Thanksgiving Eve

We will be off to Dallas this afternoon as soon as Bonnie can get away from work. Me, I've been on vacation yesterday and today, and now....four days away together. We will be staying just across the street from the Grapevine Mills Mall, Black Friday here we come.

Tomorrow morning we meet my future son-in-law, Scott, and my daughter, Lindsey early in the morning. Scott will be driving us to the 41st annual Dallas Turkey Trot....they are supposed to be the Granddaddy of all Trots, the first numero uno. My daughter is not running and will be going to her Mom's to "do some baking", omg...."Susie Homemaker" look out. The Turkey Trot is a biggie race (I had to confirm this number), they are expecting over 30,000 to run....it's only an 8 mile run!!!!

We got a call from my daughter last night asking if we wanted to go to the Dallas Cowboy football game tomorrow afternoon....I think they play the Seattle Seahawks and somehow they have some very good seats and free parking, so we said sure. Neither of us have ever been to a Dallas game so a virgin experience for both of us.

After the game we head to Scott's parents home for Thanksgiving Day feast.

Then the all-mighty Black Friday...Dallas style, should be a blast, remember I do like to shop.

May your Thanksgiving be a special time for you and yours, give thanks for what you have and remember those less fortunate, and never forget our brave men and women serving our great country abroad so that we can enjoy the freedom that we have today. Love you all.

Saturday Long Run

It was like 25 freakin' degrees yesterday morning in Oklahoma, it felt like it might have well been -25 degrees. I ran almost 16 miles, 15.7 to be exact, well ok I walked a good part of the last 2 miles, but there is a story that goes with that, so get comfy, pour some hot chocolate, throw another log on the fire, where is the hot water bottle.

I layered for this run, five yes 5 layers up top, and 3 layers on the bottom, plus a new cap and face mask looking thingy. See I knew it was going to be cold and that the wind might be blowing, after all it is Oklahoma. The mask worked good and the cap was great. Everything actually worked well.

I did the first 12 miles in 3:28 and change. I met Bonnie at that point. Yes I was tired, no I wasn't cold, I was heated but from my hips down to my knees I was sore. She had the driver's side of our vehicle open, so I leaned in on the seat for no more than 30 or 40 seconds and I've never ever been chilled so fast. I had been sweating I guess and when I stopped running and was still in the wind it cut right to the bone. We started out with the intent of doing another 6 miles or so, but......I quickly discovered I couldn't get warmed back up again. We ran, we walked, we ran, we walked, we walked. I swung my arms but to little or no avail.

We ended up doing just over 3.5 miles I think and I needed to call it quits, I was worn to a frazzle, in fact the frazzle was becoming frayed.

Bonnie did let me know that according to her Garmin it was the slowed 5k she had ever run, but she was there to support me, but she had never run so slow in her life or her short running career. Now!!!!! since this is my blog I get to tell the "rest of the story" that she wouldn't tell any others that she spoke to yesterday, she just left it at how slow "that" 5k was. It took me about a half mile to formulate this coherent thought process but I finally was able to correlate a come-back and I informed her that while that 5k may have been the slowest ever, I had just completed something like 5 consecutive 5k's in the cold and wind, thank you very much. But I still got no sympathy.

I ran slower than last Sunday when I did 10 miles in 2:09....I think my 10 miles yesterday was 2:11, but I was figuring I was going to be running close to 20 so take it easy.

I ended up with a blood blister looking monster on my left little toe. As far as I can remember that is a first. I'm not sure what caused it, my socks weren't wrinkled, the shoe felt ok, it just was there. I didn't even feel it until later in the day....go figure.

We are going down to Dallas on Wednesday to run their 8 mile Turkey Trot on Thursday morning. They lay claim to instituting the very first Turkey Trot run, like 40 some odd years ago. I ask...Why 8 miles? The flipping bird will have nothing left on his thighs after that distance and the poor breasts will no longer be suculent, oh what poor bird we will have at the end of the day! We are running with my daughter's fiance, or I should say we will be somewhere behind him as he is a speedster. He anchored the marathon relay that Bonnie ran on in OKC back in April and his part was the finishing 10k, which he did in 56 minutes and change....and....he did that will little or no training.

Dreams of a Runner - Getting Lost In Oneself

Does anyone ever have dreams, night-dreams....or day dreams of being a world class marathoner? Do you ever picture yourself running at the front of the pack, leading a race, setting the pace, instead of in the middle or at the back of the pack? There are times I can close my eyes and that vision is so real I almost break out in a sweat. I have no idea where it comes from, maybe some of the competitive genes that are a holdover from high school...oh those would have to be ancient by now.

