tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90877450531988216672024-03-04T20:37:06.815-08:00Run Timmaay RunThe stories of how me, Timmaay, a once overweight person who went from bad health to running and training for marathons, to now achieving so many fitness goals, and I'm not stopping anytime soon!!Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-60386271272500720892013-06-30T19:19:00.000-07:002013-06-30T19:19:33.001-07:00Halfway there!May 15 of this year, after 1 month of the Boston Marathon bombing, I took it upon myself to begin a 90 day runstreak in honor of those who lost their lives, and the countless others that were injured. As of lately, I've been so relieved that those who were in fact injured are all recovering and doing quite well. Unless there is something in the news I missed, please let me know.<br />
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So back to the runstreak!!<br />
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Today being June 30, 2013, and day 47 of my streak, I know I'm 2 days over half way, but I've hit the point in this self challenge where I've almost treated it like a race. From May 15-31, I made ran 63 miles and for the month of June, I made it up to 94 for a total of 157 miles. Not the numbers I wanted, but then again, I am not necessarily training for a race at this time, but in the back of my mind, I've got Heels and Hills and Him half marathon coming up on September 22. In this streak, I have managed a couple of days to top out at 7 miles as the heat is rising this summer. Also, I've got into the discipline of doing short 2-3 miles to work on speed. Even have done speed interval workouts: From 2:00/1:00 run-walk and even did 5:00-2:00 rw combos. Anything to help me get faster, I've done it. My best 2 miler was just done a few days ago with a time of 16:20 (8:10 pace) followed by a fast 5 miler (for me anyway) in 43:35 (8:43 pace). Just need to get more into the 8 and 9 mile distances at a time at this speed and I'll be satisfied.<br />
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I've become such a speed junkee that I want to go fast. I know I want to run, but I want to run hard, fast, and strong. Anything to chase after that elusive time I want for a sub 2 hour half marathon, and a sub 4 hour full marathon. Once achieved, I'll work on dialing into that pace that will carry me for 26.2 miles to help me qualify fo Boston. <br />
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It's like I've gotten angry over the fact that this had to happen to Boston, that I want to fight back. I guess this is my way of fighting, My enemy just happens to be the person I've fought for the last 3 years, and am continuously beating this person, MYSELF!!<br />
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I don't have any big goals for July other than to run in this heat because I have no other choice, but hopefully break into 100 again. As I said above about how I've treated this as race, I do have my days where I'm tired, hurt, dehydrated, and overall exhausted, but I can't let that stop me. I've had some wall moments where I wanted to quit and wound up settling for just a mile here and there, but I was content with the fact that I ran for Boston that day, and nothing else mattered. I've had wall moments where I started the run out great, and by the time I got back home, I was ready to keel over. Something in me just said keep going. I hope as I toe the line for my next race(s) that this emotion can stick with me as I hit that part where I know I'm almost finish, but don't want to move anymore. I'll remember what I'm out there.<br />
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Run strong<br />
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Be Epic Yo!!Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-41519710024650198372013-06-09T19:27:00.001-07:002013-06-09T19:27:39.751-07:0026 into 90Just wanted to log in and blog some more. I spent a good portion of the day after I ran this morning, just picking away on my guitar and just appreciating two talents I have that I love absolutely. Running and playing my guitar. I'm not Steve Prefontaine nor am I no Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I love what I do the same way these two legends loved their respective talents. <br />
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So, today I completed day 26 of my 90 day run streak that I started on May 15. Collectively, I have ran a total of 103 miles with an average of 3.96 miles a day. Just about ready to tip the ice of hitting over 4 a day. My goal is 6. This coming week, I'll be going out of town for a ministry camp I've been involved with since I was 19, so there may be some mornings where I'll either get 1 measly mile per day, or switch it to a night run and get the 3 or 4 I want. I'll have to see how this goes. Today, I sat and pondered as I sat down after mixing my post run shake of chocolate powdered protein mix with a banana over some almond milk, I couldn't help but think about how far I've come since my last blog where I wrote about "milestones". I'm excited about the fact that it's now summertime in North Texas, so with that, here comes the heat and the humidity. The last couple of days that I've ran, I've been challenged with these elements of nature, and humbled to have ran respectively 7 miles yesterday and 6 today. <br />
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I've also been met with physical adaptations as well. I remember back when I trained for my big races in the past, how fatigued I would get, emotionally tired, and most of all, drained. They all pretty much pointed to how TIRED I was and rest was much needed. In light of this runstreak I am out to do, I've kept those moments in the back of my mind and remembered to take it easy when I needed to and run light on those days. To be honest, after the first week, there were a couple of days where I was so spent that 1 to 2 miles was about all I could muster. Still, a run is a run, so I counted it. Amazingly, the next day I was refreshed and ready for a good 5 to 6 miler. As a bonus, I've dropped close to 10 pounds and my legs feel every bit of it, just wish my waistline did as well. LOL!! With summer coming, my intake of snow cones, ice cream, and junk food increases by a truck load. Ok, that's an exaggerate, but none the less, I eat a lot. I'm working on that too. I promise.<br />
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As my run streak has continued on, I've also thought about how my friends in this sport that run ultras train. I imagine those that do a particular runstreak, run the miles I'm running as a "recovery" run, or a "warmup" for that matter. To each his own in that aspect. Love you ultras, someday, I'll conquer this quest..In this respect, I think about how motivated I've been to want to push for that extra mile each morning I step out to do my thing. It's humbling in every way. Can't explain, it just feels good, and in some cases peaceful as I've stated in a run I posted on dailymile.com one day.When you know, you know..<br />
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This coming week will mark 1 month that I've been at this task. I can't wait to see what distance I can obtain in the next 30+ days. I didn't really set much of a goal of how many miles I want to accomplish at the end of this challenge, but I'm feeling confident that I can reach 400 by the time it's over. And if I have to stretch to 100 days to reach that goal, you now know I'll be crazy enough to do so. Maybe that will be my birthday present for myself when the time comes around for it.<br />
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Off to the races in September as I finish up this streak and persue the next challenge of qualifying for half fanatics. My schedule is as followed so far to obtain this <br />
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September 22 - Hills and Hills and Him - Half marathon<br />
October 12 - The Showdown Half<br />
October 20 - The Honored Hero Half<br />
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If I catch wind of any "filler" races I can find in between and they're affordable, I may jump in on them as well... Let's get crazy here<br />
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Be Epic YoTimmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-88860378382593455342013-05-05T17:01:00.001-07:002013-05-05T17:04:33.359-07:00Heels and Heels Half 2013Race Report:<br />
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I could just about nickname this race "Fairview, Part 2!" This race was awesome. Another half marathon in the books, and my second one to have the pleasure of running as a pacer. LOVE LOVE LOVED it.. Can't express enough of how much fun I had today. I was humbled by over the last 3 years, that I would at the point in my running career where I could honestly say that running 13.1 miles is EASY. I'm not at all tooting my own horn, but merely appreciating more and more of the athletic talent that is unfolding within me. I've always learned to respect the distance, no matter what. Today was another day of showing my love and respect for 13.1 miles. I've heard of runners saying that the Half Marathon is just about their favorite distance. I have to agree!! Here is my recollection of today's epic journey across my hometown.<br />
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It was my luck I stumbled upon the opportunity to pace this course. As I've said before, this race has an affiliated race (same course) called Heels and Hills and Him that takes place in September. I ran the 10k at HHH, and placed 2nd in my age group. Today was just a revisit of this course, only venturing out further, and finding a reward in what it takes to be a pacer. The Heels and Hills pace team is formed with an elite group of 16 men (2 men per pace from 1:50-3:00) known as the "Men in Skirts". Yes! I said skirts. The Heels and Hills race is a non-profit group that supports the activeness in women. As an encouragement for women, moms, housewives, etc to get active. Us men in our skirts had the pleasure of pacing these ladies today. <br />
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The course itself took place in the northern part of my hometown of Irving, Texas in the area known to locals as Las Colinas. Along the Campion trail that runs down through Las Colinas, under some of the major highways, and then loops around and comes back. Beautiful course, mostly flat with a "fair share" of rolling hills. Perfect trail to run on if you want that all chasing PR if you ask me, sets the Heels and Hills course. With temps in the low of 50 and the high of 69, perfect conditions, and as a bonus, the course was predominately shaded, so it was a great race to run overall. <br />
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As every race I blog about, I always start with the very beginning. Usually with the expo, or packet pickup, to getting up at the crack of dawn to get ready. Well, this race was more simplified then some of the big races like Dallas White Rock or Cowtown, where it's a 3 day event. This race was so laid back, and easy to manage. It involved me going Friday afternoon to the hotel where the expo was held to get my gear. I was in and out in under 5 minutes. I was so excited about this race, just like I was when I ran my first race 3 years ago. I went to bed last night at 10 and got up at around 4:30 this morning, and was wide awake. Did the usual take the dogs out routine, showered, dressed, and was out the door by 5:40. Along the way out to the course with Stacie, I had the added pleasure of bringing my mother with us to the race. Luckily, she lives just 5 minutes away (driving time) from the course, so it was no challenge getting her, some essentials we packed and on our way. I had to improvise a bit by dropping them off close to where the starting/finish line was and make U-turn to the parking garage. Again, another great race where parking was free, and I even got a spot right by the entrance. Win-win!! So, I parked, grabbed the chairs I loaded up and the other essentials mom and Stacie used while I was on my journey with the other runners. <br />
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Just so happened, they walked up, found the first corner spot of the race and camped out there. Not only that, they met my pace partner, Jerome "Jerry" Floyd aka "Big Sexy". I eventually caught up with them and reunited with Big Sexy, as I had met him at the Fairview Half we paced in last month. Great dude, good sense of humor and we clicked immediately. Our jokes and "sexy humor" made the 2:20 awesome as one other runner said to me after the finish. With time to spare, and as all of the pacers showed up, word got out quick that the MIS were on the scene and runners after runners flooded to us like we were a rock band getting pictures taken with us. I gotta admit, I enjoyed the "rockstar" moment. Not very often I get this kind of attention, so I drank it up. What would you have done?? Honestly!! By 7:15 sharp, our pace team Captian, Jose Vega aka "Pepe" got us together for our group picture over by the line and then more pics from the runners came and went. That was the fastest 15 minutes of the day because the next thing I heard was the announcer calling the Half Marathon runners to take position as they began the start of the race, followed by the 10k, and then 5k runners. Big Sexy and myself took our place about 10 yards behind the 2:10 pacers, heard the National Anthem, and then it wasn't long after that that the race took off. <br />
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As we inched our way up the starting line, I had my stop watch set for once I stepped over, I would hit the start button and then take the pace flag and take off. Once over the line, I felt the wind in my face and the joy of running was within me again. I stayed to the right hand side of the street where I knew my wife and mom would be. Cameras aimed, they took a few good shots of me and Jerome taking off with the group and from there, I knew this was going to be a great run. Since Jerome and I have had a fill for this race after running it before, we knew where certain spots and turnarounds were going to be. I don't what it was about this race, but it was somewhat hard for me and Jerome to maintain the 2:20 pace. For the first 3 miles, just at the 10k turnoff, we kept the pace on target. As my old habit stirred up again, I felt warmed up and sped up JUST a little bit. A "little bit" was a somewhat an understatement, as we passed mile 4, we were close to 5 minutes ahead of pace time. I took advantage of that incase there was a wall that was hit, we could cash in on some of the minutes we were ahead of. This plan worked to the T!! As we reached beyond the 10k mark, Jerome and I were exactly 5 minutes ahead of pace. Going into the second half of the race, and just a small round of hills, this worked well for us. All we had to do now was keep encouraging our group of runners and let them know they were doing fantastic. I had one lady ask me questions that she thought was "stupid" regarding the race if it was an exact "out and back" race. I told her not to worry about asking a stupid question because there have been some races where it was considered out and back, but had a big loop at the end prior to swinging it back to the finish line. At mile 8 we had crossed the same bridge we crossed before going to the big loop after the 10k split and was met with a set of arrows going one and another set pointing a different direction, and a courtesy cop pointing us to the way we needed to go. Big Sexy was humorous enough to tell the officer that we weren't drunk, just dared to wear these skirts. I myself made more fun by lifting the front of my skirt trying to do a "Marilyn Monroe" impression. Failed... LOL!! <br />
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After that little laugh, we were going from mile 8 into 9 with yet another set of confusing arrows. My philosophy was to just go with the flow of traffic. The majority of the runners ahead of us were going straight and the one confusing arrow was pointing towards a big hill that looped back onto the course. My philosophy paid off as there was a race guide sitting on the job and telling us at the last minute to NOT go up the hill. Not to complain Mr Race Guide dude, but DO YOUR JOB!! By, then I had also began to feel a bit of discomfort in my leg, which again was my IT Band. I have got to get that fixed. I stopped, stretched, continued till just after mile 10 when it happened again. So, stop, stretch, continue again. It worked. This is were those 5 minutes Jerome and I had in the bank was getting cashed in. At mile 11, we were 3 minutes ahead, so it was easy for us to slowly inch our way back. Little did we know, what we thought was inching back was actually going a bit faster. At mile 12, I could hear the crowds and announcer talking through the PA, and we had dialed back down to being just 3 minutes ahead. By then, mine and Jerome's little rat pack we had formed throughout the raced had dissolved some. Only to have it grow back towards the end. One of the runners that had stayed with us had mentioned that we had gone a little too fast for the group, which we humbly apologized for, but paid off right at the end, when we hit the last hill, then the last turn off before hitting the main bridge where the line was.<br />
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As we made that turn, Jerome and I had dialed back down to being just 1 minute ahead. We exhausted that last minute by encouraging one lady who we had passed up for a split second. I quickly turned and yelled "come on".. this is your race, finish strong. Then Jerome followed up by letting her know this was for her not us, so finish strong. Amazing how spent that woman was, she found it in her like all experience when seeing the finish to gun it. I as a pacer was taken back again by all of my past races where I felt that same desire. This lady finished right at 2:20 with Jerome and myself. Just before I passed the line, my wife and mother had moved over towards the finish line to get some pics of me as I was coming in. It was a nice easy jog coming in and it felt so rewarding to pace yet another great race. Finished right at 2:20 as the clock said 2:19:59, then it clicked over as I crossed. Nailed it again!! Finished, got my medal, high 5ed Big Sexy as we did a great job pacing our group. Got some water and mingled a bit. I met up with my wife and mom for more pics, then mingled some. I waited around for my tattoo buddy Andrew aka "twentysix-two" as he was pacing the 2:40 group. He came in, hi 5ed me and took some more pics, had some laughs, and felt rewarded for what we all did today as pacers. Even though we were the "men in skirts", I would do it again in a heartbeat..<br />
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All dressed up and ready to go. A litte teaser. You'll see the skirt in action!! hehehe</div>
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Me and Jerome aka "Big Sexy:, Our goal was to make the 2:20 group the sexiest group of the race. Goal achieved... hahahahahaha</div>
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Here comes the Men in Skirts.. </div>
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And I'm off. Yes this skirt made me look fat! LOL. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.</div>
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Me and Big Sexy coming in for the finish. I had to show some leg.</div>
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Giving the bling the bite. Notice the bib says "Timmaay"</div>
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The 2:40 group. Andrew and Johnny coming on in.</div>
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Me, Andrew, and Lisa. </div>
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"Brothers in arms" - Andrew</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgkU_phg4RxTE7g6sG_cwvRxxzdOdxJJsg5mGlQiVNzr3yOyWqTCACff80zGKaysxbkUW_2COIOCgTUDBeSo9gaQtEMX0n8ufzXrne1VjEuvoKG40m2wCM0Unj7iey4OKt2J6Pr_fQbMV/s1600/20130505_095342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgkU_phg4RxTE7g6sG_cwvRxxzdOdxJJsg5mGlQiVNzr3yOyWqTCACff80zGKaysxbkUW_2COIOCgTUDBeSo9gaQtEMX0n8ufzXrne1VjEuvoKG40m2wCM0Unj7iey4OKt2J6Pr_fQbMV/s320/20130505_095342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I sure made momma proud. Wifey has requested no pics of her posted in this blog. If I want to sleep in my own bed (with her) tonight, I will honor that request. Anyways, she's proud too.</div>
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I walked away proud of myself as well. The effects of the injuries and failures from the past are now behind me. This race has set the pace for me as to what lies ahead this summer. I'm still on tap for my 90 runstreak starting May 15. I don't have any races planned or lined up for this summer, other than to just run my streak and run to be fit and happy. I'm looking forward to the fall schedule as I gear up to Half Fanatic qualify. Game on!!</div>
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-39772139483517232762013-05-02T18:37:00.002-07:002013-05-02T18:37:12.672-07:00Remebering Boston!Monday, April 15, 2013. <br />
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Another day that will be etched in the minds of millions of people worldwide. I remember this day just like I remembered Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Almost the same setups. I was at work, in the breakroom, getting coffee, then getting stopped by a coworker and being asked "did you hear what happened?" It was like, time froze in a moment, and once again, I was cold to the core. I reverted back to that same old thought I had back when 9/11 occured. In 1998, when I was a senior in high school, I had enlisted into the United States Marine Corps. Like most families, mine with me being the only son, and also being raised by a single mother, I was inevitably talked out of joining. One of my life's greatest regrets. Anyways, that thought reoccurred over and over the day of the "Boston Bombing". Can't change the past, but I can create a future. I'm still working on that.<br />
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As part of my future that I am creating, being a runner has definitely opened some avenues up for me. I've met so many new friends, developed a greater desire to be healthy, love life more, and even live happier. As the explosions first aired on the tv waves, I immediately fell to my knees and prayed for the safety of those who I knew were up there, and even prayed for protection and healing of those who were injured. After the news released the casualties, my heart sunk after the announcement of the young boy Martin Richard. An innocent 8 year old who's desire was for PEACE. I couldn't watch it anymore!! Feeling helpless, I decided to get on the bandwagon as many of my running friends did, and runners world wide did as well. To support Boston, we were challenged the next day on 4/16 to wear previous race finisher tees. I felt it fitting to wear my last marathon shirt I had earned after running the Cowtown Marathon. In my job environment, the attire is business casual Monday thru Thursday, then casual (jeans) on Friday's. Given that is was a Tuesday, I really didn't care who said this or who said that, I am a RUNNER. Like many runners, we stand up like soldiers for our brothers and sisters who suffered on the battlefield of each and every race. I'm gonna show my support whether you like it or not. Thankfully, that day, I met up with on the lab director's or one of the "gods" of the company I work for. He thought my shirt was a little too bright, but was humbled by the fact that I would wear it. After explaining to him about me running marathons, and showing my support for Boston, he excused it and if I was to have had any actions taken against me, I was to let him know. Good thing nothing happened. <br />
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Cowtown 2013. My second marathon. Not the time I wanted, but was the best experience I had in a race where I walked away a more mature runner. I love those kind of runs/races where I in fact learn something that I never learned in previous workouts. That day was epic for me</div>
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In regards to my job, I just so happened to come upon a whole week where all of the employees of the company got "appreciated". As a reward, we got to dress casual Monday - Friday as a way of being thanked for our hard work, etc.. What better time for me personally to show my love for Boston by wearing previous race shirts. In my running up to this point up until April 6 when I ran my last race, I was done 5 Half marathons, 2 Fulls, 2 10ks, 2 5ks, 2 20 milers (1 was a DNF), and 1 15k. 14 races up to date. This coming Sunday will be race #15, which will also be half marathon #6. I was thinking as I was wanting to show my love for Boston, since the bombing was a "first time" event to ever happen in this tradition of over 100 years (can't remember if this was 117 or 118. Sorry Boston runners), what were some of the "firsts" I did in many of my races. I had 5 to pick from to spread throughout the week. It's not like I had to choose carefully, but I wanted to commemorate the best way I could. Here are the days marked out:</div>
