CadesDad - Running

Fit or UnFit

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:05:40 -0700

Its funny how ones mind can play tricks. Depending on how my last workout or run went the way I feel about myself varies wildly. I might feel like I'm in fantastic and strong shape on a great Tuesday workout and Thursday have a tough run and wonder why fat boy thinks he can run.

I really don't think that much about it or obsess, but its a weird phenomenon.

This week I did a workout with Molly that left me feeling sore sore sore & strong. I found this workout at Crossfit.org. I know its strange but I love muscle soreness. I know its strange. Here's what we did:

After a good warm up, you do 8 sets of 20 seconds with 10 seconds rest in between. This 10 seconds allowed just enough time to write our results before we'd have to start the next set. No rest between exercises, just move straight to the next exercise.

Pull Ups:

Push Ups

Sit Ups

Squats

I know it doesn't sound like much, but I swear its hard. Try it and let me know.

Best Run Evah

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:32:43 -0700

Yes. Another prolong haitus.

Well, the little guys birthday is coming up so Shawn and I decided it was time for another bicycle. He had a bicycle last year. I really really sweet 20" Haro BMX bike which our fantastic neighbors the O'Rourkes gave us. Sadly it was stolen from our front yard last fall. Sad.

So, we visited a couple of stores until Cade latched on to this sweet beauty.

Don't mess with the Mini Viper

After throughly testing the machine throughout the top floor of Dicks Sporting goods in Bloomington, riding the bike to and into the elevator, riding out and a another lap of Dicks 1st floor; he was convinced. After Mom and Dad paid for the orange beauty he rode it through the front doors, to the car in the parking lot. This now reminds me of his Uncle Pauls first car. Ask him about it, he loves to tell the story. Also ask him about Tang cake.

So here's my point. I'd shared with Cade that I wanted to sometime this summer go for a run and have him join me on his bike. Well it happened, and on the first day he had his new bike. We went to Nokomis talking the WHOLE way there. Once there we swam to cool off and then headed back toward home. We stopped at Adrians for cheeseburgers and cokes. All in all it was an absolutely fantastic day.

And with the cold water at Lake Nokomis my ankle didn't hurt at all on the run home. FANTASTIC.

Great Urban Race

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:40:43 -0700

We arrived at Town Hall Brewery early. This wasn't entirely my own fault. It's my fathers, and I'm merely the victim of genetics.

We were able to walk right up to the registration table, sign away our life in exchange for two t-shirts and matching numbers 2612. We dutifully pinned the numbers to the front of our tshirts. After walking the new "Great Urban Race" t-shirts to the Subie. We sat outside in anticipation of pre-race announcements. It was 11, we were set to start at 12 pm.

Soon more participants arrived. Some were like us, in matching t-shirts. others were in full costumes of varying tastes and efforts. Obama and McCain joined forces on the race which was nice to see some unity, although I'm sure noone cheered for them to win. We served as a case study for the power of suggestion. As we ordered drinks immediately after we saw two racers with a bloody mary and a screwdriver. Raeann and Mark found us. After they signed in, they joined our table. As I was approaching the bottom of my second screwdriver the race announcements started and the clue envelopes were handed out.

The race is set up that you're given 12 clues to 12 separate destinations in town. Each is different. Some require you to have your picture taken in front of a place, person, thing, others send you to a park and ask you to complete a stunt.

We worked together to solve the clues and quickly decided to head for our first destination. Eliot Park. We were pretty sure we knew where it was, so we ran right for it. Unfortunately, the park we thought was Eliot Park was actually Franklin Steele Square. After a few phone calls and bit of running we found Eliot Park, Phew! This clue "closed at 1" and we made it with 10-15 minutes to spare. At Eliot Park each teammmate had to balance an apple on our head and walk 10 yards without touching or dropping the apple.

After completing this stunt we worked on our next clue. This one was a cryptogram involving the movie, "Fargo". We deciphered without completely solving the clue that we needed to take our picture in front of a sign on a parking ramp used in the movie. Again, we consulted friends and family who uniformly had us heading to the Daytons (now Macys) parking ramp. We ran a few blocks and were informed that in fact it was the Minneapolis Club parking ramp. We ran back a block and snapped the picture.

Next we were off to our 3rd stop. This clue was something like, "Take your picture next to the statue of the person mentioned in the hit Weezer song." That wasn't hard. Had to be the Mary Tyler Moore statue. What out of town based contest couldn't have picked that? Again here a photo of both of us with the bronze MTM.

