A Year without Cable

So it's been a year without "cable" in our house, and the world hasn't exploded.  It has saved us over $1,000 for the first year and has also saved us a bunch of time wasting time on watching TV.

I am going to breakdown my pros and cons to cable cutting.

PROS

Money - It has saved us over $1,000 just this year.

Cable Companies - Fuck cable companies.  They are giant monopolies that don't care about customer services and control the pricing, the scale, the product and everything else you watch on your television or internet — enough of that.

Tastes - My tastes and probably my whole families tastes have completely changed since we cut the cable — no more binge-watching stuff we didn't like.  No, we concentrate on what shows we love and want to binge.  For me, I watched through a ton of PBS specials on Netflix.  Sadly, the other one left is "Prohibition," and it is annoying as shit (I don't recommend it).

Unlimited Recording - Oh yeah, that magical think cable companies charged you extra for.  It's now basically free with whatever service you have.

Mix-it-up - The best thing is being able to choose a la carte what you want.  It is excellent, but some people will realize that you will need to spend more than you think about everything you want.  So you need to pick your battles.  

CONS

Cable Companies - You still have to use the cable companies for the internet.  Come on local governments, get into the game.  It is just another utility that we should have control over instead of some billionaire.  

A-la-carte - the downfall of cutting cable is the cost of A-la-carte.  Cable companies, broadcasting companies, movie companies are all catching up to the cutting cable idea and now moving towards their business models.  ESPN and Disney are two perfect examples of this.  Soon you will have to pay them extra to watch all your favorite sports or movies.  Disney is even getting rid of their vaulted films and forcing people who want to watch the original dumbo to have to pay for their service to watch it instead of being able to purchase it via DVD, Blu-ray, and digital.  This whole business model will explode.  But I see the Netflix/HBO service might blow before the bigger companies.  

"APPS"- the best and worst part of cutting cables is apps.  You can download any app.  but the biggest downfall is swapping between them to pick a show.  It is much more cumbersome than going from channel to channel.  I know, first world problems.  

GRIPES 

One of my biggest complaints with cutting cable is having to stick to the only cable service in my area.  This is mostly faulted by our easily swayed political system locally and statewide.  Our cities and public should have better choices and better prices.  I have one option.  This is not good enough in 2019 in the largest city in the state of Virginia.

OVERALL

I would do this hands-down again and again, and I highly recommend everyone else too.  I do wish I could try out the other operating systems like PlayStation and Apple or even try the other "cable" services like HULU with Live TV to see how it is.  But overall, it has been well worth it (except for all the random Power Ranger shows Avery watches on Netflix).

Living Life: Part One

It's been a long time since I last blogged but life has been good.  I did attempt to blog about our bathroom renovations, but I just was over it when I was done.  I got about halfway done with typing but couldn't get the energy to finish it.  It was a pretty exhausting but well worth at the end of the day.

Since August, the Lambert contingent has grown a bit.  Tim started his Senior year, and Avery is in Pre-K.  We will be celebrating two graduations this spring.

We have also grown our family by adding chickens.  We have been talking about getting chickens for a couple of years, but we finally bit the bullet.  And it has been a fun adventure so far.

One Sunday in early March, we went to Tractor Supply to pick up some bird food and stuff and luckily it was their spring #chickdays.  Avery has always loved looking at the baby chicks.  Magically, we walked out with six babies and the things we needed to start.

We loved them so much that we got four more right the week after.  For me, this was my gateway drug to get Lori to let me get more animals.  One day, I would like to raise other animals, but chickens are an excellent way to start.

We decided that we wanted to build our coop and run to make everything mobile so we can give them the best conditions by giving them new grass to feed, dig, and play in regularly.  It will also help us fertilize our yard and my garden.  Currently, we have our run on the garden so the chickens can dig up, eat up the weeds and feed it for our it before we plant this spring.  Designing and building mobile coops and runs is like opening a pandora box.  Everyone seems to be a professional designer, builder, and chicken expert.  The first thing people research after buying baby chicks is coops.  I decided to build my coop a bit sturdier than others because I wanted it to last and wanted it to stand up to the weather.  I took ideas from several different designs and put them together for my model.  I enjoyed building it.  There are a few things I would have done different, but overall I was pretty happy with the plan.

The other funny thing is figuring out how much space you need in your run and coop.  For us, we have designed everything for twenty chickens to be completely happy in their field and their coop at night.

The funny part of the coop design wasn't how or what but really what color we were going to paint it.  And with a 4-year-old girl in our house, we had to let her pick the color.  Even with suggestions like barn red or solid colors, Avery chose a bright purple that turned out adorable.  The purple against the white looks fantastic.  And she and Lori enjoyed painting it.

Next up was building the chicken run.  We decided on making it mostly out of PVC pipe arched and aviary netting over it with chicken wire three feet up the sides. My brother-in-law recommended using a netting needle and tarred twine to tie it up.  None of the plans I saw online had this and mostly used zip-ties.  But I highly recommend using netting needles and cord because it makes the net tight.  It took some time, but the effort was worth it in the end.  We then put three feet high chicken wire around the door and all the sides to protect them from getting out and the dogs getting in.

So far everything has worked great but each day is a lesson.  But the best experience we learned is how much love they have brought us as a family.  Every morning we all enjoy checking on them, watching them grow and seeing their different personalities.  And the outcome will be giving us organic pasture-raised chickens that are happy.

I highly recommend getting chickens.  We look forward to seeing how it goes and can't wait to watch them grow. 

KETO-STEVE RESET

After I ran New York last year, I promised myself that I would work on myself.  I wanted to dedicate my time to getting stronger.  I knew in 2016 that the speeds and distances I was running were not maintainable for a long time.  And most people know that only running is not a healthy way to workout.  It was the main reason I joined Evofit.  But this year, I really wanted to dedicate myself to getting my whole body fit.  Time passed and the holidays rolled through.  I was working out 6 times a week at Evofit and running 3-4 times a week but I wasn't losing any weight.  January rolled around and the gym and office weightloss challenges began.  I didn't gain or lose.  I just maintained.  But how?  It all started with when I hit lifetime at Weight Watchers in 2016.

