Stop the hate in 2008!

How's that for a New Year's Resolution?

I don't think I can do it. Just goes to show how much confidence I have in myself, eh?

Yeah. Whatever.

Hershey has a new dog run. Bought it and put it together today. And my entire upper body aches tonight.

Responsible pet owner?

I think my dog is the dumbest dog EVER!

I've been bringing him inside each day when I get home from work and then putting him back outside each morning before I leave. That's where I've become a responsible pet owner.

But if I think I've got a stupid dog, does that eliminate any pluses I may have earned by bringing him in out of the cold?

Or maybe he's not dumb. Maybe he's got a neighbor somewhere that comes over while I'm gone and feeds him. He just doesn't eat what I provide for him. At least not while he's in the house.

Tonight, I made myself a couple grilled cheese sammiches and put out some food and water for him. He just sat there looking at me and drooling all over the kitchen floor, leaving his dinner completely untouched.

I don't know.

I've tried isolating him in a smaller room with his food, but he doesn't touch it. And that's why I think somebody else might be feeding him. He just doesn't eat what I give him. When I do leave food outside for him, it's always gone, but I think the neighbor's dogs come over and eat it.

I wonder if I posted a sign up, if that would do anything? (not that the dogs eating the food would pay it any mind... but the neighbor might.)

I definitely need to get a more secure outdoor enclosure for my dog though. (that WOULD keep the dogs out of his food...)

Christmas Day @ Mutual Dell

Well, Christmas Day at just about 3:30 MST.



After the kids left to go back to their mother's, I went over and visited with my grandparents for a while, had some lunch, and then went up to the Dell to spend the rest of the afternoon with my parents.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve and the snow is/was flying. The picture isn't the best, but if you click on it, you'll get the big version and you can see the snow in the air. Oh well.

My kids will be over later. Three of them anyways. We're doing omelettes in the morning so I thought I'd practice tonight before they got here. Tastes OK, but it doesn't look all that great. The salsa should go on the omelette AFTER it's been cooked. If you try to cook it with the salsa in the middle, it gets too messy.

'Twas the day before Christmas Eve...

And I just spent $85 on stocking stuffers. And a bed for the dog.

Haley sang in her ward's Christmas program. Apparently she was first and I got there a bit late. Missed it.

CLEANING HOUSE

Literally.

I cleaned the front room tonight. Most of it anyways. Addi helped a little. Looks good though. Still needs some work, but I'll have it done before Christmas Eve.

With the winter weather hitting us with a couple of really good storms over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to be a responsible pet owner and have brought Hershey in during the night. Poor dog. Full-blooded chocolate lab with some weird recessive gene (apparently from inbreeding somewhere along the line) that's cursed him with long hair. It was rather cute when he was a pup. He looks a lot like a golden retriever--so much so that I'm going to call him a chocolate retriever. But he sheds a lot. I had to empty the canister and clean out the fur on the vacuum twice tonight! I think I ought to get him a bed/cushion thing for Christmas. Yeah. Good idea. Way to be a responsible pet owner.

Sunday night is the BIG Johnson family Christmas party up at my folks. 3 of 4 of my kids are coming for sure (I think). The oldest may come and she'll probably want to bring that thing she calls a boyfriend along. And because I love my daughter, I'll let her.

20 years and change...

On the back of the picture, it has the date 11/27/87 and the following explanation:

Our present investigators and my tongue. Pretty, ain't it.

20 years old and 2,080 miles from home. With the ducks.

Yeah, I think I even made Christmas cards with this photo that year.

MOOBS

Do I have moobs?

A gal in my dept. at work says I do. She was looking at the pictures that pop up on my computer screen (the screensaver slide show), and got quite a kick out of this picture:

She was laughing so hard, she had tears streaming down her face. I didn't think it was quite that funny, but what to I know.

And I don't think I have moobs.

Cars...

My car has been idling fairly high the past couple of weeks and it's caused me no small amount of concern. Seeing as how it's Christmas time, I don't really have a lot of money laying around the house to cover automobile repair costs, so I've been searching the internet for a do-it-yourself site that would help me do just that--fix the problem myself.

Well, I came across one site that suggested that it may be as simple as the car's computer needing to reset. The explanation behind that being that a computer will "sense" that a driver may need the idle normally a little higher for whatever reason. Well, I completely disregarded that and went on to the more difficult and involved explanations and solutions. It got me absolutely no where.

I came home from work tonight determined to give it one more shot and then I was going to take the car into a shop. Well, I propped open the hood, and removed the battery cables while I inspected the vacuum and air flow hoses and connections for clogs, holes, or filth. I found none of that so I put everything back together and hooked the battery back up.