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Day 1. 2010 Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. This was my first race I ever ran. I had lost 45 lbs by then prior to running this race. After failing at the attempt to apply for the local PD I applied for, this was also a cheer up present for me. Although I was hurting at the end of the race, I had never felt more accomplished in my own life. I was hooked on this thing called running. Never looked back!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6kr5Km0QJ9ucksP4gqpWCCSidfhOL1kCps4zHXx-n-FdAA3iJGhKeUraDM456SFJrEYm4poEfOPQ29ZKx2XVL72OsBPaOUoR3NgrJJH2FUZyDUvwdnIfCxarpdQOI92_gNhCu5LDYEzM/s1600/IMAG0549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6kr5Km0QJ9ucksP4gqpWCCSidfhOL1kCps4zHXx-n-FdAA3iJGhKeUraDM456SFJrEYm4poEfOPQ29ZKx2XVL72OsBPaOUoR3NgrJJH2FUZyDUvwdnIfCxarpdQOI92_gNhCu5LDYEzM/s320/IMAG0549.jpg" width="191" /></a></div>
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Day 2. 2011 Dallas White Rock Full Marathon. This was my first FULL 26.2 marathon I ever ran. That day left a mark in my life that I will never forget. Finished in just under 5 hours, and felt proud that I slugged the whole course in the cold, pouring, rain. The first of many "best days" in my running career. I had set a higher bar, and achieved higher limits for myself.</div>
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Day 3. 2011 Ft. Worth Runner's Club Labor Day Race, 15k. This was my second race that I ran in Ft. Worth, but first race I ran in minimalist footwear. Nothing special, but I had also set a PR that day. By then, I was falling in love with running 10ks, and was hitting 55 minute (average) times when I ran them. My dearest friend and honorary coach, Lynn had twisted my arm to run this race with her since it was her birthday. I took her up on it, because it was also my first "training" run/race I did to kick off training for the White Rock Marathon (Day 2 shirt). I thought, what's an extra 5k gonna hurt on top of what I normally run. Nailed 9.3 miles in 1:27:??. It was a great day for a race.</div>
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Day 4. 2012 Heels & Hills & Him 10k. This was the first race I placed in my AG (age group). This particular tee is given to those who do just that. That day was one of what I thought was a bad race. Although, I signed up for the 10k at the last minute, the course was mismarked and I ended up along with everyone else who ran the 10k, running 7.3 miles. There was in fact some walking I had done towards the end because I was mad that I didn't reach the PR time I wanted, but I was not about to quit. So, I crossed the line, shrugged it off, the usual.. Shortly afterwards, it was like sweet redemption as I heard my name being called out over the loud speaker say that I had come in 2nd place in the M 30-34 division. Bonus: The H&H&H has a "sister" race call Heels and Hills, that I in fact will be participating in as a pacer this coming weekend. Can't wait!!</div>
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and Day 5. 2013 Fairview Half Marathon. My first race I ran as a pacer. I've spent the last 3 years as a runner, reformed athlete, whatever you want to call it, trying to figure who I am. Not only on the race course, but in the race of life I live on a day to day basis. In my part time adventures as a Personal Trainer, I take great joy in seeing the improvements of people I meet and workout with. My one client has vastly improved by dropping so much weight, and even now becoming a runner for the first time in his life. **and he's over 50 years old** If he can do it, so can you!! I've always wanted to pay it forward outside the gym as a pacer, and was blessed to do so in this race. For 2 hours and 30 minutes, I did just that along with making new friends as well. It is such a reward and great feeling knowing you helped someone else reach a goal, that you forget about your own goals. Pay it Forward, friends... Pay it Forward!!</div>
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In the wake of this tragic event that happened almost a month ago, it still saddens me that there are selfish people in this world that would want to ruin a day like the day of the Boston Marathon. I always think to myself that someday, I am going to finish a marathon in the qualifying time I need in order to get a spot for this traditional race. Someday I will do that. I will remember my brothers and sisters that were wounded that day. Some of those runners had family members that will never be the same. Some of those runners may never be able to run again. A gift taken away from them at the hands of terror. We are runners, just life soldiers. We fight for one another. </div>
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Starting on May 15, exactly one month of this tragic event, I will begin a 90 run streak as my way of honoring those who were injured during the Boston Marathon. I as runner have one question to ask, "who's with me?" </div>
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See you out on the roads or trails.... Run for Boston..</div>
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-89248651708423067702013-04-06T22:25:00.000-07:002013-04-06T22:25:17.252-07:00Fairview Half Marathon 2013Race Report:<br />
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Half Marathon #5 for me. It only seems like they get better as I get older. Or so it seems. Some races I've ran in the past were good, others were great. Then there those that I asked myself "why did I even show up"? Today was a race where I was so rewarded and humbled from start to finish, and I say that unapologetically.<br />
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This morning started like any other race. I get up at 430, shower, get dressed, and out the door. Normally, I would also include taking my two dogs out, feeding them, etc, but today I didn't. Long story short, it was just me going to this race and not my wife. Why? Well today was also my sweet mother's birthday, so together wife and mom had a girl's day today, which left her in charge of "doggie duty" before she left.. <br />
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Got that out of the way, on to another issue. I've had my share of driving long distances to races, and even dealt with the heavy flow of traffic. Those of you who've ran some of Dallas' big races know what I'm talking about. Well, today was just a little different. This morning, I had to take detour after detour just to get on the main highway so I can get out towards North Dallas and head north on Hwy 75 to Fairview. Why the heck did the surrounding cities have to tear up the roads and shut down the highways, huh? LOL.. After that was out of the way, I felt good about time and that I was going to make it to the race early like I had planned. Race started at 730, I got there at 645.. BAM!! As a bonus, I even got "front row parking" for free as well. No gimmicks, no catches. I just happened to pull in per the directions and found a parking spot close to the Fairview city building that housed and hosted the race. Lucky me. <br />
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I had received a text from my boy Clay aka "The Nite Train" saying that he was there and was wanting to know where I was and where to park. I told him I had just pulled in and wondering where to head to myself. We just happened to meet up in the city building then looked for our race gear. Once inside the building, I met up with Andrew aka "Twentysix-Two" and he directed me and Clay where to go for our stuff. Since we were both pacers, we didn't wear the tradition race t-shirts that they hand out to everybody, no! We got the sweet hookup on the "Active Joe" tech tees that all the other pacers wore. This shirt was cool looking. As all of the pacers showed up, got our time flags, and group pics, there were in fact some last minute time swaps and accomodations for the pacers and last minutes fill-ins for those that couldn't make. I loved how this group takes very strong initatives and can improvise on a dime. Good work team. At first, I was partnered with Robin to run in the 2:30 time slot, but she had bumped down to the the 2:15 group with Clay. At first, I thought I was going to be alone, but then at the last minute I was partnered with another DRC (Dallas Running Club) member Jeff C. He and I hit it off right away with the jokes, one-liners, and even encouragement as we helped our group get through the race. Jeff was also gentleman enough to pace with his girlfriend, Heather, who was running her first half marathon today. Details will soon unravel throughout this blog about them two. <br />
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So, after the pace team got their group picture taken, the National Anthem was sung, the lines were formed, and the race was soon to begin. That in itself was an understatement. Before we knew it, the race was starting and the runners were off. Before I could even set my watch to go, I was thankful Jeff had his Garmin ready. About a split second after I crossed the starting line, I saw the RD announce the pacers were in full force taking off and getting the groups going. The crowd at the starting line was very supportive, cheerful, and even encouraging. For a smaller venue sized race, this one tops some of the big ones I've done in my career. Jeff and I were settling well into the 11:21 pace we needed to keep for the 2:30 group, which for me as I found out later on this course was just the right tempo for me with all the hills and wind I later endured. As we were getting to know one another, Jeff's gf Heather had mentioned this being her first half, and that her training wasn't quite up to par as she had wanted it to be. The most she had ran was a one time 10 miler and then other short distances as well. Not only that, she had some lingering injuries as well, so she felt a little nervous about this race. I told to just stick by us and we will coast her in. Not only that, there were a few other runners that stuck with us for a good portion of the race that were feeding off each other's energy, including mine. It was a great comraderie for Jeff and myself as we were pacing the group. <br />
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Miles 1-4<br />
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In running half marathons, I myself call the first 4 miles my "warmup phase". Back when I PR'd my 2 half, I used this approach and it paid off in the end. Different story today since I was pacing. Not only that, this course had a a lot of H I L L S. Even though I was still warming up, I was getting a fill for how the course was set out. The first couple of miles were relatively flat until mile 2.5 going into 3 and just shy of 4. One of the things I loved about pacing today, was I felt a little bit like a tour guide. As we passed up some beautifully structured homes and nice looking land features, I personally was taken in by it. So to keep the other runners enthused, I made light of the run and cracked some jokes about these "mansions" belonging to rockstars, Jeff even chimed in and made some jokes as well. After the 5k mark, per Jeff's Garmin, I hollered out the the group, by then was a handful of women and one other dude that we've hit the 3.1 miles and that we got 10 more to go. The one guy in the group was slowly inching his was past us and kindly thanked us for keeping the pace. That and later he would need us as he was tiring down. I told him, that's what we're here for.<br />
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Miles 5-8<br />
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While the group Jeff and I were pacing was winding down, it was mainly just me, him, and Heather running together, and keeping her occupied with the run. As I mentioned before, this was her first half, so her mechanisms were unsorted at the time. She had asked me prior to the race starting if it was ok to walk part of the run if needed. I told that I've done it before and that there is nothing to be embarrassed about it. She had said that she wasn't going to do that and if she had to, she could shuffle step. I reassurred her that this was common in most long distant races such as this. By mile 6, Heather was beginning to struggle with her foot as she had her toe wrapped up and that it was bothering her foot. After the one and only split mark in the race has occured, Heather had to stop and readjust. Jeff took the initiative to stop and help her out. It didn't seem like it took long for them to reset, but by mile 7.5 going into 8, they were right back in the race just booking along. For the brief stint I was pacing by myself, I had a chance to chat with one lady runner who had said that this was her 35th half marathon she has ran. I humbly told her that she's got me beat by 30, and that I admired her talent for running that many races. This I have to say was the 2nd toughest part of the race. This was where the biggest portion of the hills had occurred. The wind for the most part was going in and out, depending on the direction we were going. Still again, for that part of the race, it had come down to just me, Jeff, and Heather just chit chatting about the race, our lives, family, etc.. Great conversation guys!!<br />
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Miles 9-13.1 (finish)<br />
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As we we're coming up the same hill we had gone down on from mile 4, we were basically looping it back to finishline. At that point, I starting struggling with my gait, and maintaining form. My haunted battle injury from past races came back with a vengence as my IT Band reared it's ugly head. I yelled out to Jeff to take the pace flag and take off so I could stretch out my leg/knee. He told to stretch and hold for 30 seconds and I would be fine. Sound advice well taken. After shrugging it off and climbing that big hill the WIND at my face, I was able to catch up to them at around the 15k (9.3 mile) mark. At that point, what comes down, must come up. Yes, that happened in this case as we climbed some hills heading back to the finishline. Unfortunately, that triggered my IT band to roll or mess up again. Stopped and stretched one more time and then I jogged to catch up with Jeff and Heather as they took off. I was able to catch up with them at mile 11.5ish going into 12. I told Jeff that I had a job to do, and I was not going to sit out on it. That same stretch, thank God was flat, but it wasn't easy to maintain much less gain speed. This race was a definite make you or break you kind of course. If the hills didn't get you, the wind surely did. The thing that motivated me to catch up to Jeff and Heather was the fact that I was indeed a pacer and that I had runners counting on me to help them. I was no use to them if I couldn't do my duty. That alone fueled me to ignore the pain in my leg, which by then had surprisingly subsided and also ignore that crazy head wind that could've easily knocked anybody over. <br />
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Once I caught up to Jeff, he had encouraged me greatly by calling me "Timmaay" and getting me to keep pushing. I told him, I was gonna run this time in with him cuz we were the pacers and we finish together. As we reached the cutoff to the finishline, he said that we had less than 2 minutes to hit our pace time and that we needed to gut this out. Talk about motivation, he grabbed a piece of the pace flag, and so did I as we paced step for step into the finishline with an exact 2:30 finish. <br />
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After we crossed, I felt a great since of pride in this race not only accomplishing yet another half marathon finish, but the pride I felt in overcoming an obstacle on the course and catching back up. Mostly the pride I felt in being a pacer. <br />
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After I got my finishers medal, pics, and snack stuff, I mingled with the other pacers and runners. High 5's all around, and just a great feeling of having a great race today, overall. Despite the hills we climbed, the wind we dealt with, and even a slight injury that slowed me down for a what seemed like a brief moment, I couldn't have asked for a better race to run. I definitely walked away with a greater appreciation for running hills.<br />
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I was greatful for the friends I have met along the way that were at this race, it was a blessing of a reunion, and after today, some new friends I was happy to have made. Words can not truly express of how grateful I was for this race. Can't wait to do this again.<br />
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Me with my pace flag, and medal. Sorry it got cut off</div>
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The pace team. See if you can find me.. </div>
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From right to left. Me, Clay, Jeff, Heather, and Rick (another awesome pacer)</div>
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Here's a closeup of the bling. Big isn't it? </div>
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Back to the routine of this running thing. I think I've found my calling in the sport. I loved pacing today. It was nice to take a step back and remember where I had started from way back when. It was great seeing runners set PRs and running their first halfs today and knowing we as pacers helped them achieve their respective accomplishments. More to come on May 5, when I pace the 2:20 group at the Heels and Hills half marathon.... To be continued</div>
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Stay awesome frunners.....</div>
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!</div>
Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-68828968546944079172013-02-25T12:51:00.001-08:002013-02-25T12:54:04.095-08:00The Cowtown Marathon 2013<br />
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Race Report:<br />
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Must start at the very beginning of the weekend when Stacie and I attended the marathon expo at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. Putzed around, got my race packet, bought some stuff, and back home we came. I had wanted to sign up for the challenge that Cowtown offers, but this was the last year of the 5 year challenge that started in 2009. Ooops.. big messup with the communication from the staff, so I wound with a plaque to only place one medal in it. So, I'm now in the process of turning it back in and starting over with the new challenge beginning next year and ending in 2016. I've already seen a preview of what the bling(s) and plaque will look like, and I like it. Can't wait to run this challenge again. <br />
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Like I said, we didn't really stay long for the expo, just long enough to get my packet and buy a few things. Gu, bumper stickers, you know, basic stuff..<br />
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Me driving us to the expo. I figured since this was western style setting kinda of run, I thought I'd break out the old lid and rock it for the day.</div>
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When in Texas..... </div>
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Me standing outside the expo stand. Yes, to my Houston peeps, I'm wearing a Bucee's shirt</div>
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Cowboy Up!!</div>
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Stacie next to the Cowgirl hall of fame statue</div>
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I may be a city slicker for the most part, but deep down, I am a Texan, and I do have some country/cowboy in me. I've ridden a horse or two in my day, and I've worked a ranch before. Good times</div>
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Me and Stacie out by the water fountain by the museum</div>
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And here we are striking poses!!</div>
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and now...</div>
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Race Day!</div>
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After all of the training, tapering, and even carb loading, I felt deep down that I was confident in the way I was going to handle this marathon. Surprisingly, I was able to get to bed early enough on Saturday night at around 8:30, thanks to a benadryl and a hot shower to help me relax. I got up at 4am sharp, because I had told Stacie that I wanted to go to the Sunrise service that the Cowtown peeps had organized. I got up, let the dogs out, fed them, the usual with them. After all of our morning routines in the past and after getting ready for races in the past, we were able to get going by 5am. Traffic heading into Fort Worth, Texas was should I say, easy... Compared to all of the times I have driven out to Dallas for races out there, this was a much better, less stressful kind of morning getting to the race. I love Fort Worth!! I was able to get FREE parking at the Farrington Field parking lot, which was across the street from the Will Rogers Plaza where the race was held. Stacie and I felt somewhat spoiled by that. Crossed the street and over to the Round up inn room for the Sunrise service. There, I met up with some dailymile friends, Barbi and Darrell. My other DM friend Gary, was onstage leading worship with the Redeemer Church and Travis Avenue Baptist church as put on one great morning of worship and music....Awesome. Great words of encouragement as I meditated on what got me to this point and how God has shown me how great he is. Mostly, how I have learned throughout my training how I have to sometimes "persevere" and go beyond my own limits, as in my comfort zone when it comes to just my ordinary training. My other favorite word was used during the service, and that was "endurance", same thing as perseverance... which I just happen to have Hebrews 12:1 tattooed on my right calf... Let us RUN with perseverance the race marked for us... I got that tattoo two years ago when I PR'd in my 2nd half marathon by 20 minutes. It has been my go to verse, not just in running, but in life.</div>
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I confess, lately, I have been struggling with my own personal faith, and it has spilled over into my everyday life. Maybe even in my training. I do know one thing, I can be forgiven as I strengthen my relationship with God, and his son Jesus Christ.</div>
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Sunrise service!! There's Gary up on stage playing the guitar</div>
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Left pic, me and Barbi, and me and Gary on the right. I didn't get a chance to get a pic with Darrell, Barbi's running buddy, but he's an awesome runner as well and finished the half in 2:40. This run, in fact was Barbi's first half marathon to date, so she was a little nervouse about it. Through encouragement from myself and other DM friends along the way, Barbi made it with a stellar 2:56, and Gary completed the full marathon with a new PR in 4:06. Wtg guys<br />
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Once sunrise let out, I was waiting out by the area where the expo was held, trying to get a spot in line for the restroom. My morning concoction of a banana, gatorade, and a hot tea was kicking in. While waiting, my boy Clay aka, "The Nite Train" showed up and we said our hellos and chatted for a bit. He was nervous as he was in full pursuit of that sub 4 hour marathon. He made it in 4:30, and he was a little discouraged. He still did a great job running his 3rd marathon. Someday, Nite Train, you'll hit the streets of Boston.. I have faith in that, my friend.<br />
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Timmaay and the Nite Train roll again</div>
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I didn't want to wait forever for the line to use the restroom indoors, so I settled for the porta potty outside. Before heading out the door, I ran into another DM couple, Mike aka "America Mike" and his wife Kathleen. They are inspiring, as Kathleen herself has made it a mission to run a half marathon every month for the entire year of her current age. She's rocking it 13.1 miles at a time. Once I was done handling business in the porta john, the gun had gone off for the elites and fasties to take off first. I was in corral 4, so it took a while for the group I was with to take off. Not to panic, I had plenty of time to get to my corral and start. One thing I love about Cowtown compared to White Rock, the lines went through a lot easier and not so much of a push and shove. I got to my corral and gave Stacie a smooch and was inching my way to the starting line. Just my luck, I ran into yet another DM couple that I met a couple of years ago at another race I did. I heard my name being called out and it was Chris B. and his wife Anne. Same Chris that I've ran into at just about every race since last year, and the same Chris that is training for Western States. I met this great couple back in Labor Day of 2011. Another inspiring couple as well. I have to say, yesterday's race was a blessing being able to meet a lot of DM friends, some I've grown to know as my second family.</div>
