Quote for motivation

You must do the thing you think you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

Today is a rest/work day. Three more commute days to Belle Chasse, LA. I just worked one hour, nine more to go.

Revision to the blog page!

OK! I added new data on the right over there which will help me keep track of the miles of swimming, biking, and running that I log. What's that, no swimming and biking? Nope, not yet any way. Look for some swimming yardage and weight training to be added to the regiem(sp) in December. Every time I mis-spell a word like the previous sentance in this blog, it makes me think of those English classes I took over the past few years. They used to cut up my papers with all types of redmarks, they attempted to make the students feel soooo stupid. I laugh to myself at their ignorance to the rest of the world. How can all of those professors live with the rest of us as we leave trails of mis-spelled words, dangling participles, comma splices and sentence fragments? Ha-ha, take that u Enlish profeser, I am ass ulting the Enlish lungage un porpise!

Anyhow, as I reflect on the closure of what actually has been a really nice life over the past five years (part-time and no-time working), I am dreading going back to work full time. The moolah will be nice, but the lack of freedom will be a drag. Hopefully, I can be wise enough to stay debt free, therefore will not lose real freedom. The right to choose not to work. I am weighing this decision as I entertain the idea of sporting around in a new 2006 911.

As I am down to less than three weeks of freedom, I enjoyed a beautiful run this morning on MY LEVEE; which I share with only a few others. I did my regular ez seven miles. I feel for those poor soles that do not take the time to enjoy those damn sunrises that I can never seem to get enough of. It is my life and I will choose the path that my life takes. Slow down and smell the roses.

Been blogging for a month

OK, been blogging for a month. It's really an online journal through my eyes. School countdown continues. Two full weeks and exams! It can't get here soon enough. I ran my ez 7 miles on Sunday which gave me a 35 mile week total. My runs were never easy last week. Most runs were difficult, I never really felt fresh on any of them. I hope it is attributed to my half marathon the previous week. I have four more commutes of sitting in that nasty evening traffic. My new job is only minutes away, I can even come home for lunch. Total miles logged for last 4 weeks: 135

Another ez seven miles

Still too much temptation from the holidays over here. I must have just ate 4000 calories of m&m's. Advice for the rest of my life: Don't host any more functions. Nothing but crap in the house.

Yesterday, I started off good w/ my normal oatmeal. I ran then had my daily dose of Dannon yourgurt. I was still hungry so I had what else? The breakfast of champions! Still hungry, what's that over there? A full dish of m&ms!

Still too much temptation from the holidays over here. I must have just ate 4000 calories of m&m's. Advice for the rest of my life: Don't host any more functions. Nothing but crap in the house.

Ran my ez 7 mile levee course.

Post Thanksgiving

Did not scrub the diet too bad yesterday. I had two helpings of some type of choclate pecan pie. It was pretty darned good. But I was still stuffed, so I did not eat dinner. My liquor consumption wasn't too bad. I stayed below a six pack. Ran an ez 7 miles.

Bah Thanksgiving!

I missed the race for details that I won't go in to! Anyhow, I did run to de-stress and it worked. I love to run to de-stress. I don't know how people cope w/o a form of excercise. I feel so much better after my run. I can now deal with it! Ran my 7 mile subdivision course.

Turkey race eve

Tommorrow is the big turkey day race.
I always did like the race. This year shows the turkeys cleaning up New Orleans. It is a five mile race. Not too short, not too long. A perfect way to remove the guilt of the big dinner!

Not too much today

Not much to report. I did a six mile ez run with a one mile cool down walk. I stayed home yesterday to catch up on school work. Wifey is home. We are hosting the major Thanksgiving festivities this year so she is all excited. She spent all yesterday setting the table and other types of preperations. My son is coming in from Dallas and will be here on Wednesday. He will arrive while I am at work. Speaking of which, I only have to make that commute to Belle Chasse 5 more times! Yee haw!!! Those that don't live around here in Katrina town - the traffic aint fun.

Google is nice

You know what is nice? Less than 4 weeks to go to finish school, got homework questions and not much time? Cut and paste them into Google and cut and paste em into your answer sheet- that simple! Of course, you have to check em and make sure it is not a lot of crap, because I find a lot of incorrect solutions out there! You guys who are posting those incorrect solutions, well you should be ashamed of yourselves!

