Well, beside being able to tell when I'm lying without any trouble at all.
After nearly 10 years together, she revealed her secret identity. She is a blood donor. Our church bulletin had an announcement in it about a church just up from our house sponsoring a blood drive today. We both went to donate, I couldn't, I have to wait until tomorrow to meet the required period between donations, but Jina went ahead.
She overcame her fear of needles and donated for the first time. Nice Job Babe!
After a good week of running, I'm still struggling to find my motivation. Maybe it's just the summer months, but if I'm going to run in mid-October, I've got get my rear end in gear. I'm in New Orleans this week and the running routes don't motivate me like the ones in Duluth. What I do this week will determine whether or not I do the Louisville Marathon, I can't afford to fall behind in training.
29 June 2008
28 June 2008
Bunker Mentality and a New Poll
One thing I learned in my college economics classes was that the American consumer drives the American economy. The old business saying, "You have to spend money to make money." also applies to our economy. While economic policies can affect the long range outlook, regardless what Obama and McCain tell us about saving us as soon as they're elected, and the wealthiest among us provide the investment resources to expand industries, it is the average American that drives the overall economic health of our nation.
With that in mind, and being in a stable financial position for now, our economic relief dollars got spent for vacation and a couple of other things. Our small part to boost the economy. Now, with yesterday's record oil prices and the twenty five cent jump in gas prices at our stations I'm having a fundamental shift in my approach to our family finances. We are carefully considering our plans for my second week off. It was to be a camping trip an hour and a half drive away. If fuel prices push higher, the cost to drive our RV, at 11 mpg, may prove prohibitive.
Our local plans are changing as well. I passed up going to the gym on Friday morning, my first chance in several weeks, and did a hill workout with some push ups and sit ups instead. The reason? I didn't want to burn the gas going. I also passed up running the Founders Day 5K in Charlestown, IN this morning for much the same reason. I couldn't bring myself to burn the gas or pay the entry fee.
I'm assuming a bunker mentality. Hoping to hold our position until the worse is over with. A big change from where I was even a week ago, when I had hoped to use our financial position to take advantage of low interest rates to perhaps buy a larger house.
With that in mind, and being in a stable financial position for now, our economic relief dollars got spent for vacation and a couple of other things. Our small part to boost the economy. Now, with yesterday's record oil prices and the twenty five cent jump in gas prices at our stations I'm having a fundamental shift in my approach to our family finances. We are carefully considering our plans for my second week off. It was to be a camping trip an hour and a half drive away. If fuel prices push higher, the cost to drive our RV, at 11 mpg, may prove prohibitive.
Our local plans are changing as well. I passed up going to the gym on Friday morning, my first chance in several weeks, and did a hill workout with some push ups and sit ups instead. The reason? I didn't want to burn the gas going. I also passed up running the Founders Day 5K in Charlestown, IN this morning for much the same reason. I couldn't bring myself to burn the gas or pay the entry fee.
I'm assuming a bunker mentality. Hoping to hold our position until the worse is over with. A big change from where I was even a week ago, when I had hoped to use our financial position to take advantage of low interest rates to perhaps buy a larger house.
24 June 2008
Super Hero!
OK,
I've managed to break away, or run away from nightly email catchup to see Iron Man and Hulk in the last two weeks. Iron Man = Great, Hulk = "So So", but that's just my opinion.
Did you ever wish you had a secret power. I've always bounced between wanting to either be able to fly or turn invisible. As for my favorite super heroes, I like those who actually struggle one way or another. Spider Man/Peter Parker, Bat Man/Bruce Wayne, Under Dog/Shoe Shine Boy...yea, I said Under Dog...It's my blog and my super hero choice.
Anyway, there is a way you can be a super hero. You can give blood. OK, I may have lost half of you there with the thought of the needle, but wait just a minute and hear me out.
You can, by laying on a table for 15 minutes and dealing with a needle stick, save a life. You think it is scary. How about your child or spouse laying on the O.R. or E.R. table and blood not being available? They don't make it in a lab folks. Which is scarier, the needle stick or the prospect of the above situation.
