DadMan Runnin'

DadMan's Progress Report

Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:15:16 -0500

Hard to believe it’s been 10 weeks since I started training for the 2012 Chicago Marathon! Here’s my mid-training progress report for anyone who’s been following my journey …

Progress Summary Report 06/05/2012 – 08/12/2012

Distance: 302.65 mi

Time: 47:20:00 h:m:s

Avg Speed: 6.4 mph

Calories: 42,598 C

Avg Time: 1:00:26 h:m:s

Max Time: 2:58:25 h:m:s

Avg Distance: 6.44 mi

Max Distance: 19.00 mi

Max Speed: 16.7 mph

Max Avg Speed: 8.0 mph

Just this weekend I ran a 5K with my family. Everyone did great! My wife and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law all placed for their age groups. My age group, unfortunately, is hyper-competitive where I live. I’ll have to step it up if I ever want to place in a race around here. Still, I had an awesome run! I posted a 23:08 which is a 38 second PR. I also ran my fastest mile split yet at 6:56. It felt incredible to finally run a sub 7:00 mile!! I celebrated with a 19 mile run the next day which I completed in 2:57:07. My longest run to date and it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as I expected.

Training continues this week and includes a half-marathon race up in Wisconsin. It’s a pre-test, if you will, for my marathon race. I’m going to use it as a training run, but also try to beat my half-marathon PR of 1:57:55.

Here’s to running and here’s to life …

Everybody, RUN!

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

DadMan vs Personal Goals

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 11:50:54 -0500

I think having personal goals is an integral part of happiness for most human beings. What those goals are doesn’t seem to matter as much as making them and then doing what it takes to achieve them. One person may want to run a marathon, while another wants to gain 61 pounds to reach 300 lbs. so he can be considered disabled in order to be able to work from home to avoid the office exercise program.

The goal itself becomes irrelevant once achieved, so it is in the journey to achieve said goal that I believe we find the fun and joy in life.

I achieved a small personal goal today. I ran 8 miles in 68 minutes, averaging 7.0 mph. I’ve been working towards this goal for 8 weeks now and I just achieved it on my pace run this morning. It feels really good! But, as I type this my mind is already moving on to the next goal … can I run 10 miles and average 7.2 mph? I think that I can do it. I know what I need to do to get there and I’m going to work on it. And, most importantly, I’m not afraid to fail. That sense of purpose and the knowledge that I can do it makes me happy. :-)

Time to go hydrate. Stay thirsty my friends!

Everybody, RUN!

DadMan vs. Self-inspiration

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:33:00 -0500

The other day I was watching TV and I happened to see an ad for the movie Savages and I was struck by the song that played over the advertisement. The song is ‘Till I Collapse by Eminem from his album The Eminem Show (2002). Only the chorus of the song plays in the advertisement,

Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out
Till my legs give out, …

So, I downloaded the song to give the whole thing a listen and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I added it to my running mix on my iPod. There’s a prologue to the song wherein Eminem speaks about what it means to inspire yourself, to dig deep and find that motivation to win. This has become, arguably, my favorite part of the song.

‘Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
And just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

Those words, more than any other I have found, describe exactly what it is like for me when I’m out on a long run and I just feel like giving up, because I’m tired, because I feel weak, because, because, because … the excuses creep in and my cadence slows and my breathing gets ragged. Then, I realize I still have 7 miles to get home and no one is going to get me there but me! I dig down, I grab those excuses by their collective fool necks and I rip them from psyche and I throw ‘em on the ground!

Now, the music gets louder, my cadence quickens, my breathing is forced into a calm rhythm and … I … am … zen. The next thing I know I’m looking up and I’m home.

‘Til the roof comes off, ‘til the lights go out, ‘til my legs give out … I will keep on running.

Until next time …

Everybody, RUN!

DadMan vs Hal Higdon

Thu, 07 Jun 2012 20:08:20 -0500

I recently decided to review the marathon plans laid out by Hal Higdon on his website. I’ve known about them for some time and I’ve always heard good things about them from the other marathon runners I know. So, I checked it out … there’s some good stuff in there. After pouring over the various plans offered, I decided to chuck my homemade plan and instead go with Higdon’s intermediate 2 marathon training plan.

