 mile loop with the first mile feeling like I was running on pegs. It really felt great to be out for a run and the night sky was absolutely beautiful. I kept a nice 10 minute pace for the whole run even though I had a small knee pain for a couple of minutes. Did a good workout segment before the run and then followed the run with a long stretching session to get 6 points for HBBC. Planning on doing a good workout this evening at home to keep things going.

Good job to all who ran races this weekend and a couple of qualifiers. Way to go.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live life to the fullest everyday.

cancer sucks my left

Had a good weekend with the beautiful wife and big boy son although there was no workout or running. There was a long list of things that I needed to get done around the house which I did so it was not a total waste. The wife and I had a Christmas work party for her work to go to saturday night and then Sunday was the big boys birthday party. Great times had by all at all activities and good pics as well.

The damn cancer thing is al over the place lately and battles are being fought and some are being lost. My cousin just completed surgery for her breast cancer and went well during surgery. I am praying that this battle is completly defeated soon and she can claim victory, having lost her mom last year to this bastard. Another family member and the biggest part of my life is still fighting and has good days and bad. I completely treasure every second that I have been able to spend with him and remain positive through this time.

Lastly, I have followed the blog and fight of Erica for the past year and a half. She is such a beautiful person inside and out that even a blog reader can feel the large loss of her passing. Erica, you will be missed and God bless you and your family.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest.

**HBBC- 6 points**

no wet cold run

Was dressed and ready to go for a run last night but as I was walking out the weather decided to change with cold rain. I did my 30 minute workout before and decided with the traveling last weekend as well as the tired long week, a cold wet run would not be worth it. I will get some runs in this weekend as well as my 30 minuteish workouts.

I am thinking of putting together some activities to do for raising money for fighting Cancer organizations. I am in the brainstorming part right now and well post my plan here when I have one.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get! Live life to the fullest everyday! Good luck to those running races this weekend.

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

I am gonna do the Holiday Bootie Buster being put on by Run to Finish. I always try to do something active everyday and it is going to be nice to be a part of something. I don't believe in focusing on races or competition for staying fit but just living everyday to the fullest and teaching my big boy son to be active. I have been taking it easy since being back home with only a shortened exercise routine and no running. It is cold here as well as being tired from the traveling has me not wanting to get sick by over doing it.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest.

Best Thanksgiving weekend ever!

I was very stressed and tense for a week leading up to the holiday weekend. I was worried about the long drive down to south Florida with all the crazy drivers out there. It was a long drive that took 12 hours and getting in to my parents house at 3 am. I woke up at 7am and hung out for a little with my mom and little sister. I decided to go for a run while my mom went to the store for a couple of things. I did a quick 3 mile run through my old stomping grounds and really enjoyed the flatness. The temp was perfect and no issues what so ever. When I got back to the house I helped my mom with a couple of things and then we all got ready for our family pic. Everyone was there except my beautiful wife and big boy which hasn't happened since my wedding over 7 years ago.

The rest of the day only got better and we played games outside, drank, joked, talked, and visited with old friends. The meal was awesome with tons of good food and cold beers. My family are the biggest Dallas Cowboy fans so we all watched the game while the wives talked. A couple of my brothers and I played football against another 3 boys and we beat them pretty good. When it was over with and everyone went the seperate ways, I decided to head over to my best friends house to hang out for a little. Two of my brothers, best friend and myself hung out and talked til around 11ish about anything and everything in his back patio. I slept on his sofa and had one of the best night sleeps ever. We woke up around 8 when his wife was leaving for work and had breakfast. I said I was planning on going to the beach and running and my best friend said he would ride his bike with me. We loaded up and made plans to go out on the boat later with my brothers and SIL. We drove to a shopping center parking lot in Deerfield beach in which we started from there and began to cross a intercoastal waterway bridge which started to open for a boat so I had to really run fast. When we got to the beach we stopped for a second to look at the awesome flat ocean. I proceeded to run north up to Boca inlet and decided to keep going to the next main intersection of Palmetto. We stopped there for a second and I talked to another brother and then my wife called. We turned around and headed back along A1A to our starting point. Before we were headed to the bridge I thought I saw my brother and his family driving along the beach so I said hey lets go see if we can find them. So we went a mile down the beach and didn't see them so we headed back to the car. We did a total of 7.6 miles at a 10 minute pace according to nike+ which doesn't account on the stopping. Absolutely was one of the best mornings, runs, and times I have had. We then headed to another brothers house to meet up with my family (which did not go to the beach) and made a timeline for the boat outing. We went out on my best friends boat and cruised up the intercoastal to the Hillsboro inlet and anchored next to the beach and dredging barge. We all hung out on the beach for a little while and then we decided to go to the top of the lighthouse. Absolutely awesome up there and having been born and raised in south Florida, this was one of the coolest things I have done there as you could see forever up there. When we got back on the boat we discovered that the battery had died and the anchor didn't set so we drifted to the barge. I dove down to get the anchor and had to swim out with the anchor about 100 yards and set it in deeper water away from the barge. What a workout and as I finished this the sea-tow boat showed up to give us a jump. We headed back to dock and then went straight back to my brothers for a bbq cookout. My dad was too sick to come so it was just all the brothers and sisters hanging out and eating while some were making fun of each other. A couple of brothers and sisters and I decided to go see a movie so we drove there and saw the new bond movie. Come 12:30 I am at my parents house and going to sleep. Wake up at 6:30 and decided to hang out and enjoy the day with my family at home. I helped my mom get the Christmas stuff out of the garage and did other things around the house to help out. All of the brothers and sisters showed up for lunch and then I decided to leave the next day for a long drive back. Went to church that night with the family to our church where I haven't been since my wedding and then went and had a great dinner at home. I went to the store and got a real tree for my family and put it up for them. My other best friend came over later that night and we talked for a little until they went home. My dad and I watched a football game until 12 and then talked for little. We went to sleep and then woke up at 7 to leave. It took us 14 hours to get home to Charlotte that day as South Carolina was the worst state with stopped traffic. Abolsutely awesome time and I would do it again today to see family and friends.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live everyday to the fullest.
Happy Birthday Big boy! 5 years old today!

cold night run

Well, I didn't get out for a run the other night like I was hoping for. But I did go for a short 4 mile run last night with the reflective vest on. The run was good and the vest didn't cause any issues at all. It was cold and my ears-sinuses hurt at the half way point. I didn't wear any head gear and I had my headlight on so I took it off and carried it in my hand which helped. I was happy to get a run in during the week as I started to feel like a weekend warrior a little.

It looks like it is going to be a cold weekend here and I am getting excited to go to south Florida next week and get some runs in. I am driving down with one of my younger brothers and no beautiful wife and big boy which I am both happy and sad about. I will miss them but will try to take advantage of the time away with my family.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and is able to get out for a run or walk. Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Live life to the fullest everyday!

veterans golf and a great saturday run

I decided to not run last week until saturday because I was not feeling great when I got home everyday. I am glad I took it easy during the week and really enjoyed playing golf with 2 guys from work on tuesday which was veterans day. Golf was awesome and we had a great time with some good golf mixed in. The only problem with it was it took us all day to play 18 holes but glad we played. I guess it wiped me out though and now I would love to get the driver I was sampling from the clubhouse, I went this driver straight and very long.

