MS Blues Mileage..

Kelvin and I hit the roads after a big lunch at one Ridgeland's Finest's Soul Food establishments- "Geovelli's" The Chef/Restaraunteur is none other than Sgt.Revell Dixon of the RPD. Great guy, and someone you'd love to see show up if you are in a pinch and need back up. Anyway, here are some mileage/notes of the Blues course if you are interested:

Mile - Street Notes:
0 - North on on North State St. at or around Duling St.( Near Walker's Drive In)
1.0 - Turn Right on Meadowbrook, Going East (at the Old McRae's)
2.1 - Turn Right onto Old Canton Road( at I-55/The Barrington/St. Andrews)
3.8 - Turn Left onto State Street heading South(Sir Speedy, near UMC)
6.0 - Turn Right on Amite, going West
6.7 - Left on Gallatin, going South pass the Bus/train station
6.8 - Left on Capitol, going East now, back toward Old Capitol
7.5 - Right on State Street, going South
7.8 - Left on South Street (going East)
8.0 - Left on Jefferson St.
9.6 - Right on Pinehurst (going East)
10.2 - Left on St. Ann St.
10.2 - Right on Riverside Drive
10.6 - Somewhere you hairpin around, and head back up Riverside going West again
12.0 - Right on to State Street
13.1 - Finish near Walker's Drive in.

Hope this helps! Whew!

Dear Blog..

It has been nearly two months since my last blog..... Geez! While I have been away, I have had lots of things going on, and maybe a legitimate excuse or two, but I won't bore you with that. I will tell you I am getting cabin fever, and with some help from some friends, I am anxious to get back at it again. I ran last Saturday for what seemed like an eternity since I had a long run. I had planned to just throw down a 4-5 miler, and Kelvin, a.k.a, the Kelvinator shamed me into doing the full 11.4, or whatever it was. Here I was whining about eating too much and working out so little, and he was sporting a wrist cast that would swell his hand to the point he had to run with it in the air, and some nasty road rashes that are better left covered by his running clothes. Anyway, it was good to get a long one in, and I am now considering doing the 13.1 Blues. Tuesday we hit the trails and had a decent workout while doing a little fartlet work, and today was a rain day that found us reuniting with Phil Purser, a.k.a. Agent Skelaxin. Brunch at Primos- cheese grits, bacon and egg biscuits, YUMMY! Phil has some knee issues and is waiting to see an Ortho.... Earlier this week I met Kelvin to ride the Blues course in a car to see just how hilly it was. There were a few pretty hilly areas, but I think the overall street condition and length scared us more than the hills. It took us nearly an hour just to drive the 13.1, or so it seemed. I'll blog the course separately, in the event you want to get the miles plugged in. I will say, if you are doing the full 26.2 most of the hills are done at around mile 10.
Thanks for bloggin, and see ya Saturday!

Happy Campers

Well, after having perfect weather for a long run last Saturday, you knew we'd get this. I had a great run last Saturday, all by my self, but at least I got to see some of you when I was heading back. Duty called, and Den Leader of Den 8, Pack 305 had to get down to somewhere around Hazlehurst to Camp Hood, where we had our first Cub Scout Campout. Woo-HOO! Smores for everyone! Since then, I have been getting cabin fever, and missed last night's "Pumpkin Run" at Fleet Feet. I just didn't see any benefit from running in 40 something temperatures and light rain. I am not having a good week for running or XT. Yes, I know I would have given my front teeth for weather like this in Chicago, but that was not an option. So, I'll go to the gym and spin some this morning, then get out and run at Fleet Feet tomorrow morning. For those of you still wondering if I really do have a wife that runs, you may get to see her tomorrow morning. She will be the brunette right next to me until we start the run.

