A Month of Change

April has been a really busy month for myself and my family.  April usually means baseball season has begun and we are constantly out on a ball field cheering Tim on.  This year, we also added Avery to the mix, which makes everything busier.  I also have to square away running time for myself and be able to do the normal things at home.  With all this going on, we still had time to visit my Grandparents earlier in the month, plant the flower beds and our new garden beds.  Things have changed drastically from a year ago when we were just trying to get the baby's room ready.  We had all those pre-race jitters of an oncoming baby and we were freaking out.  But a year later, we now have a walking, talking beautiful daughter who keeps us busy every minute.

April has also been about change.  As most people know, Lori and I were in a bad spot in our lives and we have decided to work on everything to make ourselves and our family better.  I am not going to divulge to much on here because this isn't the place but we are happy.  Nobody can judge either of us because they are not in our relationship and I hope people keep it that way.  But at the end of the day, we are much happier than ever and look forward to all the challenges and achievements that are part of marriage and family.

On a running note, my training has never been better.  I have hit my biggest week and month mileage since I started.  I ran 115 miles by the end of the month which killed my best month ever.  it helps that i am at my lightest weight and have been running 5 times a week instead of 4.  I am also pleased with my speed.  One of the great benefits of the J&A Training Team has been meet-ups for runs on the weekends.  Last week I did 12.5 with a pace of 8:42.  My goal is to break 2 hours in my half in May.  I should be able to do this.  I have also ran a few races in the past few weeks.  I am also excited that Lori decided to go on her own journey with signing up for the Dirty Girl 5k.  We have been able to spend some quality time together running and getting coffee together.

Weight Watchers has been going great.  I am only 2.8 pounds from lifetime.  I have been going over my daily points a lot lately but that is mostly because I am running more.  I don't feel too bad when I earn over 100 activity points a week.  I do miss my Saturday Morning meetings but I have purely enjoyed getting outside every Saturday morning also.

Its crazy to think about how much my life has changed but it has only changed for the better.  Avery will be one year old next week, Lori and I are the healthiest we have ever been and Tim is enjoying being on his travel team and the Princess Anne Middle School baseball team.  We also got to enjoy the ODU vs. UVA baseball game this week.  Avery really enjoyed all the sites and sounds.

Dreams from the past

Our trip to Pittsburgh brought back so many good memories.  As a kid, I spent a week every summer with them and at least spring break or winter break with them.  I loved every minute of it.  As a kid, it was the perfect landscape.  They had a huge yard, wasn't flat, and different kinds of trees and fauna.  It was just great to play in.  And when i got old enough, I got to ride the lawnmower, the 3 wheelers, or whatever else we had there.  My pap would take me on walks in the woods, take me to check his trap line, take me to work with him.  I loved every minute of it.  My grandma would take me on her school bus routes.  We would go to Eat and Park for lunch and I would always get a cookie with a smiley face on it.

Not all my cousins got these experiences like I did.  Probably only two of us did.  My cousin, Dylan and I.  And even for him it was different because by the time he was 12, his parents separated and he missed out on some good years that were ruined by his parents drama.  But Dylan and I were always the closest to Pap and Grandma.

As a kid, I would fight my parents when they left me.  I would drag on to the car as they pulled out.  I didn't figure it out until it was much older but it was mainly because of my mom's breast cancer and how she lost all the weight from chemotherapy.

But I can say this.  I loved every minute I got with my grandparents.  I wasn't lucky enough to live close by so when I got to spend time with them I did.  I loved every minute fishing, hunting, walking, road trips and everything else I did with them.  My childhood memories and imagination wouldn't be as grand if it wasn't for the wondrous place that was their house.  They had the scary basement that was damp and creepy, the narrow stairs, the water that smelled like eggs.  Every thing grandparents had, they did.

Now that my grandparents are much older, I realize how much of an influence they were on me.  I hope that I can distill that into my kids.  I hope that I can watch Avery imagine the world like I did.  I hope I can help explore the world through her eyes and remember what it is like.  I hope that Avery can remember her great grandparents and how sweet they all are.

I can never thank my Pap and Grandma for all that they did but I can show my kids how they influenced me.

I sometimes wish I could rewind to when I was a kid so I can spend one more week with them during the summer.  But that is not realistic.  The reality is my grandparents are in their 80s and I live far away.  Every second I get with them now is a precious moment in time.  I can't grasp on to those seconds long enough but they are there in my thoughts every second.  I know having Avery and Tim there for four days probably motivated them to keep fighting.  That is all I want.  I hope my kids get to see my grandparents one more time.

Not every kid had grand parents as amazing as mine and not many kids have great grand parents as amazing as Tim and Avery have.  I am just lucky to have them.

Runner's World: How Running Changed Me

Yesterday I was working like any other day.  During my lunch I hopped on over to the few websites I usually check during my lunch, ESPN, Blogs, Runner's World, etc.  While I click on Runner's World, which I so enjoy to do on Mondays to see what magic or great stories come up, and behold I am on the front of the website.  Me and my old fat self posing together like two different people.  I am runner community famous now.  Which I think is enough for me.  When I started this journey I never thought I would really get to the point where I am happy with myself, let alone be on the front of the Runner's World Website.  But I am and I am proud of it.  Right this second I am a bit overwhelmed with everything.  I mean 1.4 million people follow the magazine just on Facebook itself.  There I am with my big belly sticking out at my max weight right before I started Weight Watchers.  But there is also the new me, holding my daughter, and very healthy.  I have to remind myself that.