I was able to have saturday to myself for a couple of hours since the big boy wanted to go to his grandparents house. I got stuff done around the house and then went for a run around lunch time. It was very windy out with some gusts blowing around 20ish knots and at one point when I was running into the wind, the wind picked me up some. It was a great run and I did a good 5 mile route with a 9:30ish pace. I picked up a safety vest at the store this weekend for my night runs and I am planning on giving it a try tonight.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and live life to the fullest.

a great run

Had a great weekend with spending good times with the beautiful wife and the big boy. We hung out at the house and played some and then went to a park and played some more. The beautiful wife and I went on a date to dinner and a movie which we saw Zack and Miri make a porno. The dinner was awesome at a mexican restaurant Cantina 1115. The movie was good but not one of Kevin Smith's best.

On sunday, I got some small things done around the house and then went for a run. I started the run feeling good and was happy to be out during the daytime and wanted to just enjoy the run. With just under a mile left to go, the nike+ training run came on the ipod which was a 20 minute pace builder. I did the training run which increased my distance some and also my pace. I was spent though when it was over which was nice. I did have some chaffing going on in the crotch area and a weird cut on top of one of my toes. Not sure how that happened. I will try to get more workouts like that from Nike+.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and live everyday to the fullest!

a welcome shower

After taking all of last week off from running and working out, I was determined to start this week off right and go no matter what. So I headed out around 7:30 in a light mist rain. I was going slow the whole time to prevent injury with a focus on relaxing and enjoying the run. And I did. Was a great run the whole 4 miles and at the turn around point, the light mist started to become a real good down pour. It only lasted for about a minute which isn't bad and I was wearing a hooded vest which helped. As I was ending the run it really started to rain hard so I ran the last 200 yards in an all out sprint (uphill). As soon as I get to the house and in the garage, it stops raining. I am so happy to be back out running again no matter the weather.

Love and hug your loved ones and live life to the fullest everyday!

Feelings!

time off

Not much going on here except trying to stay warm and healthy. The big boy has an ear infection and I have had sinus issues all week so I am using these as excuses to slack some on the running and workout routines. I am going to get back in the swing of things tonight but I won't go for a run until saturday morning. I recieved news this week that another family member of mine has just been diagnosed with breast cancer at a very young age. It is hard for me to handle all of these medical issues right now but I am getting through it. My cousin has a very treatable kind of breast cancer which is good news and I will do anything to help her, even though I haven't seen her in a long time.

My heart and prayers go out to fatty and his family. Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and don't wait to say or do something with them. Live life to the fullest every chance you get.

weekly routine

We have a routine in our household that is pretty consistent as well as what I consider lucky. The wife and I work Monday through Friday only 8-5 jobs with nothing but family time all the rest of our time. We know we are very lucky to have this kind of schedule and we don't want to change any of it but maybe have more family time. Trying to get some time in for our health is tough but definetely doable. Both the beautiful wife and I have very short exercise routines during the week so it doesn't impose on any family time but still allowing us to get them done. Sometimes I feel like we are stuck in a rutt and we need to change things up a bit to get more out of our routines and health. I don't like feeling this way especially since we just came back from vacation in which I did different routines that were awesome. I think I need to go for a good trail run this weekend to rid myself of this rutt feeling. That is the best thing about running, finding a different place to run to break the rutt feeling is as easy as just doing it. The world is our course and our legs are our means. Get out and go.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and live life to the fullest everyday!

a little chilly run

What a great 4 mile run last night with the temps being a little chilly for shorts and short sleeve shirt but perfect for picking up the pace. The sky was clear with stars filling up the sky helped keep me relaxed and feeling really good. I kept a good pace the whole run with the nikeplus stating a 9:00 pace average. Here is a pic of the fam at the beach.


Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and live everyday to the fullest!

long time no blog

We are back getting into the swing of things after a week long vacation trip to see family and friends in Florida. Was a great time with great weather which helped us do everything we had wanted to do on this trip. I was extremely busy at home and work before we left and a personal issue that I am going through has not helped. I have been getting runs in though and even did two good runs on vacation with a great run on the beach. We did a trip to Disney for Mickey's not so scary Halloween which was lots of fun. We did Disney Studios the next day with one of my brothers and the wife's best friend also. Good times had by all with nothing but laughs for everyone.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and live life to the fullest everyday!

Busy, busy

Have been very busy lately and have had very little time for running and working out. I did make it out for a quick 4 mile run last night with a good strong 9 minute pace. The weather has been perfect lately which has made missing runs and workouts tough. I have some family visiting this weekend so I'll have to get out early this weekend for my runs. I had an awesome birthday this week and enjoyed going for donuts with the big boy in the morning and a nice family dinner in the evening. Absolutely worth the missed run and workout.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

needing a run

I have been feeling down a little for the past couple of days because of talk of my dad and the big "C" word. We don't know much of anything for sure but he is going to have surgery sometime in the near future. I heard from a sibling that there is a "mass" around his pancreas. I think we are all trying to stay positive about the whole thing and not assuming anything. I have been having a hard time staying positive though and really am fighting the negative thoughts. I couldn't run over the weekend due to the beautiful wife's birthday and her friend visiting from LA. So last night I finally got out for a much needed run. I felt great and the weather was amazing, fall is here for sure. I do feel better since the run and I think the time alone was what I really needed.

Love and hug your LOVED ones every chance you get and live life to the fullest everyday!

4 slow miles and cooler weather coming

Went for a short 4 mile run last night just to keep the mucles moving in the legs. The mucles were a little tight but there were no real issues once I got moving. Weather wasn't too bad for the run and I came home to eat dinner and stretch. I had no time to do anything else but glad I got the run done. It is raining and getting a little cold outside today which is making me excited for fall. I love the warm weather and also love the cold weather, as long as I get to go outside and live in it.

That was awesome!

Woke up early on Saturday to get a long run in no matter what. I was feeling good heading out in a foggy and hazzy morning with a determinination to go as long as I could. There was a ton of garage sales going on in our community as well as the development that is connected to ours (which I don't normally run through). I was feeling good the whole way and also feeling strong. I had a bottle of my watered down gatoraid and some sharkies gummies. I took them at around the 3 mile and 6 mile mark which was perfect. I ended up running 8.6 miles in 1 hour and 30ish minutes. Felt great even though I was soaked from head to toe with sweat pouring off of my hat brim. I stretched at home and was going about starting my day when the wife yells at me to get the patio completed. So I changed clothes and went rock shopping. Came home and started to dig the 6 inches for the patio base and stones. I then went to the rock store and bought the 2000 lbs of stone and proceeded to load the flagstone rocks into the back of our minivan and then drive home to unload the stones and go back for more. I worked outside in the 90 degree heat and 98% humidity for over 8 hours, as well as the long run in the morning. I drank so much glasses of water and was soaked with sweat all day. I got the patio partially temporarily completed though for the visit of a frien of my beautiful wife this weekend. I took 3 ibuprofrin and called it a night. I was done. I am glad I did all that on saturday and spent all day sunday with the big boy at a birthday party and playing with his friend, good time.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

a needed run

I needed to get out for a run as soon as possible to clear up all the thoughts in my head. As soon as I could last night I went for a great 5 mile run and it was absolutely awesome. I felt good during the whole run with a strong focus the whole run of how awesome my life is and has been. I am really lucky to have done all that I have and I wouldn't change anything. I don't like the fact that I assumed the worst with my dad and told myself during the run to not let something that could happen overtake and occupy what is happening. What is happening is everything is awesome and wonderful and I need to let everyone know.

