A Much Better Run

I'm not a bumper sticker kind of guy, but I did add these recently to my Honda Pilot. I saved a space under the half marathon oval to add a 'x6' to indicate how many I've run. But, then I thought maybe that's a bit much. What do you think? Should I add it or not?

Tonight's run was better. I took in a bit of carbs at lunch and a little more at dinner. Then proceeded to run two splits of 10:31 and 10:38. Made it past 1.8 and never felt like I would just sit in the gutter and wait for a ride. I did take a short walk break at 2.45 miles, but then took it home at a 11:17 pace. Now lets hope I'm not putting on pounds. Tomorrow I will eat a normal amount of carbs and then I'll run the half marathon Saturday morning.

It's the YMCA Half that I ran last year. It starts at the highest elevation on the course and then goes south to the canal. Maybe a mile and a half of downhill running. It's an out and back, so what you get in the beginning you have to give back at the end. I ran it last year in 2:49:30 and the hill at the end did me in. I think I can beat that this year if I GU at miles 3, 6, 9 and maybe 12. I'll be using nuun in my water too. My best half was last year's Fiesta Bowl and I did that in 2:27:41

ID when you run

You're out running with no ID. A car hits you and you lay in the gutter unconcious, in a strange city. A stranger calls 9-1-1. The EMT's get there. As your spouse waits for you at the Holiday Inn 2 miles away, the strangers now in your life wonder who you are and who they can contact.

Carry your driver's license and they can contact the DMV in your state. They might be able to get your phone number with your address. Or you can buy a Road ID. It's a grea way to go. You'll have contact info right on your wrist, shoe or around your neck. But, maybe you don't want to carry any more junk on your runs.

I put my info on my Garmin.

It's not as pretty as a Road ID, but it has all the same info on something I wear already. I overlayed fictious numbers over my home number and my wife's cell phone. A Pos is my blood type. NKDA is for No Know Drug Allergies and I am an organ donor.

I used our brother labeling system to make the water resistant tape. My name and phone number has been on the back of my garmin for over a year, but I added all the rest today.

Hope all you runners are staying safe and carrying some kind of ID. How can you be identified?

Bonk! Bonk! Bonk!

I ran on Sunday, but didn't write about it because I bonked around the 1.8 mile mark. I ended up walking a lot and was lucky to get back to my car.

I ran on Monday, but didn't write about it because I bonked around the 1.8 mile mark. I ended up doing some tempo runs, but my time wasn't anything to write home about. Or blog about.

I ran tonight and bonked. You guessed it around the 1.8 mile mark. I'm a slow learner. I've been saying that when your big you don't need to carb load, because you've been carbing your whole life. But, as I limped home I wished I had a GU. What I did have was a Baja Fresh restaurant in front of me. So, I stopped on in and ordered two steak tacos and some chips.

Yep. I had a nice little meal and rested for about 10 minutes. I then ran home. The whole way. Maybe around 3/4 of a mile. My splits were 10:43, 12:12, 15:32 and 11:40, Yeah, 11:40 after my little carb load. And my body had cooled down, but I was still sweaty. So, the run home was kind of cold.

So, do you think the carbs helped? Or was it the rest?

Before the break I was contemplating not running the half marathon this Saturday. If I can't run a short run, can I really run a half mary? After the break I was thinking if I just have enough GU's and eat some carbs the night before I should be fine.

So, the second question is. Should I run the half this weekend?

Chandler Challenge 10k

The Chandler Challenge is a first time event and I was expecting around 200 runners between the 10k and the 5k. There were three times that many runners and both races started at the same time. All the runners ran on the same course, so until the 5k'ers crossed the bridge at the 1.55 mark, it was crowded. This canal is the same canal that the Tumbleweed Running Club runs on, so it was familiar territory.

I started out fast, but comfortable and as you can see my splits went from the 10's to the 12's after mile two. That's when I started taking walk breaks.