Next clue we tackled was getting a photo of 4 people doing cartwheels in front of Candyland. We could have opted for this or getting a photo of 12 people in front of the orpheum. Since there we already some people doing cartwheels and we were there this was easy. Or, I guess to be fair, easy for me. Shawn and Raeann had to do cartwheels.

Next we were off to GameWorks to find a Game called Monkey Ball, and get our picture with it. We stood in a short line of racers and got our photos snapped. We also had to get 3 tickets from any game. There was a guy handing out tickets from skeeball. Not sure if he worked there or was just a bystander helping out. Either way we were out of the quickly.

The next clue we tackled was a riddle. It went something like this, "Juan like Dr. Pepper, but not Coke. He likes Strawberries but not Watermelon. He eat Cheese but not Milk. He likes pepper but not salt." We then were instructed to take a photo of both teammates in front of a street sign that Juan would like. We noted that old Juan like things with double letters, like pePPer, beRRies, chEEse, etc. So we took a picture of ourselves in front of a Hennipen Avenue street sign.

I'll have to say it was nice to have Raeann and Mark with us as we were able to get our photos taken quickly and didn't have to get bystanders or wait for another team.

We were off to Loring Park. As a team we had to hop on these skis that had ropes attached and walk them 20 yards or so. We made quick work of this and quickly went to the next stop.

The sculpture garden. Again, what out of town hosted race couldn't resiste the allure of the spoon and cherry sculpture. The clue was to have your photo take in front of the sculpture picture on the GreatUrbanRace website. Check!

Next we needed to scoot on up to Golooneys pizza. Before we got to Galooneys we had to have our photo taken at the park across the street from the pizzeria. We were instructed to count the benches in the park and hold up the number of fingers equaling the number of benches. I don't recall how we solved to go this park, but Shawn figured it out and counted the benches.

Now! On to Galooneys. The task here was to have one teammate feed the other a slice of pizza. Shawn fed me a bite and a bystander took our picture. Deliciouso! I devoured the rest while we waited for bus to take us back down Hennepin. Man the pizza was GOOD. We hopped the bus, this was the only bus ride for us.

Our next and last stop was to get our picture taken in front of the name and address for the Campbell Mithun building. We ran 9th to the building with Mark and Raeann. Took our last picture and ran back to Town Hall Brewery. On this run we somehow lost Mark and Raeann. I think they may have taken a slightly different route. Shawn and I zig zagged through Twins traffic and mercifully made it back to the finish/start.

Since we were allowed to skip one stop, we deleted the picture of us holding the number of benches (although we found out we got it right). After a review of our photos (yeah no errors!), we sad down outside for refreshments. Kevin and Heather joined us. It sounded like they had a great time as well! Beer, sweet potato fries (SWEET) and goat cheese nachos (wonderful!). It didn't take long and we got a bit cold. So we moved inside for more beer and a bit of warmth.

We bought a growler of oatmeal stout on the way out and listened to the awards. We were disappointed we didn't get top 25. I think we would have it we hadn't had the mix up finding Eliot Park, but whatever. We had fun, and beer and food. I think Team Mabusi would do it again if they return in 2009!

And we got in 9 miles!

Why

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:27:27 -0700

Years ago, I abhorred running. This dislike started early in my childhood. I can too vividly recall the overwhelming feeling of doom the morning of track and field days at Zachary Lane Elementary. The dread of having to line up for even the shortest of race still grips me. Even now as I write this, my back is growing warm and I have the sensation of blood rushing to the skin of my face. I longed to come up with some believable Brady Bunch like scheme to stay home from school. Perhaps appear at breakfast with a sore throat or a water bottle filled with ice on my head would do it. Catholic guilt kept me from executing any such scheme, and the school bus still came right on time.

After roll was taken (HERE!) we'd all line up single file to be escorted like prisoners of war outside to begin track and field day. I'd scan the starting line for someone that I knew I'd be able to outrun. My goal, usually, was to not be last. At the end of track and field days, my neighborhood friends would return home with multiple sheets of vividly colored paper. Each sheet documenting that they were 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 9th fastest in one dash or another. Not me. Thank god there were also "Field" events. As I was a big kid, the shot put the sole event that kept me from complete and total humiliation. I was able to put that shot just about as far as anybody, or rather far enough to get a sheet of that colored paper with my name on it.

We lived in a suburban neighborhood with lots of kids my age. I can't recall many girls, but I can name the boys. Tim D, Nathan, Tim J, Dan, Doug, Sean, Mark, Chad. We were all in the same grade. There were other boys a bit older, but not many younger. Whatever the season we'd play the appropriate sport. Primarily this meant we played: baseball, basketball, football and hockey with the occasional volleyball, badminton, tennis, golf game thrown in. I mention this to illustrate that I was an active kid. In fact I'd say that I'd run as long as required if I was chasing a ball.