I came home after the run and the big boy and beautiful wife told me I was gone for a long time. I feel bad that I am gone for some time during family time and will probably keep to shorter runs during the week. I am planning on getting a long run in this weekend early in the morning.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

My son

My big boy son is growing so fast in both size and emotionally. The big boy has always been taller than most of the kids his age and has been maintaining his height growth all along. The big boy is also growing emotionally more and more everyday and I want this to always continue. I always make time for him and all that he does and wants to do as well as try my best to explain as much as I can to him about all that life has to give. He loves learning about everything there is in life and I love teaching him that anyone and everyone can learn to think how wonderful life is. I believe in the positive way of thinking and use this thinking in explaining to the big boy how things happen and for him to decide on the best way to go about things. He is a very quick learner on everything which makes his beautiful mother and I very happy and proud. One of the many talents and gifts I have in this world is the ability to always keep things on a slow and even pace so as to enjoy all that this wonderful life has to offer to all living things. I believe all living things are blessed in many ways and concentrating on the positives (protagonists) is better for all in this world and the short time we are all here.

My big boy cried a couple of weeks ago because he didn't want anyone to die. I tried to explain to him that everything has to die someday but not to think of that but always think of how awesome it is now and enjoy all there is to enjoy today. I believe he understood my point but it was very cute that the first person he said he didn't want to die was "coach" ( my father). Having only seen him maybe once every year of his life, I wondered how and why he thought of my dad first. I have thought about this also but I haven't spoken to anyone about it. To many people that know my dad, he may be a little strange. Like he wants all of his grandkids to call him coach. He lives for youth soccer with almost every day is consumed in shome fashion with soccer. He used to coach, he still refs games almost once a week, and helped start a breakaway league of soccer in our hometown. Soccer has been a way of life at my parents home since I can remember and my grandmother used to say "I think he will miss my own funeral because of soccer!" He didn't miss her funeral or even come close but youth soccer is his life.

Anyway, I find out through my sisters facebook page that he was in the hospital for the last couple of days because of some sickness. What??? After several calls to my siblings, I finally discover that he had some tests done and we will find out next week the results. No need to panic but this has me wondering and thinking deeply. I came to the conclusion that I am not ready for his death, even though I have been trying to mentally and emotionally prepare myself for this. I consider myself phsycologically strong with a strong determination to live life to the fullest everyday. In the couple of hours following this news I am beginning to think otherwise. I stayed calm and talked myself through this and have told myself to continue to be strong and love all of life and its many blessings.

Love and hug your loved ones and tell your Dad's (and Mom's) you love them! God bless all the family and loved ones of all that were lost 7 years ago today! God Bless USA!

good weekend and new car

I didn't get any runs in this weekend as I was enjoying time with the beautiful wife and we slept in real late on sunday. The big boy was over the in-laws for the night so the misses and I went out to dinner at Outback where we enjoyed each other as well as the awesome food. The beautiful wife wanted to look into getting a new car so we headed to the dealership on sunday after we woke up late to attempt getting a new car. It took us almost all day but we did get a new car which we absolutely love. I was planning on going for a run afterwards but the in-laws had dinner ready for us already and I had a list of chores to get done. I had very bad pain in the right side of my back all last week which I finally was able to shake on saturday, so letting my back rest for two days was a good choice.

I did go for a short slow run last night with a plan of getting out and just going. Very humid out but it wasn't too bad. I am looking forward to getting some more runs in this week.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get! Later gators!

Storms

I haven't had any chances to go for a run this week but I am planning on getting in at least one this weekend. It does depend on the weather as Hanna heads up the coast. I hope we get lots of rain from this storm and I will go out in the rain and wind.

These storms make me miss the Coast Guard and the weeks of getting ready and then spending days and weeks helping people who weren't ready. I remember growing up at home with hurricanes hitting south Florida all the time. My dad owned a business on the beach and we would have to go help "tape" the windows and schools being out. I remember one storm hitting us and knocking the power out as we all slept in the family room so we could all see the storm together. We played board games and went outside when the eye of the storm came through, good times. Now Andrew is a different story, I was the last flight into to Homestead air base and then getting ready for the storm had a different urgency to everyone (even though it was real nice the day before the storm hit). When the storm hit, I, we, everyone was pretty scared and there were times during the night that I thought for sure we were all being wiped from the earth. I was "visiting" south Florida with a mission to buy a vehicle, after Andrew came through, that changed to helping anyone and everyone.

Times are a different now and the media love showing and giving time to the people that complain. If I lived in a "city" that is below sea level, I would have an understanding that there are going to be flooding issues. Anyway, I hope everyone stays safe and uses common sense.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

labor day weekend and World human race 10k

What an amazing weekend we had with hot temps but lots of good times with great people. We spent saturday chillin at the house with only a quick trip to the store as a family. Our neighbors down the street came over in the evening and ended up staying for dinner with our big boy and their big boy having lots of fun while playing together. We all played on the play set for a while which the 2 boys loved.

I woke up very early on sunday and headed to my favorite trail for a 6.5 mile run as I signed up for the Nike+ World human race 10k run. I had a fiber one bar for breakfast on the way there as the sun was coming up, I was feeling pretty good with no issues. I hadn't had many runs lately as well as any long runs, but the last couple of runs have been strong. I loaded up with a bottle of gatorade and some sharkies gummies and started out feeling good. I was aiming for a good strong pace for the first 2 miles and then just trying to get through the next rough 2 miles and then hopefully picking it back up to finish the last 2 miles strong. I did really well the first 2 miles and walked at the 2 mile mark with a quick drink of gatorade and some sharkies. I picked it back up going into the next hard 2 miles with several quick ups and downs. The weather was great although it was very humid so i was soaked with sweat the whole run. I had to walk a little in the middle of the tough 2 miles section but was still feeling good. When I got back out to the last 2 miles of easier trail, I picked it back up. I finished the run real strong and a time of 1 hour and 13 minutes. Very happy with my run overall even though I have not had many runs as of lately. Came home to a beautiful wife and awesome big boy waiting for me as we had breakfast and coffee.

We had plans to go to the city festival of Matthews alive with several of our neighbors and their kids. We got to the event at noon and walked around for the first couple of minutes. The heat was so extreme that the objective of the whole thing for us became to enjoy what we could from the shade. The kids had lots of fun with the beautiful wife and I spent all of our money on rides and food. I got a $8 quesidilla that was actually not bad for fair food. The big boy loved the event as well as both the misses and I loving every single second. The big boy and I went on a merry-go-round ride which was nice to enjoy some breeze. Then the beautiful wife and big boy went on a small train ride that he loved. We left after the train ride and went home to drink tons of water.

Monday was a nice and relaxing day at home with no plans or desire to do anything or go anywhere. We did end up going to babies-r-us for some baby shower gifts. The inlaws came with us and then wanted to go to dinner.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

weekend

I was not able to go for a run from Thursday all the way to Sunday due to the beautiful wife being sick with strep throat. No biggie as the beautiful wife and big boy son are the most important things in my life. I was able to get a run in last night between rain storms and loved it. I decided that I was going to take it very easy and enjoy it which I did every second of it. I maintained under a 10 minute pace for the 4 miles which I started out a little tight but loosened up at the turn around. I was able to play a round of golf on Sunday with my neighbor but the fact that I haven't even held a club in over 8 months, I was not very good. Every joint and muscle in my body is hurting bad though from playing golf so I was hoping to work the kinks out of my system, which I think I did.

The big boy had his first sleep over ever on Saturday night and they were so good. I didn't think they would actually go through with the sleep over and when they went to sleep at 10 and didn't wake up until 8:30, I couldn't believe my eyes. Great time and the boys are absolutely wonderful. I unfortunately didn't take pictures so we will have to do it again.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

missed weekend run and bike

Didn't do much this past weekend with no running or biking at all. I was planning on going for a long trail run on sunday, but the rain and thunder/lightening made those plans sleep in. I did go for a quick short run last night after cutting the grass. I kept a 9:20ish pace over the 4 miles which felt good. I am feeling a little sore and tight today as a price for doing so much in one day, on a monday as well. I felt bad for not doing anything this weekend though.