I started the car and it seemed to be idling fine. But the problem is more evident as I drive, so I took it for a short spin. Again, it seemed to be idling fine--when the gas pedal was released the tach went right down to 800 or so rpms whereas before it would hover up around 1500 to 2500 rpms for 10 to 20 seconds. If the car was in gear, it seemed to idle at the high rpms for much longer than that.

So, maybe the solution was as simple as cutting the power to the car's computer which caused it to reset itself. If so, how much money did I save myself?

And, as a special note, Turbo, my bestest girlfriend, was also granted entry into the 2008 Squaw Peak 50 Mile Run coming up in June. She's almost as excited as I am... Happy now?

For better or for worse...

I'm in. The Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run that is. My application was one of the 240. An no DNF this time around by golly!

The tools I needed to replace the crank arrived the other day. And I replaced the crank:

Old:

New:
The large chain ring on this one is a bit bigger than the one on my old crank though and it's going to require adjustments to the front and rear derailleurs (I think) to accommodate that. Not sure I'm going to be able to do that on my own. But the crank sure looks good. Whether I get someone with knowledge to come help me with the rest, or if I take it into a shop, I'll probably have them inspect the crank installation just to make sure I did it correctly.

It snowed a good 4+ inches here yesterday afternoon/evening. Took the kids up to the Dell to go sledding and then last night they dragged me outside at 10:00 for a snowball fight. Good times.

It's cold.

Haley is coming over in a couple hours to finish up her Senior Project report. Good times.

I am freaking amazing!

OK, not really, but sorta.

I made macaroni and tomatoes for dinner tonight. Mmmmmm. Good stuff. Here's how you do it--and it only takes like 15 minutes!

Cook your macaroni. In a separate pot heat up your tomatoes and add onions and garlic. When they're all hot and done, drain the macaroni and pour in the tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. I used about 1 1/2 cups uncooked macaroni and a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes. Made enough for 3 healthy servings.

No, I didn't eat it all tonight--I'm taking a bowlful to work with me in the morning.

The other night, when Haley came over, I made chili. 30 minute chili. Yeah, that was the night I almost burned down grandma's house. Want to know how to make it?

Half a pound of ground beef, browned. Throw it into a pot with 1 can of black beans, one can of chili beans (pinto beans with the flavorings already added), and 2 cans of tomato sauce or diced tomatoes. I used the diced tomatoes because I love 'em. 30 minutes start to finish. And it's good! Salt, pepper, onions, garlic--whatever else you like--go ahead and throw it in. Oh! And chili powder.

Hay loved it.

And lastly tonight, I swear, if I see or hear one more commercial for a jewelery store and/or diamonds, I might blow up!

Email

You know how it goes. An email account is an invitation for spammers and those good-hearted folks who forward things that, if forwarded by you, will save souls...

Well, my mother, apparently, has a difficult time if I don't respond to her emails. Today, my sister was helping my mother out--inquiring as to whether or not I had received certain messages. It got to the point that I had to make a statement--and I made it to the entire family so as not to single out any one person (mom).

This is the statement:

Lest there be any more confusion regarding my email address and whether or not I am receiving the emails you send me...

I have two email accounts:

One here at the hospital that should only be used for work related stuff, but seeing as how internet access has been limited at work, I have instructed you to contact me, if necessary, during working hours at this address: *******.*******@*****************.org. (As an FYI (and to really confuse the issue) starting Monday, 12/10, my work email will become *******.*******@*****.org, but the longer one (*******.*******@*****************.org) will continue to work. Intermountain made the change because the *****.org domain just recently became available.)

Another at Yahoo.com that is my personal email account (and there are actually numerous addresses I have at this account). There are two primary addresses that I use: *******_******@*****.com (there’s a _ between the ******* and the ******) and *******.*******@*****.com. Both work just fine assuming you have them plugged into your email address book correctly.

Should you not receive a reply from me on an email, please do not automatically assume that I didn’t receive it. Chances are that I actually did, but felt a response was optional. If a reply is required, please make note of that in the email and I will gladly reply to your query if only to say, “Ugh!” or “Bite me!” Additionally, please don’t assume that I have slighted you or disregarded your email as unimportant or not worth my time (although I may very well have). I’m just not the type to hurry up and hit the reply button unless I am profoundly impacted by the contents of the email or fear severe repercussions due to a failure to reply.

If, by some small chance, I have offended any of you as a result of the content (full or partial) of this dissertation, please respond to the following email address: got.a.dime@whocares.com.

Sincerely and with all the love an email can contain:

Me

PS: if you forward this email to 13 people within the next 7 ½ minutes, Microsoft will deposit $12,059 into your personal account and you will be admitted into the highest heaven—no questions asked.