When I entered the University I continued to be active - - but not running. In my freshman year, I rode mountain bike (and tried to race), organized an intramural flag football team, and played more basketball than I'd ever played in my life. My sophomore year I studied abroad. Outside of walking I didn't do to much athletic - and still not running. Junior, Senior and senior senior years I continued to bike with friends and I joined the Lacrosse team. Lacrosse was just like all the other sports I'd always played. Lots of running, but I was chasing a ball. One of my buddies Tim (same Tim as from Elementary school) had ran cross country in high school and continued to run in college. I'm not sure why, but for a while he and I would run. I insisted we go late in the evenings so no one would see me. We did a couple of 5k's, but I still didn't like it. I continued to play lacrosse post graduation.

Grandmas Marathon runs every June in Duluth. I remember watching the runners on television, and in some years seeing them cross the finish line. If you've never been to the finish line of a marathon, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it. The air is electric. One can observe and share in the emotions/relief/exhilaration of each runner crossing that line. The finish line is a very inspiring place. It was here, when I still hated running, that I vowed silently to myself that someday SOMEDAY I would run a marathon. I knew, running hater that I was, that this was quite a daunting feat and a real stretch of my imagination to think that I could do it.

My first real employer's office was connected to a set of trails that twisted around a marshy area to a larger park with a ski jump (!) and trails around a small lake. One of my coworkers would run these trails from time to time over lunch hour. I thought it would be good exercise and fun to hang out, so I joined him. I still hated running.

My next job was with a company called Whittman-Hart. This company asked all employees to have development plans listing personal and professional goals. I'm not sure I remember this correctly, but I think they said they'd provide rewards for how well you did on all your goals. In composing my goals for that first year, I put spoken vow to paper. 1999 goals: to finish a marathon. Due to the marvels of the internet, I found this guy, Hal Hilgdon who had a website with a plan for beginners. I copied the plan into a spreadsheet and bought a pair of Nike Air Max. Reading through the plan I needed to be able to run 3 miles without stopping by February as the plan required me to run 3 miles 3 times the first week! It was December 1998. It was cold. Minnesota cold. It was dark (so I wouldn't be noticed). I told my roommate I was going out for a run, Id be back soon. He just shook his head and laughed. I got dressed. It may have taken me longer to get dressed than I ran:
2 pair long pants
2 pair socks
1 short sleeve shirt
1 long sleeve shirt
1 sweat shirt
1 pair liner gloves
1 pair mittens
1 winter hat
1 winter jacket
1 scarf
1 pair of Nike Air Max

Once dressed. I again told my roommate I was going for a run, "I'll be back in 10 minutes." Baby steps.

I stepped outside and the cold froze my nose hairs, raced down my throat and held a tight grip on my lungs. It hurt. I didn't stop. I ran probably 6 blocks down and 6 blocks back. Hopped in and my roommate laughed some more. I can't believe you’re really meant 10 minutes! I hated running.

Slowly I made progress and started to lose weight. There are only a few runs I really remember from that year. I distinctly remember the first time I ran 10 miles. I ran the whole time without stopping. Sweat drops fell from the brim of my baseball cap while I rounded Lake of the Isles. One foot felt numb and started to tingle. I finished. I was immensely proud. I got home ravenously hungry, and cold. After devouring everything in sight and a hot shower the cold away, I fell into a deep flu like sleep. Still I was proud.

At some point along this training plan I began to enjoy running. On days I didn't run, I missed it.

Grandmas Marathon 1999. I had no idea what to expect, even though I had read everything I could get my hands on; I wasn't sure what the next 26.2 miles would present. I moved like a cow into the starting chute, staying near the back I wanted to stay out of everyone’s way, certainly they all knew what they were doing. I met so many people during this run. Men, Women, old and young. I spoke to people I passed or those that passed me. I recall running nearly all of it (although my time makes me wonder if I did). I described the event to friends as just a big moving party. I had so much fun. Here’s my result:

3792 1448 M 19-34 BRIAN T CORRIGAN MINNEAPOLIS, MN 5:15:04 12:02

This year they had a camera taking stills of the finish line. I was lucky enough to find my picture crossing the finish line!

My brother did a little MS Paint magic to make my 5 hour run a 2 hour run!

In 1999 there were 3,984 Grandmas finishers. For contrast in 2008 there were 6876 finishers!

