It is still winter

Hard as it may seem to believe it is still winter - April 17th and we did not get out of the 30's. It rained all day, and was dreary. It has made running outside nearly impossible. It does look like a warming trend is just around the corner, we are supposed to start to see the 60's this weekend. Our fingers are crossed.

The news from yesterday was tragic - 33 students and teachers were killed at Virginia Tech University by a troubled student. Having two girls in college brings this tragedy a little closer to home. There are no words to express the sorrow for the families of these students.

I still need to update from the Atlanta half, will probably get to it this weekend. This weeks running is starting to feel pretty good. My hamstring and back seem to be getting well stretched and my focus is slowly coming back. I am amazed at the mental side of running, one would not think that it requires patience, it does.

Will get on over the weekend and hopefully get caught up.
Later

A little late - Race Day in Austin

OK, I know that I am behind in this post, I did however want to finish it up. I was attempting to provide a daily sanpshot of the events for my half-marathon in Austin. The day of the race was pretty exciting. Linda and I had to get up really early, the race started at 7am and they wanted us to start getting to the starting area around 6am. I always find that coffee is the best thing to start the morning with on race day and today was no exception. We then started our way to the starting point, the good news was that our hotel was only about 1/2 mile walk so we did not have to deal with transportation issues. There was however a bigger issue, it was really pretty cold - probably around 35. I was not quite sure how to dress knowing that it would warm up when the sun started to rise. I decided to keep my shorts on which would turn out to be the wrong decision. The starting line was on the Congress Ave. bridge, there were thousands of people in the starting zone, there were hundreds of restrooms and the lines were really long. It was still dark, but the background of the city lights helped - it was pretty energized. We met some really nice folks while we were waiting, a father /son team, a couple of kids from one of the nearby military bases and some kids from UT. I find it really neat to just talk with folks prior to a race. Linda decided to go back to the hotel, while I got in line for the race. We all gathered on the bridge, they played the National Anthem and at some point the starting gun sounded, not before a really nice fireworks display. It took me about 8 or 9 minutes to get to the starting line, but we were off. It was really cold and my thighs were frozen and they never warmed up (thus the result of the shorts decision) It was a pretty tough race, there were lots of hills after mile 7 and they seemed to never end. I ended up walking up a couple of the longer ones at the end. The last big hill ended up on the back side of the capital. We rounded the capital and then we were on Congress street. You could see the end and it was pretty flat to get there. All I can remember was being focused on the end. Linda said she was yelling at me, I did not see nor hear her, but I was glad she was there. Getting to the end was really cool, I was really tired and having a little trouble breathing, but I knew I had finished something that I really worked hard for and I was elated. I went to the area where runners gather after race to get some food. I sat with a fellow and just rested and talked. I caught up with Linda right outside that area and we went back to the hotel so I could get cleaned up. We spent the rest of the day with my sister and her son visiting some of the local pubs in Austin, eating and just relaxing. The race went on for several more hours. I went back to watch other runners come in. It is so neat to see each one of them finish, you know that they all have a story as to how they got there. You also know that something drove them to train and put themselves out there.
Running is an individual sport, you simply go out to be faster or longer then you were before. You train for weeks with a goal in mind and then you execute against that goal. We had a great time in Austin, and I am planning on going back next year for the race - I hope to have a better time and maybe, just maybe I might be running the full marathon at that time.
At the time I am writing this, I have also completed the Atlanta Half Marathon which I will provide more detail on in my next entry. I hope to get caught up soon because I have to start training again, not sure for what yet, but I have to start again. Later

Its Easter

Hard to believe that I have not posted in over a month - lots has been happening over that time. I did run another half marathon in Atlanta which I will write a separate post on. For today, I just wanted to get the juices flowing again. It has been a busy month between vacations, travel for work, and getting the girls home for Easter. It seems like a whirlwind time period. It is time to settle in a bit, keep the travel in check and rest up. More importantly, it is time to get back on some running and eating routine that will result in getting back to a lower weight and get my speed back up to a reasonable pace. I am going to spend the next week getting prepared for a training program - the question that I need to answer at this point is if I am going to take on the training schedule for a marathon - it is a big commitment of time, but it also requires that I lose 30 pounds. There is no way that I can carry this weight for that amount of time safely. It would help if our weather would get a little better. Right now it is cold and snowy. We had a inch of snow on the ground this morning - its Easter for goodness sake.