I thought myself rather clever.

Sad day...

Helaman, my parents 9 1/2 year old St. Bernard, died today. The dog that had become a friend to literally thousands of people over the years will be sorely missed, but infinitely more so by mom and dad.

"We will miss our loyal friend. He has been so much fun here at the Dell. He will be missed by a lot of people. He became over the years the center of attraction here at the Dell. We even had people who were just driving by stop in to say hello to Helaman. He is such a great dog." -Mom

Nearly burned the house down tonight...

My Hay came over to look up some stuff on the internet tonight for her Senior Project. I figured it was a great opportunity for me to fix her dinner. I made chili. Addi ended up tagging along but she doesn't like chili. I heated up some chicken noodle soup for her. Anyways, long story short, I was re-warming up the last of the chicken noodle soup (cause I hate to throw stuff out) when I got sidetracked and left the soup warming up on the burner. 20 minutes later I walked into a kitchen filled with smoke and black scorched to the bottom of my small pot. Tonight, and quite possibly for some time to come, I'll be smelling that burnt smell.

I'm off to bed now though. I'm going to try to get up fairly early in the morning (6:30) and into work before 8:00. Somebody hold me to that, will ya?

Gonna do it myself

I've ordered the tools ($46 worth) and am actually looking forward to replacing the crank. The only hesitation I felt throughout the decision making process and the purchase was whether the tools would end up being one-use-only tools. I don't think they will be though. In fact, I think I'm going to go out of my way to make sure they're not.

It snowed this morning. A good 3 to 4 inches. Lovely!

And I filled out and mailed the application to the Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run. So far, I'm 0 for 2 on this brutal 50 mile course, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I don't go down 0 for 3!

Replacing the Bottom Bracket and Crankset

Attempts at sleep after the evening I've had would most likely be futile, so I've spent much of the past couple of hours scouring the internet is search of information that might help me do the work on my 2001 GT Aggressor 1.0 myself.


I'm going to need the tools--they're fairly specialized--but I've got the time--it's winter and I don't anticipate doing much if any winter biking, especially with damaged ribs.

From what I've been able to see, taking the old crank off shouldn't be too difficult. Putting the new one on might be. I can pay the local bike shop $15 to $20 to do it for me, but am I learning or growing as an aspiring do-it-yourself-bike-fixer by having someone else do it? I think not.

But if I can get it done rather quickly by someone with the know-how and the tools, I could consider some early winter mountain biking (seeing as how there's no snow up in them there mountains).

Maybe Jerry's buddy from the bike shop will give me a tutorial and allow me to do all the hands-on stuff! That'd be way cool!

Gears are a-turnin'

I have this new crankset for my mountain bike sitting here on the floor next to my desk. Brand spanking new, in the box, eagerly awaiting it's installation on my bike. I'm eagerly awaiting it too! Too bad winter weather is nearly here.

The reason I bring it up is this: the trail I rode my bike on last--the one in which I took the rib cracking spill--would make an awesome 15 mile trail run. And as long as there isn't snow on the ground, it's doable. Right NOW! Well, except for the ribs of course. I think I'm going to try and do it as soon as I can though. This winter or early next fall. It'd be an easy 15-16 mile run, and if I just reverse path at the one end, it becomes 30+ mile run--a 50k easily, I would think!

The mind is now moving... considering... contemplating.

Timpanogos needs to have a trail run associated with it. There used to be (still is?) the Timpanogos Challenge 50K, but I've neither seen or heard a thing about it in years.

SGM Pics

Which to you prefer?



The first one is somewhere in the vicinity of mile 15. The second at mile 18-19 (roughly).

Mary J. Blige does U2

I know, this is old news, but Mary J. Blige covered U2's One a few years back. I REALLY dig it!

Christmas Present to myself...

I've already ordered one of these:


But I've realized I need one of these:

The batteries to my old drill are all but dead. And a man without a drill is like... Is like... Something bad.

Am I OK, or am I a wuss?

Two weeks ago, I took a spill while mountain biking and landed hard on my ribs. Fractured or badly bruised, I don't know. I'm hesitant to go to the doctor due to the high deductible health plan I'm a part of; and the fact that unless there's something else wrong, I'll probably get sent home with nothing more than pain killers--there's not a lot that can be done for rib injuries.

Do I go to the doctor? Do I do nothing but wince and whimper for the next month? Or do I suck it up and tough out some runs?

What do I do?

Yikes!

I was scanning marathon photos last night. While scanning my very first ever marathon pic, I was shocked at the difference I see in myself between then and now.

1997. Scary.

And then there's Park City this year.

