Happy Birthday Dad

I  blew off my morning run/ride (didn't know until I go) session this morning. Instead I chose to be the 1st one to call my dad on his birthday today. He's 79 and means the world to me. Sadly he'll never see this and that's o.k.
We'll just say he is a good O'l boy in the country and computers are a gadget he prefers to not deal with.

Quick tribute :

Grew up poor farm boy in Southern Illinois 1 of 11 children.

Was an above average student, That never had the opportunity to further that past high school.

Was a stand out cross country runner in high school and a talented baseball player.

Served in our military for 4 years ( still active to this day in The American Legion honoring our soldiers)

Self made senior management with loyalty and hard work with an aerospace company.

Married and started to help raise 3 children.

Was and still is an avid hunter and fisherman ( though now can be challenged at times due to back issues).
He taught me how to hunt and fish and respect other people.
Showed me how to respect the land and other peoples feelings.

Relocated to Southern California in 1971 to better his family's life ( I'm pretty sure he didn't want to leave the country and 100 % of his friends and family for himself).

As a father to me. I can't remember him missing one baseball game from 7 years old until 17.
Not one soccer game from 7 years old until 17.
He used to get up and take me surfing every Saturday and Sunday, even when he didn't understand my passion for it. He was stoked when 2 years later he realized I was capable of riding my bike the 6 miles to and 6 miles back on my own.
He never bawked at taking me to skate parks. Even when he couldn't understand my passion for it. He also couldn't believe someone would pay me to do it.

I got him to start playing golf at the age of 50 so we could do something together. He was hooked even to this day with his wrecked back he loves it and is an active club member.

Took on a 2nd job when he became a single parent to make sure we all had what we needed. Even when that meant less for him. I never once heard him complain.

Even as I got older and got into other activities that he didn't quite get, he was always there.

He has since retired and moved back to the same home that he moved from when he got out of the service. He currently takes care of his older brother who is an double leg amputee. I never here him complain.
Still spends almost every weekend with 2-6 of his still alive siblings. Family values run real deep with them, and it's truly through the good and the bad.

He walked 23 minutes on his treadmill this morning and can't wait to get back outside and walk in the fresh air with allot less snow on the ground.

When I asked how he was going to celebrate his birthday he replied " I'M DOING IT RIGHT NOW, TALKING WITH YOU".


I love you dad,

Have a great day.

   


  

Tuff Tuesday workout

Trying to get my game face back on today.

Thanks to all for all the awesome comments and well wishes. I really do have you people in my head out there. Weather it be training or racing. It's a crazy sensation, like I owe you a good showing. That being said, thank you and congrats to all that raced or even to those that didn't but had kick arse training sessions over the weekend.

Speaking of training, it was an off day yesterday for me. I would have like to get something done as a recovery from Sunday, but my son Eric the 10 year old can't seem to shake the tail of this cold. He has this lingering cough that needs to take of residence elsewhere !
The Dr. checked him out and said everything looks good. No bronchial issues, no ear or throat issues, chest is clear and no real fever. Give him this and give it a few more day's.
That is always the hardest part, you can't do jack shite !

So he is back with his mom from his week long extended stay with us, (under crappy circumstances). And I'm back to, well trying to get back to normal training.

It's my quest to try and focus no less than 2 hours a week on core, no matter how I break it up. Obviously I won't change any swim, bike, run times and or day's. It just has to be worked in. Hell or high water I'm doing it for 60 days and then I will revisit it.
So today ended up being a longer core set up to 40 minutes and a shorter 550 meter lunch swim.
1x100
4x50
2x100
1x50
I was pretty spent due to my core set had 3 separate integrated shoulder raise moves, along with the rest. It effected me more than I thought. I also ran out of time to finish the last 450 meters of what I wanted to get done in the swim. 
My wife is still on board with her walking. And although it took a little back seat with our little guy last week, and her sacrificing her time so I could continue my pre race stuff. She is right back at it. I will walk with her tonight, and I'm guessing it will be 3-4 miles. I will encourage some jog sections to her, in hopes of building up her confidence to run.
She has committed to a local 5k on February 27th, yeah !!! her ! She said even if she power walked the whole thing she wants to do it.
I told her I would do it with her, and to my surprise she said, no you run as fast as you can and then you can watch me cross a finish line :-) LOL ! I had to laughh, but good on her.
So      http://www.theroadmultisport.com/ think about this. This is the one in Los Alamitos I spoke about.
I'm going to try and get a bike in tomorrow a.m. or a 4 mile run, and do the bike on Thursday.