Oh well, I am sure that the decision will be made over the next few days on the marathon - regardless, I am going to run another half marathon somewhere this year - I want to shoot for a better time than my other two. The girls want to train for the Rochester Half, which would be great, but we are looking at being in South Carolina at that time. It will all work out.

This Easter was pretty good - the girls came home and we were able to get to the early service - we missed having the sunrise service this year - they held it inside due to the snow. I do not feel as though I was able to spend any real quiet time this year to reflect on the true reason for Easter.

Well, we are driving down the thruway right now, just dropped one of the girls off at school in Syracuse - thought it would be a good time to start to write again. I will make sure that I get caught up this week.

Later

Saturday, Day 2 of the Austin Half Marathon

Linda and I got up early on Saturday and departed from my brothers house in Georgetown to head for the hotel in Downtown Austin. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency which was the race headquarters. We arrived around 10:30 am and they had a room ready for us which we were grateful for. We had planned to meet some friends who were driving in from Houston for lunch around 12:30 so we had a little time to spare. For those that have never been to a marathon event, there always seems to be an expo in the registration area so we decided to go register and see what kinds of goodies were are the expo.

You go and pick up your packet, activate your chip and then stroll around and look at all the running goodies. Shoes, clothes, power drinks, power gels, special displays for your running medal and bib - there was even a table for the Marriott time share in Las Vegas. Its really quite fun to walk around.

We finished when our friends, Tom and Sue Ann, were about 15 minutes out so we waited for them. When they arrived, we found a really nice French Bistro in town that was really great about letting us sit for 2 hours to get caught up. The waiter was perfect in getting our food to us slowly. It was great to get caught up. After lunch we took a nice walk around town - ended up going into a place where I have gotten hot sauces during past trips called the Tears of Joy Hot Sauce shop which is on 6th street. I picked up a little sauce to bring back to New York and am really pleased with the result. They left and Linda and I sat in the lounge and rested up. It was really nice, we met so many nice folks from all over who were going to be running in the race. We went to dinner at the hotel and met some more folks from Canada and Washington State. Then it was time to settle in, race day was to start early the next day. Below are a few shots of some of the sites in Austin. The first is a picture of the Hyatt from the other side of the river - which is the side that downtown is on. The next is a shot of some of the buildings in the downtown area.

The shot at the bottom is of the Congress St. bridge which is where the race will start early on SundayAll in all a really nice second day to our trip, the question that was still lingering for me all day about my back. I think the walks and some stretching I did helped a great deal. So I felt as though I was ready for the race.

As Promised - Day One

My wife and I arrived in Austin on Friday, February 16th around 11:30 am - of course we had to get up at at 4:30 to catch the early flight. This was one day that we were helped by a delayed flight. Parking was tough because of the big snow storm we had prior to leaving. We had 21 inches on snow on the Wednesday prior to leaving. It was really kind of cool - we have not had a good size snow storm in a while.
When we landed in Dallas, which was our connecting airport, it was 30, when we got to Austin it was 40. We were hoping to get to a little warmer client. My mom lives in Georgetown, so we got our car and started in that direction. It was at this point that Yahoo maps proved wrong so we took a little detour while trying to get to our destination. Took mom to Chili's for a nice lunch (only had to get on two business calls while at lunch) and then had a nice visit at her place. My brother also lives in Georgtown so we drove over and settled in for the night.We had a great time eating a little Italian food and getting caught up. Got to bed pretty early since we had been up for so long. Ended up getting a pretty good nights sleep. It is always a treat to get to visit the family in Georgetown, it seems as though we just start where we left off. As you can see in the picture, it ended up being a really nice day, the temp went up to 65, so my hopes were raised that race day would be warm.
I decided to stop taking my muscle relaxers on Friday so that I could have some time to detox - they were starting to make me feel a little groggy all day. I was hoping that this with some walking would loosen my back up a bit. It seemed to be working. When I woke up on Saturday, I was sure that I was going to run the race - I was not sure I was going to be able to finish though. More about Saturday in the next post.

