My Running Schedule

Here's my schedule for the fall running season up to the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon in January.

9/20/2008 - Air Force Anniversary 5k at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson.

10/25/2008 - YMCA Half Marathon in Phoenix.

11/9/2008 - Phoenix 10K & 5K in downtown Phoenix.

11/27/2008 - Mesa Turkey Trot

12/14/2008 - Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon.

1/18/2009 - PF Chang's Half Marathon

A Run to the Lake and back

I did a 4 miler today to the lake and back. When I say I ran to the lake you should think of the picture below.

But it's actually more like this.

I'm just slightly exaggerating. But, when it's 100 degrees the smells coming off a city park lake are the greatest. I do enjoy running past the youth football teams practicing and all their dads watching. I think it's a rule that you have to be over weight to have a son on the football team. I guess my kid could play, I qualify.

I've run 3 of the first four days of August. It's nice to get back in the groove.

Baseball and Running

Tonight was a downtown Mesa run. I dropped my kids off at a church dance and got my run in. I decided I would run up to Fitch Park, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs. There I got to watch the Cubs / Giants game for three innings. No, not the real Cubs / Giants, but the rookie league teams. A bunch of 8-21 year old kids wanting to make it to the majors some day. 2.45 miles before the game and 1.3 after. The games are free and are there's usually less than a dozen fans. You sit with the extra players when you watch the game.

I ran past the Mesa Arts Center, which has really cool fountians and landscaping. Here's one of the water features.

August 2008 is going to be a great month!

April thru July have not been big number months for me running wise. I'd like to give you a good excuse, but I'll jus say that running wasn't my top priority. In August it's going to be my top priority. See the graph below, it's not a pretty picture.

click on photo to enlarge

Tonight I got in a good 1 hour workout. Some running, some walking, all moving. I decided to do 1 hour runs and see how far I can get. The last two runs were just over 4 miles. It was around 7:30 when I started running. Light, but the sun was setting. Check out the temperature. A beautiful 101 degrees in the desert.

Here's another vacation shot. Beautiful Durham Bulls Stadium. On the last day of our vacation, It took in a Durham v. Louisville Bats baseball game. The stadium is fabulous. The left field fence is called the "Blue Monster" and I think it's the same height as Boston's fence. Sorry about the reflection of the glass. Can you guess what floor I'm on, when I took the picture?

Last, but not least. Good luck to Ken Griffey, jr. One of my favorites. Ken and I grew up in Cincinnati when we were kids. No, we didn't know each other, but we did live about 3 miles apart. Jr is now a member of the Chicago White Sox. Let's hope "The Kid" helps his new team win their second world series this decade.

Almost Three More States

Amy, my wife wouldn't let me do a mile in the airport in Minnesota during our layover, so I only got to run in two new states. My first run was in North Carolina - The Outer Banks or OBX, as the locals call it. Our hotel was on the beach about a 1/4 mile away from the Wright Brothers Memorial, so my plan was to run over to the memorial. Here I am pictured next to the memorial that is situated on a hill overlooking the field that was used for the first powered flight.
Here you can see the hill. It was a big hill, the picture doesn't do it justice. It was a large sand dune back when the brothers were here. The park service planted grass to keep it stable. I ended up running 2.75 miles in about 45 minutes. I did take some time on the top of the hill to snap some pictures and to take in the view. Once, I was below I finished touring the museum. We visited the day before and did about 75% of the musuem. I wanted to see it all.

In the picture below you can see four markers in the distance. The Wright brothers took turns flying the plane. The first flight lasted 12 seconds and went to the first marker 100 feet away. The second and third flights went 175 and 200 feet. The final flight of the day lasted for 59 seconds and went over 800 feet. I took the challenge and decided that part of my run would be to the last marker. It took me about an additional 10 seconds to reach it. I then ran back to the hotel, grabbed my bathing suit and found my kids at the beach for some body surfing.

I didn't get to run as much as I'd like. I wanted to do a beach run, but that didn't happen. After spending a few days at OBX in North Carolina, taking in a wedding and a family reunion. My family headed toward Virginia to take in some Revolutionary and Colonial history. Grandpa Harry Potter came along for the fun. Yeah, I married Harry Potter's daughter.

