double digits

I finally made it - my long run got into double digits. A big 10 miles.

It was an interesting run for me this morning. I woke up early and got out the door by 6am. I had the route more or less planned in my head, and knew where I could add mileage if needed. So I headed out and felt a little slow and tired, probably from just getting 5-1/2 hours of sleep, but who knows.

I had a weird inner dialogue going on during my run... About mile 3: "My toes feel like they are all rubbing together. What is up with that?" "You should stop and adjust your sock" "Good idea" So, I stop and try to fix the problem, but nothing seemed to help so I pushed on... things were going as well as they could go at this point but I was dripping in sweat... "I'm drenched! I am sweating like a stuck pig!" "I believe that is bleeding like a stuck pig" "Oh, okay. I am sweating like a bleeding stuck pig!" "Never mind"

Around mile 4.5 I entered Fort Harrison State Park: "Ouch! what was that?!" "Just some bug" "Oh, I think it was an African Tsetse Fly!" "It was not a Tsetse Fly" "Well, it sounds much cooler than just saying I was bitten by some bug" "Whatever"

So the entire 3.5 miles that I was in the park I was swatting at these bugs. The good thing was they took my mind off my toes. But when I got out of the park, I noticed them again and it was becoming more uncomfortable. I finished up and was never more glad to be done with a run. My toes felt like they swelled up to twice their size. I ripped my shoes off to find just a few small blisters thankfully.

My splits were not bad:

1. 9:36
2. 9:35
3. 9:48
4. 9:32
5. 9:13
6. 9:46
7. 9:19
8. 8:34
9. 9:36
10. 9:06

That's all for now. Hope you all have a good weekend. It's off to Motown for me...

my trip to cooperstown, ny

Memorial Day was very low-key this year - not much went on for us. Basically tried to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep.

Tuesday was my trip out to Cooperstown, NY (home of the baseball hall of fame). I woke up early and was able to squeeze an easy run in the neighborhood. I got back and headed to the municipal airport on the west side of town to catch the charter flight out. There I was, carrying my golf clubs and boarding a plane - like someone who golfs all the time and travels just to try different courses... yep that's me (not). It had been close to 2-1/2 years since I golfed. At that time, I wasn't bad, but I wasn't very good either.

So, and early morning flight out to Rome, NY and then about an hours drive to Cooperstown. What a beautiful little village. Postcard perfect... I had been there as a kid with my family on vacation, but I remembered very little, so it was like seeing it for the first time. The houses were gorgeous - large Victorian and First Empire styled homes - amazing. I could see myself there if there was enough work to keep me busy the rest of my life...

But on to the golf outing... we arrived just in time for lunch - good food. Then it was time for the shotgun start at 1pm sharp. Our foursome started on hole 14. The views were amazing! Tree lined fairways all with a view of the lake and historic hotel. Just being out there was an experience - I could have had just as much fun driving the golf cart just seeing those views. I imagine it is spectacular in the fall...

I did not play well at all, but had a great time. I would love to take up golfing again, but running to me is so much easier. It requires so little thinking and just doing - I like that. Golfing on the other hand is so mental. I was constantly thinking through my swing and analyzing my shots. It was mentally taxing.

I didn't arrive back in Indy until 11pm and didn't get home until almost midnight. Needless to say I slept in and was moving slowly all day. I finally got around to my run this evening at 5pm. I decided to try to hide from the heat and humidity in the woods, but the humidity found me. With the rain we had last weekend, the trails were a little muddier than before and slightly more slippery on the rocks, but it was still a good run. I looped the trail twice to get 4 miles in. The hills were still tough, but I was able to push through them this time.

Now I am trying to figure out my long run for the week. With our trip up to Detroit for a wedding this weekend, I'll need to squeeze in a 10 miler either tomorrow or very early Friday morning. My choice would be Friday, giving me a slight recovery day just before, so we'll see.

a sticky 9 miles

I just got back from running 9 miles on Fall Creek Trail this morning. It was a humid, but a cool 60 degree morning, overcast, but no rain in sight. Brooke joined me for this run and we ended up running at a good pace - surprisingly faster than I thought we would for 9 miles. We averaged a 9:00/mile pace (81:16 overall time).

Here's the breakdown - pretty even splits, and faster towards the end:

1. 9:04
2. 9:12
3. 9:10
4. 8:56
5. 9:08
6. 8:44
7. 9:05
8. 8:48
9. 8:55

Superstars in the making...

my treadmil is a-l-i-v-e!

Got it all fixed yesterday and it is back up and running.

interesting developments

My running is still not firing on all cylinders, but I did manage to get two runs in this week. I am gearing up for a 9 mile long run this weekend, so we'll see how it goes. The good thing is the weather should be nice and I have stuff to think about during my run...

Things have finally slowed down at work so I can catch my breath (though this is only temporary). I am actually taking next week off and will be heading to Detroit for a wedding next weekend.

To start my week(Tuesday), I am flying to upstate NY for the day for a golf outing - this is business, but I am hoping it will be fun as well. This is related to a client we have out there and I expressed interest in working with them since I am from New York. Interestingly enough, I was approached on Tuesday and asked if I golfed and would like to go. I usually try to get out of things like this as my golfing is so sporadic (every two years), but I was somewhat interested in getting "in" on the project. Then I received a meeting request about the project, so I accepted and will be meeting this morning to discuss... I did get a little information ahead of time. The gist of the meeting was getting me on board to manage a bunch of projects out there... but there was a twist to some of this - not a catch, just a twist. They have asked me to move out to New York to manage them... this isn't a definite thing. I could still manage it from here, with some trips out there as needed, but they thought since I was from New York I might want to move back out there...

Admittedly, if this were about three years ago, I might have jumped at the chance, but things have changed for me significantly in the last few months that this really isn't an option. So, the plot thickens. I will follow up with more details later... and this isn't even my big announcement...