What a Weekend

Well, I jumped right back into training quite nicely, although not exactly the way I wanted... My son Charlie had his first Cub Scout camp out, and as his Den leader, I of course wanted to attend. So, I was up at 4am, and running in the dark by 5 something. With the cool weather, and desire to get back asap, I decided to cut out intervals as much as able. I suprised even myself, and first made the entire 13 without much of a walk. I stopped at Fox Bay to mess with a nagging toe/sock issue, and took quick breaks at the water stops once they were put out. I finished the whole thing nearly shaving an hour off my 13 mile best. If only I had that weather in Chicago! I missed running along with most of you, but saw a few of you on the last leg out. I always wondered what it was like getting back to the start with MM's elite speedsters. Do we always have banananas and bagels, or are they just gone by the time I get there??? Then it was off to Fort Hood near Hazlehurst, MS. The BSA Camp site hadn, and lots of activities for Saturday. We shot water-bottle rockets, bb guns and taught archery, and of course camp fires for food, and lots of SMORES!

Early Birthday..

I have been in quite the funk since hitting mile 17 in Chicago. My story is not unlike many others. I was in shock that they were out of water, but managed to hang in there and keep motivated and moving. My first knowledge of the stoppage was when a uniformed patrolman was hollering at me to stop running. With my earbuds in, I didn't realize what was going on, and after taking them out, he said the race was over. The crowds lining the street were awesome, and seeing locals bringing out bottled water was amazing. I still remember the look on the face of the little boy who handed me a bottled water when I told him "You are my hero!" I don't disagree with the decision to stop the race, but I am still fuming over the race directors comments about water "issues". I am not sure if I would finished, but am sure I would have died before stopping. One more water "issue" would definitely have killed someone, maybe even me. I truly believe that officer that died probably saved several other lives that day, and pray his family may find some light in knowing his life may have saved others.
It has been a couple of weeks since Chicago, and I have only hit the pavement twice. I struggled trying to decide which marathon, when, and where I would complete what I started out. The MS Blues seems really hilly, and I know the crowds will not be near as exhilarating, but having seen my motivation level these past weeks, I believe this will be a blessing. As most of you may know, my wife has been the runner in the family for over 10 years, and she gave up her Saturday morning runs with her girl friends for me to try Chicago. I was not about to ask her to give them up again, but she really wanted me to keep at this, and gave me Saturdays with the MM group for my birthday. She will run the 1/2 if able, and I'll give 26.2 another crack. This time, though, harder cross training, smarter eating, and leaving it all out on the pavement.
MM has been a great way to stop the vicious cycle that has gone on too long. Mark's comments about the Marathon being analogous to life keeps bouncing around in my head. I want to finish this life not feeling like I could have done more, or saying I "almost" finished anything. My kids and wife are my life right now, and keeping up with them is so much easier being in shape and feeling better. Some of you are making the right decision by stepping back for now. Others don't have a choice but I do. In the book of Ecclesiastes, it is written there is a time under the sun for everything. I choose to keep on trying, and feel it is my time to keep on running and to keep on moving forward. I hope that if you don't run in January, you'll be out there to holler at me to keep going.

Just another warm long run....

Without any Gatorade, and way too long without water. To say I am a little mad is an understatement, but here's the skinny. No water except for the runners who run really fast, and no finish unless you can run a 4.5 hour marathon with little water and practically no gatorade in 80+ weather, and 100 percent humidity.... A good news link:

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_280071653.html

I'm off to drown my sorrows at Fogo de Chau..

More posts and some pics later..

My congrats to some courageous runners.

At least I trained in this kinda stuff....

Test Photo

Okay, Guess which daughter is mine...I'll give you a clue. She does not think it is cool for Daddy to take pictures of her or her new soccer team.... I only took about 15 pictures to get one where she was not making some sort of face. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

September Grass

What a difference a few weeks can make! Or, more exactly a little ol' September cold snap. With James Taylor singing about "September Grass" I slowly hammered along with Kelvin a.k.a., "Preparation K", or "The Kelvinator" and with Phil Purser, a.k.a. "Agent Skelaxin". We warmed up nicely with about a 20 minute walk before running 2:1 intervals. Kelvin hooked me up with some of his Hammer "pancake batter", along with his baby aspirin tasting concoction, and that gave me much better sustained energy. I feel alot better after having my near "Phil" episode on the 18 miler. With little or no hills, people cheering, and ther weather about the same or cooler, Chicago is something that seems realistic. I saw some courageous efforts out there today, and I am really proud to say I am part of this group. What a difference a few months can make, too!

My Confirmation is in! My Confirmation is in!

I am a Marathoner!!
Do y'all remember that movie(here's where I show my age again) with Steve Martin, in which he plays a dim-whitted adopted son of an african-american family?