This was a fund raiser for Chandler schools, so each elementary school had a team of teachers, parents and students walking, jogging and running. Most did the 5k, so once I was passed the 1.55 mark it got much less crowded. Unfortunately, more people were passing me on the back half of the course, than were being passed. I traded back and forth with a few people, but eventually they pulled away from me too.

I did have enough gas to kick it in gear for the final .2 and did that in a 10:50 mpm pace. I ran 89% of the race, so I just need to improve on that a bit. This was also the lightest I've weighed for a race (216), so that's got to help.


This is the third 10k I've run and the 30th race overall since August of 2006. As you can see in the graph below, it was my slowest 10k. I'll do the Mesa Turkey Trot again next month and hopefully will have a lot more stamina and get closer to my PR. At last years turkey trot I walked .26 miles of the course. Today I walked .67 miles.

Edit: It's actually my fourth 10k. I forgot I ran the New Times Five and Dime last November. That's where you race the 5k and then the 10k event back to back. I got about 10 minutes to rest in between events. I did the 10k portion in about 1:16:xx. So that would be my slowest. I'm doing both races again this November 9th.

On a personal note, my kid Tyler got his drivers license yesterday. He couldn't parallel park my Honda Pilot last week and had to retake the test. Yesterday, we took Amy's Toyota Sienna mini van and he did it on the first try. Then out on the road and after a long wait (it was the DMV after all) he got his new license. We celebrated by eating sushi for lunch, which accounts for my slight weight gain from yesterday. That darn white rice.

Good luck to anyone racing this weekend!

A New Low!

I came back from vacation having gained 8 pounds and weighing 226. Now, six days later I weigh in at

215

42 pounds down from when I started running. Eleven down in just 6 days!

And I'm doing it without counting calories. I'm just restricting my carbs.

And running.

Lately, I've been eating bacon. Sprinkled on a salad or a couple strips for breakfast. I've also been eating peanuts in the shell. They have carbs, but I really like them for a snack. And my new found love is In and Out Double Double Protien style. That means no bun and wrapped in ice berg lettuce.

Picture for Marcy

When I was in Indiana, at an old bookstore near the campus of Purdue University, I thought of Marcy.

A bathroom shot. Or is it a storage room shot. This gives you the chance to pee and bag your own books at the same time. My first bathroom shot, just for Marcy.

Just another run in Paradise

My plan was to pick up the pace over yesterdays run. 4 miles and I wanted to see if I could stay under 11 minutes per mile. The first mile I did it. The rest were not.

I ended up taking a few walk breaks, but still had a pace of 12:13 (11:36 running/ 16:51 walking) over the four miles. Yesterdays pace was 12:14 over five miles.

Tomorrow is a rest day (softball actually), then I have the 10k on Saturday morning.

The Shirt That Races

This shirt is going to be in a race in all 50 states and Canada. If you'd like to run in it or know someone that would, visit the site. Javamom is running in Arizona with it and I'm going to be her trusted assistant.

Random photos from our vacation. Teenagers (mine) abusing the rental car.

A Purdue book store. Do you want the Jelly bellys, Burt's Bees or the poo?


Doesn't matter, cause you can't get in the building.

A Great Run!

I dropped my son off at 'Ninja Practice' and went for a run. Lately I've been able to run 2 to 2.25 miles straight before I've had to take any kind of walk break. Tonight I felt great after 2 miles, so I kept on running. Felt great after 3 miles, so I kept on running. Got on the junior high track and I kept on running. I ran 5.08 miles and a little over 1 hour without any walk breaks and I didn't seem out of breath. My legs felt great and my feet, although tired, felt great.

During my run I saw this chocolate lab running the other way. Nice dog, he didn't try biting me and he looked like he was having a fine time. About 10 minutes later I ran past his owner, looking for him. I told him where I saw him and said I'd keep an eye out for him. I was prepared to catch the poor guy and run him back home.

While I was running around the track I had the pleasure to see the newest Team In Training recruits doing their tempo runs. About 15-20 runners preparing to run either the Rock and Roll Marathon or the half marathon. Good luck Team!

You can click on the chart below to see where I ran. I think the only time I've run so far without a walk break was when I ran the marathon back in January.