Since I hit lifetime with Weight Watchers I have struggled mightily with maintaining.  In the beginning, it was Weight Watchers fault.  They closed the Red Mill store where I felt comfortable and was nearby.  The Weight Watcher plan doesn't really work for highly active maintenance.  For maintaining, they add points so you don't lose any more.  Plus, if you are active like I am, you get a bunch of "extra points".  Basically, if you eat proteins and vegetables for most of your meals, you can cheat on whatever you wanted.  It didn't work for me.  I struggled really bad in the beginning and finally just quit.  

A year later I tried tracking with another app.  It didn't help either.  I still wasn't following what I should.  

I realized I needed to change something. I talked to Debbie at Evofit and she gave me a book by Mark Sisson, The Keto Reset Diet (Buy it.  It is a great read on how your body works on burning fuel aka food).  After reading it and understanding the principles of it, it made sense.  In June, I started.  It was not and still isn't very easy.  Not because of willpower or limits.  It's mostly because as humans we have made everything loaded with sugars and carbs.  

Think about it......how many people drink soda?  Put sugar in coffee?  Eat a snack like a cookie or a doughnut?  Eat pizza, sandwiches, and tacos?  

So I decided I was going to have a few rules I would follow.  I would cut out all the sugar except a small amount for coffee in the morning and I would still be able to drink beer (just on a limited basis).  I know, I know.....its not following the Keto Reset standards but Come on.....This is the Keto-Steve reset.  Once I squared away my coffee issues, I was good to go.  No bread, tortillas, pizza (I miss you PIZZA).  

A normal day for me was coffee with creamer and minimal sugar for breakfast, lots of healthy proteins and vegetables for lunch (minus corn, potatoes, and most beans), and a protein and vegetables for dinner.  The good thing is I can eat all the cheese and avocados I could ever imagine.  I can also eat all the proteins I want.  

Try eating a burger without a bun or tacos on a lettuce wrap.  The flavors of the marinate, protein and sauces come out way more without the carbs in the way.  

The biggest things I miss is the pizza and snacks.  Try figuring out how to get your sweet tooth craving.  My go-to is keto cookies Lori makes me that are made with cream cheese, almond flour, vanilla and I think butter.  For pizza, we have made cauliflower crusts.  It sort of does the trick but not really.  

Overall though, It has been enjoyable.  It has forced me more to concentrate on what I am taking into my body instead of how much.   A few things I have learned along the way is how much high fructose corn syrup and sugar are in everything.

The hardest thing for me has been the weight loss itself.  Sometimes I beat myself up but I need a reminder that I am way stronger than I was two years ago.  Shit.....when I started, I could barely do a single deadlift without my back or hamstrings going out.  Now I am doing things in the gym I never imagined before I started.  My biggest reminders are not even the pounds but instead the inches.  I have noticed a huge increase in inches lost.  And knowing I'm stronger and healthier makes me feel good.

But good things come with hard work.  I finally hit twenty-pound weight loss this week.  I still have some more to go but I feel great about it.  Other than having to make decisions at restaurants some may think is weird, it really hasn't affected me. But hitting a goal was awesome.  I don't even have a weight goal in mind.  Only because when I was infatuated with a weight number, it was more important than my overall health.  This time around I will need to pay attention to my body and mind.  My goal weight is going to be completely different and that is okay.

One thing I have learned though is that I am going to have to work on this my whole life.  Obesity and food addiction run deep in my genes.  But I am a fighter though.  So Bring it.

On my next blog episode, I will discuss the life of having one bathroom and demoing and remodeling all in one week (Pray for me).

A World Without Facebook

In 2017 I decided to delete the Facebook app on my phone.  As I watch my kids get older I noticed how much I wasted on my phone or computer looking at Facebook.  I felt it was time to delete it.

It really made a difference in my happiness, my mood, my time, and all around happiness.  But I would still log onto a browser to check my Facebook on a daily basis.  So, maybe I concentrated my time on Facebook in chunks, which was an improvement but I was still wasting time. 

So this year after the winter I decided to delete Facebook (Sorry family members who like to stalk).  I decided to do this for multiple reasons.  The first reason was that I was tired of wasting time staring at my phone screen while I could maybe miss both my kids doing something new.  As I sit here right now, I can't even believe that my son will be a Senior in high school next year and my daughter will be getting ready for her second year of pre-school.  I already feel like I miss out on things working and being busy.  The second is basically mental health.

As I sit here on an Amtrak train heading to a conference in Fredericksburg, I decided to finally blog about it, give my perspectives on the positives and negatives on not being on Facebook.

First and foremost, I learned really quick that everything is evolved around Facebook.  Think about this..........how many apps or websites do you use to log in by using your Facebook account? How to you actually communicate with friends and family?

So let's get started.

The Negatives:

I write this in my most sincere tone.  It is very difficult to get off Facebook and do anything online.  The first thing I had to do was re-do most my log in information to websites and apps because they were mostly connected to Facebook.  

The biggest and most annoying thing about not having Facebook is not getting event pop-ups from friends, local events, and local businesses.  I really got comfortable having my Facebook events on my Google Calendar.  Now, I have to use my wife as the transmitter of events from Facebook because everything including kids birthdays are done via Facebook.

The second most annoying thing is companies, including my favorite running companies (Come one J&A) and my favorite breweries not posting via other platforms or email.  Also, having friends not communicating via phone or text instead of Facebook Messenger or iChat.

The last thing that is annoying is the few groups that I followed on Facebook (Christmas stuff, family camp) I can't get to or get updates.  So I still have to use Facebook via my wife's to communicate.

Positives

On nights where I'm sitting down, drinking a beer, and watching Avery play or I'm at one of Tim's baseball games, I am not missing as much.  Have you ever thought about how much time you actually stare at your phone screen?  It has been very invigorating leaving my phone on the counter and just watching the world instead of having FOMO syndrome of who's doing what and where.

My mind isn't running 100 mph from FOMO, politics, crazy world and US news popping up in my head.  How many times a day do you see something on Facebook and waste your time to read the article (dumb or not)?  Or see a post and comment, debate with the other person and then realize you just wasted time?  Sadly, we all do this.  We all Facebook stalk.  We all do these things that have naturally been ingrained in our technology memory for the past 15 years.

What Next?

The funny part is I remember a time about ten years ago, right after Facebook opened up to the public, everybody didn't know what it was.  Then, the next thing you know, I got three out of my four grandparents (some of them with two accounts because they can't get into their old one) adding me on Facebook and commenting on every post, picture and share I did.  