Sunday Ole Man River race report

Felt good, but I kind of faded in the end. No injuries. I just got a little tired in the end, but I can fix that problem with some work. I have not focused on endurance or speed yet, so I guess my main objectives have been met. I ran 1:46:09 which equates to 8:06 per mile. This is probably the slowest half I've run. My slowest (first mile) was 8:26. My fastest 7:43. I ran the first half in 52:28 = 8:01 pace. The second half in 53:41 = 8:12/mi. So I really faded. I never really pushed myself, since I do not have a lot of confidence yet. Another problem I can easily fix. The weather was perfect - nice and cool, little winds. Overall a success. Miles for the week: 38.1

Sat run

ran subdivision course. Six miles ez.

Cold hands

Cool crisp run. The kind of run where you need gloves. I came home with those real cold hands. I love to share my cold hands with my wife. When she is unsuspecting I reach out and hold onto a warm part of her body and watch her jump! She hates it - I love it!

Today did my six mile subdivision run while I tried to de-stress from last night's mid term disaster. Oh well, at least it is over. I can now look forward to some more train wrecks. Four more weekends of studying!

Fall/winter is here!

Steady fifteen mile breeze with temps in the high thirties.

Fall/Winter is finally here in Katrina town! We have had a little rain and now the chilly weather. The holidays are upon us and we have people living in tents with no where to go. Here where I live life is normal in appearance. There are distinct lines in this region. Us - no damage: eight miles away - signs of normalcy, scattered with houses are in various stages of rebuilding - with some devistation, some tents (like tonnado damage) - mostly people living in homes though: fifteen miles away - pass across the now famous 17th street canal and total devistation. Still no one living there except for tents and trailers. I have lost some friends forever by this hurricane. It is weird how instantaneously people have been relocated - never to be seen again. Others have instantly become poor because of insurance ignorance, poor engineering/construction, and federal/state/local government incompatance. We are entering the holiday season and I have much to celebrate. But it is especially awkward. I will be celebrating with friends and family who were not as lucky as I. My future looks bright - it appears that the tough times are behind me and I see only good prospects in my future. I want to grab my closest family and friends and celebrate - but I cannot rejoice my good fortune while so many others around me are not so fortunate. So I will quietly rejoice; I will celebrate by trying to find the appropriate ways to help those around me. Hopefully there are many lessons that we can learn from this.

The most important lesson that the other 49 states can learn from this: Pay attention! Stick to the facts and learn from this disaster.

Another wonderful six mile run on my subdivision course. The air was clean and brisk. My running future looks bright, no aches or pains.

Important tasks for me today:
Pick up wife from airport (getting back from Pheonix).
Study for a computer course (midterm exam tonight).

Gonna be one of those days!

Don't sweat the small stuff! Easier said then done! Anyway, I have a csci assignment that has to be done in Linux. Great, so I have to install it. I wanted to do a dual boot. Well it's all over. I now have Linux, but I can't get my Windoez to boot up any more.

Linux - GOOD
Not being able to run Windows - BAD

I have access to files cause Linux can read the Windows disk. So I haven't lost any files yet. After school is up in four-five weeks I can attempt to fix things up, but right now I was a little uptight.

So, I put on my new shoes. - GOOD
My ancle pain was not there - GOOD
My run de-stressed me - GOOD

I have another two computers in the house which can run Windows - GOOD

I am meditating to classical music as I write this - GOOD.

Today: ran 7 miles on the levee. Run was pain free. Just ran slow and easy. Don't want to screw anything up for my half marathon on Sunday.

Want some inspiration?

I was BBQ'ing (seems like all guys love to BBQ) Sunday. I am not a TV guy, but my wife is watching NASCAR and flipping when she finds IMHawaii. Well, I tuned in late, but was still inspired by what I saw. It definatly made me want to become an ironman again.

29 miles for the week

Not much to comment about. Life's kinda busy and hectic - but not too uncomfortable. Anyway I decided not to run Sunday and Monday because I have been experiancing a pain near my ankle that I don't recall ever experiancing. I had it during my 5k and I ran hard with it and the pain stayed with me all day. The pain is mostly gone now with little hints of it being there and hopefully I won't aggravate it much. I am pre-registered for the half-marathon. That is why I hate to pre-register. You never know if something is going to come up.