We visited Yorktown, VA the sight of the battle that won the Revolutionary War and gave us our independence. I saw runners running the roads in the battlefield, pretty cool. We went to Jamestown, VA, the first English settlement in the new world. Think Pocahontas. The driving tour was on an island and it too would have been a great place for a run. We stayed in Williamsburg, VA and visited Colonial Williamsburg the site of the Governor's Palace when the King picked the govenor and the Colonial Capitol where Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry made their names. All three places were unbelievable. If you are a history buff, it's a must see place. I decided to run in Colonial Williamsburg, down the DOG or Duke of Glouchester Street in the heart of the oldest part of town, past the Gov's palace and the Capitol and then onto the campus of William and Mary College. 2.51 miles and 234 years in the past. It was beautiful.

So, that gives me 7 states that I have run in to date. You can see the map on the right of my blog.

What the Future Holds.

Time to go to the Potter Family Reunion in North Carolina. None of the Potters actually live in the state, but there is a family wedding on the Outer Banks and so it makes for a fine place for a reunion. And yes, Harry Potter will be attending the reunion. Honestly! We are flying into Raleigh and then driving to

the Kitty Hawk area. I have not run on a beach yet, so this will be a first. NC will also be a new state for me to run in. # 6 on my list. Lately I've been running about 1-2 a week, not much. It's too hot in the day to run here in Arizona. I hate getting up to run in the morning, so that leaves me the evenings. After the wedding, reunion and visiting Kitty Hawk we'll be taking a road trip north to see Williamsburg, VA and I plan to run there too. Not as fast as the kids in the photo and without the tri tip hat, but run none the less. I hope to be able to run down the historic streets. It's a four mile round trip from our hotel. That's almost perfect for me these days.

Of course, Virginia will be state #7. You can look at the map on the top right to see the other states I've run in.

To date, those are all my goals for running. 1. Run in NC. 2. Run in VA. I think I need some more goals.

Where in the world is Waldo?

Or Pat to be more precise.

I'm working hard. Playing softball. Watching baseball. Running some.

Real Estate has kept me busy. I'm all over town getting deals done and coming home tired. After work I haven't had much energy to do much.

So, I haven't kept up on my Runner's World issues and I haven't visited running blogs like I would like too. I have been reading some Nancy Taylor Rosenberg murder mystries lately and just started Pastwatch, a sci fi book, my wife insists I read. It's pretty cool.

I've been playing softball two nites a week, so I don't get to run on Thursdays and Fridays. Last Friday we won 17-0. It's the second time in my life I've thrown a shut out.

I keep following the Reds on Directv. I watch almost every game either live in the late afternoon. My siesta. Or late at night on the DVR. The Reds are a real up and coming team. Not sure if they have enought to catch the Cubs, but it should be a fun season to watch.

Amy and I just got back from taking our kids to San Diego. We went to Sea World, the beach on Coronado Island and got to see the Reds play the Padres in their new stadium. We even sat thru an 18 ininning game that took 6 hours to play. My family were real troupers to stay the entire time. Tyler and I had a great time rooting for the visiting team and taking a little heat from the home town fans. Unfortunately, the Padres' Adrian Gonzalez hit a three run homer in the 18th for the win.

I did get in a few runs in SD. All on the treadmill. I wish I would have gotten a chance to run on the beach, but lying on the sand like a sea lion was what I did. The kids and I did make a perfect sand cube. I used it as a table as I layed there watching the sea gulls dive into the bay. Does that make them baygulls?

Anyway, I have been getting 5-10 miles in a week. Not a lot, but some. I plan to up that amount so that I can start racing again and do some of the fall half marathons.

Security, it's a good thing

I got an email from a real estate client of mine. I think it's a great ideal and I wanted to share it with you.

PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents your Dr. office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across.Put your car keys beside your bed at night If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, a nd the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.
This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar rapist won't stick around... after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there ...... This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone.