I did enjoy some good time with the big boy on saturday and sunday with us walking down to visit his friends in the neighborhood and play. We haven't done that in a while as July was very busy for us. We only hung out for an hour or two but it was good to spend time with them.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

even better 6er

Did another 6 miler last night with a feeling that I was strong and ready to pick up the pace. I thought I was going stronger with a much faster pace but all nike+ told me otherwise. I believe I did have a 8:30 mile in the middle of the run with a sense that I could carry that the whole way through. Two great runs back to back is so nice which I am not going to take for granted. Thank you to all! I am missing a trail run some so I think I may go to the trail this weekend for a long one.

I have been following along on the web of Karl Metger's applachian trail assault. He is goign for the speed record of the applachian trail, check it out here.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. Have a great weekend and good luck to all the runners and Karl.

great 6 mile run

Went for a run last night and was one of the better runs I've had in a long time. I was haiving some intestinal issues all day so I wasn't sure I was going to go. The beautiful wife was planning on being home late after working out but when she cancelled that and was home on time. I debated if I should go or do something else but I decided just go for it. As soon as I started I was feeling pretty good, no issues. I felt strong and good the whole run with an average pace of 9:15ish. I ended up going the 6 mile route backwards around my community. Weather was nice with overcast and temps in the mid to low 80's. I really enjoyed the whole run with only a small issue of a blister on the bottom of my foot, but I didn't let it affect anything.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

a small brick

Had a good productive weekend at our house and got lots of small things done that needed to be completed a long time ago. The weather was perfect this weekend which was such a welcomed site. I didn't get any exercise done on saturday but I moved our old entertainment center from upstairs to the battered woman shelter for a donation. All by myself, no help at all with the two six feet tall bookcases and the wood brodge that goes across for a big screen tv. Wasn't bad but it definetely wasn't easy.

I did a small brick workout on sunday with a 4 mile bike ride followed by a 3 mile run. The bike ride wasn't too bad but I know I am really out of shape. The run was good with a small issue of a cramp in my side. Don't know why but I have had a small cramp on the last couple of runs. After the first mile and half, I finished strong with no pain. Maybe I am running to slow in my new shoes. Don't know what the problem is but I am enjoying being out so I don't mind walking or running. I am planning on riding the bike again on wednesday or thursday.

Hope everyone has a good monday. Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

New shoes

Had a great weekend even though the big boy is sick and I had a little sinus issues. The big boy and I had lunch with my parents and brothers/sister on the other side of town on saturday. The sears repairman was coming to finish repairing our 2 month old washer machine and I didn't hear from him before we left so I took a chance of missing either lunch or the repair. Quick lunch at Sonic with a hand off of items for me and my brother needing a ride back to his school as my family was headed down to south Florida. As we are leaving sonic enroute to the school 2 exits down the highway, guess who calls, the sears repairman. After dropping the bro off at school, the big boy and I make it home in time for the sears man to come in the house and inform us that it is the wrong piece they ordered! Glad I didn't wait around all day for that waste of time. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at home and playing together.

The beautiful wife and mother-in-law made plans to go to the outlet mall to get the big boy some shoes which I thought would be good to go shopping as well. The big boy gets 3 pair of cool shoes and on the way out, I see a nice pair of running shoes. I haven't had a new pair of running shoes in a long, long time so... I got em and they were really cheap with no sales tax! Got home and attempted to test out the new shoes. Felt amazing the first mile and I haven't had this feeling in a long time. I had a small bottled water with me but was starting to get a cramp just after a mile so I walked and drank some of the water I brought. I walked and ran a 3 mile route with a cramp the whole time but really enjoyed the news shoes. I wasn't feeling great all weekend and have not been properly hydrating and fueling for any runs let alone a humid hot run. I'll try again tomorrow maybe.


Love and hug your loved ones!

back to shorty

Went for a nice short 3 mile run last night with a storm threatening to unleash itself but never did. It was very humid and I was hoping that it would rain to rinse the sweat off of me. When I left work in uptown Charlotte it was like a small 10 minute hurrican had hit and I had to walk my 6 blocks to get to the bus stop. The wind was blowing close to 40 knots I guess and blew me into the street at one point. Sure enough that by the point that we get to our house, not a drop. The run was good though and the legs were a little tight but was happy to get out and get moving. Busy weekend at the home front this weekend that we will enjoy not having any travel plans and staying at home. Much rest is needed after last weekends adventure and a long week of work.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Tired mountain weekend

I planned a trip up to the mountains of NC last weekend to see family and have some fun just like years past. Last year, it was a boys weekend as I took my big boy up to my parents cabin and we had a great time. This year my wife decided to go with us and we were going to pick up one of my brothers on the way. The wife wanted to leave saturday morning so I decided to mow the grass and get a run in friday evening. The run was good and very humid but I was able to get 5 miles in. I was planning on getting everything packed and loaded friday night also so we could wake up and go. Seeing as I didn't get back from the run until 9:45 and haven't eaten dinner, I knew there was no way to get that done so I would wake up early and get going. After eating dinner I went upstairs to pack some and the beautiful wife and big boy were arguing over sleeping so I took over and finally went to sleep with the big boy in our bed at midnight. I did wake up at 7 and packed and loaded the van as the wife took her time (she isn't excited to see my family) but an hour after I had planned to leave, we were off. Picked my brother up on the way and proceeded on the 3.5 hour drive to the cabin. 15 minutes away from the cabin, we (I) missed the exit from the highway and didn't realize until I noticed we were about 5 miles to Tennessee. Going through the mountains on a highway did not allow us to exit and turnaround so 37 miles later, we were turned around and headed back to where we needed to be.

Finally getting to the mountains and trying to meet up with my parents at a festival in Waynesville, the big boy got freaked out about something and wanted to go to the cabin. So we told my parents that we would be at the cabin and they could stay at the festival so the big boy could play. We had fun at the cabin as another brother of mine (one below me) and a family friend drove up from Orlando to visit also. My brothers went kayaking on a river and I could of gone but wanted to spend time with my wife and son so I stayed at the cabin. We went for a family walk later up the mountain and enjoyed the amazing views and millions of butterflies. We had a great family dinner at the cabin made by my step mom and really enjoyed the evening. We all watched tv and/or movies while some read books.

Now came time for everyone to sleep and this cabin has only 4 beds but there were 10 people in the cabin. So, everyon goes to the proposed beds and my wife and I were suppose to sleep in a bed in the same room as my parents when my wife comes out of the room and says, "I can't sleep in there cause your mom is snoring!" So I tell my little sister to go sleep in the bed we were going to sleep in and we would sleep on the sofa and the recliner. The wife went to sleep on the recliner and exhausted me slept on the recliner with no blanket or sheet or anything. I did sleep some but didn't mind to much about not sleeping but was worried about the wife and big boy. We all woke up and had a quick breakfast and then the Orlando group had to leave. The big boy freaked out again and wanted to take pictures instead of being in the pictures. We then went to church and had a great breakfast at my favorite country club in Waynesville.