A couple final things and thoughts.

My race day weight was not at 195 lb as I challenged myself to. I ran at 199 lbs. and couldn't care less. Other than my feet, I can't remember sleeping better pre race and feeling that good on race morning. No phantom pains, stomach good etc..
So like I said, big deal on the weight, it was a side bar goal.

And since we are on that. I ate so many buffalo wings that the wife made on Sunday, I could have shat an egg.
Along with garlic bread, pasta 1, pasta 2, meatballs, spicy Italian sausage etc..
I closed it all with a large chocolate chip cookie topped with cookie dough ice cream.
O.k. so that was fun (for a day) I reeled it back in and I'm already re focused.

Train hard, train smart, be healthy.  

13.1 miles running with 20,000 people is way cool

Very humbling day for me. I was not over confident in what the day was to bring. I was excited and in awe of everything going on.
First I would like to say sorry to the people from blog land that I wanted to meet. It wasn't in the cards for me due to my still sick son. In fact as I type this I am waiting for his doctors office to open to make his appointment.

I have not run over 11 miles (ever) and I knew there was going to be some mental games from 10-13.1 for me. I also know my passion for achievement and desire to endure. My threshold is high and I can grind anything out.
The first thing I noticed having not run a road race in so many years was, things don't change. You go out hard and if you don't check yourself you'll just crack and never recover.
I kind of hurt myself when I had signed up for this race. I had only run 8 miles 2x and with the thought of adding 5+ miles to that, I placed myself in a deeper coral than I needed to be. I signed up for a 2:20 finish time. Considering where I finished it doesn't seem like it would be such an issue, but it was.

The first 3 plus miles was a huge challenge to find slots and gaps to dart through to get where I needed to be and settle in. The race splits show 3 mile split at 9:28, where my Garmin shows differently in the 8's. But really who cares at this point I knew right away this was going to be a problem. Getting through at a reasonable pace and then trying to keep anxiety down with a reasonable heart rate.

At about the 4 mile mark I seemed to get in a flow. Just in the last couple of weeks I had been hitting consistent 9 and below miles for 5 plus mile runs. As it turns out I did average 9:27 mpm. And mentally I was hoping for 9:31. But as I was out there and running and seen where I was consistently pacing at 8:51 to 9:10 I thought I would smash what I thought I would do.

The weather was overcast and cool, but not cold. I think for me, other than some dense fog, perfect run weather.
I saw Patrick on his way back in at what should have been about 11 mile marker. He was just about 30 seconds or less behind the 1:40 pace group. I was stoked for him, knowing where he was hoping to finish.
Ironically it was just about that same point when I got there that both my feet where really trying to start a fire in my shoes.
It was a long slight incline and I watched so many people cracking and dropping off on that section. For me, other than some hot feet I knew what was there, I have ran it,  road it, knew it.
However I had never been in pain up it.
I spent the next full mile fidgeting with my toes and trying different run strides and steps to ease the pain. I finally had to pull my shoes off and see the socks all bunched up. The problem was my socks had hardly shifted if at all.
I KNEW AT THAT POINT they were all just a series of blisters and I needed to man up, do a gut check and get the "F" back on my way.
Wasn't It just 30 minutes ago that you were going to crack 2:00 hours? Now how are you  going to act. Go get this thing done and then lick your wounds.

I pounded out the last two miles, even conjuring up a sprint finish for the last 200 yards. I was happy to be done, and now have a better idea of what to expect in the future. This is no 5k,10k or even a 10k after a swim and a bike. This is 13.1 miles at an ongoing race pace. All run.

Total time 2:07 minutes total miles 13.18 and all kinds of lessons learned. Congrats to those that hit there BQ, yeah Chris k.
Awesome job by Patrick, I knew where he was shooting to be and he blasted it, great job brother. As far as the rest of you, I look forward to your race report.
So some fails and some wins here. I did manage to pace my neighbors nephew through the race. He is 27 and had only ran 10 miles once at 2:05. I kept him in step the whole race, made him drink when necessary and kept him gelled at the right distance.When I had to stop to check my feet I urged him to keep going as steady as possible. He thanked me and did so and finished at 2:06 for 13.18 miles. He was appreciative and elated, thanked me for the motivation and the fuel. .