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Here I am in the corral as we were moving forward. There's me in the doorag and shades. Chris is standing in front of me while Anne is off to my left in the light blue top.</div>
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My last pose and time I saw Stacie before I took off for the run. Felt good, and was ready to roll</div>
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and now, I'm off</div>
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As my corral finally got up close to start and was going, I felt cool, calm, and relaxed about this race. The fact that I was running a marathon was in the back of my mind, and that I could do this. I kept the strategy simple: Start out slow, and work my way up to a comfortable speed and then slow it back down towards the end, gain my second wind, and finish strong. No matter the distance, that's how I've always trained for every race. Given that it was a marathon, I wanted to stay at a comfortable pace, then gradually hit those negative splits. So, to start, I had chatted with Chris and Anne, then we all wished each other luck and went our own ways. Anne nailed a sub 2 in the half, and Chris nailed a 4:30 something in the 50k. Wtg Barnwell's. As they took off, I was in my own little zone until I came behind yet my other DM brother, Bal aka MoFo. As we always do in races, I gave him a smack on his butt, and he hollered out "wooohh" and then returned the favor. We had a good chat, then I took off as he stopped for his walk session of his run. Bal's training has paid off as he set another PR in 2:41 in the half. Wtg Mofo...</div>
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I was still running comfortably in my warming up phase, I met up with a gentlman named Ken, who was the 4:55 pace leader. My thought was to stay with him for a couple of miles, then take off as I felt the urge to. After a couple of miles and a series of hills, I felt warmed up enough to take off and go a little. My first split was at the 5k mark. I made it there by 34:14 (11:01 pace). To me, I felt like I was warming up, and my legs were adapting to the hills, and even some speed. By then, I was about 5 to 10 minutes ahead of Ken and was feeling comfortable with my pace and time. My goal was a 4:40-45 finish. Given the pace I was at, I was predicted at having a solid 4:50 finish. With that in my favor, I thought it was paying off for me to gradually step my game up and pick up speed. Sure enough, it slowly did as my next split was at the 10k mark where I reached it at 1:06:39 (10:43 pace). I felt good with that pace as I was passing people up and wasn't being passed in return. At mile just as the course was leading into the stockyards, I witnessed the first fall of the day. An older gentleman tripped himself up and hit the pavement face first. He suffered a busted forehead. Me and a couple of other runners helped him up and flagged a police officer down to bring in a medic. He was able to rest in a nearby SUV who's driver had the back gate open and he could sit there while he was putting ice on his head. He assured that he was fine. I was so close to withdrawing my race just to make sure he did do any serious damage. He told me he was fine and that I needed to go, so I did. As I took off, I met up with a lady who witnessed it as well and asked me if he was ok. I told her he was fine and she herself almost tripped over a pot hole in the road. I reached my arm out to grab her, and she regained her balance. We chatted and off we went. She paced with me until she gained her pace back and pretty much flew through the stock yards. </div>
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Right after the stock yards was the first big hill, which was a bridge. It was over by the Stock yards, and I can't remember the name of the bridge or street, but it lead into downtown Fort Worth, and over to LaGrave field, home of the Ft Worth Cats. That bridge lead was mile mark 9 going into 10. At that point, my left started to bother me. For once, it wasn't my PF, but the top of my foot. I was happy with my time as I was pacing at around 10:30-11, and climbed yet another hill. For the most part, the Cowtown course was flat. Some hills, but not as hilly as some of the races I've done in Dallas. Just before mile 10, as we were going into downtown and taking that scenic tour, I witnessed yet another falling in the course. That person was yours truly, as I was trucking along, I didn't see that huge orange cane standing right in front of me. So, we collided and I fell over an slide a couple of feet. I think my hands were the first to catch myself on the ground and thought I had scraped them. Lucky for me, it was on the smoothest part of the pavement that I fell on. I just happened to be next to a DJ stand as he yell out on his mic "man down, man down".. Needless to say, I was a little embarrassed about it. Thank you to the kind runners that helped me back up. Surprisingly, with just the feeling of my hands being on fire, I was able to bounce right back and run at the pace I was going. Around the next corner leading to the Fort Worth Convention center, the Half Marathon runners split off from the Marathon and Ultra runners. On my way to the split, I hollered out to the half marathoners "good luck halfies, this is your race"! One runner high 5ed me and wish the full and ultras good luck as well. </div>
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Going into mile 11, I was clocked at 1:57, based off my watch, so a 10:30, almost 11 minute pace was just right for me. Mile 12 was a bit of a blur as the runners out on the course was thinning out some. I realized I was running in the back of the pack, which I didn't have a problem with, I was just blessed to be running yet another marathon, and I was feeling confident that I was going to get a PR one way or another. My next split was at the half marathon (mile 13.1) mark at 2:19:38 (10:39 pace). I say in all confidence, not bragging, but the first half of the race felt easy. Not that I'm being over confident, or cocky, but I can run a half marathon given a certain time frame, and without hesitation. Since my next big race is a half marathon, and I will be one of the 2:20 pacers, I wanted to alse get a feel for how I could pace my group in may. To me, it was a success. The next 7 miles, were yet another blur to me. Most of it was flat, and by then the course went from going through downtown Fort Worth and into the suburbs. I do recall at around mile 19, my left leg was feeling uncomfortable. I couldn't tell if it was a cramp, or if my IT band was acting up, I had to stop and stretch for a brief moment. I felt a little discomfort in my left hamstring when I tried to stretch it. I had made it to another area just before mile 20 and asked where the nearest medical tent was to see about my leg. Not only was my leg bothering me, but so was my foot from when I was had that difficulty at mile 9. Stupid me ignored the pain and kept moving. I regretted that decision, because at that point, I was walk, jog, hobble mode. I also couldn't tell if it was the PF or my feet being sore from breaking into my new shoes I got recently. All of that showed in my next split at mile 20, which was the last split before the finishline. I made it there in 3:44:18 with an 11:13 pace. Ok, so a 4:55 finish would still give me a PR. Just my luck, Ken, the 4:55 pacer passed me up, and I felt discouraged from that point on. As much I wanted to run, my left leg was not cooperating. </div>
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I'm almost convinced that it was the dreaded WALL I had hit, I don't really know. I do know that I had a race to finish, and I was not about to quit. From that mile mark up to mile 25, I did the walk, jog, hobble mix up. I got to 25 and was ever so thankful to find a medical tent and asked on the nurses to wrap my foot up. By then, I was feeling my left foot on fire, moreso than my right. So I got it wrapped to relieve some of the inflammation, and help with my form some. Lucky for me it did. I had 1.2 miles to and was ready to cross the finish line. I didn't want stop for nothing. By then, I was having trouble getting oxygen into my body and my chest felt congested. So I did the marathon shuffle. I knew where I was at as I was along the trinity trails, seeing the back side of the Will Rogers facility and mile mark "26". I got the encouragement from spectators and other runners that had finished cheering me and the other runners on that the finishline is just around the corner, and not to quit. I made that last right turn and saw the finishline in my sights. So, I had it in me like every runner does, and that was to gun it towards the finish. That I did. I heard a runner ahead me get her name called out that she was from Bedford, Tx (same town I live in), and then as I crossed I heard my name. </div>
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After that, I don't remember much except seeing a medic and collapsing before I could get to her. It was a mixture of being emotionally spent from the race, and also my left knee going out from under me. I got helped up by two other medics as one was saying to just keep my legs moving. I was telling them to get my wife because she was on the left of the finish post waiting for me. They said they would get her. Just before the medics moved me to the medical area, I stopped and got my finishers pic, and medal. Made it to the medical area, gave them my name and information, symptoms, etc. I was trying to spell my last out to them, and low and behold, a church friend of mine, Melanie who is a nurse for UNTHSC, which is the group the Cowtown Marathon does charity for. She was able to assist better because she knew me. They quickly got me to a bed, and I told her to call Stacie and get her to the medic area. As they got my vital signs, they were also getting fluids in me and assessing the damage. I told them I had felt a little lightheaded and my left leg from the knee down was sore. I explained to them that I felt it give out as I crossed the line. </div>
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After I gained my bearings, Stacie had made it over to my bed, and greeted me with a hug and asked if I was ok. I told her I was fine and that I had gotten a little dizzy and that my leg gave out. I continued to rest some more and get more fluids in me, then a medic noticed that I got the wrong medal. They gave me a half marathon finishers medal before I got my pic taken. Oops. So, they went and got a correct medal. I was offered an IV bag, and I refused it because I felt fine enough to walk and move around, and that I wasn't running anymore. Afterwards, I went through the refreshment area, loaded up on some chocolate milk and a banana. No beer this time because I couldn't find any and to be honest, I didn't really want any. From there, Stacie and I made it to the staging area where the runners reunite with there families. Just my luck, I ran into Chris and Anne again and sat for a bit. I also ran into another DM friend Joshua, another beast of a runner. He nailed a respectable time at the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler a few weeks ago to come to Cowtown and run the 50k. Ultra runners, mad love guys, yall are awesome. Stacie took my bib and went over to the tables and got me my finishers tee, and I love it. I even slept in it last night. LOL</div>
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Me and Chris. And I'm rocking the finishers tee.</div>
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Me and the "bite" on my bling.. Yes the full marathon finishers bling</div>
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Me and Stacie....and the bling</div>
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My finish time was 5:20:38 with a 12:12 pace. Given that it was my second marathon, and that I didn't finish in the time I wanted, I am pleased with the fact that knowing if my mechanics hadn't failed on me, I would have finished in a much better time. I know deep down I could have done it. To prove it, I plan on running this race next year, because I really liked this course, the people, and everyone who volunteered and worked tirelessly at setting this up. I said to myself last night as I was having dinner with my wife and mom, that I will probably settle for just doing half marathons and 10ks from now on. Since the warm weather season is coming back, that will be feasible for me, and I don't have a problem with that. I still like to run the longest distances I possibly can, and will not give up on running full marathons. I feel a lot stronger in this race than I did when I ran my first marathon. Amazing what a year off from being injured can do to a runners spirit as they learn from it. My next race is the Heels and Hills half marathon, and I like I said before, I'll be pacing the 2:20 group. Lots of fun to be had that day.</div>
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This is been a great journey yet again. I can't wait to turn the page of yet another chapter.</div>
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Just a token of what happened when I fell over that cone that came out of nowhere.</div>
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And last the tat. My go to verse before every big race. </div>
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-27374310738599667702013-02-17T19:51:00.003-08:002013-02-17T19:51:41.666-08:00Pre race stuff. Or, something like thatI've been meaning to post a blog since New Year's Eve. It seems that everyone jumped on the bandwagon and blogged about how good or bad 2012 was for them. Sorry for being late on that, but believe it or not, I had intended to do the same until my computer crashed halfway through my post I was writing and I lost everything I wrote. As semi-buzzed as I was, I was in no mood to restart the damn thing.<br />
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In short, 2012 sucked, and I'm so glad it's over. It sucked in my personal day to day life, and even so in my running activities. Somewhere in the mix, those two lives crossed paths and I ended up feeling 20 pounds heavier, more depressed, and most of all, a failure. My resolution was to stop making excuses and just do it..so I did!!<br />
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So far, 2013 has been a complete opposite, and I say that with all humbled-ness. January was good to me in the since that I ran my latest PR of 160 miles for the month, beating out my old record of 146 in October of 2011. I've worked up a mixture of combined training plans that adapted well for me. I mixed a bit of how Jeff Galloway's training works for marathon runners, along with some of Hal Higdon's plan. I started out with a base line of 7 miles a day M-Th, rest Friday, and a long run (12 miles and up) on Saturdays. Then as an option, a short 3 mile "recovery" run on Sundays. Overall, the schedule was a success. Not so much for the distance, but for my overall fitness, I wasn't as tired as I was before. I even added speed runs, and doubles on Thursdays, and was excited seeing 40 plus miles on a consistent basis each week. As a footnote, 3 days a week, I've spent time in the gym doing strength training. In the past when I trained for previous races, I hardly ever saw the gym. I made that change. I have to say, it's helped.....quite a bit. <br />
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February has been a good month as well. I'm excited about the fact that a week from today, I will embark on yet another 26.2 outing. This time, instead of Dallas, it's on the streets of Ft. Worth, TX at the Cowtown Marathon. I did the 10k run back in 2011, and I loved it. I'm very excited to take this challenge on. I'm also happy to say, that I feel 10x healthier about this race than I did when I ran my first marathon in December of 2011. I had mentioned above that I had gained 20 pounds over the past year, well, I've lost 18 of them. So for now, I am satisfied with the way my training, eating, and overall health is going. <br />
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Here's me on Christmas Day chowing on a cinnamon roll as my wonder pooch, Corkie is looking on. Desperately hoping I would drop a crumb or a piece for her. My weight was in the 240's for sure</div>
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At my last weigh in, and busting out 18 miles that weekend, I am back down to 222. Not where I want to be, but I am doing the slow and steady approach as my weight is coming off, and staying off.</div>
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One thing I've discovered in the world of fitness, is that we are all creatures of habits and mistakes are easy to make. I, once again would like to thank my awesome wife, Stacie for showing me this as she struggled as well this past year. I would post pics of her recent transformation, but she will not give me any pics to share. Totally respect that. I will say, I am 100% proud of her as she herself has lost 16 lbs since January 4. That day, she met up with my PT coach, and has been trained by him ever since. She has also taken up running as a way of working out. Pretty much like I did. Excited as well for the fact that we as a couple are doing a race together in April. The Color Run 5k on Saturday, April 6. She started with the couch to 5k program, and is now up to running a mile at a time without stopping. I smile everytime she posts on facebook about her recent successes with this great sport. I'm always taken back to when and how I first got started in this great sport. </div>
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I really meant to post this blog about the ultimate highs I have felt so far this year, I almost don't want to spoil it. Other than to say that I am happy with the ways things are going for me. Not just me, but my wife, friends, and family. 2013 is rocking hard so far, and I don't want it to end. For all of my DailyMile friends that are running Cowtown next weekend, I'll cya there. Look for a goofy guy in a cowboy hat. </div>
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-72556960820112715852012-12-10T21:36:00.002-08:002012-12-10T21:36:56.170-08:00Dallas Half MarathonRace Report:<br />
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The Dallas Mayor's 5k</div>
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If this past weekend of December 8 and 9 could be summed up in one word, I would say "unorthodoxed". Starting from Saturday morning with the Dallas Mayor's 5k. Going into this weekend with all of the activities, I decided to challenge myself, so I ran the 5k on Saturday followed by the Half Marathon on Sunday. Off to a good start, ended with a bang! <br />
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The 5k was utilized as a warm up before Sunday. My whole idea of doing it was to just "jog" the 3.1 mile "fun run". Didn't happen. Before the start of the race, I met up with a fellow Dailymiler and good friend Bal aka "MoFo". Funny how a lot of my DM friends all have nicknames. We've earned them. Bal brought his two youngest kids Diego and Sophia, and also another friend of his Rudy to walk all walk the 5k. Bal has the fortunate privilege to work for Oncor, which is a co-corporate sponsor of the Race, along with Cigna who also sponsored the race as well. I even got the privilege to meet in a small world kind of way, the VP over a department of Oncor, Mark Carpenter. When I say small world, I've known Mark and his family for 15 years. As I was growing up in Irving, I went to his church and school with his kids. Like I said, small world. Very appreciative of what this race is encouraging for today's youth in regards to getting fit and being healthy. I honestly wish I had something like this when I was a youngster. I also had the pleasure of "briefly" meeting the former mayor of Dallas, Laura Miller who started up this organization that has been going on for the last couple of years as part of the Dallas Marathon, formerly the White Rock Marathon. <br />
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The Mayor's Race consisted of a 1 mile fun run or walk, and the 5k run/walk. I opted of course to run the 5k. In my experience before in running another 5k, and it being a kid friendly environment, 9 times out of 10, it can be a challenge at times. Don't take this as a complaint, but when I'm in my "zone" and being surrounded by kids that are walking or run/stop/run/walk motion, you almost trip over them at times. This year's race was the first year to utilize the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge, which is a new addition to the Dallas area. It almost replicates the Big Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, but a lot smaller. The race itself kicked off at 9:00 am with the 1 mile fun taking off first. Once completed, the 5k runners and walkers took off. It was like playing the "waiting game" almost with getting the 1 milers to come back and then the 5ker's take off. Standing around for almost 30 minutes (what felt like) was playing hell on my hips and feet. I wanted to run already. Again, I'm not complaining, but there were some things about this race that could've been done better to make this race a lot smoother. Just saying. After the 1 mile runners and walkers came back, it was time for the 5k to start. As the race directors and Laura Miller herself were making the anouncements over the loud speakers, I think one of them blew because it was hard to hear. LOL!! At that point, I was like screw this, just shoot the gun off and go run. <br />
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Gun goes off, and it was like opening the doors at the department stores on Black Friday. Kids, parents, teachers, runners, etc were swarming out like bees. It was a little crazy. It took the first mile to get passed the biggest part of the crowd that started out by walking or going out too fast then stopping. Pace yourself, kids... Pace yourself. I heard the whining about sides hurting, I saw other kids being pushed down, and one favorite, an adult walking up the hill to the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge, then turning around and coming back. Again, these are just occaisional flaws that happen sometimes with 5k races. Not that I'm saying I'm better than those people, because I'm not. In fact, I was "them" 3 years ago, so in a way I have sympathy for them. Like any 5k fashion, you start, you warmup, you peak, then you gun it home. My best non-race 5k has been around 25 minutes, which was on a treadmill, so I didn't have the luxury of kids getting in front of me and slowing me down. Like I said, beautiful scenery from the MHH bridge, and slight little tour of Dallas. On the loop back to the finish line, I saw Bal, and he gave a smack on my ass as a motivator. Hey, football players do it, why can't us runners? hmmm?!?!?!After that, it was back up the hill on the MHH bridge again and back to the finishline. Followed by a nice little party afterwards with some grub and fellowship with Bal, his friends, family....good times.<br />
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This video was actually taken during the Half I ran, part of the same route.</div>
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View of the bridge from the parking lot of the race.</div>
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Me and Bal aka MoFo actin' a fool!! That's how we roll!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtg6D-5DyYFxvEZmlsYrC4ch3Lyb6PsRpqbLPNk_SXL28mttrEOLneKx8UQoqofv292vX_cvPS52E32WetY_D7W2bXx29QzRmPCqoE2zXb3SdmFu21XoUF_cM3HKMJheGBJ_r04tWx4ebY/s1600/74d45fca522edb1e309456a2ac8fb160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtg6D-5DyYFxvEZmlsYrC4ch3Lyb6PsRpqbLPNk_SXL28mttrEOLneKx8UQoqofv292vX_cvPS52E32WetY_D7W2bXx29QzRmPCqoE2zXb3SdmFu21XoUF_cM3HKMJheGBJ_r04tWx4ebY/s320/74d45fca522edb1e309456a2ac8fb160.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Bal and his two youngest kiddos, Diego and Sophie. They are awesome. His lil homies!!</div>
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The Bling!! Actually, it was Rudy's bling. I just did the traditional "bite" after finishing a race.</div>
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The Dallas Half Marathon</div>