The Run is Done

I have waited nearly a week to talk about my first half marathon, there is so much to write about that I needed time for it to soak in. The most important thing was that I finished, not with the time I wanted but I am happy with the result based on some of the factors. My official time was 2:43:00, 12:27 pace. I was hoping to run at a 11:30 pace of better which is where my training times were coming in. Do not read this as being unhappy though, I was so excited to cross the finish line, even as I type these words tears come to my eyes. The hours of training are all worth it when you cross that finish line.
I want to really tell the story of this journey in a series of post, starting with the day we arrived in Austin. With that I will start there with my next post. On a final note for this post though, this was one of the most exciting and rewarding things I have ever done. There is a closeness to God when I run and there were many times during the race when he provided me with the strength to finish. (Not to mention my wife who was there all the way with me)

A Week Away

Well it is a week (and a day) from race day. As one might expect things have not gone as smoothly as I would have hoped. Last week I ran outside for the first time in a while, nice easy 4 miler to the Y and then a mile on the treadmill to get 5 in. Then I put a little speed on for about a 10th of a mile to burn off a little lactic acid. Pretty sure I extended a back muscle a bit too much. Started hurting the next morning. I thought it would go away, ended up going to the doctor on Thursday and got some muscle relaxers. Have been taking them for a couple of days and they seem to be helping. I also got a little cold to top it off so I have some meds for that as well. I am confident that all will start to get back to normal early this week. I had hoped to be able to get some light runs in this week to keep loose. Regardless, I should be able to make the race. It will be nice to run in warm weather again. It has been wicked here for the past three weeks. We are not getting above 20 and it is windy and snowy at time. Of course it is nothing like the weather in the snow belt. They have seen 100 inches of snow in some places over the last 3 weeks. THAT IS A LOT OF SNOW BY ANY MEASURE!

I did get my bib number for the race - it is H1269 - you can go to the following link at any time after the race to get the times and updates. http://onlineraceresults.com/event/view_event.php?event_id=1466.

OK now for a really amazing story. When I was doing an 8 mile tempo run at the Y a couple of weeks ago I noticed a young lady and her husband running on a couple of tread mills, you could tell they were training for something because she had her GU packets. When she was finished I asked if she was training for a race and she said she was training for a half marathon. I asked where she was going to run and she said Austin. What do you think that odds are of that. Well it gets even more odd. I said I was running in that race as well and then I told her I was going to run in Atlanta in March - she said she had just signed up for that one as well. Her husband was going to run the Marathons as both. We have since exchanged mail notes and will hopefully catch up at the races.

I just put my play list together for the race and it includes a little bit of everything. Here is the list.
In The Secret - Mercy Me
The Reason - Hoobastank
The Feel Good Drag - Anberlin
ThE BEST SONG IN THE WORLD - Mandy Moore
Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
I Ran (So Far Away) - A Flock of Seagulls
Someday We'll Know - Mandy Moore and some guy
Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson
Takeoffs And Landings - The Ataris
03 Misc - _0729134216 - Vertical Horizon
Speak To Me/Breathe - Pink Floyd
On The Run - Pink Floyd
Time - Pink Floyd
The Great Gig In The Sky - Pink Floyd
Money - Pink Floyd
Us And Them - Pink Floyd
Fever - Michael Bublé
Kissing A Fool - Michael Bublé
How Can You Mend A Broken Heart - Michael Bublé
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Michael Bublé
Sway - Michael Bublé
Progeny - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
The Wheat - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
The Battle - Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra
Out of My Heart - BBMak
Track 07 - Evanescence
Head On Collision - New Found Glory
Down In Flames - Relient K
In the Cold - Acceptance
U Make Me Better - Bo Bice
Homesick - Mercy Me

I wanted to have some faster music for the first 3 - 4 miles, then a little Pink Flloyd Dark Side of the Moon to settle into the next 3 miles. Michael Buble is great for the mid point of the race, it is uplifting but not to much so. Then one of my favorites from Gladiator. Bringing in the last 2-3 miles is a great blend of fast and uplifting.

I was hoping to get to test it a bit, but with the back, my running has been limited. I think it will work however because it is the approach I took on my longer runs during training.

I wish I had dropped a little more weight before this date, I am going to have to be more focused over the next few days. Mentally I am ready, physically I will ready.

Later

It is really winter

Well old man winter has finally hit. We have had a week of cold and snow and it would seem that it is going to be around for a while. It has made it difficult to get out and run so I have spent most of my time on the treadmill. The Austin race is less then 4 weeks away and I feel pretty good. I have started to eat right again in hopes of losing a little of the extra pounds before the race. I also just signed up for the ING Half in Atlanta in March. Linda and I have made plans to stay with friends while we are there. It should be great.

