3 minutes of fame....

That goofy, little podcast Phedippidations that I have been a listener to for over a year and has gotten me through some long runs in this week's episode"Episode 116: Where Are We Going", reads my North Country Trail Report that I submitted and even adds a little dramatic flair to it. Pretty cool.

Out with the old...

My Polar RS200SD has been neatly packaged and shipped to a better home in Texas. Although I extolled the virtues of having a heart rate monitor and foot pod, I never got comfortable with the number of times I had to try and calibrate the FP to try and get an accurate distance.



In its place, I have just received the Garmin 305 Forerunner.
Never thought I would be one of the geeky gadget guys.

Dirrty Girl Ages

Dirrty Girl turned 13,505 days old today or in simpler terms 37. Being 5 years older than me does have its privileges such as getting to retirement sooner, eagerly awaiting the first AARP contact, looking forward to Senior Discount Day at the local restaurant and getting cool gifts like getting to make your own handbag, that i secretly remembered her telling me about once a long time ago.

Since it was her birthday, her mom said that she would keep the kids last night for the first time since July. Woo Hoo....we should have burned the midnight oil, closed some joints down, or taken in a movie.

No, you know you are a parent when sleeping for 5 hours uninteruppted feels like 8 hours and instead of sleeping in you get up to go running together like old times.

Red Dragons

Having missed little dirt dawg's game last week for my 50 miler, I was making darn sure I didn't miss this weekend's edition of squirt ball. Apparently last weekend, his team the Red Dragons (in maroon shirts) stung the Bumblebees who were unable to field a full 3 person team.

This weekend was different. Facing the Little Rascals who had a full complement of players, I somehow got roped into being the timekeeper since i was the only one with a stopwatch (go figure). The rules told to me were: four 8 minute quarters with substitutions halfway through each quarter, 2 minutes in btwn each quarter, and then a 5 minute halftime. Dilligently, I set my watch.

Having some resemblance of time kept squirt ball chaos to a minimum. There was a steady flow of substitutions well before and after the proposed times as parents cajoled, begged and bribed their kids to get out there, or took them for potty breaks, or held them on the sidelines and dried their eyes after falling down or after scoring a goal.

In the end, the Red Dragons emerged victorious even if nobody was really keeping score and feasted on chewy bars and capri suns. This is what play should be all about.

Recovery

I thought that after the race i would be nearly imobile and walking around like a drunken fool for the better part of a week, but that has not been the case. Maybe because i ran on trails, or so slow that i felt better than after my disappointing, stupid 34 mile attempt in Badwater like conditions but a little sorer than a road marathon.

A few days of walking brought me to my massage today. Hanson's Massage Therapy is run by two members of the Hansons/Brooks Olympic Development program. The great thing about having a massage therapist/elite runner work on you is that when you tell them your quads are a little sore and your knee is tight, they know what you are talking about and why your probably are sore there.

An hour later, I was feeling pretty good, but not 50 mile ready good. It will be a few more days before i will be back running with any vigor, but then again, tomorrow is Thursday and there is a Fun Run!!

Official Results

Official Finishing Time: 8 hr 39 min 59 sec

14th out of 66 participants

3rd place in Male 30-34 age group (Note: the 2 guys ahead of me finished 1 -2 overall with a winning time of 6 hr 26 min 11 sec....and I thought i was flying!!)

* Just for the heck of it, i checked out the qualifying times for the WS 100. I was well under it, but Dirrty Girl said I had to wait until Dirrty Feather was 5 and Little Dirt Dawg was 8. By then, I should have some great base mileage built up!

North Country 50 Mile Race Report

8 hr 39 min..Not DFL or a DNF.

I had spent the night before with my crew, myself, going to Pizza Hut for some grub and a quick stop at the local casino in an attempt to kill some time and keep my mind off of thinking of the race. Had I trained enough? What will be my fueling strategy? Should I put a drop bag at the 13.2 mile mark? and so on...

A wet, chilly morning gave way to clear skies and the prettiest course I have ever run. Just prior to the start of the race, I ran into fellow blogger, Brian Thomas, and we ran together for about the first 10 miles before I motored on. My pacing strategy was to walk any of the major hills and then as best I could keep a 9 min running/1 min walking pace.

I was flying. I have never felt that locked in or more sure of a strong finish. The night before I had been reading a back issue of Runner's World and found a short mantra i kept repeating in my head; "Define yourself". At each aid station I would refill my bottle with half gatorade and half water, grab some m&m's,cookies, or my new favorite, boiled red potatoes dipped in salt and kept moving. The first 25 mile looped seemed like nothing and I completed it in 4 hr 17 min.

With a steady rain at the halfway mark that definitely kept it chilly, I began boldly thinking that I could get a sub 9 hr finish. There was never a doubt that I would not finish even though my longest training run was 25 miles. Just passed the 32 mile marker, the ipod came out, and the tunes kept me motivated till just about 48 miles when I took a pretty good spill and the playlist ended. Nevertheless, I just finished the second lap in 4 hr 22 min, only 5 minutes off the first loop and about 12 seconds per mile slower.