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Part two of the race! I don't know really where to begin with this other than, I showed up, and I finished it. On a serious note, I went into this race with a huge chip on my shoulder. Ever since last month, the weekend before Thanksgiving, my wife and I lost our baby that we were expecting via miscarriage. It's been hard for me to talk about it, but it's just an everyday thing where we just take it one step at a time. As a sense of pride and humor, we had planned to make a race shirt for me to wear that said "future dad" on the front with a arrow pointing up at me. Aside from this unplanned event, 2012 has seen the worst of me in my running. From ITBS to PF, and lots of missed training runs and races that I really wanted to do. Through recoveries and massage therapy, I managed to get back on my feet and completed some other redemption races. The only complaint I have for those races was the weather, which in fact was a problem yesterday with the half and full marathon runners.</div>
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Saturday night, I met up with Bal again, and also another good DM buddy of mine Clay, aka "The Nite Train". Again, we all earned our nicknames. This was a chance for DM members to meet up and carb load as we usually do the night before races. It was just the three of us along with Bal's two youngest kids, and also his oldest daughter Eva. Lots of laughs, good pasta, and good times. I think me, Bal, and Clay have been officially dubbed, "Larry, Curly, and Moe"... not all in that order, per Bal. LOL. We all gave each other encouragement and bottom lined it by saying if we don't get the PR's we want, then let's just go out and run our race, and have fun.</div>
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Sal's Pizza and Pasta. Thanks Bal for introducing this restaurant to me. Loved this place. Great food and friendly atmosphere!</div>
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The three of us. (L to R) Me, Clay, and Bal</div>
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Race Day!</div>
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Got up at 530 and got ready, which included taking my 2 dogs out, feeding them, crating them, and then out the door by 6. I had originally thought of the driving out the American Airlines Center, park there and then catch the DART rail to the Dallas Convention Center where the race started. Didn't happen. Stacie and I decided to play it safe, and just drive out to the DCC and park there. Aside from sitting in the parking lot of traffic, this was the better idea to do. Paid the $12 for parking and not even a 10 minute walk to the starting line. PERFECT!!</div>
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I missed the meetup Clay had actually put together on DM, so I missed out on meeting anybody else I had planned to meet. I had also coordinated somewhat with my dear friends the Parker's, Bill and Lynn. Lynn was on tap to run the Full marathon as well, and we had worked out a way to see if we could meetup. AND, we actually did later when she crossed the finishline. Great run Lynn!! :) As I've mentioned before in previous blogs, I've known the Parker's for 10 years and counting. Lynn was actually my inspiration to get into running. She's my "honorary" coach so to speak. </div>
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Inside the DCC. Where's my DM peeps? LOL</div>
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All by my wonesome!! No DM buddies :( I has a sad. Ok, I'm being a dork!!</div>
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In true fashion, we had the National Anthem sung, then the elites, wheelchair runners, and the first corral runners go, then the next corral, and so forth. As the corrals were moving up, I actually ran into one DM friend. Same friend I met at a race last year, Chris B. Last year, he PR'd in the DWR marathon, and now recently, he got in to run the WS (Western States) 100 miler. It's like the Boston Marathon of Trail Running. WTG, Chris. We said our hellos, best of lucks, and then off we went.</div>
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I was in corral B, so I didn't cross the starting line until about 8 minutes into the time of the race begining. Started out with an easy 10 minute mile warmup for the first couple of miles, and then my plan was to progress my pace after the 5k mark. As luck wouldn't have it, mother nature had a better plan.Temps were in the low 60, but the humidity was at 93%. Not a good mixture when running a race, no matter what the distance. The idea of my initial PR went out the window immediately. Plus, the unfortunately discomfort of running faster than I should have at the 5k the day before didn't help either. I started having some soreness in my quads after mile 4, but at the pace I was at (10:00ish), I felt ok if I could just maintain that. By mile 6, and after crossing over the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge which had a hill at the beginning, then a downward slope, plus a couple of other hills I went up and down on, my legs were on fire. the humidity didn't help much either. So at mile 6, just before the 10k mark, I stopped to stretch, and find the nearest waterstop which was no where in sight. The thing I didn't like the most about this particular race was that it had some turnaround points instead of loops, which I personally prefer. From about mile 5 to 7.5 was a long stretch of that seemed like it took forever before a waterstop or a turn at some point. Such a tease at one point when I saw a sign that said mile 8 when I was just crossing mile 6. UGH!! By then, I was at the point of dehydration, and mental exhaustion, or so it felt like it anyway. I'm not a fan of running in humid weather. So, the walk/jog combo came into effect. In a way, I feel as if KARMA was playing a role after I was complaining about the Mayor's race the day before. I deserved it. </div>
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Miles 8-10 were a bit of a blur, after I came back from the turnaround which was where the Full marathoners split and went on towards White Rock Lake and on the way to the finish line. I think it was around mile 10.5 or 11, I met up with another DM friend Keisha, aka move4ward...still amazes me of our DM nicknames. Again, much earned. She did an awesome job pacing the 2:30 group for the half runners or as she calls it the "half-assers". We chatted, and she encouraged me just as I needed it. Thanks Keisha. :) </div>
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Miles 11 - Finish were met with yet some ups and downs. Again, with exhaustion setting in, my memory was fuzzy by then. I do recall at around mile 11 as we were yet going up another dreaded hill, there was a cop directing traffic who let a couple of cars drive by which led some of us to stop for a brief moment. Really occifer...you had to do that? As one runner stated "we worked hard to get here, they didn't" Amen to that! Then, coming to the home stretch, another young lady who was running doubled over and puked a couple of times. Her mother, I assume was helping her move and keeping her focused on finishing. I encouraged her that a good puke is all you need to keep going. AND, she did. Mile 12 and going to the finish met with a tease via another fricking turnaround that seemed like it took forever to finish. Usually at the point where I see the finish line, I get that burst of energy to give it the last bit of gas to cross and finish strong. Didn't happen. Just the fact that I finished at that point was enough for me. </div>
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After I crossed the line, my lovely wife was standing at the spot she said she would be at. She hollered got my attention and got a little video of me with a smile of a victory cuz I finished my race. I had to take that dreaded walk all the way around and up a flight of stairs and to the recovery area where I toasted with a cold MGD 64, a banana, and even some chocolate milk. At that point, I just wanted to hurry back to the other side of the DCC was where my wife was at. I quickly texted her and told her sit tight and I would be right there. Got my finishers tee, and went back around and thankfully down an escilator to where Stacie was and got that sweet hug and smooch I had been waiting for. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwRgjhOpeSy8unpWvjDGgv3gmUNCP2TLz8s9HkoiTEDyfxQlrCE4z0YLkGm4p5dc-1QyL8duHHUJlbW8ydV' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Here's me at the finishline. </div>
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Me and Stacie reunited. And I gots some bling</div>
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Timmaay was hongree. That sammich was good!! Nom Nom Nom</div>
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One tired Timmaay!! I has a sad from not getting a PR, but I'm happy I finished and didn't DNF. </div>
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Silly pose with the bling again</div>
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And our buddy Lynn and her bling. She finished in 3:56. Wtg Lynn! :)</div>
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I could real easily make a long list of excuses of why I ran lousy yesterday. Then I realized it wouldn't do me any good. I could blame the weather, but I've trained and ran in worse conditions for longer distances. I could blame poor nutrition, but I've ran faster and better on a much poorer diet than what I've had this week to prepare for this race. Again, won't do me any good. I just realized going into this race with that chip on my shoulder, and not feeling the excitement I had when I ran my first race, even last year when I did my first marathon. Yesterday was just a mere "off" day for me, and for some of my other friends that ran yesterday. I'm taking this with me as I prepare for the next race. 2 months from now when I toe the line at the Cowtown marathon, this will be a faded memory. Here's to a better recovery and a new lease on my prespective. Time to get the love back that I have lost. </div>
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Official Chip times</div>
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Mayor's race 5k 29:15</div>
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Dallas Half Marathon 2:43</div>
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I'm not finished yet!! Next race please</div>
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-60808801134948590862012-12-02T19:25:00.001-08:002012-12-02T19:25:36.517-08:0030 Days!`November 1-30. Thirty days where people have made an often fun and rewarding challenge of saying one thing everyday for the month of November of what they are thankful for, and post it via Facebook. Better known as the "30 Days of Thankfulness". I myself participated in this last year, and then decided not to do it this year. Unfortunately with this challenge, I heard complaints from family because I never mentioned certain family members of why I was thankful. Some people just complain because they complain. Oh well, deal with it!! So. I decided this year I wasn't going to justify myself and let others win, so I participated. To make everyone "happy", I showed my grattitude to certain individuals first just so they can get their spotlight and be done with. Didn't happen. Still heard the complaints. As I pondered about it, I realized I am thankful for those complaints as well. I say that because it made me appreciate the negativity in my life and how much I needed to get rid of it. So I did!!<br />
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This month, started out very exciting as I was thankful for changes of the season, friends, family, the basics at first. As the challenge continued, I was trying so hard not to repeat myself, and luckily I didn't. As many of my close friends know, my wife and found out back in mid October that we were expecting our first baby. Knowing that I was a proud father to be, I was beyond excited. The first couple of weeks after us finding out about our pregnancy, we were met with some complications early on, and weren't for sure what was happening. Started with us not knowing exactly how far along Stacie was, and blood levels not "jiving" with how far we thought she was, etc. etc.. So thankfully, one week in early November, we met with the OBGYN and we determined we were roughly 4 weeks. Ultrasound even indicated the baby was doing great and I was very thankful for that. Thankful that my future baby was healthy and mommy to be was doing good too. As the 30 day challenge was going on, I indicated how extremely thankful I was for that. <br />
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That little dot was mine and Stacie's precious angel growing. Sorry for sounding like a broken record, but I was grinning from ear to ear that day. As the weeks passed by, mommy to be was having difficulties. From spotting and bleeding almost everyday. Started out little then slowly got heavy by the following week after this U-Sound pic was taken. We made the decision to visit the ER to see what was going. Sparing the details, I'll make it short, we had an unfortunate miscarriage. That night was one the most difficult nights of my life to ever experience. To make a positive notion out of this, we decided to not let this get us down, and that there will be another chance for us to try for another baby when the time is right. <br />
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As unfortunate as this was, that particular day, I notated on FB that I was indeed thankful for my loving wife, Stacie. For 7 years roughly, including the time when we were just friends, to when dated, got engaged, and now married for the past 4 of those 7 years. She is my soulmate, and as emotionally painful as it was for us to go through what we went through, this brought us closer together. We spent a good time in grief, which slowly led to anger, and how now ended with a sense of peace and yet closure as well. We believe wholeheartedly, there will be another chance, and I'm sure by then, this memory of our first pregnancy being a loss, will be a distant memory.<br />
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As the month of November continued, I soon felt like there was no point to continue this challenge. I stated up above that we felt some peace, but there is still pain there. As other friends were thankful for the lives they had, I suddenly felt like I saw nothing else to be thankful for. Who wouldn't? We had our moments of tears and sorrow, just giving it time as all have said to do. So we are. <br />
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In other news, I'm a week away from running my 4th half marathon at the Dallas Marathon, formerly known as Dallas "White Rock" Marathon. I'm not going to mention my goal, as I've done in my passed blogs, and I wind up choking on my words. So, with that, I'm just going to show up Sunday, as I do for every race and just RUN. If I set a PR, it's set. If I finish in under 2 hours, then I do. Throughout the course of my training, this race is actually a training run in itself. In February, I plan to attempt my 2nd full marathon in Fort Worth at the Cowtown Marathon. This half I'm rolling out next Sunday will be a mere jump start for me to get a baseline going and get more distance runs in as part of my training. I'm confident this will all pay off in the end. <br />
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Now that December is upon us and the season is Tising to be Jolly, I am looking forward to a wonderful Christmas. More to come next weekend when Sunday the 9th becomes an EPIC day in itself.Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-2616355976882476012012-11-03T11:50:00.003-07:002012-11-03T11:50:57.992-07:00No Greater LoveI'm sure those of you that are believers and have read the bible know the verse that Jesus said when he mentioned that "no greater love than a man has than to lay down his life before his friends". I believe Jesus was quoting that as he performed the last supper before he was crucified. Not to say that this will happen to me or anyone else in the future, but that phrase greater love has rang true with me this past week.<br />
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Over the last couple of months, my immediate family (Me, Stacie, and our dogs) have gone through some changes. Labor day weekend, we made the decision to adopt a new pet for Corkie. We went through the Humane Society in Irving, where we looked at a couple of dogs that caught our attention, then we saw one that fit the bill, or at least we thought. When Stacie and I first arrived at the shelter, we came across a cute little pup, Pekinese(sp) breed named Odie. Him and Corkie got along great. We decided as a family, that not only would it be our decision, but Corkie's as well. Strange as it may sound, we ultimately wanted a new pet so she could have a play pal. It saddened us a lot of times when we would go visit family and other friends that had pets, and then come home to see Corkie so sad and lonely after a long day of playing with the others. So, as we took went to the shelter, Corkie went too. This facility has a fenced in yard that you can take your potential pet to and use as a grounds to get to know them, and see how they react. Well, at first, Odie and Corkie played hard and wore each other out. Just what we needed. Long story short, we took him home that night as part of the adoption process, then take him back later to get him neutered. Well, that first night and next day was a disaster. Corkie was not happy because Odie kept trying to dominate her by "humping" and even growling at her. There were a few times she showed teeth and was forceful a few times. Sorry pet lovers, but Corkie is my girl, and this daddy looks out for her well being. Stacie and I agreed to send him back and they understood. <br />
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On the other hand, that first day while we were looking and found Odie, we had also come across another pet that look to be an interesting candidate to take home as well. We had asked the staff at the shelter if there were any Shelties that we could look at. There were 2 available. One was an 11 year old on her last leg. OK!! Who does that to a dog? At that age, why do this to them? Then dog #2, was a sheltie mix. One look at this one, and I personally thougth, this could be it. A female, blue heeler, shetlie mix, almost same shape and size as Corkie, and just 3 years old. Maybe younger. Her name was Latte, as in Starbucks. At first, Corkie and Latte didn't take well to each, and hardly did anything together. Initially, Stacie had said that she didn't want that. I thought at first, "give them time". This made us decide on Odie first before bringing him back. When I brought him back, I told Stacie, we should consider bringing Latte home. I had that "connection" that I haven't had with a dog since my first dog Joey that I had from when I was 9 till he passed when I was 23. Something inside of me said to bring her home. Stacie had agreed, so with that in consideration, I asked the staff if Latte was still available. $50 later, she was ours. It has taken some time, but after the first week of getting to know her, and her getting to trust us, Latte has become a full fledged member of our household. Her and Corkie are literally like sisters. They play, they fuss, they look out for each other. In fact, one time, I had taken them to the dog park by my house, another dog attacked Corkie, and Latte did the sister thing and went after the dog that first attacked Corkie. Everyday is a joy to come home and see them be surprised to see me or Stacie. Nothing pleases me more to see that expression in a dog. Latte's previous owners were either abusive to her, and very badly mistreated her. To this day, she still gets defensive when some people come up and want to pet her. Again, why the cruelty people? Why?<br />
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As luck would have it, as we were registering Latte with our pet clinic and getting her on our pet insurance plan, the vetinarian diagnosed Latte with HEARTWORM. It's an unfortunate mishap, but nonetheless, Latte is our other baby girl, and we as parents are doing what we can to keep her healthy. No greater love...After the first chest xray, we discovered that she is not as bad off as we thought it was. Our goal is by January to have her treatment completed and her well on the way to recovery. No greater love that we have for her and her sister that we do what we can to save them. These are my babies....<br />
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........Which now brings me this! SPEAKING of babies, my wife Stacie, who I have been blessed to be married to for 4 years now, has announced that we in fact are expecting a baby of our own. This now dad to be could not be anymore excited. My friends and other family members have all expressed that there is nother greater on this earth than to be a parent. In 8 more months or so, I can agree with that. This process took me and Stacie and year of planning, and mostly a great time of praying over this. As we are reaching our mid thirties in the next couple of years, and with Stacie and I planning on finishing our education(s) and move on to bigger, better careers, we realized we would be knocking on 40's doorstep before we ever had children. It came down to humbled decision that is was "now or never" and never wasn't an option. As we occaisonally bought a package of bottles here, pacifiers there, and even once a package of diapers, I realized it wasn't about me and her anymore, and that it wasn't going to be. I was cool with that. So, this past Spring, we started trying. After 5 months, and almost giving up, mommy to be gave me the best surprise ever two weeks ago. The idea of me being a dad has been something I have always imagined being, but never gave it much thought. When someone like myself marries at age 28 to a spouse that was 29 at the time, it didn't really occur to us. Or at least in the beginning of our marriage. Back in the Spring when Stacie's family laid her sister, Brenda to rest, the family came together and one relative asked us if we were ever to consider having children. It was that ride home that got us spinning our wheels about it. No sooner that when we got home till here recently, those wheels kept spinning, and haven't stopped!<br />
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These last couple of months have been a blessing to me. From the time we adopted our most recent dog, Latte, to now knowing that I am going to become a father, life is good for me. The little things that show me how to express a great love, have been the greatest gift I could ever receive. More to follow in the months ahead as we prepare for the latest edition to come into my household.<br />
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-5556234517505680742012-10-21T16:32:00.002-07:002012-10-21T16:32:46.221-07:00Honored Hero Run 2012Race Report:<br />
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What a day!! All the training, all the fun I had, wrapped up into 20 miles of FUN today. Fun you say? Well, I did just that. The weeks prior to this race today, I had a lot of emotions and what nots going into this run. It all started last year when I did this exact race, when I DNF'd at mile 17. Physically that day, I felt fine, a little anxious at one point, but I think it was just nerves going into what was then my longest distance to run at one time. Plus, as I was training for my first marathon last year, this race was a training run going into it. <br />
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Aside from that, I also had the luck of the draw to come across a page on Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/prayersforlanegoodwin">www.facebook.com/prayersforlanegoodwin</a> .. Brief summary, this young boy, Lane Goodwin of Beech Cove, Kentucky was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma back in 2010. I don't know how to pronounce that, but as the page described it, this is a rare form of cancer that hits 1 out of a million kids. Lane was unfortunate to have it. Sad to say, young Lane passed away this passed week, but prior to his passing, there was an amazing amount of support for him and his family. Pictures of random people posting pics with their thumbs up as to say "we are in support of you". I myself showed mine as well by posing the thumbs up at my previous race I did prior to this one. Please click on this link and LIKE their page to show continuous support. The family can use it. <br />
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Also, as a member of Dailymile, I've been grateful to have online support from friends all around, and as much as I get that, I sometimes feel I don't give it back enough. If I did, I would be glued to my cell phone 24/7 and would end up divorced by my wife *laughs*.. To give back to my DM community, I was given a challenge from a DM friend "Miles For Mokie". Monika C aka Mokie, recently had a brain tumor removed and the DM community came together and from the days of October 8-28, each member is presented with the challenge to run miles in Mokie's honor. As of today including this race, I am at 75. Mokie, we're pulling for you!!<br />
