In Madison for IV Spring Management meetings. They've been good and all, but wow am I ready to head home tomorrow.
It's an Urbana year this year, so we're all at work on pulling that off. Early promo stuff is now available. I was stoked to find the following video. It features one of our old Cal Poly students Scott Johnson. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The bonk
A few running posts, coming right up!
OK people, as of today the SD marathon is just over 2 months away. That's coming soon! I'm feeling the training pressure. On the flip side, thanks for the VCCC congregation for their generosity this morning! I went and preached the morning service and they gave me a gift which will basically cover my entry fee.
So yesterday I went out for what I was hoping to be a 13+ mile cruise, but as the miles passed by, it became clear that I was starting to struggle. I ended up stopping for water 2 or 3 times and eventually cut the run after 12 miles and walked the rest of the way home. Once I got there, I collapsed onto the floor and proceeded, over the course of the evening, to down 2 gatorades, 2 glasses of apple juice and like 5 glasses of water.
In a past life, I was a road cyclist. And we had a term for what happened to me yesterday. We called it "bonking." Most of the time, we bonked when we did not take on enough water or food during a ride. Common symptoms were a lack of energy and general loopiness (more than usual!). I had both of those things going on yesterday for sure.
So, some takeaways from the experience:
1. Gotta drink more before a long run. Especially as it gets warmer around here. Yesterday it was pushing 80.
2. Gotta drink during a long run. To do this well, I need to plan out my routes better. Yesterday, I had a water fountain waiting for me at 6.5 miles (at Fowler and Shepherd), but when I got there it was broken. Curse the City of Clovis! I'm thusfar resisting any sort of Camel-back, handheld water bottle or, worse, those pods on a belt systems, but I don't know.
3. Gotta eat during a long run. Especially if I really want to do a marathon. Problem is, my stomach gets a little hinky during a long run. Yesterday, I had a bag of beans, but do I need more than that? Something different than that? Ideas? What works for you?
Off tomorrow to Denver and then on to Madison on Tuesday for the week. Running shoes are ready to go!
OK people, as of today the SD marathon is just over 2 months away. That's coming soon! I'm feeling the training pressure. On the flip side, thanks for the VCCC congregation for their generosity this morning! I went and preached the morning service and they gave me a gift which will basically cover my entry fee.
So yesterday I went out for what I was hoping to be a 13+ mile cruise, but as the miles passed by, it became clear that I was starting to struggle. I ended up stopping for water 2 or 3 times and eventually cut the run after 12 miles and walked the rest of the way home. Once I got there, I collapsed onto the floor and proceeded, over the course of the evening, to down 2 gatorades, 2 glasses of apple juice and like 5 glasses of water.
In a past life, I was a road cyclist. And we had a term for what happened to me yesterday. We called it "bonking." Most of the time, we bonked when we did not take on enough water or food during a ride. Common symptoms were a lack of energy and general loopiness (more than usual!). I had both of those things going on yesterday for sure.
So, some takeaways from the experience:
1. Gotta drink more before a long run. Especially as it gets warmer around here. Yesterday it was pushing 80.
2. Gotta drink during a long run. To do this well, I need to plan out my routes better. Yesterday, I had a water fountain waiting for me at 6.5 miles (at Fowler and Shepherd), but when I got there it was broken. Curse the City of Clovis! I'm thusfar resisting any sort of Camel-back, handheld water bottle or, worse, those pods on a belt systems, but I don't know.
3. Gotta eat during a long run. Especially if I really want to do a marathon. Problem is, my stomach gets a little hinky during a long run. Yesterday, I had a bag of beans, but do I need more than that? Something different than that? Ideas? What works for you?
Off tomorrow to Denver and then on to Madison on Tuesday for the week. Running shoes are ready to go!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
My neck of the woods
What a beautiful day today here in Clovis! One of the 5 or 6 good ones we get all year it seems. So I strapped on my GPS watch and walked a bunch. Did you know...
It's .63 miles from our house to the office
If you take the longer/preferred route, it's .90
My little stretch break march around Toys R Us is .40 miles
From the office door to Panera it's .35
Tack on another .34 from Panera to Target
To go get Lucy at her portable from my office is .39 door to door
And from my office front door to Office Max is a robust 333 feet.
Just over 5 miles all told. Loved it.
It's .63 miles from our house to the office
If you take the longer/preferred route, it's .90
My little stretch break march around Toys R Us is .40 miles
From the office door to Panera it's .35
Tack on another .34 from Panera to Target
To go get Lucy at her portable from my office is .39 door to door
And from my office front door to Office Max is a robust 333 feet.