The training is going well, I am a little tired of running. After the Austin race, I am going to have to find a new running routine. I am thinking about running with one of the Saturday morning groups. I am also going to add back in a little strength training and stretching, probably YOGA.

The girls are back in school getting settled into their second semester. I am pretty sure they were ready to get back to their friends. The next time we all get back together is in March for our trip to Mexico - by then I am sure we will all be in need of a little sun.

Thought you might enjoy some pics of the winter here in Rochester.
Later

The Countdown Clock

Thought it would be nice to have a countdown clock for the Austin Half Marathon. Only 46 days left - need to really get focused on weight loss and speed. I have figured out how to adjust my training to allow for the extra weeks. This is really going to come at a perfect time. I am quite sure that Linda and I will be ready to get out of the snow (which to date we have had none)

The goal is to drop 10 - 15 pounds in 46 days - should be doable......

Later

The start of a New Year

This year has been one of the best running years I have enjoyed. My mileage is getting to a respectable point. It looks as though I will be able to complete the upcoming half-marathon in February with a good time. I did not end the year with a weight I am happy with, but I am lower then I was at this time last year. I hit many of the goals as far as times for races. Under a 10 min mile for the 5K, pretty close for the 10K. Good time at the Turkey this year. All in all a good year running.

Other things have been good as well. Getting the girls in college and through their first semester was really big. They both survived, they both like their schools and the roomates were good.

Work was a challenge, this is one area where I have a great deal of room for improvement. We had a tough year but it looks like 07 will be good. For me personally, I have lost something at work that I will work to regain.

Being empty nesters has proven to be great! I really enjoy spending time with Linda and I think we will find things that we can start to do together that will be great.

As far as resolutions, I only have one: I am going to strive to being so judgemenatal - in our mens group yesterday, our minister said that he was really glad that God is going to be the one judging folks - it takes a lot of preasure off us. We can spend our time loving people - that is my resolution. During my long run yesterday, I spent a great deal of time thinking about the way I judge people and what I realized is that my judgement of folks is my attempt to cover up my own flaws or to make me fell better about my flaws - and I have many. Not sure how I am going to do this, but I am now aware of it and at least can face up to it.

2007 will be a great year...........

The Half Marathon is Set

I thought a picture of the tree might be in order, the only problem is that we have not finished decorating it yet. We were waiting for the girls to finish thier exams and to get home. Should get to that in the next day or so.
I finally signed up for my first half marathon - the date is February 18th and the location is Austin, Texas. Check out the details at the official web site on my front page. Linda and I are both going to Austin and will use the time to visit family and have a great time. I am ready for the race, I ran 11 miles last weekend in 2:06 which was a really good time for me. I had planned on running the race at the end of January and my training is geared to that time frame so I will have to augment for a couple of weeks. My plan is to work on my weight in January and February which should help me with my time. I will also concentrate on speed work a bit more (looking our for injury of course). I am really excited about doing this, I have never made it to this point in my training and am confident that the race will be great. Of course there will be a number of challenges when I get to Austin. I have to avoid the Mexican food on Friday, can's have BBQ either- or at least until after the run and I can't drink either. So with that I am trying to figure out how I will do all that on Sunday night after the race. I am planning on a 2:15 race time which is pretty aggresive. It will depend on the weight loss and the rest of my training.

Other then that things are really going well. Today, both of the girls will officially be finished wiht their first semester of school - hard to beleive. Syracuse let out last week, University of Rochester finished today. We are really excited about having the girls home for the holidays. We also know that they will spend less time with us this year, but we will take what we can get. We could not be prouder of both of them, they really worked hard and it would seem that they will continue to do so.

This Chrismas also brings for Linda and I a renewed focus on what we can to to help others. As I look around, there are so many in need - and what we take granted for, they view as a gift. I suspect this will be the last year for exchanging gifts between ourselves, instead we are going to find ways to get that money we would spend to others who need it more. I would hope that any reading this blog would consider the same. This year, I found a 17 year old boy who had asked for basic items for Christmas, such as shampoo, deoderant, shaving lotion, tooth brush and paste, etc... It is so little to give but it means so much. There is so much we can all do if we just start doing it.

