Re: Reagan, Indy 500, Pixar Saluted in New Stamps

Check it out, cool new Pixar stamps coming out soon!  Hope the link shows up below as I'm forwarding from the iPad....as Jeff and Mike will attest, I'm not so good with the technology thing :-)

WASHINGTON - Two of America's favorite spacemen - the cool-headed Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard and the animated Buzz Lightyear of \"Toy Story\" fam...



Sent from CBS News on iPad
Download CBS News for the iPad here.

Wii Arm.....

So Santa brought us a Wii this Christmas and I was immediately hooked on Wii Sports Resort Bowling....and now I have the rare condition of Wii Arm.  Kinda like Tennis elbow, but more in the shoulder region.  All kidding aside, I love to bowl and haven't had time to be in a league for years now, so I might have overdone it a bit in the past couple of days.  The darn thing is very realistic in the movements where spinning the ball is concerned, almost exactly the throwing style I used when bowling...without lugging a 16 lb ball around the ally.

Anyhoo, I've had another obsession as of late that I think a few of us Disney marathoners can relate to.  Weather watching!  Since my last post I've discovered AllEars.net has a page of like 8 different weather forecast sites for Disney weather.  5, 10, and 15 day forecasts, it's a weather watchers paradise! LOL  What does that mean for Marathon Weekend?  Well, apparently not great things if the 15 day forecast I saw is correct.  Goes from 74 and sunny on Friday to 60 and raining on Saturday (59 Sunday rain in the AM) with lows in the 37 degree area.  Then it miraculously clears up on Monday.  Is that weekend cursed or something?  Okay, okay, I'm not exactly sold on a 15 day forecast quite yet.... probably just maddening as I want to know and check it constantly, but understand the variability.  I'd take the temps they are predicting if they could cut the rain out of the picture, yep, I'm down to "lets make a deal" with the weather!

Put in 8.5 today leaving me 8 miles shy of 100 running for the month.  I've put in another 85 cross training to make December a pretty productive month overall.  Right at about 1000 run miles for the year as well.  A bit less than I wanted to put in, but I have far exceeded my expectations for cross-training miles which I think has really helped keep me from larger injuries.  Combined mileage for 2010 will come in somewhere around 1350.  Probably a bit more if I recorded long walks, but I have a tendancy to forget those....maybe it's due to the Wii Arm....

7 days till I head down and 10 till the race....Woo....Hoo....

Holding My Breath, But...

Soooo, the weather outside is frightful, but the 10 Day Forecast for Disney is so delightful.  No, really, on both counts.  It's in the teens here in CT (probably colder with the whipping wind chill) with a pile of snow on the ground, but there is hope.  I've been checking the 10 day forecast for Disney for over a week to see if I can get a glimpse of what the weather is going to be like for Marathon Weekend.  I tell ya, it wasn't promising... I was looking at highs in the 40-50's for a while..but a couple of days ago, the longer range forecast was starting to show highs in the 70's as it got closer to race day.  Of course, it's tough to trust a long range forecast, but at least there is hope, right?  I've still got my cold gear ready to rock for this thing in the event that we get closer and the temps dip. 

My dilemma is wether to check a suitcase or buy a new carry on... I have a 17" carry on, but that won't fit all my stuff, will need the 21" that I can get away with carrying on.  Might just check the bag, pay the fee, to ensure I've got enough space to bring clothing for all possible conditions (cold, hot, wet, icy, whatever).  Not to mention the two pairs of running shoes (will wear one on the plane). 

Training..oh yeah, there is that whole race thing...  I've begun to taper (probably a tad early) and won't do anything over 10 in the next week.  Legs have been thanking me for it as I've been struggling through some aches and pains.  Just need to watch the weight over the next week now.

Merry Christmas, Team Voice!

Rest up folks, 2 weeks to go.....

Dynamite....

"we gonna light this up like it's dynamite..". I've caught the pop music bug lately and have adopted this song as my Goofy song. Good beat, fitting lyrics, it's on, and on and on! Think it's Taio Cruz, BTW.

Don't forget to Tivo the Ironman Kona on NBC today from 2-4, or something like that. These broadcasts are great motivation for races like the one we are facing in January. Great stories of regular folks looking to do the irregular. I'm so psyched for Jan, it can't come fast enough. Just wish Mike-Speed and Matt we're going to be there with us, kinda bittersweet. Guess I'm going to have to set the pace for the Goofy time in Mr. Speed's absence. :-). Hey, but I can't discount Justin as he's the man of a million miles! Maybe that's his thing, instead of "year of a million dreams" it's Justin's a year of a million miles....

Anyhoo, enough of this incoherent post!

36 on 13....

Just a reference for the age change today. So yeah, it's my b-day and all, but I had an interesting take on it today at work. I thought about where I was 10 years ago as compared to where I am today. Some people might trade anything to be 26 again, but I took a long hard look at it (in the 5 minute break I took during another fun all day meeting with a vendor) and I tell ya, I'm doing things now that I just couldn't do back at 26. Also, I remembered who I was at 26 and to tell you the truth, I didn't really like that guy all that much! Okay, I wasn't evil or anything, but I was complacent, a bit arrogant at times, probably not all great of a true partner to Lorraine (but don't get her going on that!), and a number of other things that I probably have forgotten. Oh yeah, I was getting fat as well....way too many cruises and dining out!

So what's this all about.... Well, I just like the person I've become way more than who I was and wouldn't trade the hair on my head (I had alot back then..) to have the "youth" back. I tell ya one thing, I couldn't have run a half mile back then, let alone 20 or more. I've stuck with this far longer than I would have back in the day. I also learned that success in your job is simply meaningless if you don't do it through hard work, treating people the right way, and putting you family first (even if it means you don't advance your career as a result). I've learned what true "fear" is, through having children and worrying about their safety, etc. on a daily basis. I dunno, maybe it's a sort of selflessness that comes with age or something, who knows. Hey, I didn't really even like Disney all that much at 26, is there anything more to say about 26 year old Chris versus 36 year old Chris? LOL

Sorry for the sentimental post, just figured I'd share how the day went and my thoughts on getting older.

Still recovering from the 20 miler on Saturday, but probably 85% now. Got 2 miles in wog fashion last night and a good even paced 3 miler this evening. Will probably do cross training the next couple of days to help recovery. Haven't recorded my mileage lately, but thing I'm over 50 running on the month and 20ish cross training.

Getting Closer....

Getting closer to Christmas, for one, and I'm sad to admit that I just don't have spirit this year. Not cause I don't want it, just has been a taxing year on the projects I've had. I do feel like it's getting better but have I run out of time? Surely I can get back into the swing of the season, right? I believe it's possible and I'm going to do what I can for sure!

Anyhoo, we are also closer to the WDW Marathon Weekend. I still have a lot of work to do, but took a large step today in completing a 20 mile run. Took it real slow as I'm still concerned about my leg, but got through it. My ITB is pretty sore now though and in great deal of continued stretching. So, it took me 3:15:xx to get the 20 in. Considering the terrain, this is really not that bad. Probably one more long run like that and then will keep it mellow through January.

Where does the time go....

While the summer training and whatnot seemed to drag on, the fall has flown by and we're right on the edge of marathon weekend. Amazing. While I'm probably "ready" for the Goof, I still have a bit of work to do to even have a shot at meeting my goals for this race. I tell ya, this year has been a real challenge for training. Finishing up the MBA was good, but then work has been double demanding to fill up that time. However, the numbers don't lie, and I'm going to be over 1000 run miles for the year, best year by a couple of hundred miles (in my 3 years running anyhow). So that might be why it's felt like a tough year, no training downtime except for being sick a couple of times. Which reminds me...the whole house is sick and I woke up feeling similar. Feel a little better now and will get a good run in shortly, but hoping it doesn't get worse in the next couple of days, can't afford it.

Leg has been getting progressively better, thankfully! Still not sure what was going on there, but will see the orthopedic in January for sure.

November was a good month overall, I believe I ended with ~109 run miles and 50 or so cross train miles. Not quite Amanda-like, but she had a SUPERB month and is going get all Grumpy on Dopey this January! Go Amanda! She was definitely inspiring to me in the middle of November where I was having a tough time getting going.

Got my magical express tags yesterday, right around the corner!

Holiday Reset...

With Thanksgiving behind us, it's time to reset and get ready for the year end charge at work as well as trying to find some peace with Christmas on the way.  And, oh yeah, there is this little race a couple of weeks after that, just 39.3 miles in like a 29 hour period.  (oh, and my b-day thrown in the middle there for good measure...woohoo)

As for work, it's going to be a nightmarish 3 weeks as we try to meet a deliverable for 17th.  The fun begins tomorrow with a packed meeting schedule 8:30 - 5 (maybe they'll allow me 15min for lunch...). 

Training.  Well, the leg has stabalized, I think.  Still a little hip soreness, but I'm starting to suspect that my shoes are in breakdown mode.  I have marked my runs with which pair I've worn, but haven't tallied the miles up to see.  I suspect that they are down, or on their way out.  New pair are in the mail though, so relief is on the way!  Think I'm going to buy another pair so I can use one for the half and one for the full.  The Asics GT-2150's are on sale this week for 69.99 down from 95. 