Just over 5 miles all told. Loved it.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Robracketology...
So the first two rounds of March Madness are in the books, which makes tonight the perfect time to fill out one's brackets. Oh wait...Let it be said that thusfar the 2009 version of my brackets are a shambles. I'm in two different yahoo leagues this time, and I'm mired mid-pack in the Golf Odyssey one and I'm second from the bottom in the yearly Sexton family grudge match.
My numbers: 21-11 for round 1 and 12-4 for round two. The good news is that at this point, I have only lost 1 potential elite 8 team. For some reason, my synapses misfired and I had Arizona State advancing in the South Regional.
Lastly, for the record, here's what I've got from here:
Michigan State beats Louisville to make the final 4 out of the Midwest Regional,
UConn beats Memphis to make the final 4 out of the West,
Duke tops Pitt to make the final 4 out of the East,
And North Carolina makes it out of the South.
From there I'm with the President. Put me down for Carolina over UConn in the final with the Tarheels winning going away behind 24 and 13 from Hansbrough (pictured) in his final collegiate game.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Where's the nearest couch?!?
We had a great time this morning at the half. No rain, good temp. I liked the course. Here's my post-race analysis:
1. I finished with a 1:43.18. That was better than the goal I had for myself, and it even beat Fram's goal for me! Pace was 7:53/mi.
2. Some splits. 10K was 49:49. Halfway was 52:33. Second half was therefore 50:45.
3. Overall, I finished 380 out of 3,603. Age group was 63 out of 261.
4. I'm giving the Sport Beans by Jelly Belly a B+. Tasty and I suppose they did the job (or at least I believe they did, which is just as good). Also, a nice incentive ("OK, when I get to the 9th mile, two more beans..."). I recommend them.
Now to the couch to collapse in front of the Lakers. Thanks to Todd and Danny, Amy, Josh and Lily, the Browns, Brad and Adam for coming to watch. And thanks to Tina, Fram, Jeremy, Scott and Paul for taking the challenge with me!
1. I finished with a 1:43.18. That was better than the goal I had for myself, and it even beat Fram's goal for me! Pace was 7:53/mi.
2. Some splits. 10K was 49:49. Halfway was 52:33. Second half was therefore 50:45.
3. Overall, I finished 380 out of 3,603. Age group was 63 out of 261.
4. I'm giving the Sport Beans by Jelly Belly a B+. Tasty and I suppose they did the job (or at least I believe they did, which is just as good). Also, a nice incentive ("OK, when I get to the 9th mile, two more beans..."). I recommend them.
Now to the couch to collapse in front of the Lakers. Thanks to Todd and Danny, Amy, Josh and Lily, the Browns, Brad and Adam for coming to watch. And thanks to Tina, Fram, Jeremy, Scott and Paul for taking the challenge with me!
2:41 away from the start
Up early here in Sacramento ahead of the Shamrockin' half marathon. Gun goes off at 8am. For inspiration, I just read Teri's post about her run yesterday. Good job Teri!!! Weather looks good, though it's gonna be cold at the start. Ah, what to wear?!? Long sleeve undershirt? Arm warmers? Definitely gloves.
Here's the plan...the goal time is 1:50. Jeremy and I are going to shoot for running 7 miles in the first hour in order to give us a shot at making that time. From the 7 mile mark, it'll basically be a 10K. According to this site, we'll need to run at an 8:24 clip to make our goal. Doable I think.
So 13.1 miles of suffering coming right up! Is this guy ready? Keep you posted.
Here's the plan...the goal time is 1:50. Jeremy and I are going to shoot for running 7 miles in the first hour in order to give us a shot at making that time. From the 7 mile mark, it'll basically be a 10K. According to this site, we'll need to run at an 8:24 clip to make our goal. Doable I think.
So 13.1 miles of suffering coming right up! Is this guy ready? Keep you posted.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Sunday, March 08, 2009
45 minutes well spent...
As a final tune-up for next weekend's half marathon in Sacramento, I decided to race the Blossom Trail 10K in Sanger yesterday.
And, as usual, my 10K goal was to break 50 minutes. A brief recap is in order:
In late September, my first race in ages was the Cross City 10K in downtown Fresno. I was just glad to finish. Time: 52:25, faster than expected.