When I filled out my questionnaire a while ago, I never thought I would get a response.  A few weeks ago the author at Runner's World, Jen Van Allen, emailed me and asked me a bunch more questions.  She mentioned to me I would be in the book that it was all part of.  I didn't expect to be on the cover of their website.  I was just excited to be in the book (hopefully less readers than social media and the website).

Article - Runner's World

Here are a few things I want to remind people when they read it.  I did this for me, my kids and my wife.  Nobody else.  I enjoy being healthy.  I enjoy running.  I am not perfect.  Nor will I ever be.  But that is not the point of self improvement.  I try to be a better person each and every day.

Also, be your own inspiration.  I love reading other people's stories more than my own.  In fact, I hate mine.  I would prefer to talk about everyone else.  It's sort of funny because I wanted to spend the whole interview talking about how awesome the people I was pacing with the training team.  They are the ones who inspire me.

On top of this crazy day, I was scrolling through the #shamrock Facebook page and I found this wonderful photo of myself in some wonderful attire.  I must say, I look good in tights.

Shamrock Facebook Page

I wouldn't be able to do any of this without amazing people around me.  This includes my wife, Lori, My kids, and the rest of our family.  It also includes our awesome local running store, Running Etc., J&A Racing Training Team, and the lovely people I got to run with each and every Saturday for the past 4 months, #TEAMAWESOME.

ON A SIDE NOTE: I need to stop doing crazy things.

Shamrock 2015

Be warned, this is going to be a long post.

So I have spent the last 111 days pacing a group of people to train for this past weekend.  I didn't really know what I got myself into.  I didn't know what to expect.  I didn't even think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did.  But every Saturday, I woke up when most people were still sleeping, I ran through torrential down pours, snow, ice, single digit temps, injuries all to enjoy a few hours with some amazing people.   I remember my first Saturday as the pacer, and as a newbie in the running community I didn't know what these people wanted from me.  What they wanted and needed was just someone telling them that they can do it.  I remember when I met Julie and Jacqueline, both individually told me they weren't runners.  Yesterday, they both finished their first half marathons.  It was great getting to know these people.  It was great getting yelled at when I was grumpy and I wasn't talking to my team.  It was great watching them smile after they finished. Thank you #teamawesome

So back to the weekend........
Friday:
I took Avery to the expo.  This year was great because I knew what I wanted and I knew what to expect.  Last year I was pretty overwhelmed.  Avery got to meet a few of the training team.  Avery also got to enjoy the fast lands of the expo lobby floor.  She enjoyed crawling every where.   It is so much more fun knowing people at races.  it makes it so much more social.  Last year I felt like a fat outsider.  From the training team, I learned that runners come in all shapes, sizes, goals, and times, and that's what makes races so much fun.

Saturday:

So Saturday morning was a ton of fun.  For the training team, there wasn't as many because most concentrated on the Half or Full.  But none the less, the race was a ton of fun because I took my time and I still PR'ed.  My last 8k was last year, so I didn't really have a good comparison.  The party is always pretty fun on Saturday because most the participants Saturday get wilder where as Sundays are more of the hardcore runners.  It was great meeting everyone back at the Training Team area.  It made it so fun to celebrate with each other.  

Sunday:  

Well, here it is where it gets a little crazy.  Since I paced the 12+ minute group, I didn't really have someone to run with at the start of the race.  I knew I wanted 2:10 and I wanted to take my time.  I know physically that I could probably do 2:00 if I really pushed myself but I knew anything above 2:21 was a PR.  About mile 5, I ran into Carla.  She's like the really bad ass cool mom of the training team.  She is always super positive and always happy.  She is the epitome of what running is about.  Oh, I forgot, I decided to jump into the seashore park to pee because I didn't want to wait in the lines.  Great idea until I jumped into thorn bushes.  But still worth it.  Back to Carla.  Good thing about Carla is that she is a pro, she has done the race a lot and she was right on the pace I wanted.  It was great talking with Carla for 7-8 miles.  We kept each other at pace, we talked, we laughed, we thanked all the volunteers.  It was great to have someone to run with.  We passed our friend and fellow training team member, Kelly, at mile 12.  She was hurting, so I dropped back for a little bit and talked to her.  I told her to just fight it mentally even though it was a physical issues.  She was having issues like I have with her IT band in her hip.  it hurts like hell and it just sucks.  She still kicked butt for her first half.  I ran and caught back up to Carla.  We had a great time finishing.  I didn't find out until later but we both PR'ed.  She was so excited.  I can't wait to see the pictures.