Last week: 29 miles total. A little short of my expectations - but overall - successful

Tired of studying, ready to train for tris!

I have five weeks left of school and am currently working about twenty hours a week. But I don't have any free time since I spend my time studying. My brain is similar to my body. I am not an athlete just like I am not a scholar. To excel in athletic events takes a 100% total commitment from me. Academics mirrors my athleticism. I do well, but I might invest double, to ten times what other people invest. What I am trying to say is that I have put a lot of effort, time and money into this education. Since I have to commit 100% to tri's to do well and I have to commit 100% to school to do well, I had to give up triathlon (well not exactly, but mostly).

I am soooo looking forward to having some free time to do what others are doing. Here I have been either not working or working part-time for the past five years. I have been so envious of people and the free time they have had to do triathlons or whatever or just sitting around wasting time.

So now that school will soon be over, I am having a hard time swallowing how that I feel that I'm wasting my last bit of freedom studying something that I am sick of studying. Most people would love to have had the freedom to do what they want for a period of years w/o financial or lifestyle consequences. Hopefully one day I will feel that it was defiantly worth it.

Because right now I am having what amounts to greedy feelings, I am talking with firms to capture employment that will coincide with graduation (which will suck up the free time that I now use for studying). Why? So that I can make money to give to charities and such? No, so that I buy some expensive stuff that I don't really need.

Race Report

I ran a painful 23:22 wich equates to a 7:32 pace. I ran the first two mile(s) in ~7:15 pace which was a little fast for me because I really died. I tried to start slow. I am happy anyway, because I am not in great shap, but I'm not too bad either. I just need some speed work and I should be able to knock some time off. The attendance was low compared to years past. The hurricane has definatly taken it's toll on the running community. Anyway, I have been meaning to get a new pair of running shoes. Check em out. They will probably look like the old pair in a coupla weeks. Oh and who is that future triathlete? That is my grandson! I took this photo last weekend. His first ride on the Levee. We will be training soon together. I jogged a mile before the race, so let's call today's total - 4 miles.

Race eve for fall classic

Tomorrow I run my first race since Gulf Coast Triathlon, May 2005. It is the Crescent City Fall Classic (a 5k qualifier). It is a qualifier for the Crescent City Classic which is a 10,000-meter road race.

Although I won't be racing really, I will at least participate and discover my current fitnes level and build upon it. I included a image of the coveted poster CCC 10K which is earned for a top 500 finish (which I have earned three already). It is not really difficult, but I am not an natural athelete so I must actually train to attain one. You can generally earn one with a 10K time of 42 - 43 minutes. Which btw is about the fastest time I can ever hope to run. So tommorrow will kind of mark the beginning of my training for the Classic.

A little history on the Crescent City Classic: Five world and four American records have been run at The Classic. The flat terrain in New Orleans helps make this course one of the fastest 10,000-meter road race courses in the world! Of the ten fastest times ever run on the roads by men, six were at the Classic. Of the ten fastest times ever run on the roads by women, four were at the Classic. The Classic has seen more Olympians and faster times than any other 10,000-meter road race in the world.

The Crescent City Classic is a CLASSIC in every sense of the word. The site of The Classic is one of the most historic and unique cities in the United States: New Orleans. Beginning at Jackson Square in the historic French Quarter, the race proceeds through the financial district, follows along Esplanade Avenue past 200-year-old homes and ends in City Park under a canopy of ancient oaks.

I must have been in much worse shape than I originally thought. My fitness level is still increasing. Today I ran faster than I have in a long time while not even giving much effort. It is really cool to see your body respond to a physical challenge in a positive way. Weather was crisp and cool. Maybe it is the weather.

Log: Today watched a wonderful sunrise while running my 7 mile levee course.

Recipe for a great day!

Start with early morning cool damp darkness and silence.

Throw in some running shorts, shoes, and shirt.

Add a random mix of soothing gentle music which slowly builds to a powerful energetic beat.

Heat to a full boil while adding in the following images:

A starlit darkness of grey clouds that are not quite visible.
A quiet beautiful neighborhood absent of cars or any activity in the wee early morning hours.
The reflections of lights from the rippling waters of a beautiful quiet river with ships and tugs quietly slipping by.
The gostly image of Destrehan Plantation lit with spotlights, framed by these spooky unlit Oak trees.