Needless to say that after a long and sleepness night, I have been exhausted all week and have not had any runs or workouts. I am feeling better today and am planning on getting a run in tonight. Was a great time up at the mountains with family and can't wait til next year to do it again, but next time I'm going longer and doing more.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Finally a run

Went for a 6 mile run last night before the rains moved through our neck of the woods. I struggled through some of the run as 2 weeks off of running will do. It was really humid as I was sweatting before even leaving the house. My neck was hurting some from reading some of the book Born Standing Up by Steve Martin on the bus ride home. I couldn't releave the tension until after the run when I got home and stretched. I kept a good 10 minute pace and walked twice to take in some water. On the last mile it started to rain with just a couple of the biggest rain drops I've ever seen and not a single one was getting me and I wanted to be washed!

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Not much

Not much going on here in my neck of the woods. Our focus has been on spending good time as a family since we were out of town the weekend before witout our big boy. I decided not to go for any runs so I can spend time with the big boy as much as possible. We are going up to the mountains of NC this weekend to spend with my family from Florida at the cabin they rent every year. I am very excited to go because I love the area with such beauty and plenty of fun things to do. I am planning on getting a run in tonight as the weather is not dangerous hot today.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get, and do your best to have laughs with them also.

7 years of love

The beautiful wife and I celebrated 7 years of marriage with a wonderful trip to Charleston SC. The first day was spent with some old friends of ours from Greenville with an amazing breakfast made by their son and then we all went for a boat ride around Charleston harbour in their boat. I was stationed there for 4 years in the Coast Guard and loved every second of it. The boat ride brought so many memories back while we all enjoyed an absolutely beautiful day on the water. We enjoyed sitting on the beach with me in the shade relaxing all of our worries away. Then my cell phone rings and our a/c people call and say it is going to cost $800 dollars to tear apart our house to find a small leak in the a/c system. This really pissed my beautiful wife and me off and we told them to not touch anything else and get the hell out of their. My father-in-law was there and got it back up running while mother-in-law made an appointment with their a/c company. As of right now, nothing is knowingly wrong with the a/c system but we are keeping a very close eye on it.

The bed & breakfast we stayed was awesome as it was right on the battery and 2 of the rooms are haunted. We were in the room between the 2 haunted rooms and didn't see anything. We ate at some amazing restaurant with some of the best meals I have ever had. The city has improved on several things since I lived there which was some 18 years ago. We enjoyed all that the city had to offer with a good ghost tour of the city one late night, long walks around the city, and afternoons chillin on the great beaches. I was able to go for a 4 mile run one morning through the city with several greetings from the local aquatic wildlife there. As I ran along the harbour, several dolphins were playing in the water some 100 feet from me, absolutely awesome.

I'll post more later. Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Happy 4th of July

Hope everyone had a good 4th and ours was nice and fun. We went to a kids parade at a close by community that has a decorated kids fun parade. We went with several of our neighbors and walked with our kids as they rode their patriotic decorated bikes.

We played around the little park there for a while and ate the .50 hotdaogs and drinks. We did this last year and we will continue doing this every year. It was a very hot day but I had planned ahead and brought our 2 outside sunbrellas and chairs and really enjoyed the event. We then went to our houses for a couple of hours to get some rest before we would go to the big firework display in a small town next to ours. We got to the empty overgrown field around 5:30 and we were the only ones there until around 7:30ish. We played games with the little ones while the wives sat around the vehicles. The fireworks were good and we all enjoyed them. Traffic was real bad leaving there and took us a while to get home. It was 11:30 when we finally got home as the big boy and I slept in the tent I make in his room. We love doing this every weekend even though it leaves me with knots in my back and shoulders.

Saturday we decided to hang with the inlaws at their pool which is not my idea of fun, but... we actually hung around their pool for awhile and I enjoyed every minute of it. I mostly stayed in the shade the whole time but still made every effort to play with my son. They have a big slide there and when I went on the slide and told the big boy to watch me, HE FREAKED OUT! He told me never to go on that again. Very cute.

I did manage to go on 2 runs this holiday weekend and the first one was thursday night with a quick good run around our community. According to the nike plus data, I ran a 7.20 mile for the 4th mile. Not sure about that but I definetely enjoyed the long run. I ran again after the pool and the heat was a little to much so I took it very easy. Sunday was rest day as the big boy started to get sick which ended up having me stay home on monday to take him to the doctors. I haven't worked out or run since saturday but I am happy that it has rained those 3 days I've missed.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

and

I use the word "and" way to much. I am going to make a big effort to use the conjunction only when absolutely needed.

Monday run & swim

Went for a run last night and was able to keep a 9:30 pace pretty easily. It felt real good and I enjoyed the whole run. I was planning on running to one of our community pools and getting a couple of laps in, and when I got to the pool that is 1 mile from my house a swim meet was going on. No swimming there. So I kept hammering on and then decided that I would keep a good strong run and see if the other pool was available. I got to the pool 15 minutes before it closed so I hurried up and swam for 15 minutes. Felt great and I am planning on doing this more during the summer to beat the heat.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

chillin weekend

Had a nice and relaxing weekend and was able to get a long (6.5) run in saturday morning. It was so hot and humid though and I was hoping for more miles but I decided to not push it and enjoy the run for what it is. I need to get some sport beans or clif shots as the heat is taking alot out of me and I need more than just water or gatorade. Finished the run and did some things around the house for the rest of the day. Had a neighborhood cookout to go to saturday night and I took the big boy there while the wife was home sick. Not much going on at cookout as storms lurked close by and the big boy is scared of storms. Good food and good time with the neighbors abd friends even though we left early at 8 so the big boy and the beautiful wife could watch a movie together. Me, back to the neighbors to finish my cold beers with some company.

Stayed and hung out at a neigbors patio til 12:30 and we enjoyed an absolutely awesome night. I slept next to the big boys tent I made in his room on the floor with a little hangoover but felt good after coffee and chillin with the beautiful wife and son. The big boy had a birthday party to go to at our neighborhood pool and once again it was just me and the big boy partying up like rock stars! We played and had a great time in the pool for 3 hours, the most I have been in water since my melanoma event almost 3 years ago. We went home and played for a little and watched tv/movies and then decided to take it easy and ordered pizza.

Hope everyone had good weekends and love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

hump day trail run

I stayed home from work yesterday to take care of a sick big boy, and after a early doctor visit a case of bronchitis is the diagnoses. So after a pick up of his antibiotic and eating some lunch we take a good nap and feel all better. The beautiful wife came home early to help take care of him and spend time with him, so I thought a good run was in store for me. I went for my 6 mile trail run at Francis Beatty park and absolutely loved every second of it. I felt no pain in my knees or hamstrings or anything and just plotted along. I went in the reverse of how I usally go and had to stop and get off the trail a couple times for bikers and runners coming by. I won't go that way again. At the 4 mile mark I almost ran into a deer and a nice looking doe at that. It was awesome and picked my spirit up when I needed it. Took a pic of it with my cell phone. Was a great run and looking forward to doing this trail run more.

troubled knees

Went for a run saturday morning and struggled for most of the run. I walked a good bit and never felt strong. I went last night for a run and started out rough (as always) but soon got in a good pace and was cruising along. I decided to keep on going and make it a long run when I stopped at the 5 mile mark cause of really bad pain behind my knees. I was feeling a little tight in my left hamstring and may have adjusted my stride to accomodate the soreness that caused the knee pain. I don't feel anything now which is good and I am planning on running tomorrow night to find out. I really want to start doing more running and then this happens. I'm thinking everything is ok and staying positive so we will see. I took the big boy to hit some golf balls on sunday and we had a blast. I hit a couple of balls and my back was killing me, I think I slept wrong and got some knots next to the shoulder blades. The beautiful wife and I were able to spend a good amount of time together this weekend as the big boy stayed at the in-laws house all weekend. We watched the Transformer movie (awesome) and National Treasure 2 (awful) and got some great sleep as we slept til 9ish both days. I never sleep past 8 but I think I needed it but it may have led to the knots.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and live life to the fullest.

missed run

I was planning on and ready to go for a run last night but the big boy said "please promise me you won't run and play with me instead!" I couldn't pass that offer up so he and I wrestled for a while and then enjoyed a nice family meal. After cleaning the kitchen I asked if he wanted to go for a walk and he did. We walked to our neighborhood sitting park and we walked around and climbed rocks. We jogged a little and we both loved it and we will do this some more. I am hoping to get a run in tonight but will have to see if the air gets fixed today. The weather has been good for the past couple of days and the house is not that bad.