I'm sure it has more to do with the fact that it's been 11 years, but still. What was I thinking when I chose what I'd run in that day in October way back in '97? Holy Crap!

My kids on Halloween...

Here's a picture of my two youngest kids all dressed up for Halloween this year:











Huh? There's no picture?

Oh yeah, I know what it is... I didn't get to see my kids this year. Silly me!

Holy Crap!

Has it really been that long? Serious neglect has been going on obviously.

Oh well.

I need to ask Leigh how to put music on this thing... Leigh?

Anyhow...

May 19: Ogden Marathon. 4:01:03 So close to coming in under 4 hours, but not quite enough. Damn!

July 24: Deseret News Marathon. 4:15:17 An 8 minute improvement from '04 when I ran it, but my brother Russ beat me. Damn!

August 25: Park City Marathon. 4:20:28 Again, significant improvement over my previous two PC efforts, but I could have/should have done so much better. Oh well.

September 02: Grand Teton Trail Marathon. 6:13:48 Now before you say anything, understand that this took place up in the Grand Teton's! The start was at 8,000 feet and at mile 2.5 we were up as high as 10,000 feet. This was one tough mother! I don't feel bad about my 6+ hour time in the least.

September 15: Top Of Utah Marathon. 3:57:16 FINALLY!! I broke 4 hours somewhere other than St. George! (Honestly, I thought Ogden would be the place, but I guess not.) Still, Russ came along and beat me again. Damn!

October 06: St. George Marathon. 3:44:19 Huge surprise. Ran with Russ and Jerry. Finished with Jerry. Russ beat me again. Damn! It was a very good race though. The temps were cool and it was just a beautiful day!

No more marathons this year. I'm done.

I did go mountain biking on Saturday (October 27) with Jerry. We had a good time. I got beat up though. I hurt worse today than I did Saturday. Go figure.

Item's of note:

First: my really, really, super-good friend from Cali ran and completed the Western States 100-mile Ultra Marathon yesterday. That's her pictured above. It's from the back side of Timpanogos during a training run we went on last year in the days prior to our running the Squaw Peak 50-miler.

Here's a link to her blog: http://turborunz.blogspot.com

She is just so freaking awesome, I can't even begin to express! She finished in 29:43:38, and has had nothing but good to say about her experience. I was invited to be on her crew, but life and work and a lot of BS got in the way of my going. Maybe next time.

Secondly: Father's Day was a week and a day ago. All four (yes four) of my kids showed up at my parents for our family dinner. That in itself is not only a miracle, but it was pretty darn special to boot. My kids gave me a teddy bear. Very cute. And it talks to me: tells me Happy Father's Day and says how much it loves me. (OK, so it's a recording of my kids that got stuffed into one of the hands of the bear. Still very cool.)

Thirdly: I've been riding my road bike quite a bit lately. Well, maybe not quite a bit. But on Wednesday last week we (we is a few people from the hospital that go on a ride once or twice a week during lunch) headed on up Provo Canyon and South Fork. At the turn-around point, I suddenly got a flat--a rip in the tube near the valve stem. Fortunately, we managed a fix and we all got back safe and sound. Prior to my flat though, we had two of the other riders come unclipped somehow. One turfed it right in the middle of a major intersection in Provo. The other one managed to stay seated but busted off her bottle cage somehow. It was quite the afternoon.

Today I rode my bike up AF Canyon from Grandma's place. Eighteen plus total miles. I only rode up to the Timp Cave Center and then back. AF Canyon is a tough canyon to ride up!

Mountain Biking without the boy...

Yeah, I went without the boy.

It was Monday night--I had gotten work off at the theater and headed up the canyon at 5:30 after finishing my day at the hospital.

Up AF Canyon again to the Timpooneke Road and from there I pedaled around to face of Timpanogos. It's a rather rocky and bumpy road, but I still like it. And I wanted to see if I could reclaim some of the items I lost back on June 02. No luck there, but I did have a good time. Total time for the ride was just a bit over two hours.

Here is a panoramic pic of the view north (AF Canyon and northward):


Here's a pan-pic of the south end of Utah Valley from the north end of Timp--the point I turned around:


And lastly, here's a pic of the northern-most end of Timp:


It was a nice ride. That is until I took the trail down Bear Canyon to Mutual Dell where my car was. Steep, rocky, steep, and rocky. I won't do that again. I had a good time.

Mountain Biking with the Boy

Corbin and I had planned to go mountain biking over Memorial Day weekend but a warped rim spoiled those plans. But we got that fixed this week and headed up American Fork Canyon this morning for a ride along the Timpooneke Road.

Just me and the boy up in the mountains on our bikes.