With a 4.5 miler today, on a very brisk day (low 40's, light wind), I'm over 100 miles for the month (101.2 to be exact).  With the crosstrain miles I'm at 155.2 total...pretty good month, heavier on the run, but alot more cross training than I'm used to.  December will bring even more of a mix with cross-training in an attempt to be balanced for January.

Stay healthy folks, we're in the home stretch!

Game On....

Back on it today and just completed 5.2 miles. The leg was still a little sore, but not in pain so I went for it. Run was good, kept it slow in the 9 min mile range and definitely could have gone for 1 or 2 more. Will try do duplicate the effort tomorrow in an effort to get back on track after a slow week. Going to be no small feat next week as the meeting schedule is murder....will have to do some creative thinking or I'll be on the mill after the kids go to bed, which is never fun..

Anyone notice how the room discounts go right around marathon weekend? I know in the past they offered pass holder discounts during that weekend and I'll bet the attendance was better in the past as well. Just find it weird is all. Wondering if I should downgrade myself to Pop or something given that I'll be solo and probably not in the Rooney all that much, I'll just have to think about it.

We got my son the dancing Mickey for his b-day and that thing is a hoot and a half! The thing moves even better than the old animatronics to boot. Saw the commercial for the new Mickey Wii game, looks kinda dark...cool..."Santa" is bringing e kids a Wii for Christmas, so I might have to run out and grab a copy :-)

Training On Hold...

Well, sort of. I did a back to back long run this past weekend and have been dealing with some leg pain ever since. I was able to get a 3 miler on the treadmill Wednesday, but it wasn't comfortable or pretty. Took yesterday off from running to rest it a bit (but did get 30 min on the bike). Not sure on today as the pain is still lingering, but a bit less than yesterday, probably just need to rest it. The weird thing is that it feels more like a pinched nerve or something.

I don't know what's going on, but will keep y'all in the loop.

November Miles
Run - 91.5
Cross-Train - 50

Running to Disney
Total Miles - 1123.22
Run Miles - 867.51

Just Plain Goofy...

Back to backed yesterday and today. No, nothing in the vincinity of Goofy mileage, but still pretty goofy in it's own rite. 13 today and 9 yesterday. Pretty much all I had time for with my son's b-day party yesterday and work today...on my day off... I think Amanda said it in an e-mail, but it's so true...we all gotta be better at being "off" when we're "off".... Failed on that one today, but what can ya do.

At 88 run miles for the month, 127 total with cross training mileage. Feel good overall, some aches and pains, but nothing that I don't feel is normal given the training uptick. I do feel like I need a stronger back to back to feel like I'm ready for this thing in January. We'll see what the schedule brings me, but it doesn't appear that will be doable till the week of Dec 20th when I'm supposed to be "off" again.

Mama Mia, That's a Big Party!

Some one eye'd cretin reminded me that I had this ADR for Mama Melrose in January and needed to update my counts! Okay, so he's got two eye's and promptly reminded me that it's "creetin" and if I wanted to insult him, I should do it properly.... :-)

Jeff sent me the update and we're down to 2 open spots folks, wow, that's a big party! Anyone know where we can add 2 to get us to 15? Anyone who's on the list and I've got the numbers wrong, please let me know.

What I've got:
Me
Amanda
Jeff +3
Rae +3
Justin +2


Traininig - I'm good there, I think. Not as many miles as I've wanted to get, but have been averaging about 30 for the past couple of weeks. Put in 23 run and 30 bike miles this week which has caused me some other issues which I won't go into here...might just be an uncomfortable long run tomorrow. Nuff said.

Gotta get another pair of shoes for breaking in late December. Any thoughts on Goofy shoe strategy? I was thinking about running the half in a different pair than the full to try and keep the feet as fresh as possible.

Still need to drop a couple of pounds prior to the run, but if I can get down 1 or 2 and maintain it through the holidays, then I'll be able to get where I need to be for race day I think.

Great Skype call today, got a chance to talk with Rae (Eric in the background :-)), Amanda and Richard. Actually was nice with only a couple of people as it was easy to work the conversation I think.

January is right around the corner folks, pedal to the medal! Scary, ain't it? :-)

Ain't pretty, but....

but I got the job done today. Goal was a 13.1 mile run and by golly, I went out there and got a 13.5 mile run today. Just a bit over 2hrs, but honestly, this was a survival run. Just needed it for my mental state in order to make a legitimate push at my Goofy goals. Next up, another long run next weekend. Was thinking 20, but might temper that a bit and escalate to 16 instead and then a 20 in the next week or two. May be working a bit late into November on back to back longer runs, but I think I'll be okay. Might just have to be as I really just don't have the time to spend on those, crazy, but true!

Great to hear a couple of friendly voices on the Skype meet yesterday. We have a lot of fun on those, don't we.... whether you're talkin' or typin', it's always nice to talk with friends. :-)

Just here...

Not much to say, working like crazy with "next month" always going to be better for personal time and training. Oy vey. Still getting in some training, but not the long runs that I know I need. I'm planning on a half tomorrow at some point and really need to do a 20 miler next weekend, gotta make that happen somehow..no excuses...

My thinking is this, if I/we don't pound the pavement in the next 3-4 weeks to ensure we have a training base, January will not go according to anyones plan. Rome wasn't built in a day, and a PR or surviving a Goofy is no exception. So let's all get out there and make the next 3-4 week really count, put in that extra workout a week or whatever. If we do I will guarantee there will be no dissapointment come January, only celebration for the "many goals" of Team Voice. :-)

In the immortal words of Joe Swanson "LET'S DO THIIIISSSS!!!"

(Will try to make the meet for a bit, but might not be able to...have to head out for b-day parties with the kids)

Congratulations Team Voice on WnD!

Hey folks - I wasn't tracking last night, but did check in this morning. Can't wait to hear the stories and see all the pictures. :-)

Princess Fee - 2:41:43 (great work!)

Matt - 3:12:59 (think of what you could do after dropping a couple more lbs and jogging some of it ;-), Great job!!)

Rae! - 3:25:17 (So where did E end up? by the finish?)

Amanda - 3:24:51 (I'm guessing you and Rae walked together... Bet it was a great time!)

Jeff W - 3:15:43 (Great work Jeff!)

Jonathan - Didn't show a finish time, thinking that toe caused some havoc on ya :-( Hopefuly it was just a computer glitch and I'll see a result later on.

Who did I miss? I thought that Justin was there as well, but didn't see a listing for him.

Great job everyone! Enjoy the rest of your time at Disney (not too much, Matt ;-)).

Here are some proofs from my 5k, they actually came out good for once...thinking about buying one, not sure which one...

Here's to October...

Since September was a bit of a regression month for me in terms of mileage. 65 run miles and 30+ cross train miles. The workouts weren't as frequent as they were the month prior, but this does tend to ebb and flow along with my work schedule, so I do what I can when I can. However, I did pull myself away from strictly running to do more biking and elliptical workouts, and I know they are just as valuable (even though it doesn't feel like it when I'm looking at the run miles..). Pretty much all the experts tout cross-traiing to keep the body fresh, but then again, they are probably still getting 30-40 run miles a week in addition to the x-training..

In any event, I did get my 5k PR, so goal met there. and I'm down 2-3 lbs when I was shooting for 1, so goal exceeded there. So, September wasn't really all that bad of a month I suppose.

For October I really need to get back to the mileage and get more geared up for the short recovery running. I haven't put the plan together yet, but the work schedule is starting to become more solid, so I should be able to do this soon. We're in that 3 month window to January, can you believe it?

2319!! 2319!!!

No wait.....there was no 2319....Although, coming into the 5k up in Providence I was dreaming a bit about running a PR of 23:19, how cool would that be, I thought, I could pull of the whole Monsters Inc. joke and be thrilled at a fast PR and some Disney humor.

Well, no 2319.... that's cause it was a 23:11!!!! I didn't have my watch, so I wasn't sure what I actually ran, though it was in the 23:20's, but wasn't sure.

Overall place : 614 (of 5977 finishers)
362/1471 (in the age group M30/39)
Clock Time : 23:28
Chip Time : 23:11
Average Mile : 7:28

Course was flat overall with one decent size downhill in the beginning and then of course the same hill, but up, for the finish. Did this sans headphones as I felt I could regulate the breathing and not throw myself into an asthma attack, yeah, I'm one of them loud breathers I think... Legs were definitley feeling it after mile two, but I kept pushing it and obviously happy with the result.

Yeah, I know it's only a 5k, but I'm darn proud of this 5k. Having said that, I think I could do a sub 23 minute run... If didn't have to deal with some cramping in the back toward the end, I think I might have been able to squeeze a little more out.

Okay, so, no more races planned, just some quality Goofy training to get ready for January.

Big Race Comin'....

Well, sort of. Funny how a 5k now isn't really a big race anymore...However, this one has a little more flavor to it being the national 5k championships. Sounds like there will be 4-5 thousand people there? Crazy stuff for a 5k.... I'm looking to PR and think I've done the work to do it, but we'll see. Different PR'ing on a training run (yes, did this the other day, 23:56) and doing it in that much traffic!