We took a hike early during the vacation in a wetlands area. No trails, we had to follow some truck paths and then we had to blaze are on way. Our plan was to go to the Wabash River.

But, as we got closer to the river, the weeds and brush got higher and higher.

I'm in red saying, 'what did I get myself into'. That's Harry Potter with the binoculars. I wish he would have brought his wand instead.

Soon it was over our heads and all kinds of weeds were sticking to our shirts and hair. Pictured are daughter, Emily. Wife, Amy and BIL Doug.

As we got closer, we found lots of posion ivy and we decided to turn around. We never got to see the river. That's my son, Tyler. He and I were in charge of clearing the brush with our feet. Maybe that's were my feet started hurting.

A Good Test Run

Yesterday I tried running. I walked about 200 feet and turned around as my foot was still giving me a little problem. I'm medicating with Ibuprofen, icing and using a tennis ball on my foot like Chad suggested. Tonight I ran. Just two miles around the neighborhood, but it was pain free. I ran at an 11 minute pace and hopefully, if it doesn't hurt in the morning I can do 4 or 5 miles tomorrow.

Here's some pictures from my first run in Indiana. This is the Harry Potter run.

It started out running between the corn rows on a nice flat country road.

I ran past this century farm. It's been in the same family for over 100 years. The name on the mailbox is Ade, which is (I believe) the family that Purdue's football stadium is named after (Ross-Ade Stadium).

Across the street from the farm is the family cemetery. Some of the tombstones were so old you couldn't read them. Many of them were pre 1900 burials. One Ade monument was freshly dug.

As I rounded the corner, I had to contend with a large downhill. This was the view at the bottom. Unfortunately, it had a matching hill that I had to climb later.

My scale is going wako

I'm back in town and my scale is showing the damage. After having dessert every nite of the trip and often after lunch too, my wieght went up 8 pounds. Yes, up to 226. I got in 20 miles, but I was eating like a king and I knew it would show.





I'm back on the Atkins diet and this morning I was already down to 223.5. Eggs, salad and the inside of a beef burrito was my diet yesterday.





My foot feels 100% better, but there is still a little bit of discomfort so I didn't run last night. I'll get a short test run in today and hopefully will be back on the streets in full force this week. I do have a 10k this weekend.

My brother in law, Bob Hunter wrote a book.

He's the sports columnist for the Columbus Dispatch and he wrote a book about Chic Harley, the first great Ohio State football player. I read it on the plane ride home. A great read about a little know all american. If you're into turn of the century history or football, this is well work getting. It's hollywood movie material.

Next up: about our Southwest Airlines flight and vacation pictures.

Hill Street Blues

20 miles of hills may not be what the doctor ordered. It's way more hilly here in Indiana and Ohio than it is in good ole' Chandler. And my right big toe does not like it.

I DNS'd (did not start) today at Tyler's Run. The morning after my 11 miler, my big toe hurt. I didn't know why, since it was fine during the run. The only thing I can think of was that the excessive hills have given me a case of Metatarsalgia. Now the ball of my right foot hurts and I can barely move my big toe.

I ran again in Ohio near my folks home on Thursday. I got 4.5 miles in and some more hills. On Friday, I could barely walk. All my runs have been enjoyable and pain free on this trip, but I didn't want to push it for the race today.

The cure is rest and ice. Hopefully, the airplane trip today won't create any swelling.

Running Indiana

The weather is cool here in Indiana. I've gotten two runs in so far. A four miler in the countryside around the block at my father in laws home. Now, normally my hill work consists of the speed bumps in my neighborhood. Harry, told me to just go north and around the block. I ran a mile north, then headed east to find a really big downhill. I knew that if I went down it, I'd have to come back up eventually. You can see on the graph it was about 120 feet down in less than a quarter mile. Really pretty. I'll have pictures when I get back to AZ. It turned out to be some of the prettiest running scenery I've ever done. But, the uphill was on a busy street with no real place to run. 35 cars passed me and I had to go up 120 feet in about 3/4 of a mile. I wish I would have turned around and just did a little more running in the not so busy streets.



