The Road to Boston (week 1 of 16)

So here we are in the dying days of 2011.  The week between Christmas and New Year always seems such a strange kind of limbo - a time for dispensing with the old and bringing in the new.

Or combining the two, and resurrecting my old blog training log format for a new training plan.

Because here in late December, April seems such a very long way away.  But it's really only 16 weeks until the Boston marathon.  And what better way to say goodbye to 2011 than by starting Boston-specific marathon training with a bang.

Even if that bang is me struggling my way up a big hill!!!

Date	Saturday December 31st - New Year's Eve
Plan	am - 17 miles hilly run pm - enjoy date night and a Bob Schneider concert with Nancy
Outcome	5:15am, 41F and still. Met Clea downtown to kick off the Boston adventure, and we did 17 hilly miles in 2:30:37 (8:51 average). We ran Jefferson in reverse, then turned around, braved the hills of Stratford and did Jefferson again in the other direction.  A beautiful morning - I felt great, especially on the hills, and good conversation made it go by really quickly.  Nice way to finish out 2011.

Date	Sunday January 1st
Plan	am - 7 miles
Outcome	5:30am, 55F and windy. The Bob Schneider concert last night was awesome, but we didn't get home until gone 2am so it was a real effort of will to get up when the alarm went off at 5am.  Glad I did though, because this was the perfect way to set my stall for the 2012 running year.  Met Clea, and we did 7 miles in 1:00:23 (8:37 pace).  Went home, fell back into bed and slept for a good few hours.

Date	Monday January 2nd
Plan	am - Nothing
Outcome	Followed the plan exactly :-)

Date	Tuesday January 3rd
Plan	am - 10 miles (aim for 7:40 pace)
Outcome	4:45am, 27F, cold and still - great running weather.  Yes, I know I was supposed to do 10 miles, but I didn't get out until late so I ended up running 7.  I also have no idea what my time or pace was because I left my Garmin at home (yeah, I was super organized this morning), but it was cold so I'm sure it was sub-8 pace.  However, it was a beautiful run - I did a variant at the end where instead of turning off on Guadalupe I continued on to Duval and then hit the reward downhill back to the car.  Enjoyed the last of the Christmas decorations, and got the first Jantastic run in the books.  Woo hoo!!!

Date	Wednesday January 4th
Plan	am - 8 miles (aim to get under an hour)
Outcome	5am, 38F, another perfect running morning.  Met James for an 8 miler with the stated intention of going under an hour.  Did it with a 59:41 (7:27 average), with the rabbit finishing about 30 seconds ahead of me.  Kept with him until the last 2 miles when he just took off.  Thanks also to James for planting the idea in my head to get our Wednesday 8 mile times down to 56 minutes.

Date	Thursday January 5th
Plan	am - 8 miles (pace run with Clea)
Outcome	4:30am, 47F.  Got up a little early to check on the BBQ I was smoking overnight, so did the run smelling of mesquite and brisket.  We did 7 miles in 58:27 (8:27 pace). Nice run - had fun planning next weekend's long run route.  Spotted a coyote while driving home through my neighborhood.

Date	Friday January 6th
Plan	Nothing
Outcome	Pending

Pace, Power, Discipline

20 seconds.  That was all that was between me and a sub-1 hour 8 miles on this morning's run (7:33 average).  I just checked that against my training runs in the build up to White Rock last year, and that is right up there with them.  I mean ok, I did a few really fast ones (I think 58:27 was my best), but this is a very good omen for the kickoff of Boston training (and the start of Jantastic) in the new year.

And while the runs may not feel quite as easy as they did last year, I know I have a lot of wiggle room to get faster.  Expect the return of my weekly training logs on the blog in January.

The reason?  It appears that Boston is a big motivator.  It is lurking on the horizon and calling my name.  There's something about having that one chance to do something really well that makes you want to give it your best.  And just as last year's White Rock training mantra was "no excuses", I seem to have adopted "pace, power, discipline" this go round.

The first two are obvious, but they are facilitated by the third.  And it is that last one I have tended to struggle with.  As you may know, I do all of my runs really early in the morning (the latest I tend to start is 5:30 on Sundays), and it is sometimes a struggle to get out of bed.  But on the other hand, it is a really big motivator to keep pushing in a race when you feel tired - come on, look at how many early mornings you've devoted to this.

So to the plan - a Boston-specific training plan.  Nothing concrete at the moment, rather a rough notion of what I need to do.  My midweek runs will be mostly devoted to speed.  I need to resurrect the old "10 for Tuesday" to add to the existing weekly race with speed merchant (and fellow Brit) James on Wednesday, and Thursday's pace run with Clea.

That leaves weekends more focused on power.  And by power I mean hills.  There is a nice (aka evil) set of hills we know as "Stratford" I may add on to the Saturday runs (which are relatively hilly anyway), and I could switch some of the Sunday Danish runs to the old Ladera Norte route I used to roam.

Because for Boston I need to practice running down hills as much as running up them.

And finally, congratulations to my brother for getting a spot at London.  That's a pretty awesome race for your first marathon little bro.  And as London is the week after Boston, maybe we can compare notes as we go.

Just don't do anything stupid and get injured again!!!

The Night Before Christmas

The Most Wonderful Time of Year?  I would say a reserved yes, but is it just me or is Christmas becoming more and more commercialized each year?  Just look at all the riots and fighting surrounding the new Nike Air Jordan shoes - precious little goodwill being shown there.  Not wanting to sound all commie or anything, but isn't there something a bit wrong with a society that is willing to duke it out over a pair of pretty ratty looking shoes?

I have to admit, when I saw the news footage of that madness my first thought was to wonder if they offered decent pronation control.

How do you know if you're a running geek?  If you just read that last paragraph, and are laughing and nodding your head, you probably qualify.

Wandering through stores for the past week has been an interesting exercise in watching stressed out parents try to control their little monsters, who in turn are screaming their lungs out and demanding toys.  Thankfully Gavin does not seem too bothered, and is pretty laid back on the whole thing.  In fact he enjoys seeking out "naughty kids" and pointing out to me how much better behaved he is, and thus how he deserves chocolate when we get home (though he did mention yesterday that he would like some bigger and heavier chess pieces than the little plastic ones we currently have.  Brilliant - see my last post to understand).

And Dylan is still a little too young to figure out what's going on, though he did holler when we let him try out a new trike in the store and then took it away "for Santa" (though I will hold up my hand and take the blame for that).

"No Santa", he protested between screams, "bad Santa".

