Treading Air

During the holiday season I would watch on the news as other parts of the country where suffering terrible winter weather while in Memphis we were experiencing spring-like temperatures. The winter running season was GRRRRRRREAT. Well that was until yesterday when the temperature got down to 21 degrees. Granted those runners in Alaska might find my tone a little whiny, but hey everything is relative.

However, I decided to man up and brave the elements (though one of the most important ones, heat was missing) and take to the pavement. With layers upon layers of clothing upon me I ended up having an awesome run. Unfortunately, when I was done I felt as if I was drowning. I couldn't catch my breath to save my life. After about 10 minutes of relaxing and stretching I was ok.

Today the conditions are not much better in the 901, but luckily this is a strength training day so I will be indoors. The schizophrenic weather patterns will continue throughout the week and I am predicting much of the same for the rest of the year.

Just Do It

There is nothing more important when going after a goal than motivation. Whether it is intrinsic or extrinsic doesn't matter. What is important is that those motivations are there. During the last training I was motivated by the drive within, but now that goal is accomplished I need a different kind of push. I have the answer with Nike+. For Christmas my LOVELY wife bought me the Nike+ chip for my iPod nano and my first run has officially been logged. In addition, to the historical data that will be gathered via this WONDERFUL invention, my good friend, and co-worker, Scott Wills has issued quite a number of challenges for me to participate in.

For those of you who don't have the Nike+ chip don't fret there is there is an alternative, a VERY good one at that...Runner+. It allows you track your runs just like Nike+, as well as other features, but it also tracks your shoe mileage and sync your data from your Nike+ account.

As to not sound too cliche', but get motivated for the New Year and start running.

It's Gotta Be the Shoes

When I was growing up "It's Gotta Be the Shoes" was one of the hottest sayings around. If you just bought some of those $100 Air Jordan's you would be able to "Be Like Mike". I am not sure if that is necessarily true, but I can tell you that if your shoes are shot then your runs will suck. Well at the end of Monday's run I started to feel the same achiness in my right foot that I felt right before I started training for the Memphis Half Marathon. Looks like the mileage has run out on the shoes and time to get a new pair. Monday's run was pretty good. It was the last ~3 miler (I hope Santa brings me the Nike+ chip so that I can more accurately track my mileage) that I will do this week. As stated in the previous post I need to start ramping up my mileage so tomorrow will be a 5 miler. I was hoping to get in a 7 mile run this weekend, but let's be honest it is Christmas and when will I have time.

For any of you SERIOUS runners at there don't forget to signup for the Swamp Stomper.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Well due to circumstances outside of my control I wasn't able to run again until yesterday instead of the planned Thursday. It was another 3 mile run. I was hoping to have better results then my first run "back", and it definitely was. I decided to take a different route, which is a little easier than Monday's, but I needed the confidence boost. Though the weather here in Memphis isn't as 1/10th of misery that is going on in many other parts of the country, it was still a dreary, cold run. It took getting through the first mile or so before I was able to catch my breath, but I eventually did and was able to finish the run without a fraction of the frustration that I had previously experienced. Starting next week the "warmup" is over and I will be hitting the pavement hard and logging a lot more miles.

Until then...

Every Marathon Begins with the First Step

So over the past year the few times that I have written on this blog the subject matter has been mainly about those little annoyances of life that I find disturbing. I have decided to change my strategy on the subject matter. A week ago I ran my first half marathon which was the most challenging event that I have ever done. As I came across the finish line I had never felt so much pain in my body at that exact moment.

Even experiencing all that pain I was smiling. First, because of what the race was for as well as the fact that I pushed through and finished it. I thought to myself that if I could do this what else could I do. So here is the declaration...to run the full St. Jude Memphis Marathon next year. In order to properly perpare I am going to run the Germantown Half Marathon in March as well as the New York Half Marathon which should give me plenty of time for final preparation for the full marathon. So in my little corner of cyberspace I will chronicle all of my "ups and downs" (I know it was cheesy) of my training.

The day before yesterday was my first run since finishing the half. I could definitely tell I hadn't run in a week. In addition, it was cold and rainy but I pushed on through. We'll see if Thursday is any better.

Sometimes the Truth is Hard to Swallow

I usually arrive at work pretty early because it is quiet and allows me to read in piece. For some reason today I have come across real pearls of wisdoms. View points that no matter which side of the political fence you play on are good to reflect on. Though all of these quotes are from 'Right-wing' sites I believe that do create excellent talking points.

When Hypocrisy is a Good Thing - Selwyn Duke
"Does a virtue cease to be a virtue simply because the vice-ridden espouse it? If a preacher teaches that "Thou shalt do no murder," do we conclude that murder must be a moral act if we discover he is a serial killer?"

Why Iraq Matters to Me - Brett McCrea
"Even if you do not believe these groups will follow us here if/when we leave Iraq, then ask this question: Is it acceptable to allow these ideologies to gain more ground and proliferate? If it is acceptable, to what are we condemning the citizens of Iraq, the Middle East, and the world? These groups have already demonstrated their willingness to indiscriminately kill. I do not expect that to change if they gain control in Iraq. That is another reason why Iraq matters to me."

5 years of illumination – John Paul II’s gift of Luminous Mysteries personal, infused new life in praying of Rosary - Barry Michaels
"He emphasizes that there are no magic words to any form of praying and that, in the end, all prayer is about love."

(I've Got) Hoes In Different Area Codes

Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me....unless you are Big Al and/or JJ.

Last night I hoping to see what was going on in the world around me. Instead of hearing reports about the war in Iraq or genocide in Dafur, I was run over like a Justin Timberlake appearance at a mall tour with the "breaking" news stories about Don Imus.

I couldn't take it anymore...I started taking notes for talking points that I would include in this blog. However as I sat down to follow up on some research before I published the blog I ran across Michelle Malkin's blog on the same subject and frankly she must have read my mind. She articulated the exact sentiments of those of us are who are tired of double standards held by not only the media in America, but also Big Al and JJ.

In addition to her thoughts below are supplemental articles detailing the hypocrisy of Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

• http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2411
• Vieira Hits Jackson With 'Hymietown,' Lauer Softpedals With Sharpton
• Imus Firing: Lauer Suggests NBC Caved to Pressure; Vieira Holds Sharpton's Feet to Fire