Not sure how the 2hr drive up there is going to affect me either, but planning on a comprehensive warm up run for the lungs and a good stretch before the start. Since it's a Team Pfizer run, they want us to wear the singlet, but I might just do it for the team picture and then throw on the Team Voice colors. :-)

My foot is back to 100% after a few days of being sidelined (those from the skype call will remember), so that's good. Plenty of icing and stretching really helped. That, and I haven't put on the evil shoes since...I might wear them for the 5k though...they are just so freakin' light and quick!

Trilicious....

Lorraine finished her Tri this morning 1:46:xx'ish (unofficially). Here she is after the finish with the kids, notice the lovely yellow shirt. ;-) Very proud of her, she worked extremely hard for this event.

Official Results:

Place Overall - 285
Total time - 1:46:42
Swim (half mile) - 23:29 1st transition 3:14
Bike (12 miles) - 45:43 2nd transition 1:51
Run (5k) - 32:27

More DVC?

Not sure if y'all saw this one or not...

Screamscape.com is reporting that the site of the former River Country waterpark may eventually be home to a new Disney Vacation Club resort.* According to their sources, the project would leverage some aspects from Disney's old Buffalo Junction project, and thematically mesh with both Fort Wilderness and the Wilderness Lodge.Click HERE to read the full story.Screamscape has also recently published reports indicating that the Grand Floridian and a site adjacent to the Blizzard Beach waterpark are being considered for DVC villas.

I guess they have mucho faith in the economic recovery.... Although, I suppose their numbers support such investments otherwise they probably wouldn't be taking that kind of capital risk.

Disney Advertising

Anyone notice how much more Disney has been advertising in running magazines for marathon weekend as well as the other races? Just goes to show you how bad the economy had taken a hit on the registration for these things.... I recall two years ago when the 1/2 for Jan. sold out in a month! Just amazing.

How are all the W&D folks feeling about their run/wog/walk coming up? Just don't go out there and try to cram for it folks, steady is the name of the game. If you didn't train for a PR the past couple of months this is definitely NOT the time to do it! We don't want any Team Voicers hurting themselves. Just do what you can in the time you have left and have a blast as you know you'll all finish, so just focus on the little stuff now whether it be losing an extra pound or two, or just staying consistent with your workouts to ensure a good finish. :-)

August Update - Final

Ended the month with the following...a couple more miles and pu/su's.

120.33 miles run
2 miles x-train.
Sit-ups -570 Push-ups - 802

September won't start as nicely as I've got to drive to PA tomorrow and head back home Friday (into a hurricane apparently...). Daughter's B-day Saturday, the big 6. Hopefully the weather will be clear by then so the pool party can commence. :-) Going to try and get a couple of miles in while on the road. I hear our office down there has a great gym, we'll see if I have time. I've got the mileage fever though, so I'm sure I'll figure out a way to get some in.

Yes Matt, it was ALL you buddy! Seriously though, talking about the daily plan definitley helped me execute.

August Goals...Achieved...

Quick update -
113.13 miles run (goal was 110 for month)
2 miles x-train.
Sit-ups -520 Push-ups - 757
Weight - 193.7 (goal was to maintain 194)

Best mileage month for me since I began running in 2008, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. Was a nice progressive increase in mileage from June to now and I'm injury free as a result. Goal for mileage running was 110 and it looks like I'll finish close to 120 (which was my Sept goal). So this is good, my body is responding well to the workouts, but now I need to get into the next phase and begin working on the short recovery running. The plan will be to start fairly small early Sept and then increase the B2B mileage. Since I haven't really trained this way before I'm going to take it fairly slow and see where it takes me. In other words, I'm not going to run a Goofy by the end of September...or probably not at all till January. Will plan one B2B that gets me close though as I need to understand how much fatigue I'm going to feel. Plenty of Endurox R4 will be used over the next couple of months! LOL

Swing and a Miss!

Due to the weekend schedule, I had to go for the long run today. Felt just alright about it, but figured I could muscle my way through it. Well, I guess I underestimated how much my legs needed the rest cause after mile 2 I was starting to get that whole body tired feeling... I lasted 6.31 and that's all folks. Really should have waited till tomorrow, but no worries, still feel great about this past week (will post the numbers, but think I was over 30 miles). If the schedule permits I might make another "run" for the 13.1 next Friday...

Totals for the month are right around 80 miles running, will check my spreadsheet and update later if need be.

Is everyone booked in hotels for January? I haven't done it yet, was waiting for annual passholder discount announcement for that timeframe, but hasn't come out yet. Should I just book the Pop or somethign and update it if the discount comes out? Far from an expert on this topic... I suppose an alternate would be to book a moderate and then downgrade if the dicount doesn't come through or isn't what I want it to be....Advice?

Updated: Yeah, I might have overdid it for me this week, just checked and put in 36.21 miles for the week. Probably about 12 miles more than I was planning, no wonder why my legs were spent today. :-)

Possessed..By the Mike-Speed...

I tell ya, I've been trying out these new Brooks Ravenna's and I'm not sure if it's the shoes or what, but I've been running like I stole something lately! Oh wait...maybe I did steal something...nah..or did I....nah...

Put in a 7 mile escalation run yesterday where you keep upping your pace every mile till you've hit the roof. I don't think I hit the roof, but I ran out of time... Anyhoo, I was running a 6:47 mile at the end and didn't feel bad at all. Of course, I probably couldn't sustain that at this point, but it was very encouraging to know I could get up there. I averaged right around 8 minute miles overall, still not bad at all and something I haven't gotten back to since January. Today I put in 6.35 and ran most of it around 8 or 7:50ish. The shoes are defintiely helping, they are much lighter than the Asics 2150's and more of a curve style at the toe. I'm sure there are technical terms for this, but you won't find that on this blog! LOL.

On the buddy front, Matt is doing great! He put in a monster 6 miler yesterday in the heat and has been pushing towards recommiting himself to weight loss. I'm darn proud of him. :-) He's got alot of work to do prior to December when he'll be sporting his thinner self down that aisle for graduation, but I've got a good feeling about it. Buddy or not, I'm going to be all over him like stink on a monkey till he achieves that goal for December, he deserves to succeed.

Might be off tomorrow or I might get my long run in, trying to work out the schedule with the wife....I'll post and let y'all know how it went. Would like to put a half in, but anything over 10 will do...depends on how much time I've got to do it (and partly the weather).

One more thing. Steph is back on-line so head over to her blog and give her some encouragement! http://theeyeofthetigger.blogspot.com/2010/08/back-to-start.html

Mid-August Report

Half way through the month and I feel pretty good about the mileage build-up, but something is still missing. Got an 8.7 mile run in this morning under cloudy skies with a temp of 77. Think that I need to get back to the gym for some weight training. When I started it up early November last year it really gave me a boost in my training as well as my overall per mile time. This week is going to be tough at work as I've got people flying in from a couple of places to be heads down in a conference room working, but will see what I can do.

Run miles for August thus far - 52.90 (might be off by a tenth) with a bit of swimming thrown in there. Haven't put in miles on the bike but will look to do more of that in the second half of the month to give the run muscles a rest. Goal is 110 miles running for the month, and get a 13.1 mile long run in. Shouldn't be an issue unless this week goes badly at work (not anticipating it though).

Been pretty quiet on the Team Voice front, hoping that everyone is just too busy running and no time for the computer. :-) I've been chatting with my buddy Matt who put in a nice 6 miler today, WooHoo! I know it's tough to get that kinda mileage down in that ridonculous heat, but he's committed for sure. Keep up the great work, Matt!

Ain't it funny....

How one minute you resign yourself to the fact that your body needs a day off from running and the next you're walking out the door in your tech-tee ready to roll! That's what happened to me today. Couldn't get the body to feel like doing anything, so I was going to rest, but Emeril rang my doorbell and BAM! I was out the door for close to 4 miles. Helped that the weather was overcast and low 80's....

Anyhoo, hope everyone is going through the same thing. Virtual 10k coming in a couple of weeks.... Is this the Corn-fest run part tres?

Answers....

Found a couple of articles that gave some great information about training for Goofy and fuelling for a quick recovery.

http://running-advice.com/blog/?p=768 - Training

http://running-advice.com/blog/?p=2726 - Nutrition for quick recovery

5 miles today puts me at 36 running and couple more walking/swiming. Still hot here, but nothing like it was (or IS down south).

I love it when a plan comes together...

So had a couple of minutes and was pulling together my spreadsheet for January. Nothing fancy, just an easy way to see activities for those couple of days at a glance (parks, flight info, ADR's, etc.). The question of the day is "what is the fueling strategy for Saturday after the half-marathon?". Gotta get something in quick to replenish the depleted muscles right after the race and I'm thinking that I should be fuelling often during the day/evening with small meals (easily digestible). Either that, or just find the nearest buffet and chow down! LOL

No workout today, feeling like junk due to allergies and just need to relax a bit. 30.95 miles in August so far, will get back to it tomorrow.

Never Show Surprise, Never Lose Your Cool....