This plan will have me peaking at 50 miles/week and will get me running 5 days/week. We’ll see how long I last! When it’s all said and done I will have run ~643.3 miles.

It remains to be seen if I become a Higdonite. Only time, and my first marathon finish, will tell.

Everybody, RUN!

DadMan vs. AltraZeroDrop Provision (shoe review)

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 17:54:36 -0500

I got my AltraZeroDrop Provision shoes this weekend and took them out for 6.5 miles.

This shoe comes in two color options; charcoal and white. I found the white to be rather ugly, so I went with the charcoal. At 9.9 oz these shoes are light, mine are slightly heavier as I wear a 12.5 in these. I started with the size 13 in this shoe and when I determined the 13 was slightly too big, I got a chance to try out Altra’s return policy. I am happy to report that they are fast and efficient at replacing shoes bought from them. They emailed me an RMA# and asked me to place the box on my porch for pickup by UPS the next day. The replacement shoes only took 3 days to arrive on my doorstep.

The Provision comes with a Varus wedge. This an insert that provides additional stability along the entire length of the inside of the foot under the arch. The insert helps prevent late stage pronation. I don’t pronate when I run, but I tested these with the Varus wedge in place and did not find it distracting, or uncomfortable at all. I will likely leave it in, unless it starts causing problems.

My 6.5 mile initial run went smoothly. No hotspots in the shoes, no tight fits, and no sliding around, and no blisters. The shoe feels durable and well made. There isn’t a ton of cushioning in the shoe, but there is enough there that I felt adequate support throughout my run.

What I really noticed, and appreciated, in the Provision was the lack of slapping sound that my AltraZeroDrop Instincts make when I run in them. That noise was very distracting to others in my running groups and I’m very glad that with the Provision the noise has gone away.

I give the AltraZeroDrop Men’s Provision a solid 4.5/5 stars. I’d give them 5/5, but haven’t yet tried them w/o the Varus wedge so don’t have a complete picture … yet.

Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional.

Everybody, RUN!

Great run

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 14:38:00 -0500

I think you’re doing great! You’re going to pwn Chicago.

DadMan vs. the short week

Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:17:25 -0500

WEEK 4: 18 Mi

Tue 05/30/12 Easy Run Dist: 6 Mi @10:15
Thu 06/01/12 Easy Run Dist: 6 Mi @10:15
Sun 06/03/12 Easy Run Dist: 6 Mi @10:15

This is a short week for me. I’m supposed to do 6 miles 3x. Thus far I have completed 2 of those runs and I stretched each one out to 10K.

I ran the first one in 56:29, a 9:05 pace, a new PR.

The second one followed a very long week at work and I just really needed to get out my frustrations, so I pushed it harder than my training plan suggested. I ended up finishing in 54:20, a 8:46 pace. This is a new PR for me by over 2 minutes. The last PR being the 56:29 I mentioned earlier.

Tomorrow, my 6 mile run will be much slower (per my training plan) and I may even stop to smell the roses along the way.

All running motivations are different. Sometimes we run for fun, sometimes we run for a PR, sometimes we run to win, and sometimes we run because, well, we just want to run away from all the crap life is throwing at us. No matter where you run, or how far, of for what reason, if you end up at home, safe, around those who love you, then your run was a good one.

Pain is mandatory, suffering is optional.

DadMan vs. Week 3 (first 10+run of training)

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:29:00 -0500

WEEK 2: 20 Mi

Tue 05/22/12 Easy Run Dist: 4 Mi @10:17
Thu 05/24/12 Speedwork Dist: 6 Mi, inc Warm; 3x1600 in 8:15 w/800 jogs; Cool
Sun 05/27/12 Long Run Dist: 12 Mi @10:17

Week 3 of training for the Chicago marathon is behind me. I finished my 12 miles in 1:59:44.

Today’s 12 miler seemed longer and tougher than I remember, for several reasons;

I was breaking in new shoes (my Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12),
I worked all weekend and didn’t get home until 1:00 am this morning and had to awaken early [6:00 am] to run in order avoid the heat, and
It was too hot!