It was a bit warm, but we didn't care much. And Corbin, being 13, wanted to show his old man a thing or two right off the bat; so for the first couple of miles all I could see of him was his back side from a distance. He was in one of the mid-range gears and was out of his seat putting way too much effort into climbing up the road. Eventually, just as I knew he would, he ran out of steam.

We rode about 3 miles up around the north end of Timpanogos and then turned around and rode back to Mutual Dell. At the turn-around, however, we stopped to drink some water and eat some peanut butter crackers. We chatted a bit and headed back down the road.

Corbin has little fear. He was always a good distance ahead of me and moving at a pretty good clip, rocks-be-damned. Me, I'm a bit more cautious. OK, a lot more cautious. Eventually we made it off the dirt road and onto the pavement--and we both turned on the after-burners the remaining distance.

Upon arriving at the Dell, I noticed that my wedge (under-the-seat bike bag) was open. "How did that happen?" I asked myself. But what really chapped my hide was the fact that everything that was in the wedge was gone! And to think, I almost threw my brand-spanking-new cell phone in there. What happened, I think, was when we stopped to eat the crackers I just didn't zip up the bag. And I'm going to beat myself up for 3 weeks for being such an idiot! Total loss in terms of dollars? Maybe $15. Nothing much, but still.

Anyways, the end result of the afternoon ride was positive (and a distance of only 9 miles). I don't work next weekend--I think we might just go and do it again! Fun!

5 Days to Ogden

Nothing last night, but then I really didn't think I would.

Apathy.

But I woke up early this morning so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting in the hours at work and still getting in a decent "long" run during lunch.

And so, I'm planning on 8 or 9 miles today at noon(ish).

Of special note, my Hay sent me a text yesterday wishing me a happy "Parental Role-Model" day. How sweet was that!? And then, we were texting back and forth until 11:30 last night. Good times.

6 Days til Ogden

Six days to Ogden and I fear my hopes of a sub-four hour marathon have been dashed by laziness and a lack of dedication.

Still, if I can redeem myself somehow this evening and possibly even tomorrow and Tuesday, I may still come away from Saturday's race with a 3 in front of my time.

I hope.

Fingers crossed.

But more important than all of that: Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Sorry I wasn't able to come up for dinner. I think a lion's share of the credit goes to you in my surviving the past 3 1/2 years. Don't know what I'd have done without you. Just so you know--cause I have shown a gross inability to let you know in other ways and by other means--I love you and appreciate everything you've done for me!

Salt Lake City Marathon: April 21, 2007

In a way, I almost feel like I've sold my soul. I swore, or nearly swore, that I'd never give Devine Racing another penny after what they did with the Salt Lake City Marathon and the 2006 date change. Well, after they reversed that date change this year, I somehow convinced myself that I needed to run it.

Still, I ended up having a pretty good time.

The weather was the big question in the days and hours leading up to the start. Weather predictions had a high for the day vacillating between 40° and 50°, and the chance for precipitation between 10% and 30%. If the drive up Saturday morning was to be any indication of what the race would be like, it was going to be wet. Fortunately, it wasn't.

I arrived at the Energy Solutions Arena (formerly the Delta Center) and boarded TRAX and headed east to the starting line. I found myself alone amongst hundreds of other runners and bikers. Oh well, I've been "alone" since February 23, 2004. I can handle it.

The Bike Tour got started at 6:00 and I was a casual observer of that. One poor guy was clipped into his bike raring to go, but got stopped due to the ebb and flow of the crowded start. My guess is that he unclipped his right shoe but leaned left. With his left foot still clipped in, he couldn't get back up. With the help of others he managed to almost get back up twice only to fall back down each time. Finally, he got all the way up and humbly exited the scene.

By the time my race began, I had run across 3 persons of whom I have an association. One of which was going to allow me to run with her for as long as I could. (I made it one mile.) We lined up close to the 4 hour pace group and listened to a lovely rendition of the National Anthem performed by the One Voice Children's Choir. America's Mayor, Rocky Anderson, the biggest freaking idiot around these parts, said a few words and then they started us.

I almost made it a whole mile before I had to peel off and find a tree. I'll note here that it was the exact same group of trees, if not the same tree, that I peed behind in 2005. I lost my running buddy at that point and ran the rest of the way, all 25.2 miles, all by my little old lonesome self...