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Please join this page and show your support if you haven't already<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/milesformokie">www.facebook.com/milesformokie</a><br />
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With all of this on my heart, and weighing on my mind, I went into this race with an open mind and positive attitude. I was completely floored when the RD called out that over 1400 participants had signed up for this race. On average, this one usually gets around 500-600. Humbling at it's best. Especially since this race, "Honored Hero" is a big supporter in the fight again childhood cancer. Fitting today for the honor and memory of Lane Goodwin, I thought. On a personal note, it saddens me when I see and hear of young children dying of cancer. My angry question and thoughts are, why do they have to suffer. Sometimes, I ask God why not ME...why can't I take the pain from these kids that deserve a chance in life. Someday, I'll ask him. <br />
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To start off, this was by far, a fun race. I got up this morning at around 445, took my dogs out to potty, feed them, and then got ready. As I was out walking them, that humidity was already being ugly. The "Indian Summer" was upon us today. I told my wife this morning to dress down today because it may get hot later today. High was 88F. As the plan was, the race started out at the Trinity park off 7th street. I'm not too familiar with the Fort Worth surroundings (Dallas native here), but I know enough of whatever street I am on, I can find my way around, and even get home easily. As luck would have it, the starting line is down the street from the Montgomery Plaza where there just happens to be a STARBUCKS....with a comfortable AC that my wife got to enjoy for a few hours. Her plan was to do some studying while she was there and I was racing. We got there to the plaza at around 6, just as the doors were opening. I wanted to get over to the starting early just so I could meet up with some peeps and say hey to anyone. Granted the race didn't start till around 730, that hour and a half flew by. I met up with fellow DMers, Clay P aka The Nite Train, and Andy aka Twentysix2. The three of us ran the 20 miler because we were crazy enough to. The 20 mile runners had the great privilege to start first, then an hour later the half marathon, then 5k runners took off. Given that the temps were not going to let up, I kept the idea of just pacing myself. I wanted to get in at least a 3:20 finish (10 minute pace), but that humidity was not going to let me. Plan B, just run till I can't run anymore and then walk/run the rest of the way. <br />
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Well, as we started off, I made the mistake, like I always do of going out too fast and then choking at some point before I reach mile 1. I wanted to run at comfortable enough pace, and keep up with Clay, but I just couldn't hold on. Clay, you are getting faster, and I applaud you for that my friend. Boston has your name on it someday. So, as I pulled back, I set into a comfortable 1030ish pace and just cruised. The weather was still nice enough and the wind was at my back, so I could coast this. Like the old saying, what comes up, must come down. I say that because, the course was an "out and back" verses a "loop". 4.5 miles out and back on the first leg (9 miles) then 3 miles through one portion of the ridge, then 4 more miles out and back (8 miles) on the other end of the leg then up a hill and then a sharp turn to the finishline. The course itself was mostly flat, with some hills here and there. As I made to the first out and back part, I still feeling ok. At that point, Andy and his TnT (team in training) group had passed me. Still running most of the first leg by myself, or no one to chat with, I did get to chat with a lady who was doing intervals throughout the run. To be honest, I am not a big fan of those, especially in a long distance run like this one, but as she was trading off with me on leading, I see a benefit of it. I personally like them when I do speed work, however, for 20 miles, I would croak. LOL!<br />
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From that first turnaround to mile 12 we traded of leads till I caved in. That humidity was not being friendly to my joints, and my PF was acting up. Sidebar: at mile 7, there was a water stop where I had "peeled" my shirt off because it was sticking to me and tossed it in the one of the bags a crew member was holding. Quite humorous to some. I took that to my advantage of being able to let my skin breathe and enjoy the breeze despite the humidity. After the initial stop I had, I was thankful for the fact that I had indeed ran a double distance today given the conditions of the weather. So, from there, I decided to have fun with this race. First started at mile 13, I climbed up a hill and picked on a race photographer that the race director said this was supposed to be flat, and that I wanted my money back. Poor guy thought I was serious at first, then I told I was only kidding then took off. Made some more laughs along the was saw some other runners already coming back on the second turnaround. Lots of high fives, and thumbs up saying good job and taking the compliments in return. <br />
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I spent most of mile 12 going into 18 walking, moreso than run. My quads were cramped up at that point and my knee was making uncalled for sounds of discomfort, so I kept it at a brisk walking pace. Ignoring the fact that my legs were not only cramped, but my muscles were tightening. Stopping and stretching here and there helped a bit. Plus, a bottle of pickle juice I got a water stop. Again, lots of encouragement and hi 5's from the crew and other runners coming back. At mile 13 and a half, I saw Clay coming back and we fist bumped then kept going. Heading into the last turnaround, I passed up Andy as he was coming back, hi 5ed, then kept moving as well. At the last turnaround, the weather was really messing with me. I got the encouragement from the crew to keep going, which at that point, I shrugged off my discomfort by humbly saying that I was feeling good. Made some jokes to laugh my pain off. At that point, my PF was getting tough to bear, so I had to do something about it. I don't know if it was my shoes I was wearing (brooks ghost 4) or the orthotic that I was wearing gave me grief, but I was able to take care of it. Luckily, that water stop had a chair I could sit in. So, I took my shoes off, and removed my orthotics. Took some more water and gatorade and off I went. I tried to run some more, but the pickle juice I took from a previous stop hadn't kicked in yet. I didn't want to just walk the rest of the way, so I shuffled stepped here and there. At that point, I had met up with another friend of Andy's who was a member of his TNT and we chatted some and were able to keep each other occupied while the pain and discomfort was slowly going away. At mile 16, I took a deep breath and remember the painful moment from last year, when all mechanisms had failed me last year which led me to my DNF. I took a look at the mile 16 sign, gave it the finger and laughingly kept going. Mile 17 and up to that famous water stop where I called it last year, I was walking and semi limping some. If I can take anything from today, it's the fact that I am more tolerant to pain. Made it to that water stop and was so glad there was a porta potty. By then, I had drank 2 5 hour energy shots, water and gatorade from all of the stops after mile 5, um...yeah, I had to pee.<br />
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After handling business, I took a break to stop and stretch some more, and low and behold, a crew member remembered me from last year. She had asked me if I was the one guy that bonked on this run last year, and I said, yes. I reassurred her, that I am a lot stronger and feeling a lot better today than I was last year. Despite the fact that I was walking a lot at that point, I was not ready to stop. She high 5ed me and off I went. I came up one last hill, and down the tail end of the turnaround, and saw mile 18. By then, Andy's friend (name unknown) had already pulled ahead, so I was mostly by myself. Gave me some time to reflect and remember how thankful I am that I can run and walk, and that most people can't. <br />
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Maybe God was telling me that this is my gift he has given me. I don't know
at this point. I just love to run and I'm sticking with that. At that mile 18
sign, I felt the urge to want to run some. Shuffle stepping my way to mile 19
and onto the last water stop. From there, I was met by yet some more
encouragement from the crew working that stop and letting me know that there
was one more mile to go. I felt excited at that time and that I wanted to run
the rest of the way. However, that didn't happen...<o:p></o:p><br />
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As I looked ahead of me, there was a group of ladies wearing TuTu's so I
caught up to them and walked the rest of the way with them. I jokingly asked if
they didn't mind a fat shirtless guy walking with them, they gladly welcomed
me. We all chatted about this run and where we were all from. Listening to them
talk about their kids, families, I shared about my dogs, our home, just
conversation. It was really cool listening to them as we were on a high at this
point about the race, and that even though we were walking, we were all OK with
that. As we pulled up toward the end of the race, there was a sign for the half
marathon runners that said "mile 13", which meant we were at mile
19.9. Just one more hill and that sharp left turn and there was the finishline.<o:p></o:p><br />
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On our way up that hill, I excused myself and pulled ahead and told them
that I wanted to run this one in. The sound of clapping and chearing and even
the music from the loud speakers never sounded sweeter to me at that time. Once
I pulled in, I looked to my left and saw my wife, Stacie, gave her a high 5 and
then saw my brother from another mother, Clay, and gave him a high 5 and then
cross the faithful finishline.<o:p></o:p><br />
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At that time, I didn't care about what my time was. I knew I was well over 4
hours, but still, I had FUN today. I was greated by the RD, and then my wife.
Had some laughs, gave the RD a hard time about those hills cuz the race was
supposed to have been flat. Again, it was fun.. I can't really say that about
all of my races, but today topped a lot of the other races I've had in the past
that I considered to be fun as well. Today was filled with sweat and some
tears, but all in all, it was great in the end. I walked away realizing that I
need some vast improvements in my running. I'm not too concerned about pace, as
I never am, but need more training in distance. I could go on and say that the
weather was a big factor in why I walked a good portion of the second leg of
this run, but I won't. I'm just looking foward now to my next race, the Dallas
(White Rock) half marathon in December. Knowing full well, it will definitely
be a lot cooler. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Off to rest now, and get ready for the next go round. Me 1 - Honored Hero
1.. now we're even!!<o:p></o:p><br />
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Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-23591874521022399262012-09-30T14:04:00.000-07:002012-09-30T14:04:46.788-07:00Why I Run!Why I run?<br />
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I'll be honest, I've never really had someone come out and ask me that. Not sure what to think about it, except maybe a little discouraged, and somewhat heartbroken. Not for the whole attention thing, but the sense that what if there are more and more folks out there that don't give a damn about their health. Sure, some people I know swear to me up and down that they are eating better, exercising 30 minutes to an hour a day for 3 days a week. Let me turn the tables a bit, and ask..."ARE YOU REALLY??". Yeah, I thought so! Make no mistake, I am not one to judge, but I do get judged on occasion for what I do in the world of fitness. I can't really do anything, but let it go. Best conversation I had on my 31st birthday was with my father and step-mother. As a family, my wife and I met with my with dad, stepmom, and sister at the Outback for a steak dinner and chit chat. Now, granted I am a CPT, doesn't mean I'm "perfect", but I like to chow on some good eats from time to time. Growing up in Texas, I was raised on steaks, baked potatoes, burgers, hot dogs, you name it, this kid ate it. As I've taken my health more serious these past 3 years, I've given up a lot of those habits. Still have them, but not as much. So, back to the conversation: We order our meals, I enjoy what I was having, my wife didn't finish what she had, so of course, we take it to go, and I have it later. As we were getting our meals boxed up, my wife said, "yeah, Tim will eat it, then go run 6 miles or so later". My loving and endearing step monster, I mean mother said under her breath, "You run too much".<br />
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Normally, I would've taken that to offense and said something off key that would've pissed her off, but I didn't. I just simply said that running is my break away and a big reason behind why I feel better most of the time. To me, I still find it odd how people, like my step mom (chain smoker and occasional drinker) like to drop subtle hints to health and fitness gurus like myself about how it's just wrong to eat healthy and workout. Honestly, I want to say "f&%k you" to those people and tell them that if they could only get off their backsides aka "ass" and get moving, their lives wouldn't be as miserable as mine once was. <br />
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It gets better. Those that are miserable, make every excuse in the world NOT to want to do it. Oh well. I'm done hearing them, and listening to the critics. If you slam me, I'm just gonna smile and think to myself how much longer I am going to live than you. Those of you that smoke and eat grease and are beyond 65, I hate you!! Just saying in a laughing matter because yall have already cheated death by 10 years or so.....Enough of my rant!!<br />
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Since I haven't been asked the faithful question, I'm asking myself "why I run".. Well I can tell you after this week, it's been made clear that I love it. Not just that, but the feeling of satisfaction after every distance I do. Over the years since my first race, I've become a distance junkie. My goal at some point once I'm comfortably able to do 20 miles without effort, is to go "beyond" 26.2 aka ULTRAS. I have friends I've met along the way (in person, and on Dailymile) that have done ultras (50ks to 100 milers) and I am amazed at their talents and efforts to go that far. Someday, that will be me. I would love to start out small with a 50k (31 miles) and work my way up to 50 and ultimately 100. For now, I'm happy with my 13.1's to 26.2's. As this week is winding down on a Sunday afternoon, I am beyond amazed for myself personally, that I am just 4 miles away from hitting 40 for the week. I can't remember the last time I had a number like that in my running career. I'm also humbled that I am coming off a 14 mile run I did yesterday, and even still more surprised that my body has recovered more quickly than before. Living in a loft apt (with stairs), the biggest surprise came yesterday when I got home after my run and was able to walk up the stairs to my bathroom and able to take a shower and then go about my day. Even so today, I feel a little spent, but overall if I were to do a "recovery" run, I could go easily for a 5-6 mile jaunt and feel satisfied with that. Given that I've ran half marathons before and coming home wounded and feeling beat up, that in itself is a great feeling.<br />
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I run because, with it, comes great accomplishment. In my spare time, I train clients on a part time basis, and I love it. Along with accomplishment, I find a sense of confidence as well. In so, my one and only client, has decided to give C25K (couch to 5k) a chance. I couldn't be anymore excited about his opportunity. I say, it's never too late for a fresh start with this sport. I run because, I don't miss seeing the overweight guy in the mirror anymore. I don't miss having high blood pressure, diabetes, or be a the risk of a heart attack. I run because in partial of hearing the criticism from family, it something I can always do. Growing up, I had the unfortunate accident of breaking my arm in a skating rink. The following fall, I tried out for football, and my parents basically said no. Mom said it was because of money, dad said it had to do with confidence, my friends said they would've loved to have had me on the team. My parents didn't want to admit, but it had a lot to do with my skating injury that made their decision for me not to play. I begged and begged from all of Jr High and my freshman and sophomore year of high school. By then, I gave up. During all of that time, my mom gave me an alternative to do martial arts. Ok.. I as I thought about it while I was in it, I'm pretty sure my mom invested a pretty penny into me not only taking monthly lessons, but competing in tournaments. Along with competitions, belt testings, and training, I endured my fair share of injuries. Given that I separated my shoulder, blew out my knee, and cracked a few ribs, I'm pretty sure, I suffered the same injuries in martial arts as I would have if I had played football. Oh..and would've been cheaper. Just saying. Growing up with divorced parents and having "step" siblings, I had my share of competitions and personal battles of notice. My step brother played football and baseball for his school teams, and I of course had karate. I never felt the satisfaction like he did and yes I did feel a lot of jealousy towards him. Thankfully, my step brother was humbled enough to understand it wasn't competition he was after, and never really rubbed in from his point of view. But still, the anger and jealousy came from my end because I felt like it was unfair and I was cheated. When my father and his mother split, my father remarried to my current step mother that I dislike. At first, she was "wow'd" about me being in martial arts (at the time) and later became a critic. In my defense, I felt screwed because while all other siblings were allowed to play sports; my brother played football, sister played soccer, why couldn't I do anything. Believe me, I enjoyed competing in karate, but I wasn't complete with it as if I would've been if I played football or baseball.<br />
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As the years of "what could've been" passed on, I let go of my anger towards my family as I thought about what kind of athlete I could've been if they had only given me a chance. To only have it resurfaced one night on an occasion where my life was celebrated by another age gone by, only made me realize how good I truly had it. What pissed me off about the most was that I wasn't recognized for it when I was younger. Oh well! Why I run?? I run because even though I will never get the privilege of being to wear the pads, the helmet, the uniform, and play on artificial turf, I have a sport I can still compete in. And I don't need a degree or have to spend four years at the college level hoping to get noticed by the pros to come join their team. I run because deep down, I know there are others out that really can't. I know those people have hearts as big as the ocean, but not the body to. I run because I'm proving to myself that I can. I run because even though I get criticised from time to time, I don't have to take anyone's crap and let that steal my joy. I run because someone else is running too, and they have the will to achieve their goal(s) with the same tenacity as I have. I run because I have certain amount of distances that dare me to kick their ass. I run because it's what I do...<br />
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...........what are you going to do??Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-23752897605538310502012-05-18T18:14:00.000-07:002012-05-18T18:14:20.893-07:00Tim vs TimmaayTim vs Timmaay, the showdown begins. In one corner, weighing in at 267 pounds, low self-esteem, chain smoker, occasional drinker, and all out wimp with excuses. In the other corner, weighing in at 220 pounds, 1 time marathon, 3 time half marathon, and 1 time 15, 10, and 5k runner, a lot healthier, happier, and more confident in himself. One can easily guess who the winner would be if those two went head to head for an all out beat down.<br />
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Here lately, I've reminisced a little bit about what it would be like if I ever ran into my younger self. Would I be fit enough now to knock some sense into the younger me? I've often wondered if the current me could take on the aggressive teenage me back when I was (at the time) fit and what I thought was in the best shape I could've been in. As the saying goes, "to be wise, you first must be stupid"!! Yep, that would be me. Over the passed 3 years, I feel like I have rediscovered myself again. As I keep reminiscing, I look back at when I slowly starting regaining my health, I have found out what capabilities I didn't know I had. I think running a marathon was one of them. Last fall when I started training for my first marathon, I was averaging 25-30 miles a week, and occasionally cross trained on the spin bikes. A few runs that I was training on, I managed to do an 18 mile run/walk, a 17 miler (which actually became a DNF on a 20 miler), and then a 17 mile knee throbber. To be honest, I felt going into running the marathon, that I was very much "under-trained". I thought to myself, if I can swing a good 15 miles without a hitch, I could swing that plus 11.2 miles as an easy cool down or jog the rest of the way. Good theory, bad idea!! Along came the injury that sidelined for a while. Until now:<br />
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These passed few weeks, I pushed for improvements. Back in February, my sports doctor advised me on sitting out my spring races, I wanted to. I said back then that it was the best decision I did, and I still stand by that. It started back in early April when I did 6 day run streak with a total of 32 miles. Not bad, but not as good as I wanted, still I took it as a sign of progress. That along has pushed me to this week when I aimed to a 10 mile strut in my neighborhood. Best feeling I've had in a while to complete a double digit distance since running my first marathon. 5 months in the making, well worth the wait. I admit, I can be very impatient at times, but as I've gotten older, I've gained some more wisdom here and there. Since that 10 miler, I did 2 easy recovery runs, and in my opinion felt effortless at the pace I was going. Funny I say that, when 2 years ago I was fighting to run at the speed I was going for this week. Improvement, yeah absolutely. I'm taking it as it comes. I guess you can say at this point, Timmaay is kicking Tim's butt right now. I think the biggest reason why Tim was so "under-trained" was a case of excuses. Timmaay has pretty much laid those excuses down this time around. I've decided to stick to just training this summer, and maybe catch a 5 or 10k (depending on cost) and kick this fall of with the following races, dates TBD<br />
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Labor Day 15k<br />
Honored Hero 20 miler<br />
Houston Half marathon (possibility)<br />
Dallas White Rock Marathon<br />
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Along with these races, I plan to spend a lot more time at White Rock Lake and also at the Trinity Trails logging in some more training miles. I'm setting the bar higher to where my new average will be 40+ miles a week instead of 30. No more excuses. Here's to hoping Timmaay can be an even greater winner over Tim. We shall see...Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-2584647504432943902012-05-13T22:04:00.001-07:002012-05-13T22:04:26.576-07:00In Loving Memory<br />
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Brenda Kay Smith: Was born on June 23, 1961 and was called home to be with the Lord on May 7, 2012.</div>
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This next segment was written out by her mother, Hazel. This can also be found on <a href="http://www.lubbockonline.com/">www.lubbockonline.com</a></div>
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"On June 23, 1961 a little angel was sent to this earth. God knew she would never be able to run, walk, or play like most other children. God had other plans for her. One purpose was to bless everyone whose lives she touched with her love, sweet smile, contagious giggle, and trusting nature. With all her physical obstacles and ailments, she taught and surprised everyone many times with her strong will to live and be able to return back to her own quality of life"</div>
