Christmas Run and Run/Walk

5.3 miles
51:08 min, 9:38 min/mile pace
+
6.03 miles, 2 running, untimed

Ran on my own this morning, including a mile long run through a valley that, according to the elevation chart, was a hundred foot drop then an immediate hundred foot climb out. Felt pretty phenominal today. 28*, saw wildlife everywhere, got to practice running on ice for future races. All in all a pretty goof start. Then, I got to run and walk around a nature preserve, see geese and ducks, a small river, numerous lakes and ponds while spending time with my wife! We did 6 miles in all. I could do this every day!

Perfect weather!

3.01 miles
30:33 min, 10:09 min/mile
+
2 treadmill miles

We had another nice run this morning. Nothing intense, but we did manage to pick up the pace just a bit. I suspect she did this in order to get out of the 30* weather, but whatever works! Today was supposedly the coldest day here in Columbia with temps not breaking 35* all day, and the Target insulated mock neck worked just fine, even if it does feel like the mock neck is choking me. At half the price of Under Armour Cold Gear I can handle it for now!

10/22 Midwest Run

3.03 miles
31:12 min, 10:17 min/mile

Also ran, but didn't track, 3 miles while we were in Atlanta, but I have to say that the best run so far was today. 31 degrees when we woke up, threw on the warm layers and hit the road. Columbia, Missouri has some beautiful scenery, nice rolling hills with the occasional valley to run through. Before we leave I'll be running through a valley that would make Newell Rd in Gainesville look tiny and I can't wait! I'm not sure DW will want to do that with me, but that just means I'll run half the mileage that day with her and the rest by myself. We're still thinking about the Katy Trail down closer to the Mizzou campus, but a body was just found there by another runner so we might avoid it for now until all the spectators and police get done with whatever they have to do.

Ate way too much Shakespeare's Pizza so the run tomorrow should be miserable. We'll attempt a few miles on the treadmill tonight. Can't let the weight slip over the holidays!

I like my new shoes, I like my new shoes

Because it's all good. - Pete the Cat

3.5 miles
32:00 min, 9:08 min/mile

Ran around campus, down University, 34th and back to Hull and Museum Road until the pain in both arches got too bad to continue. Actually I should have stopped long before, but I was too far away from my car to walk. I ended up getting blisters on both feet, but they're not too severe. Hopefully it won't hurt tomorrow when I drop off DW's car in the morning for an oil change and run home. That would be embarrassing having to walk by all the little middle schoolers!

12/12 Run

3.24 miles
29:51 min, 9:12 min/mile

It was a dark and stormy night and some idiot was out running and dodging cars. Not really dodging because I saw them all coming from a long way off and got far away from the road, but still. Ran after dinner on a full stomach, but even with that it felt like any other run. Nothing tremendously fast or slow, just the Higdon required miles at a good pace.

12/10 Run

3.19 miles
27:40 min, 8.41 min/mile

Yep, last run was on the tenth, skipped one yesterday and it's raining today. Been feeling really sluggish lately, but somehow I have to get out there and put a lot of miles in this week starting today. Writing this while on a corporate conference call at work. Is that bad?

Also, learned of a HCG Diet from a friend of ours, which is basically cutting calories while using a chemical drop to reduce appetite. The 26 day program costs a little over a hundred bucks and it promises a pretty drastic weight loss, so January might be the ideal time if the money is there. Rejoining the gym might be the best option though. I can't wait to get back to Gainesville Health and Fitness!

12/7 on Mt. Newell

6 reps, all under 1 min, final @ 41 seconds

A shorter hill workout on the Higdon plan today, but I made it a little faster and more intense. Really wasn't feeling the hills today, but the fat boy powered through the required 6 hill climbs in pretty decent time. At 53 degrees, the last sprint up the steepest hill on campus took 41 seconds and I honestly thought I was close to passing out, which would have been bad considering I was alone tonight!

Tomorrow is a busy day. With holiday travel coming up, finding someone to cover my spot at work, parties, shopping and whatever else pops up, we're slammed. Lots of errands leaves little time to practice on the driving range and run, but it'll have to get done somehow.

Golf in 2012

Mine, not golf in general.

I have a hard time doing anything for just the fun of it. Baseball involved some pretty intense competition, practices, etc throughout the year off and on from the time I was around 10 until college, and maybe it's some psychological thing because of that, but I learned to always be up for practices and to go into games with a high level of focus, even though it appeared I could be almost too laid back at times. I don't know if it's because I was a part of competition for so long or what, but I need something athletically to work towards or compete in. When the baseball career ended, golf was the next logical step. What started as a way to be closer to Dad evolved into a sport that had a future for me. Despite long layoffs during work in the construction field and the first year or so in Gainesville, I'm back on the range attempting to chase down a dream I had since near the end of college, entry onto a major or minor tour.

