At her "request" in her comment to my last post I had to throw this post up for my wife. In an effort to support my wife in her recent running efforts I suggested an idea to her. I said that I would love to go on a run around the neighborhood with her. I have mapped out several 1.4 to 1.7 mile courses just running around our neck of the woods. I told her that I felt that the kids could behave themselves for 20 minutes and in the event of an emergency I could be home in far less than 10 minutes from anywhere we might be on our run. I told her that I could carry her cell phone and that we could pre-dial the number from our home phone so the kids would only have to hit the redial to get us. We have done this same practice when she goes shopping and I am on the roof cleaning our gutters. After some initial hesitation, she agreed to give it a try.
We decided to take the shortest loop on our first run that is only 1.39 miles to the kids school and back. I told her to go her own pace, and I would jog along for moral support and conversation. I wore my hydration belt so she could have water when she needed it. Although it was warm, it was not unbearable at around 80 degrees or so. She would run for several minutes and then walk/drink every so often. She had tried to say, while arguing why the plan wouldn’t work, that I would be walking along side of her running but I assure you that I couldn’t have kept up just trying to walk the whole way.
Our neighborhood is somewhat hilly but I was quite impressed that she chose to run up the hills. I don’t remember a single significant hill she walked up. We completed the loop and reached home in 19:40 or 14:09 / mile pace including the walking and running – never stopping. This was the fastest pace Jamie has gone since getting her new shoes and when you consider the hills and that the other ones also included full stops and breaks not included in her time, it is extra impressive. For the record, that is fast enough that if she were running a 5k and me a 10k, she would still finish first… I know there were several runners at my last race who couldn’t make that claim.
The run was extra fun for me as well. I did most of the talking but I enjoyed the conversation that I rarely get on my solo runs. The run also functioned as an EXCELLENT warm-up run for me as I went back out for another 3.73 miles that I ran at a pace much faster than I had run for several weeks in training. I rarely get the luxury of a separate warm-up run.
I am sad to report that she is having some shin pain after that run that she didn’t have with her home treadmill runs. I hope she didn’t push too hard because she felt pressure from my presence at her side. I guess some breaks for stretching are needed if I can talk her into doing it again. She may not realize it but her 4.4 miles so far are actually a big motivation for me as I see her try to find joy in my hobby. I wonder if she gets the same emotion watching me play with her stamps at Christmas time or helping her frost a cake?
She may have suggested the title to this post but if I’m the hare, EVERYONE knows the end of that story…
Thursday, June 19, 2008
What Goes Bump (or Pop) in the Night
My Long Run on Saturday included an event that I wanted to write about and get your opinion/feedback on. Usually I run in the mornings on the Alpharetta Greenway for my long runs. Last Saturday I had a change in plans, or more correctly, my plans were changed for me. Friday night I spent the night in the Hospital Emergency Room with Joshua getting 4 stitches in his forehead. That is a whole other story but suffice it to say he was one of the monkeys jumping on the bed and we know what happens to each of them in turn… Getting home at 4 am, I slept until noon. So following a full day of activity I finally got out around 9pm for my long run.
Instead of running at the Greenway, which has convenient markers each half mile, I decided to run a double loop around my neighborhood and adjoining wetlands/park. I plotted out a course that would be just over 9 miles and headed out the door. Due to the late hour I wore my headlamp that I usually wear on my early morning runs. Fairly early in my run I heard a noise in the distance, from the general direction of an apartment complex next to our neighborhood. Pop-pop-pop…pop-pop….pop-pop-pop…pop… I didn’t get an exact count on the pops but there were several. From that distance it really is impossible to distinguish between firecrackers (they have started selling them for the impending 4th of July) and gunfire. As it was so far in the distance, I just filed it away and continued my run.