Thanks, Pauline for sharing a great ideal. I'm sure it will make everyone safer.

Walk Across Arizona Update

Thirteen weeks are over in the Walk Across Arizona. Three weeks to go and many of you are putting up some great mileage. I have been slacking lately getting posts up and updating our mileage, so I apoligize. Life got in the way.

Some of you have done a great job keeping me posted. Please check your mileage below and let me know if I have to make corrections or add mileage.

Juror #9

Juror #9 has finished his civic duty. I was one of the last of 45 potential jurors. Nine were picked and I was the last one picked. It was a three and a half day trial. It was the state vs. a know felon that had illegally possessed a gun. Looked like an open and shut case for the state and I wondered why it was not settled out of court. The defense attorney told us to keep an open mind and I believe I did. On the final day, the judge picked one of us jurors to be dismissed as the alternate. It was not me and we entered our room to deliberate.

I believe it was the first time I have ever held a handgun. We discussed all the evidence and in the end found that the felon was guilty as charged. Both parents and his sister broke down in tears at the verdict. He sat there and began removing his jewelry. He was just a bit younger than me, maybe around 35 or so.

We, the jury thought we were done when the judge, in her stern voice said that we had another thing to deliberate. I had told my fellow jurors that I was waiting for a twist the entire trial. This was it. In AZ if a felon has been convicted three times in less than 10 years, the jury has to decide if aggravating circumstances should apply. That's the three strikes rule and the sentencing judge takes into account all three convictions and the convicted will usually serve a lot more time than normal.

We heard expert testimony from a finger print tech. He verified that the prints from the first conviction matched the prints from the convicted felon. We, the jury, assembled once more in the jury room to deliberate. I looked at the finger prints and matched them up to the convictions and asked why we didn't have finger prints for the second conviction. If the state is using the prints to verify convictions one and three, why not two? The judge wouldn't help us. We were split 5-3, with me leading the way that the state didn't prove it's case. I truly believe the state should be held to high standards and this seemed to me that they didn't give us all the proof.

I believed the convict was the same in all three cases, but not 'beyond a shadow of a doubt'. We were confused and didn't know if the penitentiary finger printed repeat prisoners. Finally, I asked to be reminded what the defense attorney said to sway us. I remembered he said, 'please give my client the benefit of the doubt'. In other words he knew it was a moot point and we would find his client guilty of all three convictions. That convinced us three in doubt and we ruled that it was aggravating circumstances and that the judge should use the higher sentencing guidelines.

It's difficult being a jury, but I believe it's one way to do your civic duty. I'm more than willing to give up 3-5 days every four years or so. This is the second time I've been on a jury. I think we did our best to come up with two correct decisions. We, as a jury, also completed many Suduko puzzles and one crossword puzzle. I, was almost the jury foreman. I, lost out to another juror on the second round of rock paper scissors. He did a great job as the foreman.

During the trial, I was able to get one run in. The last two weeks I've done about 6.5 miles a week. Mostly, because I had to do my real estate work during lunch, in the morning and after work. It was a very trying (pun) week.

This week I hope to get my mileage up and to run in Pat's Run, a race to honor Pat Tilman, the ASU and Arizona Cardinal football player that lost his life in Afghanistan. It's a 4.2 mile run that finishes on the 42 yard line in Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, AZ. Should be a fun race and a PR, since I've never run a 4.2 mile race.

I'm Alive!

Busy at work.
Still Running.
Major League Baseball has started.
The NBA is winding down and the the playoffs are about to start.
The Suns got Shaq.
I have jury duty this week. Second time on a jury.
I'm an uncle again.
My men's softball team took second place which gets me a tee shirt.
My coed softball team took first place which gets me a tee shirt.


Time to head on down to the courthouse. I'll blog about it later this week.

Run Fat Boy, Run

There's a new movie coming out called, "Run, Fat Boy, Run". It's about a man who tries to win back the love of his life by running the marathon. I wonder if there's a blog by that name out there somewhere.