I can not verify the story, but back in my early twenties when I started giving blood, I got called to come and donate, the supply in the Ohio Valley Red Cross Region was critical. Apparently they had, I believe, 64 units of blood on hand. A near fatal crash over the weekend used up 48 of those. All 48 went to one victim. What if they only had 47 on hand?
Anyone willing to be a Super Hero? If you already are, Great! If not, and you've got no physical dis-qualifiers, Why not? Here you go to get you started...
http://www.redcross.org/donate/give/
I've managed to break away, or run away from nightly email catchup to see Iron Man and Hulk in the last two weeks. Iron Man = Great, Hulk = "So So", but that's just my opinion.
Did you ever wish you had a secret power. I've always bounced between wanting to either be able to fly or turn invisible. As for my favorite super heroes, I like those who actually struggle one way or another. Spider Man/Peter Parker, Bat Man/Bruce Wayne, Under Dog/Shoe Shine Boy...yea, I said Under Dog...It's my blog and my super hero choice.
Anyway, there is a way you can be a super hero. You can give blood. OK, I may have lost half of you there with the thought of the needle, but wait just a minute and hear me out.
You can, by laying on a table for 15 minutes and dealing with a needle stick, save a life. You think it is scary. How about your child or spouse laying on the O.R. or E.R. table and blood not being available? They don't make it in a lab folks. Which is scarier, the needle stick or the prospect of the above situation.
I can not verify the story, but back in my early twenties when I started giving blood, I got called to come and donate, the supply in the Ohio Valley Red Cross Region was critical. Apparently they had, I believe, 64 units of blood on hand. A near fatal crash over the weekend used up 48 of those. All 48 went to one victim. What if they only had 47 on hand?
Anyone willing to be a Super Hero? If you already are, Great! If not, and you've got no physical dis-qualifiers, Why not? Here you go to get you started...
http://www.redcross.org/donate/give/
23 June 2008
Bummed
OK, I woke up this morning and all my pep talk last night about motivation didn't do squat for me. I didn't want to run and it felt bad during the entire run. I gutted and groaned out 2 loops through the neighborhoods for 4.4 miles.
I then drove to Cincy to catch a flight to Minneapolis to drive to Duluth. Upon arrival I checked in, changed into my running clothes and headed out for a 3 miler along Lake Superior. I'll call it a tempo run, clocking 3 miles at a 7:50 pace over a course with small rolling hills. My left hammy is still tight and sore just below my buttocks, but at the lack of humidity helped my cardio.
I've upped my iron intake the past couple of days thinking that might be part of the leg fatigue issue. I've slept a little more, although it is 10:30 central time as I type this, so tonight will probably be a 7 hour deal, which by recent standards is a great night of sleep. Lastly, I went to the store and picked up some grapes, some bananas and some low sodium V8 juice to try to balance out my diet as much as possible. I'll just have to wait and see if that helps, I ran off an forgot my multi-vitamins. I just need to go to Walgreens and pick up a bottle to keep in my luggage.
I'm starting to think that part of my problem might be more mental than physical. With the exception of my vacation week, I've maintained a pretty hectic travel schedule for about 2 months now, and have another week and a half to go. Duluth is a summer vacation destination in the north land. For those familiar with Gatlinburg, TN it is very similar in atmosphere, although much larger and it lacks the commercial ventures found in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. Anyway, lots of families walking around, which does nothing to help me stop thinking about my boys at home (and my wife, but thought that might sound to mushy...yuck).
I need to flip through the MP3 player and listen to one of my favorite running songs over and over again. Sorry Chris and Scotty, it's a country song.
"If your going through hell, keep on moving. Don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it. You might get out 'fore the devil even knows you're there."
Anyway, maybe I'll snap out of it? Duluth appears to have a pretty active running community and trips along the lake are prone to cause OLS flare up and result in over training.