Several friends and acquaintances play or caddie on the PGA, Nationwide, Sunshine, Hooters and European Tour, so I'm not short on contacts when or if I make it. I've also played enough rounds with these same players to know that when I'm swinging well, or at least consistent, that I can hang with them distance-wise. The only questions are time and money. Money, of course, will come in the form of sponsorships once you enter the qualifying tournaments and make it through at least one section. Major companies typically troll the player lists looking for unknown talent that they can sign to basic deals on spec, providing players with equipment and cash for entry fees until they can be looked at again and either dropped or given a better contract. Space on a shirt, bag, hat and anywhere else imaginable is also for sale, often to other major companies eager to get their brand out there. The problem with money is that you need some to make some, and with a family to start parting with an initial $2500ish is a big gamble. The gamble being that if I go to the PGA Tour qualifying tournament, Q School, and not make it out of the first section I'm done and the PGA Tour is $2500 richer. However, if I pick courses that suit me and make it to the final stage of Q School (next year in Orlando), at the minimum I have guaranteed entry into at least a third of the Nationwide tournaments next year, sponsorship by at least one company (anyone making it to finals without sponsorship is listed in a press kit that goes out to all companies who submit an inquiry, this year 175 companies inquired) and further entries dependent on tournament performance. Not a bad deal at all, and with a chance to see what I can do how can you pass that up? Play decent golf that I'm capable of, get through every stage safely, get picked up by a sponsor and see if I can make a living on the golf course first on the Nationwide Tour then onto the big tour if all goes well.</p>
<p>The other option is the NGA/Hooters Tour, also know affectionately by She Who Must Be Obeyed as the 'I Know Why You Like THAT Tour'. It's less expensive to go through qualifying, their qualifying tournament is one tournament instead of four different tournaments, or Sections, like the PGA Tour, but the downside is that the entry fees are really steep and the spots into the tournaments are often decided a couple days before the beginning of the first round, leaving people new to the tour wondering if they got in and being forced to drive or fly last minute on expensive flights. It's easier to get on this tour, but is it really worth it?

Make it through prequalifying for the PGA Tour with the goal of status on the Nationwide Tour is what I'm shooting for. Of course, more frequent trips to the range, extended practice times... These things aren't free and the time required is intensive. It's a little different than going to the range for a specific time. Parting with that kind of cash? Difficult to do. There are ways to come up with the money. Saving... Family... Selling a kidney... Nothing's a perfect plan, and I'll pretty much have to be my own support system in this, but it's something I love to do, something I'm good at, and if I couldn't pursue this I might as well sell the clubs. The problem is, if I sold the clubs I'd find another sport to become involved in, compete in and ultimately pursue on whatever level I'd be able to do. The way I see it, if the golf option got yanked I'd put the money towards a good carbon framed bike, something in the $2k to $3k range at first, and be on the road training for 100, 200 etc miles a week probably with no hope of monetary reward and bitterness at giving up on a sport I can pursue. Decisions decisions...

A good Tuesday

3.62 miles
33:34 min, 9:16 min/mile

The plan called for 3.5 miles, ran slightly more, but no big deal. Got to run before dinner, so I'm sure that helped the pace a little. Dinner was healthy, and then we ended up at the mall where I got to visit my new favorite store, Banana Republic. Let me clarify though, it's my new favorite Fall/Winter store because the sweaters are light with great colors, the shirts fit perfectly and there are some pretty high quality belts that might eventually make their way into my drawer...

Of course, money doesn't grow on trees, so I'll have to shop sparingly, and their selections during the summer aren't really what I'm into. I need shirts that are functional on the golf course and tight, ultra short sleeves aren't going to fit the bill. Still, for day to day wear during the threeish months I can actually stand to wear long pants and long sleeves, Banana Republic is looking pretty good. 25-35 less pounds and I will too!

Also got word today that I'll be getting a nice little bonus check right in time for Christmas. That'll do a lot of good for the ol bank account, especially considering the Xmas money in the cards (hopefully) still to come.

Saturday Makeup Run

4.86 miles
45 min, 9:18 min/mile pace

Not a bad run on Saturday, but I need to get back on the Higdon schedule. Sunday is suppose to be a 90 min run, but instead I moved that to Monday and Monday's 3 miler got eliminated. Not good. Christmas vacation is fast approaching and we're under enough of a time crunch as it is. Somehow I need to get my Mom's gift either in Orlando or Tampa if I can't pick it up in Atlanta, which will mean 4 or 5 hours out of an off day gone. Squeezing running and practice time on the driving range will be next to impossible, but necessary with the beginning of the year approaching. Even though qualifying is a little under a year away, it's the work you do now that counts. Golf isn't something you can cram for like a test, especially since it's common knowledge that it takes roughly 10,000 repetitions to form muscle memory. I've got a long way to go to make the grip and swing change second nature, but there are already some very positive signs.

Climbing Mt. Newell

Hill work - 7 reps
First time up the hill was in 1:09, the last was in 46 seconds.

Each time sucked, but it's a necessary evil. Of course, neither of us knew exactly why we have to do it other than it's on the training plan, but we still got it done. The funny thing is that I didn't even suggest running hills! She brought it up on her own, but I don't think she will again. Only once or twice more then the hill work turns into speed work until the last few weeks when it's just straight running. Today brings a 45 min tempo run so I better get it done before all the football and golf on TV makes me a vegetable.

So it goes...

Evidently I got a date wrong. The long run was on Sunday, and Monday and today were both 30 min runs, which both ended up being 3 plus miles each. Missed the Tuesday speedwork because I ended up with a 13 hour day at work. That plus an hour drive home put me home at 11 pm. I wish I knew when my new job was going to start, but I'm trying not to hope too much because we all know things are never 100 percent certain in this economy. I'm still in their email bank and am getting regular policy and pricing updates, so that's a good sign.

On another note, I still can't get comfortable in these temperatures. Tonight was 50, and long running pants, a long sleeve shirt and light running jacket was way too much. I think shorts would have been a better choice paired with the long sleeve shirt, especially after I warmed up. Running in Atlanta and Missouri will be a different story. I'm planning on going to an actual barber for a trim, so a hat won't be necessary, but Under Armour Cold Gear, gloves and perhaps another pair of long running pants or gym pants is on the shopping list. Now I just need to find the money tree...

No spare time...

