The Muddy Runner Dirty Dozen

Doesn't it feel like the days of the year as just flying by? Or is that just me? It feels as if the calendar is moving ever so quickly, and before we all know it, we're going to find ourselves smack in the middle of what I consider the most dreadful month of the year, January. If you have a January birthday, you probably don't consider that month terrible... or you might... but I think it's always such a letdown after Christmas that you can't help but feel depressed or angry or bummed or whatever negative emotion you can think of.

Anyway....

Before we get into the throes of 2010, I wanted to take a look back at 2009 and the year I had right here on my blog. I figure since you all are such loyal and fabulous readers that you wouldn't mind if I set aside some time and space to look back on the Muddy Runner year. It's only going to supplement the usual daily (or twice-daily) posts so I won't just shut down the blog and mail in the rest of the year, because then my productivity around the house might increase... but that's another story for another day.

Beginning Sunday, I am going to give to you the Muddy Runner Dirty Dozen, my fancy way of saying my 12 best posts of 2009.

Why dirty? Muddy... dirty... a bit of a theme.

Why 12? Well, I chose 10 originally but had so many left over that I couldn't just leave them out. It was a tough choice to make, to omit some posts but I did so. I pored over statistics, checked and double-checked my facts, drew up charts and graphs, researched... okay, maybe I didn't put that much energy into it, but I went back month-by-month and selected some posts that I felt most proud of, that drew a lot of attention, that my longtime readers might enjoy re-reading and my new(er) readers might enjoy reading for the first time.

I mean, I posted A LOT this year. So you bloggers with whom I did not cross paths until recently, you all missed A LOT! And I know nobody really goes back and reads the archives (maybe one or two posts here or there I suppose) so what better way to get the essence of my blog than by reading over the top posts of 2009?

Anyway, the countdown is done for the most part. There is still some heated debate over a few posts and positioning and things like that but that will culminate soon enough. I tried to put an emphasis on things that happened earlier this year but some stuff from October and November managed to squeeze itself in there.

I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I enjoyed bringing the posts to you in the first place and reviving them for the purposes of this countdown. Number 12 will be on Sunday so keep an eye out for that.

My Little Elves

It's Christmas around here, of course, and the girls have been getting their dance moves down.

I think they've made quite a bit of progress.

What do you think?

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Looking Ahead

Well, it's on my mind so I may as well blog about it. Sunday's 20-mile run is looming large this weekend.

Gulp.

I'm actually looking forward to it. I really am. It's not often you get to run the longest run of your life. In fact, I'll have this run, then the 22-mile run on Jan. 17, and then the Marathon itself, as longest runs ever. I am not sure if I will ever run an ultramarathon, which is essentially any race longer than 26.2 miles, but that would be the only other run that would qualify as the longest run ever.

Basically I have three of these left. And I need to make them all count.

Some random thoughts about the 20-miler...

* I'd been feeling some lingering discomfort ever since the Cedar River Run. My right hamstring was tight and it was threatening to give me fits. I felt it pretty good last week and I'd say over the weekend it seemed it was at its worst, and "its worst" wasn't that bad. I just felt it and it felt tight and I was worried that it could lead to something worse.

My pace leader, though, said that it takes the body one day per each mile of a really long run to recover from nicks and bruises and minor issues; really long runs, like 18-plus. Still, I wasn't quite sure about this. I'd read that before but I'd assumed it only really worked with total rest. I wondered about all the other runs I'd done since, which included three 10-milers, a 15K race and Sunday's 12-miler. Those would have seemed to have slowed any sort of recovery process.

But today, my hamstring felt different. It feels like it is healing, as weird as that sounds. It feels as if the worst is behind. Now, I won't be able to confirm that until I go running again (I have a soccer game to officiate on Tuesday, joy). Wednesday will be my next day of actual running, so we'll see how it holds up to both Tuesday's game and Wednesday's run. But I feel better about it today than I did on Saturday and Sunday.

* A playlist for my 20-miler, RG was wondering. Well, since it's a Loper run, I won't actually take my iPod. I don't take it out to the Lopers. I've only taken it once, during an 11-miler, and I felt like I was betraying my group members. I spend the time talking, trying to talk anyway.

* How long will it take us to run the 20 miles? If we stick to 11-minutes-per-mile, 20 miles would take us 3 hours 40 minutes. Wow. That's 3 hours 40 minutes of running, with some walk breaks thrown in the midst as well, but still, most of the time will be running. That's a lot of pounding for my feet. I can't really wrap my head around that to be honest. I hope it doesn't take us that long but I may as well get used to it. I won't get anywhere near 3:40 come Surf City.

* My plan is take four Gu packets and use them at miles 5, 10, 15 and then keep the other just in case. There are water stations along our route so there will be other things like pretzels and maybe candy as well, M&Ms or other chocolates if we're lucky. Also water and Gatorade, in addition to my own fuel belt. I should be set when it comes to that.

* My blog buddy Christy also has a 20-mile run scheduled for Sunday. How awesome is that? She'll be running 20 miles somewhere in Florida while I'll be running it here in Southern California. Now that's blogger solidarity for you.

Motivational Mondays (Dec. 14)

Recently, I was going through a series of runs that topped one another. I suppose you could call it my Longest Run Stretch, because I set new benchmarks seemingly every Sunday out.

I ran 13 miles one weekend in October, which equaled my Longest Run Ever at the time, since the only other time I'd run that much was during my half marathon in April. The next weekend, I ran 14 miles but that run held the Longest Run Ever title for exactly seven days, as I ran 15 miles the following Sunday. Then, a few weeks passed before the Cedar River Run, which at 18 miles is still my Longest Run Ever.

Well, my friends, that's all about to change. On Sunday, I will run 20 miles with the Lopers. If I make it through that run, I will have a new Longest Run Ever.

It's quite motivating to think that I can actually run that long and make it through such a distance but it's very daunting. I mean, this is taking double digits to a whole new level. This run not only has a 1- in front of it, it has a 2-. And you know what other run has a 2- in front of it, don't you?

Yeah, the big one.

But I have to take a level-headed approach to this 20-mile run, just as I will have to for Surf City.

I've demonstrated the ability to run long distances, and running long distances by myself. It's one thing to run 12 miles in a group setting, as the time can fly by in the midst of conversation. But when it's just me out there cranking out mileage, it really comes down to what I have to give. And I've shown I have plenty to give.

Just like anything else, though, I can't get consumed by the enormity of the distance. I need to break the run down into parts. I can look at it as two 10-milers, or break it off into three smaller runs. It's about the same as three seven-milers, and seven miles isn't quite daunting anymore.

And when it comes down to it, it's like running three consecutive 10Ks. Convert 20 miles into kilometers and you get 32.18688, so it's three 10Ks and then 2.18688 more on top of that, and 2.18688 kilometers is nothing. Right?

Either way you look at it, 20 miles, 32.18688 kilometers, three seven-milers, three 10Ks plus a 2.18688K, two 10-milers... it's a really long distance.

But if I start to think about trying to swallow 20 miles whole, without chewing, I will not enter the run with the right mentality. I'll tense up and will become a ball of nerves, and balls of nerves don't do well running long distances.

What this all comes down to is just one more challenge, and with all I've been through over the last four years, what's another challenge to me? If I haven't shown I can't meet challenges head on and conquer them, then I don't know what I've shown.

So, 20 miles? Bring it. Give me your best shot, and I'll show you what I'm made of.

Rain? Not Today

I worried for nothing.

I really did not sleep well last night in anticipation of today's run. It wasn't a positive anticipation though as I knew there would be challenges. But I did well to meet them head-on and got a massive dose of good luck.

Last night when I checked the weather, it was supposed to rain in the morning, through 9 a.m. But when I checked the weather this morning, it was only supposed to rain until 6:30. But when I stepped out my front door at 5:50, it was not raining. And it did not rain at all during my run!

I still wore my rain gear - gloves, hat, jacket, wicking shirt - but I didn't need it to keep me dry.

The night before, I'd realized I had no Gu (HATE when that happens) so I improvised. I took a Clif bar with me and ate half of it around the 4-mile mark, and the other half close to nine miles.

I tried to run about the same pace as I do on Sundays, so I didn't set any new course records. It took me just over an hour to hit the six-mile mark.

Towards the end of my run, I decided to take run through a neighborhood near my daughter's school. My attempt at six miles out, six miles back didn't quite work so I had to make up some miles somewhere. This was my attempt and it was not my greatest idea. The neighborhood is a "working class neighborhood" which is a nice way of saying it's a sh__hole. Ghetto. Junk cars and dirt lawns everywhere, chain-link fences hanging by threads surrounding many of the houses and, of course, dogs. So many dogs everywhere. Most of them were behind some sort of fence, and since I had my iPod on I couldn't hear them too much, but my eyes were constantly scanning the houses in front and behind me.