I'd better stop there before I get accused of going all Scrooge.  Though speaking of Scrooge, I did get a chance to watch the Doctor Who Christmas Carol the other night (last year's Christmas special).  It was a really good variation on the old story, with some unique twists and a great blending of genres (after all, they are both based on time travel).  And the fact it guest starred the gorgeous Katherine Jenkins (from my hometown no less) was an added bonus.

To all you folks out there who decry Doctor Who as being geeky (including some of my running buddies, you know who you are) - humbug yourselves!!!

On the running front, I had a great early morning 15 miles on this cold and rainy Christmas Eve with Meghan, Teresa and Clea.  And as an added motivator to keep up my midweek runs, I have signed up for the Marathon Talk Jantastic motivator.  If you don't know about Marathon Talk, it's a great weekly podcast run by two British guys.  The idea for Jantastic is that you commit yourself to running a certain number of runs per week, and you log those runs on their website.  You get points based on how many of your planned runs you actually did each week.

If you sign up for it, feel free to rival me.  Just search for participants in Austin, Texas - there's not too many of us.

Ok, time to close blogland down - I have things to do.  Despite my earlier rant, I am very much in a Christmas mood.  I have had my jukebox playing Christmas music for the last week, and am looking forward to some fun family time. Tonight we will watch our traditional Christmas Eve viewing of the Muppet's Christmas Carol, and tomorrow I will traditionally not watch the Queen's speech.

Yesterday I made some Jack Daniels Chocolate Pecan Pie, but it is mostly gone.  So today I am making absolutely the best dessert ever - one I only make at Christmas.  So if you have a few hours to spare dear readers, consider this my Christmas gift to you - try this super yummy Mocha Buche de Noel.

Merry Christmas and happy trails!!!

Chessmen

First casting of the chessmen - Camelot on the left, Regal on the right.  I need to let them dry and harden completely before painting and sealing them.

I may have blogged a while ago that Gavin had gotten into chess.  He's joined the chess club at school, and he's been playing me and the computer at home.  A few weeks ago I had the idea to make him a really nice heirloom chess set.  I can make a pretty kick ass board out of wood (or stone), but I needed to figure out how to make the pieces.

Well I did my research and found a way to cast them from latex molds, so that is what I did.  I got 2 different sets of molds from England and found a really cool local pottery supply store - Armadillo Clay - that sold bulk bags of Hydrostone (a hard setting gypsum cement which has very fine detail duplication).  Yesterday I had my first go at casting them.  I cut apart a milk carton to use for mixing and pouring, and I was so pleased with the results - they looked awesome!!!

Of course, there were some casualties of war!!!

The King is dead, long live the king (plus a few pawns).  In the background is an inverted belt sander I've been using to smooth and round off the bases

I think I'm going to get another set - the standard staunton shapes - and build some storage into the board I have yet to make.  I also have to decide on color schemes.  For the stauntons I can just do an antique effect, but I would like to do some colorful stuff on the others.  That means a bit of detail work with acrylic paints.

Let's just say I'm a better woodworker than a painter.  But I'll try to use a bit of patience and hope for the best!!!

The molds setting - I drilled holes in some scrap wood to support them and hung them like bats

Going Country at the BCS Marathon

It's been a strange running year for me, as I find myself arriving at December having completed none of the races I have run this year.  I DNFed at the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler in February, and dropped to the half marathon in San Antonio last month, so I had a little something to prove with my last race of the year.

On the other hand, this was not really a goal race - that particular honor goes to Boston this coming April - and my training has been sorely lacking in both mileage and distance.  Add in a niggling pain behind my left knee that just refuses to go away, and let's just say I was more than a little nervous about this race.

So with the whole family in tow, we rolled into College Station yesterday afternoon and picked up my packet at the race hotel.  The race is in it's first year, and you always gamble a bit when you run an inaugural event like this, but I'd been feeling really good about it from the fantastic feeling of community they'd cultivated on social sites like Facebook.  I hoped it wouldn't disappoint, and it didn't.  Everything from packet pickup to the race itself went super smoothly, was run very professionally and yet still kept the personal feel of a small town event.  Huge kudos to the RD, race organizers and volunteers who did an outstanding job with no small amount of Texas humor thrown in for good measure.

For the record, the event was capped at 1500 runners - there would be 500 marathoners and 1000 half-marathoners.  I do enjoy these smaller races.

So after checking into our hotel, we drove around Nancy's old college town and marveled at all the things that had changed.  We ended up in a local Mexican restaurant for supper, where I made a complete pig of myself and ate way too much - probably more fat loading than carb loading, but what the heck.  I polished off a bowl of chips with the yummy green salsa that is native to East Texas, ate my super burrito, and then finished off Gavin's, Dylan's and Nancy's meals.

Yeah, like I said, a complete pig.  Getting up from the table was quite a challenge.

Gavin the chip king

After supper, we all felt the need to walk it off so we headed out to the Texas A&M campus to explore. The boys had a great chance to run around and really tire themselves out, and we spent an enjoyable few hours wandering about and playing before retiring to the hotel and hitting the sack.  I watched the Republican debate for a while (which was as hilarious as ever) before falling asleep.

Future Aggies?

Race morning dawned nice and cold (43F at the start), and I decided to hold back a bit in the first few miles and see how I felt.  I kept it around 7:50 pace and tried to ignore all the people who were passing me (it was hard).

I had decided to use the mental trick of splitting the race down into five 5-mile segments, which I imagined as 5 separate midweek runs.  I wasn't feeling it on the "Monday" segment.  What I was feeling was the pain behind my left knee, and I feared it was going to be a long day.

I had 3 gels which I had planned on using at 6, 12 and 18 miles.  As "Tuesday" dawned, I still wasn't feeling it, and the field had thinned considerably when the  half-marathoners split off at mile 4.  But I took the first gel at mile 6, and suddenly at mile 7 I found my mojo.  The pain in my leg had numbed itself by this point, and I slotted quickly into the groove, dropped my pace down to the 7:40s, and started pulling back a lot of the folks who had passed me earlier.

By "Wednesday", I was knocking off sub-7:30 miles that felt so much easier than the earlier ones, even though they were into the wind and uphill.  I had gotten to a place when I had distanced the runners behind me, but those ahead of me were not getting any closer, so I had my little slot of solitude.

And let me talk about the hills and the wind for a moment.  The race surprised me by the number of hills it had (especially in the last few miles).  That's not a bad thing (I do need to do a lot more hillwork for Boston), and none of them were huge, but there were a lot of rollers and it caught me a little by surprise.