Then the world decided that because we have facebook, we don't need filters.  People decided that they can say whatever they wanted to anyone and it didn't matter because they were hiding behind a computer screen.  My rule of thumb is this: If you can't say it in person without getting your teeth knocked out, I recommend you not saying it.

The positive of all this is that I do see a future where kids now will watch their parents staring at their phones instead of them and not wanting to be like this.  Instead, kids won't be using Facebook.  I see them not wanting to be on their phones 247 like us.

The crazy part is smart phones, social media, and this type of technology is still very much in its infancy.  Tech companies, businesses, and humans are still adapting to this technology.  120 years ago, people thought electric current was dangerous and we shouldn't have electricity run through cities.  And look at us now.

So here is my recommendation: Turn off social media for the weekend, sit back, have a beer, and enjoy your family.  

Also, Amtrak is a great way to travel.

Steve's Guide to Cutting Cable

Last fall I finally pulled the plug on cable service.  Between sports packages, HBO, and whatever else we "needed", our Direct TV bill was over $220 a month.  When I first brought this up to Lori, she responded, "I better be able to watch all my shows".  The bigger question wasn't the ability but on how.  Is "live" good enough or do you need it on-demand?

So I went off and started researching how to cut cable.  One of the best guides I found was Tom's Guide to cutting cable TV. Another great video to watch is from Modern Dad, who is a tech blogger.  You can check out his cord cutting video here.  But it really opened a bigger conversation on needs, wants, ecosystems, technology and whatever else you can think of.

To begin this discussion, I need to start that the Lambert family hasn't owned a DVD player for a few years.  We had been using a Chromecast to cast movies to our TV.  Basically, all our movies were purchased digitally.  So we needed to have Google Play access to whatever hardware we decided to choose from.  Then we needed to pick what services (for old school people, what channels) we wanted. 

I decided to write down my thoughts on all the options you can choose from.  So here it is.

Hardware

Hardware also known as "ecosystem" is probably the most important conversation you need to have.  How to watch movies currently?  What app do you listen to music on?  What type of phone do you have?  Does your kid use an Amazon Fire Tablet?

For us, it was simple, it needed to be Google Play friendly.  So this instantly took us out of the Apple TV device.  For people who aren't big nerds.  The Big Three aka Google, Apple, and Amazon, do not play nicely with each other.  Amazon Prime Video can't be played on Chromecast, Google Play movies can't be watched on Apple TVs and all don't play nice on Amazon Fire Sticks. You get my point.  

So our best options was a Roku player.  Roku is nice because they are probably the easiest and most compatible company.    We can watch all our Google Play Movies on it, can rent from other services, and can watch any of the basic cable service type apps on it (more on this later).  

I chose the Roku Ultra because it is the best player they make, can watch in 4K or UHD, if available and also has the fastest processor and all the fancy stuff.  The other cool part with the Roku Ultra is that it allows you to voice search via the remote for anything you want.  If it is a movie, it will show your options available and the cost.

I did research the Apple TV and NVIDIA Shield TV  but ultimately decided on the Roku Ultra.  But these two are both top quality players.  I also researched the Chromecast Ultra but like I mentioned previously, Google has doesn't play nice with others.  It also isn't as much as a player but instead is just a casting device (which means it just casts whatever you are watching from your device to your TV).  I don't recommend this as an option for the average user unless you have used a Chromecast before.  PlayStation 4 can also be used as a player but since we didn't have one, it wasn't really worth $399.  

I also highly recommend buying an HD antenna for the local channels.  If all you need is to be able to watch the local channels live, this will basically cost you $30 and no service charge.  All your live football games and shows you can watch.  

Services

So here is where it gets tricky and depends on personal preferences.  The three major "cable" services as I like to call them are Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, and now YouTube TV (which recently just entered Hampton Roads and Roku).  We tested all of these over the course of six months.  more discussion below.

Other than these "services", I highly recommended getting the following paid services.

Netflix: This is obvious unless you are not a big movie fan or binge show watcher.  Netflix has tremendous original programming and an amazing collection of movies on demand.  Definitely worth the $15.

Amazon Prime Video: If you don't have Amazon Prime, get it, it is worth it's weight in gold just for the kids shows.  This is free with Amazon Prime membership.  This was also an app we had to have on our TV for our daughter.

Now onto the cable services....

Sling TV:  We initially chose Sling TV because they gave you free Roku players with sign-up.  So, the initial two months of signing up pays for itself with just that.  They have two packages, orange and blue.  If you are like any normal family, you basically need both for the select channels you need.  Another downfall was they charged an extra $5 for DVR service (and only up to 50 recorded shows).  That cost us $40 (plus $5) a month.  We paid for two months ($80) and received a $60 Roku in return.  The $40 package had way too many channels.  I do recommend this as an option to get yourself a free Roku player if need be. 

Out of all the services, this was our least favorite.  One the main reasons is that it did not have any of our three local channels in Hampton Roads and only two of the major networks on-demand services.  What does this mean?  We still needed an HD antenna to watch local channels (most importantly FOOTBALL) and we had to watch certain shows live (who has time for that in 2018).  Our second beef with Sling was its operation system or OS.  It was very boring and circa 1998 cable-ish.

Hulu with Live TV:  Next we switched to Hulu with Live TV (not to get confused with the basic Hulu which is much cheaper).  Hulu with Live TV gives you basically all the major networks on-demand services plus only one of the local channels live.   The downfall of Hulu is that it did not have AMC in its channel selection.  The one thing Hulu did have was an amazingly beautiful operation system.  Hulu does have several original content shows on it.  You could also tell that they are competing with Netflix for most visually appealing apps.  The cost of Hulu was $35.

YouTube TV:  in January, right before the Super Bowl, YouTube TV announced that they finally released a Roku app for its cable service.  Since its inception, this was the best service to me.  They had two out of the three local channels (but all the major networks on-demand), AMC, BRAVO and even added the NFL network, MLB network, and NBA network in the past few months.  They are also allowing subscribers to purchase your favorite baseball team's complete season to watch for a price.  YouTube TV also was nice because it had unlimited DVR storage.  It also has the biggest selection of sports channels.  YouTube TV costs around $35.

Another service you can look into is Direct TV Now.  We didn't because we had just left Direct TV. But it is another option.

Other Things I Learned

Movies Anywhere:  I highly recommend you sign up for Movies Anywhere.  Almost all the major movie companies have banded together to allow for your ownership of movies be transferred from one app, ecosystem or program to another.  So all our Disney movies transfer over from Google Play to Amazon to Apple, etc.  All it takes is a quick and easy sign up.This is the future.  The future is being able to store all your digital movies in the same place or be able to watch them no matter what you own or use.  