When he finally leaves home to "Become somebody" he finally thinks he has achieved true success when the character- "Navin" finds his own name listed in the new phonebook. "The new phone books are in! The new phone books are in". I'am Somebody!!!
Anyway, I kinda acted like that when my confirmation came in the other day. Apparently, the Chicago Marathon Committee knew I was an elite runner for sure... They gave me one of those bib numbers that if you saw pinned to my chest you would know immediately I am one of those to be found in the seeded start pens at the very front. Out of the estimated 45,000 runners, I have bib number 48,000 and something....Well, I guess the good news is I can only move up with that. I am running with the Kelvinator in the morning. Please pray he doesn't make me jiggle another kidney stone loose!

HApPy lAbOr Day.....

I had a great run Monday morning on Labor Day. I had good company, and thanks to Suz for making me feel better by wanting to walk the trails some. Her hemp buzz was wearing off, and the heat and humidity finally slowed her down a little...Welcome home, Suz... Meanwhile, Phil was ready to run an Ironman with his muscle relaxers kicking in. Later, I got home and toyed with going straight to the mower and knocking down some weeds of the unwanted-non-smoke able variety, and instead drank some coffee and took in the paper. About 30 minutes into the paper and coffee, My mind wandered off to the strange sensation that eventually turned into a raging fire. By 10am I had my wife seeing if any GP's were open. By 11am I was seeking some of the previously mentioned muscle relaxers trying to score some from Phil. I had no idea what was going on. By 2pm. I wasn't sure if it was my back, gall bladder, or a stray gunshot wound, but I knew I was going to the E/R...Something had to give. So, I will spare you all my theories about health care and abuse of the E/R by the uninsured just to say on this Labor Day, 2007, I gave birth to a small kidney stone without yet getting pain medicine or a CT to confirm what was going on. With no prior history of these little gems, I had no idea what was going on. I will see a Urologist next week for follow up, and will at all times have appropriate pain medicine in the event I have to deliver another...One more item for my little baggie of "must-haves". My humble adoration to all of you women that have delivered babies. Hey, can they give epidurals for kidney stones?
The good news is I have recovered enough that I had lunch Tuesday with Mark, and Wednesday got the yard work in as XT. Last night and today my wife had to travel, so no work outs until school is in session and some of my work stuff is taken care of. I look forward to seeing all of you Saturday! Happy LaBoR Day!

August 32nd Run

Yesterday was a great run, and although it still felt like August 32nd, I do believe I am getting some signs that the heat may abate some year very soon! I keep hoping the leaves I am seeing fall are from the season and not just drought like baking. Unlike Suzanne, that has already had a hemp-assisted 20-miler in Northwest passage weather, I am still feeling a little confidence shaken from the 20 mile attempt I made unencumbered by the hydration process. Anyway, despite trying harder to stay out of the heat, and put the hydration on Thursday and Friday, I found myself watching the JA/JP football game in the stands late Friday evening. I finally got wise and got out of there, went home and drank another gatorade. I was intrigued by F-Stop/Debra Ferguson's walk of an hour before beggining to run, and decided to walk a ways to warm up with the company of Phil(the person, not the verb/noun), and Suzanne. Great company, but I was getting froggy, and decided to run when I hit the familiar trails. It felt great being stretched and warm, and although I didn't finish as fast, I was certainly feeling great that morning. I know for fact I would have never made it this far without the friends I have made on this journey. I can not wait for Chicago, and have already started forming my own little "bubble" as Suzanne calls it. No old tuna for me, (thanks,Kim...) Staying hydrated Wed. through Saturday, and definately hitting some XT, Plica/runner's knee excercises every day.. I missed so many of the smiling faces I normally see, and hope to see all of you next week! Chicago is about a month away! Have a happy Labor day!

Wipe Out!