And the wind - it seemed for a while that no matter how many turns we made, we were still running into it.  Still, I'll take that over humidity any day, and twice on Sundays!!!

According to the unofficial results, I got through the half marathon in 1:41:07 (7:43 pace).

The aid stations were populated by very enthusiastic volunteers, and as I ran up to each I made the sign of the inverted longhorn, which netted me a lot of cheers.  When I also added in the "sawing off the horns" motion, the cheering got much louder.

Apologies to all my Austin friends (well, not really - hahaha)!!!

The middle portion of the race was run along country roads, with very little in the way of spectators.  That wasn't a problem for me because I usually try to block out the sounds of the spectators anyway, but it can make keeping on pace a little difficult.  I slipped a little, but found that somehow I had started reeling in many of the runners ahead of me.

"Thursday" (miles 15-20) saw me eventually chase down several of the runners ahead of me.  I picked off a few, and was feeling really strong.  As we ran through campus, I had an interesting experience with a car which came barreling out of one of the garages.  I had to slam to a complete stop to avoid being hit.  It didn't stop, and as it swerved out into the street and sped off at a ridiculous speed, I had to bite back the urge to send it on its way with a few choice words it would probably not be wise to yell in the middle of the Texas A&M campus!!!

According to the unofficial results, I hit 20 miles in 2:36:04 (7:48 pace).

However, around here I accelerated to pass another runner, and felt a sudden bolt of pain all the way down my left leg, which then seized up on me.  I stumbled, but managed to keep upright and immediately backed off the pace.

I ran through my checklist to make sure everything was still functional, and it was, but that gave me a real scare, and I decided to back off a little.  Oddly enough, I was still passing folks even though I had slowed down considerably.

Around mile 22 I started to fall apart.  My leg had started hurting again and I switched to a run/walk combination.  I really wasn't too surprised - I'd hardly done any really long runs in training, and didn't have enough miles in my legs to quite make it the whole distance at that speed, especially as most of the last few miles seemed to be uphill.

I dropped to 9 minute miles, and crossed the finish line in 3:34:18 (8:10 average - yeah, those last few miles really took a toll).  Still, very happy with that - given my lack of training I had no right to expect anything near that time.  And somewhat surprisingly, that also makes it my 2nd fastest ever marathon (albeit by 1 second).  Can't argue with that.

The post-race goodies were great, and the medal is a fun little piece with revolving sections that the boys had great fun playing with.  All in all, this was a fun little race that I really enjoyed.

I was very stiff immediately after the race, but by the time we got back to Austin it had mostly gone.  However, right now I do have a lot of pain behind my left knee, which is not good.  It really feels like I've strained something, and I'm hoping it goes away in the next few days.

It's funny, I had planned on Boston being my last marathon for a long while, but this race has me reconsidering that idea.

And speaking of Boston, which really is a goal race, I need to start laying out a training plan for that.  It's probably going to be my one and only chance to run that race, so I need to do all I can to make it a good one.

Jack Frost Nipping

It was 25F for this morning's run - we are in the realm of the ice king, and I am loving it.  Last night I moved the car out of the garage to do some woodworking, and left it outside.  This morning I had to de-ice it before setting off to meet James.  Two Brits running in sub-zero temperatures - it felt like home!!!

The BCS marathon is this weekend, so I was planning on taking it easy, but I felt good and managed a 7:33 average, kicking it up to sub-7 for the last 2 miles.  Now granted that's nowhere near the speed I was putting up for my midweek runs this time last year (and a good 12 seconds a mile slower than my last marathon), but considering the (lack of) training I've been putting in, I'll take it.

On the downside, I am definitely still feeling a lot of pain from my left leg.  It is super tight and there is a stubborn knot behind the knee that refuses to go away.  I guess that's one of nature's clues that I'm getting older - injuries and aches and pains take longer to go away.

I'm still a long ways from being consigned to the rocking chair though, ha ha.

So to this weekend's marathon.  I have no time goal, and this is not a goal race - I'm saving that for Boston.  I plan on going out, taking it easy, maybe finding a few folks to chat with and just enjoying it.  I posted on facebook somewhat facetiously than in honor of the Aggie football team I should run really hard for the first 18 miles, and then implode in the last quarter and let everyone pass me.

Between you and me, dear reader, I really don't plan on doing that!!!

Three Points of Attack and Training Journal

Runners are such complicated beasts.  We are all different, with many (often conflicting) priorities, motivations and goals.  One of the challenges of coaching (and in my professional life, mentoring or managing) is figuring out how different people respond to problems or challenges, and utilizing that to help them succeed.  Some need carrots, others a big stick, and some a bit of both.

But the most difficult task is often trying to figure out what motivates yourself, and how to harness that and turn it to your advantage.

And I am probably more frustratingly complicated than your average runner.  I don't necessarily run for the love of it - if I had to quit running tomorrow, I wouldn't be heartbroken.  Sometimes it can be hard, and sometimes I really don't like it very much (like yesterday).  But at the same time it can also be euphorically uplifting and inspiring.  I've had runs which have been ethereal, attaining almost spiritual levels of detachment.  I've been privileged to run into many blood red sunrises and sunsets of breathtaking beauty, enjoyed runs lit by huge hunter's moons, and been lucky to have shared many of those runs with some great friends.

So yeah, on second thoughts I would be heartbroken if I had to give that up.

But how do I harness that?  Once you strip away all my complex layers, you're left with one prime motivational factor that I can use, and it is this:  I need and thrive on a challenge.

That's what it's always come down to for me - the exploration of the unknown, the mystery of how far I could push myself in search of a goal.  That is why I started running marathons. That is why I started running ultras, and why I completed two 100 milers.

It is also the reason my motivation to run ultras vanished once that goal was met and the mystery was gone.  I had proven it to myself.  Case closed.  Time to move on.

So to practicalities - sometimes it's good to have a bad race, because it pushes you to prove something to yourself all over.  That's where I am right now - pretty damn mad with myself, and glad I have another marathon in 4 weeks time to redeem myself.

Yes, it's irrational - I still think I made the right choice yesterday.  It was certainly not a PR day, and I had nothing to prove by enduring a sufferfest.  And 1:46 is a respectable enough half marathon time.  But sometimes irrationality is good.  It makes me want to do something about it, and it usurps my natural laziness.

I've been pondering on this all day, and I have come up with three basic areas on which I need to focus.