VUDU:  This is my preferred movie app where we rent and buy movies now.  They have better deals most the time and also better OS.  You can also transfer all your hard copies of movies for $2 to digital via this app.  Which is nice if that is your thing.  Sadly, I threw out my entire collection of over 300 DVDs a long time ago.  

Google Play:  Google does not like to play very nice with others.  One thing I learned is that they do not allow for UHD or 4K playing on Roku devices.  Instead, they prefer for you to purchase a Chromecast Ultra as a second streaming device to do so (like I mentioned previously, you can't watch movies on Amazon on it).  This was also the second reason I stopped purchasing from them and went to VUDU.  When Star Wars: Last Jedi came out, I could only purchase in HD and not in 4K.  

Remote:  I tried to standardize our household with one remote.  This was a very difficult task.  I wish my TV and/or the original Roku remote would allow to control the functions of the other device.  Instead, we purchased a Logitech Harmony 665 remote.  It does everything you want but it probably has the hugest (its a word) learning curve than anything else I have just mentioned in this post.  I am still modifying its settings and buttons weekly.  And there are some limitations to the device.

Upgrade your internet:  If you can, upgrade your internet to the fastest speeds.  I live in Pungo and I was actually able to upgrade my WiFi to the highest possible speeds.  This is huge since all of this technology runs of the internet.  The nice part was that when I upgraded my internet, they gave me free HBO GO with it.  So we get our HBO for free basically. 

Apple TV and iTunes:  If you are fully supplanted into the Apple ecosystem, both the Apple TV and buying movies on iTunes is highly recommended.  One thing Apple has promised is that all movies purchased via iTunes will be automatically upgraded to the newest and highest format available (basically means when it gets upgraded to 4K, you don't have to purchase a new version like I have with Lord of the Rings [Theatrical Release DVD, Extended Version DVD, Blu-Ray Extended Version, Digital Version]).    I do see this as a future trend for all movie services. 

HBO Go, HBO Now, and Showtime Anytime and Starz:  These movie channels have their own specific apps and subscription services ranging from $10-15.  I highly recommend purchasing these separately instead of purchasing as part of one of the cable service options.  Just my preference.

Final Thoughts

When I decided to do this, my family wasn't so keen on it.  But after a while, everyone has gotten used to it and enjoy it.  For a huge monthly savings, we still have all the channels and shows we want and need.  The future of television is going this way anyways.  Hulu, which has original content is owned by the major television stations.  Amazon Prime members were also able to watch NFL Sunday Nights via Roku or other devices.  Almost all sporting events are looking into ways to get more eyes from more devices on their content.  

My biggest recommendation to anyone is trying it out.  Spend the little bit of money that it would cost for the hardware and "cable service" and try it out.  Worst case scenario is that Cox will give you a good deal to comeback to them.  Best case scenario, you saved a bundle on TV.  Another positive too is that all of the "cable services" give users a week or so to try out their services.  

Like I mentioned, all of my recommendations may or may not be for you.  You may have a PS4 that you can use for your hardware, you may be all-in on Apple.  But at the end, it matters to you what you want.

And for a breakdown on our savings, here you go.  Good luck and godspeed!
Note: I am taking out Netflix out of this equation because I think most people already have it even though we didn't.
Before Cutting:
Cable-$220
Internet-$69.99
Total-289.99

After:
Cable- $35 (YouTube TV)
Internet- $84.99*
Total- 119.99

Savings of $170 a month

*includes HBO Go.

My Plan for 2018

This weekend the family headed down to South Carolina to visit my grandma and aunt and uncle.  I had a lot of time to reflect on everything.

So I thought about my goals for 2018.  Instead of doing the traditional 18 for 2018 or whatever.  I decided to pick three simple goals.

Get Healthy

For the past few years I have struggled to stay healthy physically.  Partly because I put some weight back on (very hard to admit) and partly because I was worrying about others before me not taking care of me.  My goal is this.  Drop the weight I put back on.  Get stronger via strength training so that my body can handle the rigors of running, training or anything else life throws at you.  Having major glute/hip issues for over a year has taken a toll.  By doing all of these things, I should be back stronger.  My other goal is to get back to eating healthy.  Everyone tells you its easy to lose it but its hard to maintain.  This was my problem from the beginning and has taken me two years to finally realize it.  

Read More

Last year I actually read two books, and almost finished a third.  Which for some is a drop in the bucket.  but for me, this is huge.  I hated reading as a kid and I hated it more after grad school.  But I enjoy it.  It keeps my brain more active.  I know this is a boring goal but it is something that I think will help me be a better person.

Adventure More

I have noticed since I have put weight back on, I haven't tried as much to do new things.  I need to adventure more with my family.  Do things we haven't tried before.  I don't want to miss out on adventures nor do I want my kids to.

Enjoy the Now

My biggest goal for 2018 is to take a deep breathe and enjoy the present.  Quit worrying about the past.  Quit worrying about the future.  But enjoy what we have in front of us.

A Guide to Running the Perfect New York Marathon

Here is my essential guide to running the perfect New York Marathon ever.  I have seven helpful tips for you to run your perfect New York City Marathon (Steve Lambert style).

1.  Raise Money for a Good Cause: The amount of people cheering us on this weekend because of our Team in Training race shirt was insane.  The funny part was not everyone even knew who Team in Training was (more weird than funny but still).  These were our top three team cheers: Go Purple Team, Go Team 30, and last but not least, Go Team!!!! 

2.  Run with Friends: Best decision I ever made was to run with Kristy and Karen (added Ryan Hatcher the day before race).  Ultimately running with your friends for 26.2 is way more enjoyable than running by yourself or pushing for a PR in New York.  New York is such a huge race that you don't really want to miss any of the sights and sounds (read next tip).  Between meeting famous people on course or the conversations we had, it was such a blast.  Marathons are never easy.  But after finishing the race the way we did, I actually would do it again in a heartbeat.  

3.  Check out the Sights and Sounds:  You run through all five boroughs, through millions of peoples and, well, why not.  Three helpful hints:  Follow the Ryan Hatcher guide to Marathoning and get super pumped at every puppy you see. Dance like no one is looking at every chance you get (New York had by far the best band and music support I've ever seen.  I highly recommend the Boogie Down Bronx when you cross into the borough and the Funk music in Harlem). And last but not least, take amazing pictures along the way (I mean, why not?).