Since this run, I've loved running. Why do I do it now? Hmmmm
to feel good - for the endorphins!, and stay healthy
to exercise the dogs
to share something fun and healthy with my wife
to be a good example to my son
to strive to be better/faster

Just for fun, here are my marathon results

1999 Grandmas Marathon 5:15:04
2000 Grandmas Marathon 5:22:14
2003 Rome Marathon 5:21:55
2003 Grandmas Marathon 4:38:57
2005 Grandmas Marathon 5:09:04
2006 Fargo Marathon 4:45:44
2006 Grandmas Marathon 4:58:50
2007 Grandmas Marathon 4:29:58
2007 Twin Cities Marathon 4:31:42
2007 Tulsa World Marathon 4:31:03
2008 P.F Change Rock N Roll 4:03:10 PR!
2008 Grandmas Marathon 4:42:45

Treadmill workout

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:09:23 -0700

I love it when a plan comes together. This morning Shawn forwarded me a workout and this link to help me determine my paces. I put in a HUGE stretch goal and it resulted in this pace chart:

Equivalent race paces:

So I tried to do my workout with these paces. Making my plan look like:

1 mile warmup (at 10 min miles)

2 X 200's @ 6:22 min miles
1 X 400 @ 6:10 min miles
1 X 800 @ 5:22 min miles
1 X 400 @ 6:10 min miles
2 X 200's @ 6:22 min miles

1 mile cool down (starting at 10 min mile)

The 800 got a little speedy for me and with my first 400 done I slowed down to 5:5X. Otherwise I did this workout and at the end the 6:22 pace and 6:10 pace seemed slow! Again, I was sweating up a storm on the treadmill.

The only bummer of this workout is that I wore my new glasses, and they just don't stay up (anyone ever see that Steve Martin movie, "the jerk"? Anyway, so while I'm making my legs move just as fast as I can, my glasses are bouncing off my face. Had to have been a funny image for anyone else in the gym.

This Sunday we had a couple of kids Cades age over for a birthday thing, he had a great time and was a good guy. Kate, Bjorn, Eleanor and Erik gave him a trumpet that he's fallen in love with, see the picture.

Every once in a while

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:52:42 -0700

Finally! Finally! Finally!

I've learned that being a runner means you have good days and bad days. More important, I've learned to relish the good days and accept the bad days. I don't get (as) down on myself on the bad days. They come and go, and I haven't been able to predict when they'll occur. I suppose if I was more diligent about logging my miles and diet I might find a correlation to say a Dr Pepper here, an extra bowl of cereal there, a bad run here. But I haven't, and I might just not even try.

Saturday morning I woke still tired and quite aching. The ache was from Fridays interval workout - - which was AWESOME. Some time had passed since my last interval workout and although I remembered how much I enjoyed a difficult hard work out that pushed me further than I thought I could go; there's never anything like being in the moment. Friday’s workout was 4x800 at 6:30 pace with a mile warm up and mile cool down. In total I covered 5 treadmill miles and coated my treadmill with sweat (and the edges of the treadmills on either side of me)! To anyone observing this workout it probably looked like a half grotesque freak torture show half gross out sweat-fest. For me, it was AWESOME.

So... Saturday I was a tad sore, had a sore throat and felt generally tired (An aside to any soon to be parents out there, when you buy kiddo a big kid bed, get a good mattress). I told Shawn, who also was not 100%, that I'd feel like an overachiever if we ran 7. She responded with 7 it is! So we started off slowly, hit the parkway and headed to Lake Harriet. At Harriet, we discussed if which way to go and I asked that we slow for the first half, and then speed up on the second half. We followed this plan pretty well, speeding up on the eastern side of the lake, cruising to finish the lake loop. Once back on the parkway, we continued to speed it up and stride out. It felt sooooo good. Shawn and I decided to stop at Caribou which is roughly a mile short of home. What a great way to end our run. We walked in the sunshine drinking coffee the last mile home.

What a great run. It’s nice to have one these once in a while to help on remember why I do this.

Grandmas Marathon 6/21/2008

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:51:06 -0700

This year I stood in the starting chute, not all that excited about being there. Thursday evening Cade came down with a terrible Flu which continued into Friday. Shawn decided that she'd stay back and I waivered on what to do. I couldnt decide if I should skip the event, which wouldn't have been all that bad considering my training, or if I should carry on and run it. In the end, I decided to head up and do it. Cade seemed better on Friday, but neither Shawn or I wanted to risk getting Grandma Corrigan sick or bring Cade to Duluth and putting the Smith kids at risk. So.... at 3:00 or so, I loaded myself into the Subie and north. Kyle and Kim were able to pick up my number at the expo which was HUGE. The off ramp on 35 to get to the expo was nearly a mile back on 35. Crazy.