My brother in law Doug did pass me and was nice enough to go into the on coming traffic lane. I guess he knows he's not in my will.



My second run was on Tuesday morning. Today.



We're now at my mother in laws house in West Lafayette, just a short jog from the Purdue U. campus. There's a wonderful trail called the cattail that goes from Purdue north past the Celery Bog (I call it the Celery Blog) and up to Hadley Lake. Again, a beautiful place to run. Lots of asphalt, very little street running and you get to run past lakes, golf courses and corn fields. The corn is feed corn and is dried out about now. It makes an errie sound as it rustles in the wind. I thought there was running water down a mountain stream at times.



This time I had to climb uphill to start the run. It was my long run, so my plan was to run out 5 miles and then turn around. But, I was so close to Hadley Lake, I ended up running out 5.5 miles to see it.



On my return trip I was having some chaffing issues with my nips (that sounds masculine). I had one piece of sticky stuff I use for foot issues. I tore it in half and was about to place it on my chest in the appropriate place when I looked up to see this elderly lady walking in the opposite direction with a "I know what you're doing" grin on her face. I waited til she passed before I tape myself up.



I took some great pictures with my cell phone, but I'm not sure if they'll be any good, since it was overcast. It rained all afternoon and into the evening.


On the diet front, I'm doing horrible. Home cooking here in Indiana is incredible and we've had lots of desserts. And dinner is almost ready tonight. Unfortunately, Ohio cooking will be outstanding too. Lots just cross our fingers and hope that I don't gain too much.



So for the record, four days of vacation and 15 miles run.

It's Time to Fly

I bought two books for our upcoming vacation. I already finished, "What I talk About When I Talk About Running." It's an interesting memoir about a Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami and his love of running. It's more about him and some about running and writing. Interesting, but I wouldn't buy it just for the running stuff.

I'll save Dean Karnazes book for the actual vacation. I'm also reading Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" a historical novel about Abe Lincoln.

I got in a 1.22 mile run today before my softball games. It was a a leisurely pace of 11:11. Then I proceeded to hit well, but field terrible. Not sure why, but I am having trouble with grounders. I might need to visit the eye doctor again.

When I was young, I fell down a flight of stairs. Since then, my eyes have worked independently of each other. Double vision is a constant thing. My kids occasional see my eyes going in different directions and they freak out. It's great for driving. I can look out the front windsield and in the rear view mirror at the same time. I know, weird.

But, not so great for fielding a softball. I've adjusted and did pretty well for the past few years, but recently I can't field a grounder to save my life. Tonight, one took a bad hop and glanced off a part of me that wasn't real protected. Luckily, it was a glancing blow and the ball proceeded out to right field. I ended up on my knee for a few seconds. I stayed in the game.

Tomorrow, our family gets on a plane to fly to Indianapolis. We'll spend some time in West Lafayette with grandpa Harry Potter (yes, that's his real name) and then some time with grandma Cathy Potter. Then we'll drive down to the Queen City to spend some time with grandma and grandpa Monahan. I'll stay on Atkins for the most part and I'll get in as many runs as possible.

I'll try to post some while I'm running back in the midwest.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 5 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Pictures from the Air Force 5k

That's me walking. The Air Force personnel never walked.

If you'd like to see professional pictures from the race I did down at the Pima Air Museum, you should check this out.


Air Force Anniversary 5k slideshow

September down, October to go!

I ran for 45 miles in August and 60 miles in September. I feel like a runner again. Sort of. I'm not running as fast or as long as I was at the end of last year, but that will come in time. You can click on the calendar below if you want to analyize my data. I've slipped up a bit with the push ups and I need to get doing them again. But, I'm down about 8 pounds from the beginning of September. I'll gladly take 8 pounds a month, so that I can run the Rock and Roll at a weight of 192. That would be awesome.