1. Leg strength.  This is something I definitely need to work on.  My legs are lacking in mileage and endurance.  They got fatigued far too easily on Sunday,  even allowing for the conditions.  Last year I did a lot of cross training using aerobic weights and cycling, and I need to start doing that again.  It makes all the difference to my running.  It also builds confidence, which I thrive on as a runner.  I also need to be more consistent about my midweek runs. Last year, much of my success at White Rock was based on 2 back-to-back midweek runs done at (what turned out to be) marathon goal pace (7:20/mile) - 10 miles on Tuesday, then 8 miles on Wednesday, pushing it on tired legs.

2. Nutrition.  I had thought that one of the benefits of working at home would be that I would be able to devote more time to meal preparation, but it's often had the opposite effect.  I have tended to just work through my lunch, or just grab something easy (and not that good for me).  I need to pay more attention to how I'm fueling the tank.  To run at my best, I need to drop at least 5lbs, and put back some of the muscle I'd built up last year.  Better nutrition will help me get there.

3. Accountability.  Challenge provides motivation, which in turn provides the discipline needed to train consistently, which provides the performance increase which feeds that motivation.  And so the monster grows.  Last year, I added accountability in the form of an online training journal in this blog.  Maybe I need to start that up again (see below).

I think if I can harness each of these three points, I have a great opportunity to run a great race in College Station.  Here's a jumpstart on that training journal.

It's week 1 of 4 for the BCS marathon.


Sunday November 13th
7:30am - ran the San Antonio half marathon in 1:46

pm - 30 minutes of yoga after the boys were asleep


Monday November 14th
7am - 4 hilly miles around my neighborhood (31:47 - 7:57 pace).  Warm and humid, legs felt stiff and sore - did the first mile in 7:20, and got slower the further I went.  Thinking it's time I started pushing some of these runs on tired legs.

Lunchtime - 15 minute abs workout

pm - 30 minute Bob workout 1.  Circuits.  OMG, I haven't done this in months - can't believe how out of shape I am.  Sweated (and whined) like a dog, and you can bet I'm going to be sore tomorrow.  Feel pretty awesome and pumped right now though!!!


Tuesday November 15th
5am - 7 miles (58:41 - 8:23 pace).  73F and humid.  Are we in November or August?  I was looking forward to running in some cleansing rain this morning, instead I got warm and humid.  Legs tired, unable to maintain the pace below 8 minute miles.  Got some work to do, and looking forward to the cooler weather tomorrow.

Lunchtime -  30 minutes of circuits.  Worked up a good sweat

pm - 20 minutes of spinning on the trainer after the boys went to bed


Wednesday November 16th
5:30am - 7 miles (57:05 - 8:10 pace).  59F.  OMG, I am so sore.  My abs are sore, my quads are screaming, my hamstrings are tight, and I could barely get my legs out of bed this morning.  That means that all those weights and core workouts I've been doing are having an effect.  The effect this morning was that this was a really painful run.  Thank you to James for taking it easy on me :-)

Midday - 20 minute strength workout.  Just to ensure I am completely unable to walk tomorrow.


Thursday November 17th
4:30am - 6.6 miles (56:55 - 8:36 pace).  55F and windy.  Met Clea for our usual easy-paced Thursday morning run.  Leg soreness a bit better today, nice run.

Half a Job Bob

With the Undertaker.  An interesting metaphor for my race

Well today was the San Antonio Rock and Roll marathon, and I made the last minute decision to switch to the half.  I think it was the smart choice based on the weather, my level of conditioning, and my current levels of motivation.  This was backed up by having dinner last night with several friends, better runners than me, all of whom had also made the same decision to drop to the half.

And when I woke up this morning and saw the visible layer of moisture in the air, literally blocking out the Tower of the Americas, I knew it was going to be a sucky day.  And so it proved.

I started off running 7:20s, and within a mile I was soaked.  It wasn't particularly warm, but the humidity was like a suffocating blanket.  The first few miles were all mid-7s, other than one where I made a bathroom stop, but I never felt good, and never found a rhythm.  It was hard grind, and one of those days where the miles just seemed to drag by sooooo slowly.  I eventually crossed the finish line in 1:46 (8:06 average) and was happy to be done.  Not a great time, but not bad either.  I was still running 8:10s-8:20s at the end, but the last few miles felt like I was running in wet cement - my legs were heavy, and my heart just wasn't in it.

Gavin with a Mexican wrestler mask from El Mercado market

I can quite honestly say I had a horrible run - I hated every moment and couldn't wait to finish.  I suspect if I had continued and run the full distance I could have finished somewhere in the 3:40s or 3:50s, but I completely lacked the motivation to run another 13 miles.

It made me feel a bit better to hear the same sentiment echoed by everybody else I know who ran today.

Mostly this is my fault, since I just haven't put in the training necessary to run the kind of race I would like.  But it also throws up an interesting mirror of last year, where I had a sucky race at Frankenthon, signed up for a "revenge race", and managed to turn it around in 5 weeks for White Rock.

The missing ingredient in both Frankenthon and San Antonio was motivation.

It just so happens that I have 4 weeks until the BCS marathon.  And if I want to turn it around, I have my work cut out.

I know exactly what I need to do, but the question is can I find that motivation I need to make Aggieland my revenge race?

Paying Off Debts

Got back from San Diego late last night.  Had a good few days in California, including a great night out at Anthology - a kicking supper club with live music.  Only slightly annoyed that I missed Marc Cohn by one night.  His "Walking in Memphis" is one of my all-time favorite songs.

So up this weekend is the San Antonio marathon, and the theme seems to be about paying off old debts.  Like the one I owe to the weather gods for my "perfect day" at White Rock last year.  And I suspect I'm going to pay through the nose, because forecasts for Sunday look to be low 70s at the start, warming up to the upper-80s with 100% humidity.

The marathon organizers have even put up a page on their website about warm weather running.  They will be handing out salt at the start line, and it will be available on the course along with "spray stations" to cool runners down.  Not good news for someone who loves to run in the cold weather like myself.

So yeah, think I'm going to take it real easy for this one, and just enjoy a 26.2 mile stroll through old San Antone.

First Haircut, No Teeth, and How Not to Train for a Marathon

Daddy, what have you done to me!!!!

I took young Dylan to get sheared this past weekend - his first real haircut (in other words, the first one that was not administered by me).  Fair play to him, the boy did well - he sat on my lap, didn't get his ears cut off, didn't cry, and was held in place by the promise of a sucker if he kept reasonably still. 

I think he likes it - I have caught him admiring himself in the mirror a few times since the weekend.