Anyway, this boy had his two best runs since the marathon last night and tonight. Last night I got in 5.17 miles at a 12:10 pace. My last full split was at 11:44 and the .16 of a mile to end the run was done at a pace of 8:26. I can really turn it on when I see my driveway. One of the big differences in this run was music. I listened to music for the first time in months and it seemed to help.

Tonight I was hoping I could rock on to an even better time. I listen to a wide selection of music. The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Robin Lacy, Billy Joel, Train, U2, Vince Gill and some singers I won't admit listening to. I bet no one out there has heard of Robin Lacy. I went to school with Mike Hermann, who is in the band.

Anyway, tonight I dropped my pace down to 11:27 for 6.64 miles. Only four short walk breaks. It was how I remember running used to be. My last .64 miles was done at a pace of 10:51, just 19 seconds slower than the first mile pace.

Walk Across Arizona

Congratulations, we are almost to the half way point and everyone is doing great. Amy's team has 880 miles todate. Katie B is leading the way with 160.8 miles and Robbie and Taryn are close behind.
Pat's team has 940.2 miles and Jeff out in Baltimore is leading with 237.4 miles. Katie R. is close behind with 205.8 miles.

You'll notice not everyone has mileage up to week 7, if I missed some of your mileage please let me know. As teams, both groups have made it from the Mexican border to Utah and back already. Some of you that are in the two hundreds, better bundle up. There's snow in northern Arizona.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hope you are having a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. Here's a little bit from Celtic Thunder.

Sunday Run

Mile 1339, chandler, AZ - 6 miles in about 1 hour 15 minutes. 62 degrees, slight breeze and an occasional drizzle.

Hit and Run

Here's my ideal of a perfect Friday night.

First get to Kiwanis Park around 6:30 pm. Run 3 miles around the large lake, past the softball fields and batting cages and around the tennis courts. Get back to your car and swap out your garmin and Asics for your softball cleats and bat. Head on over to the batting cages for a quick 20 minute tune up. Get to the softball fields a bit before your 8:30 game. The game starts, two first place teams playing for outright lead in the league. The other team, Lincoln Shenanigans playing St. Matthews UMC. Shenanigans takes the lead 5-4 and then 8-5. St. Matts gets a big 6 run 5th inning and takes the lead 11-8 with one inning left. I'm pitching, we give up one run and then stop them dead. St. Matts wins and gets sole possession of first place with one week left in the season.

Afterwards, Team St. Matts heads over to Chuy's for some suds and sliders.

7 at 7

Mile 1330, Chandler, AZ - Many of you read Runner's World. You may have read about the small running club, 2 members, that run in NYC. They named their club 7 at 7, because they run at 7 am for 7 miles, sometimes. It may have reminded you of our little club here in Arizona - the Tumbleweed Running Club. When I started running, I never would have thought that I would enjoy running with others. When I joined 'Team in Training' I never really got into running with anyone specific. At that time I thought I would run alone forever.

Then, someone read my blog. Which is amazing in itself. Her name was Karen and she was looking for running buddies here in chandler, AZ. I suggested she contact Lisa. Lisa was a local runner I had met thru my blog and at the New Times 5k, way back when.

If my memory serves me right, they started running together and then invited me. We met one Saturday morning to run the canal at Tumbleweed Park. 2.5 miles to the gas station and back. It wasn't fast, but it was fun. Finally, I found runners that I enjoyed running with. Now, we run off and on and we run 5-12 miles at a time.

Of late, I've been nursing one injury after another and haven't run with the girls as much. I miss it and I often feel bad that I don't get to run with them. Sorry, gals.

Well, last night in honor of our running brethren in NYC, I did a 7 at 7. Just around 7 pm I ran 7 miles and then ran 1.11 miles more. I got to run thru Andersen Springs, a nice community with a sidewalk down the middle past the lake to Arrowhead Park. Arrowhead is the park Lisa did her first triathlon at. I then headed east on Ray, north on Alma School and west on Warner. Did a few laps around the middle school track and ran a bit on the baseball field. There's something about being on a baseball diamond, even if it's empty. A little league team was practicing on the adjoining field and I got to hear the thwack of the bat.