Now I have a true goal time to beat and I can't wait to tick minutes off as the time goes by and races get under my belt.
I'm still a hockey player in runners clothing but I'm getting there :-).

Both my feet ended up having blister issues. Both the balls and big toes plus my outer bases of pinky toes. That might have occurred when I tried to change my stride ?
My quads are a little toast and my right knee is a little swollen, but not bad for a guy 1/2 year ago hadn't ran at all. I'll be back at it tomorrow, targeting a couple shorter races and maybe even another fairly close 1/2 mary. Thanks for all the well wishes, I tried to hold up my end.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING

For me it's the right place, for some it wouldn't be. From 7 to 45 years old this is where it's been and this is where I want to stay.
I love visiting places outside of California, but I always miss home.
It's not necessarily what you see is what you get. Because what I see and hear from family and friends outside is way different than the life I lead.
You hear the land of fruits and nuts. The OC. The Hills. Rodeo drive. Gang Violence, The Lakers, the this, the that.

When I think of my home, I think

and 

along with

and some

soon to be we'll be here

and we'll be getting these

and allthough there are many of you out there that I would love to meet. You'll just have to know that your very inspiring from a distance. HOPEFULLY some day, somehow it will all be arranged. But or now we'll have to be your eyes and ears out here. Thanks for all the e-mails and well wishes.
And even though I am not BQ minded, I will be PB minded and you'll all be there every step of the freaking way.
Maybe some day you'll be out here long enough to show you how to snap that surfboard off the top of that wave, or we can experience how awesome that empty wave really is in person. Maybe we can pack ride off of the ocean and up through some rural canyons together. Or maybe we'll just take a leisurely run down the coast and site see. I'll tell you it's easy on the eyes.
If and when it ever happens you'll still be in my thoughts. Everyone thaw out and get your races on. It's February and so the season begins !!

LETS DO THIS THING "AGAIN" !  

Must be EMZ day ??

I see Patrick was feeding her belt buckle ego (oh crap another sniper).

SHE DOES ROCK THOUGH.

I asked for one of these, shooting from the hip one day. And this was after saying (with all due respect) that her parents resembled Florence Henderson and Buzz Aldrin. NOT really a bad thing in my book. Famous Astronaut and Americas mom of the 70's.
Anyways, within minutes she had my info, and within a few days I was trying to explain this .

And NO I'm NOT flexing at you. I'm pointing at the shirt and tying to shoot a picture into a mirror at the same time. I would think I am more coordinated than this. "BUT I'M APPARENTLY NOT"" So this is what you get.

This was the attempt at a better picture.
Clearly the issue is the model and photographer. So I'll just say thanks EMZ, I'll try and rock it proudly for you.

On the other side of the fence, my son is sick, but manageable. He's home with my wife, taking some meds and kicking back. I did go home and wrap him up in my arm like the wee ladd that he is and tell him I loved him. It may not of made him feel better, but I sure loved it :-).

Today continued the taper up to this weekends race and was a 5.32 mile out and back in 50:42 and I felt great. Better than feeling great, look at that shirt. You should have seen all the compliments I had at 6:15 a.m. ,or not.

Be safe, train hard but smart, and be healthy.

Have a great day

P.S. KOVAS, I WORE THAT BEANIE FOR YOU HOME BOY !   





     

Wacked out wednesday

Well today is another off day due to taper week. I will run again tomorrow, but today is ?? well it is what it is.
Not  a huge fan of off days but they are so necessary. So I'll just roll through some things.

Whacked out-
My boss tells me on Monday he is having food catered in. Sweet !!
I get a call yesterday and asked if I can supplement what is being catered in with some Korean ribs and Hot links.
WTF ? what happened to catered. His reply- yeah that's coming too, I just thought you could make some of that BBQ also.
ME in my head - " really ? what world do you gravitate to when not present with us" ? You just don't whip up shit for 80-90 people. Freaking moron. I'd call him out on it, but I like him to damn much.