Either that or I've been lazy. Here's the info for the last few runs -

2.59 miles on 11/26
26:16 min, 10:05 min/mile pace

We were both hurting, so it was a long 2.59 miles. Almost made it all the way around, but it just wasn't happening today.  On another note, I signed up for some iMapMyRun Saucony Challenge which, if run anything like Running While Chunky's contests might be subject to a few rule changes down the road, but I don't think so.  Those contests tend to be run by people who are actual runners, not someone who takes shortcuts while still collecting the medals, but I digress.  The challenge is a name your own challenge, and I selected "Mileage".  It's all collected from the iMapMyRun app, so whatever you run and log counts towards your mileage.  I threw the number 80 into the hat, so if I hit 80 miles in one month I'm automatically entered to win a new pair of shoes, and who can't use new shoes? 80 isn't a crazy number, especially since I was in the 70's in October, but it's a big number for someone who hasn't hit it before. Maybe one day I can be one of those thin guys who run 80 miles in a week, but I like ice cream too much to let running get in the way of another bowl.  Still, the weight over Thanksgiving didn't raise a pound so that's encouraging!

6.31 miles on 11/28
60 min, 9:30 min/mile

I was suppose to run for 90 min according to the Higdon Advanced training plan, but either it was too much to do or the older woman who stopped me for directions at the 50 min mark ruined the pacing.  It took 5 min to look up the address she needed in navigation, watch the navigation time out trying to find it and let the woman go on before I could start again.  By that time my legs had stiffened up and I was toast.  Managed to run for about 10 more min until I called it a day.  I think I was heading for about a 70 or 75 min run, tops, anyway, so it wasn't heartbreaking, but 8.3 is the longest I've run so far so when the next 90 min run comes up the target will be 9 miles, but hopefully as close to 10 as I can get.

11/23 Timed Run

So the plan said to run 3 miles, but I opted for 30 min, which is slightly more so it shouldn't be a problem. As long as it wasn't less, right? I was still a little sore from last nights hills, but it was cool out and overall a nice run. I did stop in the middle of the run near the tunnel under 441 when an old coworker came out of nowhere on his bike and scared the bejeezus out of me, but I managed to get back on track after we talked for a little bit and finished the run strong, partly as punishment for taking the unexpected break. We traded contact info, so as soon as his torn ACL heals there's a chance we could meet once a week to run around campus. He's pretty fit so it'll be a challenge to keep up with him if that ever happens.

Tomorrow is either a 40 min tempo run or eating our way into oblivion. I have a feeling the run is in jeopardy, but that'll just mean eliminating the rest day on Friday in favor of getting rid of the extra calories!

11/21 Practice Range

The slight change in grip is going well, though I keep reverting back to the old grip because it's a little more comfortable. After a little time the new one will feel good too, but it'll take a few months. Most of the time my ballstriking was good, but with little distractions here or there at this time comes horrible shots. That will go away. The good points? An easier time making solid contact with the longer clubs with a noticeable jump in distances throughout the bag. Pitching wedges were approatching 150 yards with range balls, 8 irons were carrying over 170 yards with a lot less effort and the ball coming off the driver face was making a sound closer to what I uae to hear at the Tournament Players Championship, which tells me that I'm making pure contact. The ball carrying over the 280ish marker told me that too, but still.

For once the only things in my bag in desperate need of replacement are the normal suspects for everyone who plays a lot - the wedges. The sand wedge and lob wedge are a given, and the 52 degree gap is almost there. At about $110 a pop it cwn certainly add up! Also, the bag needs to be replaced, possibly with either a Missouri or Flagler golf stand bag, but we'll see. Replacing the 3 wood would be great, but I'm comfortable with it, I can shape it and it's dependable so buying another 3 wood at this point would just be wasteful. A 4 wood or strong hybrid would be a better buy if anything, but I need to focus on the wedges at this point.

11/22 Hill Work

6 x hill run

I'm not sure how long Higdon wanted the hill workout to last, but as hard as running up the largest hill on the UF campus was, it still seemed to not be very much. We ran the first rep as a warm up and the remaining 5 at progressively faster speeds. Both of us nailed every rep in a faster time, which we had to push through a little pain to do, but if it was easy any chunky person could go running. No pain, no gain.

11/21 Run

3.17 miles
27:58 min, 8:49 min/mile

So I picked the Hal Higdon 12 week training plan and am going to mix the intermediate and advanced workouts. No particular reason why him over another trainer, but the Rock n' Roll 1/2 Marathon is 12 weeks away so I needed to go with something! Today was an easy run, though I still found myself pushing just a bit to keep it under 9 min per mile. If the race was tomorrow there would be no way I could crack 2 hours, and most likely I may not on race day, but I damn sure want to try. Since this is my first half marathon DW is letting me go and try to see what kind of time I can get. She thinks she's slower, and if we were just running a 5k I might be, but I'm a lot heavier than she is and a lot worse at keeping a constant pace, so she may catch up to me over the course of 13.1 miles. I'll still try to break 2 hours, but I'm already looking forward to future races. We agreed that the second half we do together we're going to run together. I'm thinking something Disney or something in a cool location. We'll see. Either way we should have a blast in every race we both enter!

Privet Russia!

So I'm taking time out to say hello to anyone in Russia who's reading this blog. I was looking at the view counter tonight and I noticed that around a third of my hits are coming from somewhere in Russia! That's great, but I'd love to hear from whoever you are. Comment all you want, offer suggestions, let me know if you have a blog and I'd gladly follow it. Who is this mystery person who found Fairways and Pavement?