Then, at Thanksgiving, I got all fired up to break 50 and entered a turkey trot in Sacramento. Everything looked great, until I ran into a wall of 28,000 other runners. The end result? 50 flat. Sick.
Next, on New Years, I entered a 10K up in Auburn and surely this would be the time! Little did I know that the course was, to put it mildly, mountainous. Rugged. Streams and rocks and stuff. I labored home with a 55:21, a pulled calf and a battered ego.
So to yesterday's race. What a beautiful day on a beautiful course. Beautiful time too! 45:00. Wow, how I wanted to break 45 as I approached the line! Alas. But I'll take 45 flat, with 5K splits of 23:08 and 21:52 (once again, shoulda gone out faster!).
On to the Shamrockin' half next Sunday!
And, as usual, my 10K goal was to break 50 minutes. A brief recap is in order:
In late September, my first race in ages was the Cross City 10K in downtown Fresno. I was just glad to finish. Time: 52:25, faster than expected.
Then, at Thanksgiving, I got all fired up to break 50 and entered a turkey trot in Sacramento. Everything looked great, until I ran into a wall of 28,000 other runners. The end result? 50 flat. Sick.
Next, on New Years, I entered a 10K up in Auburn and surely this would be the time! Little did I know that the course was, to put it mildly, mountainous. Rugged. Streams and rocks and stuff. I labored home with a 55:21, a pulled calf and a battered ego.
So to yesterday's race. What a beautiful day on a beautiful course. Beautiful time too! 45:00. Wow, how I wanted to break 45 as I approached the line! Alas. But I'll take 45 flat, with 5K splits of 23:08 and 21:52 (once again, shoulda gone out faster!).
On to the Shamrockin' half next Sunday!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Overheard this afternoon during Robert Madrid's gospel invitation at Fresno City College
Lucy, after Robert had been talking about God as our Creator:
"Daddy, why did God create flies?"
What a joy to see the Holy Spirit at work...
"Daddy, why did God create flies?"
What a joy to see the Holy Spirit at work...
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tour of Cali encore
So this afternoon I loaded up the two oldest and marched them to see the Tour of Cali finish in old town Clovis. Man, it was cool to see that pack fly into town. Go here to see video of the spectacular sprint finish. Also, a shout out to Rob Radcliffe as his countryman won the day!
I failed to get a good picture of the race (something about keeping kids out of the street...), but here are a couple of the kids (Josh is standing in the middle of the finishing straight) and then a shot of my high school buddy Allen. Allen's the guy who keeps the riders riding for Garmin Slipstream.
I failed to get a good picture of the race (something about keeping kids out of the street...), but here are a couple of the kids (Josh is standing in the middle of the finishing straight) and then a shot of my high school buddy Allen. Allen's the guy who keeps the riders riding for Garmin Slipstream.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Focus
This past Saturday morning I raced a 4 mile jaunt around Carmichael up in Sacramento. It was a great event, and I finished with (for me) a sporty 28:29. Results site here.
But as hard as my cardiovascular system was working, I think my brain was working harder during the race. And for the first time since I've been back running and racing, I realized that I wasn't sure what to focus on during the race. I had some options:
1. How bad I was hurting. This was an unpalatable option, for obvious reasons.
2. The music. The iPod was once again in effect for the race. And off and on, this was the place to focus. A shout-out to P!nk for providing the lyrical angst necessary to get me from 2.5-3.25 miles.
3. My form. I'm always trying to remind myself: "swing your arms, short strides. Swing your arms, short strides. Swing your arms, short strides..."
4. Work. At one point, to keep my mind off of #1, I tried to actually think about work. That lasted for about 4 strides.
5. Time and distance. Now, with my Garmin GPS watch, I can measure time, distance, pace and other metrics in real time. I couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse (or both). Plus, I'm sure I looked like a dork running along glancing at my watch every half minute or so.
6. My competitors. Certainly lots to focus on here. Eventually I decided to pick out a runner ahead and focus on them and then try to catch pass them. A special thank you to that tall dude out in front of me with these enormous calves. I mean those things were bigger than Gracie....
7. The scenary. This is usually good off and on. I like looking at what I'm running by, but it never seems to hold my attention for that long.
8. This blog post. The big winner, evidently!
But as hard as my cardiovascular system was working, I think my brain was working harder during the race. And for the first time since I've been back running and racing, I realized that I wasn't sure what to focus on during the race. I had some options:
1. How bad I was hurting. This was an unpalatable option, for obvious reasons.
2. The music. The iPod was once again in effect for the race. And off and on, this was the place to focus. A shout-out to P!nk for providing the lyrical angst necessary to get me from 2.5-3.25 miles.