Love and cherish every second you can with all of your loved ones. Life is short, live it to the fullest.

Fathers day

Had a great weekend with the family and really enjoyed father's day. Helped my father-in-law install a ceiling fan in the guest bedroom and it took us a little longer than usual because the attic opening and walkway were in our way. We were also looking into our ac system as the house has not been cooling down. When we were getting ready to go to our evening plans of a music and drinking on the promenade, the house was very hot and we had all of the fans on and the ac turned down to 70. We drove to the Promenade shopping center with our neighbors and made plans to stay with the inlaws for the night cause of the hot house. We get to the promenade and it starts to rain, no thunder, just rain which we need. My big boy freaks out and is crazy thinking it is going to be thundering and lightning. We wait for a little while in a restaruant and eat and then try to go outside to enjoy the event. It starts to rain some more and they decide to cancel the event. The beautiful wife and big boy start heading to the van and I am gathering our stuff to bring to the van and the big boy is screaming for me to run and hurry up. I do hurry up with both arms full and get to him to calm him down. We get in the van and he is fine until we get to our neighbors house when the adults decide we want to drink outside under her covered patio. He freaks out again and won't come outside for a second cause of the rain. We hung out for a while and let the kids play while the adults drank until we left to go to the inlaws house.

Woke up and enjoyed a nice breakfast with the family and then went to walmart to get my father-in-law his present of a 4-man blow up boat which they didn't have. We finished shopping and then went to the house to drop off the groceries in the hot house. We then went to the inlaws pool and swam for several hours and I had a blast playing with the big boy. We finished up and then I went for a 4 mile run but was not very hydrated. I am hoping the air gets fixed soon this week and I am able to get a trail run in soon.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get. I am truly blessed with everything I have and wish the best for all of you.

bus running

I have decided to take the bus to and from work to help save money and help the environment. It isn't that bad actually as they have an express line that goes from a park&ride down my street straight through to uptown and I walk 5-6 blocks to my office. I get to relax on the bus and enjoy my ipod and read. In the evening, it goes from uptown straight to the park&ride and I then go 1 mile and pick up the big boy from day care. The only problem is that the wife is now driving my car into her work and it is a piece but it is good with gas.

I got home last night and wanted to run but knew the wife wanted me to cut the grass, so I took care of the yard and when I was done I went for a nice short run. 4 miles in a 9:30 pace. It wasn't that bad and really enjoyed the run. I ran on sunday morning at 7 and thought I was going to die. It was so humid and hot and I had to take it easy and I even had to walk some. I went through 2 bottles of water and it was only 5 miles. I am going to try and go for a trail run early tomorrow morning and we shall see.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

need more water

Set out last night for a run and ended up doing a run/walk. I brought a bottle of water with me as it was very hot and very very humid. I ran as long as I could and around the 4 mile mark just decided that it was a little risky to be running and there is nothing wrong with walking. I was very low on water at this point and was really concerned that the heat could do some serious damage, so I just enjoyed being alive and walking. I know that I am not in the shape I was last year and I am not as strong so I need to build up my strength again. I have been doing exercises everyday but not a good core workout like I was. No worries though.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get, even if your sweaty and nasty!

back to running

Had a good run last night even though it was slow and at times painful. I headed out at around 7 in the 80ish temps and was just hoping to get outside and moving. I have been feeling lazy and exhausted lately and was enjoying everything that the 5 mile run gave to me. I think I may have been trying to recover from the non-stop fun we had the weekend before with family in town and was not very motivated to go running. Very happy I went and looking forward to getting some more runs in this week.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

memorial weekend with family

We had an awesome weekend this past weekend and was non-stop activites that we are still feeling the effects of. My oldest brother was in town working for speedchannel at the big nascar race and we have always wanted his wife and 3 girls to come with him and spend time with us. My brother was smart and used the rental car they give him for his wife and girls to come in on friday afternoon and he got a ride from a co-worker into town on wednesday night. He expensed out the car and gas and all eating they did and they used the hotel room that the speedchannel gives him. The big boy was so excited when I told him his cousins were coming to visit and that is all he would talk about (even in his sleep). The girls came over friday night and we let the kids play around for a while and we ate pizza outside. The kids had so much fun even when we moved to the inside of the house at dusk. They stayed for a little while and left for the hotel around 9:30.

Saturday started out raining and a little chilly but we were not planning on doing anything except get our pool passes for our community pool which was opening up for the summer. We left around lunch time for their hotel so the kids can play and we would go up to the race track to see their dad. The kids played for a little bit as the sun was out in full force and it started to get really warm. We decided to go to the track as the kids were excited and so were we. We drove to the track and the beautiful wife dropped us all off and we walked to where my brother would be at. We hung out in the speedchannel talent tent where they get out of the sun and wait for the trackside show. We hung out for a while there while they worked on a couple of issues and then went to take the kids to the Lowe's kid zone where they could build wood race cars and other activities. All the kids had fun building the cars and then we raced cars on a video came they had in replica race cars. The kids loved this and were so excited about all the cool stuff they were getting. My brother then took the kids to see the speedchannel race car and the kids loved that also. My brother then wanted to take us to pit row so we all hoped on his golf cart and drove through the tunnel (under the track) which was probably the kids favorite part. We got in to the pits just as a car was qualifying and went right above us at 185 mph. That was the coolest thing and the kids were awe struck. We went all around the pits and saw everything we could see as well as an open area where we could see the cars go by on turn 1. Above is the big boy trying to watch a car go bywith his cousin behind him.

We then continued to tour the race track and drove all around the track. The beautiful wife was ready to pick us up at this point so we met up with her and then dropped of my S.i.L at the hotel so her and my brother could go to a dinner date and whatever else they wanted. We took all the kids home and played outside/inside and fed them all a good dinner. We then gave them all baths and let them watch a movie in the big boys room while I made a tent in his room. The kids had a blast and were all very good and even went to sleep, except the 2 year old. The 2 year old is attached to her mommy so after dinner they came and picked her up to take back to the hotel. My beautiful wife and I were exhausted and looked at each other in bed and thought how in the world does anyone do it with multiple kids. I am experienced with multiple kids but my wife is not, and I ensured her that it is hard work but you can do it.