I then drove to Cincy to catch a flight to Minneapolis to drive to Duluth. Upon arrival I checked in, changed into my running clothes and headed out for a 3 miler along Lake Superior. I'll call it a tempo run, clocking 3 miles at a 7:50 pace over a course with small rolling hills. My left hammy is still tight and sore just below my buttocks, but at the lack of humidity helped my cardio.
I've upped my iron intake the past couple of days thinking that might be part of the leg fatigue issue. I've slept a little more, although it is 10:30 central time as I type this, so tonight will probably be a 7 hour deal, which by recent standards is a great night of sleep. Lastly, I went to the store and picked up some grapes, some bananas and some low sodium V8 juice to try to balance out my diet as much as possible. I'll just have to wait and see if that helps, I ran off an forgot my multi-vitamins. I just need to go to Walgreens and pick up a bottle to keep in my luggage.
I'm starting to think that part of my problem might be more mental than physical. With the exception of my vacation week, I've maintained a pretty hectic travel schedule for about 2 months now, and have another week and a half to go. Duluth is a summer vacation destination in the north land. For those familiar with Gatlinburg, TN it is very similar in atmosphere, although much larger and it lacks the commercial ventures found in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. Anyway, lots of families walking around, which does nothing to help me stop thinking about my boys at home (and my wife, but thought that might sound to mushy...yuck).
I need to flip through the MP3 player and listen to one of my favorite running songs over and over again. Sorry Chris and Scotty, it's a country song.
"If your going through hell, keep on moving. Don't slow down, if you're scared don't show it. You might get out 'fore the devil even knows you're there."
Anyway, maybe I'll snap out of it? Duluth appears to have a pretty active running community and trips along the lake are prone to cause OLS flare up and result in over training.
22 June 2008
Motivation
My motivation has been pretty low as of late. For whatever reason, the fall marathon isn't motivating me to log the miles I need to. Perhaps it is the lack of sleep, the grind of travel, the poor eating habits stemming from the boredom of eating grilled chicken salads time after time, and the lack of a balanced diet. Anyway, that is where I'm at the time of this post.
Perhaps I need to do another race, but my recent runs have been mindless slogs on tired legs. Four mile runs have been punctuated by walk breaks and wishes that I was back in bed.
I posted once that there were temporary motivators and motivators that get you through these tough times. I got a reminder this week.
One of my local managers after a couple weeks of "not feeling right" went for a stress test. Result was 100% blockage in one of his arteries, emergency surgery to install a stint. AGE = 36.
Running doesn't guarantee me a long life, but it ups my chances, or at least I figure it does. So tomorrow morning we start fresh, buckle down on my slipping dietary practices and keep logging some miles.
Perhaps I need to do another race, but my recent runs have been mindless slogs on tired legs. Four mile runs have been punctuated by walk breaks and wishes that I was back in bed.
I posted once that there were temporary motivators and motivators that get you through these tough times. I got a reminder this week.
One of my local managers after a couple weeks of "not feeling right" went for a stress test. Result was 100% blockage in one of his arteries, emergency surgery to install a stint. AGE = 36.
Running doesn't guarantee me a long life, but it ups my chances, or at least I figure it does. So tomorrow morning we start fresh, buckle down on my slipping dietary practices and keep logging some miles.
17 June 2008
Your Will, Not Mine
Found this when reading a story online about the flooding in Iowa.
A lot of wisdom in his words. I pray his prayers are answered.
Brian Wiegand, 48, of Oakville, was sandbagging the levee Monday evening near a drainage pumping station. He was concerned about more flooding as water began lapping to within a foot of top of sandbag wall.
"The Bible says the prayer of one man, God hears," Wiegand said. "Here's my prayer: I ask for the strength of God to fight this flood, and I ask for the grace to accept whatever happens."
A lot of wisdom in his words. I pray his prayers are answered.
Brian Wiegand, 48, of Oakville, was sandbagging the levee Monday evening near a drainage pumping station. He was concerned about more flooding as water began lapping to within a foot of top of sandbag wall.