3. My form. I'm always trying to remind myself: "swing your arms, short strides. Swing your arms, short strides. Swing your arms, short strides..."
4. Work. At one point, to keep my mind off of #1, I tried to actually think about work. That lasted for about 4 strides.
5. Time and distance. Now, with my Garmin GPS watch, I can measure time, distance, pace and other metrics in real time. I couldn't decide if that was a blessing or a curse (or both). Plus, I'm sure I looked like a dork running along glancing at my watch every half minute or so.
6. My competitors. Certainly lots to focus on here. Eventually I decided to pick out a runner ahead and focus on them and then try to catch pass them. A special thank you to that tall dude out in front of me with these enormous calves. I mean those things were bigger than Gracie....
7. The scenary. This is usually good off and on. I like looking at what I'm running by, but it never seems to hold my attention for that long.
8. This blog post. The big winner, evidently!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Tour of Cali prologue
In one of my past lives I was a cyclist. Shaved legs and everything. And I still love and follow the sport. This week is the Amgen Tour of California. On Wednesday it stops in Clovis, but Saturday was the prologue time trial here in Sacramento. Amazing. I went and got a couple of pics. The top one is of some Rabobank riders warming up (I think the one on the right is 3-time world champion Oscar Freire). The middle one is last year's 4th place Tour de France finisher American Christian Vande Velde. And the last one is American George Hincapie on the course. And in case you're wondering, yes I did see Lance, but no picture. Maybe Wednesday...
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Overheard after a long, fun day at Grandma's...
Josh walks into the room before bed, sighs and says:
"I wish I lived here. I don't like our old, lazy house."
That can be arranged...
"I wish I lived here. I don't like our old, lazy house."
That can be arranged...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
7 things I don't want to forget about...
...Gracie. It's the 12th, which means our little girl is two short months away from turning 3. Almost done with the terrible two's! Hallelujah. Here are 7 things I adore about Gracie at this age:
1. Her ringlet. She has this curl that hangs down her forehead and almost always covers her right eye. See picture below.
2. She's stubborn. I was going to say that "she's as stubborn as the day is long," but really it's more a whole weekend's worth of stubbornness. God bless her. And us. Let's just say that disciplining her is...different than disciplining Josh and Lucy. God save us all as she gets older!
3. When she yells "Daaaaadddy!" when I walk through the door. It's often accompanied with a big hug. And just as often, well, I melt into a puddle on the floor.
4. Her singing. Our Grace is always singing. It's out of tune, way too loud and totally beautiful. And 9 times out of 10, lately it's the Barbie and the Diamond Castle theme song...
5. How she's a thug. Physical Grace. She overpowers Lucy and often does the same with Josh. She climbs a lot and is always falling down. She's gonna be a great athlete.
6. Her addition to our family blessing. At dinner-time we together say our corporate grace: "God is good, God is great. Thank you for this food, and help us to have a good dinner. Amen." And which point Gracie chimes in with: "We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love our ____." And it's fill in the blank time. Sometimes it's what we're eating, say macaroni and cheese. Sometimes it's what she sees in the room, say our high chair. Other times, well, it's non sequitur city, as in: "but most of all, we love our...booty!" OK...
7. How she gets your attention...just to get your attention. Several times a day, our conversation goes like this: "Daddy, Daddy, I have good (or bad) news!" Then, before I can respond, it's: "ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah." Forever. She has nothing to say, she just wants your attention. On occasion, when I keep looking at her while she's "ah"ing, she'll finally just say: "nevermind" and then walk away.
Here's our little thug right here:
1. Her ringlet. She has this curl that hangs down her forehead and almost always covers her right eye. See picture below.
2. She's stubborn. I was going to say that "she's as stubborn as the day is long," but really it's more a whole weekend's worth of stubbornness. God bless her. And us. Let's just say that disciplining her is...different than disciplining Josh and Lucy. God save us all as she gets older!
3. When she yells "Daaaaadddy!" when I walk through the door. It's often accompanied with a big hug. And just as often, well, I melt into a puddle on the floor.
4. Her singing. Our Grace is always singing. It's out of tune, way too loud and totally beautiful. And 9 times out of 10, lately it's the Barbie and the Diamond Castle theme song...
5. How she's a thug. Physical Grace. She overpowers Lucy and often does the same with Josh. She climbs a lot and is always falling down. She's gonna be a great athlete.