Mid-November Running

4.05 miles
37:28 min, 9:15 min/mile

27.39 miles so far this month. I feel like I'm a little, or a lot, behind. Add to that the fact that the weight has only dropped a pound, possibly two, and its been a slower month so far than anticipated. I heard on the radio that the average American gaines 10 lbs during the holiday seasons. That's basically 5 lbs a month! If I did that it would almost put me back where I started.

I also heard that when comparing people of exactly the same size, a 200 lb man who has never been significantly above that can eat more calories and stay the same weight than can someone, like myself, who was once a lot heavier. Damn. I was so looking forward to pie...

11/14 Run

3.17 miles
27:16 min, 8:36 min/mile

Not a bad run for me. Another pound off on the scale, good time on the run and a short day at work. I could get use to this. My first appointment isn't until noon tomorrow, but I do have some work to get done for both of the Lowes I currently work at so I can't go in too late. The UF/Furman game this Saturday probably means at least one day where I work late so I have an excuse to take off on Saturday. From now until the holidays my schedule might be all over the place, but hopefully a new job is on the horizon and I won't have to put up with a weird schedule too long. Working a lot of hours isn't bad, but not knowing ahead of time takes its toll.

11/13 Run

3.24 Miles
32:19 min, 9:58 min/mile

I'm not sure if it's the cold or what, but the first half mile always seems to drag during the morning runs. It's necessary in order to warm up since the trail is only about 500 feet from the front door, but still.  Somehow we managed to get through the first mile in around 10:30 and kept speeding up after that. As long as the morning runs don't creep up too deep into the 10's it'll be productive. 

Long day ahead between laundry, home repair and cleaning, putting an owl in a tree to keep birds from decorating my car, washing or rinsing the cars, work at the driving range, etc etc.  She Who Must Be Obeyed is antsy so I'm off! More to come later.

11/12 Run

3.17 miles
27:49 min, 8:46 min/mile

I honestly had no motivation to go for a run tonight, but I've been slow to get going this month and need to pick it up quite a bit. More 4 and 5 mile runs to come. I started with a slower pace to warm up, but for some reason I started thinking about work instead of running with a blank mind and before I knew it I was going a lot faster than normal. I slowed down briefly before the final uphill push and through the Village and ended strong, but if I had to run while thinking about work all the time I'd rather walk.

No clue when or if the run tomorrow will happen, especially if it's in the low to mid 30's in the morning again, but if that doesn't happen I plan to get in more work at the driving range. Last time I went, less than a week ago, there were certainly a lot of good things I took away from it, but I also know what needs to be worked on over the Winter. As a side note, some new courses were added to the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, otherwise known as Q-School. Some are close enough to be able to go play on a day off, most within a 2 hour drive, so I'll have to look into what I want to scout before the cooler weather gets here. Score isn't as important as mapping yardages, but it's still a round of golf and I don't want to waste money!

11/11/11 Run

3.24 miles
32:17 min, 9:57 min/mile

The weather is finally getting down to where I'm comfortable, but it'll keep fluctuating from highs in the 60's to low 80's for at least a few more weeks. Today started in the mid 40's and the first mile was a little slower than normal just to get warmed up. By the time we hit mile 3 we had a pretty decent pace going, but I had a 9 am appointment and didn't have the time to go much farther. I was thinking about an 11 mile day on 11/11/11, but I didn't get done with work in time. I guess it's that time of year where I'll have to run on the side of roads. That's not fun.

Newfangled Whatchamacallits

We currently have an IBM laptop and a Compaq laptop, neither were the most expensive models on the market when each of us bought them, but the newest out of the two of them was purchased a few months before we met in June of 2008. In human years that seems to me pretty new, but in computer years I'm basically scratching on a cave wall, and the other laptop isn't far from that either. The problem is that the old one is slow and too old to upgrade while the new one has so many bugs from the first release of Vista and other issues related to me trying to set it up to our network using online advice from blogs that it'll be expensive to have the Geek Squad fix it. Plus, I don't want nerds laughing at me.

We do however have an iPad that I'm allowed to play on from time to time. This arrangements works out well because I don't want to carry around something that cool and fragile because I know myself too well, but the way technology is going would it be smarter for us to buy the new iPad when it comes out and not look at a computer? The iPad and a desktop computer? The price for desktops is attractive to me, as is the options, hard drive sizes, speed, etc. Of course there are always docking stations that laptops can plug into so that you can use a regular monitor and keyboard at home on your desk. Wait... Apple or IBM? Apples better with graphic design, photo and video editing, etc that she'd probably do if we bought an Apple, but IBM compatibles are cheaper! Too many choices!

And as for the cartoon yes, I was an English major. Business too, but I still don't know spit about computers.

11/8 AM Run

3.17 miles
29:11 min, 9:12 min/mile pace

The first mile went by in 8:40, which is good for the morning start, but the soreness from last nights run came back in the second mile, causing me to slow down and let it work itself out. Part of the problem went away immediately when I tried shifting my weight to my weaker leg, but it still took several minutes for the soreness to go away. The last mile went by in around 9 min, so all in all not a bad start to the day.

Aside from work I think I'll swing by a few parks to see if there are any good areas close by for sprints on grass. I don't want to risk pounding pavement and making things worse during training. God forbid I get swept at a half marathon. Oh the huge manatee... Oops... I mean humanity.

Home on the Range

The time has changed, days are getting shorter and practice is being limited to the weekends and any day I happen to get off early, so here's the plan -

After my last range session a few things are apparent, flexibility and swing plane. They go hand in hand. Since my job now entails driving around and sitting most of the day, flexibility is suffering, but I'm back on my old stretching program in the mornings and evenings to combat this. It's a simple program, only takes a few min and should produce results I can feel shortly. Keeping that up indefinitely shouldn't be a problem. With that should come an easier way to get the club on plane at the top and during the transition.