"The Bible says the prayer of one man, God hears," Wiegand said. "Here's my prayer: I ask for the strength of God to fight this flood, and I ask for the grace to accept whatever happens."
13 June 2008
One last lesson from the '08 KDF Marathon
When things fell apart around mile 18, I was done. My legs were shredded, my will power was fading, and I wasn't sure I was going to complete the race.
I decided to ask God for a little help. No nothing like fresh legs or instant relief, I figured he had more pressing issues. I just asked him to run the last 8.2 miles with me and when given the opportunity I'd make sure folks knew I didn't do it on my own.
The silliness is that God has been walking with me daily since I accepted Christ as my Savior as a child. He's led me down some blessed roads and he's tagged along when I've taken walks I shouldn't have, never leaving me. I know this, but there I stood asking him to finish the race with me, as though he hadn't already logged every mile with me.
It has taken me some time to write this post because I just couldn't seem to string the words together to say what I wanted to say, then somewhere between New Orleans and Atlanta, somewhere around thirty three thousand feet, I remembered another time that God pulled me through.
The marathon was the second time my own physical abilities and self motivation weren't enough to see me through the task at hand. The other occurred almost exactly three years earlier.
With twins on the way, we sold our house, bought an old rental property who's mortgage payment would allow my wife to stay at home, and I began to gut it for a two month remodel. At around 11 pm, April 12th, 2005, my cell phone rang as I was working to tear out the old kitchen cabinets. My wife called from her mom's, where we were living during the remodel, to tell me her water had broke. Wait a second, I thought I had another month and a half. The twins arrived early and my two month time frame became two weeks. I had to have some place to bring the boys home to, and my mother-in-laws small house was already over burdened (space wise) with the addition of Jina, myself and our oldest.
I called work and informed them I would not be returning for at least two weeks and fully understood if they needed to suspend my salary (I was working under contract to a client), they didn't. I began putting in 20 hour days, bouncing between two hospitals and the remodel, yet I can't remember fatigue ever being an issue despite nearly two weeks at this pace. My friends stepped up and put their skills to work. My friend and his wife delivered a professional grade paint job in a couple of rooms, and that isn't his profession, he's a pastor. Another friend put his "jack of all trades" skills to work to help me complete the kitchen, insisting on laying the new kitchen floor himself for fear that I might screw it up. My family stepped up to help with other tasks and with helping get Jina back and forth to the hospitals for visits. More blessings than I deserved or deserve.
You see, I can nail a nail, cut a board (just don't expect it to be straight), and in general work my way through many projects, but to remodel that home in two weeks took more than my skills, more energy and drive than my internal motivators could generate, and even more than the skills and talents of my friends. It took God's help, because there is honestly no explanation or rationalization for how the house got gutted and renovated in such a short time. I've done the calculations, replayed the whole thing in my head, and know my own skill levels. It shouldn't have come together like it did, but then again, Jesus was a carpenter.
So there I was three years later, standing on the side of the road, asking God to help me see this thing through to the finish. I was physically spent, emotionally drained, and any pride I had left perished with the cramps that threatened to wreck my quads. Guess who was there with me. You knew I finished the race, but now you know the rest of the story.
Psalm 38 (New International Version)
...8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart...10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes... 15 I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God...17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me...21 O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. 22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
I decided to ask God for a little help. No nothing like fresh legs or instant relief, I figured he had more pressing issues. I just asked him to run the last 8.2 miles with me and when given the opportunity I'd make sure folks knew I didn't do it on my own.
The silliness is that God has been walking with me daily since I accepted Christ as my Savior as a child. He's led me down some blessed roads and he's tagged along when I've taken walks I shouldn't have, never leaving me. I know this, but there I stood asking him to finish the race with me, as though he hadn't already logged every mile with me.
It has taken me some time to write this post because I just couldn't seem to string the words together to say what I wanted to say, then somewhere between New Orleans and Atlanta, somewhere around thirty three thousand feet, I remembered another time that God pulled me through.
