"100% chance of pain......"

The weatherman at WMAT was spot on Saturday morning..."Sunny, Seventy and 100% chance of pain!" Dan ran the 5k (36:53) in a tacky sweater, which garnered tons of compliments from the ladies...... Matt made short work of his first half marathon (1:53.49).  I decided to call it a day and bring it on in after three and a half hours (3:34:53) and barely made it into the stadium and across the finish line when the left leg locked up with cramps. All-in-all, it was a great experience and I am seriously considering giving it another go in Dec. 2013. Anyone up for the challenge?

 



The competive fires are smoldering....

Y'ever have that dream where you are trying to run as fast as you can but can't hardly lift your feet of the ground. Just feels like something is holding you back and keeping your body from doing what you mind wants it to do? I'm getting that feeling and it's starting to bother me. My kid and I have been playing pickup soccer on Wednesday nights. Very informal. Sandlot pickup soccer in the purest sense possible. During live play, I see where I want to be and what my feet need to do. The problem is that I'm wearing a spare tire around my waist and have obviously lost a few steps. The competitive drive that burned inside me thru my teenage years has been locked away and put to sleep by years of laziness and apathy. Now that I'm getting more active, it is very frustrating that my body can't do what my mind remembers being able to do.

All is not lost. Every Wednesday night, I feel myself being less winded than the week before. My legs don't hurt as bad and I'm generally moving around better. I can feel the competitive drive waking up and more willing to stay engaged in the game. unfortunately, my mind wants my body to move a little faster, react a little quicker, and go a little longer. I'm sure my body will catch up to my mind one the weight starts melting. Guess we will have to wait and see.

almost there.....

with 25 days to go, we've received $445 in donations of our $500 goal! surely, there are a couple of stragglers who are waiting 'till the last minute to cover the balance.....

also, received the st. jude's hero singlet this weekend, which will hardly be enough in memphis' winter weather.  so now, i need to find some comfortable cold weather gear.  any suggestions?

soccer in the cold of night....

so vso/cannon soccer club has what we call street soccer, which is basically pick-up soccer games once a week at the bovina complex.  usually it is on wednesday evening and has been going on since july or august.  it's open to anyone, and typical ages range from 8 to mid-40's. wyatt loves playing with older folks, and it gives him an opportunity to try new things and see how the more experienced players do things.  i also participate because it is very rare that a parent has the opportuninty to compete with their children and their friends in the child's favorite sport and it provides a good cardio workout.

since wednesday was halloween, the powers that be decided to do street soccer on tuesday night at 7:00 (after wyatt's rec team soccer practice). since it was short notice, there was only a small turnout: smithart, price, five farthings, two schraders, an echstein and a carney made for a fun game in what i consider crisp, if not frigid, temperatures.  my lungs have not burned with cold like that in about 10-12 years.  as long as i was moving, i was warm and i felt like i was getting some good exercise.  thankfully, it is warming up just a bit for a few pleasant evening games in the weeks to come. 

note to self: invest in cold-weather tech gear for both myself and the red-headed kid.     

for more info about street soccer or the cannon  soccer club, visit our website at www.cannonsoccerclub.com

Pain in the AS

As Philip previously mentioned, we are "training" for a half marathon. I use the term "training" loosely. I'm not the type person that follows a strict schedule very well and my preparation for this race has reflected that. When we first decided to do this I researched training plans and picked one I thought I could stick to. I stuck to the plan for about 5 minutes after I printed it out and I've been winging it ever since. My typical running week consists of only three runs. An early week run of 4-6 miles, a mid week run of 5-7 miles, and a long run on the weekend. This weekend it was supposed to be 9 miles. Truth be told I haven't run since last Wednesday (ask August and Philip when it was that they last ran) and then it was only four miles. My AS (ankylosing spondylitis) has been acting up and has had me sidelined since then, but I hope I can get back to it by this Wednesday. If not, you know what they say... "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well, he eats you."

"Time wounds all heels".

while matt's over there complaining about his AS, i reckon its time to dust em off and pound out a few miles so i can collect from branan.  he pledged a dollar for every mile i get in this week.  since last friday, he's into me for a buck twenty three.  that's right, count em, $1.23.  so this weekend was chock full of soccer games and, civil war reenactments, and home improvement projects. what can i say.  since we are at the soccer fields 4-5 days a week, i'm gonna log my miles during wyatt's soccer practice.  it's cross country terrain and hell on the heels and calves, but pleasant fall weather makes for an acceptable tradeoff. 

  

As I was waiting in the circuit clerk's office today to exercise my right to vote (which is the only exercise I've done today), I happen to read the Mississippi Code of 1972 as it pertains to voter qualifications. The first sentence of sec 23-15-11 reads "Every inhabitant of this state, except idiots and insane persons......shall be entitled to vote at any election." Don't believe me, check it out for yourself at http://www.mscode.com/free/statutes/23/015/0011.htm Based on some of our elected officials, it's apparent to me that more than a few people that are not entitled to vote have slipped through the cracks. You might say " Walter, Walter, what's the point, man?" Well, I don't suppose I had a point, but you can prove you're not an idiot (and reclaim your right to vote) by contributing to Philip's personal St. Jude Hero page at http://heroes.stjude.org/philipschrader Other than the fact that he is a lawyer, and his aversion to capital letters, he really is a good guy.

only 43 more days to go....

so matt hendrix and i have accepted the challenge to run the st. jude's half marathon on dec. 1. we will be running as "the little lebowski urban acheivers" and have also pledged to raise funds as a St. Jude Hero to support St. Jude's lifesaving mission of finding cures and saving children. i have committed to collecting at least $500 for the kids of St. Jude and need your support to help me reach my fundraising goal. as of today, i'm a little over a quarter of the way there.  you can visit my St. Jude's Hero personal page at  http://heroes.stjude.org/philipschrader to make a donation.  100% of your donations go directly to St. Jude's and there is no amount too small!!!! if that's not your bag, follow us as we prepare for raceday!  and remember, the dude abides.....takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. see you at the finish line....