Coughlin's law... just watching a little "Cocktail" and I've all but run out of tag lines....

Just over 26 miles in the month so far, feeling good about the month and the steady build up of miles based on July's 90 mile performance. Shooting for ~110 or so and will get a short recovery double long run at least once to kick off a monthly occurence as we move into real Goofy training territory.

Gotta watch the snacking in the evening, the major achillies heel as of late. However, I'm happy in that I'm back down to 195 after hovering around 198/199 for a while (over 200 for a bit there....). Time to push towards making 192 my maintain weight and then down towards the end of the year. I had always targeted 188 as the weight I want to run the Goofy at. I know I shouldn't have a time goal for that race, but since it's still far off....I'm wanting to complete the whole deal in less than 6hr 30min. Crazy? nah, I actually think I can do it based on where I think my half time will be and given what I think I can do for the full (if I don't have ITB issues again). Either way, I'm going to have a blast running this thing, but for me, the time thing does motivate me. I figure, if it motivates me to stay healthy and get the mileage in...then it's a good thing.

Anyhoo, great Team Voice meet today, really like talking with y'all. Looking forward to the virtual run at the end of the month.

Last note, NBC re-aired the 2009 Ironman World Championships yesterday during our meet, totally bummed that I didn't DVR it! Only got the last 30 minutes... Here's a link to a great video on YouTube though, if this doesn't get you pumped up I don't know what would! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iROsDCzDRRI

5k Championship....

That's right folks, I'm going to run in the national 5k championship race, not because it's easy, but because it is hard.... anyone, anyone...Kennedy reference? no? Oh, fine... Anyhoo, yes, I'm going to Providence in September to run the CVS/Caremark 5k which happens to be the National 5k Championship race (or some I'm told). It's a "Team insert major pharmaceutical company that I work for here.." running event and I thought it would be a good way to get me motivated for speed work. The run is September 19th I think, so I've got a little time to get my run on, and try for a PR. Says the course is flat and fast, but so don't they all (except for the Colchester Half Marathon, but don't get me back on that one..). Best 5k time for me is 24:17, but I do think I could do better with a little work. So stay tuned on the training front, but I'm already starting to get some speed back based on the miles I've been putting in.

I'm still debating as to whether I'm going to participate in the company sprint triathalon. I've been swimming more lately, but it's in a couple of weeks and I'm not sure if I'd be ready. As it is, I found out today that work is going to severly interfere with my running schedule over the next couple of weeks, but won't bore you with the detail. I'm just ticked off, annoyed, anxious, etc. all in one at this point, but know I'll get through it.

Hope everyone is doing well, haven't seen much on the blogs in the past couple of days....c'mon people, I'm checking daily now and want to know how y'all are doing!!!!! Jonathan and his buddy Amanda are the exception, they entertain me daily. ;-)

When is now? Sooon.......

I owe y'all a trip report/recap, but it's not going to be today. Have a ton of documentation to get reviewed and time is a-wastin'.

July turned out to be a decent mileage month, despite the 10 days in Disney. Just a tick over 90 miles running and a few more miles swimming for the month. Weather here in CT has gotten very condusive to running and I'm hoping that trend continues into August.

Apologies to Eric, my buddy, as I've been absent the past few days getting back into the work swing :-(

I must be in the front row...

In the true spirit of Bob Uker, we got upgraded to the front row (sort of). Our hotel room at Animal Kingdom Lodge turned into a 1BR suite at the Animal Kingdom Villas, sweet. Kids are loving the animals from the giant balcony, who wouldn't! Off to the Beach Club Villas tomoorow and hoping that our studio turns into anothe upgrade...not banking on it though. :-)

Got a 5K in this morning, puts me at 67 or so run miles for the month. Lorraine's turn tomorrow then off to the studios for EMH. My favorite park. I'd post pics from my phone but forgot how to e-mail my blog....

On the Road Again...

Probably not the first time I used Willie in my title line, but it's fitting. As in, I'm on the road back to shape for distance running. Didn't realize just how far away I was from February when I could do a half marathon for my long run over the weekend and feel like I only ran 5. Got out the door around 9a (80's already) and planned 10 miles. The body felt much better than the 8 miler from last weekend and I was able to get all the mileage in +1 walk mile at the end. The heat wasn't fun for sure, and I tried to keep in the shade as much as possible. Hate to say it, but I can't wait till fall! I'd rather run in the cold than in this stuff...you can bundle up in the cold, not much else you can do in this.

Anyhoo, I've got the following folks for Mama Melrose Jan 7 so far (will add Matt if he ends up making it):
Justin +1
Rae +3
Me +0

Total of 7 so far on a 10 person reservation. No worries, I'm going to call and see if i can make it 15 as I think there are a few more of you out there that would like to do this. Was a great time this past January, kinda felt like an old Italian family eating dinner (I've got some experience with that...).

Update - I raised the ADR to 15 people. The new time is 4:55p.

Rae - Lorraine is doing great on her training, thanks for asking. She did a mini-tri for practice last week and gained some good experience. She's improving in the pool every day, and has been very consistent with the biking (depite the 2 young'ns that run her ragged and make her want to nap instead!).

ADR for January 7th (Friday Evening)

Knowing there is some interest in Mama Melrose for an evening prior to the half-marathon meet, I booked something online. Right now it's a table for 10 (max you can do on-line), let me know if you're interested and I can adjust as necessary. The ADR is for 4:55pm on 1/7 (Friday).

If we get more than 10 confirmed, I'll call and try to increase the #.

Crapatar...

Sitting here watching Avatar, finally, and I'm like what the.... Sure it's creative and all, but really? All that money and record setting attendance for this? Glad I waited for it on Blockbuster!

What else, what else... I'm over 50 miles for the month, took today off to rest the legs a bit. Feeling pretty good about the mileage and think I should be able to finish off over 100 miles as long as I can get a 10 miler in over the weekend. Just building the endurance back up slowly but surely (and don't call me Shirly...old "Airplane" joke for those without a sense of humor ;-)).

Getting a new toy! Ordered a Kokay Playsport video camera. The thing can be submerged to 10feet under water, how much cooler does it get than that! I want to bring it to Disney for the Goofy to take footage, but we'll see how that all works out.

In NYC Monday/Tuesday for work and y'all know where after that.

Oh, and I talked with the folks organizing Team Pfizer for the New York City Marathon and it sounds cool and all, but I'm not sure I'd be able to meet the 2600 fund raising commitment, so I might pass this year and try next year. I've never raised money for an event like this so I have no clue how doable it is and I don't want to be left with that big of a bill! :-) I might change my mind, but for now it's on hold and full speed ahead on training for the Goof.

Runnin' Runnin' and Runnin' Runnin'...

Let's get it started!!! Hot Tub Time Machine fans out there? Saw that one over the weekend and I'll have to admit, I thought it was pretty darn funny. Probably just how great the soundtrack was, all 80's tunes.

Did a little Runnin' Runnin' over the weekend, about 11 miles total. Just shy of 9 miles yesterday in some hot/humid conditions (burnt face/head to prove it). Was a brutual run from a body perspective, just didn't have it. Took over 1:30:xx to complete, like I said...brutal. Had to stop and walk up a couple of the hills. The positive thing is that I didn't cut the run short as my mind was trying to talk me into.... At 40 run miles for the month, not bad.

Vacation is coming fast though. Lorraine and I will alternate early morning runs while down in the world, so I'll still squeeze out some decent mileage for the month, but don't want to overdo it since we'll be walking a ton.

Q&A with Stroller Boy...

Yes Amanda, I use my blog like e-mail More like a brain dump of anything I'm thinking of at the moment, no real rhyme or reason. IT-wise, I'm a business analyst by profession. Long time from doing any kind of coding or real hands on IT work...which is why I laugh when people think I can solve their computer problems! I'm like "ummm, I don't know, call the helpdesk?". Okay, I'm a little better than that, but not by much. More of understanding complex business problems and facilitate the requirements for enterprise systems.

Wow, now that I've bored the rest of you.....

So close to vacation/Disney...I'm already checked out a bit from work which is bad due to how busy it is. What can ya do.

Only about 30 running miles this month thus far done with shorter runs and only 1 day off. I want to take a longer run tomorrow and continue to build back up, but will take it slow as I don't want to be injured for the long haul. Lost about 2lbs this month now that the mileage is coming back (and watching the food intake). Just need to keep it up...going to be tough when we head down for vacation though.

Mike, no "more than words" for you! I did think of that when writing that title though, too funny.

The Extreme Strikes Again!

So my self nickname "The Extreme" led me to do something stupid again. Yeah, you remember that 18 below 0 (40 mph winds) 13 mile run this past winter.... 102 with a heat index of 105, 2pm run, why not!?! Okay, it wasn't 13 miles, but it sure felt like it. I just wanted to take a nice easy run in the new shoes outdoors and that was the only time I had available, so I did 4 miles. Just hot and sweaty, no physical illness or anything (maybe mental illness). First 2 miles weren't bad at all, but the last two were brutal! Lesson learned, go out early in the 90 degree heat or hit the treadmill.... it's all good, at least I'm getting the work in. :-)

Justin - Like the itinerary for Jan, but you have us leaving Epcot on Sunday to go to O'hana? Could we do that one of the other evenings and do something local to Epcot that night? then some fireworks and whatnot? Call me sentimental, but after we did that a couple of years ago I think I'm stuck to Epcot post race (or that last race anyhow). Something about drinkin' round the world to cap off marathon weekend just feels right. Still, I'm flexible. Wish I could say the same about the hamstrings.