Well, I never thought I'd be feeling down about only running 13 or so miles. Like Kim, I knew something was wrong when I started feeling the urge to lie down and just sit down for a while. I ran with the "Kelvinator" and he slowly started pulling away from me, and I was struggling just to keep him in sight. I wrote that off as just drug induced performance-enhancing drugs he keeps telling me about. He was chugging some vile stuff that tasted like baby aspirin mixed in milk, and bragged about how good he was feeling. I could not explain why my heart rate was staying so high, either. I have a heart rate monitor/watch, and I couldn't understand why even after walking my BPM was about 15bpm higher than normal, and it would not go down. The energy in my body slowly drained like water going out of a bath tub. When I hit the landing I plopped down on an ice chest, and started fading even more. I soon found myself in a "full-Phil-ing" horizontal position under the tent. Fortunately, Phil Purser's support team was there(Patti), and I was revived with ice cold towels and Gatorade.
I realized later how stupid I have been Thursday and Friday. I decided that I did not want to do yard work on Sunday, and Saturday would be out of the question.. Hmmm I know, lets do it on Friday morning. Thursday I took off and finished some work I have been doing on the front door, and strangely enough, this morning before I "suited up", I was about 5 lbs. less than I was on Wednesday... Sheesh. Anyway, no excuses. I am going to work harder on my XT and push hard to be over-hydrated(if that is possible) before the next run. I really need to have good confidence building long run, and I hope the Big-K will share some of his drugs....
See ya next week for our little ole 10 miler!

Not much new...

Not much new with me. I am slowly getting back in a routine with the kids back at school. Soccer season, gymnastics, church activities, etc., have me hoping, but I am getting my runs in. All the blogging is really helpful right now, as I am a little more uptight about the 20 miler. So many of you have such a great determined spirit, and it gets me really motivated to keep going, and believe I can do this. I had a good run with Kelvin this morning on the trails, but this heat is murder. I just know if we can get a break from the weather soon we will all make it. I found out that fleet feet has a five mile run coming up in September, and I haven't checked the schedule yet, but think it would be fun. It is at night, and apparently sponsored by Mizuno..
Keep cool, hydrated, and carbo-load guys! Keep up the great blogging, too- I'll see ya Saturday(after the sun comes up, anyway)


(below from fleet feet)

September Events

We've got a fun-filled September ahead, and you don't want to miss out! Be sure to stop by for these exciting events...
What: Mizuno Fun Run
When: Thursday, Sept. 13, 6:30p.m.

Join us at the store ready to run! Our Mizuno rep will be in town and he'll be giving away some sweet Mizuno swag, so you'll definitely want to be here. We'll run a 5-miler, enjoy some refreshments, and hang out with Mizuno Matt. What could be better?

Slow, but sure...

This morning was great. Up early, and out on the scheduled departure time. Had all my stuff ready, and only had to go inside one more time to get keys. I ran with Kelvin and Phil, and although we were a little slower than normal, I felt pretty good. My knee has been improving dramatically thanks to some excercises Wayne gave me for "Plica Syndrome" and Fleet Feet graciously exchanged some shoes I bought from them on sale for this years' model that apparently runs wider than last years. I will definately never buy anywhere else. I have been tempted to buy online, or somewhere else, but I have officially got hooked. Keeping good company made the time seem like it flew by, and we were done before I knew it. Several of you had some really good runs, and I know Chicago will be a party no doubt.. I am anxiously awaiting to see Suzanne Windsor's blog to see how she did up in Seattle, and hear about all that cool weather. Something in the air tells me that Fall will be here soon, and all this hot weather will be a fading memory. Bring on the cool, crisp fall air, and bring on Chicago!

Going to Chicago, Forrest Gump style......

I had a great run with Kelvin this morning on the trail in Ridgeland. What little rain we got yesterday just made things more humid. After the run, Kelvin and I were talking about the Nike + thing I wear with my iPod Nano. He asked if it keeps all the miles and workouts, or just the last one I ran. I explained that is one of the things I like most about it, as it takes you to a Nike website that graphs all your runs, and you can track your pace, total miles, miles by week, month, etc.
Anyway, he asked how many miles total, and I currently have about 400 since we began the MM training. I haven't worn it for various reasons on every work out and run, so If I add in just a few, I figure we have about 450 miles. Some of you obviously run faster, or more miles, and some less than me, but for the most part we are probably all around the 400-500 mile range. With that said, and with playing with Mapquest, we have all trained a distance far enough to be in the state of Illinois by now.... In fact, I am somewhere around Benton IL, which is just East of St. Louis, MO. By October, we will all have made it to Chicago, and just in time to start the marathon. Cool, huh? If we did this thing Forrest Gump style, we could all get there in time for the race. I can smell the cabbage already! Whew!!!