I can get lost when I run too...not literally, but at times I can see myself running with what Bonnie calls my Ethiopian or Kenyan buddies, out away from everyone else. I don't know if when that happens during a run if I'm hitting a runner's high or not, but I'm usually feeling at the top of my game at that point, the pain has been erased, the slowness of my pace is of no concern, I'm just running, running out there with guys I can't understand but know through their efforts that I'm in a different class.

Is this too weird, if we had a running shrink maybe I would take a water break and have a quick discussion about my childhood or something. I can never predict when it will happen it just does. Sometimes it is on training runs, other times it has happened while in the middle of a marathon....so very strange.

Whining Wonderful Wednesday

If at first you must whine about the wind, then run fast to overcompensate for the cold it creates, a wise man must have once at least thought that. Today the wind was somewhat cold, even if it was out of the southwest, it was blowing 18-20 mph and the temps were in the 40's. When I stepped out of my vehicle for our Wednesday run I felt as if I had left some running clothes at home...wimpy me...I know I know.

Well off we went...after a bit I didn't notice the wind until well into mile 2, almost to mile 3 when I turned into it for the last time. First it was the wind, then my Garmin started to act up, the light stopped coming on and under a street light I realized the message it was sending me was "Low Battery"....did that make me run faster this morning or was it the wind and my attempt at finding warmth? Who knows. I did discover that the Garmin has some extra juice left in it...it just stops the light from coming on when my minute "laps" would go by in its own attempt at saving itself. I did get my 4.5 miles in without it cratering totally.

So today's results, 4.5 miles 52:25 for a pace of 11:39......a new training PR since I've started runnig specifically to this distance on Mon/Wed...it only took me a month and half to improve....my old PR had been 52:29....but 4 seconds is 4 seconds and I'll take it. I can remember on Monday thinking.....did I really run this same route that fast...or was it someone else. I guess the stars were in alignment or something, I felt good, never really felt like I was overly exhausted or anything....just tired at the end.

Bottom line....for a training run I'll take the time.

Route 66 Saddened

Last Sunday was the running of the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa. A friend of ours that ran the half reported that they saw the 21 year old that died while running the half and was being worked on by paramedics. He apparently went down while attempting to finish the hills of the course, the last couple of miles of both the half and full courses. It's not known yet the cause of death, but one thing is for sure, it can strike us at any time. Being prepared is soooo important and can't be stressed enough to run these distances.

Fluids and fuel should never be neglected as that can get one into trouble the quickest. If you wait too long it can also be too late. Take fluids at the right times and don't overlook the fuel that the body is calling for during the run. The replacements that the right fuel offers to the body is important in the replacement of what the body is burning as we run and what we sweat out, so fuel wisely and do it at the right frequency.

Our prayers go out to the young runner's family at this time.

Miserable Monday

Well it seems that I must have been a slacker over this past weekend. Most all my normal running buddies ran some distance in some marathon around the country but I chose to stay at home. This morning I'm up at our pre-cock of the roost designated hour and lo, I'm the only one to show up. To my credit I did get my run in. I did 4.5 miles in a disappointing 55:23. My goal is continuous improvement on that distance for my Monday/Wednesday runs. So far I've slid backwards since hitting a best of 52:29.

Good news tho from the weekend that I forgot to mention yesterday. I was down at our WW weigh-in on Saturday, another 2.6 pounds I believe. After the 10 miles yesterday and the 4.5 miles this morning I feel that I'm down even further. I feel like I've gone from a 20 inch snow and ice spare tire in Auguest to a 17 inch steel belted radial. I'm shooting for one of those sporty 13 inch European style racing spare tires, maybe Valentines Day.

10 Mile Sunday

First off I would like to extend congratulations to all the Edmond Running Clubs members who ran some distance of a marathon this weekend. I know we had a number of folks participating in the Route 66 as well as the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathons, and I think that all faired well. My hat is off to each of you.

In the shadow of those great ones, I did 10 miles today, averaging 13:00 exactly per mile for 2 hours 9 minutes and some change. On this run I saw several other runners, all faster than me, a dead possum (yes I'm from the South and we do call them that), and a dead mouse, a tennis shoe, and one very beautiful runner that I actually got to run with for my last 3 miles (oh yes, she is my lovely and sexy bride...Bonnie). I was beginning to slow when she connected with me and kept my pace consistent for those last three miles.

She even got a couple of catcalls from someone about her great legs, personally, I think she's got great buns. Guess I'll have to work in a photo of them...her great legs.

I feel pounded, but glad I ran. Memphis is coming up in just over 3 weeks and I think I'll be ready for it.

For those of you in the Phoenix area that read this, I'm also considering the P.F. Chang Rock n Roll in January. I know a bunch that ran that this year and wonder who will be running again in '09?

Later everyone.