6. Her addition to our family blessing. At dinner-time we together say our corporate grace: "God is good, God is great. Thank you for this food, and help us to have a good dinner. Amen." And which point Gracie chimes in with: "We love our bread, we love our butter, but most of all, we love our ____." And it's fill in the blank time. Sometimes it's what we're eating, say macaroni and cheese. Sometimes it's what she sees in the room, say our high chair. Other times, well, it's non sequitur city, as in: "but most of all, we love our...booty!" OK...
7. How she gets your attention...just to get your attention. Several times a day, our conversation goes like this: "Daddy, Daddy, I have good (or bad) news!" Then, before I can respond, it's: "ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah." Forever. She has nothing to say, she just wants your attention. On occasion, when I keep looking at her while she's "ah"ing, she'll finally just say: "nevermind" and then walk away.
Here's our little thug right here:
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Running Update
It's been awhile since we've had a proper running-related post, so here we go. Some updates from the roads and trails:
1. Injury report. Turns out that that heinous New Year's Day 10K that Michelle dragged me to was the gift that kept on giving. Everything was almost done being sore about 5 days after. Everything that is, except my right calf. Would you call it a calf strain? Pulled calf? Not sure, but that's what it was. Because of it, I logged no miles from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18. 17 days to heal. Is that good?
2. Running buddies. A huge running highlight in the last month or so has been running with friends. It's like everyone recently up and decided to run! Very cool. So thanks to Beth, Jeremy, Bob, Nalley and Teri for letting me run with you. And thanks to Tina, Adam, Scott, Paul, Nicole, Joseph and others who I'm running alongside "online." It's so motivating to run with friends. For a fun recap on our recent 5:45am Tour de Henderson, NV, check out Teri's blog here.
3. Running book recommendation. I loved My Life on the Run (here) by Runner's World's Bart Yasso. The guy is a nut, but the book is great for motivational stories. Because of Yasso's "interesting" descriptions, I decided to cross running the Antarctica marathon, nude racing and a jog up Kilimanjaro off my bucket list...Next up, something off of this list by some dude with a cool name.
4. Upcoming races. I'm signed up for a 4 mile jaunt on Valentine's Day in Sac (here). Then next it's a half marathon on March 15th in West Sacramento (here). The big goal is...um...gulp...sigh...the San Diego marathon (here). So that's all coming up, but first it's 9 miles tomorrow morning at 8:30 on the Clovis trails with Jeremy!
1. Injury report. Turns out that that heinous New Year's Day 10K that Michelle dragged me to was the gift that kept on giving. Everything was almost done being sore about 5 days after. Everything that is, except my right calf. Would you call it a calf strain? Pulled calf? Not sure, but that's what it was. Because of it, I logged no miles from Jan. 1 to Jan. 18. 17 days to heal. Is that good?
2. Running buddies. A huge running highlight in the last month or so has been running with friends. It's like everyone recently up and decided to run! Very cool. So thanks to Beth, Jeremy, Bob, Nalley and Teri for letting me run with you. And thanks to Tina, Adam, Scott, Paul, Nicole, Joseph and others who I'm running alongside "online." It's so motivating to run with friends. For a fun recap on our recent 5:45am Tour de Henderson, NV, check out Teri's blog here.
3. Running book recommendation. I loved My Life on the Run (here) by Runner's World's Bart Yasso. The guy is a nut, but the book is great for motivational stories. Because of Yasso's "interesting" descriptions, I decided to cross running the Antarctica marathon, nude racing and a jog up Kilimanjaro off my bucket list...Next up, something off of this list by some dude with a cool name.
4. Upcoming races. I'm signed up for a 4 mile jaunt on Valentine's Day in Sac (here). Then next it's a half marathon on March 15th in West Sacramento (here). The big goal is...um...gulp...sigh...the San Diego marathon (here). So that's all coming up, but first it's 9 miles tomorrow morning at 8:30 on the Clovis trails with Jeremy!
Monday, February 02, 2009
What's weird is NOT that Kobe went for 61...
...what's bizarre is that according to the box score he didn't have a rebound. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Wouldn't you think that over the course of 19 made baskets, there would at least one put back, tip in or rebound dunk?!? The guy evidently needs to work harder...
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Wait. You haven't blogged in two weeks and this is all you come up with?!?
Yep. 'Cause these Dixon/Isch Super Bowl nachos were RIGHTEOUS!
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