After watching Will's T-Ball Game, and eating spaghetti at Bulldog. Kyle and I went to get his haircut. While I was sitting waiting for his doo to be done, my phone rang. I answered to sobs, snorts, and cries of, "Daddy..... I want you to come home.....NOW" and then I'm pretty sure he threw up. It was 7:30. Shawn and Cade called me one more time that night and again, Cade got sick. I found out after I got home on Saturday that he was sick every 30-60 minutes all night Friday. Shawn had her own vomit marathon.

After hanging with the Smiths for few minutes Friday night, we all went to bed. I woke at 4:40 to hop in the shower, get changed and drive the 5 minutes to UMD. Grandmas does a great job of bussing people to the start of the race. I got my seat on the bus and went into a psuedo sleep/day dream state. This made the trip to the race start short.

At the race start I went through my usual routine, use the porta johns, stretch, drink some gatorade, eat a clif bar, stretch, use the porta john, check my bags and make my way to the starting line. I was really really pleased to see a 4:15 pace group. I had thought of running with either the 4:00 or 4:30 pacer and had a hard time deciding. My decision was made for me with the 4:15 pacer. I started off okay staying with this group. At mile 3 or so, nature called so I pulled over to get to know nature better. I had gotten ahead of the 4:15 group a bit, so they caught up and passed me here. It took another mile and I caught them again and hung with them a bit longer. I felt pretty crappy quickly, and resorted to walk/running. I don't recall feeling this bad this early in a race, and I considered dropping out, but at the half way mark, I just kept going with the thought of, well, I've made it this far, I might as well finish.

Most of the run was unremarkable. The aid stations were great and to be honest, despite how crappy I felt the run went pretty quickly. At about mile 19 or so, I noticed I was leap frogging with this younger gal in a Loyola shirt. She would jog along slowly, looking tired but keeping steady. People along the course would shout, "Go Loyola!" and she'd pump her fist in response. Anyway, so she'd pass me when I'd walk, and I'd pass her when I ran. At about mile 23, I'd had enough, and this was good, as it gave me something to fight for. So I made it my mission ton not let the fist pumping loyola t-shirt chick beat me. I dropped my arms down and ran. I turned around with about a mile to go and she was gone, I couldn't see her behind me. I kept up the pace just to be sure and crossed the finish in 4:42:something.

All in all it was an okay run considering I haven't really done much specific training for this marathon. Next up is Lifetime Fitness Triathlon and the Twin Cities Marathon. I swear I'm gonna traing for the TC and I will break 4 hours.
b

Curses!

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 21:09:21 -0700

This is going to be a gripey, whiney, sad, sad entry. You probably don't want to read any further.

Still here? Okay, well I warned you:

Although the marathon went very very well for me, I definitely did NOT feel well afterward. I was a tad under the weather - feeling a bit flu-like as well as having lots of aches in my legs. I went to bed early on Sunday night and by Monday morning felt much better, however I still had nagging injuries - specifically my left and right ankles.

Prior to the marathon I was having a real bad ache in my left ankle and I just couldn't seem to shake it. My ankle hurt bad enough that I would wear a brace from time to time, to work, around the house etc. I'm not sure if the brace provided actual support and helped or if it was only in my head. Anyway, by race day the ankle felt fine and I ran better than I thought I could.

Fast Forward today. I haven't run since the marathon, and for the last week I've been taking Ibuprofen in bunches 3x a day. My ankle is sore, and has a weird sensation of squishing styrofoam together, kinda creaky squeeky. So......rather than go to the MD, I consulted DR GOOGLE. Google found me several sites, including www.runnersworld.com where I learned I have Achillies Tendonitis. Heres the bad news I'm obsessing about currently, "You should be back to easy running in six to eight weeks."

UGH UGH UGH!!!!!!!!

If this is true that means I'm 3 weeks to 5 weeks from running again. And at best I'll have to ease into it. Ugh... Im itching, impatient, feeling like a caged tiger.... restless and more than a bit cranky.

So...I resigned to try to lift, but upper body only. But if I lash out, now you know why.

The Perfect Storm, or how I pr'd in Phoenix

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:35:58 -0700

After the Whistlestop incident of aught-7 (2007), EsthersMom, CadesMom and I decided to schedule a do over marathon. Once we arrived some a little research on the internet found the P.F. Chang Rock N' Roll Marathon in Phoenix, AZ. It was not too far off where we had to completely restart training, AND it was in Phoenix in January! CadesMom had friends in Phoenix who agreed to put us up, we found cheap airfare and the rest was history.