Slowly simmer with the steady powerful beats of Paul Okenfield as the sky slowly turns from grey into blue; the horizon intensifies with a reddish orange color. Most people are never treated to the beauty of sunrises and sunsets except from the view from within a traffic jam. Running in the early morning hours allows you to take in the view unhurridly. You get to study it and admire it day after day.

As the sky awakens before my very eyes, traffic appears along river road. Stillness and quiet disappear as life emerges. Running in the early morning hours (3am - 5 am) has introduced me to a world of isolation that is available only in the early morning. As I reluctantly give up the isolation that I have learned to crave and enjoy, I am treated to a set of legs that want to run. I set out for a six miler and ended up running out six to my turn around point. I wanted to go farther, but common sense told me to turn around and be greatful for a twelve miler.

I am also treated to a body which wanted to be pushed a little bit this morning. My feet were light, heart and lungs were strong. I controlled my pace to a point where the run was hard, yet still comfortable. Since this turned out to be a long run for me, I didn't want to introduce too much speed.

As I completed the run and turned my last corner to walk back to my house, my beautiful wife drives by on her way to her daily grind; her day is just starting.

Even though I use this recipe every day, I had unusual success today and I don't exactly know why. Days like today are rare which makes me especially thankful that I found running!

Get on the Ball

In years past I have trained in the gym. Due to time limitations, I quit learning new techniques and equipment. For maximum time efficiency I would just quickly move from machine to machine. I have always wanted to learn more ball excercises but just didn't want to spend the time. Since I don't have time for the gym right now and have this ball, I will spend a month exclusivly training on it. I bought this book and it looks good. Therefore when I re-enter the gym in about five weeks, hopefully I wil have another set of routines that will help me achieve my goals.

I am looking forward to returning to triathlon training. The memories seem to be entirely positive memories. I am going to get my run in and then do some ball work.

Muggy foggy day

Had to run early this morning and be back by six. I am getting the house painted and my nervous wife was all upset because she didn't like the work that they were doing. I had to be here when they got here in case I had to dismiss them. We talked with the painters and everything seems like it will work out. Wifey is again happy. Oh in case the reader does not know, it is my job to keep my nervous wife happy!

Did an easy six miler on the subdivision course.

Did an easy six miler on the subdivision course.
I found out yesterday that there is a scheduled 5k (Crescent City Fall Classic) qualifier for the famous Crescent City Classic 10k in April. I am scheduled to do a six miler on Sat, so will jog 3 miles and get as much speed work as I can stand during the race. I am not expecting much, but I should be able to assess my speed and use the data as a benchmark. Plus I need some t-shirts. All of my t-shirts are from 2000 or before. I need to do my long run, so I need to decide to do it before the race on Friday or on Sunday after the race. I will probably decide that on Fri.

Back to do some studying!

What I don't like about Triathlon

High (and getting even higher) entry fees! Insurance fees? Can someone explain to me (one more time) what exactly kind of insurance I am getting or buying for someone??? The requirement that you sit at a computer at the opening bell to submit a registration so you can get in before the race is SOLD out in a matter of minutes!!!!

Man I hate commiting to an event a year in advance!!!!!

What brings this ranting and raving on is that I found out IMFLA sold out in a mere three hours??? I guess I have to get more on the ball!

I guess I have to now figure out what I am doing the next two years in advance. Then look at race schedules two years in advance; then pencil in days and times that I have to be sitting at my computer buying an entrance to a race; then schedule my life around "scheduling" races! It is a endless circle that one get sucked up in. I guess you just have to jump in.

Well, what will I be doing on Nov 7, 2007???? I guess I will find a race to do on that day.

The similarities between school and endurance

Ever done a marathon, Ironman or other really long endurance race? There is a point in the race where the monotony (sp?), pain, aggravation, etc just keeps gnawing at you - and you want to quit. Well, school for me was just like that but worse! I was supposed to graduate this semester, then Hurricane Katrina struck. I temporarily lost my job. My school was shut down. Things were not going to plan at all. There was this point about a year ago where I was really close to quitting. Somehow I got past the point and continued on, just like endurance racing. Well here I am just 5-6 weeks out. I am back working, my school reopened under very unusual circumstances. Right now, I feel as if I am the point in the endurance race where you know the finish line is right around the corner, you can barely hear the announcer and crowd in the distance; you are a worn out puppy; your race may have had some low spots; you are sore and tired; you were tired of this race an hour ago; but then - you hear the crowd, suddenly your body summons up the strength. Your limpy wimpy pace gets stronger. Your wilting limp body becomes more erect. The shoulders go back, the chest goes out. The running becomes easy again. Energy and excitement overtake you. You finish strong! That’s how I feel right now in school except to a higher degree. I had more lows associated with this degree than endurance racing. Its exactly like the point in an endurance race when I am just starting to hear the crowd.....