Rae - I feel your pain. Doesn't seem to be much different weatherwise between the Northeast and Florida during the summer...brutal! How's the new Mustang? Why am I asking you questions on my blog? I haven't gripped the whole "technology" thing yet apparently...ya know, I mean, I only work in the technology department of a company... ;-)

Some like it hot...

Not quite "Amanda-weather", but it's in the upper 90's and pretty darn humid. Pool felt really good, even at 85 degrees.

Couple of chances to run this weekend, nothing over 5 miles as of yet. I was planning on a longer run, but my shoes are pretty well toasted (465 miles on them). Was able to get to Fleet Feet today to try on a couple of different pairs. Went in thinking I would just get the Asics GT-2150's, but the salesperson said she'd be quick (kids were waiting) and wanted to show me a couple of other models. Tried the Saucony Pro-Grid Guide 3, Brooks Ravenna, New Balance 760 (?) and the GT-2150's. New Balance felt weird in my left heel so they were out. Brooks felt light and like something to run shorter distances with (same as the reviews said), so it was down to the Saucony and the GT's. Both felt really good, but I went with the sure thing in the Asics. I'm going to go through a couple of pairs between now and January, so I figure I can try them next and then decide on what my race shoe is going to be. The sales person/girl said she's going to run the Goofy this year as well, kinda cool, she ran the full last year and apparently wasn't scared off by the cold. So aparently she's like the rest of us...nuts! LOL

No issue on the eating this weekend! Stayed true to my word and feel much better for it. :-) We'll see what I can get in for mileage this week, but based on the schedule, I think I can sneak in a few runs.

So who's doing all the ADR coordinating this year? :-) Or should we all try to "host" one ...might be a scheduling nightmare.. Sunday night will be the big one, for us Goofy folks anyhow.

Stay safe out there!

Independance Day.....

I'm decalring my independance from tyranical sausage, hot dogs, and fatty hamburgers!!! So, I'm sitting here, working for the most part, and thinking about the weekend...barbecue's and the like and considering I'm about 10 lbs from my Goofy goal weight I've declared war on fatty junk that will keep me from my goal this weekend! Sure, it's only a day or two of gluttony, but that's the point, if not now, when? If not me, who? If not what, where? Huh? Okay, I'm confusing myself during my own tirade... The point being that now that I've said it, I've got to stick to it this weekend and report back to y'all who'll beat me down if I'm not honest!!!

Work is still hellish, but in a good way, a challenging way. Happy to be employed given the on-going mess of an economy (Matt, the president was just joking, you don't need to go down to the shore and "suck it up with a straw"...if I know you, you'd siphon it into barrells and sell it! You smart guy you ;-)). As planned all along, July is my month to get the training for January going now that school is done. Not sure about the 150 miles though....Best mileage month for me since I started running was 125 I think....hit that a couple of times....Not to mention I'm going to be in Disney for 10 days of this month :) Oh, did I forget to mention that? LOL 3 days at AKL, and the rest at BCV. Probably going to be hotter than the sun down there, but who cares, it's better than here!

As Mike-Speed (or Walt) would say....Keep Moving Forward!

Live from New York...

it's ...well...it's Wednesday night actually. :-) Not much to report from the big city. I'm a nerd. I skipped the work dinner and instead walked up to times square and had dinner solo at the Hard Rock (which used to be the WWF Cafe...total deja vu for me....). Last night was culture night, I had dinner with my team at a Japanese place that only Magellan could find. Food was interesting, but not bad. The saving grace is that I know how to eat with chopsticks (learned on my trip to Hong Kong...apparently they don't import forks there...long story but chopsticks are good for stabbing food....). I'm really just kidding, love the different experiences (I actually took 2 years of Japanese in College..used to be able to write in 3 dialects).

So what does this have to do with the price of eggs in Jamaica...absolutely nothing.

Got a 3 mile run in on the hotel treadmill this evening prior to my trek out. Just hangin' in there till this project settles down a little.

Rae - Love the Team Voice come back..I'll try to do my part by being more active on-line.

Big City Nights...

Any Scorpians fans out there? Nah, didn't think so. :-)

Sitting in my final MBA session right now and just plain exhausted. So glad this is done, but this week, month and July for that matter are going to be like a sprint marathon. In NYC the rest of the week for work followed up by full day meetings (vendor reviews) next week and then July is more of the same. I'm just hoping that I'm not a basket case by the time vacation rolls around...Ya know, any more than I currently am!

Mileage is getting better and I'm still working on the snacking, so should be on the way to recovery if work doesn't throw any more curveballs at me. Have been biking more lately too, took a 15 mile hilly trek yesterday on the..well...Trek.... Need to get a "road bike" at some point, but will wait and save some money. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to compete in the triathalon (sprint distance, I think?) in mid-August so I've got to mix it up a bit. Have tried to do laps in our pool as best as possible, not long laps, but it's swimming.

Great to hear from y'all, thanks for bearing with me and my time off. :-)

207 Days to Check In...

That's what Delta is telling me about my flight to Orlando. Hmmm, so I've got to be ready to run 39.3 miles in that amount of time...YIKES!!! Given the fact that I'm about 3-4 lbs overweight right now and haven't run a long run over 6 miles (did that one yesterday) in two months...got a lotta work to do. With the weight thing, I'm actually 7-8 lbs overweight for the race as I want to be much lighter on the limbs for that, we'll see...

No worries, I kinda figured these months would be tough with school and all, but worked got nuts further complicating the workout schedule. The plan was always to kick in on the mileage in the July timeframe on through November and start to work down in December.

Oh wait....forgot to say...where the heck have I been! LOL The above kinda says it all. School (two more weeks) and work have dominated life....What can ya do. The weight gain has more to do with eating habits than workouts. I know better than to keep up the calories when the workouts are down, but did a pretty horrid job of it. Time to put my behind in the past, as they say....

I know I've got to start catching up on blogs, thanks for bearing with me folks! This is probably the right time of year to get the chatter going though. Is anyone else shocked that the half-marathon is only 60% full? and Goofy is only 50% full? Guess people don't agree with the media that we're on the road to recovery. Ha!

As Mike-Speed would say....Keep Moving Forward!

Back...sort of...

Still buried in work and such, but I'm feeling pretty badly about not contributing to our community here. I've been following from afar and it sounds like things haven't been going all that swimmingly as of late. Pains me a bit to hear that as y'all have such tremendous spirit and determination. However, I know that in the end the fire will kick in and things will come around. :-)

Training-wise, I had a mediocre March (80 run miles and only 3 xtrain miles). Gained a couple of pounds....just stressed out in general. I've been able to turn it around a little bit and lost at least one of the pounds (tighened down on the eating..sort of..). April isn't shaping up to be a great mileage month either. Bringing the run gear to work every day only to bring it home in the same condition due to work/meeting overruns.... What can ya do. Hoping that things will settle down soon so I can start to crank up the mileage. School is almost done (walking for graduation in May and done in June), so that should free up a little time.

Anyhoo, I'm more worried about the team! I'm going to start checking in more and giving whatever support I can. Remember that you guys can e-mail or call if you want too, I'm here for ya!

Hiatus

Still here folks..just taking a bit of a blog'n hiatus. Work has taken up pretty much all my free time (as if there was any of that to begin with). Should calm down a bit in a month or so.

Hope you guys are doing allright.

Congrats to Mike on the new addition! Mike-Speed Jr.

Amanda, keep pluggin' along and remember that our training closely resembles those hilly courses we run on...some ups, some downs, but we figure out a way to do it even if it ain't pretty.

Rae, I haven't checked your blog in a while, hope all is well though. :-)

Will check in with y'all soon, promise.

Colchester Half Marathon - 1:54:xx

**Colchester elevation map

Just a quick post to say I survived the Colchester Half Marathon. Holy hills batman....Ridiculous hills, like double what my normal training route looks like. Not to mention some of them are dirt roads that were covered in snow and ice today. There's another stretch of dirt road that was not plowed, so we stuck to the tire tracks and ran as flat footed as possible. The finish is a half mile or more of hill as well. My calfs have been twitching ever since! LOL

Wasn't going to for time so you can imagine my surprise at the 1:56:xx finish (haven't seen the official results yet to get the seconds and I don't remember). My overall light pace could have gotten faster I suppose....that or I need to figure out how to pace better or the Goof is going to be tough....well...tougher than it should be anyhow. Forgot to mention the fun part. My socks were soaked by about mile 4, sooooo, it was an interesting and sloppy rest of the way. The good news is that my feet appear to be okay, no blisters and such.