Training for the marathon went ok. Mostly we trained our now traditional. During the week we do what we can, I at work, while CadesMom has Fit Neighbor classes, and runs on Wednesdays. I would workout at work during lunch or whenever I could fit it in. On weekends we had our tradiitonal babysitter arrive Saturday morning and we run long, anywhere from 7-20 miles. CadesMom and I recently also signed up for the Florida Half Ironman in May - - so we've added swimming and riding the trainers as additional crosstraining. These workouts have helped me to lose lbs and feel generally stronger. Good Stuff.

So... Training was specifically for the marathon but more general fitness with some long runs on the weekends. EsthersMom decided early on to run the half. Most of the training runs CadesMom and EsthersMom ran well in front of me. One on recent training run, I felt particularly bad - - it was cold and windy and generally a miserable running day in Minnesota. CadesMom pulled me for much of the run. We ran from home around Lake Harriet, to Lake Calhoun. At the far side of Calhoun I had a Clif Bar Gel and SHAZAAM!!!! What a difference. It wasn't like it hit me right away, but a few minutes after eating that Clif Bar Gel, I felt strong. I decided to try to block the wind for CadesMom and before you knew it I was carrying my own and helping to pull her. Truth be told she was a tad under the weather, so I wasn't getting a big head or anything. But it did give me a bit of confidence that I could run strong.

I've been reading Joe Friels, Triathletes Bible and learning about periodization. From this reading and planning my year, I got the idea that I shouldn't press during this marathon, but rather just enjoy the run. Then I got thinking about how I should really just give it my all and stay with the love of my life and support her (her goal for Phoenix was to finish within 3:45 and qualify for Boston). I thought it best that I support her and carry on with her as long as I could......so thats how my approach to the marathon started.

We arrived in Phoenix on Friday night, made our way to our friends house and crashed. The next day we slept till 1! went to a new restaurant called "the yardhouse" built in a village for the upcoming SuperBowl. We sat down at about 3:45 and CadesMom text'd EsthersMom via cellphone to learn that we needed to pick up our packet by 5 as the expo closed at 5pm! We slammed our beers and made beeline to the expo. Luckily we had hosts who knew Phoenix and got us to the expo quickly. We arrived and many of the booths were already being taken down. We got our numbers.

We got up early the next morning to get to the start on time. CadesMom and I got to the startline in perfect time. Not too rushed and we were able to get a nice spot in Corral 4 find a pacer and chill a bit before the start. I had 3 clif Bar Gels and 3 packets of energy beans in a ziploc bag. Going into the corral, a volunteer had a bowl full of salt packets. Almost by impulse following the others in front of me I grabbed a packet. I put this salt packet in my zip loc bag. The salt packet broke open in the bag to great effect. The extra salt on the energy beans was quite tasty, taking an edge of the sweetness of the beans. Shortly after the Star Spangled Banner, the gun went off and so were we. The pace felt okay, a tad uncomfortable but very doable for the first 3 miles. The second 5k felt harder, but still doable. CadesMom gave me encouragement, looks and words to tell me that I could do it and stay with her. I thought about dropping back at 6 miles, but I stayed with her. There were water stations galore on the course along with oodles of bands. CadesMom and I heard a band we really thought were good called Anarbor. Shortly after them we both turned inward and listened to music. It is amazing how much easier running can be with music that motivates you. We carried on with the 3:45 pace group together. At about mile 10 I felt CadesMom right behind me and I turned to say something, only to see that it wasn't her, but a body double. I looked ahead, behind, left, right. She was gone. I instantly felt weaker, slower. Where was she? Was she okay? I knew she'd want me to carry on and not stop. I thought about riders in the tour de france and how sometimes a domestique will ride ahead in the mountains knowing that he'd be caught but would be able to help the team leader over the top. I pictured myself as a domestique for CadesMom, and decided to carry on. I struggled a bit after she left walking occassionally for 30-60 seconds. Each time thinking maybe I'd see CadesMom again. Although I walked I felt strong. I continued to eat the energy beans along with an energy gel at 5, 10 and 15 miles. At mile 20 ish the marathon provided Powerbar Gel. I snagged a Double Espresso and a Vanilla. My stomach didn't really like these, but they worked - giving me more energy. I pressed for part of the last mile.
Approaching the finish there were many many people waiting for their loved ones in vitual silence. I goaded them all to cheer more, but only a few perked up... I suppose because they didn't know this goofball from Minnesota. I crossed the finish in 4:04:XX, chip time 4:03:10, a nearly 27 minute PR! At the finish, I got a glass of water and a medal. EsthersMom was at the end and she asked where CadesMom was. I was just started to tell her how we got separated. I turned around and there she was! I was so so happy to see the love of my life! We finished within a minute of one another.

