What more needs to be said???!!

Won't Jen look cute running a 1/2 marathon in this?

Just remember how to say "Boomer Sooner"!

A new goal for me!! I've got to do this

What I should have done in Dallas

My first attempt at planning

The new Runner's World includes the anual marathon guide so I looked through it and began planning for next year. Here's what I got so far.


February 1 - Mardi Gras
March 28 - Olathe, Kansas
April 26 - OKC Memorial
June 27 - Seattle
July 26 - San Francisco
September 19 - Air Force Marathon
October 4 - Spirit of Survival
November 8 - Outer Banks, North Carolina
December 13 - Dallas White Rock



Yea, I know that's a lot but I won't make all of them. I want to set a new PR in OKC this year, run Seattle just to go there for the first time, and run the Outer Banks just because it's my favorite place in all the world. Money and work will make the final determination for how many I actually run.


Olathe, OKC, Spirit of Survival, and Dallas are local so I will make those easily.


I've planned every year to run the Air Force marathon but have never made it. There's a good possibility of repeating that this year too.


So that's my first take at planning these things. I don't enjoy it at all. I'm much better at just finding the race a week before and signing up. I suppose this is part of getting older and something I should start doing more of. I won't make it a resolution because I know I'll never keep it.



Thanks for listening

Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 34 +0' 31 7.0 -0.5 -- ft 2 8' 27 +0' 24 7.1 -0.4 -- ft 3 8' 22 +0' 19 7.2 -0.3 -- ft 4 8' 11 +0' 08 7.3 -0.1 -- ft 5 8' 09 +0' 06 7.4 -0.1 -- ft 6 8' 09 +0' 06 7.4 -0.1 -- ft 7 7' 54 -0' 09 7.6 +0.1 -- ft 8 7' 39 -0' 24 7.8 +0.4 -- ft 9 7' 14 -0' 49 8.3 +0.8 -- ft end 7' 08 -0' 55 8.4 +0.9 -- ft Versus average of 8' 03 min/mile

Posted from traininglog.roadrunnersports.com

A Christmas Story

My Christmas was wonderful and my kids got everything could ever want and more. The Big Wheel was a non-event and The Little One got to ride his new F-150 truck all around the back yard because the day after Christmas it was 75 degrees here. A very nice post-Christmas gift I must say.


The Big One got a new guitar and amp. He said he wanted one for a long time and also said he knew how to play already. I assumed this was typical teenage exaggeration. Until he picked up 3 new songs by the end of Christmas day! He's a natural. I suppose 3 years of violin playing helps learn the strings and stuff but damn that kid is good. I was online finding the music to all my favorite songs today and forcing him to play them. He picked all of them up right away. I may have a new retirement plan in the making.


Willie was not left out of this wonderful gift giving either. I received the new Garmin 405 from my wife. I was overcome with guilt and remorse by this as I had skimped on her gift this year. I couldn't believe she got me something so great. It amazes me that she still acknowledges my presence let alone GIVE me something. I want to assure both of you that I have done nothing to deserve a gift. NOTHING! In fact I have tried my best all year long to make her realize what a huge mistake she made with me. She's a genius and graduated at the top of her class with a masters degree but she's a little slow when it comes to personal matters I guess. Anyway she got me this wonderful gift and I couldn't even look at it for awhile I felt so guilty. OK so that only lasted a few hours and I was all over the thing! It's wonderful. I set it up to sync with my computer and it wanted a name for this device. Hmmm.... I have always wanted a daughter named Anastasia (2 boys later I REALLY want one) so I decided to call it Ana. It must be female BTW, they are much more scary to me and therefore more motivation. My wife, however, said "Gee I thought you'd call it Paula". WOW! Why didn't I think of that? Paula is the most amazing, therefore scariest, woman runner I've (n)ever met! Paula it is.


I got to run with Paula (how cool does that sound huh?) today for the first time. First thing I noticed was that Paula picked up satellites much quicker than Garmin. I was actually still sitting in my truck when Paula said she was ready! It was cold today and I was wearing my Brooks coat so the second thing I noticed was that Paula was talking alot! I figured out that my coat sleeve was touching that bezel thingy and causing her to think I was asking her to do things all the time. That could get annoying. I read that you can lock the bezel though so it's something we can overcome together. Not a relationship ending problem. Even with all those unintentional button pushes she still recorded my entire 9 mile run and put it on my computer WIRELESSLY!! Oh that was cool. She had me the first sync.


It was good to get a long run in finally. I was feeling very blahhh lately. I didn't run hard at all but I worked up a good sweat in all my layers so I suppose I burned something. I've been eating a lot of cookies lately.

I check my weight daily and haven't gained any weight but I sure feel like a slug. My belt even broke! OK so I didn't have it on at the time but it still didn't help my conscious any.

I have gotten to know my dog really well lately. She has an attitude though. If I'm on the computer in the kitchen she MUST be held in my lap. She lets me have it if I don't pick her up. I try to ignore her but she's very persistent. Also since she is a dachshund, she is always cold. If I lay on the couch (do that a lot) she has to be beside me under a blanket. She generates more heat than a steel mill! I'm afraid she might spontaneously combust one day.