I made it about three-fourths of the way through this trashy area, nearing the 10.5-mile mark, when I saw two German shepherds up ahead. They were probably 50 yards in front of me, and they were both just kind of hanging out. They saw me. I saw them. We made eye contact. The hairs on my thighs stood up. I decided it would be best to turn around, so I slowly did. I looked back and they'd stopped looking at me. I went back to the street I'd been on, and made a left to get out of this trashy area.

And wouldn't you know, some other dogs were hanging out in front of their houses as well. One of them ran at me, barking. This dog was a smaller dog. Unlike the German shepherds, I could have taken this one on with my right foot, but the dog wanted only to incite me. So the dog kept its distance.

Finally, I was near my house and maybe it was the time (it was almost 8 a.m.) but there were more dogs saluting me on the way out than on the way back. But I got my 12 miles in, actually 12.1, in about 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Even though it didn't rain on me, I was drenched. I guess the warmth of the jacket made me sweat more than normal because my shirts were soaked, and my shorts were too.

The Clif bar worked well, and so did the iPod. I made a Rainy 12-Miler playlist which I may post later this week (too lazy to do it right now, sorry) but some songs worked well (Led Zeppelin's Fool in the Rain) and some didn't (Prince's Purple Rain).

All in all, a great way to start off a Sunday.

Sunday Morning Rain

Okay, I'm nervous. I'll admit it. I barely slept last night, and that's the sign of nerves.

It's raining right now. It's early right now. And I'm about to get up and get dressed as soon as I hit Publish Post.

I have a scheduled 12-miler today, and while that distance isn't worrying me, the conditions are. I have to run it alone and in the rain.

But I got some great news. I just checked the weather report and it's supposed to rain until about 6:30 a.m. and then subside. Last night when I checked, the rain was supposed to clear up at about 9 a.m. which meant a steady drizzle during my run. Instead, I might only have to put up with the rain for about 30 minutes, or one-fourth of the time. I'll take that.

I had thought about running some outside and then going home and knocking out the final portion on the treadmill but I'll probably just run six miles out and then six miles back. There's a lonely road by my house that doesn't see a lot of traffic and I might run along that.

I made a playlist too last night and included a lot of rain-related songs, songs like Prince's Purple Rain, Metallica's Ride The Lightning, Creedence Clearwater Revival's Have You Ever Seen The Rain? and probably the most appropriate song, Led Zeppelin's Fool in the Rain.

Yeah, I'll be that fool in the rain. But at least I'm a well-conditioned and determined fool.

I won't be able to update my blog for a while after my run but I'll get back to you and let you know how it went. I'm sure I'll have a decent story to tell.

Woo hoo! I made it! I reffed three games in the rain and lived to blog about.

The first game wasn't too bad as it rained only during the first half. But for the second game I was moved to the jv field for the jv third place game. That field was mostly mud and I got drenched and very muddy. I went back to the turf field for the third game, changed out of my muddy cleats and went right back to it.

It rained for most of the third game and it was cold! My feet were frozen!

Sometimes the school will cancel the games if the weather is bad but this was a tournament and they decided to play on through.

I survived, and now I need to funnel my energy and thoughts towards Sunday's 12-miler, which I will run by myself. Can't meet up with the Lopers, so I have to do it alone.

Wish me luck!

What are you doing or what did you do pass the time Saturday afternoon?

It can't be as bad as my day :)

I'm in my car, getting ready to brave the rain. I will referee not one, not two but three high school girls soccer games, one right after the other.

Its coming down pretty good right now. This isn't a sprinkle or off-and-on rain. The rain drops are fat and plentiful, and the sky is gray. It's 1 PM here and the lights are on at the field because visibility is difficult already.

At least it is a synthetic turf field. But still, I'd rather be indoors and doing something else.

Oh, the things we do to pay the bills...

No Dread In My Mill

I might get banned from the running community for saying this but...

I don't mind the treadmill so much.

*ducks*

Sorry if I made you throw something at me, but that's just the truth. I don't mind the treadmill so much. There. I said it again.

All things being equal, I prefer to run outdoors. Mostly. If I have to knock out a five-mile run or a 10-mile run, I'd much rather do it outside, whether it's on the streets around my neighborhood or a running trail somewhere.

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't pass up a 70-degree-and-sunny day to go run on the 'mill. I have. And I will.

I must be out of my mind, right? Well, maybe. But I think I have some good reasons for harboring some positive thoughts for the treadmill.

For starters, during my weight-loss journey, I did all the exercises indoors, at the gym, mostly on machines or weight sets. I did lunges and sprints and used the jump rope (now that sucked!) and things like that but I think all of my cardio I did on the elliptical or stairmaster or stationary bike. I wasn't a runner back then, nor did running appeal to me (can you believe that?!?).

So to me, the treadmill is just another necessary piece of equipment that helps me achieve a goal. I feel bad because I've abandoned everything else to focus on my running - no free weights, no elliptical, nothing - but part of that is my schedule. I can't say "on Monday and Wednesday I'll do this and Tuesday and Thursday I'll do that" because my schedule changes from week to week, from day to day.

And that's the one constant I have too, with regards to my schedule. I have a treadmill at home, and when it's just me and Kennedy here, I can easily set up the treadmill and crank out four or five miles like I've done recently. If it's between running 4-5 miles on the 'mill or not running at all because I can't go outside, that's not a tough choice at all. I can also take Kennedy with me to the gym and use the treadmills there. Again, if it's 70 degrees and sunny but I can't run outdoors because I can't exactly leave Squirrel alone, then it's not a tough choice to make as well.

Now, I get why the term "Dreadmill" has been coined. The thought of getting on there and having to crank out 30, 40 or 50 minutes on the treadmill, looking at yourself in the mirror or some other stagnant image, is just, well, dreadful. I know the feeling. But sometimes when you are running outdoors and you are struggling for whatever reason or you just want to get through a run, having had the experience of just putting your head down and plowing through some miles on the treadmill will help you do the same outdoors. Often times during runs, I can just put my head to grindstone and churn out miles, and that's because I've conditioned myself to do so.

I know I've used it during races before. Instead of focusing on some target up ahead, I can focus on my form and pace, just like I do during my runs on the 'mill. And that helps. The treadmill obviously doesn't relent - if you set it for a 7.0, it stays at a 7.0 - so you have to keep up.

And that's another thing I love about the treadmill. One of my favorite runs is The Interval, and I am not a skilled enough runner to replicate that outdoors. I can fartlek outdoors (mandatory fartlek joke: it's best to fartlek when others aren't around) and all but that's more of an opportunistic run, as opposed to the rigidity of an interval run.

I suppose I could go to my local high school track and formulate some sort of interval run there, but then I'm also up against some obstacles: run during the afternoon or evening, since you can't exactly let yourself on campus during school hours and knock out a run. Or you could limit yourself to doing that on the weekends. But then there's the whole schedule thing, and so I haven't even bothered to try and formulate an interval run on the track.

Anyway, while I look forward to running outdoors, especially with my fantabulous Loper running pals, I don't exactly cringe when it's time for a treadmill run.

That doesn't make me a bad runner, does it?

Friday Leftovers (Dec. 11)

My weekly post of leftover stuff. By the way, the concert rocked! More to come on that.

Word Association

Play here.

1. Hotter :: Oven
2. Negotiator :: Spacey
3. Crimson :: Tide
4. Loses :: Weight
5. Tide :: Water
6. Alan :: Name
7. Fool :: Gold
8. Pink :: Color
9. Palm :: Tree
10. Lipstick :: Gel

You remember the movie The Negotiator? If not, you'll never guess who was one of the stars... I don't know anyone named Alan, so that didn't jar any last name combination. And for Hotter, I thought a bit later that a good one would have been Parry, but I guess since I baked some muffins on Thursday morning the oven was on my mind.

Vaccines

Guess what we did about a week ago?

We waited in line for 90 minutes to get some stuff squirted up our noses. Okay, it wasn't just any stuff, it was the H1N1 flu vaccine. The county we live in has been depleted of its regular flu vaccine and I don't know if it's that that caused a massive turnout or the pandemic that is the H1N1 flu but there were lots of people lined up for the vaccine. And it was free too, so you can't beat that.