That makes 7 miles on Monday and 8.11 miles on Wednesday. My abdomen still hurts, which slows me down. But, each day it gets better.

No Half Marathon, but at least I got 7 in.

Yesterday I was supposed to run in the Valley of the Sun half marathon in Mesa with buddies, Karen and Lisa. With all my little aches and pains, I didn't want to DNF, so I DNS'd (Did not start).

But, today I ran on a new part of the canal in east Mesa. I had to get a town home ready for it's new owner over in east Mesa, so I figured I could get in a run afterwards.

I started around Southern and Higley roads, if you know Mesa and headed south for 3.5 miles. The picture is from a western themed restaurant that has a ghost town. There's a cross on the top of the hill, some kind of pens at the bottom and old wooden pictures just out of the photo. I forget the name of the place. Does anyone know it? The canal runs along two different golf courses, I got to see some golf along the way. I just remembered the name - The Rockin R Ranch.

I pulled a muscle in my abdomen and it's been hurting, so my times have been slow. I was just glad I got in 7 miles in around 1 1/2 hours. The stats and map are below.

Walk Across Arizona

A sign I saw on my run yesterday. Why did they bury them?

We march northward toward Phoenix. Many of us are over 100 miles, others are closely behind. I'm having some leg issues and time issues, so my mileage isn't what I want it to be. I hope you all are doing well.

Eric leads my team with 160 miles followed closely by Jeff. Both these men have wonderful blogs about their running. Click on their names to read more about Eric and Jeff. Eric just finished the Rangar Del Sol Team race and his last entry is about that race. Jeff just finished his first half marathon. Read about it on his blog.

Robbie leads Amy's team with 123 miles. Robbie lives in St. Louis, so many of her miles are probably in the cold. Pretty impressive to get that mileage in up north. Robbie and Amy used to work together at Famous Barr, a May Department store that is no longer.

Miles 1310, Chandler, AZ - I got in a 6 miler last night and a 3.1 miler the day before. Two days ago, I ran on part of the canal I had never run on before. South past the new Mesa Riverview shopping center, up to the Mesa Country Club, where I had to turn around. Then on the north end of the shopping center past Bass Pro Shops. If you haven't been in a Bass Pro Shop, it's worth it. Even if you are not a fishermen or hunter.

Then yesterday I ran around my neighborhood to the lake and back. It was slow and my lower abdomen hurt. It's my newest hurt, but I think it's getting better. The good news is I just passed 13oo miles for my career. Tonight I'll add some more as I go to run and work out at the Tumbleweed Recreation Center.

Yes, I'm still around

I'm still running. I'm still playing softball. I'm still selling real estate. Matter of fact, the real estate has really picked up. I'm listing properties every week and working with multiple buyers. This is a good thing and I'm hoping 2008 will be great. Last year was good, despite the slow down. Prices are still falling, but the townhome market seems to be brisk. And that is why I haven't been blogging as much as before. I hope to catch up on many of your blogs, as time allows.

Running? I've been getting in 3-5 mile runs 3-4 times a week. My knee isn't hurting, but it still is larger than it's cousin on the right side. I've not had much time to get in long runs and I doubt I am ready for the half marathon next weekend. I've missed the last two 5k's I wanted to run in. No sense in paying for a race when I don't feel like I can run it well.

Softball? The men's league I play in on Thursday night finished with a great tournment. We squeaked into second place on the last week of the 7 week season and finished with a 10 win, 4 loss season. Highlighted by shutting out the first place team 21-0. It was my first ever softball shut out as a pitcher. We played the tournament last Thursday. Won the first two games and had a 10-0 lead after the 1st ininng against the team we shut out earlier in the year. However, they came back to beat us 15-11. I played 2nd base all three games and had a great time. I like to pitch, but it's fun to get to play other infield positions.

The coed team I play on is 4-0. It's a 7 game season with a tournament and we should go undefeated. Which means another tee shirt. The picture above is some of my softball tees. You get them for finishing in the top two in the league.

Tonight I have a 5 mile run planned right before I sub in for another softball team. Hope all are doing well and good luck to those that are running races this weekend.