About an hour later I was well into my run and was now in the park running around some of the man-made wetlands and ponds. As it was after 10, the sun had fully set and I was depending on my headlamp for lighting. I rounded a corner and approached a loop around another pond and noted what looked like a light from a flashlight about 1/8th of a mile off, just off the trail. This park is a favorite of mountain bikers and the first thought that went through my head was "wow, that is one dedicated biker." As I continued to run I noticed that the light wasn’t moving, it was staying in the same general area, just off the path. My mind tried to explain this as "maybe he has a flat tire" but that, or any other explanation I was thinking, just wasn’t feeling right. Then, as I continued to run around the loop in that direction, when I got about 120-150 yards away, the flashlight all of a sudden turned off.
My mind went into overdrive. Why would they turn the light off? Did it correspond to when they saw me? Maybe it was a bike and it went around a corner? In the dark, not a house within a half-mile, the mind and its natural defense mechanisms can do amazing things. Fairly quickly my mind retrieved the memory of the popping noise. Then I realized that where I was I was actually closer to the apartment complex than to our neighborhood. It was through a tree line and a fence but where that light was is only 250 yards from the closest apartment building… Could this be thugs disposing of "something"? Or is this just some kids out messing around in the woods after dark? So many questions with ZERO answers.
That’s not entirely true. I was getting an answer but I was choosing to ignore it. My "gut" and the Holy Ghost were YELLING at me, turn around NOW and run back the way you came. Three things betrayed me. One, my feet, they just kept moving. In a world of maintaining pace and stride, the unnatural act of stopping and turning around, just didn’t compute in my head. Two, my planned run, I knew the exact distance of the route I had mapped out but if I turned around I would have to go on to Google Earth and re-measure that segment of my run. And even then, it would be a guess as to my exact turn around point. And third, my biggest hurdle, my ego. I can’t be afraid of a flashlight or noise or anything while I’m out running… If I let this one win, what would I do the next time I heard a howl early in the morning, or the crashing of some bushes? Where do you draw the line when your mind’s imagination takes over?
For good or bad, I kept running. As I approached that stretch of the trail my heart rate peaked, and not because I was already 7.5 miles into my run or because I had picked up the pace. This was different, this was pure adrenaline from the fear and concern that I had made the wrong decision. As I ran past the area I made a point of not shining my light off the trail, I just ran straight ahead, looking straight ahead, like I never saw the flashlight in the distance. Just as I convinced myself that there was nothing there I heard a small rustle and a distinct "Shhhh Shhhh Shhhh" from the bushes. Sweat soaked hair on the back of my neck still found a way of freeing itself from the moisture and sticking straight up. My ears perked, straining to hear more. The bullfrogs droned from the adjoining pond but my heightened senses functioned like noise cancelling earphones finding a way to filter the frogs out to listen to the bushes more intently. But there was nothing but silence from the grassy knoll. Somehow my mind started developing exit strategies and contemplating the question of what a bullet to the back would feel like. Would I go down with the first shot? How many could I take and still run? I reached up and turned off my head-lamp thinking "I’m not giving them a target, let them shoot in the dark!" As my eyes quickly adjusted to the tree filtered moonlight I kept a focus on the white concrete path, I quickened my pace, lengthened my stride, and never looked back.
It was a good quarter mile before I slowed down, if only slightly, and turned my light back on. Even then I wouldn’t turn around and my ears strained to listen for running feet other than my own. I ran straight home from there (that was my designated course anyway). I debated whether or not to tell my wife and decided to share the experience with her. Not a mistake, but I took my scolding and her point about 5 people back at the house that depend on me making the right decisions and listening to the Spirit when it is talking did not fall of deaf ears. I debated whether or not I should tell the Police but I settled on the argument of "it still could have been your imaginations, lets see if there was any crime reported in the news before I get the police chasing random flashlights". Watching and searching the news for the next two days, nothing showed up.
It could have been, and most likely was, nothing nefarious. But what would you have done? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What did you do? Inherently I think that late night in a park is far more dangerous than early morning in a park or late night around the neighborhood. I think I have decided that if I have to run after dark again, I will stay on the neighborhood roads and not loop into the park. That is sad because the park is nice and I often see wildlife but ultimately I don’t want to have to make this decision again and my family IS more important than any enjoyment I get from running.