Buying a net and frame to hit balls into on the back patio, as well as a square pad often seen at driving ranges to stand on and hit balls off of. Between the patio door, a cheap mirror from wal-mart and my smartphones video camera, this winter should actually be pretty productive at a minimal cost. A hundred bucks or so will pay for itself. Every 90 balls into the net is another 9 dollars saved. Of course, that won't eliminate the range because I'll still need to go to check ball flights, distances and my progress, but it'll definitely save us money.

Weekends will definitely have time devoted to finding a course with a decent short game area and spending most of my time there instead of the majority of time pounding drivers to the back of the range.

More goals to come, but my end of the year stats seeing as how with the holidays approaching there won't be much change happening until the beginning of the year -

Distances (average carry, not including roll)

Driver - 285 yds
3 Wood - 260 yds
Hybrid - 225 yds
4 iron - 215 yds
5 iron - 205 yds
6 iron - 192 yds
7 iron - 180 yds
8 iron - 168 yds
9 iron - 155 yds
Pitching Wedge - 140 yds
56* wedge - 120 yards
60* wedge - 100 yards

To be replaced, aside from the bag - 56*, 60* wedges are the top priority, and the 13* 3 wood needs to be replaced by a 15* 3 wood or 16* 4 wood for more carry, distance and accuracy. Adding an 18* hybrid would be a great idea too, but it might produce too large of a gap between it and my 4 iron. Still, my current hybrid is hard to keep down in the wind, which hurts its performance into the wind or in any kind of crosswind.

Lowest score this year - 65 at Pine Oaks in Ocala.
Highest score this year - 77 at Candler Hills the first time I played it.
Longest drive - 335 yards to the front edge of a short par 4. Measured by laser from ball in fairway back to a tree directly beside the tee box.

Current equipment -

Driver - Taylor Made R-11 TP
3 Wood - Titleist (To be Taylor Made)
Hybrid - Titleist (To be Taylor Made)
Irons - Mizuno
Wedges - Cleveland (To be Mizuno or Cleveland)
Putter - Ping
Ball - Taylor Made

Unwritten Rules

2 Miles
17:30 minutes, 8:45 min/mile

Started off fast, too fast, with the intention of running miles 1 and 3 quick while jogging 2 at a 10ish pace, but instpead of hitting an 8 pace I managed to get through the first half mile closer to 7:30 and burned out too quickly. Stupid idea anyway after barely stretching and just getting off work. My first appointment isn't until 11 tomorrow, so getting through a nice 3 or 4 mile run at a manageable pace shouldn't be too bad. My right shin gave me trouble too, which ordinarily I'd be more concerned about, but the mix of going too fast and working on a more efficient stride caused that so I'm not worried.

On a side note, a friend and She Who Must Be Obeyed have both told me that intervals are the way to go to burn calories. I must look into this more. Until I rejoin Gainesville Health and Fitness, an awesome health club here in town, I'll have to find a place to run sprints that isn't too on display. Something about a not too thin guy on a track being seen by traffic frightens me.

Also, recently the author of the Running While Chunky blog held a contest to guess her time at the recent Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in Savannah, GA. My wife and I have been following her entries for a few months now, my wife longer than I, when we read that she was having a giveaway to anyone who could correctly guess her finishing time. Since the website for the race stated a 4 hour time limit and, after reading her blog and noting her average pace, factoring in her consistency in coming up with excuse after excuse to avoid quality runs, etc, I knew there was zero chance for her to meet that limit. For that reason I entered a time of DNF for my guess. The pony tail holder thingy was as good as my wifes!

The day of the race comes, we cross referenced some statements in her blogs to Disney race results and easily found her real name, and we tracked her progress on the race website. After my wife texted me her first time check she was already over pace. A few hours later we checked again and her finishing time showed up as 3:02. I chalked this up to her 19+ min per mile pace for most of the course then the speed of the cars picking up all the stragglers. This wasn't far from the truth. As it turned out, she was shuttled forward at one point when she fell behind. Near the end of the race a shortcut appeared and she either took it or it was suggested that she take it to get to the finish line. Fine. No problem with that. If you're physically unable to complete a half marathon in the stated time limit, a very generous 4 hours, then by all means bow out, quit or make a graceful exit. Whatever you call it, have some consideration for the volunteers who have to wait until everyone finishes, their faces in agony at faking a smile and clapping for the last few smiling, barely sweating yet heavily accessorized walkers meandering their way to the finish. Am I bitter that she chose to not call the race a DNF and give the accessory to someone else who actually thought she could finish? No. Annoyed? Yes. Technically yes, she did cross the finish line, but she did not complete the 13.1 miles. Not even close. This was the contest, though not at all official, but an implied rule that entrants were to guess her time for the entire race, which she did not complete. My contest entry next time will not be nearly so considerate, but it will be detailed.

Running While Chunky - (race name) - 8.7 miles, mainly walking, .4 miles down a side street, 500 feet over a corner lot with a beautiful gazebo, 750 feet through a YMCA to the finish line to pick up a medal for paying the entry fee - 3:24. Hopefully its detailed enough. Some contests obviously require a mix of timing, thinking outside the box and a severe case of denial.

11/3 Run

3.24 miles
32:55 min, 10:10 min/mile

We picked the pace up considerably during the last half of the run, probably because it came at the end of a long, stressful day. Friday's not looking much better, but I have no appointments so I should be able to get a lot done.