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"Brenda's joy for life was spent under great care of the wonderful staff at the Lubbock State Supported Living Facility (formerly the Lubbock State School) for 42 years. This great staff and God's will can definitely be credited for Brenda's ability to survive her many disabilities for 50 years."</div>
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.....all of this again was written by Hazel Love, Brenda's mother!!</div>
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It saddens me to find out about a love one being gone. What does one say or do in moments like this? You make all the necessary phone calls to relatives, friends, etc. Make arrangements for the funeral, take time off of work, and try to make things run as smooth as they can. This passed week, my wife's family did all of this. It wasn't easy, but it happened. The week before last around Cinco de Mayo weekend, my father in law James got the call from Hazel saying that Brenda was not going to make it through the night and that he needed to be here now. In his heart, he knew he had to be there for her. As I stated above (per Hazel), Brenda's "strong will" kicked in during the final moments of her life here on earth. I believe deep down it was so James (dad) could be there one last time to say goodbye to her. It was as if she was ready, but didn't want to leave without telling her parents that she was "ok" and that she will be in a better place. I have no doubt that this was the case. </div>
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<br />I received a call Monday night that Brenda had passed away around 8pm. As I calmly sat down and told my Stacie about it, she was in tears, but yet relieved since she knew as well in her heart that her big sister was in a better place. So, once the shock was worn off, we made our phone calls to other relatives and they made their respective arrangements with their jobs and transportation. Stacie's brother, Stephen made a trip from Galveston up to Ft. Worth to pick up her other brother, Kelly and his wife, Julie, then make the other half of his long trip to Lubbock. Almost 12 hours of driving can put a tole on anybody. Stacie's mom and dad rented a vehicle and was already in Lubbock at the time with Stacie's oldest brother, Craig (She has 5 brothers all together), and then she and myself took our own vehicle and made our long 5 1/2 hour road trip out to west Texas from the Ft. Worth area ourselves. Whew it was a long haul. It felt longer than the last time we drove up to Lubbock, but nonetheless, it was a good trip. This trip not only tired us out physically, but gave us a new lease on life in a good way. I always have this really bad habit after taking a road trip somewhere that if I only had a job, or if I could find out a way to live here or there, I would. 2 trips out to Lubbock, Texas in less than 2 months has really got me thinking.. More to come on this!!</div>
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As we all gathered in Lubbock to meet up with family and friends, we we're blessed indeed by the Lubbock State Supported Living Center, and when I say blessed, I don't mean it lightly. This trip was a HUGE financial burden on all of us that came out for Brenda's funeral. We barely had in our own budget to get a hotel, much less gas money and food. The blessing you say, and my dad in-law can testify to this, the LSSLC provided us with a place to stay for duration of the time we were in town. Oh, and it was F-R-E-E!! The living center has a couple of cottage type houses that they provide to family members for anyone that is a full time resident of the school. That meant for us, since we we're family to Brenda, we could stay in one of the houses. It was a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house with a laudry room, kitchen, den, family room, and fireplace. It was done up almost like a 70's style house the way the design looked. Fine by us, so we took it. Stacie and shared a room with a full size "four post" bed and small bathroom, her parents shared the "master" room with their own bathroom, her brother Kelly and his wife Julie had a room with a king size bed, and Stephen had his own room which was connected to Kelly and Julie's room with a bathroom. Again, PTL (Praise the Lord).</div>
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Now that we had the room situation taken care, we had enough funds to take care of food and gas as we needed to. One trip to the grocery store, and we were stocked up for the week. Unfortunately, we didn't get pics of this awesome place we stayed at, but let me just say for the whole experience that we we're there, we can't thank the state facility enough for providing this for us. Side note: As for me being a runner, the facility itself is 1.5 miles in diameter all around, so you can guess what I did while I was there. Yep! I ran around a few times to keep up with my fitness...and to keep my mind focused while I was there. My main objective was to be there for my wife and her family as she was there to be by her dad's side. Mission accomplished pretty much.</div>
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By Wednesday, as everyone made into town, we met up with the Chaplains who took care of Brenda while she was in the State Facility, but at the hospital as well when her health was threatened. We all got together with them and the rest of the family that lived in Lubbock to go over what and how the funeral was going to be done. From music to who was going to speak, open casket, closed casket. Smooth as butter as far as I thought. Couldn't have planned a better memorial if you'd asked me. Stacie's brothers Scott and Craig provided music and Chaplain Ken Cartwright from the State School and Chaplain Elizabeth Abraham from the UMC hospital in Lubbock both preached and gave a word at the pulpit. And was concluded with Stacie's dad, James giving his appreciation for all the work that the Lubbock State Supported Living Center provided to Brenda after all these years. I myself was involved in the memorial as I volunteered to be a pall-bearer along with other family members: Brenda's half brothers Johnny, Donny, Stephen, Kelly, and nephew Kyle. Again, a great job was done by all who participated. </div>
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I shared all of this because, as I said above about a new lease on life. Brenda's condition and the way she was has really inspired not only me, but Stacie as well. This is why she herself hopes to be a nurse someday. Working with the under-privileged is what she feels is her calling. I know deep down because of Brenda, this is a personal persuit she is taking. I know in confidence, she will succeed. As for me, I have a personal experience with this as well, and that it is a testimony in itself. More to come on that.</div>
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In showing of appreciation of the LSSLC, when we were shacked up in the cottage we stayed at, Stacie found a plaque on the wall in the hallway that really hit home with her. The words itself could make anyone cry, and also she read these words during the memorial. As Brenda's youngest sibling, she felt honored to do this.</div>
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"A School For Little Angels"</div>
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a poem by Donald Dehay - 1994</div>
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"A school for retarded children,</div>
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That's what some folks say it is;</div>
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But I think it's a school for little angels;</div>
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Well, in fact I know it is.</div>
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Some of the kids are crippled.</div>
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Some are very weak.</div>
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And if those little kids weren't angels;</div>
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Well, they just couldn't be that sweet.</div>
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The parents are very happy with the school;</div>
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its love and care</div>
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Where some children really need the school,</div>
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But their parents just don't care.</div>
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Yes, the school is just for angels;</div>
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Where normal kids can't go</div>
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They teach the angels</div>
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What normal kids already know</div>
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All the kids are happy;</div>
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To me it always seems.</div>
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They all go to play and learn,</div>
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Until they earn their wings.</div>
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Sometimes it just takes days;</div>
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Sometimes many years.</div>
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They they get their wings</div>
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And leave their parents with (many) tears</div>
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Some think it's a school for retarded kids;</div>
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But I think it's a little unfair.</div>
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I think it's a school for angels,</div>
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For we had one that went there.</div>
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If that doesn't make you sob, you are heartless. It definitely speaks volume of what this facility is all about. And, partly for me, a big reason WHY I fell in love with Lubbock the 2nd time I came out that way. I have a passion as I stated for handicapped kids and adults. Because of them, I am now a child of God, and pretty much sober these days. Long story short, at 21, I was following my own way of life, and not what God wanted me to do. I spent a good time in the bottle, and didn't care if I lived to see the next day. A big time life of sin, and I was content. Instead, he brought a young 22 year old man with down syndrome into my path and it changed me. I spent a week at a camp for special needs in July of 2002. It was the last night before we all packed up the next day and went home. I found my friend, Casey laying in his bed crying because he knew he had to go home the next day. To make matters worse, I showed up that Monday for camp with a massive hangover because I drank way too much the night before. Again, I didn't care. I just wanted to skip town for a bit and get back at it when I got back home. God's perfect timing is all I gotta say. So, anyways.. As I tried my best to comfort my new founded friend, Casey, he asked me if I was going to see him next summer. I promised him right then and there that I would. Then, out of the blue, this same kid who couldn't tie his shoes, but can't quote the Bible asked me a gut checking question. "Hey Tim" he says, "will I get to see you in heaven someday?" I don't know where that came from, but in an instant, I was taken back. This is one question you CAN NOT lie about. Especially to a kid with his condition. And, you really can't say NO either. That night, I gave my life to the Lord, and never looked back. </div>
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I am so blessed and honored to be married into a family that cared for a soul like Brenda. It really gives life a whole new perspective for me. Another was written by an anonymous writer that speaks volume as well for anyone with special needs, and for family members of someone who is handicapped. I don't like to use the word "retard", that makes my blood boil.</div>
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"Heaven's Special Child"</div>
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A meeting was held, quite far from earth.</div>
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"It's time again, for another birth"</div>
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Said the angels to the Lord above,</div>
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This special child will need much love</div>
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Her progess may seem very slow, </div>
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and she'll require extra care</div>
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From the folks she meets</div>
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way on down there</div>
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She may not run or laugh or play</div>
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her thoughts may seem quite far away</div>
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in many ways she won't adapt</div>
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and she'll be known as "handicapped"</div>
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So let's be careful where she's sent</div>
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we want her life to be content</div>
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Please, Lord find her parents who</div>
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will do a special job just for you</div>
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They will not realize right away</div>
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The leading role they're asked to play</div>
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but this child sent from above</div>
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comes stronger faith and richer love</div>
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And soon they'll know the privilege given</div>
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in caring for this gift form Heaven</div>
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Their precious charge so meek and mild</div>
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is Heaven's very, special child,</div>
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Sorry friends, if this blog itself has shed tears, but what would you do if you ever lost a loved one. Let me rephrase, if you had to lose a loved one with a condition like my sister in law had, what would you do? The answer is unknown. I can't tell you what to do. Otherwise, that would be too easy. All I can tell you is, you love them the best you can while they are on earth here with you. Life is too short!! </div>
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My wife, Stacie and Brenda a few years back. Way before we ever met.</div>
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<br />My father in law, James and Brenda. One last visit with her before her health started to decline</div>
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If you look real closely at the center of the cloud you can see a heart. This was taken by Stacie as we were driving back home. Nothing says "confirmation" that Brenda has arrived to the gates of Heaven quite like this. Very humbling</div>
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I'm just an in law on the outside looking in, but I can see a lot of love in this family that was inspired through the life Brenda had. I hope this love never dies for the generations to come.</div>
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<br /></div>Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-85323046087116292312012-05-06T14:19:00.000-07:002012-05-06T14:19:06.774-07:00Our New Place!Well, I told you all that I wasn't making promises about posting every week like I wanted to. But still, I have managed to make it less than a month, so give me some credit. Since my last post, Stacie and I did what people dread to do the most, MOVE!! We got the luxury of moving to a much bigger place, and by far a better community, I think. We've settled in nicely for the last two weeks now, so we are thrilled with it. It wasn't that way in the beginning however, as one would "typically" deal with the stress of moving. To say the least, we had our fair share. In all the times before when I have moved; from the very first time I told mom I was leaving and moving in with my first roommate, to my first solo apartment, my second, roomie, even coming back home because I fell on hard times, and to even the first place Stacie and I moved into together, I don't think I ever encountered as much stress in those times as we did in this move. Where do I begin?<br />
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Well, let me tell you the beginning. At first, after 3 years of being in our "starting out" apartment, we were strapped for room. After taking on the responsibility of our first "child", Corkie, and after a few holidays and birthdays celebrated.... Um yeah... We collected a lot of stuff. Doesn't everybody? Plus, we were getting fed up with the new management, and the bratty little kids that were living in the complex we lived in. Nothing against them, but we felt it was time to pick up and move out. So, we planned a weekend in February since that was around the time we had to give our 60 day notice, and time for us to find a newer place. We had debated on a either a 2 bedroom, or a much bigger 1 bedroom. Me being optimistic, I was opting for the 2 bedroom, but every place we looked at, I thought we were getting gouged on rent. No surprise there. In the apartment lifestyle, that is to be expected. We spent one Saturday in February, armed with a list of places we checked out online, we set out and hunted for our next place to live. The first one we looked at was in the "Ghetto" side of town. Funny how apartment guides and pictures don't really do justice to what places look like in reality. Now, I stated before that we were thinking about either a 2 bedroom or a large 1 bedroom, we had also considered a split level, or studio loft apartment. As we searched and searched, we found some lofts that were right up our alley as far as rent cost and location. Still nothing appealed to us. The 2nd and 3rd place we looked at that same day were hopeful, but a no go at the last minute. We agreed that for a 1 bedroom, $700 was too much. Some parts of the country, that is considered cheap, but not where we live. Finally, I looked across the street at the last place we looked and saw a place I had previously looked at a few years ago with my last roommate, and noticed the name change of the complex and a sign that said "under new management".. Ok, I optimistic, so I thought, what the hell.<br />
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So, we get in, talk to a lease consultant, got a nickel tour of a model unit, and even a tour of the new layout. One word... SOLD.. The location, cost of rent, and even the accommodations for Corkie was enough for us. This place gave a discount because my wife, Stacie is now a student, and that we both work in the medical field. The attractions included: A dog park, a tiki bar kind of setup at the pool with grills and bars to sit at, 24 hr fitness facility, and my favorite, up front parking by our unit. With these great attractions that lured us in, we did however have to make some sacrifices. To us, they were worth it though. We had a HUGE bedroom on the second floor, but very limited closet space. Only one bathroom, but it was upstairs, so if company came, guess what?? The last big doozy we had to give up was our washer and dryer. When I said we had limited closet space, well, a small corner was taken up by a stackable washer and dryer. From what we have been told, and even now if what we have experienced with this, a stackable unit is not that bad. They may be small in size, but you would be amazed at how much laundry can fit in the washer, then afterwards load it up in the dryer. And they are FAST at getting you clothes done. We're happy with that.<br />
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Now to the meat and potatoes. Here's where the real fun begins!! After all the negotiations and agreements we made with our place of residence that we were moving out of and with the place we were moving to, disaster struck. We were scheduled to move in on the weekend of the 21st of April. Just like in the business of the real estate, the right hand never knows what the left hand is saying. With that, we had a big time mix up with our unit, and with management. When we finalized our move in day, the lease consultant we spoke with had everything written down, and even and agreement drawn up in which we signed. Somehow, that was not communicated to the manager, nor was it entered into the system. Talk about furious, there was a lot of tension that day in the office. I was drove the unit we were going to move into, and nothing was done to it. The workers were in there ripping out carpet, taking out appliances, and painting. Manager said, it would be impossible for us to move in when we wanted to. With that on our stressor, I had to make a quick phone call to my power company to shut down that particular account to that location I had set up. On the flipside of the mix we had with the manager and the lease consultant, we were able to move into a different apartment, same floor plan, but much better location. YAY!! We were thrilled about that. All the maintenance people had to do with that place was clean the carpets, and repaint the walls. Ok, it would be ready for us in 24 hours. Not a problem, except one thing... the power would not be available until the following Monday. So, it was a weekend we move in, and no power. Thankfully, Stacie's parents let us crash with them during all of this. <br />
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Oh it gets better. We decided to take the stress out of us, and not even worry about relying on friends and family to help us by hiring movers. Yes, I mean it does it get better. As I stated above, we were scheduled for the 21st of April to move in to our new place, and we still were. Just not the new place we originally planned on. So, a quick phone call to the movers to let them know we are still moving to the same complex, just a different unit. Not a problem on their part. However, there was a big problem they had which effected us in a bigger way as well. We had scheduled a move for 10am on Saturday, April 21st. Got a call from the movers that it would be about 3pm instead because their customer before us had a lot of stuff to move and they were way out west of us in Weatherford, Texas, which is 2 hours away (not sure on miles). Ok, not a problem. So, Stacie and I took what little items we could move and took them over to the new place, had lunch, sat around and waited, yady yady yady... Well, got a phone call again around 5pm saying that they were going to be much later, probably around 630. By then, we were so frustrated that we both had turns at letting the moving people know how mad we were. Long story short, about the previous customer before us, well, apparently they had more stuff to move than what they led the movers on to thinking they had. <br />
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Finally, after cooling off, and by then laughing at this whole situation, Stacie told the movers to just come by on Sunday morning instead. By then it would've too late in the evening for them to come out, and since we had no power established yet, it would've been a safety hazzard for the movers. So, Sunday morning came, and everything FINALLY came together as planned for once during this whole move. Movers showed up at our old place, loaded the truck up with all we had, followed us over to the new place, and unloaded everything in 2 hours flat. It was like a flash before our eyes at how fast these dudes worked, and I quickly apologized for my aggression towards them. They understood, so they sympathized by knocking a little bit off the price for their troubles they caused us. <br />
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Here's an aerial floor plan of our new place. This pretty much describes how we have everything set up.</div>
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Here's the first thing you see when you open the door. I'm stoked because I have never lived in a place before that had stairs. Probably my favorite feature of this apt.</div>