This past week I spent mostly in NYC, so the training went out the window. Very dissapointed in the second half of Feb, but work has gotten progressively crazier. working pretty much day and then at night when I get home. Weekends have been catch-up on school work and time with the kids. What can ya do though. Hope March will be better. I'm at 70 run miles at this point and going for my back to back run tomorrow. Probably will limit myself to 10 though as I'm still not sure my knee issue is completely ready for prime time yet although the stretching and PT is helping.

1 on 2

Well, the wife is out of town and I've got the kids till Sunday. So far so good, my son had his normal day care day today so my daughter and I went out for breakfast, played in the foot of snow that fell yesterday (predicted light snow...yeah right), and did a bit of shopping. Full day and it's not even 3p. Gotta go to pick up the little guy in a bit and it'll be the 3 of us for the remainder of the week/weekend. Don't worry, I picked up some wine to relax with after they go to bed! LOL

Running has slowed down a bit over the past week, not because I don't want to, more due to my insane schedule as of late. No worries, I'm going to supplement with the treadmill as much as possible while the wife is out of town and will get back on track with the longer outdoor quality runs as soon as possible. Of course, I'm in NYC for 3 days next week and Mondays are shot due ot work and the MBA program all night (excuses, excuses, lol). I still plan on running the "Colchester Half-Marathon" on the 27th. Just going to treat it as a training run, which is great cause it makes me get out and get the mileage in. :-) I'm going to have to get another longer run in on Sunday as my back-to-back Feb challenge, but not sure what the mileage will be.

I was thinking about how many races I've put in over the past two years and wondered what the list would look like if all of the Team Voicers combined thiers together....bet it would be pretty impressive. Of course, Amanda's list alone would put us all to shame! Perhaps we can get a thread going on the boards to pull this together?

Be safe out there folks!

ain't no band like the IT band...maaan.

Went to my first physical therapy appointment, not much to report. Apparently, most people with the same affliction can barely walk, so I'm early... I've been given some stretching for it along with an order to stretch my hammy's. Apparently they are extremely tight. I've never been the most flexible person, but now that I think about it, I really haven't worked at it. Holy stretching, this thing is going to take over my life! LOL. Anyhoo, they gave me a "block" for my shoe to try and correct some issues there and will gauge whether I need custom orthodics or not. Guessing I do though. Good news there is that my insurance covers it 100%....so what the hey, why not do it! So they do laser eye surgery, do they have laser foot surgery?

Training-wise, I've put in 5k's for the past couple of days (snowmageddon outside so it's on the mill) and plan to keep the mileage under 8 per run till I get used to the "block" thingee for the shoe. I will do a longer back to back run for the Feb challenge, but it won't be this weekend I don't think. PT therapist told me I was nuts for signing up for the Goofy...goes against all the training rules apparently....oh well.... :-)

Work is still nuts and doesn't appear to be letting up till, well, July or so when we leave for Disney. Can't wait for that trip!

Side note - We were at our local Disney Store and I asked about the new NYC store. He said they are being secretive about the locale, but everyone knows it's in times square somewhere's...I'm going to have to spend some work time in NYC in the near future so hopefully they'll open soon so I can swing by! (May be a work trip to Tokyo as well....but we'll see...)

10 on the mill..

Too windy out there today (learned my lesson from that last time) so I did the "long" run on the treadmill today. Put in 10 miles and it wasn't too horrible. Did hit a boredom wall around 6.5 miles but felt good after I broke through. Probably could have done 13 or more, but ran out of time before Lorraine had to head to work.

So that put's me at 22.3 running for the week (salvaged a so/so week); 13.5 xtrain.

SuperBowl tonight, or so I'm told.... No Eagles, so I honestly could care less. I'll watch a bit though and will pull for the Saints I think. Both teams are class acts, kinda makes the whole storyline boring...Where's Joey Porter when you need him....or T.O. for that matter! LOL

Resting a bit

Took yesterday and today off from the running, might get some bike miles in tonight though. My itband froze up on me in the middle of last night and was pretty painful. Odd as I didn't really do anything yesterday, but what can ya do. Physical therapy appointment made for Tuesday so we'll see what they say. Might need some kind of anti-inflamatory (Celebrex probably), but again, we'll see as I'd rather not if I don't have to. Till then I'm going to make sure I do my stretching of it ever day (slacked off this past week).

Going to try and get a longer run in tomorrow, but I don't want to push it too much right now. Planning my back to back run for next Friday/Saturday but not completely sure yet, will have to work with Lorraine on the scheduling.

Feb mileage totals - 12.3 run; 6 x-train.

ARRRGGHHH!

Work has taken over my life as of late, and then there is school (just finished another class...20 more Monday's to MBA, woohoo!) and family. Of course, family isn't an optional activity, it's what keeps me sane/insane. :-) Just tough as I didn't really have hours to spare in the day and now work is demanding about 5-10 more than the 50+. Fun stuff. I know, whaaaaaahhh. :-)

Okay rant over. I'm good now. So my January was pretty good overall, but I gained a little weight I think. The weight training has added a little weight, but not as much as I've gained. The evening snacking is out of control again and needs to go on lock-down. This is my personal "El Guapo" and must be taken care of.

Other stuff -
* My daughter jogged a 1/2 mile on the treadmill the other day, I was impressed. Promised to take her to the track this spring to do a little more.
* My knee hasn't acted up at all after my running since I started to target stretch the IT band. I sent in my paperwork for physical therapy and think that will start up some time next week.
* I think I forgot to mention that we got our ADR's for July set. Looks like we're going down two days early and will stay at Pop Century then x-fer over to the Beach Club Villas. I'm waiting for the passholder discount time window to open up for July and will see if I can do better than Pop for the two lead in days, but either way I'm fine with it. We've never stayed at Pop before.
* Winter needs to end....

Frigid Run - January Recap

Well, I ended up getting out this morning despite coming up with every excuse in the book why I shouldn't. A brisk 15 degrees, but winds of only 5-10mph so after about a mile it wasn't too bad (in the sun anyhow). Put in 9 miles overall as I started to feel the extremeties showing signs of freezing. The tough part was dodging cars as most of the walkways weren't shoveled or were a sheet of ice. Most cars were great and split out pretty wide to give me room, for which I would wave and nod my head....there were a couple that wanted to play chicken however.... What can ya do..

Total run miles for the month came in at 95.06 with an extra 32.7 coming from the bike and elliptical for a total of 127.76. So I'm 95.06 miles closer to Disney, yeah! The goal for the first 6 months of the year is to get in the neighborhood of 100 miles per month and then will start to kick in a bit more once the MBA program is done (can't wait for this.. gonna party like it's 2099). I'm not committing to the Hartford Marathon just yet, need to talk with the wife as we get closer to it, but think it will probably happen... Going to change it up a bit more in the early summer and work on speed a bit more. I want to get that 5k time down to 23's and that will require more speed work on the track. If nothing else, it will keep the training interesting. :-)

Yes Rae, Lorraine is still running. :-) She just put in some work on the treadmill a little bit ago actually. She was wearing TV yellow tonight as well... She's going to be training for her first tri this summer and will take in a couple of the 5k's with me I'm pretty sure. Trying to get some of our family members out there for a 5k or two.

Running to Disney Update

Okay running this week, a good outdoor tempo run the other day (5.2 miles @ 8:20/mi) and a couple of decent treadmill runs (interval and recovery). Probably not going to hit 100 run miles for the month which is what I would have liked to do, but have added in more cross-training. Since I have been doing the additional ITband stretches I haven't had an issue there (knock wood), but still planning on getting in for the physical therapy and why not, I have a script for it and it's FREE!!! :-)

Run Miles - 86.06
X-Train Miles - 32.7
Total - 118.76

Will probably put in a couple more miles tonight on the mill as I want to do some hill repeats and will try to get a longer run outside tomorrow. The outdoor run might not be in the cards though as we've got an icing situation going on...we'll see, I may brave it as long as I think I can feel safe. Sooo, that should put me somewhere in the neighborhood of 96-99 miles (depending on the long run...."ooooh we're gonna make it, if our loooove is a stroooong one.." -Eagles).

Work is insane busy across two major projects right now, but there is a possibility that they are going to give me some resources that can help me out...we'll see... The good thing is that it gives me extra "umph" when I get my run in. Great stress release.

Looks like I'm going to be running the Colchester 1/2 marathon Feb 27th as my sister has signed on to watch the kids that morning. We used to live in Colchester a while back and my sister is still there. The run is notorious for the hilly terrain, so it's totally a pacing exercise for me, no time requirements on this one.

Dang, and Donald #2 for 2010

First, dang knee/IT band is sore after the long run today. However, I can't expect that I'll be healed after two days of stretch modification. I'm putting in my paperwork for physical therapy tomorrow and will hopefully start soon. We have physical therapists on site at work and they don't cost a thing (awesome!). Not to mention that it'll make getting to and from therapy very easy and I won't have to really miss much work.