11/2 Late Run

5.35 miles
51:27 min, 9:35 min/mile

Pretty uneventful aside from feeling a little exposed while running down sections of Archer Rd. Went from the UF stadium parking lot to University, down past the law school to 34th, down 34th to Archer then all the way down to Gale Lemrand and the stadium. It would have been a lot easier run if I didn't have a day full of driving around and crawling all over three peoples roofs. What a pain. Hopefully I won't be there too much longer, but there's no need to get the hopes up yet.

Light and Speedy... Kind of...

October goal - 219 lbs. Actual weight this morning - 219 lbs.

Check that goal off the list! November's will be difficult with the holiday, but not impossible with a 75 mile goal! I'll be satisfied if I can reach 215 lbs by the end of the month. Anything more than that is icing on the cake that I can't eat.

Running for Candy

6 miles
55 min, 9:10 min/mile pace

You read that right. Today was all about offsetting the candy binge that thankfully never happened. After a few pieces of candy I was done. Some call it being healthy; I call it getting old. Not a bad run. Running down 24th between 91st and
Tower was difficult, but I have to break the 5 - 6 mile ceiling for long runs if I want to be prepared for the Rock n' Roll Half in February. So far so good, but I may have to break down and get some sort of hydration belt if I'm going to keep this up. Anything over 4 miles and I'm getting bad dry mouth.

Easy run tomorrow if I can. Final mileage for October was 65. Not bad for me, but its getting kicked up in November to 75 miles. That's the goal anyway. We'll see how it turns out.

10/30 Run

3.24 miles
33:30 min, 10:19 min/mile

Got up early again to knock out a few easy miles before starting the day. At least it wasn't raining today, but I had cookies for breakfast so that probably negated anything that the run did for me. Other than that there were some errands, a trip to Publix and lots of NFL on tv.

I almost made it to the driving range today, but a little twinge in my upper back made me a little apprehensive. That got pushed to sometime this week. With all the holidays coming up it's getting more important to get reps in on the practice range to get the swing plane where it needs to be, maintain touch around the greens, etc. Depending on if I get a Monday through Friday job or stay with Lowe's I will either be entering amateur qualifiers or Monday qualify for a few regional Hooters, Nationwide or PGA Tour events until the decision whether to enter Q-School or play on the NGA Hooters Tour is made later in 2012. No matter what happens, there's a lot of hours of work in the future to chase that goal.

10/29 Run

4.2ish miles
43:24 min

We woke up to rain, but as it turned out the main part of the storms had already passed and it was down to a drizzle. Still, I was a little too nervous to bring my phone with the iMapMyRun app so I had to settle for estimating based on previous runs. I did want to go out again later in the day, but prior obligations and a horrible Georgia/Florida game took up the rest of the daylight. Oh well, there's always tomorrow morning!

The Birds

Conventional knowledge states that strapping a plastic owl to a tree branch will scare the birds away and keep my car a lot better looking, assuming of course that some vindictive squirrel doesn't chew through the wire, giving me another dent I'm too lazy to repair.

Hedwig was $12.38 and sat quiet in my passenger seat like a sullen grandmother. I propped him up against the dashboard to get a picture, but after a sudden turn I looked over to see him staring out the window and into the sun.

I use to wonder what Nana stared at on our road trips to Myrtle Beach or Ocala when I was growing up. She never would say and I never figured it out until years later, but she would always find something to criticize or complain about. I have a hard time thinking that her goal in life was to find fault in things, but maybe it was. I remember one summer, a year or two after my grandfather died, her, my mom and I were constantly fighting. None of us could have remembered how it started, but it kept going on for weeks. Finally, on Mom's birthday we got the news that she booked the three of us for a week in Myrtle Beach. When we got there our room just happened to be a few doors down from the room where my grandfather died from a heart attack. We went about our vacation and nobody realized until after we got back that we were quiet the whole time. No arguments, harsh words, criticisms or outbursts from me despite being dragged to an outlet mall with no decent toy store in sight. Of course, as soon as we got back to Marietta it didn't take long for her to get back to normal, but in Myrtle Beach the years we went until high school started and baseball kept us busy all summer she was different. We all were.

"I wish I could be a real bird," he probably thought. Instead he's stuck in a box. Pretty soon he'll be out of sight and mostly out of mind, but always above us, glaring down in his angry and judgemental way, but always protecting us.

Biggest Loser

Not many people know that during my senior year at Flagler College my weight ballooned up to 265 lbs, mainly because my only exercise was sucking in my gut.  Thankfully, I carry weight well and didn't look like a disgusting blob, but everything I did either had bad results or was harder because I was heavier.  Golf was out of the question. My flexability was shot, but I was still coordinated and strong enough to compensate and keep my scores respectably in the 70's and low 80's, but cracking 70 consistently wasn't going to happen.  Running caused pain, not just soreness, in my knees, hips and back.  Going to the gym was a commitment I didn't make at that time, and as a result I had the body I deserved.

After college I worked outside at a golf course supervising the cart guys and a lot of the weight fell off.  I was also living on the beach, and even though it was embarrassing to go, I still went with different roommates almost every day.  When a business partner and I started a small construction company, my weight got down to around 210, and ever since 2003 I've fluctuated between 210 and 235.  No matter how hard I worked, visited the gym, etc, I wasn't able to shed the weight.