Thanks for listening

Happy Birthday Jesus

It's Christmas Eve and I'm finally ready for the Christmas season to start! So last night while I was starting my Christmas shopping everyone kept asking if I was getting "those last minute" gifts. No in fact I'm just getting started?? What's the problem? I have many hours left until Christmas and I like to get started early to beat those other dads. I bought The Little One a Big Wheel last night. I felt a little guilty buying a Big Wheel for a kid in a wheel chair though. Is that a cruel joke? The Big One found it incredibly funny and was the one who pointed it out to me that this may be inappropriate. Should be interesting to watch him open it tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

In Willie running news, I've had a pretty good week of just running. I've convinced myself that I am NOT training, I'm just running. I may have gotten myself to believe it too! I ran 4 easy miles tonight and didn't even look at Garmin. I was bundled up in pants and my wonderful Brooks coat and I just shuffled along at whatever pace felt good. I'm just running. It helps. I still haven't had a long run since Dallas so I feel a little out-of-sorts. I also feel fat, sluggish, bloated, scruffy (no shaving), grimy (no shower), lazy (Ok I like that feeling), and hopefully a little drunk tonight. All in all pretty good for Willie.

Would Jesus have been a runner if he lived in modern times? It seems he walked a lot back in his time. The Bible doesn't really say why he didn't take the bus or subway, I like to think he was health conscious and knew that walking would help his heart and cardiovascular system. He did create those things after all so he, of all people, would know how to keep them in tip-top shape. I don't know if he would have run though. He would be welcome at any marathon I know because I hear his name a lot after mile 22 of most marathons I've done. It would be tough for him though because he would be busy answering all those calls and prayers. One thing that would help him today is that they make running sandals now. That would save him from IT band problems or shine splints.

So Merry Christmas to both of you that read this blog. I've got my family here with me tonight and a wonderful glass of wine beside me. The house is warm and I've got cookies in the oven. The Little One is beside himself with excitement and has even promised to go to bed early tonight so he won't miss Santa. The house will still be warm in the morning and I will have coffee and breakfast when I wake up. My kids will open their presents and spend the rest of the day enjoying them. I'll spend the day watching them and trying hard to take in all the joy that they bring to me. I say all this not to brag but to point out how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things. Not everyone in the world, or in this country even, can say the things I've just written. I am truly blessed with everything I've been given. I take it for granted way to often and am guilt ridden that I only seem to remember how lucky I am once or twice a year. Most importantly though, Christmas reminds me that a loser like me, who seems to do nothing but wrong, has a chance to be forgiven. All because of the little tiny baby Jesus who was born into this world he created. I may forget to say it often enough but thanks for that Jesus and Happy Birthday.

Thanks for listening

Which one of these things is not like the other

Can you see the difference between the two pictures.


If you noticed the Heisman Trophy for 2008 in one..... YOU WIN!

My blog summed up on a T-Shirt

An unexpected run and a nice surprise

It's cold.

It's really freakin cold

It's totally freakin bone-chilling cold.

So I went for a run.

I've been off work now since last Tuesday. I'm still sane but only barely. The boys and I are having a lot fun doing guy stuff which really means doing nothing since that's what guys do best. Total bums, all of us. The dog even looks at us like we're pathetic.

I decided that I needed to get out on Friday so I went to a running club party where we ran around town looking at Christmas lights. Afterwards we ate (well) and had a nice get together. I took The Little One with me and we both had a lot of fun. That was my first run since the Dallas marathon and it felt really good. I'm trying really hard to not think about training for another marathon and just enjoy the time off. I want to get back to just running again. I need a break from "training".

I hadn't planned on running again for a few days. Something hit me today, though, and I just needed to get out and run a bit. No long run this weekend since I've got the boys and I don't want to leave The Little One alone with his brother for long while I can't get back quickly.

Did I mention it's cold? No? Well it's cold here. High of 30 today. I bundled myself up in my nice warm Brooks running jacket (absolutely wonderful!) and my Mizuno running pants (also fabulous) and hit the streets. I forgot how much I like running in a lot of clothes. It covers up all my blubber so I don't have to be self-conscious about what's jiggling around!

The run felt WONDERFUL! I started Garmin but didn't look at her for the entire run. In case you're wondering, we still aren't getting along since she dissed me in Dallas. She is very moody and I'm stubborn. Anyway, the run was great and I easily fell into a nice pace. I had tons of energy since I was well rested and kept good form. I made 3 miles before my cell phone went off with a wonderful surprise. SouthBay Girl was in town! She was driving through on her way to Tennessee and we were doing a late lunch. I hussled home and caught a quick shower (my first in days!!!) and piled the boys into the car.

We met SouthBay Girl and Velcro at Louie's by the lake. You remember Louie's from our run around the lake last week. Wonderful place. Unfortunelty it was very cold so we didn't get to spend much time playing with Velcro but it was enough. She is such a wonderful dog. She even spoke to me.

I'm sure Southbay Girl will post her pics as soon as she makes it home. Be sure to check out her blog since she takes much better pics of Velcro than I do.