Wonderful Weekend!

I can't believe how good this weekend was both for workouts and family!  Where should I start?  Let's see, I'll start with my running stuff - Friday I did 7.5 mile total, a bunch of that was fairly slow in fact Beth joined me for 2.3 miles!  She's going to try to get some running in an maybe run a race coming up.  It was nice getting out with her, we took Bogey, Cade in the stroller, Abby was on her razor with her friend from accross the street.  I enjoyed getting out of the house and spending time with Beth.  She always seems to handle running easily and she ended up doing the distance at a 12:06 pace.  Not bad for someone who doesn't really run. My main run on Friday was only 2.6 miles and most of that was downhill.  It didn't worry me though because Friday's are actually my rest day when it comes to my planning schedule, so getting in these miles were a bonus.  My legs feel pretty good and overall I feel strong.  Pace was a pretty quick 9:15 per mile so I'm very happy since the run itself didn't take too much effort.

Saturday was another good day - I picked up Alex from his Mother's and he wanted to run with me that night, so after giving him my old New Balance shoes, we went out he front door for an easy 5k.  This kid is fast, but having him there really helped me.  I was able to talk with him while we ran and the time flew by.  Before I knew it we were going up our last hill for the finish.  At that point Alex wanted to 'stretch his legs' and picked up the pace.  Me being his old man tried to limit him pulling away from me.  Over the final half mile he got about a :45 seconds on me and I fnished in 28:24 only :20 slower than my personal best.  WOW!  This run felt so easy paced for me so I know running with him will help me a ton.  Hopefully he'll stick with it.

Saturday is my week ending date so I put together a solid week - I ran everyday this past week and logged 38.2 miles doing it.  Beth and I ran, Alex and I ran, and Beth and I did the pretest on P90x.  (more on this later)  Overall it was a great week, I'm feeling really strong right now, and my workouts are going great!  I still can't believe that I'm pushing myself into new territory here.  I can't wait for P90x to get into full swing......

Sunday I did my long run for the week (5 miles).  Alex joined me again.  I thought maybe he was going to be tired from the night before, but the three miles didn't seem to bother him at all.  We did just over 5 miles at a 9:24 pace.  A little fast for me, but once again I felt good running with him, and he takes me out of my confort zone just a little.  Not so much that I'm struggling, but just enough to give me that 'next level' of training that I need.  Overall with our warm up and cool down we ended up logging 6.5 miles.  This Wednesday he's has his first track day; 9+ miles on a track!  They do 10 laps, 9 laps, 8 laps, etc.  What an introduction to track running!  No timing, but they have to finish before they go home.......  This season could be interesting for him, but after doing 5 miles with me, it shouldn't be a problem him as long as he paces himself.  BTW he logged a 6:15 mile for his PE final last week, I wonder what he could do with solid training?

Monthly totals: 179.9 miles, three new PB's, started weight training, did pretest for P90x.  Pretty solid month if I do say so.  Too bad for that three day rain stretch otherwise I might have had 30 days of straight running.

Family stuff this weekend was wonderful.  Beth had to put in some hours at the office, but once she was home we made the best of it.  Like I mentioned, she went running on Friday, and Saturday we had fun just hanging out together.  Sunday we took the family down to San Diego (about a 45 min drive) and spent about 2.5 hours on the Midway.  Yes the Aricraft Carrier Midway from WWII.  The carrier is now decommishioned and is a floating museum down in San Diego.  Beth's Uncle works as a tour guide / safety staff on the ship and gave us some free passes over Christmas.  We had a blast.  If you're in the area, I'd recommend this site to anyone even if you're not a big history buff.  This boat has such a rich histoy and was so vital to us winning the war in the Pacific, you can't help be feel in awe when you step aboard.  They are continusously opening new rooms so there is always something new to look at.

 Cade with his Monkey Leash

Eject! Eject!

Just one of several planes they have on display, this is INSIDE the Midway.

Go Navy!  Mr. Speedy himself.

Abby and Cade

Beth and Cade

Helicopter tansport - Alex knows it from Call Of Duty for XBox.  Scary thing is Abby and Cade knew it also.