The girls did okay in line. It's kind of ironic because we do everything we can to avoid long lines at Disneyland, and when we see a line that is 30-40 minutes or longer, we tend to just keep on walking. But we had no choice. Once at the end, though, we didn't get to go on a ride but rather got to have some syringe fun. Yvie didn't bat an eyelid when it was her turn but Kennedy went from calm to sobbing in about two seconds when she realized what was going on. I'd tried to explain it to her but maybe that wasn't soothing enough ("You can either get a shot or have a spray in your nose, and I don't think you want the shot"). Actually, I don't think the shot was an option for them, but they didn't know that.

So now we're all vaccinated and that's one less thing we have to worry about. The girls still have to get one more round of the vaccine but they'll be okay. And we won't have to wait in line for 90 minutes.

More Miles

This weekend is going to be tricky. I have a 12-mile run scheduled for Sunday. The only problem is, I have something to do early Sunday so I can't go to the Loper meeting/run, which is disappointing. But that also means I have to do the run alone. That's not a big deal, really, but finding the time could be.

I will have plenty of time on Saturday morning, except I have a tripleheader of games to referee on Saturday, starting at 1:20 p.m. They are varsity games, which means I will have a partner, and that means I won't be the only ref out there and I could potentially get away with a little less running. Three varsity games is a lot less running than three JV games, and two of the games will be on a turf field so it'll be easier on my feet.

I could get up early on Sunday morning and get the run in, but then I'd be up against the clock and I might feel rushed. And if there's something I can't stand, is when I feel rushed. So that might be a horrible mental obstacle I throw myself. But that's probably my best option. I'll just get up at 5:30 like I usually do on Sundays except instead of getting in my car and driving to Loma Linda, I'll just get my stuff together and go on a run.

Oh yeah, and the best part is that it's supposed to rain all weekend.

LB's Song of the Week

Lately, all we've been listening to is Christmas music. We have songs in the stereo at our house, on my iPod which we plug into a radio for the girls and through our Sirius radio and CD player on our car. It's not exactly overload because I figure I get 12 months' worth of music in about a five-week span.

But when I stow the Christmas music away for another 11 months, we'll get back to enjoying our beloved songs once more.

Like this one. I was never a Lisa Loeb fan but she released a children's music CD and the songs I heard from it were really good. I've been meaning to buy it for Yvie because she likes them.

I don't think this song is on there, though. But we bought this song on iTunes and enjoy it.

Rockin' Out

Yeah, I'm here again today. Well, not actually here as I wrote this up earlier today but just wanted to share some exciting news. Tonight I'm attending a Metallica concert!!! Okay, that's only exciting to me and only exciting if you're a Metallica fan, but I'm super-pumped!!

They probably won't play Orion, my favorite running song of 'em all, but that's okay. I'm sure I'll hear some pretty fan-frickin-tastic songs. I saw them last December, much closer to my house, and had some really great seats and I'm sure tonight's show will be as memorable as that one.

I'll let you know the set list and how it went at some point.

Giveaway

No, not my giveaway. I'd love to offer a giveaway and I may at some point, just haven't quite figured out what to give away.

Anyway, my rockin' blog buddy Christy of It Just Looks Like Slow Motion is offering a giveaway at her blog which consists of... well, you'll have to check it out to see what it's all about.

Christy is sort of new to running. She recently knocked out a PR in a 5K on Thanksgiving, about five days after running the Ragnar Relay Florida. That's a fantastic stretch of time, to run the Ragnar Relay and then to PR in a 5K. Hats off to Christy!

She's also running in the Disney World Marathon in January, her first marathon. I'm actually a tad bit jealous. If you read this blog at all, you know how much I love Disneyland. So combining two of my loves - running and Disneyland - would be something that could happen only if I wished upon a star, or something. Maybe Disneyland will expand their Half-Marathon Weekend into a Marathon and Half-Marathon Weekend, then that'd be great.

But for the time being I'll have to live vicariously through Christy. She'll run her marathon about three weeks before I run mine so I'll have enough time to cancel... I mean, adequately prepare myself for Surf City based on her own experience.

Anyway, go check out her blog!

Running Tunes

My favorite running song - by far - is Metallica's Orion. In second place, and mostly by association, is Damage Inc., also by Metallica.

Sunday's race cemented that, as if it needed it. They are the last two songs on the Master of Puppets CD, and I never split them up. That combination led me to the finish at the Run Through Redlands, the Mission Inn 10K and Sunday's 15K. I really didn't plan it that way, especially in the Half, since the iPod crashed out on me around Mile 11 or so.

I like the song because it is long (about eight minutes, maybe more) so I can knock out a mile while it plays. It's got the perfect combination in terms of being something upbeat and heavy at the same time. It's also an instrumental so I tend to just lose myself in the rhythm and then lose myself in my thoughts. And then Damage Inc. is just a heavy, heavy song that just gets me super-pumped and allows me to release my energy.

I'm not sure about the look of the Surf City playlist (in case you havent' noticed I've been throwing songs on the right side somewhere that will comprise my Surf City playlist). Well, I am 100 percent certain that those two songs will be on the playlist of course but I am not sure at what point to bring them in. I guess I'll have some time to think about that.

What's your favorite running song? What song do you enjoy working out to?

What song do you think I should throw on my running playlists?

I have some older classic rock stuff that I don't really listen to. I have the entire Led Zeppelin collection, some greatest hits CDs by The Guess Who, Kansas, The Who, Rod Stewart, The Cars, John Lee Hooker, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac... I ripped a lot of CDs for my father-in-law a while ago to put on his computer and just sort of helped myself. Plus my brother got more music the same way and gave me a bunch of it. Anyway, let me know if I'm missing out on some good tunes.

For instance, I just started listening to The Eagles' Take It Easy last week and it is an awesome song to run to.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure why I haven't run to Led Zeppelin. Maybe I'll start there.

More Reason To Worry

Okay, I'm breathing a bit easier now than I was when I posted my earlier post (read it if you haven't read it, it'll make more sense!). Thanks as always for the support.

Now as promised, here is the second part of marathon stuff from my pace leader.

****
Starting about two weeks before the marathon: no red meat, sweets, fried foods, or alcohol

Starting Friday (two days before the marathon): no dairy, careful of fruits and vegetables, reduce protein, eat more than usual, and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Saturday evening: do not overeat. You don’t want to be full/sluggish for the marathon.

Carbo-loading-the week before the marathon:

* Theory #1-Eat mostly protein Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Starting Thursday, just eat carbs.
* Theory #2-Eat only carbs the whole week before the marathon.

Food ideas:

Oatmeal (with blueberries)
Waffles, Pancakes, French Toast (no/little syrup)
Eggs
Bagels-whole grain (with peanut butter)
English Muffin/Bread-whole grain
Graham Crackers
Pretzels
Popcorn (light)
Fruit-bananas
Yogurt
Brown Rice with Chicken or Fish
Black Bean and Rice Burrito
Potatoes (baked, sweet, yams)
Whole Wheat Pasta (with marinara)
Sandwiches (with lean meat)
Salads (watch dressing)
Vegetables

Workouts: If you have any injuries, do not do any short runs/walks the week before the marathon. If you are completely injury free, run/walk 3-4 miles only. If you do weights, use less weight week of marathon. Don’t use heavy weights on legs week of marathon.

Get a pedicure one week before the marathon. Do not do it close to the marathon in case skin is accidentally cut or a nail is cut too short.

Get as much sleep as you can Thursday and Friday nights.

Post Marathon: On Tuesday, run/walk 1-2 easy miles. On Thursday, run/walk 3 easy miles. Your pace will be slower for a while. That is normal. Do not be discouraged. Be back every Sunday to rebuild your miles. We do it gradually. Usually increasing by 2 miles a week.

***

Okay, that's a lot of information. I suppose it's a good thing to know now, less than two months from the marathon.

I had had some general idea about the whole tapering off and carbo-loading and all that but it seems a bit more in-depth than just eating some extra pasta.

This part of the e-mail, I'll have to pay close attention to the weeks leading up to the marathon. I won't have any problem giving up sweets, fried food and alcohol but red meat, while we don't have it every day, we have it often. Anyway, I'll have to figure out some chicken or pork dishes so that shouldn't be too much of an issue I guess. Extra chorizo for LB! That's not red meat, is it? The best way for me will be to actually plan menus. I don't really do that, but I think I need to.

So the rest of my training will divide up nicely then. There's the time from now until the 20th, when we'll run 20 miles. Then there will be the time from after that run until Jan. 17, when we will run 22 miles (!) which will be our longest training run. Then, we'll run 12 and 10 and then it's the marathon. So after the 22-miler, I'll have to pay close attention to the menu and all the food and stuff.