On top of that, his older brother is now shy both his front teeth.  Oh yes, it's that classic once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take truly embarrassing pictures that I will gleefully pull out the first time he brings a girlfriend home.

Right now he is blissfully ignorant of that fact, and is just happy the tooth fairy paid him a visit.

On the running front, the San Antonio Rock and Roll marathon is this coming weekend, and I am happily tipping my nose and blowing a raspberry at it - never have I been so unprepared.  Looking for ideas for a speed advantage, I am down to shaving before the race and cutting my fingernails. 

And that's not going to help much, because long runs have been almost non-existent.  I have barely run in the last few weeks, my throat feels like somebody's playing the violin on it with razorblades, my knee has been cursing me out for months, I've been working long hours and late nights for weeks, and tomorrow I'm headed off to San Diego on a business trip for the rest of the week.

Though on the plus side,  I did watch George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" over the weekend.  Figured it would prepare me for the last few miles.

Yes, overall preparation has been excellent.

I ran San Antonio a few years ago - the first year it was part of the "Rock and Roll" franchise.  I'm not really a big fan of the super commercialized races ("Occupy San Antonio marathon" anyone?), though I did enjoy the race and got what was then a huge PR.  I mostly remember shaking my head at people who bought finishers shirts before the race and then had the gall to wear them at the start line.  I also remember that when you finished, you were herded through the "marathon souvenir shop" before you could get out of the finisher's chute.

It's a wonder they haven't figured out a way to charge your credit card at each water stop!!!

Not to worry, I plan on using my tried and true marathon approach - rocking on up, going out way too fast, crashing hard somewhere mid-race, limping across the finish line while grimacing and cramping in both legs, and then being rolled home.

Consider it my protest statement.  Power to the people - especially the lazy ones like me.

Happy Halloween

We have tricked and treated, given out all our candy and Green Lantern and Robin are fast asleep.  Time for a scary movie.

Did I ever mention how much I love Halloween?  Always been a fan of ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night.

Here's what we got up to tonight!!!

Green Lantern, Robin and the Wolfman - an unlikely team!!!

Sitting outside handing out candy.  Definitely not eating it ourselves :-)

Holy sucker Robin!!!!

The Classic Inverse Taper

My Halloween costume, or do I just need a shave?

It seems that the San Antonio marathon is in two weeks time.  How did that happen?  It appears to have snuck up on me, and this may be the most unprepared I've ever been for a marathon.  I've even considered dropping down to the half, but what the hell - we'll just see how it goes.

I've hardly run for the last two weeks - a combination of a persistent sinus infection, being on the road, cranking up the overtime hours and just plain old laziness.

Oh, and I did do a bit of work building a new desk for my home office.

My new home office desk - fresh out of my woodwork shop

And as for running?  Well most of my long runs have topped out at 13-15 miles.  So I figure the only solution is to crank up the miles from now until race day.  It's funny - last year I was training like crazy, on my way to a massive PR at White Rock.  This year I don't think I'm going to get anywhere close to that time, but you know what, who cares?  Life is in a much better place now than it was back then.  I'll take that trade.

But on to the classic inverse taper.  Today I did 20 miles.  I plan on doing another 20+ miler next weekend, and then the marathon is the weekend after.

And it seems that Fall has finally come to Austin - it was low 40s this morning.  Sweet - we're getting into my element.

And being the planning genius I am, of course I didn't realize that Dylan had eaten the last banana. So no pre-run breakfast.  No biggie - I've run on empty before.  Gels, energy gu?  Oh, don't have any in the house.  No problem - I hardly ever use them in training anyway.  Gatorade?  No, can't be bothered.  I think one handheld of water should see me home.  And off I went - la la la.

And it went pretty well.  I ran to downtown, met some friends to run the middle section with, and then carried on by myself.  Still doing good.  Until about mile 17 when the leg cramps started, and my pace dropped dramatically.  Well at least most of the hills were done.  And there was a beautiful blood red sun rising on a classic Fall morning to keep me interested.  Plenty of training groups out and about - not going to let any of them pass me.

They didn't.

So I hit 20 miles in around 2 hours 50 minutes, and ended up averaging in the 8:30s - none too shabby considering my usual lack of preparation.  Made it the whole way around on one handheld - amazing the difference the weather makes.  Definitely need to put some miles into these old legs though - they're not getting any younger :-)

All in all it's been a busy weekend so far.  Yesterday I got home from a business trip just in time to pick up the boys and take them to Gavin's school Halloween party - Hootenany.  Then after this morning's run, we went to the Austin ISD fitness expo, where Gavin got to try out a bunch of new sports (like boxing).  We enjoyed lunch at a great little Mediterranean cafe, and I'm currently catching up on some more work while Dylan naps.  There are plans for several other things before we close the doors on the world and settle down for a good old fashioned scary movie.

And it's funny - every time I go away it seems that Dylan has grown by the time I get home.  And let me tell you - that boy missed his daddy, because he was my boy last night.  I've never gotten such a great welcome, and he fell asleep cuddled up with me in the chair, while we watched a recording of the wrestling show I took Gavin to see last week.

And speaking of the Gavster, he lost another baby tooth this week - one of his front ones.  The other is loose and no doubt will be dropping out before long, so how's this for a Halloween picture?

Boston Bound

I have heard it said that every runner has only one or two really good marathons in them, and I think I spent a goodly part of my allocation at White Rock last December. Just about as perfect a race as I could ever wish to have, I remember the absolute euphoria of crossing the finish line with a Boston qualifying time that I didn't even think a possibility at the start of the race (I punched the air as I crossed the finish line - something "reserved Brits" are not normally known for). Now bear in mind that I never ever had any real intention of actually running Boston. It was just cool to know that I'd qualified. And to surprise myself about what I could do when I really focused.

So I happily stored it away in the memory bank labeled "races where I didn't suck" and pretty much forgot about it...until last week.

When Clea reminded me that the Boston application window was still open, and there were still open slots. That set me to thinking. On the one hand, I will probably never run that qualifying time again, so this is most likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But on the other hand, simply qualifying does not guarantee a place at the start line. You see, the qualification has changed this year as preference is given to the faster runners who are granted entry based on how far under the qualifying time they ran. So as the race filled up I knew that my cutoff would be somewhat less than the 3:15:59 standard.

But there was no way of knowing how much less.

And since marathon day is during school, Nancy and the boys could not go. So I felt guilty about that. But Nancy was without hesitation 100% insistent that I shouldn't let this opportunity pass by, and she urged me to apply.