The marathon was the second time my own physical abilities and self motivation weren't enough to see me through the task at hand. The other occurred almost exactly three years earlier.
With twins on the way, we sold our house, bought an old rental property who's mortgage payment would allow my wife to stay at home, and I began to gut it for a two month remodel. At around 11 pm, April 12th, 2005, my cell phone rang as I was working to tear out the old kitchen cabinets. My wife called from her mom's, where we were living during the remodel, to tell me her water had broke. Wait a second, I thought I had another month and a half. The twins arrived early and my two month time frame became two weeks. I had to have some place to bring the boys home to, and my mother-in-laws small house was already over burdened (space wise) with the addition of Jina, myself and our oldest.
I called work and informed them I would not be returning for at least two weeks and fully understood if they needed to suspend my salary (I was working under contract to a client), they didn't. I began putting in 20 hour days, bouncing between two hospitals and the remodel, yet I can't remember fatigue ever being an issue despite nearly two weeks at this pace. My friends stepped up and put their skills to work. My friend and his wife delivered a professional grade paint job in a couple of rooms, and that isn't his profession, he's a pastor. Another friend put his "jack of all trades" skills to work to help me complete the kitchen, insisting on laying the new kitchen floor himself for fear that I might screw it up. My family stepped up to help with other tasks and with helping get Jina back and forth to the hospitals for visits. More blessings than I deserved or deserve.
You see, I can nail a nail, cut a board (just don't expect it to be straight), and in general work my way through many projects, but to remodel that home in two weeks took more than my skills, more energy and drive than my internal motivators could generate, and even more than the skills and talents of my friends. It took God's help, because there is honestly no explanation or rationalization for how the house got gutted and renovated in such a short time. I've done the calculations, replayed the whole thing in my head, and know my own skill levels. It shouldn't have come together like it did, but then again, Jesus was a carpenter.
So there I was three years later, standing on the side of the road, asking God to help me see this thing through to the finish. I was physically spent, emotionally drained, and any pride I had left perished with the cramps that threatened to wreck my quads. Guess who was there with me. You knew I finished the race, but now you know the rest of the story.
Psalm 38 (New International Version)
...8 I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart...10 My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes... 15 I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God...17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me...21 O LORD, do not forsake me; be not far from me, O my God. 22 Come quickly to help me, O Lord my Savior.
12 June 2008
Work Stinks...
Well it does when you really want to be consistent in your training and your job requires travel. While I'm whining, let me just say that I don't sleep well in hotels, no matter how nice. It's hard to eat balanced meals consistently when you're eating out, and boo hoo, boo hoo, boo hoo.
OK I'm done whining. It took two runs, but I think I've shaken off my vacation rust and the last two runs have, despite coming after short nights of sleep, felt pretty good.
I've also made it since Sunday without any soft drinks. I'm still drinking ice tea, but trying to get away from the carbonated stuff.
OK, not much of a post, but that's where we're at today. Hopefully I get back into the swing of running while traveling, since I've got a ton of it on the agenda.
OK I'm done whining. It took two runs, but I think I've shaken off my vacation rust and the last two runs have, despite coming after short nights of sleep, felt pretty good.
I've also made it since Sunday without any soft drinks. I'm still drinking ice tea, but trying to get away from the carbonated stuff.
OK, not much of a post, but that's where we're at today. Hopefully I get back into the swing of running while traveling, since I've got a ton of it on the agenda.
08 June 2008
Back on Track
The KDF Marathon is behind me. I managed a PR and age group award at a decent sized race, but other than that, my running/training has been on hiatus. That ends tomorrow. It's back to the gym and roads with some new goals.
1) Lean out. No I don't think I'm fat. But I am on the upper end of the BMI scale for my height and I'm around 12% body fat. My goal is to get that down around 10% and shave off around 5 to 7 pounds.
2) Return to a more structured training format. My recent 5K performance has gotten me to thinking about getting faster.
3) Get a jump on training for the Louisville Marathon, with my eye on cracking the 4 hour barrier.