Weekly Assesment

OK - My weekly totals will be from Mon - Sun. Total running mileage was 33 miles last week. I think I will keep my mileage in this range for the remaining six weeks. I am pysched. Two weeks ago I was putzing around 10-15 miles a week. Now I completed two weeks or running around thirty miles avg per week. Actually it is not smart to raise your milage too fast (like I did). I am asking for an injury. But I feel good, nothing is achy or sore, joints seem OK. I made improvements in my eating habits with not too much alcohol consumption. My energy level is slowly raising, and I think I am actually feeling better compared to a few weeks ago. Nothing but positive vibes and energy. I will remain status quo for the upcoming weeks, so the reading may not be too interesting, but we will see. Goal for next week: Commit to add stretching before and after runs. Commit to strength work that I can do around the house without going to the gym. Pushups, crunchs, etc. No excuse for not doing these types of activities. I am turning the corner. I am not excepting any excuses, developing a routine, and getting positive feedback, energy and RESULTS.

Yep - making progress!

Yesterday (Friday) ran the levee course and eleven miles. That is the furthest (sp?) I have run since May. It was getting a little tedious and brought back memories of long distance running. I chaffed in many places. It never fails, I always forget to vasaline certain areas (ouch) that get rubbed raw from friction and sweat during those long runs. The course is pretty nice. I enclosed an shot from the air of the famous Luling bridge that I run under and the view of the start of the "BIKE path". The path is 56 miles round trip with no stopping. It is a fantastic place to ride, and they are getting to make it longer. The great mighty Mississippi on one side and scenic river road on the other. Lots of cyclists and joggers on the path. Other than that the run was pretty fun. I usually run at dawn, except yesterday I was busy interviewing for a new position, so I had to run during the afternoon. Change of pace - I like change. Since I did a long one yesterday, I can just do maybe a four miler today.

Showing signs of progress - feedback.

I have feedback. Yesterday I was able to move to another notch in my belt. My consistency in running five times a week coupled with eating better (maybe not much better - just less fat intake and no alcohol during the week) is IMMEDIATLY showing results. Today did my subdivision route SIX MILER. Run was easy, and effortless - which translates to MORE fitness. Which means that I have to adjust INTENSITY (which I did). In the back end of my run, I ran hard for a mile, then backed down to my jog. Hey whats that a picture of up there in the corner anyway? Is it? Could it be? Yep that is an original 1971 Trail 70 4 sp with a hand clutch! It is getting delivered today. Don't ask me why bought it, because I can't really give you an answer other than I had one as a kid and it got stolen. Tommorow , I have to be in Baton Rouge at 6 am so I am going to try and run when I get back. Tommorow or Sat will be my long run.

Rain and drizzle back

Rain, or more correctly, drizzle happened this morning when I attempted running. Had to hold off for a bit. Cooked my wife red beans and did some studying while I waited for the weather to break. Drizzle is signifigant because it has not drizzled or rained here except once in about eight weeks. The weather has been really blue skys and nice cool temps. Today the weather looked like Winter weather instead of the blue skys you get out west. Ran/jogged my six mile subdivision course with my IPOD. And my IPOD is inserted in an OTTER. I have been excercising with my IPOD since March 2005 and it is awesome. Since they are relativly expensive, I have switched to the otter to protect my IPOD from the corrosive sweat that pours out of my body. The OTTER, www.otterbox.com, is a totally enclosed case which is waterproof. It works well on the bike, but you have to carry it on the run. Hopefully it will extend the life of my IPOD since I carry it in the car, at work and while training. I liked it so much I bought one for my son and wife. Once you go IPOD, you will never go back to the radio or CD's. Now got to get back to studying and then to a job interview. I am trying to line up a new job prior to graduation which is less than seven weeks!