My splits:

• Mile 1: 9:36
• Mile 2: 7:38
• Mile 3: 8:18
• Mile 4: 7:33
• Mile 5: 8:07
• Mile 6: 8:36
• Mile 7: 8:41
• Mile 8: 11:27 (Port-a-potty stop)
• Mile 9: 8:49
• Mile 10: 8:30
• Mile 11: 11:53 (Port-a-potty stop #2-way early in the mile)
• Mile 12: 10:11 (Port-a-potty stop #3-way late in the mile)
• Mile 13: 8:49
• Mile 14: 8:29
• Mile 15: 8:44
• Mile 16: 9:06
• Mile 17: 8:48
• Mile 18: 11:01
• Mile 19: 8:51
• Mile 20: 10:01
• Mile 21: 9:40
• Mile 22: 10:00
• Mile 23: 10:26
• Mile 24: 9:52
• Mile 25: 10:46
• Mile 26: 9:37
• Mile 26.2: 2:50
• Total: 4:06:25

The cool thing about wearing a Garmin Forerunner is that it will tell you what your actual time moving was and, according to Garmin, I "ran" my marathon in 3:58:49! Seriously sweet!

I guess.

I won't allow myself to use that time for anything. Still...

So, there you have it. Happy now?

5 Days...

5 days remain until the SLCM.

CBS Fires Don Imus...

I don't like or dislike Don Imus. Never listened to a word he's ever said until this recent brouhaha over his comments regarding the Rutger's women's basketball team. Deplorable comments. Completely unacceptable.

Enough to fire someone over though? That I'm not sure of.

What really bugs me is the perception that activists Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were instrumental in his firing. I can't think of two more hypocritical people on this earth.

If the firing of Imus is the result of offense after offense after offense, fine. If it's a result of this one issue and two loud-mouth activists spouting off, not cool.

I've been a bit negligent in blogging as of late. Much of that stems from the chewing out I got after my last post. Sheesh! Oh well.

Nine days until the Salt Lake City Marathon. I'm as ready as I'm going to get. Since my last reported run (7.1 miles on March 26th), I've run 7 times.

• March 28-10.14 miles at a 8:41 pace
• March 30-5.04 miles at a 8:36 pace
• April 02-9.04 miles at a 8:32 pace
• April 04-9.1 miles at a 8:56 pace
• April 07-12.49 miles at a 8:42 pace
• April 09-6.11 miles at a 8:40 pace
• April 11-6.11 miles at a 8:19 pace

All were good runs, especially yesterdays. My last mile was done in 7:42--and I had more to give.

Not included was a 21.5 mile bike ride on April 06. I'll probably ride the bike again tomorrow, weather permitting.

Anyways, 9 days to the marathon. I missed/cut short my really long runs and I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the arse. I'd like to come in close to 4 hours, but anything under 4 1/2 will be acceptable. Weather.com, on it's 10-day forecast, is predicting showers, a low of 44° and a high of 60° on race day. The temperatures sound fine, but I'll pass on the rain, thank you very much. (As if I even had the choice...)

Exactly 4 weeks after Salt Lake is the Ogden Marathon. This is the one I'm really hoping to come through on. My fastest time at Ogden is 4:05 despite my contention that I'm going to PR there. My marathon PR is 3:35 so I've got 30 minutes plus to cut. With the training I've done (and the long training run SLCM is providing) I really hope that 2007 is my year to break 4 hours up there. Who knows, maybe I'll even get my PR! I wonder if I should get a hotel room up there this year?

Plodding on...

Lest I receive further reprimands and/or castigation, I’d better blog.

Hell, I don’t know. I’ve just become somewhat disheartened as of late. Not sure why. Must be that time of the year...

As for running: Last week I jumped ship. I ran 6.1 miles on Monday and then nothing until Saturday. Saturday morning was to have been an 18 mile run but it ended up being only 10. Here’s why: 75% laziness and 25% soreness.

The run I had planned would have taken me down American Fork Canyon, through the Cedar Hills golf course, over by the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, by my place and then up to Jerry’s. What I ended up running was down AF Canyon and then straight to Jerry’s by way of the Canyon Road. 10.4 miles. I was going to put in 8 miles on the treadmill when I got back to my place to make up for the shortage. Well, it didn’t happen thanks to my inherent laziness. Once that wore off, however, the 8 minute miles we were running down the canyon had really started to take their toll. I hurt. I even tried tricking myself into running up Provo Canyon with Corbin along side on his bike, but that didn’t fly.

Today I ran 7.1 miles on stiff legs. A little rough starting out but things got better as I went. My planned 6.1 became 7.1, and that’s that.

Individualism v. Collectivism

With an increased interest in sociology and psychology, I've thought many times how individualism and collectivism affect lives.

I'll update this blog entry later with more information once I get the chance to review it.

"Look dad! No training wheels!"

This is my youngest. I had her tonight for a couple of hours. Her back tire had a leak so I got the bike too.

The tube was repaired and the bike put in working order and off she went.