I'll likely be making some changes to the side bar of this blog, possibly lifting the on-line training log used by Mir and linked on her sight, "bittersweetsymphony".
Speaking of my side bar, I got to add a new place to my places run list. Santa Claus, Indiana. I ran a hilly 30 minute run through the campground and out to check out the nearby shopping center while we were camping at Lake Rudolph.
Yes that is really the town's name. No it isn't a recent publicity stunt name change. Here is the story behind the name, as told by Paul Harvey.
http://www.hohoholdings.com/schistory.htm
Vacation is over, gone are the numerous hamburgers I ate. The pizza I consumed is history. The ice cream and multiple trips to the buffet's dessert section are mere memories.
Back to the grind! Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it's going.
1) Lean out. No I don't think I'm fat. But I am on the upper end of the BMI scale for my height and I'm around 12% body fat. My goal is to get that down around 10% and shave off around 5 to 7 pounds.
2) Return to a more structured training format. My recent 5K performance has gotten me to thinking about getting faster.
3) Get a jump on training for the Louisville Marathon, with my eye on cracking the 4 hour barrier.
I'll likely be making some changes to the side bar of this blog, possibly lifting the on-line training log used by Mir and linked on her sight, "bittersweetsymphony".
Speaking of my side bar, I got to add a new place to my places run list. Santa Claus, Indiana. I ran a hilly 30 minute run through the campground and out to check out the nearby shopping center while we were camping at Lake Rudolph.
Yes that is really the town's name. No it isn't a recent publicity stunt name change. Here is the story behind the name, as told by Paul Harvey.
http://www.hohoholdings.com/schistory.htm
Vacation is over, gone are the numerous hamburgers I ate. The pizza I consumed is history. The ice cream and multiple trips to the buffet's dessert section are mere memories.
Back to the grind! Stay tuned and I'll let you know how it's going.
07 June 2008
Holiday World
Ok, we got back home last night and I'll give you some running news in the next posts, but for now a public service announcement laced with praise.
If you have kids, if Holiday World (www.holidayworld.com) is within your comfort zone as far as driving distance from where you live. YOU NEED TO GO!
This year marked our 5th consecutive year to go. 5 years, 6 visits, 0 complaints. Being in a service industry, I've heard about the "Disney' and "Marriott' way of doing things for years, let me tell you, niether has anything on Holiday World.
Employees are friendly, even when three kids are wanting to cram in one more ride 5 minutes before the park closes, even when a dad is ordering 5 ice cream cones 5 minutes before the park closes while 3 kids are riding that last ride. Employees don't lean, they clean. We picked a perfect time to go and the crowd was low, when rides were waiting for riders, the operators were wiping down the rides.
Unlike some of the other amusement parks around here, the rides, buildings, and staging areas are kept clean and maintained. At an indoor ride (Gobbler Getaway) I did a finger wipe of an "out of the way" flat surface, it came away clean
Food prices, we were camping, so we ate only one meal in the park. In the water park, which has the same quality staff and cleanliness as the amusement park, we had 5 big slices of pizza and drinks for less than $15. Oh yeah, and don't forget the drinks are free all day long in the self serve Pepsi Oasis (what is plural for Oasis?).
If you don't think kids and teenagers can behave, then you haven't been to Holiday World. Yes, I was bumped into in the pools and water play areas and this was followed by and "excuse me", or "I'm sorry". Teenagers, even groups of them, are well behaved and courteous. It's amazing how kids assimilate to the environment.
In closing, I have to offer high praise to the camp ground, Lake Rudolph. There were people planting flowers and cleaning up everyday. The camp store's prices were slightly higher than a regular big box retailer, but they weren't gouging anyone. There was plently of stuff for kids to do and the shuttles to and from the park were timely, clean, and staffed by some great people.
Ok, I'm through now. I wanted to email the park's management and tell them of my experience. I wanted to tell several of my friends about our experience. Once I found out that Google alerted Holiday World when I typed a comment in an earlier post and knowing that most of my friends visit here, I realized I could reach the largest group of people by blogging about our experience.