4.  When you have a chance, high five as many of the crowd as possible.  They get louder and louder and way more fun the more you interact.  

5.  When nearing the race photographer always get ready for an epic photo opportunity.

6.  When getting ready for the finish line, line up with your teammates like you are synchronized swimmers.

7.  Last but not least.  Sign up for the race poncho over the dry bag.  Its amazing and it protects you from whatever weather is at the finish.  

New York was such an amazing experience.  I highly recommend it to anyone from wanting to run your first marathon to your last.  

As their motto says, "IT WILL CHANGE YOU".

More blogs to come about the whole New York Experience.

Bumps in the Road

Sometimes the world catches up to you.  And this week it finally did.  I woke up Friday morning feeling alright but by the time I got to work, I was groggy, stuffed up and had a headache.  I toughed through it, thinking it was just allergies.  Friday was also our five year anniversary.  I wasn't going to let a little cold ruin Lori and I's anniversary dinner.  Instead, Lori, myself and Avery went and got Sushi.  It was the perfect example of what our lives are made up of right now.  A cranky three year old, one sick parent, and exhaustion from a long week for all three of us.  It was a perfect anniversary meal.  Lori and I actually joked about how real it actually was.  Nothing special, just us, our family.  And it was perfect.

Saturday, I decided to call sick for probably one of the only times I have in six seasons as a pacer.  I hated myself but the reality was that there was no way I was going to get through 12 miles (or even my scheduled 20) on a cold in humid warm temperatures.  Instead, I would probably have to drop out and be sicker than I was originally for trying to push.  I didn't like missing it.  But I knew it was the best thing for myself.  The other part of me was pissed for missing the 20 miler.  For runners, this is a huge hurdle.  But its okay because I have another one in a few weeks.  

Sunday, Lori and I took the kids to Busch Gardens to enjoy some time together as a family.  We wanted to get their early so Avery could enjoy the park one last time before it got dark and scary for kids.  We had a blast.  We ran into the Mautes and hung out.  Avery and Chet played, rode together, and won stuffed animals.  Watching through their eyes of imagination is a lot of fun.  We also got to ride a few rides for us adults too.  The day was just what our family needed, some time way from work, school, and running.  Just us four enjoying the amazing weather and Busch Gardens.  

Lesson learned this week:  Listen to your body.  

Halftime

The school year has begun, the temps have dropped (at least right now), and life is getting busier.  It must be September.

Friday, Lori and I dropped off our daughter to her first day of preschool.  The cliche that is how time flies is so true.  But I remember every little moment since she was born.  But she is excited and so are we.  We look forward to her learning, adapting, socializing, and growing.

At the same time, our son started his junior year in high school.

I think it's funny when people talk about running like it's every story or blog or conversation you have.  But the reality is that running is just my therapy.

The past two weeks have been insane.

My ATV needed to be worked on.

My son's truck broke down (aka the world is ending).

my car brakes went out.

So sometimes you punt, you buy a new car, you spend evenings fixing shit and you keep trucking.

But thank God for running and Evofit.  They keep me sane.

The cool part is that Cancer Better Run is halfway through our training cycle.  We definitely have some big hills to climb before we taper but we are closer than ever to our goal of running the New York Marathon for such a great cause.

I will be honest.  I am not excited to run a marathon.  But I am excited to run for this cause.  I am excited to run with three friends that are amazing people.  I am excited to see that hopefully our money we have raised will help save one person's life.

As we completed the first half of our training, we actually all got to run with each other on Saturday.  We haven't all run together in 8 weeks.

Onto next week.

Love Will Always Win

I was typing an update to my marathon training this weekend when I read the headlines on TV.  As much as I am excited to be done with the first quarter of my training, it all seemed very irrelevant with the headlines in our country.

I knew during this last presidential election that there would be mass chaos in this country.  I called out five years ago that the pendulum of politics was swinging ever further from the middle.  And it has.  It doesn't matter who I voted for or who you voted for.  But the truth is what matters is how we act.  How we treat each other as fellow citizens.

Technology has changed the way people educate themselves.  The term "Fake News" has masked the truth with a ton of what we read.  Our children get their news from Social Media.  Our own president terms every news channel or site that has been said anything negative about him as "Fake News".

Recently, I deleted Facebook from my phone.  I did this for many reasons.  The first is that Facebook was occupying way too much of my time.  Another reason is I couldn't stand reading the biased and rude comments people post on Social Media.  The last reason is that I couldn't stand the anger, hatred and bitterness in posts from everyone in the world today.  Today, it seems as though people have no filters, hiding behind social media comments as if they have a giant wall protecting them from reality.  But that is further then the truth.  You can't hide behind your comments.  They are forever etched into the world.

I will keep Facebook off my phone for now.

Last night I cried while watching Vice News on HBO.  They followed the Alt-Right "protest" in Charlottesville.  I cried for fear of the future for my children and every friend I have who is not a white male.  I was saddened by hearing these people spewing such anger and hatred to others.

This is what I saw in the videos for thirty minutes.......

Riot Gear

Automatic Rifles

Bats

Weapons to fight the opposition

Those items are not for protests.  Those items are for chaos.  They are for destruction.  They are to inflict pain.  They are for anger.

These people will not win with ANGER.

These people will not with HATRED.

Love will win.  Love will conquer all.  Because I will keep raising my children to be kind, educated, and tolerant for all people.

I will teach my children to love.

I will teach my kids to be open to all opinions.  Even if they don't agree upon them, they will learn to listen to others.

What happened in Charlottesville is just the beginning.  My heart goes out to the parents of the girl who was killed.  My heart also goes out to the parents of the guy who murdered this girl.  Both sets of parents have lost their child to anger and hatred.

So in honor of Heather Heyer, I will raise my children to love, be kind, and tolerant.  And hopefully, you all do too.

LOVE will conquer hatred.

LOVE will always win.

New York Marathon, J&A Training Team, and everything in between.....

Since I am back in the training cycle, I promised myself I would write more.  Sometimes I don't have much to write about and sometimes I have too much.

This is the first time in 3 years that I have started a training cycle with a blank slate.  I always had a goal in mind.  I had always been running non stop.  But after back to back marathons and too much running, my body and mind couldn't keep up.  As I wrote in one of my last posts, my goal is to run happy and run healthy.  So far into week 3, I have been able to accomplish this.  I have backed off the running 5 days a week but am concentrating on better runs and getting stronger doing EvoFit.