Second, well, yeah...achieved my 2nd Donald run of 2010 today. I didn't get out as early as I wanted due to just not wanting to get out there (temp guage read 22 when I got up) and then I went to change my son when something went horribly wrong in my back. Totally locked up for whatever reason. Took about an hour before it started to mellow out. So I dressed and got my rear end out the door. Warmed up to 30 by the time I left, and felt pretty darn warm the entire run (very little wind). Did my normal 13.1 route through the hills in my area and felt pretty good overall (2:01:29). I was trying to slow it down and think I did for the most part, but know I can dial it back a bit more and need to start doing that on those runs over 10 miles. it's tough as I always feel like I gotta be somewhere..LOL. Knee felt good through the bigger hills, but started to tweak around mile 11, nothing major. I stretched out pretty good and have iced it from time to time. I'll see what the therapists want me to do, but I have a feeling they'll tell me to dial it back for a bit. Booooooo! Meanwhile, I think I just heard Goofy laughing at me from somewhere in the deep south.... Gawrsh!

RTD Update: Run miles - 73.61; Bike/Elliptical miles 26.7 Total miles= 100.31
**Justin mentioned that he was only going to include run miles in his totals for RTD, so I can't let him just hang out there...I'm going to do the same, although I'll still put in the combined miles for status.

The Knights who say knee?

Went to the Doc yesterday and he thinks its an iliotibiol band causing the issue. He's sending me to some physical therapy and we'll reassess in 4 weeks. Sounds about right as I don't feel anything structurally wrong with it, more muscular and only when getting into longer distances. So we'll give it a go and see what happens. Told him about the Goofy and do you know what he said? He laughed and said "you're Goofy!". Uh, yeah... Ya think you know a person.... :-)

Well, I put in back to back runs the past two days, although, they were only of 4 and 3 miles....but time permitting I'm hoping to get a longer one in on the weekend.

Updated: Up to 60.51 run miles; 26.7 bike/elliptical. This for all of January as that's how I'm tracking milage in my spreadsheet. I need to get back to work on the core daily, that's painfully obvious in my tracking. Although I did get a good full body workout in yesterday, yeah me.

Listened to Lou's marathon re-cap show yesterday on the drive home. I spend the whole time laughing and nodding as I knew exactly what they were all talking about. He does bring up some good points about spectating though.

RTD Update

(Running to Disney Update) Was home from class last night early enough to get a short treadmill jog in (3.17 miles). Those post 8pm runs are a bit tough, but it does feel good to get the work in when you’ve been sitting all day. I haven’t had a strength training session since the 12^th, so I’m feeling a bit behind there. Will hit the Total Gym tonight to keep current.

Total Miles – 75.21 (Run Miles – 49.51, Bike Miles – 18.7, Elliptical - 7)

With another long run planned prior to the end of the month I should be right in the 100 mile range running (if I’m able to get my rear end up a couple of these mornings to run prior to work…with temps in the 30’s that’s entirely possible J)

Heat Wave!!

***Hmmmm....can you find the Team Voicer in this picture? We're so stealth...

Holy Cats, it's bloody hot here in the Northeast, I mean, it got all the way to 45 degrees yesterday... Didn't know whether to open up the pool or what.

Seriously though, the past two days have been much warmer than it has over the past month or so. I was able to get in a 6.75 mile run on Friday, without having to put winter gear on, and still feeling the post run soreness in the knee. However, some consistent icing and it's not bothering me all that much. We'll see what the Doc says this Thursday. Not enough to keep me from some light running in the meantime as I'm planning on getting back out there in a couple of hours for a quick 4-5. Of course, it's colder now, but still in the 30's, so not bad at all.

Update - Got a 5.56 mile run in. Mid 30's, tried to keep it at an easy pace (not so easy to do...). The good news is that I didn't feel any ill effects on the knee pre/during/post. I'll ice it anyway tonight.

On the Disney front, I cancelled my XM radio subscription. So what the heck does that have to do with Disney? Ahh, well, I tend to forget about my podcasts and listen to all kinds of XM stations, so now with no XM I've got two hours a day commute where I can catch up on podcasts. Woohoo! Speaking of, did you guys catch "Snack and Sip 3" on WDW Today? Hillarious!!!

Last thing. I'm going to try to be better about checking the AATM boards from time to time as I think we get into our blog holes and forget there are other AATM'ers out there that probably don't do the blog scene. As Jonathan says, it would be great to grow our brood by next Jan.

2011 Goofy.....

Another half way decent pic of me during the race...

I've done two things this morning (aside from the pile of work...)

1. Made an appointment with my orthopedic Dr. for the right knee. Starting to get inflamation even after riding the bike last night. Now is the time to take care of it though. Granted, I'm a little worried about being pulled out of commission for a bit, but feel like I can fight through it with some anti-inflammatories and physical therapy

2. Registered for 2011 Goofy......I mean, I was going to register anyhow, but something about actually pulling the trigger gives me even more excitement/anxiety/etc.

1/2 Photos are Up

...and as per the usual, I look pretty bad in most of them. Of course, I didn't really stop to take any and I wasn't really caring how they came out as I passed by the camera folks. Soooo, that's what I get. I've posted the only decent one that I found....you guessed it, the descent one is not of me actually running!

Running to Disney Update: So far I've logged a total of 41.28 miles (running/biking) with 28.58 of them coming from running. I'm not huge on the elliptical, but will probably log some of those miles once ours gets fixed (parts are in, just need to make the appointment). Jeff, we forgot Rae on this challenge!!! We should make her milage to Disneyland Paris though....otherwise she's going to smoke us! :-)

Planning on a light run today, not sure whether it will be indoors at the work gym or outdoors. Weather.com says it's 27 out there, but feels like 15 with 24mph gusting winds. Reminds me of Disney weather... I forgot my gloves so I was going to definitely be inside, but there is a fleece vendor on-site today, so I might man-up and go buy some and get outside for 5.....okay, so, now that I've said that...I kinda feel obligated...LOL

Sounds like everyone here gets runners world, but in case you missed it...Make sure you're supplementing your Vitamin D!!! Especially those that work at night (like Lorraine) or those of us who live on Hoth, which apparently is the greater 48 these days...or 47 as Amanda is still in tropical land. :-) The article cited all kinds of nasty stress fractures due to VitD deficiency.

Fogot to mention a great purchase from the World from this trip. I bought the Four Parks One World CD, very cool collection of park music. It'll get me by till July anyhow.

Anyhoo, that's all I got for now. Stay safe out there folks!

Update: Got out for 5.45 this afternoon. Felt like Disney, okay, maybe a little colder...Mid 20's with a light snow. I thought I was running slow, but clocked out at 8:54/mile. Lots of ice to dodge and of course the occasional car with driver holding a cell phone to his ear... :-) Felt good, metatarsal area on right foot still a little sore, but will ice it down tonight.

"So what does it all mean, Basil?"

Thant’s what I’m left with after a cold-blustery PR half-marathon.  Honestly, I would be lying if I didn’t say I still think I could have done better…. 1:45:00 perhaps?  I dunno, but I had a tough time coming out of the Magic Kingdom in the same spot as last year, tough time with the lungs feeling heavy so I had to slow up a bit there.  Other spot I slowed down more than last year was the last on-ramp as my legs were burning with lactic acid (didn’t get this during last year’s run).  The only other factor that cost me time was the traffic handling as I was bumped back a corral this year and by the time I weaved through most of the C traffic, I hit the back end of the corral B traffic….  However, it wasn’t horrible, just extra energy and time is all.

How I’m feeling right now.  Legs feel fine and have since the race, shows a bit more maturity in the muscle.  The tendons in my right knee hurt a bit, as expected, but I iced the heck out of it after the race and it kept the pain down.  Froze up on me once during the night that night, but good since.  I’m going to get to the orthopedic guy to see what’s going on with it.  Leading up to the race I was starting to feel some more pain in the metatarsal area, same as last year, but I think it had more to do with my trainers starting to break down on me.  I’ve retired them to walking shoes and moved into the last pair of GT-2130’s I have.  Will look at the GT-2140’s or 50’s in another month or so to have a new pair on hand.  Other than that, I’m feeling pretty good post race and hopefully won’t lose any time as I did last January (6 weeks with the sesamoid “injury”).  Gotta get those pesky 1213 miles in prior to next year’s run!

What’s next?  Well, I’ve already committed myself for the 2011 Goofy, holy cats….  For this run I’m also going to do a bit of charity work, I mean, c’mon, anyone who can’t get on board with a good cause and someone subjecting themselves to two days of torture, has to be on some other planet! LOL    What I’d really like to do is to raise money for ALS research as my Brother in-law was recently diagnosed with this horrid disease and I’m kinda feeling like it’s the only thing I can do…..  So I’m going to dedicate the Goofy run to him and hopefully help the cause along the way.  I’ve got to get organized with all of that soon, but will probably wait till I’ve actually registered for the run(s).  Overall mileage will need to go up, but will be a much better mix of cross-training.

2010 Races - Other than this run, I’m not sure what other races are in store for me, but perhaps may jump back in sooner rather than later.  There is a half-marathon in the town I used to live coming up in February so I’m pondering that one, might just do it as a training run and not be looking for any kind of fabulous time…depending on the knee prognosis.  It’s only like 15 bucks to enter, so we’ll see.  Ya know, cause if you can run in a freezing cold Disney race, you can do anything! LOL  There is a local 5k that Lorraine and I do and are trying to get some other family members to run as well, so that’ll be on tap again.  And I think I’ll probably run the Hartford Marathon again in October as I should be able to run it without issue if I’m training right for the Goofy.  Will be a good test at that point.