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To the left of the stairs is the living room. It looked small at first, but once it was filled up with our stuff, it looked bigger for some reason.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z4RvbYpQUcxe6nTZrO3RfK3Xkonyrb9LtHK9FeVxYaCmOLyXS6B-0THvUt_qXUYUB8CcSAT2HfpF6QZrxwnPHWlKrYHKeqMI48V3p1qYyClznD1_GG-cHJgJABQAzQQ7gxkIujpjO0T1/s1600/imagejpeg_2_105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Z4RvbYpQUcxe6nTZrO3RfK3Xkonyrb9LtHK9FeVxYaCmOLyXS6B-0THvUt_qXUYUB8CcSAT2HfpF6QZrxwnPHWlKrYHKeqMI48V3p1qYyClznD1_GG-cHJgJABQAzQQ7gxkIujpjO0T1/s320/imagejpeg_2_105.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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The Kitchen. We love the look of our appliances from the stove, fridge, and microwave. We're going with the more moderate, contemporary look.</div>
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As you first walk upstairs into our bedroom. This was before we put anything in it. Trust me when I say this, but it's huge!!</div>
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Our cozy little corner section of the room with a place to sit or lay on. It's actually big enough for the dog to jump up there and sleep if she ever wanted to.</div>
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I won't spare anymore details about the rest of the room. All there is, is just the tiny closet and tiny bathroom. Nothing much to it.</div>
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I've never lived somewhere that accommodated pets like this. This little dog park has a small creek bed that is ran by a water fountain that the dogs can actually drink from. Plus there's a poop station, so you can pick up after them if they have to go. Corkie likes it so far.</div>
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So far, in the passed couple of weeks since we've lived here, we've been very pleased with our new choice of residence. Corkie likes not only the dog park, but she like the stairs as well. In fact, the first night, she got herself a good workout by going up and down them I don't know how many times. Last weekend, our dear friends Bill and Lynn Parker gave us our first house warming present. As most of you know that follow my blogs, know that I am a runner. I run when I can. Sometimes, when I need to run, the weather has a disadvantage, so I resolve to using a treadmill if I can ever use on. Well, luck would have it, The Parker's blessed us with that very same thing. Granted, I'm more of an outdoor fan and like my hills and change of scenery, but sometimes a treadmill is the best solution. So far I've ran a few miles on it here and there, and appreciate having it. Thanks, Parker's</div>
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Our house warming gift. I plan to use it quite extensively in the future</div>
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For the most part, we're settling in quite well. Our plan is to stick it out here for 3 or 4 years. Basically, however long it takes for Stacie to finish school, and when we are ready to purchase our first mortgage. Oh the joys of moving. Till next time.</div>
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</div>Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-3870574050933094692012-04-15T10:46:00.000-07:002012-04-15T10:46:15.027-07:00A Man and His Dog!I was thinking of a good title for my next blog and it hit me. These last couple of weeks, I've been on the comeback trail, and even made strides in my running that I haven't done since before I trained for my big races. This week in particular, I made one of my biggest strides by starting a run streak. So far, I am on day 6. With this week coming up and me and my wife moving, I may be hard pressed to get some of my runs in, but then again, you never know. <br />
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Back to this title of a man and his dog. The last couple of weeks, I've started out little by little by taking my dog, Corkie with me for some of my runs. I made the "mistake" one morning by taking her for a walk because Stacie told me too. As some of you know, once you get started in any kind of workout, you get that endorphin kick that helps you keep going. Such is true in dogs as I've found out. Every morning, I get up, take Corkie out to potty, come back in, and then I get my running clothes and shoes on, then I'm out the door. Some mornings, I take her with me for an easy 3 or 4 mile run and it makes my day so much. I never realized before, or maybe it's just me, but something happens that I can't explain when Corkie and I go for a run together. For me, it's nice having a running buddy even if she is a dog. For her, let's just say she's a "daddy's girl" so she'll go anywhere with me. To me, it's our time together that can't be replaced. <br />
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As I started my run streak this week, it began Monday morning with an easy 3.5 mile run in just a little over 37 minutes. As much of a speed freak (well at my size anyway) as I've become lately, I've have to take a step back and keep a steady pace for Corkie. In case you're wondering, Corkie is a 15 month old Shetland Sheepdog aka, Sheltie. She's mainly bred for herding, which I've seen upfront when I take out sometimes. She can manage a steady pace (10 minute mile) with me, and when we get back to the entrance of our apartment complex, she books it because that's when I usually jet it back to my front door. It's awesome to see her move like that. On occasion, when I get home from work, after I've taken her out for her afternoon potty break, I'll find a stick, take her off the leash and let her fetch a few times. In the apartments that we live in (fixing to move out from) we have a group of kids that come out and play and when they see Corkie, they of course have to sworm her. She loves it though. Like a new mom and her baby, everybody has to come and see her. LOL!! Anyways, as those kids are out playing, she likes to round them up by leaping and barking at them. I promise you, she is far from the biting and aggressive types. Some of the kids get scared, so naturally, she chases them like as if she was herding them. From my point of view, I couldn't be anymore prouder of my girl. But still, on days I don't take her for our morning runs, I do make it up to her by taking her for an evening walk. I like it because it keeps me in check, and moving for that matter. One of these days, I plan to do a 5k run and have her run with me. No matter the finish time, I'll enjoy the race and I'm sure she will too.<br />
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<div align="center">From the day Stacie and I brought her home, she had us pinned. It was oh so clear she was ours.</div><div align="center"><br />
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<div align="center">So cute and tiny the first week we brought her home.</div><div align="center"><br />
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<div align="center">Corkie and Mommy. We are such proud parents.</div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">With our schedules the way they are. Stacie working and going to school, and me pretty much now working two jobs, Corkie IS our child for now. As much as we want to someday have two legged children, but not right now. We're now in our early thirties and we've been married now going on 4 years this October, so it's not to say we are in a hurry to have children, but at the same time we are. We've talked about adoption, possibly trying after she finishes school, and we've even thought about the idea of just raising pups as our kids. We don't know yet. As one would say, "have to talked to God about this?" We have, and he knows our plans and he has blessed and provided us with a lot so far. In his will, if it's meant for us to have kids, we will have them. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Enough of that. As I progessed in my streak this week, I was pleased to run 9 miles yesterday. As much as I wanted to do 10, it was a case of miscalculating the route I ran. That's ok. I've been grateful just to be able to get out every morning this week and run. I've come to conclude on my mornings I push for a long run, mainly whatever I can squeeze in about an hour and a half, usually about 7 miles, sometimes 8 if I've pushed hard enough. Those days I don't take Corkie because I consider that a training run and I want to get as much out of them as I can. As I promised, I always make up for it by taking her for a walk at night. I got the idea from a Dailymile friend in regards to running streaks. I've given myself a challenge to run 200 miles in the next 40 days. On average, that is 5 miles a day. I remembered in the beginning of my running days that I thought 3 miles was going to kill me, but now 3 miles barely gives me the workout I want. I consider those kind of runs either a warmup or a recovery run. On those days, yes indeed I take the my "daughter" with me. To me, 5 miles is a "just right" kind of run for me. Granted, a 10k (6.2 miles) is my favorite distance, I like doing 5 miles as a workout. After that 3 mile warmup, I catch my second and that's when I take off. My best time has been 41 minutes (8:12 pace). It's also along a route in my neighbor hood that takes me through a section that is very peaceful to stroll by. Plus, it's along the street next to a doughnut shop, so that smell alone motivates me. LOL!! That gets me hungry which pushes me to go faster so I can get away from the smell and the front door so I'm not tempted. HAHAHA! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Over this passed year, as a runner and a pet owner, I am amazed at how much has progressed in my life. On and off the road. Seeing Corkie grow up before mine and Stacie's eyes has been such a blessing. It's hard to go into details about what we've done as a family and ourselves (me and Stacie) as individuals. I look forward to the future and excited for what lies ahead. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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Love,<br />
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The Taggert Family<br />
Tim, Stacie, and Corkie<br />
<div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div>Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-46768066200823603682012-04-09T18:27:00.000-07:002012-04-09T18:27:58.017-07:00In Review!!Well,<br />
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A lot has happened in the last few weeks since my last blog "What's on my mind".. Happy to report that my sweet sister in law, Brenda is still with us. Praise the LORD!! As the family waited on for her dear life and making funeral arrangements, her health went in the unexpected direction... BETTER!! As I was writing my last blog in my hotel room in Lubbock, Brenda was suffering some of the worse conditions she has ever experienced. Doctors and Chaplains all said for us to brace ourselves, and comfort her as she was prepared to go be with Jesus. Not even one week after we made it back home, we got word that her vitals were improving. Again, I ask to you health pros, what explanation do you have for this? I'm still waiting.<br />
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As we moved forward with our everyday life, Stacie and I have made progress with our moving situation. I am pleased to report that in two weeks, we will be moving to our new place of residence. Granted, it's another apartment, so more rent and no equity, it's still an upgrade for us. Our bedroom is UPSTAIRS. That's the one luxury I appreciate having. In all my life, I have never lived in a house that had a second story inside. All paperwork, deposits, packing, movers scheduled, and even arrangements for our pet, Corkie while we move has all been taken care of. Once the movers get here, they just load the truck up with our junk, and take a 5 minute trip down the street and around the corner to our first townhome apartment, and start a new chapter in our life. The excitement is rising. Looking forward to finally having friends over, and actually having a a sit down meal at an actual dinner table.<br />
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That following weekend coming back from Lubbock, I had the privilege to meet some Dailymile friends as they participated in the Dallas Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon. My friends Jeremy and William aka the Fermo brothers were in town as they themselves had the privilege to run this race with another friend of theirs from their part of town. Their friend Ivy, had made a pledge to raise $1,000 in donations as well as running the race. This was also her first attempt at running 13.1 miles. Boy did that bring back memories from when I ran my first. Long story short, if you want to whole scoop of the race, read Ivy's blog at <a href="http://www.dowhatyouabsolutelylove.blogspot.com/">http://www.dowhatyouabsolutelylove.blogspot.com/</a> <br />
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For me, it was truly an honor to be apart of that for Ivy, and the Fermo Brothers as well. For what Jeremy and Willie did for a friend is irreplaceable. You got to admire that spirit in runners like them. For me, I also had the privilege of having a friend pace with me in my first marathon, so I it was definitely a blessing more than anything to pay forward, or give back in this way. I didn't get the chance to sign up for the race, so I made a pack to pace with Ivy, Jeremy, and Will during the race. In fact, I met up with them around mile 9 like I had promised I would. As I met up with them, Ivy was emotionally and physically spent, but her spirit of the race kept her going. No matter how fast or how slow you are moving, as long as it's one foot in front of the other, you're making strides faster than those who are sitting still. Once you get that in your head, you can make vast improvements before too long. That's how I got started. You can too!!<br />
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Here's (from Left to Right) Jeremy, Ivy, and Will coming into the fair grounds for the finish. As she was gaining her strength back, Ivy was wanting to run her heart out. Such a champ.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The champs after a tough finish. Again, words can't express how honored I was to be apart of this event with them. Btw, they went with a theme for the race, the "80's".. awesome!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ivy, Jeremy, and myself strutting the streets of Dallas. Pic, courtesy of Willie. So much fun that day when it comes down to it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div align="center">And then the 4 of us by my car after the race and as we said our goodbyes. Awesome bling they were rocking that day. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll never forget that day. I was blessed to see in person some friends I've got to know over the passed year or so on DM. The Fermo brothers are awesome in person just as they are online. I can't wait for the next race where I can possibly make a trip down south near Houston, or even Beaumont where they came from. Hope the hills of Dallas weren't too bad for them. I could go for a break sometime and enjoy some flat terrains that South Texas has to offer. Here's to hoping for either the Houston Half marathon that Jeremy and Will traditionally run, or maybe the Rock 'N Roll Marathon in San Antonio. Either one is coming up this fall, so the weather will be much appreciated than this nasty muggy-ness this summer will bring to us Texans.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been two weeks since that race, and the memory of that was as fresh as when I ran that same course just a year ago. I so proudly set a PR (Personal Record) that day, and it was so humbling to see a new friend achieve a goal as well a year later. Funny how God works in our lives through the course of time, and how we get connected in strange ways. Blessings indeed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This passed weekend, I'm sure we all celebrated the festive holiday of Easter. To some of us, we saw the Easter bunny and hunted for eggs, some of went to church and heard the good message, and celebrated the resurrection of our savior Jesus Christ. I was fortunate to do both. I also got the privilege to run in a 5k on Saturday morning. I met up with another Dailymile friend, Dionna and her husband Tommy as they ran the race that weekend as well. Just an easy 3.1 mile jaunt through a couple of streets in Keller. It was for a good cause. I came in a 27:42 finish (8:54 pace). Not my best time, but I was pleased with my pace per mile. Over the last couple of years, I've been working my tail off trying to nail a sub 10, then eventually, a sub 9 minute mile. To make it in a 5k was unbelieveable. If I can nail this for a 10k, and eventually a half marathon, I will uberly satisfied. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Not much to say though about a 5k, it happened so fast. The RD (race director) says go, we run, we finish. Seemed like a blink of an eye for me. I'm used to being challenged by the road for a run. A 5k is a mere warmup for me, but I gotta hand to anyone who runs one of these. This distance will kick you if you let it. I'm not out to call anyone a sissy that can only run a 5k, because there are some that can't even run 100 meters. Before the race, I warmed up for 2 miles and finished in 17:39. It was a nice way to wake up and to getting ready for a good finish. With the course being as flat as it was, I was hoping for at least a 25 minute finish, but when you start at 9am in the Texas humidity, you're guaranteed to get kicked a bit in what you're used to pacing. As I got to the last part of the loop where it circled around and came back to the starting/finishing point, that humidity and sun showered me with some serious sweat. Still I pushed for a good finish. Needless to say, I was a little discouraged with my time, but I still had fun overall. The overall winner was a dad that finished in 17 minutes and some change. Not only that, he was pushing a jogger. Heroic in my book. For a short race, and not as big as marathon, I didn't receive a finishers medal, but that's ok. Still a great day was had.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me as I was coming up to the finish line. I had made a "Hulkamania" pose. I guess the photagrapher didn't catch it in time. Oh well... I was still proud of this race, and finish for that matter</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me and Dionna, a former Dailymiler, but still a good friend. Her and her family are very active, so props to them staying that way. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm not really sure at this point when my next race is. My hope is to possibly run the Mayfest 10k in Ft. Worth on May 5th. I think once Stacie and I get settled into our new place, I'll decide when my next race is. In the meantime, I will begin to put my knowledge as a personal trainer to the test. I hope to start training my first client in the next week or so. Things are starting to come together, and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for me.</div>Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-76899321289674133322012-03-17T23:06:00.000-07:002012-03-17T23:06:03.195-07:00What's on my mind?Sorry friends,<br />
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Just wanted to say that it's been a while since I've blogged and I've had so much going on. I want to thank my good lady bud, Mrs Kerrie B. for reminding me that I haven't blogged in awhile. Thank her for this one. LOL!! In all seriousness though, I would go about my days, have some thoughts, write them down (or at least attempt to anyway) and then come up with a really good blog. Never happened. So many thoughts, so many moments, so much of this, so much of that. Yeah, that's all been on my mind these days.<br />
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I tried at first to keep my blog page open to just my running moments. Mostly, my races. I've been encouraged by my friends on "Dailymile" to get a blogsite going for my race reports. Well, I got the site up, but no races yet.... until now. On Saturday, April 7, I'll running a local 5k in the NE part of the county I live in. I got connected with this run through a friend I met on DM. For $12, I thought, what a steal. Also, and if things work well in my favor, I have the Mayfest 10k as well on Saturday, May 5 (cinco de Mayo) in Ft Worth.. I'll be moving the weekend before, and with packing/unpacking I'm not for sure if I'll get in on this run or not. On a good day, I can swing a 10k in about 55 minutes, maybe less. My best time I've had, and I really don't count this because it was "training" and not on a race day was 53 minutes flat. So hind sites 20-20, I could swing this run in just under and hour if I had to. Meaning, I didn't train like I wanted to, but showed up anyway for the fun, friends, and food (my 3 F's as I call it on race days).. We shall see. <br />
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In other good news, as far as my running goes, I'm pretty much back at it like I was before I got injured. I prematurely ran above my certain distance last week, and much to my surprise, nothing bothered me. For now, the sports doc had me limited to no more than 6 miles at a time when I run. Ok, I don't think an extra .20 miles won't hurt, so a 10k it is. I like that distance anyway, so what the heck. Last Friday evening, I went for 8.3 miles and felt no pain at all like I just mentioned, so something is working well in my favor. Please note to all my peeps that like to kill my buzz by saying "be careful" and "don't overdo it now"... I gotcha covered. I know my body better than any of you. So, when I feel something, trust me!! I STOP. I may be crazy, but I'm not that crazy. Or, I might be dumb, but I ain't stupid. I'm sure you've all heard those expressions. I'm definitely on the comeback trail as I like to call it. I even changed my profile name to "Comeback Kid" on Dailymile. My new goal as I posted was "To stop holding myself back". This alone has give n me some kind of new lease on how I train, workout, etc. Feels good to be honest with you. Another DM friend said I now have to earn this name. You bet your ass I'm gonna earn it.<br />
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My goal this passed week was to get my old "baseline" average miles per week. Which in the past, was 30 as I got passed the "rookie" phase of my running, which then was between 15-20 miles per week. I didn't quite make it. But still, I made some of my own progress along the way, and that is something I can be proud and not settle one bit at all. This week brought a damper in not just my training, but in my family. As I have always said, I put my family first before my running, or any other type of fitness. My wife, Stacie has a much older sister that was born with multiple disabilities. From physical to some mental as well. For most of her life, her sister Brenda, has been in a state school and has been well taken care of. The doctors have said, she would not make it passed the age of 20. That was almost 31 years ago. She will be (and I say that loosely) 51 this summer, providing if she makes it to then. Long story short about my sweet sister in law, she has gone downhill for the last 2 years. It all started when the doctors put a trach in her to aide in her breathing. Back in 2010, the doctors took her off of it, and was expecting her to go right then and there. It was like being on "baby-watch", the family didn't know what or when this was going to happen. Amazingly enough, she has fought the toughest fight for the passed 2 years. Needless to say, she is tired! We got a call this week saying that the family should consider making plans for her memorial, so off to Lubbock, Texas we went. Let me back up for a bit and let this paragraph sink in for some of you... I mentioned that she was not make it passed 20 years old, that was 31 years ago. Also, that she was expected to be gone 2 years ago after she was pulled off her trach, um she's still around. To my doctor friends, if you can give me some kind of explanation for this, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise, I am praising my Lord and savior for this miracle. <br />
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I'm no doctor, but I am a believer nonetheless. Judge me if you must I don't care, that is your business, I respect you all the same. I understand when our time on earth is up, it's up. I'll never when I'll draw my last breath, or when the second coming of Jesus is going to happen. I'm very optimistic about it. So when I see my dying sister in law lying in the hospital room, I know I can't make the decision to say, don't let her suffer anymore, but I can pray for peace in the family. This weekend, I saw a man (my father in law) care deeply about his beloved daughter. It was like seeing a parent watch a young child suffer from cancer as he/she is holding on for everybody. Again, we never know when our time is up, but selfishly, we fight to savor every last minute to every last second we can for those who we want to stay around a little longer. I'm sure if I were in my FIL's shoes, I would be doing the same thing. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's Brenda before she started going down hill. Full of life. I never got the privelage of meeting her during this time of her life, but her smile says it all.</div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here's Brenda as of today (March 17, 2012).<br />