Monday kicked off the J&A Training Team.  This will be my sixth time pacing.  I think I now firmly hold the lead on that.  But more exciting is that we have over 50 new team members and a few old members coming back who haven't signed up in a while.  The dynamics and energy will completely be different but I have a feeling this will be the best training team yet and we will have the most amazing positive energy that we have ever had.  From top down, I think we have the best pacers and team leaders we have had yet.

Summer has been super busy.  Having a teenager driving, working and playing baseball and having a three year old to chase down has kept Lori and I busy.  We have enjoyed a few days at the beach here and there, Water Country USA once, and have traveled twice to Pittsburgh since June for family events.

Running, being a dad, and husband are always tough to juggle.  But I am very thankful I have a supportive wife in helping me stay healthy physically and mentally.  Part of my personal goals this fall is to be happy.  I never ran because I wanted to be fast.  I ran to be healthy and happy.  I may never BQ (Boston Qualify for you non-runners) but I know I will enjoy my life.  Between my amazing wife, two beautiful kids and amazing friends who surround me each and everyday, I don't need much more.

As each week approaches to the New York Marathon, I have to remind myself what the feeling was like when I got to first see my wife and daughter in Detroit when I was running my first marathon.  It was the greatest high I have ever had.  Just like it was when I finished Shamrock in 2016.  Finishing and being able to hug my family is what it is all about.  My time didn't matter.  It matter knowing who is around you.  I look forward standing side by side with my friends in New York when we finish.  I have never run a race with friends but I am pretty excited to have these three beside me finishing.

This past week hit the 100 day mark until the race.  100 days feels so close but 100 days feels so far away.  Time will creep up fast.  But for right now, I am going to enjoy the rest of the summer with my wife, my kids, and close friends.  Cheers!

November Project Hell Week

So Sunday my friend, Kristy, asked if someone would join her on Monday to November Project's first day of #hellweekvb.  I was hesitant because I didn't really know any of the people who typically go and I didn't want to feel like an outsider.  But I promised Kristy I would try Monday so I went.  Monday was bridge repeats and was a lot of fun.  It was refreshing running with new people and with such positive energy.  After I finished, I decided if I was going to wake up at 4 AM Monday, I might as well do the rest of the week.  So I better figure out where I was going to shower between the workout and work.

Tuesday was track work and it was a lot of fun.  Since I am still doing physical therapy, I am not allowed to do true speed work.  Instead, I ran a controlled quick pace.  It felt great, which has been rare in the past six months.

Wednesday was my first time at Mt. Trashmore.  We ate hills for breakfast.  Ran up the hill, ran down the stairs (three days later and my calves are still sore).  I still don't know how I have never ran at Mt. Trashmore (we need some team weekday runs here Ryan!).

Thursday was at Lake Smith Nature Area.  This was a fun workout, team building, Survivor (the show), Paper/Rock/Scissors for Burpees.  Just a fun overall experience.

And then the final day was the beach.  Everyone I talked to was nervous.  Should I run, should I swim.  The plan was to swim.  And as November Project's mottos is #justshowup, so I did.  And I decided to swim.  So did my crew.  It actually made me a little more confident that I can pull off a Sprint Triathlon.  We all had a blast and before you know it, #hellweekvb was over.

I earned my #novemberprojectvb #NP_VB #grassrootsgear and #hellweekvb.

Sadly, I am rarely able to attend the normal meet-ups but after feeling so awesome after this week, if I can, I will.  The people of our community are amazing and I am so thankful to my #evofit757 and #trainjanda crew for keeping me motivated to come out all week.

If you ever get a chance, step out of your zone and join a meet-up.  I promise you, you won't regret it.

Be Happy, Be healthy

For many who read my blog.  They never knew Steve at 340 pounds.  Many also don't even know what its truthfully like to deal with obesity.  Sadly, I wasn't born being skinny.  And people who don't who have the genetic code of obesity don't really understand what its like. (Disclaimer: I am not judging people who aren't fat or work hard to not be fat).

For some of us.  We have to fight it every single day.  Its not easy.  And I am struggling myself.  Am I where I was when I first began this journey? No.  But am I at the lowest weight I have ever been? No.  

Sometimes when you finally hit your goal (Weight Watchers lifetime weight, Marathon PR, Pant Size, Image Happiness, or whatever) its very tough to maintain.  You have worked so hard for so long and then what are you supposed to do.  Are you supposed to act like skinny people and do all the fun stuff?  Are you supposed to starve yourself?  How to you find an equilibrium of staying healthy and maintaining.  

On top of that, life sometimes gets in the way.  For me it was a few things:

Injuries have been plaguing me for the past fourteen months.  During Shamrock 2016 season, I only missed one run during the sixteen week cycle.  I also ran my body to nothing.  I ran too hard, too fast and didn't think about the consequences.  My glute/hip has been bothering me for the longest time.  I hurt my foot last fall.  What people forget is that training for a marathon is very difficult for a full-time employed Dad of two kids.  Not everyone can take off work, go get messages, dry needling, tissue repair, or just not do the regular things that parents and adults have to do.  Waking up at 3:30 every morning to run means you aren't sleeping.  Which means your not letting your body recover.  Running 40-50 miles a week while being a dad and working is a lot.  So how do you find the middle ground?  

So I have been spending my time since March not running and concentrating on getting stronger and healthier.  I have also been seeing a physical therapist helping me fix my probably from destroying my body.  

Life always seems to get in the way of the important things.  When I moved 8 years ago to North Carolina.  I didn't know a soul down here.  It was tough.  People don't know what it is like moving to a different region, different culture, and not know anyone.  Once I met my wife, we had our little group of friends but I was always missing out on my group of friends like I had in Michigan.  

As your life changes, so do your friends.  In Michigan, I had friends from different places.  I met my best friend Chuck while working at Applebees.  He was working a second job to save up for his wedding and I was a bartender.  We hit it off shit talking like no other.  Now we both have families, houses, and careers.  My other friends I met through college.  And through college you meet others.  

Here, I did not have that.  I am 700 miles away from my high school and colleges.  So when I met people, I am always looking for "real" friends.  The ones who call or text you when you need it.  The ones who you bounce ideas off of.  The ones who give as much as you do in a relationship.  Sadly, there aren't that many people out there like that.  Most people use others for their own benefit.  Sometimes I get sucked up into all that and waste time instead of using my time for the people who matter.  