Home court advantage....

I never thought I would enjoy a 9 mile run, but I really did... I decided that with the dark and heat, I might do better running intervals, with company, and ran with Kelvin and Vickie. Kelvin kept promising us he would slow down after a few miles, and he did, but so did we. At any rate, I felt I had an advantage on the trail without the need of lights, and felt fine. Going on those trails 3-4 times a week does have its advantages. Anyway, I hope you all appreciated the extra pot-hole work and tar in the cracks we have been doing. It still is not perfect, but it is a trail. I have been badgering the Public Works Director to fill a few potholes, and I guess they decided they were tired of hearing me whine. They have made a lot of progress on the new extention, and we will eventually be able to stay on the trails all the way to Highland Colony Parkway. It will be 7.2 Miles from the gravel lot to the end. It you add the distance from Fleet feet, we will have about 10 miles one way. Scary, huh?
I enjoyed several cups of coffee and an egg and cheese bagel alon with good company at Beagle Bagel. Later, Saturday, I vegged out, and then went to the Special Olympics countdown dinner. Lots of fun. Spent too much, and didn't win the trip. Sunday, I couldn't manage getting my planned XT on the bike, and settle doing some sit ups, some Plica syndrome excercises that Wayne showed me, and ATE....
To save you from getting hungry, I will not go into detail. However, for Carols sake, I unfortunately had more food available, not to mention Gingi had made homemade chocolate chip cookies for a 1st grade party tomorrow... YIKES!

Jon "Blaze Man" Blais on You tube...

I meant to blog this yesterday but was too choked up, and then had lots of activities planned, but Lisa the Horn Playing Turtle reminded me of the Ironman special that was on TV yesterday. I happened to catch the last 30 minutes or so, and got really choked up. Okay, I cried like a hungry baby! Anyway, Jon Blais was an Ironman marathoner that got ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and still competed in the Ironman. It was an amazing story. It also reminded me of the "Find your Why" speech that Mark gave us. I sure could have used a refresher on that at about 8am last Saturday... Anyway, I found the segment on Youtube, and although I don't know how to imbed the Youtube window below, hit this link so you can go there yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vrjp2P0GlE

If it does not take you there directly, then just go to youtube.com and search "Jon Blais" for the video. Get your kleenex handy!

Can't we do one of our training runs in Chicago?

Wow! 18 miles... It was 80 degrees when I got of the car according to the car sensor, and it was 86 when we passed M&F bank on the spillway. Of course with the humidity, it felt like 110. We could have cooked the Boston Butts on the asphalt of the parking lot today.
Congrats to everyone that finished today. I saw some awesome performances and a lot of determination. I have to believe that with this heat and humidity, Chicago will feel like a 3 mile gym workout. Anyway, I felt great this morning, and shaved off a lot of time at the 13.1 mile mark, compared to the 1/2 marathon we did earlier, but the heat finally took it's toll, and I was walking a lot more the last 5, and when I did run, I was really slow. It was certainly tempting to stay or quit when I returned to the park, but I managed to take off, and took a monster drink to go. I should have run with Suz and Debra, as they did the spillway leg first, and got that out of the way. I missed my running buds, and my pace was a little erratic. Kelvin and Phil left early, and Steve Romano is out of town. I can't say enough how nice it is to have people nearby to gauge your run and encourage you along the way. Congrats again to all. Now, it is time to shave, shower again and head to the Butt cook-off! Easy week ahead everybody!!!

A New Cross Training Sure to Help-

With Debra Ferguson's a.k.a. "F-Stop" assistance, I have now found what will surely be my next cross training. Yes, of course, wife carrying! Why didn't I think of it before? I am not carrying enough weight on our runs, and just the thought of me carrying my wife out for a spin through the neighborhood already has me knowing that if I can do that, 18 miles will be nothing.

I can't help but notice the irony of it all, too. Here we are, planning a "Butt Challenge" and now we have a way that all the married men can enter, even if they don't cook! Check out the picture I found from the wife carrying website!