Team Voice – A general shout out to ALL Team Voicers, as you guys are the glue for me.  I feel like I own a piece of the team and am accountable as a result.  This really helps drive me on a daily/monthly/yearly basis as is a great part of why I feel like I’ve had some success with this running thing.  Having the Disney race and meets (the ones I actually get to…) give me that beacon to look for as the year goes on.  Not sure how exactly I’d do this as long as I have if it weren’t for this group.  I also really enjoy in sharing all your successes (and even being a part of the difficulties as well..there are NO failures here!) as it adds more purpose for what we’re all doing.

Another long post…of course….typical post-race activity as I’m sure we’re all missing Disney at this point (those of us who’ve left anyhow), even though it’s bitter cold there!  I think our running to Disney challenge will help keep us active through the year though. ;-)

We DID IT!!! Again...

Wow, that's all I can say. I think we jinx'd the race with all of this talk about "Hoth"....cause Hoth visited Orlando today. Freezing cold pre-race (windy as well) and then some sleet starts to fall to top it off. Headed down toward the corral area, gave my wife a kiss for good luck as she went to hers and then took a 3/4 mile warm up and stretch. Ran into Mr. Mike-Speed himself along the warm up path. Then it was time, so I wished Mike-Speed good luck, told him to break a leg (or at least tweak an ankle enough for me to catch up to him ;-)) and settled into my own corral...C....but Chris, you say, weren't you in B last year? Why yes, yes I was, thank you for reminding me... Not sure what the deal was, but with the same exact qual time I was bumped back to wave 2. No worries, met some outstanding people in the corral. An Army vet who just returned from a tour in Afganistan and was running the Goofy. Great guy, wish I had more time to talk to him, but I thanked him for his service, shook his hand and move up a bit for the wave 2 start.

5...4...3...2..1...GO TIME!!! This year I was alone, so no talky-talky and I kept on pace pretty well. 25:09 5k split, which was interesting to see as I had a ton of traffic to weave through, even ran in a ditch for the better part of the first mile...yep, same as last year... 10k a little bit slower, but clocked in at 50:46...15k 1:16:21 (very close to 10k speed). Just prior to entering Epcot I notice two familiar folks all decked out in yellow shirts...I was psyched to see them (Rae and Eric) that I ran over an slapped them five which juiced me up a bit for a good finish (thanks guys!!!)...Finally, I see the finish, which is good cause my quads have been burning for the past two miles! So, the goal was sub 1:50...and I got there...1:48:52....8:18 mile pace (35 seconds off last years pace)... 1027 overall and 810 among the men. At least, this is the unofficial results, but I'm positive it's correct. So yeah me!

After the race was done for me, THAT'S when it started to get cold. All the sweat on my body began to freeze and a thin layer of Reynolds Wrap wasn't going to keep me warm. I walked all over the place trying to find a spot to see my wife finish, but couldn't....funny story...as I walked in front of the TV cameras filming, the news guy asked if he could talk with me. Sure, why not. So I got interviewed on the local news, LOL. Of course my brain and lips were frozen, so people watching must be like "why did they pick this idiot!". Anyhoo, my 2 minutes of fame... Anyhoo, I finally headed back to the family reunion area to see if I could see my wife (Lorraine) finish on one of the big screens. And sure enough, right at the time I calculated her to finish (which was faster than she was predicting mind you...) there she was! I was so proud of her for battling the injuries these past two years only to be greeted by sleet and freezing cold temps...but she did it! right around 2:15:00 or 2:17:00 as the site has her time all funkified. I think the 5k checkpoint didn't get picked up on the D-Tag, but the other splits looked fine. Hopefully they'll correct it for her so she doesn't have to start in Corral G next time! :-)

What a long post...sorry folks, typing this while I'm in my room icing my knee so I figured I'd get it all out now before I forget!

Congratulations to all the Team Voice folks out there that braved the elements to complete this run! Mike, Amanda, Jeff, Matt, Goofstin, Trace, Lisa, Rae and Eric's son (I'm totally spacing on his name...but he did awesome! 10 min miles for a 17 year old and I think he's going out for the full tomorrow? Holy Cats Indeed!)

Best of Luck to Rae, Eric, Goofstin, and Bryan in the full tomorrow, I know you'll all do great!

Florida...I think...

I don't think I've ever been to Florida where it's been this cold. Took a light 2 miler this morning in 43 degree temps, which at this point we wish was the forcast for tomorrow! Looks like lows around 34'ish and highs in the mid 40's. There is some precipitation in the air and will be showering in the AM with a possibility of snow mixing in. Yeah, I trained in this type of weather, but not exactly what you expect for the race. Going to be tough to keep the footing while navigating through the hords of people, but it' s going to be fun no matter what...

Plan for today is to get some coffee in a minute and walk over to the Studios. Sounds like there will be some other Team Voice members over there as well. Should be fun :-)

Hoth Jr. Jr....

I'm adopting Justin and Mike's assertion of the ridonculous cold weather that we've been seeing. Typically, CT doesn't get bitter cold till mid January and then it mellows out a little (20's - 30's) in Feb throughout. However, December has been insane cold and it's getting worse. It's in the teens and down to 0 with the wind chill on a regular basis and now the snow drifts are making it much more of a nightmare.

Anyhoo, if Iowa is Hoth, and Rochester is Hoth Jr. ...I guess that makes me Hoth Jr. Jr. So yeah, I'd agree with their assessment that a low in the 30's for Disney on Saturday is like tropical for us! Still, it was much warmer last year (50's and people were complaining, lol) during the day I think, so we'll still have to pack accordingly. Although, I'll still be sportin' bare legs for the race as I've got to retain my "Ice Man" status.....

That's all I got as I'm buried in work trying to make up for being out Thurs/Fri. Weight training today and perhaps a 3mi treadmill tomorrow. Unless I get out of school early tonight as I'll get a quick mill run if that works out. :-)

Holy Weather Changes, BATMAN!

Dude, from like clear and a low of 55 to rain, potential rain, slightly cloudy, lows at like 28.... Honestly, man, give us a break here! We just want to plan! LOL Bring those cheap throw-away sweats folks!

I just checked the NBC affiliate (WESH 2 accuweather, I'm sure they are never wrong...) and they have a high of 58, low of 38 with a 30% chance of showers. Says the normal high/low is around 70/50....at this point that would sound lovely!

Anyhoo, I'm going to pack a little warmer I think for the post race stuff. For the race I still plan on shorts (although I might bring the cold weather get-up....) and my 09 Team Voice shirt....subject to change all the way through Wednesday evening. I called the Dolphin today to ask if the marathon busses stopped there and the guy didn't know, but said he thinks we'll have to walk over to the boardwalk/Yacht-Beach Club. Interesting....I'll ask at registration, but that won't be all that big of a deal if that's the case.

Running-wise...I put in 5 on the mill today, moderate pace. Felt really good, I'm feeling great about Saturday. Tomorrow is an off day with school and all although I may sneak a workout in at the gym, we'll see. Will get 1 or 2 more jogs in prior to arrival, nothing more than 3 miles if I get the time.

Started to pack last night just to keep some stuff separate but will wait till Wednesday to finalize. I'm working from home on Wed. so I'll have some extra time to do wash and such hopefully. :-)

Almost there, folks!

Mired in Liquidity Ratios

I haven't even started part 2 of our financial management class (Jan 4) and I already hate it. Part 2 is the case analysis portion of the program so it's breaking down a company in detail on a week to week basis to see if they should raise capital to expand, sell the company, get on a private jet and run really fast from the shareholders....that kind of thing.

Anyhoo, I'll make it through I'm fairly certain. Just reinforces my own belief that financial management is not one of my great pleasures in life.

Sooo, training...what's going on with training....I think there's a race coming up or at least I've heard that somewhere.. Oh yeah, that's RIGHT!!! The local penguin plunge race is coming...I knew there was SOMETHING going in in, saaaay, the next week or so. Oh yeah, and I hear Disney is doing something as well, but I'm sure it's no penguin plunge..... :-)

Put in 3.5 on the treadmill last night at a slow/moderate pace to see how the knee was coming along. Knee fared just fine. I iced it down afterwards and didn't wake up with extreme pain like the other night, so all is well. Time to start ramping up the carb ratio (oooh, maybe I can include this ratio into my finanical analysis...how many carbs does the CEO take in prior to making a big capital decision...you think Eiger carbs up before he announces a park expansion? LOL). Anyhoo, the plan is to get in some light work whenever I can get it over the next week, nothing more than 4-5 miles at a moderate pace. Also, I want to hit the "real" gym at work prior to leaving for Florida. The Total Gym is okay, but lets face it, Chuck Norris goes to the gym too....

Keep safe out there!

Oh, and am I the only one that noticed rain in the forecast for Disney on race day? Low of 47, which was pretty much the same as last year, although they are calling for some rain as well.... Singin' in the Rain jokes will be "running" rampant.....I crack me up...