Tonights run featured a non stop 2 mile effort to begin with and splits of 10:50 and 11:25. Considering that I ran the Fiesta Bowl half marathon last December and average 11:17 over 13.1 miles, I'm slow. But, I'm also a patient man. Adam Sandler was giving hair cuts at the theatre earlier this year, so I had him give my beautiful wife a little touch up. By the way, he's no Edward Scissorhands (I don't know what that means either). And nope, didn't see the movie.

This weekend is the Twin Cities Marathon. And next weekend is the Chicago (bet they have extra water) Marathon. Hopefully, this time next year I will be running in one of them with my brother in law Jeff and sister in law Raegan.

Good luck to anyone that's racing this week!

Darin's Story

I read Runner's World Discussion Forum all the time and I saw this post titled, "My Story (Really Long, feel free to ignore). So, I ignored it but it kept coming back to the top of the list, so I finally read it. You should read it too.

Do Not Read Pokey's Blog

So, on Saturday morning Pokey (Karen), Jody and I are running out front. Pokey gets a little tired and falls off the back of our pack. Jody and I keep running and then we hear screaming in the back. I figure that Karen, Caroline, Kristina and Candace are having a really fun time.

No, Karen is getting attacked by a bumblebee. I hear her yell, "I'm getting attacked". I thought it was by one of the stray cats we often see. She catches up to us with not a cat in sight. I still don't know about the bumblebee.

So, I use the analogy of the lion that catches the weakest wildebeest. I called all of us wildebeest, not just Karen. So, don't read Pokey's blog. She's full of stories. Watch the youtube below and you get a feel for our run.

Slept,Ate, 8, Ate, Slept

Softball ended around 10:30 last night. As I was driving home I knew I was going to be waking up in 6 1/2 hours. 5 am came and I got up rather easily. I actually woke up a few minutes before the alarm sounded. Went into the kitchen and fried me an egg and slice of ham. Read the paper and got ready for my 8 mile run with the Tumbleweed Running Club.

I had to find a pair of my trusty running socks first. Under 6 miles and I wear any cotton socks. But, over and I need to find the socks that won't hurt my feet. It's hard to look thru your sock drawer and not wake your wife, but I managed to do just that.

I got to Tumbleweed first. I'm always first. Then Karen pulled in. There were a dozen cars already in the lot, so some other running group must have started before 6 am. Then, Caroline pulled in with Kristina and Candice. A new lady. Like we don't have enough of them already (just kidding). Then another car with another lady, Jody. Five ladies and me. It's the biggest turnout we've ever had for TRC.

Introductions were made, but I it was early. I'll get the names later, I promise. A great bunch t0 run with. We all ran in the 11-12 minute per mile range and had a great time getting to know each other. First we ran north on the canal for 2.79 miles. Not counting time under the highway when garmin shuts down. Stopped at the gas station and turned around.

Once we were back to Tumbleweed, Karen and I ran around the park. I needed to get 2.5 more miles in. Karen was a bit under the weather, so she got another mile in before calling it quits. I ran on. Got my 8 in barely.

Then I stopped at McDonalds and treated myself to a second breakfast. Did you know they have a sausage and egg mcmuffin for a buck? I got two of them and told them to keep the muffin part. Lots of egg and sausage and I had a propel (just 3 carbs) to go with it.

I stayed up til noon and crashed for two hours. My feet are pretty tender and I was pretty tired.

Thanks ladies for keeping me company. It was a great 8 today.

Another Blog

I really like the city daily picture blogs. You can pick almost any large city and find someone that will post a picture each day about there city. The lady that does Chandler, the town I live in has been AWOL since early August. So, since I'm a Realtor and I think this would be a great way for someone to get to know my town, I now do the daily photo for Chandler. Check it out and let me know you've visited. You should consider doing one for your city.

Softball & Running

Thursday and Friday are softball nites. I play doubleheaders at Snedigar Sportsplex. Then on Friday nite I play a single game with our church coed team. I didn't want to go two nites without running, so I decided to run after the games tonight. As you can see on google earth, right next to the softball fields is a new subdivision. The picture is old, most of the homes are built and the lake looks great.