It's funny. Before I became a runner I associated Boston with an infamous serial murderer, being forced to sit through episodes of Ally McBeal, the scene of "crimes against tea" and the place where Haley Joel Osment was known to "see dead people".

But now the first thing I think about is the Boston marathon - the ultimate goal of any road running weekend warrior.

So I signed up. So did Clea.

And we both realized we really wanted to run it. So it was a weekend of suspense waiting to hear if we'd made it, and I will freely admit to checking the Boston website once or twice "just in case". We had both qualified about 3 minutes under our required times, so we knew there was a good chance we would get in.

But there was also the chance that we wouldn't.  Or one of us wouldn't.

Fortunately, we both got the email confirming that we had made it - it turns out the cutoff for my age group was exactly a minute slower than what I had run in Dallas.

So all the logistics of finding flights and hotel rooms started to kick in. I had the flights booked within 10 minutes of getting the confirmation email.

I called Nancy. The conversation went something like this:


Me: Did you make some kind of big purchase on the credit card in the last day or so?

Nancy: No, why?

Me: Because I'm seeing a charge for $xxx that's just shown up

Nancy: Can you tell what it is?

Me: Yes, it appears to be a flight reservation. To Boston.

Nancy: Have you lost your card anywhere? Do you still have it?

Me (realizing she hasn't tagged yet): I still have mine. So you didn't make that charge?

Nancy: No

Me: Oh, it must have been me then. I guess I'm going to Boston

Nancy (finally realizing): You %$^$!!! Congratulations. (laughs)


And I'm like a kid at Christmas - I've been wandering around with this goofy smile on my face ever since.

Because it's the coolest thing - I'm going to run Boston!!!

Maybe I'll even take the time to sip a cup of tea at the harbor.

For Queen and Country you know :-)

It's in the Bag

The Apple Crumble, just liberated from the grocery sack

The title is a reference to an odd cooking experiment I tried tonight - cooking apple crumble inside a paper bag.  I used a paper grocery sack from a local farmer's market, and was a bit nervous that the bag would just burst into flames in the oven.  But it didn't, and the end product was most delicious - the bag appeared to help steam the pie as it cooked and concentrated the flavor.  Everybody had seconds!!!

Everything's better with ice cream

On the running front, it's been an odd few weeks.  I had a mini layoff due to surgery, which I hoped would also give my sore knee a chance to heal.  Then my first run back was a 7 mile pace effort which left me convinced I needed to drop San Antonio down to a half marathon, as my knee was still complaining.  But a few days of icing (while grumbling about getting old), and finally switching over to a new pair of running shoes (I've only been running in the old ones since December!!!), seems to have done the trick because I did 20 pain-free miles yesterday.

And it was an important psychological run for me.  I haven't run 20 miles in months, but I had one of those glorious runs where you feel like you could go forever.  It gave me a much needed boost of confidence for San Antonio.

In other news, the application period for the 2012 Boston marathon ended last Friday.  Since I qualified last December, I've never really considered actually running it.  But then I realized that since I'm not at all sure I will ever hit that qualifying time again, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me (some well-timed prompting from Clea didn't hurt either).  So I sent in my application on Thursday, and I'm now waiting on pins and needles to see if I got in.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Busy Bee on the Honey-Do

Gavin's Desk - My Latest Woodworking Project

I have been working hard on paring down the honey-do list this weekend.  Friday night I put the finishing touches on Gavin's desk.  Most of the actual woodworking was completed a few weeks ago, and since then it's been a repeating process of staining, sanding and coating.  Now that the final layer has been applied and left to harden, I attached the legs, put together the sliding keyboard tray and moved it into Gavin's room.  It fits perfectly, and makes full use of an awkward little bit of dead space.

I also hooked up the computer I've been building for him, and it's become his new favorite part of the house.  It's a cozy little place for him to do his homework.

Saturday morning I replaced the cd player in my car with a digital media receiver.  I've never done this before and wasn't sure what to except, but it was a lot easier than I anticipated.  A bit of straightforward interface wiring - matching up and crimping wires - and in it went.  It's a cool design because there's no cd slot - you open up the front plate and slide out a tray where you plug in your ipod or usb device, then slide it back in and close the face plate over it.  Then you can control the device through the radio.  Very neat and efficient, and no more cds for those car thieves to steal!!!


Then this morning I gave our gas barbecue a makeover.  I replaced the burners, manifold and flavorizer bars (our old ones were practically disintegrating), and scraped all the accumulated gunk off it.  I am going to relaunch it tonight with some wonderful looking rib-eye steaks, eggplant and summer squash.

Hang a few pictures today and my honey-do list for the weekend will be complete.


I didn't run this morning, and enjoyed a rare weekend sleep-in.  I did 12 miles yesterday at a minute a mile faster than I have been running over the past few weeks, but on the downside felt a few painful twinges from my knee, and wanted to give it a chance to settle down.

I am hoping to get in a good few runs over the next few days as I'm about to have an enforced 7-10 day layoff from running.

Needless to say, my goals for the San Antonio marathon have been adjusted.  I don't think they were ever that realistic anyway.  More on that later, but for now I hear my name being called.  Time to get moving.

Have a great week everyone.

Birth of the Cool

As well as being the title of one of my favorite jazz albums, that perfectly sums up what it felt like to run this morning.  The oppressive heat and humidity (80 days at over 100F) have finally broken, and while we're still getting up into the mid-90s, the mornings are noticeably cooler.  It was in the upper 50s/lower 60s this morning, and it felt wonderful.  I ran with Frank, and we did 8 miles averaging in the 7:30s.  While we weren't exactly cruising, we weren't really pushing either.  My gauge for a really good 8 mile run is to break under an hour, and we were just a handful of seconds over that.

Dang, but it felt good.

Of course, Texas is getting a lot of media play at the moment due to all the wildfires raging throughout the State - a lot of them in or around Austin.  The high winds of the past weekend, combined with the almost total lack of rain for the last 6 months and scorched ground from a long brutal summer was the perfect storm waiting to happen.  One of the biggest fires is in Bastrop, not too many miles away from us.  It has almost completely destroyed the mystic pines of the Bastrop State Park (a favorite "running nirvana" location of mine, and scene of the old "Sweaty Twenty" runs), and I heard reports that at one point the fire was spreading at almost 60mph and was 24 miles long and 20 miles wide.  To date it has consumed 34,000 acres and destroyed 550 homes.  That's a lot of newly homeless people.