The kids

Check out that anchor!  That only one of two in the bow.  Taken from the flight deck.

Downtown San Diego skyline - taken from the flight deck of the Midway.

 

Abby the Fighter Pilot

After a late lunch in Old Towne.

Keep Steppin'

Bob

Closing in on a Major Goal

The title pretty much tells it all - I'm closing in on a major mileage goal I set for myself at the start of the year; 800 total miles. After my walk this morning I'm within 10 miles of that goal and should hit it later this week. It's hard to believe that I'm going to reach this since it's a stretch goal. (600 miles was my actual goal.)

There is a ton of room for improvement on this though. Next year I'm looking to log 1000 - 1200 miles. Consistency is my goal next year - I now have 12 months of solid base that I can build on, and I'm pretty sure I can reach this goal next year. But before I can look into next year I want to finish this one strong.

None of this could happen without my wonderful wife - Beth. She puts up with the late night runs (and even later showers). She'll drive me to some location to let me ride my bike home, and lets me 'take off' while she watches the kids. I can't thank you enough Honey for your support.

Switching gears - I promised a few pics from our Yosemite trip last month. I have all the pic uploaded to my fb account (100+ pictures) but I wanted to put a few of my favorites here (since I DID promise). Even though I didn't get the chance to get a run in up there we did bike and did a lot of hiking. That week I logged about 20 miles and I think half of that was done in the Valley. As a family we had a great time and I'm very thankful we made the drive up there even though on the ride home poor Cade had an "accident" and we didn't even know for about 2 hrs..... Ahhh the memories. :)

The Valley Floor

I love this picture - even though Beth has 'Shrek' hands

At the bottom of Yosemite Falls

Abby all bundled up

Had to do the 'Standard' Yosemite picture

Keep Steppin'

Bob

5 Miler in the Bank

Got out and pushed Cade for 5 miles this morning and it felt pretty good. The run was on a pretty hilly course and I did struggle, I even had to walk about :45 seconds at one point, but I'm sure this training is going to help me a ton later on. My pace was slow (11 min miles) so it's difficult looking at my log knowing I'm putting up these very slow times, shoot I even entered a new running category (stroller runs) so I know why the pace is so slow on these runs. That helps a little.

My legs feel good today - a little tired but not too bad overall. Conditioning is slowly getting better and I'm gaining confidence in my ability.

I've been slacking on my evening runs so far over the past several days which is unfair to my running buddie Bogey. He doesn't seem to mind too much but I really need to get out with him tonight. Last night I put Cade down and completely crashed with him, Beth work me up around 9 pm and I was just beat. So I did a little work and came to bed around 11 pm.

Today is Beth's actual B-day. Happy birthday cutie! I love you. She's celebrating her 2nd 30th birthday today. From here on out it's going to be difficult remembering how old she is. :) Her Boss gave her a day at the local spa. All expenses paid on him - shoot he's even paying her salary today. So right about now I think she's getting some sort of facial and foot rub.

Boy I love working out of the house.....

Well today is Friday - and I love what I'm doing. The weeks seem to fly by, and even though I'm not making a ton of money just yet, I am hitting my start up income goals already and I'm ahead of my plan. Now I'm sitting here thinking that I'm bummed out that today is Friday - that means no market tomorrow; but I DO have plenty of research and training I can do - it's just that it's not quite the same. Today was another great day for me market wise and I'm basically done for the day other than watching, and spending time learning.

As for running, I'm doing very well. Last night I did take off since I was already sitting at 20 miles for the week and during my morning run yesterday my legs felt like lead. But this morning I did put in a 4.5 miler after I walked Abby to school. Even though my legs are tired, it felt good to head out pushing Cade into the morning mist. We had a pretty heavy marine layer and drops were hanging off the spiderwebs along the walking trails. Cade wanted to do a 'long' run this morning and since he was armed with Coco Puffs, juice, and his transformer I headed out and ran a course that we haven't tried before. Overall the run wasn't bad - I took it very slowly and my legs felt ok (at least much better than yesterday.)

I am planning on getting another 2-3 miles in tonight with Bogey and maybe I can talk Beth into joining us since Alex will be over and he can watch the little ones sleep.