I got on the trail by 7:00 am owing to the fact that I had to have my morning coffee and a banana before my run. By then the temperature had already reached 79 degrees and it was climbing fast.

To make matters worse, I had forgotten to buy more Gu and only had one to bring with me for my long run. I usually like to bring at least 1 for every 6 miles, so I should have had at least 2 for this run.

By the time I reached the 5 mile mark it was already too hot and I could feel the tireds creeping in, along with a bit of a headache. I anticipated this would be something I would have to battle, as I had only gotten 4.5 hours of sleep before my run. So I was mentally prepared for that eventuality. I told myself to suck-it-up and push past the feeling. And I was able to do so. :-)

I had been on the trail almost an hour. The water in my bottle had gotten warm by now. Thankfully, the trail I run on has water fountains about every 1.5 - 2.0 miles. Unfortunately for me, right about this time I also had a roiling feeling in my stomach which meant a trip the port-a-potty at one of the water stops. I know that my fellow runners understand this situation, but for those of you who don’t, well, let’s just say sitting inside what amounts to a hot plastic box, covered in sweat, while doing your business is not the funnest thing you’ll ever do in life. I soldiered on despite my pit stop and found that my budding headache was starting to go away.

Around mile 8 I had a bit of reflux and was surprised when I said out loud, “Oh, banana!” I can confirm that all of the conventional wisdom about bananas and running is true. It doesn’t taste bad when it comes back up in the middle of a run. That, and all of the sports medicine research about bananas; help fight cramping, etc. So, I highly recommend a banana before a long training run.

At around mile 8.5 I noted the both of my feet were a little pained on the bottom, centered, and just in front of my arches. Now, this could be because my new shoes weren’t conformed to my feet yet, or the duo dry socks I had on were drenched and no longer wicking away the moisture, or my feet just need to toughen-the-hell-up! I had to stop to adjust my socks and tighten up my my laces to prevent any possible sliding around. I, for sure, don’t want blisters on the bottoms of my feet.

Ultimately, I finished 18 seconds faster than my proposed pace. I was overheated, my feet were sore, the elements were against me, and I was tired as sin, but all-in-all I felt pretty good about that run. If I can feel good about a run like that, then I think my mind is in pretty good shape to tackle the longer distances yet to come.

Keep running my friends!

DadMan vs The Brooks PureFlow (shoe review)

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:33:00 -0500

Last month I acquired a pair of PureFlow running shoes by Brooks. Here are the hard facts about these shoes from the Brooks website:

Category: Guidance
Weight: 8.7 oz
Platform: Anatomical Last
Construction: Stroebel
Launch Date: October 1, 2011
Technologies
• BioMoGo DNA Midsole
• IDEAL Heel
• Toe Flex
• Nav Band
• Anatomical Last
Heel-Toe Offset : 4.0 mm

I have a neutral gait and a mid-foot strike. The weight of the shoes is good. They felt very light. Construction quality felt good. The shoes felt too snug across the top initially and I had to re-lace them. I put about 30 miles on the shoes to break them in. They were decent for 4 mile runs and less. Any distance I ran in these shoes beyond 4 miles wrecked my knees. The separator between the big toe and middle toe did nothing that I noticed. I couldn’t feel it between my toes and it didn’t feel like it gave me any additional control when turning, nor any additional stability in my forefoot.

These shoes may be better suited to those looking to transition to a barefoot shoe, or those who need little to no cushion in their running shoes. Ultimately re-lacing them only slightly improved the snug feeling I got across the top of my foot which made running in these shoes annoying and the subsequent knee pain made them just not worth keeping. I give these shoes 2/5 stars. I have removed them from my rotation.