So, here is where it got stressful.  So, I was in corral 6 and my team was in corral 11 and 13.  So I basically had to wait an hour worrying about them.  But once they started slowly coming in I was excited.  All of them came strolling in smiling and happy.  Tired but happy.  It was awesome hearing their stories.  It was awesome listening to them talk about everything.  I couldn't of been more proud of them.  They kicked ass and just overall worked their butts off.  

On to the celebration.  Man, what a party.  It was great seeing everyone just relax and enjoy themselves.  Knowing you just accomplished what we just worked hard for is so much fun.  It was great seeing everyone celebrate with their friends and family.  It was great seeing the team celebrate together.  Music was great, the team space was awesome, the massages were heavenly and they company around us was perfect.

Side story:  So, I always joked with my team how I was jealous that ladies have the best options for outfits.  So, friday at the expo, I saw these awesome pants that J & A were selling.

So with a few beers of encouragement and some wonderful team members, this happened.

This is what happens when you have a great team.  These pants are a symbol of how awesome my team really is.  And all I can say is thank you.

And for the obligatory baby picture.  This is why I do this crazy stuff. This why I became healthier.  I did it for my family.

12 Miler and the Stomach Bug

So do you know what a 12 mile run does to your body?  Do you know what it does to your body when you get a stomach virus right after?  Well, this guy can tell you.  Man, this weekend went from crazy awesome to crazy bad. Friday I had the monster all day.  She had thrown up and we didn't think nothing of it.  We did some shopping, had lunch, and headed home.  Saturday morning we had our #trainjanda #shamrockon15 big event.  The training team opened the run to the public.  It was a lot of fun.  My group kicked butt except an injury of one of #teamawesome on her way to the run.  She slipped on ice and got hurt.  Get better Jackie.  Anyways.  The run was awesome.  The party after was great.  Then.......

All hell broke lose.  I went to get new tires on my car.  When I was there, I instantly needed to throw up.  Which an Auto Shop is not the cleanest places to throw up in.  Anyways.  It sucked.  The fast version of this story is that when you run 12 miles and then get a stomach bug, you get really really dehydrated.  To the point where your body cramps up and you start to slur words.  I can say this.  I was pretty scared.  I knew I was just super dehydrated but I did not like feeling like I had to control over my body.  My hands cramped up and I couldn't open them up.  I was mumbling because I couldn't move my mouth.  Thank god for a combination of Gatorade and Ginger Ale and a ton of water.  You know your body isn't working right when you don't pee for 24 hours.  Anyways.  Moral of the story is that it really sucked donkey balls.  But thank god for friends.

I can now officially say I am a parent.  I have received the gift of love from my daughter.  Here's some pre-death pictures.

Shamrock Training: February

February was going great.  I was hitting record weekly mileages.  Enjoying my runs with my pacing team.  I don't know how much I can say it but they are amazing.  They are such a motivation.  Life sometimes gives you some bumps in the road and this past week was definitely one of them. From Monday until Saturday, the temperatures in Virginia Beach were below freezing and we got a few inches of snow Monday night and sleet after that.  Which made the whole city one giant ice pond.  So I got one run in early Monday.  And then all the wheels fell off.  Tuesday I started getting sick and then I could barely get through the week.  Man, did that cold kick my butt.  It just reminds myself how important it is to take care of yourself and to remind yourself that it is okay if you miss a few runs.  I decided to skip the J&A Training run yesterday because it was only 14 out.  I am glad I decided to do that.  I woke up refreshed and happy with my decision.  I finally got a run in this morning.  I only ran 4 but it was a good 4.  Most the sidewalks and boardwalk were still iced over.  But it felt good to get my legs back from under me.

Anyways.  Back to training.  creepy morning run.

Shamrock Training 2015

This year I embarked on a big thing.  Last year I ran my first half marathon.  This year I was invited to pace some runners for the Shamrock weekend which includes the half, full and 8k.  I was invited to do the 12+ minute group.  It is slower than my pace right now but I am happy I decided to do it.  It is a lot of fun watching these people hit their goals each and every week.  Basically every run is their longest run ever.  My group calls themselves #teamawesome.   Which that they are.  This past Saturday I missed the Striders event to run 9 with them because of coaching basketball.  But my first priority is coaching my stepson's basketball team.  I was really bummed I missed my group.  They are so inspiring.  It's crazy to think that I am training three people who have never run farther than a 10k.  Every week is a new week for them.  It's exciting.  It's motivating.  I was excited to hear how they all did.  

Since I couldn't do my long run on Saturday, I ran my long run on Sunday.  I ran 11.  I can't believe I am saying this but it was easy.  It is crazy to think about how in shape you can be.  I sometimes wish I was doing the full for Shamrock but at the same time I am glad I am not because I really do want my first full to the be the Detroit Free Press Marathon.  It is very hard when you have the running bug to control yourself from doing more.  One of my fellow runners I know has this problem.  You can't stop it.  Your mind and body wants more when you compete.  This is what runners do.  This is how I get my drug of competition.  I can't play football or lacrosse anymore.  Every race is my big game.

My 11 miles went great.  I enjoyed getting back on the oceanfront.  I didn't enjoy the 32 degree temps and wind.  But the sun was out.  I am enjoying running more than I have before.  It is mostly from the other runners I know.  

#shamrockon15