Turns out CadesMom had some serious issues with her shoes, or more specifically her insoles. She had gotten new orthotics only a couple of weeks earlier and apparently just hadn't broken them in enough. Long story short she ran the last 8 miles without insoles in her shoes. My lady is hard core.

Rock N Roll Marathon

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:01:09 -0700

Ok, this is amazing. I'll write a full debrief later, but for the moment check out this video. I just happen to come across it looking for what others had written about the 2008 P. F. Change Rock N' Roll Marathon.

(at 0:05 to 0:09 second you'll see CadesMom and I enter the frame and run through. I'm in bright green (t shirt from lifetime tri) with blue shorts and red visor. Shawns in black and looks at her watch as shes leaving the frame.

Straight Cranks and the Calm Before the Storm

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:28:48 -0700

Last year at the Apple Duathlon, CadesMom wow the drawing at the end of the race and walked away with a HUGE prize including new sunglasses, a set of Spinervals videos, a new tri outfit, new bike shoes, a sweet big bag, on and on thanks to the good folks at Gear West and the sponsors of the races. For Christmas, my sweetie got me a trainer. Which means that she and I can ride on our trainers together, our own little spinning class! We broke out a Spinerval called, "19.0 Bending Crank Arms". This was a great workout. This workout included off the bike activity doing squats followed by iso's. My legs ache today and I love it.

On the diet front, I've been eating really well lately. The only change I've really made is to increase my fruit and veggie intake and reduce breads. I'm done 5 lbs or so in the last couple of weeks without really trying to lose weight.

This weekend is the P.F. Chang Rock n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix. CadesMom and I will be running. EstersMom is running the 1/2 marathon. This will be the marathon that CadesMom qualifies for Boston. She is targeting a 3:45. Initially I thought I'd try to stay with her ala my goal for the Monster Dash Half Marathon, then I thought I'd run with the 4:30 group and if I felt good push the last 6 or so and now I'm back thinking I'll run with her. I haven't trained at that pace really, and I'm battling a bit of a sore ankle, but I think I have it in me AND I think it would be great support for my lady. Thinking about the Marathon I realized that I won't be really happy running with my current eyeglasses as with any sweat they slide down my nose. It is EXTREMELY frustrating. So after a lunch out today I visited my downtown Marhalls and found these sweet babies. Funny thing is that I went online after buying them and found that they are for sale retail for $129! What a steal I got!? Anyway, I hope they make me strong for P.F. Chang. Funny thing about this marathon is that I haven't really done any specific training for it, but I'm not nervous or anything. Calm before the storm?

Last Race of 2007

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:58:08 -0700

CadesMom(tm) and I had tickets to see the Gear Daddies on December 28th. I was looking forward to the concert until we found out that there was also a 5k run that same night followed by drink specials etc etc at near by establishments. Faced with this dilemma we gave out Gear Daddies tickets to a friend, put on our running gear and went to the race.

However it wasn't as smooth as your normal everyday 5k. The race was around Lake Calhoun. We arrived late, or at least late enough that we grabbed our timing chips and headed to the racestart as quickly as possible. The race start was .2-.3 away from the chip pickup so this actually helped to warm up a bit. However we go to the start and it was a MOB. CadesMom and I decided to move up a bit, so as not to be totally at the back.

The race started suddenly, no shot, or horn or anything. We started running and realized quickly that most folks considered this a fun run and not a race AND that most folks running were going VERY slow. Both CadesMom and I zig zagged up but had some difficulty as the race was narrowed to one lane of lake street with traffic also on the road. After turning off Lake Street things eased up considerably. CadesMom was well ahead of me as A.) she was faster and B.) I was boxed in a couple of times and couldn't keep up. After getting out of the crowd I hit the 1 mile mark where someone was stating splits. I was at 1 mile at 9:15. I know I couldn't control things, and I didn't even know where the Start line was... but I was really disappointed in this. I thought whatever and just feel into a nice groove. At about half way I decided to pick it up some more and I really felt good. I came in at 25:33 (CadeMom slowed intentional and finished in 25:24). So.... I ran the last 2.1 miles in 16:18. That's no SteveinaSpeedo pace, but I'm okay with it!