That will be the point of no return. LB's Death March. Dead LB Walking.

I get knots in my stomach just thinking about that. But I think I'll be okay, and maybe like Jephy's Mom said, I might worry enough from now 'til then to just completely rid myself of the worries, or at least most of them anyway.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Worry!

It's still a long time away, right? The marathon isn't anytime soon, is it?

I'm not starting to get jitters about it or anything. Me, over-worry??? Nah... you must be thinking of some other blogger.

Ahem.

(whistling)

Okay, I've been known to make mountains out of mole hills. I've over-thought and over-worried about things since I was little. So it's no surprise then that I am starting to, just now feeling, just now getting around to begin the worrying process over the marathon.

Let me get this out of my system now...

Holy crap, I'm running a MARATHON!!!

That's like 26 miles, right?

Um, 26 point 2 to be precise. It's going to be a solid four-and-a-half hours of running if I'm lucky; if not, that could extend closer to five.

If I'm LUCKY I will run for four-and-a-half hours!!!

Talk about bad luck...

Yet, that race is on Feb. 7, and that is still a looooong time away. I mean, we haven't even hit Christmas for crying out loud. Let alone New Year's. Well, it will be here soon enough, before I know it I imagine, but we have to get 2009 out of the way first.

So why am I beginning to fret? Why am I acting like I need to start getting my stuff together for Surf City? Like it's this weekend already...

Because I got this from my pace leader.

***
Marathon Checklist:

Shoes
Socks
Shorts/Running Pants
Top (a couple of layers)
Gloves
Headband/Ear Warmer
Hat
Sunglasses
Sunscreen (try on training runs first)
Water Bottle/Pack/Sports Drink
Kleenex
Gu (or whatever you use-I use 5 for a marathon: miles 4, 8, 12, 16, & 20)
Hard Candy
Body Glide
Watch/GPS (make sure it’s charged)
Race Number/Pins
Timing Chip
Directions
Camera
Confirmation Form
Band-aids (just in case-put in pack)
Tylenol 8 Hour
Breakfast (bring what you usually eat before long runs)
Emergency Money (Never know-put in packs)

Make sure you wear something (shirt or hat) to identify yourself as a Loper... This is needed to so we can encourage one another along the course...

For finish line pictures: Do not stop your watch until you have passed the finish line (it will only be a 1 or 2 second difference). You don’t want to be looking down at your watch for your picture.

****

I had to re-read the last lines, the part about finishing. I mean, she actually expects me to finish the race? I don't think she realizes how long the race is.

And this isn't even half of the e-mail. Literally. I'm going to split it up between this post and another one, because I almost choked on the whole thing when I read it the first time. And the second. And it hasn't gone down any easier in any of the other readings since then.

I have to concentrate on breathing now.

And why is my body shaking?

Post-15K Post

Some post-race thoughts on Sunday's Holiday Classic 15K that didn't make it into the race report...

* So what was my pace? I finished in 1:21:48, but how does that translate over into a longer race? My time amounts to a pace of 8:46 per minute, and translated over 13.1 miles, that would be a finish time of 1:54:50! Would I be able to maintain that pace for another six kilometers? I don't know, but I would sure love to find out. Now I'm itching to run another half!

Looking back on the race and how I was running those middle miles, miles 6 and 7 and 8, I would like to think that I can maintain that pace for another four miles or so. I don't know, maybe I'd hit the wall around Mile 11 like I did during my Half, but again I think with some Gu and the fuel belt, and a solid foundation to run in, I'm confident there would be no wall.

I do think that my pace would slow down over 13.1 miles, even if I don't hit the dreaded wall, but I'd have essentially five minutes to play with so even if I did slow down, maybe it wouldn't be enough to keep me from finishing in under two hours.

The bad thing is, of course, I will have to wait for a while to test myself at 13.1 miles once more. But if nothing else I will be extra hungry when I do run another half.

* The race distance is still a bit strange to me, even after having ran it. I consulted with The Book before the race and it said to treat a 15K like you would a half-marathon, so I didn't want to exert too much energy in Miles 3-7 or so. In hindsight I probably could have picked up the pace right at Mile 7 but I waited a bit longer. That might have shaved some time off, but I don't know that it would have been significant, and I might not have had enough gas left in the tank to sprint at the finish like I did.

* Remember my Loper pal Meriel? She kicked major ass in the race. Her time was 1:13:55!!! That's a pace of under eight minutes. Over a 15K race, that is impressive. Heck, over an anything distance that's really good. Best of all, she finished fifth overall for women. Not in her age category, but overall of any woman that ran in the race. Translated over 13.1 miles, that pace would give her a finish time of 1:43:42. I am in awe.

* Looking back at the Motivational Monday post, I know I'm a much better runner now than I was at the beginning of the year. And I say that because of my most recent races. I have gained a lot of knowledge and logged a lot of miles and naturally that has translated over well. I am conditioning myself to run a marathon, after all, so my body needs to prepare for that.

When I ran my first three races of the year, I didn't have nearly the base I have now. That's why I want to run another marathon in 2010, preferably in the spring. I will have a great foundation in place and I don't want to hit the reset button. I want to continue logging miles, continue improving my performances and gaining experience.

Our Loper season ends on Feb. 21 with a 12-mile run in the morning and I do want to continue running double-digit miles on the weekends, whether it's with a group of Lopers or myself. I'm hoping to have decided by then what Marathon to run next and that will probably help me formulate a plan.

Motivational Mondays (Dec. 7)

We've still got a few weeks left before we close out 2009 and move into 2010, but my 2009 race calendar is in the books. Sunday's Holiday Classic 15K was the last race I will have run in during 2009. In all, I ran in six races this year.

Now, I realize that six races is not a lot to many runners. That's an average of one every two months, and other runners out there run races more frequently than that.

But consider this: before 2008, I'd run in exactly zero races, so I ran six more races in 2009 than I'd ran in my entire life up until 2008. In '08 I ran in three races, so I doubled my races from last year to this year.

What does 2010 hold in store? Beyond Surf City, not sure. But what I am sure is that I need only look back at my races in 2009 to draw motivation and strength from, and to prove to myself that I have the ability to meet challenges head on, and have fun while doing so.

A look back at my races in 2009:

April 4: Seal Beach 10K

My first race of 2009 was an unexpected, last-minute 10K that I ran with my brother Danny. I don't think we had planned it but a few days before, or even a week before the race itself.

At the time, I was training for my half-marathon and figured this would have been a good tune-up race. It was very discombobulated from the beginning, and my time reflected it. I ran in 56:00 and while that is a respectable time, I wasn't quite happy with it.

Still, knowing what I now know, I realize that my time was more of a reflection of my overall training than the morning's events.

I was happy that I participated in a race again, as I'd considered and scrapped other races before this one, including a 5K in January.

Race report here.

Will I run this again in 2010: No. There are other 10Ks closer to my house that I'd prefer over this race.

April 19: Run Through Redlands Half Marathon

My shining race moment of 2009. Even though I'd go on to run other races, enjoyable races, races in which I didn't feel like my heart was going to beat out of my chest after I finished, I think this was the monster race obstacle I conquered in 2009.

After running my first Mud Run and the 2008 Mission Inn 10K, I decided the next logical step in my running was to shoot for a half. I hadn't joined the Lopers and was only doing things by myself, which is to say I did a lot of things improperly (no Gu, no fuel belt, no real training schedule). And again my time reflected that.

But that's not to say that I didn't conquer the beast, that I didn't meet the 13.1-mile challenge head-on and lived to tell about it.

Race report here.

Will I run this again in 2010? Maybe. I really want to run another half in 2010, and this might be one of the half-marathons I run next year, if I can squeeze in more than one during the calendar.

June 13: Camp Pendleton Mud Run

What fun! Another Mud Run came and went, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first one.

The Mud Run was the reason I got into running, and the inspiration for the name of this blog. I signed up for a Mud Run scheduled for October 2008 and thus had to train for it. Along the way I realized that I loved to run, and it became a bit of an obsession.

This year, my goal wasn't just to finish the Mud Run but to do well in it. I wanted to beat my time of 1:07:44 from the first year, and secretly wanted to get close to an hour. I set a new PR (1:06:52) but was not too close to an hour.

Still, one of my goals for 2010 will be to beat my brother Danny's Mud Run time from 2009. I'm pretty confident I can get close since we were even at one point late in the race.

Race report here.

Will I run this again in 2010? You bet your ass I will.