So I BBQ ed today (ppfft)

I got a call from school to come get my son, he's sick. ( I got this call while standing in front of 45 pounds of meat grilling) CRAP ! Thank God for my super woman wife, who changed plans and went and got him.

Speaking of which, I just know that school gets there minds blown with all of us. Me, my wife, and the Ex.
We all show up at holiday performances together. Go to all the parent/teacher conferences together etc..
We just all get along and I'm sure it blows there Catholic minds.
LOL- It's not about your school, it's about or son. GET OVER YOURSELVES :-).

There was platter, upon platter of deli sandwiches, egg rolls, some sort of Asian creme puff thingies and I didn't touch anything. (well one egg roll). I love freaking egg rolls.

Here we are in February ! How the hell did that happen. Wasn't I just wondering when Kovas would get to finally open his new Garmin for Christmas?
And now here we are just days away from the world famous Hallmark holiday on 2/14.

I FREAKING CAN'T WAIT TO RUN 13.1 MILES THIS SUNDAY !!!! I never in a thousand years thought that would come out of my mouth.

On top of that, the further past February we go, the more races keep coming. Along with some siiiiiick training !! YEAH !!

I have been really good on clean food for now going on 5 weeks ( I mean really good). I want a rib eye now !!
Sorry my Vegan friends, It's who I can be. And come Sunday after 12:00,it's all on for a day or so.

Reading your blogs every day is like drinking coffee to me, I really want it.

Even though my son is more than fine with my wife, his step mom. I'm still leaving work early to go wrap my arms around him and tell him that I love him. You see we wouldn't have normally got him until Friday evening and through the weekend, but because his mom was busy when the school called, and they then quickly called me.Where keeping him. LOL !! "NO REALLY WE ARE". :-) I'm going to go home and watch some lame movie with him while he still thinks I'm a super hero. (sadly we only have so many years) then they grow up.
 :-(. And were just dad I love you,but can I have a car.

I made dinner last night, Ahi tuna steaks, sweat potato and asparagus. It wasn't my wife, but I tried.

These guys where wishing they had some, and check out my big guys ayes. WTH ??

O.K. THAT'S IT, I'M OUT.

Tomorrow a.m. run 5 miles or so and hopefully the boy gets back to school.

Train hard, be smart, and stay happy and healthy.
  

sore no more

Monday was rest day after a pretty full week of training last week. I had some soreness in my inner groin area on both the left and right side. I was hoping a day of rest, food and recovery was all I needed. Turns out that was it.
This will be a taper week as a few of us will be running the same race in Huntington Beach. I will try and keep it simple here this week so as it won't get redundant of others blogs.
Today was a steady 3.25 recovery run at what I believed to be a moderate pace. Total time of 27:47. I didn't check HR or anything, I just ran as it felt good and just out of the slogging comfort zone. I was surprised to see 2 other runners on this same or similar out and back at 5:50 a.m.
If I see anyone out there it is usually if on this part of the road for a weekend run. But it was cool, and they were both moving well and smooth.
One guy past me on his out,shortly after my turn around point as I was heading back in. He had great form and cadence coming at me and was hoping his turn around point was where mine had been. This way he would be chasing me down (as we all try and do). It would push him to push me. I didn't want to go to hard because this was more of a recovery run (up beet). I did stay ahead until the light, where we both got held up and small talked for about 90 seconds. The light was green and it was back on. He was fluid and quick tempo, it as great to see and follow. I stayed at his shoulders for about .25 miles an started drifting back as I looked at my Garmin and noticed he was pacing @ 8:03 mpm. that was faster than I needed to be going, so I just let him continue and I backed out. It still got me home averaging a 9:01 mpm for my last mile.

My recovery time to normal breathing and HR was very quick and I felt loose and happy to run pain free. It was crystal clear and about 48 degrees and it felt great in shorts,long tech shirt and a beanie. The only thing that would have been better would have been being able to add about 3-4 more miles to that run,it was just one of those mornings.

Diet is spot on, my body feels great. If life doesn't throw too many twist to it, I should be as dialed in for this weekend as I can be at this time.
I'll miss riding this week, but it will make just that much more awesome upon return to the saddle.    

I hope everyone else is feeling like a million bucks and happy where there at in there life right now.