DadMan vs. Week 2

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:13:00 -0500

WEEK 2: 20 Mi

Tue 05/15/12 Easy Run Dist: 4 Mi @10:19
Thu 05/17/12 Speedwork Dist: 6 Mi, inc Warm; 3x1600 in 8:15 w/800 jogs; Cool
Sun 05/20/12 Long Run Dist: 10 Mi @10:19

Well, week 1 was successful. Today started week 2 and let me tell you, I hate running slow. I forced myself into a 10:11 pace today in order to try to more accurately match my training goal, but I really didn’t like it. I know, I know, slow mileage is good too. I’ll get used to it, but in the mean time …ow my knee! ;-)

Now that that self-indulgent complaining jag is done with, on with the running! You know Rush said it best in their song Tom Sawyer,

changes aren’t permanent, But change is

It’s only week 2 and I have to change up the plan. I unwittingly signed up to run in a charity 5K to support my daughter’s school (or, maybe I did that wittingly ^_-). So, I’m replacing my speedwork this week with that 5K. This will happen tomorrow night. My hope is to take some Vitamin I (ibuprofen), foam roll out my quads, and ice up tonight so I can actually be ready to tackle 3.1 miles as fast as I can tomorrow evening. I’m hoping to improve on my last official 5K PR which, if I recall correctly, was ~25:56.

In other news, I have ordered some new AltraZerodrop Provision shoes. I’m going to work them in to my rotation and see how I like them. I’ll provide a review after I break them in. Hopefully they are at least as good as my AltraZerodrop Instincts. I’m fairly certain they will be better than my Brooks PureFlows. I’ll have to find some time to post my review of those knee wreckers.

Stay thirsty my friends … and then drink some water and finish that last mile!

DadMan vs. The Pace

Sun, 13 May 2012 12:54:32 -0500

Today was my first official long slow training run in preparation for Chicago this October. 10 miles and my pace was supposed to be 10:20. I managed to be true to my pace for the first 3 miles … and then I blew it.

I ended up with an average moving pace of 9:38 and finished with a moving time of 1:36:16. I almost did negative splits for the entire distance, but I had to stop at 8.95 miles to refill my water bottle and decided to stretch a bit, so that threw off my time. Still, that’s a good first long slow distance run.

I am going to need to slow it down though, or I could risk burn out.

DadMan vs. The Beginning (marathon training starts now!)

Thu, 10 May 2012 19:45:24 -0500

So, I’ve decided to post my weekly training for those interested. You know who you are. ;-)

WEEK 1: 16 Mi Thu 05/10/12 Tempo Run Dist: 6 Mi, inc Warm; 4 Mi @ 8:51; Cool Sun 05/13/12 Long RunDist: 10 Mi @10:20

This is week one of training for the my first marathon, which just so happens to be the 35th Chicago Marathon.

Today’s tempo run was a rough way to start training. That could be because I was supposed to dial-in an 8:51 avg for 4 miles and ended up averaging 8:35. I think it may have been made harder by my state of mind. My mind and body are not in harmony at the moment and that always makes a run difficult. I’m letting myself off the hook this time, because I need to and because the harder training runs are yet to come. Also, I think I need new shoes. :-P

The Treadmill Cheat Sheet

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:05:49 -0600

The Treadmill Cheat Sheet:

I use this a lot when I’m thinking about my next PR.

DadMan vs. The Buildup

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:10:42 -0600

On February 3rd, 2012, I registered to run in my first marathon, ever. I had decided back in December 2011 that I wanted to run in the Chicago Marathon as my first. I had no idea, until shortly after I finished filling out the inordinately long registration form, that this is the 35th anniversary of the Chicago Marathon. Three days later registration was closed. Forty-five thousand people registered in record time. I don’t mind telling you that I’m already a little nervous. And, yes, I know the race isn’t for another eight months, but it feels like it’s just around the corner. I’m sure my feelings will change when I’m slugging it out in the heat during training this summer. Speaking of training …

Now begins “the buildup”. I’ll start adding 10% to my mileage every week until I’m running a solid 70 miles/week. Once I’m there, I will invoke “the plan”. The plan will include speed work, hill work, intervals, tempo runs, long slow runs, you know, the usual. I have also started a cross-fit program to get me in better shape.

My goals haven’t changed;

finish the race
finish faster than 4:30:00
finish in 3:xx:xx

That’s the order of importance for me on my first marathon. I’ll post my actual training plan here soon. I’ll also post links to my training run stats from time to time when I begin training in earnest in June.

Until next time running fans, keep running! You can do it!