Oct 9-10: Ragnar Relay Las Vegas

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for the Ragnar Relay. I was worried, anxious, excited and nervous... and pretty much any other adjective you could describe, before the race. But mostly I was just unaware. Totally unaware of what was in store for me.

To say it went well would not even begin to describe it. I completely, utterly and totally enjoyed myself. I fell in love with the Ragnar Relay. When I want to think of something uplifting, all I need to do is to pick some random moments during the race and I instantly feel good, whether it was laying down on a patch of rocks at midnight and trying to sleep or gearing up for my first leg while wearing a reflective vest and headlamp, or the fantastic breakfast we had at an empty restaurant in a casino somewhere outside of Vegas.

It was a monster challenge that required a great deal of determination, motivation and - most of all- teamwork, and our team, the awesome Desert Tortoises, rose to the challenge.

Race reports for Leg 1, Leg 2 and Leg 3.

Will I run this again in 2010? Oh how wonderful it would be to run this again. I'd love to run this race once more, and I'd really really love to run another one of these as they are all over the country. The Wasatch Back one is in June and might be interesting to participate in. Since going to Seattle, though, I've really been intrigued by the Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage, which is in July and goes from Blaine to Langley. That's probably just a fantasy though, but I'd love to make the Ragner Relay Las Vegas a reality in 2010.

Nov. 8: Mission Inn Run 10K

After setting a time of just over 52 minutes in this 10K race in 2008, I wondered if I would be able to beat that time this year and worried that I was somehow not as strong of a runner in 2009, late 2009 that is, than I was in 2008 even though I was more knowledgeable, stronger, better prepared, etc., now than before.

So I was excited then that I not only set a new PR but smashed the old one in the process.

The race was fantastic all the way through as I felt great from the moment I crossed the start line to my sprint into the finish. I set a new bar for future 10Ks but it is one I feel I can scale.

Race report here.

Will I run this race again in 2010? I will run the Mission Inn Run in 2010 but not the 10K. I will run the half-marathon. It's not until November but I will be excited for it when it arrives.

Dec. 6: Holiday Classic 15K

A great way to close out my race calendar.

The 15K was a strange distance and I did not know whether to push myself all the way through like I'd done in the 10K or if I should approach it like a half marathon. In the end, I think my approach was a cautious one but I still had a respectable time, and one that I'm proud of.

It was great to have run a race like this to close out the calendar as I got a lot of support from fellow Lopers and random people because I wore pink, because others identified me as a Loper.

That just made it a fitting end since I've become a much better runner because I joined the Lopers.

Race report here.

Will I race this again in 2010? Not sure. December of 2010 seems like such a long time from now, it's tough to say.

*****

One interesting note about all these races was that I had the support of all my blog buddies to help me along the way, and that alone makes these races and experiences special, and I can't wait to continue that into next year.

Overall, I feel like even though I may not have had the quantity, I more than made up for it with the quality of races. The Mud Run is not just another 10K, and the Ragnar Relay is not just another race. And when my shortest race was a 10k, I think I did well to conquer longer distances.

I know that I will start my 2010 race calendar off with a gigantic challenge (Surf City Marathon on Feb. 7) and a race that could easily move into my number one slot of best race memories, but I do know that even then it will be tough for the 2010 race calendar to be as enjoyable and rewarding as this year's was.

Holiday Classic 15K: More Challenges

It's a good thing I got all this together last night.

It was almost 6 a.m. on Sunday, and I was just getting close to leaving. Several last-minute things threatened to slow me down from leaving my house: The Garmin and Gu were still hiding from me, the iPod was charging and I still had to make a pot of coffee for Mrs. LB, my Sunday morning ritual.

But everything else was taken care of, and I was glad I didn't have to hunt down my headphones, shoes or car keys like I usually do. Careful not to make too much sound, I grabbed a Clif bar, a bag with all of my running gear and tiptoed through the hallway so as not to wake the sleeping females.

It was a little after 6 a.m. and I was on the road, wondering what to expect from the Holiday Classic. It was a 15K race and I was still struggling on what to set as a goal. 1:20? 1:25? Surely I can finish faster than 1:30, so how much of a goal would that be?

Brrr.... put your gloves on.

A flashing sign in front of a bank near the start line blinked 55 degrees, so I put my gloves on. I wore black shorts, a black undershirt and my pink Lopers shirt, and since the race was going to end for me a little after 8, the sun would definitely be out by then, so I didn't need a long-sleeve shirt dragging me down.

I went and picked up my bib and race t-shirt, stopped at the porta-potties (or Honey Buckets as they are known to Washingtonians) and went back to my car to toss the t-shirt in.

Glad I went before.

The Honey Bucket line was more than twice the size it was on my way out, and I counted that as a positive sign for me. It was near the start time, so I needed all the positive vibes I could get. I walked over to the start line and saw my Loper buddy Meriel. She looked upbeat but said she was not looking forward to the race. She still insisted I could run in about 1:20, but I was not as enthused. At that point, I just wanted to run a solid race and let the time take care of itself.

After the anthem was sung and some words were said by a few speakers, we were off. I started The Garmin once I crossed the start line. The first few steps were tough. We went straight into an uphill climb, went around several houses before we sloped back down.

There she is.

I'd lost track of Meriel in the pre-race madness, but I spotted her now-familiar gait and white shirt up ahead. It's familiar now because I usually fall behind her during our Sunday runs. I figured if I could stay with her, I'd finish in under 1:20. But it was clear from the start that that would be a challenge.

While a glut of runners clogged the otherwise quiet streets of Loma Linda, there was still room to manuever. I didn't need to run around too many runners. I didn't want to start too fast but finished my first mile in under 8 minutes.

I thought of my tempo run from earlier in the week and tried to slow it down. I struggled with that until the 5K runners turned off. The 15K route swung a familiar right, and suddenly the number of runners thinned out.

I wonder where Meriel is.

Usually, during our Sunday runs we take this very street that I was now plodding along on. Usually I don't have my iPod on and usually I'm talking to somebody about running or movies or families or whatever the conversation may be about. But this day, I was thinking only of a race.

I really can't stay - Baby it's cold outside
I've got to go away - Baby it's cold outside...

A smile flashed across my face. The steady stream of hard guitar riffs and gruffy voices on my iPod suddenly gave way to a jovial and festive song, and I thought of Kerrie T and Seattle. Kerrie had listened to some holiday songs during her half marathon just one wee ago, and I'd thrown on this song for her. I don't know if it was the song or thinking back to my Cedar River Run but that helped settle me down. I was just entering the middle portion of the run and my speed was not improving much, but it was steady. And at that point, I would gladly have taken steady.

Alright man! Good job!

Up ahead, I'd seen some flashing lights and as it approached I realized it was the pace car, and the first-place 15K runner behind it, so I said my congraluatory words to him and thought how it would feel to be able to run so fast for such a long distance.

Meanhile, I plodded ahead, trying to stay under 9-minutes-per-pile pace. Blowing air into my chilly hands, I crossed the four-mile mark but didn't see the turnaround quite yet.

Fucking shit!!!

I looked down at my wrist and The Garmin was not on. The batteries had apparently ditched me, and now was not the time to be left alone. Feeling naked and vulnerable, I cursed my misfortune and tried to keep my temper from getting the best of me.

I wanted to have a cruise-control option. I figured if I could just get my body to run at a certain speed and allow me to not think about my pace, that would be grand. I couldn't tell how fast or slow I was going now, so I had to do my best to concentrate.

Come on Luis!

I finally saw Meriel. She was smiling, moving effortlessly in the opposite direction I was headed. She'd passed the turnaround point and looked like she'd have no problem finishing in under 1:20. I smiled back at her and clapped my hands, though only a muffled sound eminated from my cold hands.

Finally, the turnaround was up ahead, a flew blocks down. As I approached it, I wondered how long I'd been running.

Time to Gu.

I had initially wanted to take Gu at around the halfway point so I got the Gu out. But I hesitated. I wondered if it would be better to Gu later, closer to the final quarter of the run. I decided that, when I saw the Mile 6 marker I would suck that Gu packet dry.

After what seemed like a 15-minute mile, I saw the Mile 6 sign and rewarded myself with a strawberry-flavored gooey substance.

I continued trudging along, hoping my pace was good. I'd settled into a rhythm but had no idea if it was too slow, too fast or just right. I figured that I should just concentrate on running a little more than I felt like running, because I was starting to feel the run in my legs, on my feet and, particularly, in my nipples. I'd decided against wearing tape and had cursed my decision now for a good three miles.

There were only a few runners ahead of me to target, but they eventually moved ahead and out of sight. I wondered how long I'd been running.