TIL Numero Dos

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 21:09:24 -0700

Yes. Todays, Things I Like (TIL) subject is...... COFFEE! Long long ago, my first real non-temp job out of college was at a small company where one of the ladies had a cup which said, "No Coffee, no workee." At the time I did not see the wisdom which I now comprehend.

Although I can go without, I choose not to. Each morning CadesMom or I brew up a pot (or two). Some days, today for example. Neither of us have felt that great CadesMom is downright S.I.C.K., but the coffee has pulled us through. We've tried several different kinds and I believe that all of these are solid: Kirkland (Costco), Starbucks Mexican Shade Tree, Anything Peace Coffee, and most recently we've had really REALLY good coffee from Alterra.

Tulsa World Route 66 Marathon

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:06:34 -0700

The weekend prior to Thanksgiving CadesMom and I ran the Tulsa World Route 66 Marathon. One set of CadesGrandparents live in Afton, OK which is only an hour or so - - depending on how fast one travels from Tulsa.

We drove in to Tulsa the Friday prior to the marathon to pick up our packets. After getting our packet we were given a pre-finisher t shirt. I stepped over to the table and the fella behind the table said, "What size?" "Extra Large", I said. He looked at me and said in an tulsa drawl, "Fer yew?", and laughed, shaking his head. He came back with a medium. It fits. Its a tad small, but it fits. CadesMom got a small.

After walking the expo, which was small, we drove through downtown to find something to eat. We stopped at McNellies Pub, which had a pretty lively scene AND cider on tap - - a plus in CadesMom book. Eventually we found a seat at the bar and ordered some food. To be honest we didn't expect much of the food as it seems as though most places billing themselves as pubs don't have the greatest food. McNellies didn't look to be different based on the menu as if I recall correctly it was burgers, chicken sandwiches and the english staples of shepherds pie, fish and chips, etc. Were we SUPRISED! We ordered fish and chips and shepherds pie. Both were fantastic. The fish was not the normal deep fried stuff, I don't know if it was baked or what but it was good and accompanied my guiness' nicely!

After a day back on the farm. We left in the early am for the race start. We arrived on time, hopped out of car and started walking toward the start. I noticed that my glasses were dirty and as I cleaned them with my t-shirt (I know, I know) they broke! UGH. ARGH! I'm nearly blind without my glasses, and I didnt' bring any contacts. Lucky I had a pair of prescription sunglasses in the car. So... I ran with those. It sure made everything seem gloomy.

I had a goal to run with my lady on this marathon. I had been having some tummy issuess - pain, nothing else leading up to the race. We started with the 3:50 group. I was able to hang on - - - - for about 3 miles! I then dropped back... and kept dropping. I tried to stay with the 4:00 group and did for a couple of miles. They provided a nice wind break as it had started to mist and was a tad cool. Then I needed to walk a bit. My stomach was hurting and I needed to stop and use the restroom a couple of times. Totally Unfun. Anyway, on the way back I yo-yo'd with lots of folks. I did end up catching a guy who had been way in front of me and I suggested since we were pseudo running together that we try to pull together to run the remaining 5 miles or so. He basically said forget it, which was all I needed. I wasn't going to let him finish in front of me. So I ran harder. My knee had been acting up and was really keeping me from running any longer than 5 minutes or so. It feels all loosey goosey today but otherwise no pain.

Anyway, I got close to the finish and there about a block from the line were CadesMom, CadesGrandparents and Cade. I really wanted to run across with Cade, but CadesMom said that they'd dq me (I didn't care) and Cade didn't look excited about it. So I just ran on.

The real bummer of the whole marathon is that there was only pizza left to eat. Most of the food was gone AND NO BEER. I was uber looking forward to a beer, but I'm guessing the half marathoners had there fill and there wasn't enough for the marathoners. That was a real bummer.

CadesMom 4:05
CadesDad: 4:31:XX

Next episode: Eureka!

IsaResults

nospam@example.com (Cadesdad) — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 04:48:54 -0700

I didn't exactly take my measurements and weight exactly at the end of the IsaCleanse program. I ate like crap for a couple of days AND THEN thought, "oh hey, I should weigh in again".

So...drumroll parle vous.....the results.

I'm down 2-3 lbs which is great. The really interesting thing is these measurements:

According to these measurements, compliments of the lovely CadesMom(tm), I've "lost" an accumulative 8.875 inches. Over half coming from the waist and abdomen area - - exactly where I wanted to lose weight. Pretty cool.

I must say I didn't adhere rigidly to the plan - - which makes me want to try it again. I'll look at my calendar and try to find another good time to do the 9 day cleanse and I'll re-record the results and blow by blow daily reports!

Gotta jet.