The one thing I have learned is that even if you meet someone who isn't worth your time, through those moments you will meet people who are.  

I kept beating myself up all the time.  I kept telling myself I needed to be something for everyone.  But I need to remind myself I didn't go on this journey to please anyone else.  I did it for me and my family.  I did it to be healthy.  And being healthy and surrounding yourself with healthy people is what I am working on.

My goal for 2017 was Run Happy, Run Healthy.  But I am changing that to be Happy, Be Healthy.  Because its more than just running.  Its life.  And sometimes life is a struggle.  But if you surround yourself with the right people, you will be healthy and happy.

Thank You!

Surround yourself with good people and good things happen.  And that I have.  Not only am I lucky enough to be running the New York Marathon with three awesome ladies, I am also surrounded by an amazing group of friends and a wonderful community.

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be surrounded by good people.  My first Slow Ride of 2017 went great thanks to my awesome friends and our wonderful community.

When I first started doing Slow Ride, I did it for fun.  I did it for the community.  Out of it, we have helped raise thousands of dollars for fundraisers including the Roc Solid Foundation and Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

I can't thank all the local businesses enough.  But I really appreciate all the donations, time, and gifts you all donated to our raffles and event.

We were lucky enough to raise over $2,000 for our Cancer Better Run.  Which put us over the $11,000 as a group and also let our leader, Karen, hit her personal mark of $3,500.

Being able to combine a Slow Ride and raise funds for a good cause can't get any better.

So again.  Thank you to everyone who attended, donated, and helped in every fashion!

Cancer Better Run: New York Marathon

2016 was a year of personal records. I kept thinking about what is next this past fall.  I didn't really have a clue what my next goals were.  What I wanted to do or race.  I sort of plateaued with my running and was pretty burnt out on it after two hard grueling marathon cycles.

Fall training came around and I started doing my Tempo runs with Karen.  And one day, she couldn't keep up.  She knew something wasn't right.  The next day she went to the doctors and found out she had cancer.  Long story short, she instantly went into Chemo and fought throughout the fall.  To watch someone fight so hard and honorable during such a  crazy time was admirable.  Karen isn't just my running partner.  We have become friends.  And most importantly, she was a mom, a daughter and wife.

During the chemo we would run.  Maybe not as fast but definitely more memorable.  During these runs we talked about doing something bigger than ourselves.  And what do runners talk about?  Well, races of course.  So, Karen, myself, Karen (Fancy Fonts) and Kristy came up with a brilliant plan. Let's run for a charity.  Lets run for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training.  LETS RUN THE NEW YORK MARATHON.

Then the "Oh Shit" moment happened.  We actually signed up.  Its funny because sometimes you talk other people into it and tell them to not worry about that than next thing you know you are freaking out about the same damn thing.  And next thing you know, I am signed up.

Even though when I race, I race for my team and pace group, it usually is a selfish sport.  I raced for myself.  I ran Detroit for myself.  I ran Shamrock for myself.

I decided I needed to do something bigger than for myself.  Even though my friend, Karen, fought this Cancer.  I am not running for her.  I AM RUNNING WITH HER.  I am running with her to prove to this world that there is some good.  That Cancer will not defeat her or anyone else if they don't let it.  I am running so that maybe, just maybe, I can help someone else fight and defeat cancer.

I am completely scared shitless thinking about raising funds.  But screw it.  As Jess (The Fit Petite) once told me, if you aren't nervous or scared, than you aren't passionate about it.  So here I am. Scared and completely nervous.  But I am thankful that I am doing this with three (hopefully four) awesome friends.

So today, I am here to apologize now.  I will be annoying the hell out of you for ten months for fundraising.  Get used to it because until we reach our goal, I can't stop.

PS- It is going to be fun running a whole marathon with a friend or in this case friends.  It's going to be a crazy fun day.

Also, feel free to donate to US.  Follow the link: Cancer Better Run

One Last Ride

Two years ago I started this journey as a pacer.  I didn't know what I was doing (I still don't).  I remember showing up at my first run scared shitless.  Here I was, just finishing my first half just a few months ago pacing people that have run dozens of halfs and marathons.  I remember asking Ryan, "What am I supposed to be doing?".  Sixteen weeks later and Shamrock weekend over, my life was completely different.

During those sixteen weeks, the elite group of individuals that I ran with each and every week steered me along.  We had some really crappy weather days during that training cycle.  I still remember the feeling of one January run at Seashore and every step felt like ice daggers into our feet because it was so cold and rainy.  But we got through it.  We weathered the storms.  We weathered injuries.  And together we became #teamawesome.

Before pace group names were a thing, there was just #teamawesome. We were the last ones back and the ones always cheering and smiling.  For 64 Saturdays in the last two years, I paced these kids.  And they changed my life forever.

Saturday brings an end to me pacing #teamawesome.  It is very bittersweet.  I take my job as a pacer very personal.  When they PR, I PR.  When I race, I always race for them.  Both my marathons I ran for them.  When I was hurting, I would think about them.  But tomorrow brings an end for me but not for #teamawesome.  #teamawesome is more than one person.  It is a collection of individuals who I admire and respect.  #teamawesome will move forward with another amazing pacer.  As I have said before, "Next one up".

To #teamawesome (old and new), Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you have given me.  I will miss our Saturday runs more than you will ever know.  There is too many of you guys to name but I love you all.  As we move forward to Norfolk Harbor weekend, I can't wait to celebrate your accomplishments.

I just ask one thing, to keep #teamawesome awesome.  Everyone of you guys made our group amazing.  You are the reason our training team is so special.

So tomorrow, One Last Ride.......

Crawlin Crab Highlights 2016

Crawlin Crab is my run-versary.  2 Years ago I embarked on a journey I never thought would bring me where I am today.

Two years later and I have a giant group of amazing friends, running friends, and family.  Being an ambassador for Running Etc. and being a Pacer for J&A Training Team has allowed me to be part of the Hampton Roads Community.  And our community is the best.

Crawlin Crab would be the only half I am doing this fall.  This race was also very important to me because of its meaning in my past and because of my friends. There were a lot of big moments that really reminded me why I love running.

Here's a few of the highlights..........