Okay, there you go. Must be the Gu.

I felt a splash of energy, most notably on thighs. I felt like my body had just taken a deep breath and I was ready to go once more. I chalked it up to the Gu packet and thought how it was the opposite of the third and final Gu packet I'd taken during the Cedar River Run, when I might as well should have smeared it on my legs as it would have had the same effect.

Go Loper!

Since I wore my pink Loper shirt, I heard a lot of encouragement along the course because of it. This latest time, I smiled and waved at the well-wisher. At least, I thought I waved. I might have just moved my fingers around, but I was appreciative of the support nevertheless.

I sped past the Mile 8 sign and felt a surge of energy because of it. Once I saw the Mile 9 marker, I was flying. I thought about all of the races I'd ran this year, the huge race I'll run on Feb. 7 and of all the support I have from my blog buddies, my family, my Lopers.

Leave NOTHING behind.

I crossed the Mile 9 marker and figured that, since my race calendar had all of .3 miles left on it, I might as well leave everything I had on the streets of Loma Linda. I flew. My legs churned, my arms moved back and forth with ferocity. I could think of nothing but the person in front of me, and when I passed them, I thought of nothing but the next person.

I rounded a corner and saw the big FINISH sign. There was a runner about 20 or 30 feet ahead of me, slowing down as she neared the finish sign, but I was the opposite. I was just getting to my high gear.

No way!

The clock read 1:21:47 when I saw it. I was taken aback because I'd figured I was going to finish right around 1:25. That gave me the last bit of strength I needed and I passed the slowing runner down before crossing over the finish line.

Alright!

I counted my unofficial finish time as 1:22, and counted that as a good time (once at home, I saw my time was 1:21:48!). An older gentleman congratulated me and held up a medal. I leaned forward and he swung the medal around my neck. I said my thanks, grabbed a water bottle and sipped it as I tried to catch my breath.

Nipples thundering with pain, muscles starting to throb and shout, I hobbled towards my car with a smile on my face.

Good job!

Pre-race Thoughts

Well, it's one day until the Holiday Classic and my first 15K race. I think after having reflected on it earlier this week that I've changed my goal once more. Originally I'd wanted to run it in about 1 hour 20 minutes but that went out the window when I struggled in my tempo run. Then I thought about 1 hour 23 minutes but now I'm not even sure I can do that. I'm guessing I'll finish between 1 hour 25 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes.

My legs are tired and they will be tired on Sunday morning. I ran 5 miles on the treadmill Friday morning, then had a varsity girls soccer game that afternoon, and today I'm slated for two games. I'm not going to get much of a chance to rest before Sunday.

But I'm focused and prepared. At least I will be once Sunday comes here. And before I move on to my playlist, I tore the tape off my nips on Friday. I made myself do it during my treadmill run, in a way that nobody could tell what I was doing. It hurt but of course not too bad, at least not as bad as I'd thought.

And then my nips hurt during the soccer game. Crap! I can't win for trying.

Anyway, I'm actually very excited to listen to this playlist for Sunday's run.


I mixed it up a bit and didn't put the usual running songs in there. Well, some I did but not all.

Can you believe I never put Nirvana's In Utero CD on my iPod even though I've had that CD for a long, long time? I'm very excited to run to some of the songs on there. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter is a fantastic song, if you like hard music. I can't wait to run to that!

And notice the Christmas song on there? I'm not totally sure how that is going to work but that song is in honor of Kerrie T, who used some holiday songs during her half-marathon last week. She's an inspiration, and I could always use some inspiration during races. And that song is probably my favorite holiday song, well, one of my top three anyway.

I started to get some jitters for this race on Friday so I guess that means I'm looking forward to the race.

Friday Leftovers (Dec. 4)

Another Friday, another batch of thwarted thoughts and blog posts that didn't make it to the big stage.

Word Association

Play here.

1. MacGyver :: gum
2. Garter :: belt
3. Wedge :: drive
4. Inches :: feet
5. Code :: Morse
6. Water :: vapor
7. Running :: shoes
8. Curly :: cue
9. Turkey :: feast
10. Stupor :: drunken

I used to watch MacGyver all the time. I guess the joke was that he could make anything out of gum and a paper clip, or something to the effect. And as for the belt... hey now!

Issues, Issues and More Issues

I have a confession to make. I've had tape on my nipples all week. It's not by choice necessarily but they've been covered with tape nonetheless. I put tape on before Saturday's 10-mile run in the rain because, well, because that's what I've been doing lately to prevent bleeding. And I didn't really want to rip it off and then repeat the process for Sunday's 10-miler, so when the tape didn't budge in the shower I left it alone.

After Sunday's run, I tried again to yank it off but the tape must have grown roots because it was grabbing hold like no other tape has done before. I've tried numerous times this week to ease the tape off in the shower but to no avail. The last time I had tape on the nips and took it off forcefully was a day or two before Thanksgiving, and it took about 20-30 minutes of me being a sissy, I mean, me gently tugging at the tape and trying to pull it off. I felt frustrated afterward because it took so much stinking time and it ended up hurting anyway.

In case you're new to Muddy Runner, these Nipple Chronicles have been ongoing. This particular post has pictures that Tats referred to as gnarly. The pics aren't of the actual nipples [you have to pay to see those ;) ] but some of the stuff they leave behind, the fallout if you will.

I feel like I'm just getting to my wits end again. So much tape has gone on and come off and gone on and come off recently that it's just frustrating. But that's the price I pay, I suppose. I know other male runners are not as affected as this as I am so sometimes I feel sort of alone in my plight but then again I don't get blisters or other things (knock on wood) so I can't complain too much.

Once this tape comes off, and it's coming off today no matter how hard I have to pull, I'm going to stick with the skin-tight undershirt that worked well for the most part. It started to not work well last month but I want to lay off the tape for a while. My awesome blog buddy Tahoegirl sent me some really cool stuff that helps take the edge off. It's like Body Glide, which I also use. Both really do help with the pain but the nipples still bleed unless I run a really short run or I use tape.

Oh yeah, one other issue. Remember my black toenail? The one that appeared here? Well, it has a dancing partner now. The same toenail on the right foot has started to go black.

It's actually not new. That one, the tonenail on the right foot, went black first, I believe sometime around January or February. It left for a while as it was back to normal but now it's returned and singing... cue AC/DC...

Back in black
I hit the sack
I've been too long I'm glad to be back...

...'Cause I'm back; Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back; Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm ba-a-ack, ba-a-ack
(Well) I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black

Dog Pile

What's up with my dogs? I swear, these face-lickers just can't calm down. They have to be right up on me, right in my face. I'm only sorta mildly irritated when they do this. I mean, I don't really care most of the time but it would be nice to have some $#@&*!# space.

The dog looking at you is named Rooney and he's kind of a scaredy-cat. He is actually scared of cats. Seriously. Well, except for our cat, who is literally twice his size. The dog behind him, Tevez, is the food-eater and more aggressive one. He's like a sausage with legs, although we've worked hard on him being less aggressive with food, and it's worked.

The dogs are about two years old, both chihuahuas. They don't bark up a storm because we worked very hard with them to avoid them becoming the kinds of dogs that bark at every little thing. Nothing annoys me more than that, and what's really great is we have dogs on either side of us that bark a lot. Cool.

Oh, and notice the sticker on my laptop behind Rooney? I know, you're jealous.

Yeah, I was trying to blog when my dogs decided to make themselves comfortable on my lap. So I took a picture of them. And then I chased them away.

LB's Song of the Week

This might be my favorite children's artist. TMBG is making a strong case, but before them there was Dan Zanes.

Dan Zanes was actually in a "real" band, something called the Del Fuegos. Not familiar with them. But now he's a children's artist. He got into kids music because he realized that, when he had his own kids, there wasn't much out there that both the kids and parents could enjoy. There are some CDs the girls have that are excruciating, like I-want-to-rip-my-ears-out excruciating. So I naturally gravitated towards stuff like Dan Zanes because can not only get through it just fine but I actually enjoy some of it.

Like this one.

Reffing Adventures

I'm not even a week into my second year of refereeing high school soccer and it's already been an interesting week. Let's see... two games, two coaches yelled their displeasure with me, two coaches were yellow-carded... that's about right.

On Friday, I have my third soccer game of the season - a girl's varsity game. I officiated two junior varsity boys games earlier this week, and each was an adventure. Each game was 4-0 and in each game, the losing team's coach earned a yellow card.

