St. Crispin's Day

Today is October 25, St. Crispin's Day.  For those of you who need your St. Crispin's Day Speech fix (and really, who doesn't), here ya go:

The Marathon Training Update

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week....ummm...huh.  Maybe, I ought to back up a bit.  Almost 2 weeks ago, I had me a little car accident on my way back home from Knoxville.  Long story-short, I got distracted, over-compensated, spun my car, and ended up on the shoulder, lucky not to have ended up in the bottom of a cliff.  My car was totaled but I miraculously walked away relatively unscathed.  I say relative as I did not have any broken bones, but after a trip to the orthopedist and an x-ray later, he determined that I had some build-up on my tibia that indicated I might develop a stress fracture, if I continued running (I also have an injury to my coccyx.  No point to that.  I just like to say coccyx).  He prescribed 2-4 weeks off.  I mentioned my upcoming marathon to him and mentioned that I could miss it due to a stress fracture if I wanted.  Thanks doc.  Why don't you pass me the bacon and pie right now?  Well in my running exile, I dutifully (if not resentfully) rested my legs, and cross-trained on occasion (why is doing the elliptical so sucky?).  Thankfully I hadn't canceled my Y membership, so I was able to get in some weight work (do NOT ever sit down on a weight bench with a 40 lb weight in your lap and an injured coccyx!)  and low-impact cardio (seriously, why is the elliptical so sucky!?!) After 2 weeks of being pissy and mopey, I went out for a run today.  I hit the track (I assumed that it would be easier on my legs) and did an easy 3 miles.  While my pace was good (8:23/mi avg), it felt like I was running through mud.  I was breathing hard and I cringed at every little ache.  Still, it was good to be back out running again.  After I finished, I came home, had some breakfast, and took a cold bath (just in case).  So my plan for the rest of the week is to go easy and re-build my mileage somewhat before I start my taper.  With 3 weeks to go until my marathon in Chattanooga, I'm throwing out my original goal of 3:25 and just hoping to finish with my legs intact at this point.  I may be able to recover and do even better than I imagine, but the realist in me says that isn't likely.  It's a somewhat disappointing realization after all my training, but I'm still going to enjoy it and have some fun.  Later kids!  Keep the faith!

End of the Week Recap 10/3/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 10 of marathon training is at an end.  This week I ran 32.9 miles at an average of 8:37/mi.  I turned in 2:20 hrs of cross-training of golf and weights.  My weight came in at 162.2 lbs.  Not too bad overall.  The highlight of the week was my long run.  My training schedule called for a 20 mi run at an easy pace.  I was feeling pretty good yesterday, so today I opted for a long run at marathon pace for as long as I could.  Turns out that distance was 16 miles.  After that I cooled down with a sloooooow (walking slow) 3 miles.  I was glad to get that 16 miles out of the way.  The pace felt easy and I didn't have any physical problems until mile 15.5, when I felt twinges of a cramp come on.  Tonight, I'm tired and my muscles are tight, but otherwise, I feel pretty good.  Next week I'll probably try to post that 20 miler.  

Geek love:  I'm still digging my Droid X.  I've transcoded a DVD and it looks AWESOME on my phone!  I still haven't named it though.  The name should be smart and sexy much like my phone.  I got Spartacus:  Blood and Sand this weekend.  From what little I've seen, it reminds me a lot of 300 cinematically at least.  That's it for now.  Later kids!

P.S.  Today is my dad's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad!

The Droid X Review

Time to get my geek on:  Last week, I dove into the cellular world that is the Android.  After a somewhat lackluster history with the Blackberry Storm and Storm 2, I gave into the allure of the Droid X.  In the past, I have stood firm on my ground that I was a power/business user waving my Blackberry with its enterprise level security and amazing email technology in anyone's (read iPhone-ians) face.  I long considered the iPhone and the Droid to be cute Gameboy-esque toys that would occasionally allow someone to place a call or send an email.  This changed with 2 things:  1.  Updates to the Blackberry OS from the Storm to the Storm 2 did nothing to fix its anemic browser.  It's slow and nearly useless in how little it can handle most web pages now.  Blackberry's OS 6 was developed to address some of these issues, but from my research, it's still behind the curve compared to the iPhone and the Android.  2.  With the Froyo update (Android OS 2.2), Google upped the ante with improved enterprise level security as the Droid is supposed to now play nice with Exchange.  My office uses Exchange 2003, and after a few updates and reboots we were able to get my phone syncing effortlessly with my office server (Thanks Chief!).