This is the first time I've been able to see my Addi ride her bike. It was such a momentous occasion that I went in and got my camera for a few snap shots.

She's just about out-grown this bike. I picked it up for her about 4 years ago, but got the boot before she learned to ride it. Fact is, she just barely learned to ride it sans any parental guidance.

But she so desperately wanted me to see her do it all by herself. And now I have.

37 DAYS

Only 37 days 'til the 2007 Salt Lake City Marathon. 65 days to the Ogden Marathon.

No running today. Just a bit of depression. There are just some days that aren't worth the effort. Today would be one of them.

Pointless observation:

The musical contrast between Lyle Lovett and Judas Priest is huge.

I ran 6.1 miles today at lunch after running 4 of the most miserable miles of my life yesterday.

Yesterday: 1.5 miles into the run I had to stop and walk. I knew within the first 100 yards that it was going to be a hard run, but not like that. At mile 2, I stopped and decided right there and then that my planned 6-miler was going to get cut short. So I'm doubled over while I wait for one of my running buddies to run out to the fire hydrant we normally go to when running 4 miles, and then together we plod back to the start. I made it all the way back without a stop, however, feeling quite uncomfortable generally.

The culprit: a triple cheese burger I had eaten for dinner the night before. And me with a cholesterol level of 255...

Today: I started out and immediately started feeling nervous. Once I got warmed up though, things improved greatly. So much so that I ended up putting in my second fasted time for the year on the trail for that distance. My average pace was just over 8:30.

Today's run was a good one.

12 miserable miles...

12.03 mile run this afternoon in 1:47:something. My average pace was somewhere near 8:52 I think.

• Tunes:
• Rock Me - Great White
• Heavy - Collective Soul
• Let's Get Rocked - Def Leppard
• She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
• World's Forgotten Boy - Billy Idol
• Anytime - Journey
• I Feel You - Depeche Mode
• So In Love - OMD
• Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses
• Shake It Up - The Cars
• Locked In - Judas Priest
• The Party's Over (Hopelessly in Love) - Journey
• Shock to the System - Billy Idol
• Only The Young - Journey
• Route 66 - Depeche Mode
• Armageddon It - Def Leppard
• Turbo Lover - Judas Priest
• Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
• Save Your Love - Great White
• Real, Real, Real - Jesus Jones
• Fire Woman - The Cult
• Messages - OMD
• Right Here, Right Now - Jesus Jones
• Kyrie - Mr. Mister

Having just listed all the songs I listened to on my run today, I was hit with the thought, "What's the point?" And so, I don't know that I'm going to continue to post the tunes. Because I decided not to.

I'm tired. I feel like crap. I have to work and I can't nap. DANG!!!

My run: I had just about talked myself out of actually doing it. The morning was a bit colder than expected and there was a stiff breeze blowing out of the north-west. I hadn't eaten breakfast and after downing 4 chicken soft tacos from Del Taco, I wasn't optimistic with my chances.

But, after berating myself over the issue for a while, I threw on the running clothes--and a brand, spanking new pair of shoes--and headed out the door. I figured that I could always turn back early.

8/10ths of a mile into the run I was wading through the strong smell of farm country: manure. I knew that there was the potential for worse a few miles further along though.

My running wasn't exactly fast and I felt pretty comfortable. My new shoes are great! (I don't know if a 12-miler was a good way to break them in though...)

At mile-3 I was approaching the Timpanogos Special Service District Water Reclamation Facility. The sewage treatment plant. I don't know about you, but anything that processes sewage and uses the words "Water Reclamation Facility" in its title makes me a bit uneasy. 10 million gallons of sewage each day... That's what the web site says. That's just gross! And to actually run by it? Luckily, the wind was blowing in a good direction.

Up over the freeway and along the bike path that parallels Pleasant Grove Blvd. They did the path with concrete. Why not asphalt? It would sure be easier on a runner's joints!

A stop at the theater for a beverage (a quick shot of Pepsi) and I was on my way back to the start by way of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. By mile 9 I was really starting to fatigue but I felt good and kept plodding along--no walking breaks the entire 12 miles! SWEET! See how good I am?

Back at grandma's, I quickly downed a glass of milk and huge amounts of water, showered, and "napped" for an hour before heading over to the theater.

And here I am.

I'm tired. I feel like crap. I have to work and I can't nap. Dang!!

"Why am I such a loser!? Why!?" --Homer Simpson

Ever get the feeling...

Abject failure comes to mind

Regardless...

Saturday was set to be the end of a glorious week in regards to my running. Twelve miles was all I needed to complete the week running every mile that I had planned.

Alas, it was not to be. Either due to apathy or laziness, I didn't run at all on Saturday. Actually, I think it was both.