When I say earned, I mean earned. In the first game, the coach yelled "Open your eyes!" at me across the field. That's pretty blatant. And in the second game, the coach yelled "Come on ref, that's four times they've been offside and you missed them!" at me. In each instance, I calmly walked up to the coach and showed him a yellow card, even though I wanted to do more than just pull out a card and wave it in the air.

On Thursday, I actually tried to explain to the coach why I didn't call the offside (I'll explain it to you in a second) and he seemed to take that as an invitation to keep bitching, I mean, conversing. So I raised my finger to him to try and get him to calm down and it worked, sort of. I actually told him also that if he kept at it, I'd show him another card.

If you're not familiar with soccer, players and/or coaches can get one yellow card, which is a caution. They get those for something egregious, like a hard foul, dissent or pushing or even foul language. If they have a yellow and keep at it, they'll get a red card which means they're done. See you later, don't let the proverbial door slam you on the way out. Thursday's coach was thisclose to getting a red card.

Now, offside is a very difficult rule to A) understand and B) enforce. Since I'm working by myself, I'm not looking for offside very much. There are so many things to look for, and with offside you really have to watch where the last defender is, where the attacker is and at what moment the ball is struck. When you are in a two-person system, it's one thing because you are in a position to see the offside (if you are where you should be anyway) but when you are by yourself and roaming in the center of the field, it is extremely difficult to tell where the player is when the ball is played.

And in both games I was in the middle of the field because I was alone. And every other referee I've talked to, both last season and this season, has told me to not even sweat the offside calls when I'm alone, unless it's something totally blatant. So I don't sweat them because they aren't blatant and I can't really tell if there was a last defender standing near the sideline or not.

Sorry if I got a bit too technical there. I realize all my readers don't follow soccer and I don't want to ramble about rules and such.

I've been feeling a bit nervous before the games... well, more than just "a bit." It's tough. You're out there by yourself and everyone is going to be angry at you at some point. I mean, you might as well just get that part out of the way. You. Will. Piss. Everyone. Off. Of course, it's not intentional but soccer is so subjective and everyone clearly knows the rules better than you do; they think they do anyway. But that's one thing I'm very confident in. I know the rules. I know when to give a team the "advantage" - basically to let play continue even though a foul was committed because the attacking team has something good going on. I mean, I've watched so many soccer games, it's second nature. Watching the game and being an active participant and applying the rules, though, are two different things, but I think I did a good job last season of bridging that gap. And this season, it's not really like starting over but I just have to get into a rhythm.

I suppose what it comes down to is that I just have to embrace being the villain. When you ref, you can be and are the most-hated person out there simply because you can do no good. The best-officiated game, the general consensus goes, is one in which you don't notice the referee. So that's something to shoot for, to not be noticed.

Joy.

Holiday Classic

As I've been going through my training for Surf City, I've been able to mostly focus on the next week's long-distance run. So now that we have the Thanksgiving weekend behind us and my series of 10-milers out of the way, I can focus on my next run.

It just so happens that my next run is a race, the Loper's Holiday Classic. It's a 15K race, which is a bit of an odd distance. It's 9.3 miles, or the equivalent of three 5Ks... or a 10K and then a 5K... you get the point.

I'm not sure about what a good time in a 15K constitutes. I used this pace calculator from Runner's World to figure out what a good pace would be for a 15K and it turns out that finishing in 1 hour, 20 minutes would be around an 8:30-per-minute pace. I think that's attainable. Maybe. That seems like a good pace. I ran the Mission Inn 10K in an 8:06-per-minute pace and while stretching that particular pace for another three miles might be tough, I should be able to keep my pace in the 8-minute range.

At least, I thought that was attainable until Wednesday. I hit the gym because I wanted to do a tempo run. I had wanted to run a total of about 45 minutes or so, the first 20 at my goal pace of 8:30 and then minutes 20-40 faster than that. I figured it would be a test of my race strategy, which was to run the first few miles at goal pace and then speed it up in the middle portion while trying to finish strong.

That strategy is out the window. I ran a little more than two miles by the 20-minute mark when I jacked the treadmill from a 7.0 to an 8.0. I wore my heart-rate monitor strap as I'm trying to fix my replacement Polar (battery is dead). About five minutes into my 8.0 pace, I started to really feel it. My heart rate shot up to the high 180s. Keep in mind, my max HR is 186 (220 minus 34, my age, yikes!, is 186) and it was scraping the 190s. I figured it would be best to slow it down to a 7.6, which lowered my pace from a 7:30 to about a 7:55 or so. I was okay. I wanted to lower it some more but made myself stay on. At the 40-minute mark, I slowed it down considerably and wound up running about 5.5 miles in a little more than 45 minutes.

But I was spent. Physically spent. As I stretched, sweat poured off my forehead and dripped down my face and onto my shorts. It was an extraordinary amount of sweat, and a sign that I may have pushed myself too hard. I got Kennedy from the kid's club, went to the nearby grocery store and had a pear to help me recover. For lunch, I had a veggie grinder - I sauteed a bunch of veggies and toasted it on a sourdough sandwich roll in the oven for six minutes - and some plain yogurt over strawberries, so that helped me recover even more.

My strategy now is to finish in under 1 hour 23 minutes. Why 1 hour, 23 minutes? It's under a 9:00 pace and, projected over 13.1 miles, it's about 1 hour 57 minutes. That pace then would help me reach one of my Pie in the Sky goals of finishing a half in under two hours. I still don't really think it's possible for me to run a sub-2 hour half (hence the Pie in the Sky reference) but I'd like to give myself some sort of reason to dream.

While I've spent most of this post rambling about time, I'm going to try and *not* obsess over time, although that is easier said than done. Once I get out there on Sunday, I'm just going to try and run my race, stay true to my training and not do anything stupid. If I finish in 1 hour 23 minutes or better, great. If not, that's fine too.

This is my last race until the big one, Surf City in February. It's not really a dress rehearsal to that one since there is almost two months between the two races. But it's a chance to get my adrenaline flowing in a race setting and tackle a longer distance than the 10K in a race. Since reading so many race reports on the Seattle Half Marathon, I've been wanting to run a race of similar distance soon, so this one will sort of fit the bill. No, it's not the 13.1 beast the half-marathon is, but it's not a 10K either.

It's going to be interesting, that's certain. And then after this, the next biggie will be in two weeks' time: 20 miles on Dec. 20.

More Marathon

Recently, I blogged about finding another marathon in 2010 to participate in. I know, I should probably wait until after my marathon in February to think about another one. I should probably heed some stuff I read about taking some time off after my first full marathon to rest up and recover. The last thing I want to do is get injured, of course, and maybe running a second marathon too soon might not be the best thing.

But Feb. 7 will come and go, and I need something to think about afterward. I've done some scouting and have found a few possibilities. I may do one or none but it's nice to have options.

March 21: Los Angeles Marathon.

Pros: It starts at Dodger Stadium! How grand would that be? Plus, you do get to run through numerous parts of Los Angeles. And it's televised. Certainly a huge big-city event, the biggest big-city event in this part of the country.

Cons: Probably too soon after Surf City. The cost (125) is also unappealing.

LB's thoughts: Not sure why but this does not appeal to me that much. Maybe it just seems like a too-big event, and since I've not run a marathon before, the thought of dealing with both the 26.2 miles and a big-city event like that is just overwhelming. But from what I've heard the Lopers will align their schedule for 2010-11 to run in the 2011 LA Marathon.

Odds: 100/1 (ie very slim)

April 17: Camp Pendleton Hard Corps Marathon

Pros: A relatively small race by comparison (capped at 4,000 runners); if the Camp Pendleton Mud Run is any indication, this event would be well-organized; route along the water and is touted as being the only marathon in the country to be run on a military base.

Cons: Sort of a drive, about 50 miles or so, so I'd have to get a hotel room down near the base; Mrs. LB and the girls are going to be at Surf City but having them come down for another 26.2-miler might be tough;

LB's thoughts: I've had favorable experiences with the Mud Runs down at Camp Pendleton, so there's no reason to think this wouldn't be an enjoyable, well-run, well-organized event. Sometimes, that's all that is necessary to decide between running races. It might come down to deciding between this and the Run Through Redlands (half-marathon) in 2010, which is the next day. Still, I might want to try other half-marathons so we'll see. Anyway, right now this is the frontrunner.

Odds: 5/1

May 2: OC Marathon.

Pros: Runs through three cities in the OC, including part of the route on the beach; close by my house, maybe 40 minutes away so I might not have to get a hotel room; weather would be nice.

Cons: I will have already participated in a marathon in Orange County so not sure if that part would appeal to me; Mrs. LB's birthday is two days later so that would hamper any sort of plans we'd make.