We all woke up in the morning and had a donut breakfast and played outside. It was a beautiful morning and I enjoyed my coffee while the kids played. My S.i.L took her time and went to breakfast with their little girl and then came over our house and let the kids play more. The kids played all day and we went swimming, played, and then went to a neighborhood party where the kids played some more. Was a great weekend and we hope they come to visit more or move closer than hotlanta so we can visit more.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you can.

thursday run

Went for a 5.5 run last night and enjoyed being out in the beautiful evening. I ran along a new route that takes me through neighborhoods and then I go on a trail that follows the powerlines that go through our development. The running on roads was a little rough but I really enjoyed the trail part. My ipod crashed after the run but I think it has my run logged in, I will upload tonight to make sure. My knees and legs were a little sore afterwards but once I laid down in bed with the big boy and read his night time story to him, I felt fine. I am so happy today is friday and so looking forward to the long weekend ahead.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get and enjoy the beautiful day!

need more time

I have had only a couple of runs for the past weeks but they have been great runs and I even ran a under 9 minute pace for one of the runs. I have not had a chance to add a weekend run since the injury and I am looking forward to doing a long run on the weekend, soon. I am enjoying spending time with the beautiful wife and big son as they are the main focus of everything I do.
I am looking forward to a three day weekend this weekend and we are having the sister-in-law from Atlanta with their 3 girls over this weekend and the big boy is so excited. After I told him they are coming this weekend, he woke up the other night at 2:30 and told me "I am so excited for my cousins coming and I love them!" I said that is 3 days away and it is time for sleeps.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

Busy doing Nothing

The wife went to California last weekend which left me and the big boy alone. We had a great time together and did whatever we felt like doing. I missed my beautiful wife and I know the big boy missed her also. We have had something breakdown everyday she was gone, first the washer machine died so I got a new one and had it delivered and installed. Then our computer crashed and the hard drive died. Now we have had both of these for almost 7 years so I'm not upset. I was able to change out the hard drive and I am getting all of the pictures and music off of the dead hard drive so all is not lost. Then the A/C in my wives NEW van was not working the other day so we put it in the shop but nothing is wrong with it, sure enough we get home and it is working fine. I haven't been 100% committed to my runs or workouts but now that the beautiful wife is back and hopefully things are calming down, I will get back into it. I am still very grateful that all of these things are very small and really nothing in the big picture of things, it could of been alot worse.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

grillin

I didn't get any runs in last week or the weekend even though I wanted to but needed to get stuff done first. I had to get lots of stuff done around the house as we were having a neighborhood get together on saturday night and there were going to 8 kids and 16 adults over. I got everything done and the yard and house looked great. I believe everyone had a great time while we enjoyed the great weather and food. I had the grill covered with hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats and spent most of the time cooking. Everyone left at around 9 (usually we party til 11 or later) as a storm was about to hit and was easy to clean up the house. We hung out on sunday and I wanted to just spend time as a family because the beautiful wife is going to LA on thursday for 6 days. I am going to try to get a couple runs in this week but I have to take care of the big boy and he and the wife are definetely first and the most important.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Stinky Daddy

The big boy loves to make up his own lyrics to every song he hears. If I am listening to a song on the radio, he will change the chorus lines to be funny. And he is funny. Yesterday on the way home, he is singing the theme to spiderman cartoon and changed the words as so.."Stinky Daddy, Stinky Daddy, Does whatever a stinky daddy does. Look out ahead, here he comes. Here comes a stinky Daddy!"

I love this kid. Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get, even if they sing stinky songs about you!

I do

Had a good weekend and was able to get a couple of things done on my honey-do-list. Did a 5 mile run friday night and my ipod was messed up. Was a nice run and I enjoyed the warmth and not listening to music. The wife and I had a wedding to go to on saturday so the big boy went to his grandparents house here in town. Was a very nice wedding at a small chapel in downtown Charlotte and the reception was at Morehead Inn which is an old Inn in Charlotte. There were only 20 people at the wedding and the wife used to work with a couple of them but I still had a good time. The wife and I went out to dinner afterwards and had a good time at Outback. We went home afterwards and partied in our bed with our eyes closed for the rest of the night, crazy. I spent Sunday working on sealing the wood playset we have and only got the top of it done. The big boy came home from his grandparents and played in the yard with my brother and they had a great time. I finally stopped sealing and cleaned up when I looked up at the RAIN clouds above our house. I think it only drizzled for a minute and the sealing should be ok.

I had a nice run last night and the ipod worked after I fixed it. Was a little chilly but after 2 miles I was feeling good even though it was sprinkling a little. I ended up doing 6 miles with a 10 minute pace but I was holding the pace back the whole time. I think I am ready to do some bigger miles and this weekend so we will see.

wet and wild

Had a great weekend and even a full day of rain on saturday didn't stop the fun or getting things done. It started to rain friday night and didn't stop until the middle of the night saturday night. I don't know how much rain we got but my yard and everything outside is soaked and flooded. I was home saturday with just me and the big boy and we did whatever he wanted to do, we played trains, wrestled and even played "are you smarter than a fifth grader (which we are). The big boy can't even read yet but he know 3 or 4 of the questions and got them right. We ended up building a fort in his room and he slept on his pullout sofa sleeper and I slept on the floor. We slept pretty good all night too. We woke up and watched his Thomas the train shows and played for a little and then hung out downstairs as a family. Beautiful wife and I enjoyed our coffee and then ate breakfast together which we usually do on sunday mornings. We had made plans for a play date with his neighborhood friend so I would work on a couple of things until then. I planted our japanese maple tree and then worked on redoing some of the mulched play area that was overgrown with weeds. I finished that and then spread limestone out over the yard. The neighbor came over at this time and we hung out in the back yard while the two boys played. Was a good time and after an hour of playing outside, they wanted to watch a movie and play inside. I wanted to run and the wife said go ahead. I ran 5 miles with very heavy and tired legs but was so happy to be out and enjoying the fresh air. I am going to try to get a couple more runs in this week and want to stay on a good routine.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

Heavy legs

When the weather gets rough, the tough go for a run. I got home after work last night and started to nod off on the sofa. My beautiful wife was home early from work so I decided to go for a run. Got dressed and went outside and it was raining pretty good. I finished strecthing just as it finished raining. It ended up being a great run even though my legs felt very heavy the whole run. I ended up running 6 miles and I enjoyed the whole run. I still have the blister on the bottom of my right foot but it didn't really affect me during this run. I really want to get back on a good running schedule and I think last night was a good start. Tonight is weights and the biggest loser.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

no run weekend

No runs this weekend and I missed them big time. I was planning on a long trail run sunday mourning with a running group, but the wife said no. She doesn't want me to drive far and be gone for 4 hours. I wanted to run but thought I would run closer to home. I started doing work around the house and never did go for a run. It was really cold out and I didn't want to push it. It is raining and cold again today so I will probably wait til wednesday to run. I am going back to my local 6 mile trail this weekend. I did get some good things done around the house though and I hope I get more done this coming weekend.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

blister run

Did a great 4.5 mile run last night that has me feeling really good. I used a new set of insoles and ended up getting a huge blister on the bottom of my right foot for most of the run, but I don't care. Before I set out I had a little bit of hesitation cause my stomach was not right. But I am so happy that I went. Before the run, the big boy and I flew his kite and we had a blast. I post some pics later. The blister is really big though, bigger than a half dollar. There is a trail run on sunday at Kings mountain I want to go to but I'm not sure I could do 16 miles. We'll see.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

If I had a marrow donor

I wish I could be a donor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYUFB542Iak

Great Easter weekend

We had a great Easter weekend and we were able to get lots of stuff done. We were all off on friday so when I woke up I went for a 4 mile run. Loved every second of it. We then worked around the house and I had to get the playset ready for wood waterproofing sealant. Getting the roof and second floor cleaned was very hard work. I never did get a chance to sealing the playset or the fence and now need to do this weekend. I didn't get any workouts or other runs in over the weekend but we were able to spend all day Easter sunday outside and play with all of the neighborhood kids and parents. It was a great time and absolutely beautiful weather. Working on getting back on a consistent running and working out schedule this week. I am planning on getting in another 4 mile run tonight.