Now the Droid X is a damn sexy phone.  It has all the standard smart phone features.  It has a 8 MP camera and a video camera that will record in 720P.  It has 8 gigs on the phone and comes with a 16 gig micro SD card. It also has a port for HDMI.  It's huge with its 4.3 inch screen.  The display is bright and is easier to read in direct sunlight then my Storm 2.  The browser is fast and can play Flash!  (UPDATE:  I downloaded the Skyfire Browser and I've been impressed at how fast it loads and handles Flash content even better than the stock browser.  Throw in that it can simulate a full desktop browser (not just an optimized mobile browser), and bam!  I haven't found a site yet that I can't use.)  The Droid OS is far more versatile than the Blackberry and powers up in seconds.  With a huge library of apps, this has to be one of the best purchases that I've ever made.  I even found an app that allows me connect to my office computer.  The mobile wifi hotspot is a great idea, but with Verizon's 2 gig/month data cap, it may not be worth the cost.  Fear not, tethering fans, as the Droid X will tether via bluetooth at no extra cost.  I got this to work once, but since then my laptop has "lost" one of the drivers to properly run the bluetooth radio.  I've tried to re-install the proper drivers several times, but it still won't install it.  Perplexing to say the least.  Also the OS does seem a bit quirky at times, but it's no worse than any phone that I've used before.  When examined under Verizon's extensive network, this phone is the most powerful/useful work purchase that I've ever made.  So sorry Blackberry, but I can't go back.  And you can't make me either.  Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 9/26/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 9 of marathon training is officially in the books.  This was a decent week in that I got over my mileage and hit my time goals (on average).  I did 38.21 miles at an average pace of 8:33/mi.  I did 26 minutes of kettleball cross-training.  My weight I believe to be firmly at 163.4 lbs.  My best run was my long run this morning.  I did 16.38 mi at an average pace of 8:25/mi around the Vandy, Belmont, Lipscomb area.  It was a great morning for a run, because it was cool and breezy, near perfect.  I just ran around the college campuses without a particular plan, and it was neat to see parts of town that I hadn't mapped out/ran before.

Today also marked the end of the cross-country season for "my" kids.  Let me tell you;  I'm truly blessed to work with such a great group of kids.  I was so proud of everyone's efforts, and though I haven't looked over the official times, I think most everyone turned in PR's today!  Of note, the 7th and 8th grade girls came in 4th as a team (jointly with another school), and one of our girls finished 11th and 24th!  Awesome job ladies!  On a more personal note, my son turned in a PR of 14 seconds better than his best time!  I have to say that I'm more than honored that I was a small part in helping some of these kids take interest in our sport.  Go Bears!!!

That's it for me.  Later kids, and keep the faith! 

End of the Week Recap 9/19/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 8 of marathon training is done.  I've considered calling this week, Hill Week or the Hills are Alive with the Sound of Pain.  Instead of tempo run this week, I traded it for hill sprints.  The run was short, but hard.  Oddly enough, this is the same description that I can apply to my long run this week.  I was on schedule to do 20 miles at 8:48/mi, but I decided to do my run through Percy Warner Park (because I'm a glutton for punishment).  My long run ended up only being 15.5 miles at a 8:57/mi pace.  I would whine about this, but that is a brutal course with hills that go straight up into the air.  I swear!  Not to mention the wildlife!  In the middle of my run, I had to slow down as a gang of wild turkeys filled the road.  Now, I don't know if wild turkeys are prone to attacking innocent, tired runners, just trying to get through their workout, but I really didn't want to find out.  Thankfully they meandered off the sides of the road and seemed to take no notice of me (though I could swear I saw one giving me the evil eye!).  Other than a brush with a family of Bambi's and wild chipmunk, the rest of my run was fairly uneventful (except, of course, for my cursing and gnashing of teeth as I trudged up and  down the hills of PWP).

My mileage for the week was 30.94 miles at an average pace of 8:41/mi.  I did 42 minutes of actual cross-training and conditioning (Thank you dear for buying me that kettleball for Christmas!), and I weighed in at 164.4 lbs this morning.  Not too bad overall.

Random bits:  Big Bang Theory premieres this Thursday on CBS at 8/7 Central.  Set your DVR's.  I already have.  This week's parochial cross-country meet was a scorcher, but my kids (my son and the ones I coach) all had impressive runs despite the heat.  It makes a dad and coach proud to see those kids toughing it out and finishing strong.  Go Bears!  Allegedly, Android 2.2 (Froyo) should be coming out on the Droid X soon.  I'm betting on Tuesday, 9/21/10, as that is the last day of summer.

Well that's all I have for this week.  Run hard and keep the faith!  Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 9/12/10

Hail my running brothers and sisters!  Week 7 of marathon training is in the books after some switching around to accommodate my race this weekend.  This last week was supposed to be another long run, but I switched it with my rest week that's coming up.  I really didn't want to a 20-21 miler after doing a fast 10k.  Given this, I still didn't manage my rest week by the book.  I was supposed to get in 24 miles, but ended up with 20.58 miles.  Considering that over 8 miles was a tempo run and a race, I don't feel bad about not getting in all my mileage.  This week I did 20.58 miles at an average pace of 7:49/mi.  Golf again counted for my cross-training at 3:30 hrs.  My weight is right at 164.  Overall, I was a little "meh" about my race this week, but I'm hoping to get back in the mental groove this week.  I'm somewhat worried that I won't be ready for my marathon if I don't get my head back in the game.  On a final note, I've been really impressed with the effort that my cross-country kids are putting into it.  If nothing else, their drive has been a real inspiration for me.  Keep the faith, my peeps!