We had our Christmas pageant at church last Sunday with the Sunday school kids, what a great job they all did. When we practiced on Saturday, you would have thought that there was no way they would pull it off. The kids stepped up for thier parents though and they were terrific. It was amazing to look at the faces of the parents and grandparents as thier kids were up there. It reminded me of the many times we watched the girls. Those are memories that can never be taken away. I suppose those are the same memories our parents have of us. It's pretty awesome to think about.

Enough said about that.

No snow yet in Upstate NY, in fact it has been really warm here. We are hoping for some snow soon, but it does not look good. Perhaps after the New Year.

Have a Merry Christmas... Dan

Winter is about to arrive!

It looks like we are going to start our winter a little late - it has been perfect weather. Warm, in the 60s, sunny and no wind. That is all about to end - tomorrow will start at 50 and sink to 30 pretty fast. It was really nice to have this extended time so we have no complaints.

Running has been good this week so far, I do have my 10 miler this Saturday and I think it will be just fine. I have been watching my eating so I think I will have a few less pounds to carry on Saturday.

The girls are back at school and we are back to our empty nesting. Linda and I have been busy this week, so we have not had a lot of time together. We will this weekend. We are going to paint the office and get it ready for some new carpet we are putting in. We are also going to probably start to get ready for Christmas, we have not done any decorating whatsoever. Hopefully, the snow will get us in the spirit.

This week I may try to weigh in to see where I am, if I do I will report on it when I get the long run time logged in. Will update soon.

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving - we have so much to be thankful for, we have our freedoms, we have the liberty to achieve what we are willing to reach for, it does not get much better then that. Today was a special day in our house, it was our first Thanksgiving where the kids came home for college. It was a little different in a nice kind of way.

We started out early this morning with the Race for Grace 10K - 9:00 am is a bit early for the girls, but they got up and we all ran the race. The weather was perfect, sunny, no wind and around 40. I ran it is 1:04:04 which is a time I was pleased with. The girls ran it in around 1:01. We then all came home had a bite to eat and then got ready to go to the movie. We went to Casino Royale, the new James Bond movie. Linda and I thought it was pretty good, the girls thought it was so so.

We got back to the house and finished up the turkey and fixins for dinner. We all ate just about the right amount. Got to watch the Cowboys finish off Tampa Bay and then relax and take it easy. The perfect Thanksgiving Day!

The rest of the weekend is action packed with a little early morning shopping and then a decision on the Christmas decorations - are we going to put them up this weekend or a little later.....

More to come.

Next week is going to be a tough week of training, I have to get back on the miles. I think I jump to 23 or 24 miles next week. I also need to see if I can take a little of the turkey weight off. Will report in next weekend.

Its getting closer

We are now a couple of days away from Thanksgiving and we had our first dusting of snow this morning. Does not look like it is going to hang around, supposed to be 60 on Thursday.

Hard to believe its been over a Month!

Wow, time is flying - things are going pretty well. Today was the YMCA Turkey Trot 5 Miler. I have run this for many years, did not run it last year. I ran it in 50:54 which is really good. I was aiming for 52:30. Thursday is Thanksgiving which means it is time for the Race for Grace 10K. Jen, Kathryn and I are all going to run it. It really helps to get this one in before pigging out on Turkey and dressing.

Work is busy, my training for the half marathon is going well. I am getting my long runs in, it was a 9 mile run this week. Next week is a low mileage week and then the week after I pick my miles up again - the long run is 10 miles. I am looking at 2 races right now. The one in Austin is later this year, which is not great. There is one in Miami in early February that looks like it might work. Linda and I will make a long weekend out of it.

Check the links to both:
Miami - http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com
Austin - http://www.attaustinmarathon.com/

Will have a press release out on some happenings at the company in a bit, so get ready. We have finalized a really important partnership with a firm out of Albany, NY.

The girls will both be home this week for Turkey Day so we are already preparing - stocking the fridge and getting lots of goodies. We have not had to grocery shop this much in some time. We are both really excited about the fact that we are going to have them home for a few days. Even if we do not see alot of them, there presence will be felt.