Racewise I'm starting to think about a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot (5k). It's about the perfect time out training wise so I think I'll sign up for this next week. My goal here is to beat last years time (31:55) and my stretch goal will be a PB time (sub 28:27). There's a pretty big gap here but I don't want to put too much pressure on me right now. As I get closer to the race date I'll decide which side I want to be closer to.

Keep Steppin'
Bob

My Running Partner Eddie?

I've mentioned Eddie in previous posts about running with me, racing, and texting. Lately we've chosen to run on Wednesday afternoons. Eddie is a great guy, we met because he's one of my larger vendor reps and we get along really well. After a few lunches together, we decided last year that we'd run a 5k together. That was the 4th of July run that he just pulled me through the course. Ever since then I've taken my running a little more seriously and have tried to remain consistent - and I think I've done a pretty good job.


* Graph didn't turn out too well - it's supposed to be total miles per month, last 12 months......

Other than Feb of this year (vacation) - I've done a pretty damm good job. But I digress, back to my topic. Eddie lately has been flaking big time. Every week he calls or texts asking me if we're running on Wednesday. Every week I answer with a yes, and every week he either bails or cancels. Shoot even this week - he pulled a no-show didn't no-call. Now I'm a pretty laid back guy, but no call? That's pretty uncool.

Why do I put up with this? That's a good question. Overall he's a good guy to hang out with. A former marine, father, and husband we have a lot in common (other than the military part). I like his stories, and it's very easy to get along with him. I think I put up with it because during our talks together he's opened up to me and I know he's going through a difficult time with his wife - I think it takes more out of him than he realizes.....

Still I'd like the chance to help him on his running like he did for me last year. I just hope I get that chance.

One finally note: My darling wife the other day commented to me, "It's our 8-year anniversary and not one mention of it on your blog? You devote a whole post toward Bogey, but not even a line for our anniversary?" OK, yeah, hindsight says I most likely should have mentioned it because I know she reads this from time-to-time. My thought process was that I wanted to keep certain things private and excluded for this blog since it's essentially a running blog - so I didn't see the need to 'spread my joy' with my readers (the few and faithful). But Beth is right - I should have mentioned it. I love you and thank you for the 8 wonderful years we have spent married together. Thank you for giving me a family, raising our children, and keeping our house and lives (including our finances) together. You have made me the man that I am today; the man I wanted to be. Thank you for putting up with my crap, my 'personality traits', and weird mood swings. Thank you for letting me disappear on my 'long days' to run. I remember our trip to Cabo, the juant to TJ, the times at the river. I remember buying the condo and then the house - you were always the stable force behind me. No words I can say or posts I can make could even start to describe my love for you. You are my best friend and will always be. I can't wait to spend the next 8 years of my life with you......


Let's Keep Steppin' together -
Bob

I'm a Bum - (Or Just Really Busy)

I just wanted to drop a quick note - I haven't died......yet. It's Saturday and I'm in the office. Why? That's a very good question. I think I've got almost 50hrs this week already plus the 1.5 hrs of driving time a day leaves me with no time. Long story short - no running this week. :( Hopefully I'll get my inventory done and I can get out this afternoon. We'll see.

Beth has been running/walking twice this week that I know of. She's kicking my a$$ in mileage this week. (She might have done more but I really haven't seen her at all this week so there's no telling :))

That's it for now - I'll post again after I actually get a run in. Have a great weekend!

Keep Steppin'
Bob

My Wife Went Running

Yesterday I got home and Beth told be she went running with the kids in tow. Abby riding her scooter (since it was MLK Day) and Cade riding in the running stroller. I was impressed. You have to understand when we first met she told me outright that she didn't like running at all.

Deep down I hope she enjoys it and continues to work on it. But if not I still love you honey!

For me yesterday was a good day. Over 7 miles logged throughout the day. Today I'm feeling it in my shins and quads. I'm planning about 3-4 miles today as a very easy pace just to get out and get some miles in. The stress level at work is the highest I've ever had (this includes being laid off in the past) so I'm hoping these runs will keep me sane.

Keep Steppin'
Bob