LB's Thoughts: This seems appealing because it is almost three months after Surf City, plenty of time to let my legs rest up before tackling another grueling 26.2 miles. But for some reason, the OC Marathon seems like it would be very similar to Surf City, even though it's not entirely in just one city. The first 10 miles of the OC Marathon are in Newport Beach but it also goes through Irvine and Costa Mesa. It's relatively close to my house (closer than Camp Pendleton) and if I needed to I could stay with family who live in Santa Ana (a lot closer to Newport Beach). Probably a close second to the Camp Pendleton Marathon.

Odds: 7/1

June 6: San Diego Marathon

Pros: Enough time after Surf City to relax and get back into training for another marathon; San Diego is a beautiful city that Mrs. LB, the girls and I don't visit often enough.

Cons: It'd likely be either this or the Mud Run.

LB's thoughts: If this were in May as it was in 2009, it might be more appealing. But since the Mud Runs and this coincide, and the potential for a Ragnar Relay in June, this might get squeezed off my calendar before it got anywhere near it. Which is too bad because I'd thought of this a while back.

Odds: 1000/1.

Anyway, those are the four I've looked at and decided to rank. I know, the thought of running one marathon might seem like a huge task (it does to me) and why burden myself with the thought of another run, especially within a few months of my first marathon? But as I mentioned above, I need something to train for and something to set my sights on. I can't just run Surf City and then take five months off from racing. I think now my backup plan is the Run Through Redlands, and try to best my half marathon time, if I decide against another marathon so soon. But if I want to tackle the beast once more, then I have some choices. Actually two, based on the odds above.

A Rope, A Tree

Can you complete the unflattering rhyme? Maybe after this post you will...

Remember last year - if you were here last year - when I took on a second job, if you will? Well, that second job starts again in earnest today.

LB, the high school soccer referee.

Oh joy!

It actually isn't too bad most of the times. Last year I had a baptism by fire but that's the only way you can get into reffing, to jump in feet first. I had my share of interesting moments, cards that I handed out, calls that I blew, heckles that I endured, anger that I incited. I could write post after post on just those experiences from last season and how bad parents and coaches can be. All in due time I suppose.

Today, actually soon after this post hits the web, I'll be reffing my first soccer game of the season, a junior varsity boys game. By myself. JV games are done solo and varsity games with one partner. Although many of the games I do are girls games, I think I'm so used to watching men's soccer that I can handle the physical play of the boys better than the girls game. The girls game is a strange dynamic sometimes. Things can spiral completely out of control for no good reason. With boys, they tend to build to that but girls can be cunning and will wait for the right moment to pounce.

I hope last week's scrimmage wasn't an indicator of how this season will go. The game was won 7-0 by the more experienced team (it was a girls varsity game) but the losing team committed way too many fouls and even forced me to give one of them a yellow card, even though during scrimmages you really don't need to hand out cards, but one of the losing team's midfielders kicked at another girl's ankle and flattened her from behind. What was I supposed to do?

Anyway, I hope today's game goes well and I hope that I don't have to hand out any cards.

So stick around for some fun times over the next three months as I'll be sure and share my more interesting stories about my officiating experiences.

And as for the rhyme, what could you do to a referee with a rope and a tree?

A rope, a tree
Hang the referee

If I hear that chant - which is a real chant, not something I made up - I'm in trouble :)

End Of An Era

Perhaps I’m being a little too over-dramatic. After all, this "end" I am referring to and will touch on soon won’t happen until the late spring/early summer, but I feel compelled to write about it nevertheless.

I mentioned recently that I want Kennedy to go to school, that I want her to start kindergarten and will be happy when she does so.

While that part is true and has not changed, it doesn’t mean that I’m necessarily anxious and hoping it happens tomorrow. It’s been a bit of a different dynamic here at the LB house for the last two years or so, an ever-changing one. In 2007 and most of 2008, it was LB and the Girls, daily. It was a fun time as the girls were quite young and learning about the world, learning to really communicate (at least Yvie was) and wanting to go and explore different things. We got into Disneyland hard core in 2008 but we also did some other things, such as our weekly Wednesday trip to the local library for storytime.

We had so much fun making our weekly trip to the library. I would send Mrs. LB score updates from the library every week, usually it was about 15-1 in favor of the moms (I was usually the only dad there, although sometimes we’d rack up a few more points and the score would be like 17-2 or something). We’d plan our entire Wednesday morning around it, and often times it looked like this: 8 a.m. gym (kids club for the girls, treadmill for dad); shower, get girls and make it to library by 10 a.m.; storytime from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., head home for lunch and naps.

That was an awesome routine, and it came to a sudden and crashing halt when Yvie started kindergarten. Once Kennedy started preschool, that routine was impossible to replicate due to Kennedy’s preschool (Tuesday through Thursday).

It was a bit of a tough evolution during Yvie’s year of kindergarten. I was playing taxi most days. Leave the house at 7:30 a.m., drop Yvie off, get back home a few minutes before 8; leave house at 8:40 a.m., drop Kennedy off at 9. That would leave me about two hours to do something, and when you factor in driving times, it wasn’t much. Usually a trip to the gym and grocery store would eat up that time. Then, it was: leave house at 11:15, get Yvie at 11:25, drive to preschool; pick Kennedy up at noon, arrive house at around 12:30-40. I did that three days a week from October ’08 through May ’09, and around February it got old. Ugh.

Now that Yvie’s in first grade, it’s a bit different. I actually have time during the day as Yvie gets out at around 2:30. And Kennedy’s preschool is now only Tuesday and Thursday. But I also more work responsibilities and need to be online and available for stuff. So it’s been the LB and Kennedy duet since Yvie started school.

And I’m enjoying it. Kennedy is in many ways under Yvie’s shadow. We have tried not to give Yvie more attention than Kennedy but with Yvie in school and requiring more attention because of it, that’s virtually impossible. So Kennedy competes for attention. And when she’s with Yvie, they seem to get into disagreements rather easily.

But when Kennedy is alone, she is a different child. She can entertain herself easily when Yvie is not around. Lately, she likes to stack some blocks and take little figures of Dora and Boots and has them doing many adventures. And she can do that for quite a long time.

Now, it hasn’t quite worked out where we’ve gotten a routine or anything. The Wednesday library changed their hours (11 a.m. storytime) and it’s just not the same. It’s almost depressing to go there because it’s just different. That was part of a previous era, and to be honest Kennedy’s not that much into going there – perhaps for the same reasons. There’s another library near my house that offers storytime on Mondays, and that one is good but we haven’t been able to go a lot. I pictured being a fixture at that one, but it just hasn’t worked out that way.

So mostly it’s been Kennedy and LB at home or running errands. Fridays Kennedy has been spending at my mom’s house while I go volunteer at Yvie’s class (see what I mean about attention?).

However, I still have Kennedy around for a lot of the time. If I want to go to the library, we can go to the library. If I want to take her outside and play, we can do that. If we want to fix up a quick batch of cookies, we can do that. If we want to go to the grocery store (she loves going to a local store that has free samples), we can do that. If we want to go to the gym, we can do that.

Kennedy is fairly securely attached to me because of this. She seems to take my absences harder than Yvie, and prefers me to do certain things like tuck her into bed at night or read books together. And Kennedy still asks to be held. A lot. She plays up the “I’m tired Daddy” line to its fullest, and super-soft Dad listens.

That too is something I don’t really mind doing. In one year from now, I won’t be able to hold her anymore. So I don’t really mind holding her (don’t tell Kennedy that!) because the days of me being able to hold her and her wanting me to hold her are numbered (I’d say around 213, give or take).

Watching the girls grow up is exciting. Seeing Yvie read books in both English and Spanish and watching her write full sentences in both languages is amazing, just amazing. Kennedy’s maturing as well, and the things she says sometimes floor me (she recently told me “I like it when Yvie reads me books because I can’t read them”). And looking at pictures of both of them from just a year or two ago makes me do double-takes sometimes, and I wonder if the girls have really grown that much. And they have.

I have no doubt I will enjoy the 2010-2011 school year. I am excited just thinking about the prospect of volunteering in Kennedy’s class. I am excited that Kennedy will have her own little circle of friends (you know, that tight, long-lasting group of friends you make in kindergarten…). I am excited that Kennedy will finally have something of her own, something that is on par with Yvie, something that will help her develop in ways that I can’t even imagine right now.

But that doesn’t mean I want it all to start now.

All in due time. And I shall enjoy my time with Kennedy now to the fullest.