Just finished A Shining Lie, which is a book about John Vann in Vietnam - I have not read a great deal on Vietnam, it was really good to get a better understanding of that time. One thing that I have heard my whole life is how that war was run by the politicians. After reading this book, it seems that the generals ran it first and totally messed it up. Westmoreland wanted to win the war by adding more men. It was not until he had a couple of complete failures that the politians quit giving him more men. Of course, once the politicians took over and they replaced Westmoreland, it was not better. Perhaps the answer is not to have a war at all. I also finished Barack Abama's book, The Audacity of Hope. It would be hard not to agree with many of his points. There were times when I felt the book was big on hope with not real substance. Of course, I am a big West Wing fan because everyone would like the country to be run like Jedd Bartlett ran the country - Barack is a bit like Jedd. I truely hope that he makes a difference and can lift everyone up to talk in greater detail and less in one line snippets to be picked up on CNN. I have a couple of real zingers lined up to read next. The one topic that I am starting to find interesting it the whole topic of the Evangelics - I need to see if I can seperate what the GOP and CNN have done to that movement from what that movement really is - going back to its roots will be a good start.

Ill try to update a bit more often.

Found a new verse that I really liked recently:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.- Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Winter Rushes In

Over the past two weeks my training has been on target. I also ran in a race in Fairport where I had another PB. All in all it seems to be going pretty well. My long run today was a 7 miler, which I did at an 11:30 pace, my training suggest a 12:06 pace, however I am really feeling a little faster than that so I have adjusted a bit. Next week is an 8 miler, and then a slower week, then we go up to 9 miles. Slowly we are getting to the half marathon distance. With work being so busy, I am really having to make time to get the runs in, but it is worth it. I have also started back on my serious weight watchers program, went and weighed in this morning, 245, not so good. I gained 4.5 pounds in the last 5 weeks. I will get it back off, and then start on the road to 220 by the end of this year. If I get to 220 by the end of the year then I will get to 200 by the Spring of 2007. Sounds good, however got to keep focused on today....

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been to parents weekends at Syracuse and then University of Rochester. They are indeed very different places. Syracuse had less to offer, or it was not as easy to see what was available. However, they did offer a football game in the carrier dome which was fun. We went to dinner on Friday night with Jen and some of our friends from Atlanta who's daughter is going to Syracuse, that was quite nice. We have not seen these folks in 10 years. Used to go to their Christmas party every year where she would make all the desserts for the party, probably 30 - 40 different items. It was always great and they are just really nice people. We then went to a tailgate party with some of Jen's friends and parents. It was great. Jen then came home and spent a couple of days with us. The next weekend was University of Rochester. We took Kathryn to dinner at Bacco's on Park Avenue - great dinner - I had some pasta in a spicy sauce. Then we went to see Drew Carey at the University with the Who's line Is It team. Really funny stuff. On Saturday we went to a couple of interesting sessions, one on world affairs and one on energy. One interesting point, there was also a football game on Saturday at UofR, the session on energy was being held when the game was and I am pretty sure there were more people at the energy session. It was nice to spend time with both the girls.

Linda and are busy staying busy, we are going to Beauty and Beast on stage tonight. I thought that I was finished with the Disney stuff, it never ends. We saw The Departed last night, so so movie. The use of the F word way too much for any movie. Linda is working out more and also has started Weight Watchers again which works great when we both are involved with it. Life is very different without the girls around all the time, but we are getting used to it. Alot less dishes to wash, we probably run the dishwasher a couple of times a week. Less food to buy, really have to learn to buy and cook for two. Laundry is not much different since the girls did their's when they were here.

We did get our first glance at winter this week, it got really cold on night. In fact in Bufallo, they had 22 inches of snow. It is so hard to imagine that less than an hour from here there was that much snow, we had none - knock on wood. Got to go. Will update the training progress soon.