I ran!

I have been really itching to get out for a run lately and I'm happy to report that I did run yesterday. The weather has been real nice lately for the most part and I've seen lots of runners out enjoying their runs. I was a little hesitant at first, but once I laced up and headed out the door I was working on holding it back after 2 miles. I did 4 miles total and my legs are hurting a little today, and I love it! I am planning on running again on wednesday if weather permits. The ankle and leg felt good during the run and so good to not have the pain anymore.

time for a break

I can't wait to get back out and run again, but I know that I will have to take it easy and work my way back into it. I didn't do any workouts this week as I ate something bad or something made my insides hurt. I started my core pushups and situps yesterday and they were a real struggle. I must of really hurt my back and arms moving furniture around last week cause my back was killing me. I think I needed a couple of extra rest and glad I listened to my aching body. The weather has been real cold lately here so I am not missing any outside runs. I am gonna take 1 more week off from running and next weekend I will go for a easy small run.

I have been a little upset with the local politics where we live as the city council FINALLY decided to let the citizens vote on whether beer and wine can be sold at restaurants, hotels, and motels. No liquor, just beer and wine would be able to be sold. Now I am not upset cause I want to have alcohol, I am upset cause the 5 council members have taken years and tons of tax money to finally let the people decide. They are worried that if they let alcohol drinks in the town then there will be more crime and we will lose the one thing that makes us different from big Charlotte. I can feel my blood pressure rise every time I think about this. It is so stupid. I am glad that we will finally be able to vote on the issue and hopefully we can get this passed and the 4 restaurants here in town can help their sales a little.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

biggest loser

Not much going on over here which is a good thing. I have been staying with my fitness schedule and I am feeling good about where I am at and the direction I am heading. I am missing getting outside and doing my runs but I can still feel the pain from the stress fracture so I am ok with letting it heal. I didn't get a chance to ride my bike last weekend but I am planning on getting it in this weekend. The wife had me (and only me) rearrange the living room of our house and my back was hurting this morning. Nothing that 3 ibuprofrin can't cure though.

Watched the biggest loser last night and was really impressed with the 4 guys from the blue team. Both teams went home and the blue team worked hard and kept up the routine. The black team didn't look as commited when they went home and you can tell when they got killed in the weigh in. I really enjoy that show and hope that it motivates people to not just lose weight but get in shape.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

good weekend that changed quickly monday morning

We had a great weekend as planned and really enjoyed the activities. Got all of the things done and completed as required by the beautiful mrs. I even got a great workout and bike ride in. My left ankle and lower leg is hurting a little bit but I think it is ok and didn't hurt when I rode. The weather was good but very windy and there were a couple of times that the lowest gear and a hard pedal still didn't produce a forward motion. There was one section that I almost ate it on and it would've been bad. You see, my bike is not meant for this kind of riding, it is a very old (17 years)city bike that I used to take on the boat with me during long trips and I have never really taken care of it. My dad tried to sell it about 10 years ago to the garbage guys for $75 bucks and they didn't even want it for $50. Anyway it is all I have and I have no problem with that except down a rocky trail. I may ride some more but not down that one section.

Anyway the weekend was great and all was good as we went to sleep sunday night. We were awoken at 12:30ish by the big boy who proceeded to vomit all over us and our bed and comforter. I carried him into the bathroom and we would revisit the same carry into bathroom scene several times that night. The poor guy has never been sick like that and didn't know what it was. I slept with him on the floor next to the bathroom the rest of the morning. I stayed home with him on monday and tuesday afternoon and I am hoping that he is ok today at school.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get.

weekend looking good

It is absolutely beautiful day outside today and I can't wait to get out of work. I am planning on riding my bike tomorrow morning and plan on taking it easy. I will be finishing the downstairs painting and can't wait to start on the upstairs, not! I wasn't feeling a 100% yesterday after work but still did my daily push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups but then went to sleep at 7:30 and slept the whole night. I woke up this morning feeling better but could've slept some more.

Have a good and safe weekend! Love and hug all of your loved ones.

no run for you!

I had a dr. appointment last week and they took some x-rays of the left ankle and according to the radiologists, it looks like it is the beginning stage of a stress fracture. The wife and I took the big boy to the circus in town on friday and we really enjoyed the show. We went to the beautiful wife's office afterwards and ate lunch. The big boy loved hanging out at his mommies work and looking out her window at all the things going on uptown Charlotte. We took the city train/subway to and from the city and that was really cool. I wish I could take that everyday. When we got home, my ankle was swollen so bad and it was killing me. I am not going to run for at least 2 months but I am a little worried about it healing at all. I am going to take it easy and rest as long as I need to though and I look forward to going back out for a run. I am enjoying spending the times inside and being around the family.
Love and Hug all your loved ones every chance you get.

time for rest and recovery

I may have a stress fracture above my left ankle after last weeks runs and I am going to give myself plenty of running rest. I was signed up to run a race saturday morning but at 4 am, I was awakened by the wife being sick in the bathroom. I had everything ready the night before but decided to cancel the run and take care of the wife and big boy. I am glad I did and then decided to take a little break for running to let the leg heal. I am definetely still busy with exercise and activites and actually I caught a head cold over the weekend so I am going to do lots of recovering for a couple of weeks.
Give lots of hugs and kisses to all of your loved ones!

pay the bills

I have been stressed a little lately trying to figure how to pay off some of our bills and not have to spend any time away from the family. I am going to have to get a second job that will pay some of our bills. I am planning on looking for and applying to jobs this weekend and I am looking for a very simple job that pays fairly good (don't we all want that)and will work probably as much as I can saturday and maybe 1 other day a week. I worked 3 jobs back when I was in college and before I met my wife. It wasn't that bad really and only had a hard time when I drank to much the night before and paid the price at work. Now it is different, I have a wife and kid and I already spend 50 hours at work and driving to work. I am only planning on working a second job for a little while and just hope I get a good job. I am going to try the local golf course and then try Best Buy. I should of worked a second job before my son was born. I know, should've, would've, could've!

holiday is over

Had a great weekend and really enjoyed spending the whole weekend with the big boy and wife. We put all of the christmas decorations away and organized the new additions of toys to allow for proper storage. We really need to work with the big boy on learning to clean up after he is done playing. It isn't that we hate doing it, we just want him to understand that everyone is not his butler. The weather was perfect on Sunday and we were able to play with all of his outside presents that he got for Christmas, he rode his bike, played golf in the back yard, and played basketball for a couple of minutes. It was really great and at the end of the day, I cooked hamburgers on the grill in the beautiful weather.

I did have a great 5 mile run saturday night and was feeling really good. I did the same 5 mile run on monday night and ran in my new balance shoes. I tried to pick my pace up for the whole run and now my left ankle and shin are hurting. I paid the price and I still had a 9:30 pace. I am going to take a couple of days rest and run again this weekend.

Love and hug your loved ones every chance you get!

Starting '08 with a bang

Started the new year off with a good bang. Woke up around 7:30 and drove to the greenway. Ran the 4 mile trail and after the first 3 miles, I was finally defrosted and feeling really good. I finished the 8 miles with a 9:40 pace. I had a good run and really enjoyed myself out there. I like getting the run over with first thing in the morning and can enjoy the rest of the day with the family. I took a couple of pictures while I was running in case any big publications want to use me as a cover or a spread. We hung out for the rest of the morning and went to see Water Horse at 2:30 with the InLaws. Movie was ok and the big boy said he enjoyed it. Hope everyone had a good and safe New Years.