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<div align="center">My wife and her big sister. A moment we will cherish<br />
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<div align="center">And "daddy" giving his sweet angel a kiss on the forehead. </div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">This weekend has been another great lesson in life for me. One I will take with me as I someday reach fatherhood myself. As I sit in my hotel room writing this blog, I can't help but think about what is going on with my sister in law as she is helplessly lying in the bed at the hospital.. FYI... I forgot to mention, she is in fact under HOSPICE care. Today, the attending physician came in today, and really gave peace to my inlaws about "quality of life".. That's what it's all about right there. Honestly, if I were in a situation like this, I would never want to suffer myself. If my quality ever goes down, and I know I'm tired, please pull the plug. I know asking first and foremost, my wife to do that would be devastating, but I'm at peace with that. Have been since I was 21 when I gave my life back to Christ. That's another story, I'll share with later... <br />
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Gosh, so much has gone on, that these last few weeks have been a big blur. I just know with this weekend's experience, and my life in running motion have given me some of life's challenges themselves as of lately. I've been so happy to take them on. I know I've got some good things on the horizon for me. Not just me, but my whole family as well. In a nutshell, that has been on my mind. Till then, just keep moving.<br />
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Good night</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-41709789151421434212012-02-10T17:20:00.000-08:002012-02-10T17:20:37.281-08:00Sacrifices! Were they worth it?I had to ask myself that question this passed week. Not just in running, but in life itself. After the Dallas White Rock Marathon, I was left with a pretty bad injury. Little did I know, I have had it prior to running the race. Last month, I finally went to the doctor to get my leg checked out find that it was bursitis in my iliotibial band, aka "ITB". In my terms, the IT Band is the long muscle in your leg that connects from the hip to the knee. Experts reading this, correct at any time if I'm wrong.<br />
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"What the ITB does, is that it stabilizes the knee both in extension and in partial flexion and is therefore used constantly during walking and running. This is a real common injury generally with runners and cyclists as well, and is developed by people who suddenly increase their level of activity."<br />
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- quoted from wikipedia.com.. look up "IT BAND".. <br />
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Now that I got that out of the way, guess what? I fit in that category of increasing level of activity. As I was training last summer, I was steadily increasing my mileage every week, or at least was trying my hardest to. I didn't think much of it at first when I would run out on the "flats" in my neighborhood loop that the back of my leg would catch, or feel like it was locking up. So, I'd stop and stretch then move on. It wouldn't bother me again throughout the duration of my run, so I just assumed it was that I didn't stretch well enough. Ok, problem solved, I stretch more. Well, it worked for awhile, then my leg would catch again. Again, I didn't think much of because as I was training, my miles were increasing. By mid October, I was up to comfortably running 17 miles at a time and averageing a 10-1030 pace. For me, I wasn't to worried about pace since this was my first marathon I was training for, I just wanted to run it, finish it, and do a "IN YOUR FACE" thing to those who didn't think I could do it. On the flipside of this, my short distance pace was improving as well. I figured for the marathon, I could hold about a 1030-1045 pace, and for the most part, I did. In the middle of the White Rock Marathon, around mile 4, I had to "routinely" stop and stretch my left leg out again, and then it never bothered me again for the rest of the race. It wasn't until around mile 12ish, which is when I got out to the lake that my left knee was starting to aggravate me some. Like the inexperienced runner I was, I didn't think much of it, and just brushed it off. My "seasoned" running friends have always said, or told me directly that injuries do occur in races. Rather it's a 5k or a marathon, you will experience some kind of pain. With that in mind, I kept moving. <br />
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Again, little did I know, I had injured my IT Band. After seeing the doctor, who diagnosed it as bursitis, the inflammation was about the size of a golf ball on the side of my knee. The doctor recommended a shot to relieve the inflammation and then go about doing simple recovery workouts and strengthen up the mucsles. I opted out on the injection, because I personally felt that the pain, to me, wasn't serious enough for that. So, I took the docs advice and sidelined my running. He said, I still could, but not at the distances I was doing before. With my ITB being weak, it also meant that my hip(s) were weak as well. For the next 4 weeks I went through some rounds of my own "therapy". From working my hip muscles, to cycling, and running what I could before my leg acted up. You name it, I did it. Leg presses, extensions, curls, kickbacks, hip abductors, hip adductors, I did them all. I also did a lot more stretching. I even invested in a leg roller. I can tell you those things WORK.. <a href="http://www.thestick.com/">http://www.thestick.com/</a> .. get you one!<br />
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This passed week, I made my follow up appointment with the sports doc about my leg. I am happy to say, that I have made some serious improvements. When I run, my knee doesn't bother me like it did that day out on the marathon course, or any other time I failed to mention before about my runs. I still get the issue of my left leg catching or locking up in the back, but that used to happen at around mile 3. It now happens around mile 5. So, I'm heading in the right direction, just not quite 100% yet. For the record, this injury has been the best thing to happen to me. I'm crazy enough to say, but also I say it with confidence too.<br />
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I am very blessed and fortunate to have a sports doctor like I had that not only understands me as a runner, but he IS a runner himself. He understood my injuries to the "T". He also gave me some the best advice that I have to say has given me such peace of mind as well. For the spring of this year, I had planned to run the Cowtown Marathon in February, the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in March, and then finish up the spring season by running the Big D "Texas" Marathon. I think the one main reason why I injured myself was because I stressed out over the training. I had all year (2011) to prepare for it, and I knew I wanted to run it. I had the miles in, but my body wasn't adjusted like it should have. I halfway decided, then eventually made the notion to sit out Cowtown altogether, but I had my heart set out for the Rock n Roll Half, because I enjoy the 13.1 mile distance, and I could pick up a PR at that race. With Big D, well.. Long story short, I had "originally" planned to run the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon at the end of April, but with my wife and I moving in April, I had to save money by sitting OKC out and doing something closer to home. Big D fit the bill, because it was in Dallas, and pretty much the same route as the White Rock marathon. Only difference between the 2, was that this one was in the spring, so the warmer weather would have played a big role. Now, I've heard enough horror stories in the past about Big D, but I wanted to get another marathon in before the summer season hit and it got too hot.<br />
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<div align="center">This is where the sacrifice comes in. Was it worth it?</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Again, this question was asked. As I told my doctor about the races I had planned, he highly encouraged me to drop them all. Without hesitation, I humbly agreed. In my short career so far as a runner, one thing I have always been faithful about doing is listening to the experienced runners. Some of the best advice ever given to me came from you guys. You know who you are, so stand up now and take a bow or pat yourself on the back. For now with this injury, I can go 5 miles comfortably before my leg acts up. Today, I have no problems with the knee, just the back of my leg still catches from time to time. I remedied this by stretching, still cross training, and lots of hip and knee workouts. One friend suggested I walk backwards on the treadmill. Embarrassing as it may sound, it's helped!! Thanks Lynn :-)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So why was this sacrifice worth it? Well duh, it's an injury. Sometimes it takes being sidelined to get recovered. KIDDING!! Yes indeed, this sacrifice of sitting out my races this season was worth it. Without a doubt, it was worth it. Here recently, as I was battling with my injury, my wife Stacie even noticed a problem with me. Some nights when she would come home from school, she would question me of why I didn't go to the gym. I would tell her I didn't feel like and that I was just too tired to go, and wanted to rest. She knew me better than that. I didn't realize this injury and my inability to run was affecting her too. I admit, for a while I was in a funk. I put on a really good "game face" to hide it, but she saw right through me. With a little chat, and lots of encouragement from her, and prayer, I got back on the horse and went back to training. Another reason for sacrificing my races, by May, we will be moving into our new home. We are uberly excited about this as well. We're getting all the arrangements from deposit to first/last months rent, movers, packing, etc. made for the next chapter for us. It's a lot more spacious, has a second floor, and not as congested as our current place of residence. Pics to follow when we move in. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">With all this, I leave with saying, that sometimes it's ok to be injured. One of my last two blogs I wrote, I mentioned how the road, the track, and sometimes the trails know me, they still do. I just don't get the spend as much time with them as I want at this point. Right now, I'm still in "soul search" mode, and I think I'll be in that mode for the rest of my life. From the very first time, and every time since then that I have set foot out on the road for a run, there is no doubt that I am free. One friend put it best about another runner friend of mine, that you look so "free and spirited".. I like that! My next race, I'm putting those words into action. As a contribution to my sacrifice, I've learned to pay it forward more. While I won't be at the starting line of the Rock n Roll half in March, I will be on the sidelines cheering as the talented runners embark the course of Dallas, Texas and reach for whatever goal they wish to attain, rather it's a PR, or like myself 2 years ago, a chance to accomplish a goal of running their first race. I pray for all that each runner is capable of finishing the task at hand. I also have a treat for a friend running this race. You know who are as well, but if you are running this race in March, look for a dude with a pink doo rag and a pair of running shoes around mile 9 or 10 ready to pace with you to the finish line. My dearest friend Lynn did this for me when I ran the White Rock marathon, so I would like to continue to "pass the buck" on to another. I don't know if I'll make it to cheer on my friends who are running the Big D in April, but if I just happen to be there, around mile 20 or so, and you need some motivation to finish that last 10k onto the finish line, I will do my darnedest to be there for you.. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Yes indeed... It was worth it!!</div>Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-47319624943657538692012-02-04T17:51:00.000-08:002012-02-04T17:51:27.990-08:00Following up! Ok, now I've gotten the whole summary of my journey out of the way, I thought I'd get more into what I do now. Since my running has taken off, I've hit some highs, and some lows here recently. The biggest high, was through my success in losing weight and becoming a dedicated runner as I like to think of it as, I am also a personal trainer. Granted I didn't make the first go round in becoming a po-po, I felt it was not my time. Over time, I was blessed and grateful to have friends ask for health advice, and what to eat, what not to eat, how to workout, what workouts to do. All sorts of cool stuff. I had no clue, I just got up one, stopped making excuses and took it from there. I didn't quite know the science behind, so I studied to become a personal trainer. I love it!! I haven't found "employment" just yet in the field, but I am getting my ducks lined up to start training on my own at my home gym where I started. Kind of like "being my own boss" type of gig. Which I admit, it's scary to think about striking out on my own after working for "the man" for the last 11 years of my adult working life. <br />
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That's ok! Fear is what drives people. That and encouragement which are my two favorites. My goal and passion in life is to pay it forward, and help those who can't help themselves. I for one have been there. Still there to some degree, but I've got resources from all around that have helped me as much as I hope I have helped them. Love you peeps, you know who you are!!<br />
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So far 2012 has been good to me. I suffered and injury back when I ran the White Rock Marathon. I was diagnosed with bursitis in my IT (illiatibial) band. This injury usually occurs in the hip area, but mine is on the outer side of my left knee. I can run no problem, afterwards, I have to stretch it, ice it, and then take my leg roller to it. I can go about 3 miles and then I have to stop because the pain is a little much to handle. I've used this injury as an opportunity to try other avenues and also workouts I can encorporate when I'm training clients. Plus, as a bonus, the cross trainining is off the hook. I've taken up biking on occasion and even added more strength training. More than what I usually do. Look out Arnie. Just kidding. <br />
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I originally had 3 races lined up before "spring" hit here in Texas. I prayerfully and even talked it over with my wife, and also another good friend of mine, and I have decided to sit out my upcoming races. I couldn't be anymore relieved that I am doing this. Not just for financial purposes, but for the purpose of me getting started as a trainer. I can't have distractions when I'm getting this going. In this case for me, less is more. For what distance I can run before my ITB acts up, I have been able to focus on it by increasing speed. Yes, I am capable of running long distances, I proved it on December 4th of 2011, but I know I can do better than what I finished in (4:58:07). So for now, I'm going with shorter distances, faster speeds instead of longer and slower. 5 and 10ks have become my favorite distances to run lately. My goal is to nail a sub 2 hour half marathon by the fall, which should give me the drive to hit that sub 4 mark for a full 26.2 marathon.<br />
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Being sidelined for now has given me some time to "soul search" as well. Who am I as an athlete, what can I do to improve, where do I go from here.... These are some of the questions I have asked myself here recently. In October of 2011, I signed to run a 20 mile race as a warmup before the full marathon. Sad to say, I bonked at mile 17 and DNF'd (did not finish). I learned so much about myself that day. One of the perks of being a runner is, you FIND yourself. Another perk is that it sometimes takes more than just one marathon to do that. I don't quite have MYSELF found yet, but the roads, the pavements, and sometimes the trails know the real me. <br />
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Me at the finishline at White Rock 2011. Proudest day in my running career thus far.<br />
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The following weekend, I was rewarded with my certificate to now be a trainer. Had to rock the "26.2" tee along with.<br />
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My wife's handywork as she was cheering for me. Let us RUN with perseverance the RACE marked out for US... Hebrews 12:1<br />
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In case I forget the meaning, I just look down and I have a permanent reminder.Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9087745053198821667.post-89894916064108735742012-02-04T17:00:00.000-08:002012-02-04T17:00:15.265-08:00Let's get started?? Shall we!! Were do I begin? Well, I'll tell you this. After the last couple of years of running, losing weight, getting fit, all of the above, I have FINALLY put together this blog site. I don't know why I've been putting this off, but better late than never. After seeing blogs from my other friends (close ones and the ones I have met online via Facebook and Dailymile) I was inspired to write my own. After 2 years, I got some stories to tell. From my first race I ever did (Dallas White Rock half marathon 2010) to my most recent (Dallas White Rock marathon 2011) and so many training runs and other races as well in between.<br />
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This whole thing began for me by getting my big butt on a treadmill, and the rest they say is history. Ha-Ha!! No seriously, that's pretty much the beginning. You think I'm kidding!! Go ahead and laugh, I'm sure your journey was in a similar fashion as mine just not on a treadmill. Ok, I'm ranting, focus Timmaay!! Focus.. Another reason why I procrasinated with this whole thing is I love to write, and as I think and speak out my thoughts, I write or type them down. Ok, some people call that ADD, I call that my way of expression. So, back to the treadmill story. Back in June of 2009, my wife, Stacie had the laproscopic band aka "Lap-Band" procedure to help her lose weight. When we got married back in October of 2008, one of our determinations as a couple was to get healthy. I'm so thankful my wife took the first step. I would have, but I was lazy at the time. Still am, but that's beside the point. Well, because of her taking the first step, I was inspired.... in more ways than one. As the weight was dropping off of her, I felt at times it was coming onto me. I wasn't quite "eligible" to get the procedure done myself, althought I had thought about doing something to get my weight off. I was starting out at 267 pounds and was at risk of a lot of health problems. Cholesterol was up, risk of diabetes was up, my numbers were so high, even at 29 years old at the time, I was at risk of a heart attack. YIKES!! Ok, got the wake up call I needed. What do I do??<br />
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So, in November of 2009, my wife Stacie and I joined a gym. As she was losing her weight, she was feeling more revived and energetic, and I was just wanted to get energy. Got to start somewhere, so the first night in the gym, I hopped on the treadmill because it didn't look too scary at first, and after barely making it 5 minutes, I thought I was about to die. Stupid me starting out with a light jog, borderline running. Big shock to my system I guess. After about 5 more minutes of just walking, I was done. Afterwards, I went to try out the weight machines and whatever else was offered at the gym. "I'm going to get my money's worth one way or another", I said. After the first night of feeling like I was ran over by a truck, I told Stacie no matter what, I am not quitting. I've ran away from so many other excuses, and I've quit so many other things in life, I'm not quitting myself. Like a good wife, she has stood by me and has been there ever since with her love and support as I have continued this journey. (This is a brief summary by the way of how I got started)<br />
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Above is me and Stacie on our wedding day. October 4, 2008. I carry this picture around to let others know that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. As a side note, most of you who are reading know the man in the middle, our beloved and former pastor Tommy Teague who went to be with the Lord back in June of 2011. He was an admirer as well of mine and Stacie's success with our weight loss. For that, I dedicate health and fitness to him and he is always in my heart and mind everytime I workout, run, whatever the case may be. We miss you Brother Tommy.<br />
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To say that I am proud of my beautiful wife and what she has accomplished would be a huge understatement. After her big success with weight loss, she paid it forward by walking for 3 days, 20 miles a day, 60 miles total for the Cure.. When you ask who my inspiration is, you don't have to look any further. <br />
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So, what got you started into running? This question was asked one day when I was surfing through Dailymile.com. For those that don't know, dailymile is "Facebook/Twitter for athletes, runners, cyclists, walkers, and triathletes of all sorts" . From the fittest to the not so fittest, we welcome all and don't discriminate. In fact, we encourage one another as we go about our days when we run, workout, bike, swim, etc. We share some laughs, tears, injuries, good times, and bad. You ever want to join, it's free.. Back to my running! On dailymile.com, there is a #dailymission, or a question of the day. Well, one day that question was asked, and I pondered about it... What got me started into running??... As I mentioned above, it was me getting my butt on the treadmill. Ok, it was more than that. Over the course of my journey, probably not even 5 months into it, I had dropped 35 pounds roughly. I was averaging between 10-11 minutes per mile, and was going up to 5 miles at a time. Needless to say, I was already used to running 5k's (3.1 miles), and this was before I ever knew such things like the "C25K, couch to 5k" program, I was just running just because. Shows you how simple minded I can be. For me, as my weight started going down, and as my wife was being inspired to walk the 3day, I was inspired to give back as well....In my own community. I also mentioned at the beginning of this blog that I had "quit" a lot of things in life, well the military was one of those. So, I thought as a "second chance", I would enlist my services into the police department. I went in, applied, got the letter to come take the PT (physical training) tests, and then written test, please bring paperwork, yady yady yady...so I did. The physical requirements were to do 25 pushups(no time limit) without breaking form or dropping, 30 situps in 1 minute, run a mile and a half in 14:36, and then run 300 meters in 1:10. Pushups and situps, easy... 1.5 mile run (13:22), 300 meters (55 seconds). Not bad for a last day 29 year old, since this was done the day before I turned 30. Written portion of the exam, I made a 65. 5 points away from passing, *sigh*.. Best thing that ever happened as it turned out for me, because I didn't have all of my paperwork ready to begin with, and they always say, "if you don't get it the first time, there's always a second".. I haven't made my second attempt yet, but it's in my thoughts to try again, just not sure at this point in time. I got till I'm 45 to make that decision, I got another 14 years to decide, so I got plenty of time.<br />
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As a treat, and cheering up present, I signed up for the Dallas White Rock Half marathon (2010). At that point in my running, 8 miles was about the furthest I've ever gone, to go 13.1, was a huge milestone for me. I bellied up to the bar and finished in 2:28:07. I wasn't too worried about time or placement, I just liked the idea that I was out on the streets of Dallas, Texas with upwards of 22,000 other people doing what we love, RUNNING. So you've ask, now you know. Since then, I've made several other achievements, and I am still not stopping anytime soon.Timmayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00605793968283836916noreply@blogger.com2