Instead of running at the Greenway, which has convenient markers each half mile, I decided to run a double loop around my neighborhood and adjoining wetlands/park. I plotted out a course that would be just over 9 miles and headed out the door. Due to the late hour I wore my headlamp that I usually wear on my early morning runs. Fairly early in my run I heard a noise in the distance, from the general direction of an apartment complex next to our neighborhood. Pop-pop-pop…pop-pop….pop-pop-pop…pop… I didn’t get an exact count on the pops but there were several. From that distance it really is impossible to distinguish between firecrackers (they have started selling them for the impending 4th of July) and gunfire. As it was so far in the distance, I just filed it away and continued my run.
About an hour later I was well into my run and was now in the park running around some of the man-made wetlands and ponds. As it was after 10, the sun had fully set and I was depending on my headlamp for lighting. I rounded a corner and approached a loop around another pond and noted what looked like a light from a flashlight about 1/8th of a mile off, just off the trail. This park is a favorite of mountain bikers and the first thought that went through my head was "wow, that is one dedicated biker." As I continued to run I noticed that the light wasn’t moving, it was staying in the same general area, just off the path. My mind tried to explain this as "maybe he has a flat tire" but that, or any other explanation I was thinking, just wasn’t feeling right. Then, as I continued to run around the loop in that direction, when I got about 120-150 yards away, the flashlight all of a sudden turned off.
My mind went into overdrive. Why would they turn the light off? Did it correspond to when they saw me? Maybe it was a bike and it went around a corner? In the dark, not a house within a half-mile, the mind and its natural defense mechanisms can do amazing things. Fairly quickly my mind retrieved the memory of the popping noise. Then I realized that where I was I was actually closer to the apartment complex than to our neighborhood. It was through a tree line and a fence but where that light was is only 250 yards from the closest apartment building… Could this be thugs disposing of "something"? Or is this just some kids out messing around in the woods after dark? So many questions with ZERO answers.
That’s not entirely true. I was getting an answer but I was choosing to ignore it. My "gut" and the Holy Ghost were YELLING at me, turn around NOW and run back the way you came. Three things betrayed me. One, my feet, they just kept moving. In a world of maintaining pace and stride, the unnatural act of stopping and turning around, just didn’t compute in my head. Two, my planned run, I knew the exact distance of the route I had mapped out but if I turned around I would have to go on to Google Earth and re-measure that segment of my run. And even then, it would be a guess as to my exact turn around point. And third, my biggest hurdle, my ego. I can’t be afraid of a flashlight or noise or anything while I’m out running… If I let this one win, what would I do the next time I heard a howl early in the morning, or the crashing of some bushes? Where do you draw the line when your mind’s imagination takes over?
For good or bad, I kept running. As I approached that stretch of the trail my heart rate peaked, and not because I was already 7.5 miles into my run or because I had picked up the pace. This was different, this was pure adrenaline from the fear and concern that I had made the wrong decision. As I ran past the area I made a point of not shining my light off the trail, I just ran straight ahead, looking straight ahead, like I never saw the flashlight in the distance. Just as I convinced myself that there was nothing there I heard a small rustle and a distinct "Shhhh Shhhh Shhhh" from the bushes. Sweat soaked hair on the back of my neck still found a way of freeing itself from the moisture and sticking straight up. My ears perked, straining to hear more. The bullfrogs droned from the adjoining pond but my heightened senses functioned like noise cancelling earphones finding a way to filter the frogs out to listen to the bushes more intently. But there was nothing but silence from the grassy knoll. Somehow my mind started developing exit strategies and contemplating the question of what a bullet to the back would feel like. Would I go down with the first shot? How many could I take and still run? I reached up and turned off my head-lamp thinking "I’m not giving them a target, let them shoot in the dark!" As my eyes quickly adjusted to the tree filtered moonlight I kept a focus on the white concrete path, I quickened my pace, lengthened my stride, and never looked back.
