back in sync

well, after a couple of weeks of virtual non-running, i'm starting to get back into it. this month has been one of the busiest i can remember, and the running has been the thing that has been sacrificed. either i just haven't had the time, or i just felt too tired. well things have settled down just a little and i've managed to get out a few times this week. early saturday morning, in frigid 17 degree weather, darrin and i did about 5 miles, which included a couple of pretty good hills. the last mile was flat and because i felt really good, i picked it up a little. i hit the finish line (darrin's driveway) and was surprised at how strong i was the whole time. darrin finished right along side of me. he's really improved in the last month or two. on sunday nite, i did three miles by myself. again, no big deal. i did three more miles on tuesday and really picked it up the last mile. i'm trying to negative split as much as i can.
i played soccer last nite as usual. and as usual, i was terrible. i missed so many easy goals... oh well, at least my competitive playing days are over. i know i should just have fun playing - and i do, but especially in soccer, i have a higher standard for myself. in running or triathlon, i am not competitive. i know i will never win my age group or any podium spots. soccer is different for me. it's what i was good at. at one time i played at a very high level, so playing poorly - even years later - bothers me. aaahhh, i'll get over it, though...
anyway, the plan for the rest of the week is 3 miles tonite, then 6-7 on saturday. darrin's plan for saturday is actually only 4 miles (it's a recovery week), but since we've been in recovery for a couple of weeks, we're going to do a longer run...

focus

oh my. the realities of life have set in this past week. i was only able to get out running twice despite pretty good weather. i did play soccer on wednesday, although not very well... work has been very busy, and my 4 kids' activities are nonstop. fyi... here's a rundown of a typical extracurricular activity week with the kids:

monday: andrew and nathan basketball practice
tuesday: sara dance class, sara basketball practice
wednesday: andrew and nathan basketball game, justin basketball practice
thursday: andrew and nathan soccer practice, justin basketball practice
friday: sara basketball game
saturday: sara gymnastics class, justin basketball game, sara airborne practice
sunday: andrew and nathan soccer practice in bloomington (an hour away)

add this to the fact that i work full time, my wife works about 25 hours a week, and we're both full time college students, and you can see where free time is at a premium! well, basketball season is almost over, but then justin will be playing baseball and there will be more soccer practices added as the weather gets better. when i really think about it though, yes, it's ridiculously busy, but i wouldn't want it any other way. the kids are involved in alot, but they love it, and so do i. the sacrifice for this, of course, is time to do things for myself. such as run. or sleep... but i vow to do better. i'll get out there tomorrow and do my long run. i'll get more consistent. even if that means running in the middle of the nite and sacrificing sleep. bring it on!

oh, to be young again

first and foremost, i have to say happy birthday to my daughter, sara, who is 6 years old today! she couldn't get to sleep last nite because she was so excited. remember those days, when it was so cool to be a year older? hmmm, i certainly have a different perspective on that now! anyway, happy birthday, sweetie!
well, unfortunately, not alot has happened since i last updated. i did a five mile run by myself on saturday. it went fine. i took it slow, and sped up toward the end because i was feeling good. on sunday, i went on a very late post-superbowl run for three easy miles. i stayed in the neighborhood, and again took it pretty slow. i didn't bring my watch for either run.
i didn't run monday or tuesday, but will do another three miles tonite. i am supposed to play soccer tonite, but with it being sara's birthday, i may not go.
one last thing - congrats to amy, who set a PR in the san francisco half marathon this past sunday. great job!

pay up, pare down

$329. that's how much that stupid deer owes me to fix the honda. i'm not sure how i'll get him to cough it up, but hell, i live in indiana, so i know lots of people around here that can make him pay in venison!
work has been crazy lately. our automated tape library went bezerk and i've been working on that all week. because of that, i was not able to play soccer on wednesday. i did, however get out for a 3 mile run with darrin. i felt AWFUL. i never got going, and darrin left me in the dust. oh well, that happens. last nite, we did four miles. i felt much better. averaged 8:55/mile, which for me is pretty good. darrin, though, has been unbelieveable. once again, he left me behind at about the 2.5 mile mark and beat me by at least a minute. the last week or so, he's been very impressive. i thought my 35:40 last nite was pretty darn good, and if i didn't know better, would have assumed that darrin would have had a tough time keeping that pace. but no. anyway, way to go darrin!
this weekend, i have a five mile run on saturday, and three more sunday. i need to get that in before the superbowl...
hey, before i go, i want to wish amy good luck this weekend. she is running a half-marathon on sunday. kick some butt, girl!! i know you'll do great. and, hey, watch out for slippery water stations!!
oh, and one more thing. i weighed in this morning. it was a little emotional, actually. the scale here at work is one of those slide types, where you push the big weight to 100, 150, 200, or 250, then slide the small weight on top to increment your exact weight. well, today, i have graduated into the 150+ category. no longer will i have to move that big bastard all the way to 200. no, folks, the scale doesn't lie: 199. that's 10.5lbs in exactly one month. i'll take that. next!

fab feb

yee-ha... it's february! that means we're one small step closer to warm weather. and i am definitely looking forward to that. i am so sick of bundling up to go run. hats, gloves, sweat pants and shirts... yuck.
speaking of running, i haven't been doing as much of that as i would like. i did four miles on saturday, and three on monday. i've been feeling really good during my runs lately. i've been trying to do negative splits. tonite i'm going to play indoor soccer again, and then if darrin hasn't run by the time i get done, i'll put in 3 miles with him. speaking of darrin and soccer, although he had a successful inaugural outing last week, it doesn't look like he is going to make it a habit. i guess he's going to quit while he's ahead.
a strange thing happened to me yesterday. on the way to work, i was driving over the crest of a hill, and as i reached the apex, i saw some deer crossing the road. i hit the brakes pretty hard to make sure i didn't hit any. and i didn't. well, until the suicidal deer appraoched, that is... i was crawling along at like 5mph when this deer comes running out in the middle of the road, runs down the street next to my car for about 10 yards, then veers right into the passenger-side door. i was trying to get away, and this stupid deer hit me! it really didn't hit the door very hard, and i kinda forgot about it. well, until my wife drove my car later that night... what the hell did you hit with the car? i can't even open the passenger door! for a moment, i had no idea what she was talking about. then i remembered psycho-bambi. i went and looked at it, and sure enough the door was dented right where it meets the front quarter panel. and it won't open. grrr. anyway, it's off to get an estimate today. damn deer...