Karen, my tempo running partner and friend, kicked cancers ass this weekend.  About two months ago we were running and she wasn't feeling right.  She instantly went to the doctors and found out she had lymphoma (short version).  But instead of wallowing in pity, Karen decided to kick some ass. Right now she is on her 3rd round of chemo and she still decided to run a half marathon.  If you want to watch or meet someone who has handled this gracefully and positively, shes the one.  I am actually kind of scared when she comes back.

I ran because I could Sunday.  I ran for Karen. And Karen ran for herself.  And she kicked ass. Luckily, she had an awesome race partner in Kristy who supplied Orange Crushes via Christian on bike support.  You know you have a good set of friends with you when they supply Orange Crushes during a race (Am I right ELO?)

Then there is this fierce lady I know Tina Babcock.  A lot of people on our team didn't know Tina ran her first half this weekend.  Oh yeah, I forgot, she also has MS  and her speech at our Training Team's Running Reflections night was amazingly inspiring.  It was awesome watching her finish. She is one of those people who just supports everyone with positive energy and love.

I also wanted to talk about my favorite lady from Wales, Leonora.  Leonora is on her second training team with us.  She trained her ass off last winter and the season ended with her missing Shamrock because of her father's passing.  She trained for 16 weeks and didn't even get to celebrate it with her teammates or for herself.  Instead she turned it around and has worked her ass again and finally finished her first half at Crawlin Crab.  She did phenomenal too.  This was a well deserved weekend for her.  On top of all this, she found out this past year she has Lupus.  She also doesn't dwell on the bad parts but instead she decided to be an amazing example of positive energy.

Next is Allison.  She finished her first half this weekend also.  She is one of those people when you hang out with them they are just always upbeat, positive and just all around awesome.  I don't need to say too much because she just destroyed her race and is basically the most awesomist (that's a word) person ever.

Lynn Dove, my favorite neighbor.  Lynn is a good friend of Lori and I's.  She lives down her in Georgia (Pungo).  Lynn is also part of the amazing group in our community called the Running Turtles.  She and the Running Turtles represent the true meaning of what a running community is about.  They are always smiling, always fun, and always kicking ass.  Why I want to bring her up is because she was the 1775 out of 1775 finishers.  I am only posting this because she is very inspirational.  She's always positive and always a lot of fun.  I was pretty excited seeing her coming in at the finish so I actually gave her my beer.  Which was great for the finisher's photo but not for security (sorry Jerry and Amy).  She is always #1 in my book.

What about Elisabeth too.  She has trained for the 3rd time with #teamawesome and the first two times she got injured.  Crawlin Crab was basically her coming out party for races.  I couldn't of been more excited than watching her come across that finish line healthy!

Man, I can't forget Rachel.  Who Freaking ran 6 months pregnant.  She took care of herself and baby Steven James very well I might add.  But kudos to Rachel for kicking some pavement.  She has an awesome attitude while running and really inspires the rest of the team.

If I missed a highlight I am sorry.   These are just some of the stories from this weekend.  I can't even wrap my brain around them all. Honestly, there are so many that I can't even name them all.  From Rebecca Denny running with me at the finish to other teammates who held the rope the whole race for our group.  Also have to give shout outs to all the teammates who cheered us on (Thanks Boo).

And also mad props to our coaches, Ryan and Josh.  Amazing coaches and even better friends and human beings.

One race down and a few more to go.  Looking forward to Wicked, Harbor Lights and Surf and Santa.

So proud of #trainjanda and #teamawesome

PS- mad props to my #runninghoez Amy for PR-ing.

TEAMMATES

I have been thinking a lot lately about running, friends, life, and everything else.  Running is something that has (since I started) always given me happiness.  I remember the two biggest moments in my athletic career before I started running was the last games I ever played in lacrosse and football.  Too bad both were losses.  Lacrosse was the state semi-finals and football was the playoffs.  It always sucks ending with a loss.  But what was worst was trying to figure out what to consume my competitive nature and team atmosphere with.  I lost that for many years.  I was completely lost after high school.  I didn't have the competition and most importantly I didn't have the camaraderie.  The grind of two-a-days.  The pain of wins and losses.  The emotions of giving everything you have on the line with other people.  I missed that a lot. I never really found that.

Until I found running.  And not really until I found #trainjanda.  And most importantly my running partners.  You don't really figure it out until it happens.  You don't really feel the emotions and bonds of these people until that we make over training runs it just happens one day.  If it’s while you are running in First Landing State Park and your crappy past comes swarming in your head and you break down.  Or when you are hammering tempo miles repeatedly and your partner stops and breaks down.  Or when you are running with a new team member and she starts to cry and hyperventilate.  This happens and that is what makes running friends so important.  You don't know it until it just happens but these are the people who are there when you need a laugh, a cry, a hug, or just a hard damn run.

You see these emotions sometimes too rarely.  Some people don't feel it until the race day when we cheer everyone on and we bond over cold shitty weather.  But the reality is these real emotions and the bonds are what make these friendships and memories.  We talk about marriage, kids, life, death, love, friendships, bodily functions, and a whole gambit of funny stuff and sometimes real shit.  But we are always there when we need it.  

When I run, I enjoy it more with company.  The painful slog of every run is always better with a partner.

When I race, I am racing for them.  I am racing for my tempo partners, my hoez, and #teamawesome.  And I know they are all running for each other too.

Sometimes shit gets in the way of training and running.  Sometimes shit gets in the way of life.  It can be dramatic, painful, and sad.  It can be as simple as an injury.  And sometimes it can be something bigger than you can ever imagine.  

I remember when I was 20 years old, I ran a 5 member relay with my dad and his friends.  My dad’s running buddy from when he was 18 had been fighting colon cancer.  We had two teams of five running the Detroit Free Press Marathon (it was my first running medal).  I still remember the feeling I got passing my section during my first full marathon this past fall.  But the relay was awesome.  Even though my dad’s best friend couldn’t run, he was there supporting us.  Cheering us on.  I remember as a kid, watching him and my dad, after their first marathons together, in pain, hobbling around, drinking a beer.  You could tell in both their eyes what that day meant.  It was the result of many tough miles together during training and that moment will never be erased. 

Just as running was my dad’s answer to competition and friendship so has it been mine.  Without I would be lost.  Without my friends I would be completely lost.

The best part of running friends is that we will always be there for each other.  Through the easy, the hard, the unthinkable, and the unimaginable.

So sometimes you need to re-analyze your goals, pace, and life in general and just enjoy the miles together.  No matter how hard they are.