It was a good quarter mile before I slowed down, if only slightly, and turned my light back on. Even then I wouldn’t turn around and my ears strained to listen for running feet other than my own. I ran straight home from there (that was my designated course anyway). I debated whether or not to tell my wife and decided to share the experience with her. Not a mistake, but I took my scolding and her point about 5 people back at the house that depend on me making the right decisions and listening to the Spirit when it is talking did not fall of deaf ears. I debated whether or not I should tell the Police but I settled on the argument of "it still could have been your imaginations, lets see if there was any crime reported in the news before I get the police chasing random flashlights". Watching and searching the news for the next two days, nothing showed up.
It could have been, and most likely was, nothing nefarious. But what would you have done? Have you ever been in a similar situation? What did you do? Inherently I think that late night in a park is far more dangerous than early morning in a park or late night around the neighborhood. I think I have decided that if I have to run after dark again, I will stay on the neighborhood roads and not loop into the park. That is sad because the park is nice and I often see wildlife but ultimately I don’t want to have to make this decision again and my family IS more important than any enjoyment I get from running.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
My Kids
If you want to see some really nice pictures of my kids, wander on over to the blog of a photographer friend of ours who is doing a series of kids photo's. Check 'em out:
Dang - those 4 kids are the best Father's day gifts I could ever ask for!
Tucson Arizona - Bear Down Baby!
It sure was nice last week to get a taste of the old stomping grounds. Of course in writing the title of the post I'm reminded that my school slogan sounds like something an OB/GYN might say... As part of an expansion of my job responsibilities at work I am adding our facility south of Tucson, Arizona to the list of facilities I take care of environmentally. As part of that, I visited Tucson last week. For those of you not aware, I attended the University of Arizona in Tucson for my undergraduate degree where I met my wife. Of all the places I have lived, Tucson ranks third, for now, only behind Salt Lake City and Silver City for duration. Kearny may beat it out if you add in a few summers here and there but I don’t think so, I’ve never done all the math…we could call it a tie for third…
Anyway, I flew into Tucson late on Monday and back to Georgia early on Friday. If I was smart I would have booked my return flight for Saturday or Sunday and used the company paid flight for a trip up to Kearny as well, but I guess I can do that next time. As it was I was able to arrange dinner on Tuesday night with my twin as he stopped en route from Silver City to Phoenix with a co-worker headed to a training conference. I also met up with my parents on Wednesday night as they drove down to Tucson for dinner. My brother Ollie, who lives in Tucson for another month or two, joined in for both occasions. Living on the East Coast with only one sibling within driving distance makes me appreciate those rare chances to see family all the more.
I can’t have a post without a nod to my running of course. Oh how nice it was to run in Arizona. I could get used to that in a hurry! Each morning I would go out for my runs at the usual 5 am but due to Arizona’s insistence on ignoring daylight savings time the sun came over the horizon within 15 minutes of the start of my run each day. The desert may get hot in the day (103 last week) but the morning cool in the mid 60’s with what felt like single digit humidity was PERFECT running weather. My 70-degree runs with 90% humidity back in Georgia this week have felt oppressive in comparison!
For all the old acquaintances I wasn’t able to hook up with this go around, I’m sorry, I’ll try to catch you next time. As it was, I was with my boss who had rented the car for us, so getting the car for my own use on two of the three evenings was pushing it as it was. The trip reminded me of all the things I enjoyed about Arizona not to mention the proximity to family, but for all that, I love life in Georgia as well. But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean I cheer for the SEC over the Pac-10, that doesn’t mean that I don’t read the Kearny, Tucson, Silver City, and Salt Lake City online newspapers at least weekly, it just means I follow NASCAR now as well…
Anyway, I flew into Tucson late on Monday and back to Georgia early on Friday. If I was smart I would have booked my return flight for Saturday or Sunday and used the company paid flight for a trip up to Kearny as well, but I guess I can do that next time. As it was I was able to arrange dinner on Tuesday night with my twin as he stopped en route from Silver City to Phoenix with a co-worker headed to a training conference. I also met up with my parents on Wednesday night as they drove down to Tucson for dinner. My brother Ollie, who lives in Tucson for another month or two, joined in for both occasions. Living on the East Coast with only one sibling within driving distance makes me appreciate those rare chances to see family all the more.