The Bastrop Fire - photo courtesy of Kerri West

And that's just one of many wildfires in and around the Austin area.  Yesterday I could smell the smoke in the air from my house.  I know several people who have been evacuated from their homes, and are waiting to see if they have anywhere to go back to.

You just never know, and there but for the grace of God......

But I'm going to end up on a positive note with a Gavin story.   Nancy and I were arguing the other day (forget what about - something really silly no doubt), when Gavin piped up - "girls, you're both pretty.  Now let's go home".

End of argument - it's practically impossible to continue arguing when you're laughing so hard.

Kudos to my 6 year old diplomat who knows exactly how to handle mum and dad!!!

Seriously Dad, You're a Bit of a Nerd

This from the cool kid in the picture with the baseball and basketball necklace and the blue ice cream all over his face (his brother doesn't care - he just thinks I'm a good pillow).  To be fair though, he's probably right.  As his teacher often tells us - he's very articulate.  She just doesn't always like the things he's articulating!!!

Anyway, my latest "nerdy" project is to replace the radio in the car with an ipod/mp3 digital reader, as I want to be able to catch up with my podcasts while I'm driving to these customer sites.  I ordered a really nice one this morning.  And as I hate to pay people to do something I could do myself, I'm going to figure out how to do the install and have a crack at it.

Speaking of business trips, my trip to Corpus Christi ended up being a mixed bag.  While the business side of things went very well (and I discovered a great Thai restaurant), my car got broken into at the hotel car park and they got away with my phone charger and a bunch of cds (including the Audiobook I was in the middle of).  Oh well, at least they left the seats this time.

To top it all, I was then subjected to almost 3 hours of "conservative talk radio" on the drive home, which basically consisted of a lot of ranting and juvenile name calling.

I think I'd rather be waterboarded!!!

On the running front, some great news is they're predicting the heatwave we've endured for months is about to break.  They're saying we're going to get lows in the upper 50s this week, so I'm planning on taking advantage of it and getting in as many runs as I can.  I did 12 yesterday, 6 on the trails this morning, and there was more than a hint of Fall in the air.

Maybe my inner runner will finally poke his head out and take a look around!!!

Blood Sky

Some sunsets just make you glad to be alive.  This was the scene outside my hotel in Corpus Christi this evening. I am writing this while sitting out on the balcony watching the boats bob up and down in the marina and enjoying a slight sea breeze.  Of course, it's still 92F and humid as all get out, but you can't have everything, right?

I think I will get up early in the morning and go run along the shoreline for a few miles to earn my breakfast before heading off to our client's site.

Five Legs, Two Boys and a Bunch of Wood

This is how I chose to spend most of the record breaking hottest weekend of the year.  It registered over 110F in Austin on Saturday, and 112 today.  Despite this, I decided to get my woodworking hat back on and spent the day in the garage sweating myself into puddledom, drinking gallons of water and building the desks I planned last week.  I got a beautiful piece of birch hardwood, and ended up with three custom desks - one for Gavin's room, one for what will be Dylan's room, and one L-shaped beauty to replace my current work desk.  The picture above is of me and the Gavster measuring and marking our first cuts (the netbook is open to the 3D plans and measurements I put together in the brilliant Google Sketchup).  It was fun to do a project with Gavin, though he wasn't too happy that I wouldn't let him have a go with the circular saw or router (especially since I let him use the nail gun on my last project).

Gavin's desk has an odd shape built to fit into a specific space, so requires five legs.  He was excited because I've also built him a custom computer to go with it.  I figured as a new first grader, he needed his own special "study spot".

To complement my "honey do" weekend, I also cleared out a bunch of baby toys, strollers, high chairs and the like from the garage and the attic.  We are reclaiming space at a rate of knots!!!

On the running front, I celebrated the hottest day of the year by "running" 14 miles.  I say "running" because it was a horrible effort.  I couldn't seem to stop myself overheating, and slowed way down.  There was a bit of walking and a lot of whining.  I ended up averaging about 9:30/mile, and spent the drive home wondering why I can't seem to put together a decent run anymore.

Then I stepped outside later that morning and wondered how the heck I'd managed to run 14 miles in that heat.  I have some friends who ran a 60k all night race last night, and I don't understand how they did it - it was still well over 100F when the race started.

I will admit to some "glad that's not me" feelings as I went to bed last night. Give me cold and icy conditions any day.

This morning was another Walnut Creek "dust bowl" run, and again I felt much better than I did yesterday - still enjoying my trail return.  And in the quest to stop kicking my own ass every Saturday, I am gaining weaponry in the shape of extra running buddies for midweek runs.  At the time of morning I run, I really need motivation to get out of bed - having to meet somebody makes me accountable and (usually) ensures I don't turn off that alarm clock and go back to sleep.

Up this week - early morning runs tomorrow (with Frank) and Tuesday (with Clea), and then a business trip to Corpus the rest of the week.

Planning 16 for next Saturday.  Wonder if I'll make it.

It Looks So Realistic

3D without the glasses?

What do you think of the 3D capabilities of my TV? Just jumps out at you, doesn't it - and that's just the box!!!

This weekend was "reclaim the house" weekend.  Since my father-in-law left, our third bedroom has been more or less a storage space.  We moved our bulky old TV in there when we got the new flatscreen a while back, along with the box for the new one, the old audio receiver and various other bits and bobs we needed to get round to recycling.

Needless to say, there was not much room to move around in there.

So this weekend I decided I wanted the third bedroom transformed into Dylan's room, which is why Saturday afternoon found me sweating like a pig and swearing like a sailor in 108F Texas heat trying to figure out how to lift a 200lb+ projection TV into the back of my SUV.  After a lot of strategizing, straining and huffing and puffing, I finally managed to get it in there, drove it (along with a bunch of other stuff) to Goodwill, and cleared the room out.  A couple of trips to IKEA, some more purging of the back closet and we have something that looks suspiciously like a bedroom again.

A comfortable, cosy and inviting one at that.

In the meantime, my planning and scheming brain has been working overtime to figure out how to fit desks into the challenging profile of both Dylan and Gavin's rooms.  Thanks to Google Sketchup and my own cunning, I have come up with what I think is a really smart custom design that fits into a little nook at the end of the bunk bed and utilizes the space really well.  I cut out a scale model using the cardboard from the TV box and it seems to work great.  If I'm really smart, I may even extend to integrating the computer into the desk itself, so you'd press buttons on the desk to turn it on or off.

That, of course, would entail some more woodworking in the hothouse that is our garage.