Last year, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I joined Gainesville Health and Fitness, began walking and occasionally running together and had a lot of success. Despite completely losing focus for months on end which resulted in problems, the least of which was weight, the focus has come back.  On May 1st, weighing 235 again, I set a goal of getting back to a respectable weight, shape and lifestyle.  I assumed that 200 would be a reasonable goal, but after reading a few bio's on PGA Tour players with my same height and body type, I realized that that was a little short sighted.  With October 31st approaching and the 219 lb goal coming fast (plateau during the summer, change in job, excuses excuses), I'm realizing the gravity of the situation.  One of my favorite shows is the Biggest Loser, admittedly because I love laughing at some of the people on there, but watching and hoping that others will succeed.  Thinking back to me at 265, then 235 and now that I'm at 219, it's amazing to think that when I reach my goal of 180 lbs, I'll be 85 lbs lighter than I was at my heaviest.  That's almost one She Who Must Be Obeyed... or it is one...  I have no concept of her weight and she'll probably keep that number with her to her grave.

I heard somewhere that there's a greater accountability when you publicly state your goals.  Over time I'm sure I'll state several goals relating to golf, running or other life related things.  As for weight, I started at 235 on 5/1.  The goal is 180 by the time the next 5/1 rolls around.  That's 55 lbs in a year, just over a pound a week.  So far, the summer heat and a plateau hurt the progress.  When 11/1 arrives I'll either be 219 or a few lbs under that, but no matter the number I'll be behind schedule.  With cool weather coming up and the prime running season here I'm expecting big things.  Gainesville Health and Fitness is just around the corner, so I may look into renewing that membership as well.  It's time to get going. 16 lbs down, 39 lbs (ish) to go.

10/26 Run - UF

4.32 Miles
40:19 min, 9:20 min/mile pace

The usual practice is to go to UF (The University of Florida for all non-Gainesville readers) after my weekly guitar lesson and run stairs at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.  Tonight I wasn't in a stairs mood so I figured to change it up a little I'd run around campus.  My route took me from the stadium parking lot on Gale Lemrand to University to a side street that runs by a the law school and golf course down to 34th.  Right when I turned off University onto the side street, some guy in a car yelled "FUCK YOU!!!".  I'm not sure why, but then I can't explain the reasons why my college roomates and I decided to egg people a few times my sophmore year.  One of these days kharma will catch up to me from all the crap we did back then.

The rest of the run down 34th, by the Rec Center and down Museum Road went well.  The hills at the end on Museum and Gale Lemrand weren't great, but it was a nice way to end the workout.  All in all, pretty uneventful, though I'm betting that if I keep going that route I'll end up dodging an egg or some passenger seat projectile at some point.  Can't blame them though. Kids being kids.  God... 32 and calling 18 year olds kids... Help...

10/24 Run

3.17 miles
28:11 minutes, 8:52 min/mile pace

Ran intervals, at least that's what I call them, along the regular loop tonight. Basically I alternated between a slow pace and a pace way above my goal race pace every time I crossed a road. To wind up with an 8:52 min/mile average tells me I didn't slow down too much between the up tempo sections.

Nothing much going on tonight. It was a nice off day even if I didn't make it out to a course or the driving range. Hopefully I'll get a chance this week if work isn't too crazy, and hopefully I'll get some news later in the week about a possible new job!

Review - Lloyd Clarke Sports

Located at 1504 NW 13th Street in Gainesville, FL, Lloyd Clarke Sports is a fixture in the local running community.  Despite larger stores such as Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods and various Foot Lockers, Champs Sports, etc scattered around Gainesville and Ocala, LCS has the largest variety of running shoes for all running styles from minimalist to extreme cushioning in the area.  In addition to running shoes, they also have a wide variety of running and cycling apparel, hydration equipment from vendors such as CamelBak and Nathan, compression clothing from Zoot, Under Armour and 2XU, and an excellent inventory of baseball, softball, disc golf, volleyball and football equipment and apparel.

I realize that that sounds like anything you'd typically read in a newspaper review, but I had to get that out of the way first.  I will admit that I'm extremely biased, but I have an excellent reason.  As any man who has a shoe size over 12 or 13 will tell you, finding their size is nearly impossible.  We all understand that those sizes aren't a great seller and in the past larger sizes have collected dust for months only to be thrown on the clearance table and sold at a loss. We get that. However, because our sizes are so hard to find in anything other than basketball shoes, we as a group tend to not be the most discriminating buyers when it comes to running shoes.  I spent years wandering into a Payless and walking out with the most comfortable size 14 running shoe out of the few that I found.  While some were a great bargain, few ever fit right.

A year or so ago we walked in and were immediately greeted by a few different employees.  Seeing as how I'm not the biggest fan of being hounded by a salesperson (who is?) I was a little apprehensive.  As we made our way around the store nobody stayed on top of us or got in our way, but they were always close enough to answer any questions we may have had.  When we made our way back to the shoes, one of the girls who was working at the time asked several questions regarding our running styles, brands we've worn in the past, type of foot strike, etc and made her recomendation based on the information we gave her.  The shoes she picked out would not have been our first choice, but after walking around the store and especially after the first few runs at home, her picks turned out to be exactly right.  Yesterday was the third pair of shoes I've purchased from there, in addition to headbands, socks, 13.1 stickers and various other things over the past year, and the experience has been identical every time with every employee I've dealt with.

Recently, Lloyd Clarke Sports has installed two treadmills which allow them to examine your foot strike, gait and other key aspects of your style in order to be as accurate as possible in reccomending a shoe that fits your needs.  Despite having shoes ranging from $50 to $150+, their reccomendations are never based on price.  I don't have a rating system yet, seeing as how this is the first review for Fairways and Pavement, but if you're in the Gainesville area and you're a runner, jogger or walker, it's definitely a place to check out!

10/23 Run

3.17 miles
33:06 min, 10:26 min/mile pace

Basically crawled out of bed, into warm clothes and went for a run. We didn't get passed, but we didn't pass anybody besides walkers... Probably because it was 41 degrees out when we started.