Dadman vs. The Fatness

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:30:36 -0600

So, I awoke on 02/10/2012 and went about my morning ritual after which I weighed myself. My weight; 187.6 lbs. This may not sound fascinating to you, my dear readers, but to me this is the culmination of over 2 years (OK, only the last 14 months did I really work hard for it, but still …) worth of progress. I have not weighed this little in over 18 years.

When I shared this news with family and friends, one of my best friends said he wanted to know how I lost the weight. I told him it was mostly two things; 1. My wife, and 2. signing up for races.

First, if not for my wife (with a nod to my kids for helping cheer me on) supporting me in my efforts, I am quite certain I would have given up at times. For example, I would come home from a long day at work and state that I was going to run that evening. 7:30 pm would roll around and I was still not dressed to go run, and losing all motivation. My wife would say something like, “Honey, are you still going to go run? You worked so hard last week and it would be a shame to waste all that hard work.” And you know what? She was right. And I knew it. And, so, I would go change into my running shorts and go pound out 6 miles.

Second, signing up for races was key. I like to win. Let me qualify that statement. To me, winning is exceeding my own personal goals. I hold no illusions about winning a half-marathon/marathon race, yet. So, I signed up for half-marathons and 5k races leaving myself 16 to 6 weeks, respectively, to train. I set realistic goals with tiered objectives. For example, my first half-marathon; primary objective: finish the race, secondary objective: finish the race faster than 2 hrs. 30 minutes (I was close, but that heat and humidity really slowed me down!). My first 5k, finish faster than 35 minutes (smoked this time by almost 10 minutes!).

In addition to these two primary factors I ate right, cut down my portion sizes, cut back severely on sugar, stopped drinking soda (tea is a wonderful substitute), and for the last 30 days I have been a bacotarian (bacotarian; a pescatarian who also enjoys bacon, but no other meat products [and, no, canadian bacon doesn’t count!]).

That’s how I did it. With the love and support of my wife and family, extended family, and friends. Without whom I would still be suffering from The Fatness (tm). Challenging myself, and making a more conscious effort to eat healthier foods.

Of late, I’m not only a bacotarian, but I’m also trying to eat things that have fewer ingredients. My Mom used to tell me to remember KISS. She didn’t mean Gene Simmons and crew, either. She meant it as an acronym; Keep It Simple, Stupid. If you put aside the trailing insult, it’s a really good motto when applied to healthy eating.

Now, get out there and run, walk, or dance and when your hungry remember, KISS!

DadMan vs. Vegetarianism

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:54:00 -0600

So, several weeks ago my wife decided she was going to start being a vegetarian. At the time I said to her, “Honey, I think people are born vegetarian. You can’t just decide to be one.” She promptly gave me the finger and then immediately started, intentionally, ignoring beautiful things like bacon, chicken breast cutlets, pork loin, you know, all of the really tasty stuff. After about three weeks of watching my wife live this “alternative lifestyle”, I decided to join her.

I’m not one for jumping on the bandwagon just to do so. This is a trial period for me. An experiment, if you will. Complete disclosure; I decided I’m going to cheat, if I want to, during this experiment and not feel guilty about it. Also, I decided that going without fish, eggs, and dairy is not something I can do, ever! Lastly, I put a clock on this whole experiment. I will try this for 21 days. You know the old saying,

“It takes 21 days to form a habit.” That’s why I chose the 21 day mark. It also sets a realistic goal in my mind.

As of today, I have not consumed any beef, pork, or chicken for 11 days. I don’t really feel any different. I still don’t have any super powers. I think you have to go vegan in order to be granted super powers by the universe. Or, at least that’s what the writers of the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World believe. So, I have ruled that out, for now. I haven’t noticed any improvement in form or function. What I have noticed is that I have these intense bacon cravings about every 72 hours and I have to exert extreme will power in order to not be consumed by them. Tho, if I do decide to give in, I will so not feel guilty for consuming the most delicious of all the meats. Let’s face it, that’s one siren song that is very hard to resist. But, resist it I have. I just wish I felt better for resisting it. I think I have “opposite guilt”. Is that a thing? I literally think about the bacon and how badly I crave it and I feel a smidge guilty for denying myself that basic necessity.