In the meantime, this comfy chair appears to have become Dylan's favored "study spot".  Do you notice how the little scamp has laid claim to my netbook?  He knows exactly how to switch it on and open it up.  I only hope he hasn't figured out my password yet!!!

He wants to be just like daddy!!!

And of course, since I said in my last post that I've been catching a hint of fall in the air, the temperatures have been trending up.  I even saw some 110s in the forecast.  Sorry everyone!!!

I still stand by what I said though - there is a noticeable difference in the mornings.

Last Saturday I felt a lot more like my old self (the "winter" me), and didn't drop off the back of our running group.  In fact, it is time to implement San Antonio marathon training plan version 2.0, which calls for 14 miles this weekend.

This week has been taken up by back-to-school activities (Gavin is now a proud 1st grader), and study for OLAP certification exams for me.  Was supposed to take the test this morning at 8am, but instead sat in the test center for two hours while the staff tried to figure out how to get their servers back up and running, chain-smoked outside, and complained to me about their co-workers.  All this for a 90 minute exam.

Luckily, once they got everything working I flew through it and pulled a 96%.  Sweet - I guess I really do know what I'm doing with this multidimensional stuff.  Who knew?  I thought I was just good at BS!!!

Going to reward myself tonight by starting on Mockingjay - the final part of the Hunger Games trilogy.  In case I haven't said so before, it's a brilliant series and well worth a read.

Anyone else out there read it?

A Hint of Fall?

I swear I caught a hint of Fall on this morning's run. Now I know that sounds really silly when it's going to get up to 105F again today, but the humidity was definitely a lot lower than it's been in a long time, there was a nice breeze, and I actually felt really good.

And it was a beautiful morning. Nancy has been summoned to Brownwood, so me and the Gavster took Dylan to daycare, and I caught even more of that Fall promise - something about the light or the sun or just the general feel that lets me know that cooler days are coming.

Or maybe it was the fact that I saw some stores laying out their Halloween decorations at the weekend.

Or maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. Whatever it was, it put a spring in my step.

And in the week that Texas's own gun-slinging coyote-slaying Governor announces he's running for president, I also have a request for your vote. My running partner has applied to be part of Team Refuel. You can help her out by going here, searching for "Clea" and voting for her.  If she wins, she is going to donate her grant to the Trail Foundation.  I know many of you Austinites use the trail regularly, so it's a win-win right?

You can vote once a day.  Just saying.

Go team chocolate milk!!!

Back on the Trail

It rained this evening, for the first time since about April.  We were so excited that Nancy, Gavin, Dylan and I staged an impromptu game of basketball in the rain.  We all got soaked, and the three of them then kicked off their shoes and went for a walk/run around the block while I pulled a camping chair out onto the porch and enjoyed watching the water fall from the sky.

I love the rain - just wish we could have had a bit more of it.  Unfortunately I suspect it was a bit too late to save my vegetable garden.

Yesterday I did 12 muggy road miles and was slower than ten bears.  It's just not working for me at the moment, and I have taken to "easing off the back" of my little running group when I feel the need for a break.  No big deal.  I remember feeling just as crappy this time last year, and didn't run too badly that winter.

This morning I met Clea up at Walnut Creek for a pre-dawn 7 mile trail run.  It was a nice variation to our usual Sunday Danish run - I haven't run trail by headlamp since Rocky Raccoon back in February, and I loved it, loved it, loved it.  It had all the good things I'd forgotten I enjoyed about running trail, and a welcome reminder that you don't have to run crazy distances to be a trail runner.  We talked and laughed about all kinds of stuff ranging from Rick Perry to Rango (we'd both bought the movie this weekend), kept up a good pace, and I felt better and stronger the further we went.  We were even able to turn off our headlamps for the last few miles and enjoy a beautiful sunrise over the woods.  The first mountain bikers were just getting ready to set out when we finished up, and it was a good feeling to have had a good run and be done before 7am.

I'm glad I got up for it, though I was definitely cursing when my alarm clock went off this morning because I was up until the early hours reading "Catching Fire", the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Wow, what can I say - amazingly well written, emotionally draining, tail twisting page turners out of the top drawer.  The best books I've read in a very long time.  I can't wait to start on the last book to finish out the trilogy.

A Slight Re-Think

I am altering my marathon plan to basically tread water for a while.  This record-breaking summer has been brutal, and it is not fun nor sensible to bang out 20 milers in this heat.  I will re-evaluate how realistic my sub-3 hour marathon goal is in a few months time when I hit the sharpening phase, but the new focus for my base building is simple survival.  To be honest, that's not much different from last year, and I didn't do too badly once fall came around.  So I'm not going to worry about pace or the like, just keep a decent distance for my long runs and anything else will be a bonus.

Including getting out of bed for my early morning midweek runs!!!

Pictures from Colorado

We're back from Colorado. Had a great time and did not miss the Texas heat one little bit. We got back at midnight last night to be greeted by 90F at the airport - a sobering return to reality!!!

It was 5 days of eating, lots of drinking, late nights, magnificent scenery and great company.  Our ranch was at 8,500ft with spectacular views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and I even managed to get in a few runs (hilly rocky trails, but with zero humidity).

Here are some of the highlights.

Scenic stopoff on the way to the top of Pike's Peak

40F at 14,110ft on the summit - bloody marvelous

Looking down from the top as the weather closes in

The view toward Manitou Springs

Looking up the incline railway at the Royal Gorge

Me and Dylan on the railway.  I love this picture.

The afternoon rain moves in across the Sangre de Cristo mountains

Me and the Gavster enjoying the mountains

Gavin on the trail

Garden of the Gods

Nancy and the boys taking a break

Climbing Cathedral Mountains

Couldn't find my Garmin for this morning's run, so ran "old school" with my watch. When I got home, I looked everywhere and still couldn't find it. Finally I asked Gavin if he'd seen my "running watch", and he was like "oh yeah, Dylan had that. I know where it is." He proceeded to take me to Dylan's "hidden hoard" where the little rascal (Dylan) has been collecting and hiding away "interesting items". And there was my Garmin, along with several other things I've been looking for!!!

Tomorrow's going to be an early start for us as we're escaping the Texas heat and flying to the mountains. My company is holding a retreat at a beautiful ranch in the Sangre de Cristo mountains in Westcliffe, Colorado.  5 days of hiking, swimming, climbing, riding, eating and drinking.

I would say relaxing, but we have two of the most active boys known to man, so there probably won't be much of that.  Should be a ton of fun though!!!