I ran on tired legs and was doing 12:30 miles with walk breaks after about 1.5 miles. It wasn't pretty, but it was good practice to run tired. I do a lot of that when I run the half marathons.

For the baseball fans, if you look on the map, north of the softball fields you can see an old stadium. It was once the spring home of the California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers. Now it's the home of weeds and pigeons.

The next run is Saturday morning with the Tumbleweed Running Club. I think we're doing 8 solid miles.

My Daily Intake

On Eric's blog you can see what he ate yesterday. Just 1225 calories. So, I got to thinking I should post what eat typically in a day. I'm doing a low carb diet, so I don't even keep track of the calories. I just make sure I don't eat over 20 grams of carbs. And I do that loosely.

For Breakfast:

Two eggs fried with cheddar cheese and two sausage links.
water.

Snack:

Blue Diamond Almonds - Lime N' Chili flavor. Water.

Lunch:

Burger from In and Out. No bun. Ice Tea.

Snack:

more almonds. String Cheese. Water

Dinner:

Four slices of ham. Green Beans (half can). Salad w/ hard boiled egg, cheese, Ranch dressing.
Ice Tea.



I started the low carb diet at around 235 pounds. In a months time I lost 15 pounds. Since I was running two races this past weekend, I decided to carb up some. So, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday I didn't worry about the carbs. I gained four pounds.

I'm now at 224 and getting back into ketosis, so that I can get my weight heading downward. I read an interesting article about Dean Karnazes diet. He eats all kinds of junk when running his ultramarthons, but in between he eats a low carb diet.

TriFuel interview with Dean
Chow interview with Dean
Wired article about Dean
Runner's World article about Dean's Neandrathal Diet

Great Run Tonight

I ran to the lake and back tonight. On many runs I try to hold off on the first walk break for as long as possible. This time last year I was running up near 3 miles before a walk break was needed. Tonight I was at 1.84 miles and that is the highest I've been in awhile. I still walked 30% of the distance and I want to get that down to 5% or less.

Tyler's Run

I'm going out of town in October and I always look for races in the places that I visit. The hard part is that we usually travel on Friday or Saturday, so I have to find a race on the first Sunday or hope for a holiday in the middle.

Here's what I found. The Battleground 5k in Battleground, Indiana on the 4th. We get into Indianapolis at 1 am that morning. I'd have to drive straight to the race. Not going to happen. I'm willing, but my wife and kids aren't. It would be a cool race, as it takes place where William Henry Harrison fought the Indians. The Battle of Tippecanoe.

Then I found the Kraut Route 5k in Newport, Kentucky and Tyler's Run in Harrison, Ohio on the 11th. We fly out of Indianapolis on the 11th in the afternoon. The Kraut Route is in conjunction with Octoberfest across the river from Cincinnati. It would be another great race. But, it starts at 10 am and makes getting to the airport in Indy problematic. Tyler's Run is closer to my folks house and starts at 9 am. It's in a state park and my son's name is Tyler so the tee will be cool.

It's a fund raiser for SIDS, which is a great cause. This might be doable.

If I get this run in, it will be my 30th race ever.

5k: 18

10k: 3

4 miler: 1

Half Marathons: 6

Full Marathons: 1

Now, that I am doing a race named Tyler, like my son; I should also do one for each member of my family. My race is easy, I can do Pat's Run in Tempe. I'll have to find an Emily's Run and an Amy's Run somewhere.

Race Judicata Arizona

A wee bit smaller race than yesterday. It was at the local park, Kiwanis in Tempe and was a fund raiser put on by the Young Lawyers Division. Two races in two days. I had to decide between the one mile race and the 5k. There was about 7 runners in the miler and I would have one first place, but last year it was won by a 12 year old and I didn't want to run against kids. This year it was mostly adults. I should have run it, but instead I did the 5k. Lots of old farts like me running in it, so not much chance for a medal. Because all the other old farts are faster.

Yesterday's average pace was 11:20 mpm. Today, I was at 11:29. It was about the same. Less walking today and less speeding around the course. Just a nice steady pace. I finished around 35:40. Forgot to turn off garmin right at the finish, so I added maybe 5-10 seconds.