I was pumped, jacked, elated. Redemption was mine after a failed attempt last year, and the summer of dirt dawg had produced and even better time than i could have predicted. It all came together yesterday. I was so esctactic that i hopped in the car and made the 3 1/2 hour drive home like it was nothing.

I would like to especially thank Dirrty Girl for allowing me the time to train this summer, and Little Dirt Dawg, Dirrty Feather, my dog Nemo, Twinkle Toes, Fritz, my neighbor, Mary, Buzzkill, the Fun Run Gang for joining me this summer on the road.

Race Mantra

My training is complete. The bags are packed. Tomorrow, I will embark on a solo effort in an attempt to complete my first 50 miler. Who knows what will happen.....

Unrequited love

I had fallen too fast and too hard. I had spoken eloquently of their plush ride and innovative lacing system right out of the box like they were the greatest thing to be wrapped around my feet since my Goofy slippers from Disney World.The shoes I had imagined myself running in my race in this weekend have lasted all of 250 miles before developing a defect that left me with a quarter size blister and being reduced to nothing more than church donations or grass cutting duty.

As a country song once said, " You can love somebody(love somebody) you can love somebody Thats a natural fact you can love somebodyBut the hard part is finding somebody who'll love you back.Yeah finding somebody who will love you back"

Against my better judgement....a rambling to wet your appetite

You want it, You got it…..


Fueled by the excitement of the first fun run of the year, Big Red’s disappointment at not reading the weekly ramblings of a pro ass out for a run, Twinkle Toes questioning why even come into work on Fridays without a weekly update, patience young charge you will soon be able to slip into PE obscurityin a few years, and a 28 oz Orange/Coke Slurpee after my son’s soccer practice I sit in my basement breaking my word already that there would be no weekly fun run updates. So here goes…


Always great for fodder, Einstein again stated he was going to run but then provided a like NR'er answer with I don’t know why……but in a breaking news alert apparently started the run, vomited blood and then went to hospital….diagnosis…pneumonia

Short Stack who earlier had asked if we were doing the Fun Run on Thursdays, because she had latchkey papers to commit her young charges for an extra half an hour was a no show……

Huff N Puff ran by himself but his breathing was like a Tibetan chant as we passed, “ I think I can, I think I can”

J-No and Abstract thinking it was Halloween already or just falling in love with Olivia Newton John all over again ambled along and welcomed a new member tentatively named Chai Tea Latte…..

As for Dirt Dawg and Twinkle Toes confusion reigned as one looked for another to begin the run but soon gave way to mindless chatter like old ladies at the retirement home…

Alas, no weekly standings or point updates….that will come in the NEWSLETTER :)

It Begins Tomorrow

*Below is the shameless plug sent to staff in my building as the second annual Fun Run/Walk Series gets ready to commence.

You could be one of the few,
The proud,
A Fun Run/Walk participant!!

“Fitness has to be fun. If it is not play, there will be no fitness. Play, you see, is the process. Fitness is merely the product”

Dr. George Sheehan

Last year, 12 participants took that message to heart and rambled over 400 miles in a weekly, non competitive run or walk all in the name of fun, but in the end discovered camaraderie and improved fitness. The course which measures 3.25 miles is a relatively flat pedestrian path meandering along the Clinton River. You don’t have to cover the entire distance, but getting out even for 15 minutes can clear your head after a long day and give you a chance to get in some play (oops, I mean fitness).

Other benefits include:
1. A really cool nickname
2. Monthly prizes
3. Newsletter
4. Exclusive events such as:

GobbleDash
Snowman Shuffle

When: Thursdays @ 2:30 pm

“I’m just asking you to maybe take a run/walk, take a chance”
Dirt Dawg

We got the jazz

Day 2 of the Labor Day wknd found us down in the "D" to soak up some rays, food, and jazz at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. Little Dirt Dawg was adamant about hopping on the People Mover to see his Ba who was working as a crew member on one of the stages. Note to self, do not get off @ Ren Cen with 2 kids and strollers. It is like a labryrinth to get out of there!


Along the waterfront, throngs of people took in the sights, sounds, smells of a gorgeous summer day, but even amongst them are treasures like the Gateway to Freedom Monument.

A quick hop on the mover got us back to where our journey started and our stomachs were filled.

A Special Teat

The end of summer is near in the Metro Detroit area, but that doesn't mean the "D" doesn't know how to put on a party with Labor Day weekend featuring not only the Michigan State Fair, but Arts, Beats, and Eats, and the Detroit International Jazz Festival. Today, the state fair was on our to do list, and Little Dirt Dawg enjoyed all the animals including a chance to "milk" a cow.
High above the fair, on our overpriced ride coupons, we scouted for rides, food, and animals.

This guy suggested that we try turkey, the other white meat.

In the end, even Dirrty Feather had said enough is enough and faded out.