My How Time Flies

It has been nearly a month since my last post, not sure where to start with this one. There has just been a lot of great things happen. First, the girls are both settled into school, have started classes and seem to be getting into a routine. Linda and I have been busy with the move-ins, the parent orientations and now we are getting ready for the parent weekends. It has really been quite fun and exciting. What a joy to see your children reach a new and important point in their lives. It is fascinating how they are now independant.....
Linda and I spent a week in Phoenix at our timeshare and got a little rest and relaxation. Golf and tanning were the order of the days. We met folks from Chicago and Boston who we really had fun with. Bob and Becky also joined us for a couple of days early in the week. It was great for Linda and her sis to have some time to spend together. This was probably the first time we have been with each other when we did not have children with us. This will take some time to get used to.
As far as running and weight - well it has not been the best 2 months for that. Prior to leaving for Phoenix I was at 240, which is not too bad considering. However I think that number probably went up a bit while we were in Phoenix. I have started back on Weight Watchers and will weigh in a couple of weeks. Will report at that time. My new goal is to get to 215-220 by the end of the year. That is going to be about 20 - 25 pounds in 3 months. 2 pounds a week, 12 weeks, 24 pounds. It is doable. My mileage has been low, but I am running at least 3 and mostly 4 days a week. I ran in the Victor 5K and has the best time I have ever had 31:10 (10:03 pace) However we were not timed with chips, so I probably spend 15 seconds getting to the starting line which would put be a tad under 10 min....it was also a race that was pretty much uphill.
I have reset my goal to run a half-marathon and will start training this week. There is a race in Austin at the end of January that fits the training schedule just right. Will keep track of the progress on this blog of something like it. There are a few other raced that I will run this year - the YMCA Turkey Trot, the Race for Grace and the Jingle Bell 5K.
Work has been tough and it looks like my travel scheudule is about to pick up, which is not the best news for the running and eating. However, we will be strong. Jennifer is training for a marathon that she wants to run in Orlando so hopefully she will be able to handle that and school.
Church has been the rock over the summer, we are having one of our better years in terms of stewardship which means we are not constantly juggling to keep afloat. Elders has been interesting, we are starting a bible study of Acts. I have started to teach 2-3 grade Sunday School - today was my first class, I really enjoyed working with the kids. I have a lot to learn but am commited to it - I think it is so important that young children are exposed to God and Jesus early, it gets them started in the right direction.
Thats it for now ---- talk to all later.

A Whirlwind

Wow, I just looked back and it has been over a month since I made a posting to the blog. Not really surprised with all that has been going on. Graduations, celebrations, vacations and now preparing for the girls first day of school. I would like to say that I have been keeping my wieght down and that I have been running on a regular schedule but I cannot. I have gained 6 pounds and my running has been OK. I have kept my mileage up but with littel purpose.

Last week I did start a training program for the half marathon. First week was pretty good. A little tired but overall not too bad. If I can get the eatra weight off it will help so this week I have started to get a bit more serious about sticking ith weight watchers.

However, with all that, one must know that the girls will be leaving for school over the next weeks and it is starting to get a little tense around - not a bad tension just some tension. Linda and I are starting to feel like empty nesters already and it is a different.

I will start to report more frequently as we get the girls off to school.

Race Day - The Firecracker 5 Mile

Ran in the Firecracker this morning, its a 5 miler in Fairport. Pretty decent time, 51:50, I was looking for under 53 so that was good. It was a pretty difficult course. A few steep hills, mainly uphill versus down. Started on an uphill and the finish line was at the top of a hill. It was raining a bit, fairly nice temp and a little muggy. Glad I got the run in today. Am leaving for New Jersey tonight for a couple of key meetiings tomorrow. It seems that when you leave at might it pretty much takes the day away.

Made the change from my Sony to an Apple over the last couple of weeks, overall went pretty well. Had one major glitch when I was transfering Quicken. I need to get a class on that. The good news is that Linda is pretty understanding of my gliches. Oh well talk later. Happy 4th of July!

Graduation Day Blessing

I wanted to make sure I kept this prayer in a place where I would not loose it and where it could be shared as well. We had a number of friends over the night of the girls graduation so I spent time thinking about the blessing for dinner that night. I say alone with God and thought about what was most important about that day and the people who were with our family celebrating the event. I also thought about those who could not make it. Well, as usual, God has a way of placing things on your heart for the occasion.

The Graduation Day Blessing

Dear Father

We first thank you for all the blessings that you have given to our family and friends, you truly watch over and protect us and for that we are eternally grateful. We especially want to thank you for this day, a day that Kathryn and Jennifer have been working hard for over the last 12 years. I thank you for watching over them, giving them the sense of caring that you have and most of all for showing yourself to them. I thank you for all the friends and family present and those who were unable to be here, thank you placing them in our lives, but today I especially thank you for putting them in Kathryn and Jennifers life. These are the friends and family who have influenced how Kathryn and Jennifer have grown. Please protect all of those graduates tonight as they celebrate their great accomplishments. Be with all those who have to travel home over the next days.

Bless this food, and bless all those who partake in it. In your son Jesus Christ name we pray.