Next year, were planning on a week long trip.
If you have kids, if Holiday World (www.holidayworld.com) is within your comfort zone as far as driving distance from where you live. YOU NEED TO GO!
This year marked our 5th consecutive year to go. 5 years, 6 visits, 0 complaints. Being in a service industry, I've heard about the "Disney' and "Marriott' way of doing things for years, let me tell you, niether has anything on Holiday World.
Employees are friendly, even when three kids are wanting to cram in one more ride 5 minutes before the park closes, even when a dad is ordering 5 ice cream cones 5 minutes before the park closes while 3 kids are riding that last ride. Employees don't lean, they clean. We picked a perfect time to go and the crowd was low, when rides were waiting for riders, the operators were wiping down the rides.
Unlike some of the other amusement parks around here, the rides, buildings, and staging areas are kept clean and maintained. At an indoor ride (Gobbler Getaway) I did a finger wipe of an "out of the way" flat surface, it came away clean
Food prices, we were camping, so we ate only one meal in the park. In the water park, which has the same quality staff and cleanliness as the amusement park, we had 5 big slices of pizza and drinks for less than $15. Oh yeah, and don't forget the drinks are free all day long in the self serve Pepsi Oasis (what is plural for Oasis?).
If you don't think kids and teenagers can behave, then you haven't been to Holiday World. Yes, I was bumped into in the pools and water play areas and this was followed by and "excuse me", or "I'm sorry". Teenagers, even groups of them, are well behaved and courteous. It's amazing how kids assimilate to the environment.
In closing, I have to offer high praise to the camp ground, Lake Rudolph. There were people planting flowers and cleaning up everyday. The camp store's prices were slightly higher than a regular big box retailer, but they weren't gouging anyone. There was plently of stuff for kids to do and the shuttles to and from the park were timely, clean, and staffed by some great people.
Ok, I'm through now. I wanted to email the park's management and tell them of my experience. I wanted to tell several of my friends about our experience. Once I found out that Google alerted Holiday World when I typed a comment in an earlier post and knowing that most of my friends visit here, I realized I could reach the largest group of people by blogging about our experience.
Next year, were planning on a week long trip.
04 June 2008
Well what do you know?
As I sit here waiting for bad weather to pass so that we can hit the road for a trip to Holiday World (our favorite theme park) for two days of camping and fun, I double checked the Run for the L of it results and...
I placed 31st overall, by far my best finish other than the 20-30 runner Utica 5K and I won my age group. Yeeeaaaaa!
Yes I know that in my last post I said I didn't care and was happy I PR'd, but I did send an email to see if I could get my certificate mailed to me. So I guess I do care a little.
Correction: Alicia's official time was much better than I posted, it must have taken longer than I thought for me to get to where I could see the clock. Nice Job Alicia, official result was under 28 mins.
NOTE: Took my oldest to see Prince Caspian yesterday. Great Movie! Fun to sit and pick out the events and people that conveyed or correlated to a Christian message. I've got to read the book!
I placed 31st overall, by far my best finish other than the 20-30 runner Utica 5K and I won my age group. Yeeeaaaaa!
Yes I know that in my last post I said I didn't care and was happy I PR'd, but I did send an email to see if I could get my certificate mailed to me. So I guess I do care a little.
Correction: Alicia's official time was much better than I posted, it must have taken longer than I thought for me to get to where I could see the clock. Nice Job Alicia, official result was under 28 mins.
NOTE: Took my oldest to see Prince Caspian yesterday. Great Movie! Fun to sit and pick out the events and people that conveyed or correlated to a Christian message. I've got to read the book!
02 June 2008
I ran for the "L" of it and PR'd
Nothing like having friends who send out emails on Tuesday or Wednesday saying, "Hey, there's a race this weekend, wanna run?"