Heart Attack Grill - - - Here I Come

I couldn't resist the urge today....I've been doing so good with my running, but this week, the kidney stones kind of toppled things and tore up a bit of my momentum...so I decided go whole hog...."Heart Attack Grill" that has my name written all over it....NOT!!!!!! My lovely bride...Bonnie...sent these photos to me...but I still couldn't resist the urge of a tiny itsy-bitsy prank....where is this place...the waitresses are...sexy to say the least...they have nice "hands"...

Oh yes, can't you just imagine your daughter working her way through college in a place like this..giggling...oh my....

Yep here I go, valet wheel-chair service for us geriatric boys, nothing but the best, little do they know we may be feeble..but our minds are still as wild as they ever were....wait...what were my eyes supposed to be focused on????

I could create an incredible to-go order...I'll have one of those..two of those and don't forget those delightful buns, I'll skip the sesame seeds tho

Maid to order, how can I pass up something like this????

It's got those "two all beef patty" boys beat coming and going any day of the week, even on Tuesdays!!!!!!

Work Gets in the Way of Running

No running today because of an early meeting. I'm looking forward to a long run this weekend though, at least 10 miles. I got a clean bill of health after Monday's CAT scan for more kidney stones...the official report...I have no more of those pesky coral urchin-like beasts...thanks for all the prayers.

Earth, Wind, and Fire or as we say in OK Rain, Wind, and Cold

We called off this mornings run due to cold weather, rainy weather, windy weather....let's just say we called it due to "weather". Cold yucky, windy and wet day that it is. PLUS, I passed yet another stone this morning...when does this stop. I don't feel like crap, but not too far from it.

I have friends that are going to San Antonia for their Rock n Roll Marathon this weekend. I also have friends running in the Route 66 Marathon and Half Marathon in Tulsa this weekend. I wish them all speed, safety, and an enjoyable time.

Race for Hope 5k and 12k

Yesterday was the annual 5k and 12k Race for Hope runs at Lake Overholser. Bonnie outdid herself again by setting a new 5k PR (36:16)...woohoo!!!! I barely outran Bonnie as it turns out (36:11) and had no idea she was breathing down my back that close to passing me at the finish line. Maybe I can use the excuse of passing another kidney stone on Friday as my excuse. Well no excuse needed but congratulations are in order for Bonnie...she continues to improve her running and I'm proud.

Randy and Bonnie shivering before the start of 5k.

Bonnie and Bill another Edmond Running Club member before the 5k

Two of the ERC long distance gals Karen and Cara getting ready for the 12k.

Some of the 5k runners after the race Bill, Bonnie, Dana, and me. Yes it had warmed up quite a bit from the start of the race.

Congratulations to all the ERC members that ran or volunteered with the race it was a great day for a run. If we didn't get your photo, we apologize.

Flakes of Destruction

I saw this today and just couldn't resist temptation to allow this to become a part of our Monday, where would we be without teamwork. Better yet, where would we be without all the flakes that just happen to make up the team?

Monday Run

Mondays are an easy run day, who forgot to tell my feet that. Well it was still slower than Saturdya's 5k run. Today's pace was 12:27, for 4.5 miles, total time 56:00:00. This was still a 1 minute run/1 minute walk, but at a faster pace than what I've been training at so it felt good.

Thanks Cynthia for pushing things just a bit that was good even though my mind was trying to take over for my legs and slow things down.

Back to the weekend, the WW weigh-in wasn't as good as it could have been, up 2 pounds to 219.2. But still it could have been worse had I not exercised at all. So I feel good knowing my weight loss is headed in the right direction.

Bonnie and I are signed up for yet another 5k this coming Saturday and I don't even know the name of the race, I'll just show up in time to get a race bib and get on the course. We are also committed to going to Dallas over Thanksgiving and running with our future son-in-law in the Dallas Turkey Trot 8 mile race at White Rock Lake. My daughter will be there to cheer us on.

Quick Update

Still can't get the old blog to work...if you knew me before as PapaBear's Marathon Training well you've found me again.

Bonnie and I participated in the Run with the Stars 5k yesterday. This is only the second 5k we've done this year...far too much concentration on marathons I guess. Anyway, she PR'ed at 36:37 a full MINUTE ahead of her previous best...woohoo for her!!!!!

I ran mine in 33:55, according to my Garmin. Not a bad time since my last 5k was something over 38 minutes I think or worse. My PR is 33:06.

I can't remember where I left off about the weight loss, I'm now at 219.2, down from a high on August 2 or there abouts of 236.2. I feel better, I'm running better, and I'm down 2 pants sizes....woohoo on that!!!! PLUS, you should see Bonnie, I can't tell you what she is weighing but I can tell you she is one HOOTCHIE MOMMA!!!! very sexy and oh baby what a head-turning Grandma she's become....

Hope some of my old friends can find me here, I'll be out looking for you too.

New Blog

My old blog has stopped allowing me access so I've started over from scratch to try and resurrect things.