I can’t have a post without a nod to my running of course. Oh how nice it was to run in Arizona. I could get used to that in a hurry! Each morning I would go out for my runs at the usual 5 am but due to Arizona’s insistence on ignoring daylight savings time the sun came over the horizon within 15 minutes of the start of my run each day. The desert may get hot in the day (103 last week) but the morning cool in the mid 60’s with what felt like single digit humidity was PERFECT running weather. My 70-degree runs with 90% humidity back in Georgia this week have felt oppressive in comparison!
For all the old acquaintances I wasn’t able to hook up with this go around, I’m sorry, I’ll try to catch you next time. As it was, I was with my boss who had rented the car for us, so getting the car for my own use on two of the three evenings was pushing it as it was. The trip reminded me of all the things I enjoyed about Arizona not to mention the proximity to family, but for all that, I love life in Georgia as well. But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean I cheer for the SEC over the Pac-10, that doesn’t mean that I don’t read the Kearny, Tucson, Silver City, and Salt Lake City online newspapers at least weekly, it just means I follow NASCAR now as well…
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Interesting Observation...
I have absolutely no evidence that the two are correlated but I noticed something today and find it extremely interesting...
Since I started my blog I have had 77 total posts. I have received at least 1 comment on all but 9 of them. Quite interestingly 4 of the 9 with no comments have occurred in my last 6 posts. So what was 6 posts ago? The announcement of my Diabetes fundraising efforts and the link to my donation site.
Is it coincidence that the comments dry up when I ask for more than a quick read and update on my life? Maybe my running exploits are just not that fascinating and hence people are not motivated to comment? Or maybe, just maybe, people don't want me to know that they have visited since I put that info up so they can plead ignorance when I ask them if they know about my fundraising?
OK, guilt trip over. Like I said in the original posts and emails, I'm not the in your face type of fundraiser. But that doesn't mean I don't rely on passive aggression for just about everything in my life... Hey, I've got to do something, I sent out the email and had my big announcement and got 1 co-worker and 1 college buddy I hadn't seen in 12 years as the only two people to make a donation! That only got me 5% of my goal! I've promised not to send out another email but that won't stop me from making frequent reminders here on my blog. I have faith in you, I'm sure my observation is nothing more than coincidence... I won't really start getting depressed for another couple months, so you have some time I guess.
Since I started my blog I have had 77 total posts. I have received at least 1 comment on all but 9 of them. Quite interestingly 4 of the 9 with no comments have occurred in my last 6 posts. So what was 6 posts ago? The announcement of my Diabetes fundraising efforts and the link to my donation site.
Is it coincidence that the comments dry up when I ask for more than a quick read and update on my life? Maybe my running exploits are just not that fascinating and hence people are not motivated to comment? Or maybe, just maybe, people don't want me to know that they have visited since I put that info up so they can plead ignorance when I ask them if they know about my fundraising?
OK, guilt trip over. Like I said in the original posts and emails, I'm not the in your face type of fundraiser. But that doesn't mean I don't rely on passive aggression for just about everything in my life... Hey, I've got to do something, I sent out the email and had my big announcement and got 1 co-worker and 1 college buddy I hadn't seen in 12 years as the only two people to make a donation! That only got me 5% of my goal! I've promised not to send out another email but that won't stop me from making frequent reminders here on my blog. I have faith in you, I'm sure my observation is nothing more than coincidence... I won't really start getting depressed for another couple months, so you have some time I guess.
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