Since this friend is a school teacher it wasn't phrased in "redneck", but my mind translated this into the, " you ont to?" Which of course is second only to "Watch this!" as famous last words in redneckdom, and despite a college degree and fancy job title, I still hang out there from time to time (see post about our RV for proof).
Well three days sequestered in a hotel room or office for 12+ hours conducting interviews, a flight aborted half way down the runway (which is much better than having it abort half way into the initial climb) and six hours in airplanes and airports had me feeling pretty irritable. Stepping off the plane in Louisville I made two calls. The first one was to my wife to let her know there was no big settlement for her from Continental Airlines this time and to find out what we had going on Saturday morning. The next call was to Alicia to tell her I'd run for the "L" of it. I needed to blow off some steam!
In the interest of shortening this post. Run for the "L" of it was a 5k sponsored by the University of Louisville Alumni Association. It started and ended at 4th Street Live! in downtown Louisville and I guessed right that the course would be flat.
Flat course plus I haven't run all week had me thinking PR. Well the lead pack was a bunch of youngsters. Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers. Not the best group to be trying to set pace with, but I started in the front and planned on staying there. The first half mile my legs felt like lead and I questioned my decision to race. Then things felt good and I turned in my fastest mile, clocking the first mile in 6:03, 12 seconds faster than my previous best. At the 1.5 mile mark the pace began to take its toll. I logged the second mile in 7:03, slipping more in mile three, but holding on to set a new 5K PR of 21:03. Twenty six seconds faster than my previous PR.
More impressive was Alicia turning in a 29:10+\- (I was shocked to see her so far ahead of her 30 minute goal time and didn't see the clock right as she finished) at 5 1/2 months pregnant.
We didn't stick around for the awards. I'm pretty sure I slipped from the top three in my age group in the last 1/4 mile, but checking the last two years' results (Saturday's results haven't posted), my time might sneak me into a third place age group spot. Who cares? I PR'd. I'm happy. Now to enjoy vacation, run a little bit, and get ready to start training for a fall marathon.
Since this friend is a school teacher it wasn't phrased in "redneck", but my mind translated this into the, " you ont to?" Which of course is second only to "Watch this!" as famous last words in redneckdom, and despite a college degree and fancy job title, I still hang out there from time to time (see post about our RV for proof).
Well three days sequestered in a hotel room or office for 12+ hours conducting interviews, a flight aborted half way down the runway (which is much better than having it abort half way into the initial climb) and six hours in airplanes and airports had me feeling pretty irritable. Stepping off the plane in Louisville I made two calls. The first one was to my wife to let her know there was no big settlement for her from Continental Airlines this time and to find out what we had going on Saturday morning. The next call was to Alicia to tell her I'd run for the "L" of it. I needed to blow off some steam!
In the interest of shortening this post. Run for the "L" of it was a 5k sponsored by the University of Louisville Alumni Association. It started and ended at 4th Street Live! in downtown Louisville and I guessed right that the course would be flat.
Flat course plus I haven't run all week had me thinking PR. Well the lead pack was a bunch of youngsters. Middle Schoolers and High Schoolers. Not the best group to be trying to set pace with, but I started in the front and planned on staying there. The first half mile my legs felt like lead and I questioned my decision to race. Then things felt good and I turned in my fastest mile, clocking the first mile in 6:03, 12 seconds faster than my previous best. At the 1.5 mile mark the pace began to take its toll. I logged the second mile in 7:03, slipping more in mile three, but holding on to set a new 5K PR of 21:03. Twenty six seconds faster than my previous PR.
More impressive was Alicia turning in a 29:10+\- (I was shocked to see her so far ahead of her 30 minute goal time and didn't see the clock right as she finished) at 5 1/2 months pregnant.
We didn't stick around for the awards. I'm pretty sure I slipped from the top three in my age group in the last 1/4 mile, but checking the last two years' results (Saturday's results haven't posted), my time might sneak me into a third place age group spot. Who cares? I PR'd. I'm happy. Now to enjoy vacation, run a little bit, and get ready to start training for a fall marathon.
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