2008 Race Judicata had 195 runners, I finished 143. The one miler had 7 participants, the winner finished in 12:21. Now, 10 hours after the second race and I feel gassed. I slept all afternoon and can't wait to go to bed again.

Air Force 5k

When I started running in June of 2006 I felt like this NASA Plane. Big and slow and awkward looking next to all the other runners.



Someday, I'd like to be like this plane. Now you see me now you don't. Today was the Air Force Annivesary 5k down at the Pima Air Museum. Wow, what a place to hold a run.

The Pima Air Museum is on the south side of Tucson, AZ near the Davis-Monthan Air Base. If you are in the area, it's a must see. Next year when my son is at the U of A, I hope to take him over there to see all these planes and learn all this history.

The entrance has this beautiful work of art. My race details are below. You can click on it to see the numbers. I'm not sure why the satellite view did not come up, but if you'd like to see the boneyard that we ran in, see my inital report about this race.

What I like best is the first mile. Under 10 minutes and it was a nice consistent run. What I don't like is all the walking I had to do in miles 2 and 3. And the fact that this was a long 5k. My garmin said 3.36 miles. I doubt it's off 1/4 of a mile. So, my garmin 3.1 miles was done in about 35 minutes. The RD has me in at 38:54.

I got up at 3:53 am. Seven minutes before the alarm would wake me. Got my stuff together and was out the door heading for Tucson at 4:10 am. It was a nice quiet ride down to the Ole Pueblo and I got to think about how I like the energy that comes from these races. it's not about beating anyone, especially in my turtle like state these days, but I just enjoy watching people milling about, stretching, talking and getting ready to accomplish the same thing. Run a race.

We all headed toward the start line. I parked right near the course, so I grabbed my camera to snap some pics.

First the color guard and the national anthem. Lots of military running and supporting this race which is a fund raiser for the Tucson Chapter of the Air Force Association.

Then the start. I snapped a couple of photos and then jogged to the start turned around and then jogged to my car. Threw my camera in, locked the doors and joined in the fun.

My first mile was great. 9:41. I just run with the crowd and usually have better race times if I feed off the energy. I know you're suppossed to go out slow, to conserve energy. I usually don't. Lots of strollers in this race, which is fine because the first half mile was on a wide closed support road for the museum. One kid had a scooter and it was loud. Inside the Museum, the surface turns to desert sands. No more scooter time. Another kid was yelling, "Go, Mommy, Go" . She was in a stroller and mom was the locomotion.

After awhile these guys caught up to me. Individually, they can all kick my ass. The ran in formation chanting as they ran. I kept in front for a while, but then they passed me. I'd walk awhile then run pass them. But, the machine that they are would pass me again. I thought I'd never see them until one of them had to puke. One stops, they all stop. NO man left behind. The last mile I ran behind them and fed off their energy. Left, Left, Left, right, Left.

I felt bad about passing them. But, I had the need for speed and I got in two good bursts at the end. At around the 34 minute mark in the race I got down to a mpm of 5:49 for about 40 seconds and at the end I did about 50 seconds of under 5 mpm pace. I was as low as 4:19 according to garmin. I finished 216th out of 286 runners, just 20 seconds ahead of the great men and women of Davis-Monthan Air Base. I thank them for letting me feed off their energy.



I didn't know we were getting medals for finishing a 5k. It was a nice surprise. After the race and awards ceremony, I went into the museum and got to see the original AirForce One. You even get to go inside it. Pretty cool.

Now, if you look out your window on your next flight and the engines look like this, you're in trouble.

Here's the bling. cool race bib, nice tee and a medal.

The neatest thing I saw in the museum. The first flag on Utah Beach in WWII.

Last night I ate some more carbs. Today, I didn't worry about the carbs and ate more. Not sure if I raced better because of it, but I didn't want to bonk. I'm still far from were I was back in January, but that's OK. I'll get there. Now, back on Atkins so that I can shed some more pounds before I start running double digit miles.