Woke up this morning (Monday) with a little cough, which I mainly van blame on a snotty little toddler behind me at church who kept coughing right behind my head. That's what I get for skipping last night in favor of college football but hey, at least the games were good, Florida was off so they couldn't lose again and I was able to finish work early to get back home to watch it all.

Running in the Dark

3.23 miles
30:33 min, 9:28 min/mile pace

Ran at 7 pm last night, which wasn't the greatest idea since most of the regular loop is on a sidewalk that winds its way between lighted sections before diving into the woods for longer stretches. The first mile is pretty straightforward, and in the nice cool weather I covered that in around 8 minutes, but after that I had to slow down every time I went into the woods to make sure I didn't run into any trees.  The last mile was spent dodging Oktoberfest partygoers, so there went any hopes for a sub 9 min pace.  Maybe a little headlamp wouldn't be a bad idea with the days getting shorter, but how much of a nerd am I really willing to be?

If It Wasn't Attached

I would lose my head. Seriously, how do you get everything ready to go to a guitar lesson with the plan to run afterward and forget your shoes? Guess I'll be running in the morning.

On a side note, I have a lunch meeting tomorrow to go over a few job options with a local insurance company. Hopefully something will be a good fit. I'm currently commuting 40ish miles one way to work. The job is good, but the position I'm in depends on both management and coworker support. Needless to say, when you have somewhat bitter coworkers who feel like they're underpaid and undervalued you don't end up with a great ally. Add managers who have too much on their plate already and you end up with scenarios right out of 'Dilbert'. Every workplace has its problems, right?

Isabella Update

3 days in her new home so far and it's been discovered that she, or 'Torti''s in general, can be on the crazy side. She's very sweet and will probably not have too much trouble fitting in, but she does have her moments. One minute she's purring and the next she decides she's had enough and begins to growl. What I found out today is that if you ignore her she'll eventually start to purr again, although the danger of her turning to bite is still present.

Just like a woman.

Another few days and I'll try again to introduce her to her new feline companions. Tried today and yesterday, but the stress is getting a little much for them. Too much too soon, but there are a few good signs and no aggression from anyone so far.

10/17 Run

3.19 miles
28:04 min, 8:48 min/mile pace

Not a bad day. Speed work today was basically the same loop as always, just faster. The thought being that I need to do more than just put up mileage for mileage sake.

I've been scouring all the Runners World magazines lying around for more ideas, but most of what I find involves measurements in meters. I guess that means estimating using landmarks since the only track I know of is at Kanapaha and the idea of doing sprints in front of all that Tower Road traffic doesn't sound like a good time to me.

Why the Weight

May, 2011 - 235 lbs

October 15, 2011 - 219 lbs

Goal - 180-185 lbs

For any goal you're suppose to write it down somewhere. I forget why, something to do with accountability. I was tired of feeling unhealthy, tired of the guilt associated with eating what I had conditioned myself into believing was great tasting fast food only to feel bad about myself immediately afterward and tired of shoveling and junk food lying around into my mouth just because it was offered or I was bored.

So far its been going well, aside from being sidelined for most of August and September with a pulled calf/Achilles. Barring injury, I hope to be close to 200 lbs for the Rock n' Roll St. Pete Half in February. The holidays will be difficult, especially since a week and a half in December will be spent traveling in Georgia and Missouri, but a little cold never stopped anybody ... except maybe the Donner party...

Change of Pace, 10/16 Run

3.17 miles, 28:52 min
9:06 min/mile pace

I've been told in a nice way that I bounce like Tigger when I run. When I started running again in May I weighed 235 lbs, so grace was not my forte. Now, at 219 lbs, it's a little easier to work on form, which is why over the past few weeks I've been playing with stride length, tempo etc to try and make running easier on my knees until the rest of the weight comes off.

The September 2011 issue of Runners World had a short story about pace and a pretty good argument for a high cadence while maintaining a shorter stride based on research using data from the 1984 Olympics. Using that same logic and the suggested workout, reaching and maintaining the Olympic standard of 180 steps per minute is way out of my reach, but a pace in the 150's or high 140's (by my random counts) resulted in a pretty good time for me. With the 2012 Rock n' Roll St. Pete Half Marathon approaching in February, my goal pace of 9 minute miles might be a little easier to reach.

10/13 Run

4.84 miles
47:48, 9:52 min/mile pace

Slow. Legs have felt heavy lately and I had no idea why until I added up my mileage so far this month. 35 is a lot for me, so the rest of the month will be tricky to mix in speedwork and long runs while trying to keep the quality up and the junk miles to a minimum.

New Addition

Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan, Isabella will be in her new home before dinner! How the current furry residents react will determine if she stays, but we've been told to give it a few weeks at the very least because of her age, etc.

A little background - A family had her for 13 years, decided to get a dog and dropped her off at some shelter where she picked up some sort of infection. Animal People found her, placed her in a foster home to get better then set her up at the Gainesville PetSmart where she's been for a few weeks now.

No doubt there will be drama as she's getting use to her new home. Hopefully this won't result in a trip to the ER for me for stitches.

Lack of Creativity

When I sat down to create a blog it took two days to figure out the name. It's not the most creative name, but it's not the worst I've seen either. Fairways and Pavement is about me. Specifically, it's a chronicle of my hobbies, golf and running, life with, as David Feherty lovingly puts it, She Who Must Be Obeyed, our two (possibly soon to be three) cats and some completely random things found around the internet thrown in for good measure. While I can't always vouch for the maturity level, I hope I at least keep it interesting!

More to come later!