Ah, well. I will continue to resist the temptations of the big 3 and live this “alternative lifestyle” for the full 21 day sentence of this experiment. And, who knows, maybe on day 21 I will receive super powers.

Keep running my friends!

Dadman vs. The Power of Suggestion

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:13:00 -0600

Suggestion is defined by dictionary.com as

the calling up in the mind of one idea by another by virtue of some

association or of some natural connection between the ideas.

Stop and think about that quote for a minute. It mentions the mind, connection, and ideas all in the same sentence. When you think about this, think about all of the times you have shared with others that you are going to attempt something, or that you have set out to achieve a particular goal only to have other people tell you about an article they read wherein someone who attempted what you are trying to do spontaneously caught fire, or had their nipple bitten off by a badger. How did their response make you feel? Had you not thought of those things before you came up with the idea to accomplish your goal? Odds are you hadn’t. Now you are left with this creeping doubt. That creeping doubt can turn into crippling defeat, if you let it. How many times have you been one of the “other person” who did this to someone else? Really think about that.

When I think about things like this I find myself becoming angry and feeling guilty, because I have been on both sides of the equation. So, in 2012, one of the things I am striving to do (and if any of you tell me that someone else who tried this ended up getting hit be a meteor, so help me …) is to be positive towards others when they share their hopes and desires with me. Now, if my son tells me he’s going to attempt to run a sub 3 minute mile, I will still try to steer him towards a more achievable goal, but by the gods I’m going to do it in a positive way and help, at least, try to help him get as close as he can to realizing his goal.

So, the next time a friend, or colleague, comes up to you and says, “Hey, I’m going to run a half-marathon this year!” and they are 50 lbs. overweight and clearly out of shape. Don’t tell them about how some people have had heart attacks from trying to run distance races too fast. Instead, do what my wife did for me and tell them, “That’s fantastic! You should sign up immediately and put some money on it, then get training!” That, or STFU and just smile at them encouragingly. I believe this is why sheltered athletes who stay away from negativity do so well. They don’t often hear, “You can’t do that because of X or Y.”

My opinion: If no one ever tells you that you can’t do something, then you are a thousand times more likely to try it and succeed.

Until next time, runners and readers alike … Embrace The Suck and keep on running!

2012 Marathon Olympic Trials Results!

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:47:59 -0600

2012 Marathon Olympic Trials Results!:

Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, and Abdi Abdirahman for the men.

Shalane Flanagan, Desi Davila, and Kara Goucher for the women.

Chicago Marathon Info.

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:45:49 -0600

Registration

Registration for the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will open to the public beginning at 12 p.m.* (CST) on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. The registration fee is $150 for U.S. participants and $175 for participants outside the U.S. Registration will close when the participant capacity of 45,000 is reached.

* Please note that registration will open at a new time of day this year, beginning at 12 p.m. (noon) rather than 12 a.m. (midnight).

Event Entry Requirements:

The 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon has a required maximum net finish time of 6 hours and 30 minutes (h:mm:ss/6:30:59).
Participants must be 16 years or older on race day, October 7, 2012, to register. Participants 16-17 years of age must have a statement signed by their parent or legal guardian permitting them to participate.
Sale and/or transfer of race entries/bib numbers is strictly prohibited. All entry fees are non-refundable, and may not be deferred toward a future event.
Read the Official Event Rules & Guidelines

DadMan vs. Getting Older

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:43:13 -0600

Happy New Year!

A new year is upon me like a vampire on a virgin. Another year of more gray hair, different/new pains to identify and, most importantly, another year to celebrate the joy of running! You heard me right. I called running a “joy” because, let’s face it, for those of us who do it regularly it is a huge boost to just about everything. It reverses aging, stimulates hair follicles, grows thick bushy Magnum P.I. mustaches, and enables us with speed enough to outrun a cheetah! Okay, I may be exaggerating, just a little, but you hopefully get my point. Everyone who can be, should be out running!

As I gain yet another year of wisdom, I’m reminded that I’m lucky to be allowed to run and count it as fun. As I write this I have an upper respiratory infection that is holding me back from working out like I want to, but this too shall pass and when it does, I will be get back to running … with a vengeance!

Get out there and RUN!