Corbin had his final basketball game for the season Saturday morning at 10 that Addi and I went to. My plan was to run after that. However, Corbin's team ended up winning the game and took 1st place. How awesome is that!? So, as a reward, I took both him and Addi out to Panda Express for lunch. I was going to need at least another 2 hours after that to process lunch before I could even think about running.

Obviously, it didn't happen. And I really don't know what I did between then and going in to work at the theater Saturday night.

Work was fun.

NOT!

And then up at 7:30 to get the kids home to their mother in time for church and/or in time for her to leave for Wendover. (Don't even get me started on that subject!)

Theater again Sunday afternoon. Helen Mirren won the Oscar for best actress--The Queen was the only "top" movie I've seen this year.

Monday at the hospital where, lucky for me, lunch was paid for by the dept. for a successful year-end closing. And then back to the theater til midnight.

And now here we are at Tuesday. Hospital followed by the theater. Absolutely NO running since Thursday.

"Why am I such a loser!? Why!?"

Nevertheless, here I sit. I'm a little perturbed. I don't like people generally. It's an attitude I've developed over the last few years that concerns me greatly. Generally, I think people are kind and well-intentioned. But there are a lot of people out there that are just complete and total idiots.

I think my job here at the theater is largely responsible for this attitude.

I don't care who you are, what you do, or what your life-experience has been. But do you have to come to the theater and just let it all fly? And I'm talking literally here. Popcorn, soda, candy. It all flies and ends up on the floor or the seats. And guess who gets to clean it up? I'm not anybody's mother!

No, I'm not really talking about you. You're probably the 1 in 10 that is respectful and kind. The one that takes his or her garbage to the garbage can on your way out. And for that I thank you.

And you probably show up on time too. Thanks for that as well. But that's another tale for another time.

I had fish and chips for lunch today. I've had better. Much better. $4.50 for barely-warm fries and soggy fish.

My Hay just brought me down a mint brownie she made.

How running saved my life... Well, sorta.

Between 45 and 50% of marriages end in divorce. For some people caught up in the statistics, they can walk away from the experience with a smile on their faces. For others, the oft-times unwilling 2nd half—the ones caught in the headlights of the oncoming freight-train—the experience is a harrowing one. For some it is a liberating experience. For others it becomes an enslaving experience locking its captives in a pit of hopelessness and despondency, misery and depression.

When my world came crashing down to its seeming end, I was the deer caught in the headlights. There was no spiraling down to the bottom of my personal pit of doom and gloom—it was a flat-out, straight-down, high-speed free-fall. When I hit, I hit hard! And being the stupid and ignorant male that I am, I created a great many opportunities in the following days, weeks, and months to dig that pit deeper and deeper.

My future, I thought at that point, would end with a bottle of pills or at the business end of a 9mm. Fortunately, however, for me and the visible few who cared about me, I turned out to be too big of a chicken to actually do anything so radical—and permanent. I know I scared a good many people though.

Enter running.

I had been running for a number of years prior to this, many of those side by side with my then-wife. To be honest, the last thing I wanted was to do anything in the least bit associated with “that” life. Anything and everything brought memories of loss and only seemed to increase my sense of worthlessness. But some wise and knowledgeable friends of mine grabbed hold of me and insisted I continue running as a way to manage my health—both physical and mental.

For some time I believed that these friends had joined me on my delusional path-to-nowhere. I was invited to run the Utah Grand Slam by one of these friends. Initially I didn’t give it much consideration. “Heck no!” was my first thought. But I came around, more or less, but not for the reasons you might think. I saw it as an opportunity. Physically I was a mess, and mentally I wasn’t doing any better: Over a period of about 3 months I lost close to 40 pounds and the meds I was on had begun to wreak havoc with my equilibrium. (Actually, the latter may have had more to do with the repetitive and futile banging of my head against whatever hard, heavy, and immovable objects I could find at the time…) Regardless, running a marathon hard, unprepared, untrained, and unhealthy provided a legitimate excuse for my body to give up—to keel over and die—and for me to escape my misery.

Well, obviously it didn’t quite turn out that way. Three years later I’m still kicking and still running. My running mis-adventures that year took me from one end of the state to the other and exposed me to people I never would have met in any other way. I developed friendships and relationships unlike any other—and that has literally given my life some degree of purpose again.

No, I haven’t entirely gotten over the experience. I feel the loss each time I drop my kids off at their mother’s house. I continually mourn the relationship I took for granted and ultimately lost. But I know now that each time the hopelessness and despondency rears its ugly head, I can lace up my running shoes and show the negative influences in my life that I’ve got the determination, the drive, the willingness, and the ability to run it into the ground!

Don't ask...