Desert Running

Summer is here...

2011-06-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a long while since I updated things...
First and foremost, happy summer running season.
It has gotten warm out here in the desert southwest. Our spring was actually fairly mild, yet constantly windy. Summer arrived with a vengeance in Las Vegas breaking 100 and moving right on up to 110.
My mileage took a hit with the temps climbing and family events, but I am still running fairly consistently.With the heat, my runs have gotten slower, and a little shorter.
I don't really care for running inside, so I have still been heading outside. Because I work nights this means I usually don't get out the door until 10:30 or 11:00; right when the temps are really starting to climb up there.
Am I crazy? Without a doubt.
In a few more weeks, I will probably be forced inside on the treadmill for the majority of my runs until September. I don't know if I can accomplish a long run on a treadmill or around the short track I have at the gym mentally. My other option is run after I get off work at 2 or 3 am...which in Las VEgas presents it's own challenges.
I do have some advice for those out there like me who are getting out there during the heat.
First, you have to get out the door before the hottest part of the day. While 11am is not the best time to go for a run in the desert, it's better than 2pm.
Second, hydrate constantly. Not necessarily during the run, but throughout the day. I try to carry a bottle of water or light sports drink all day to remind myself to drink. You cannot drink enough during a run to replenish what you are losing, so you have to do in between runs.
Third, always carry water. When running out here, I never, ever go without a water bottle. Even if it's just for a short 2-3 miles, I carry at least one bottle of water with me. You never know when you might be off the beaten path and jam a toe, or step off a curb wrong, or anything that might force you walk. A two mile walk through the desert is a lot longer than a 2 mile run.
Lastly, protect yourself. A lot people will run in long sleeves with a desert flop hat. I can't bring myself to do that. So I try my best to wear lighter colored shirt that are loose and sometimes a hat or visor. I also use sunscreen that is 'sport' style and claims not to clog pores. From what I have noticed on myself it allows my skin to sweat a little more naturally and I don't get as hot.
Ideally you aren't running out there in the heat. I hope you are smarter than I am and are running at dawn, or running on the treadmill in the gym. If you aren't though, do some research, experiment, and use your head and common sense when running outside. At least until we start bitching about how cold it outside again.

-P.J.

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

As you run today, think of those who have sacrificed their lives so that you can run outside...free.
As you celebrate today with bbq's and furniture sales, remember and pray for those who are currently fighting to secure the future of America, and the world as a whole.
As you close out the day pray for the families who have lost their loved ones or whose loved ones are in the line of fire.

Memorial Day....

-P.J.

10k Xterra Race

2011-04-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

April 9th, 2011, 8:00a.m....
53 Degrees...
Light Breeze from the South...
2 hours of sleep...

I recently ran in the Xterra Trail Race here in Nevada. It took place at Lake Las Vegas which is about 15 miles west of Las Vegas itself.

There were 3 distances to choose from, 5k, 10k, and 21k. All were described as trail runs, and I opted for the 10k. The low registration fees, combined with a military discount, and the fact that I wanted another T-shirt(much to my wife's dismay*). My only hesitation was the fact that I had to work until almost 3:00a.m. that morning which would mean maybe 3 hours of sleep before having to get up and drive to the race. I figured why not. What better test of my returning endurance and progression than sleep deprivation and a trail run?
The race was, or still is a little on the small size which was nice. All told there were maybe 200 people racing in the various distances and in the 10k there were 71 runners.
The run started nice and flat and then started a slow ascent up hill, which wasn't bad. I remember something being said about a hill around the half way point, but I wasn't worried at this point. There was some loose sand here and there, but the trail wasn't what would be called technical.
Then it hit. Mile 2.5 a hill started. We went up a little bit, leveled off, then went up a little bit, and then up, and then....good god! I could literally reach out touch the side of the hill almost standing straight up.
The hill finally ended around 3.85 miles and we started the lovely downhill descent to the finish line.
I am not ashamed to admit that the hill kicked my ass. To most trail runners that hill would not be anything to worry about, but to me with a heart rate approaching 195, it was torture. I clearly don't remember anything on the brochure about that hill.
I finished in 1:04:18. Secretly I was hoping for right at one hour for the 6.2 miles. While I didn't hit that goal, I am pleased with my performance. Considering the lack of sleep, a challenging course, and not quite where I want to be fitness level, I feel I posted a respectable time.
I highly recommend the race for anyone who wants/needs a spring tune up race.

Next year, I will run it again, but hopefully with a full nights sleep, and with eyes wide open.

*to top it all off, I ended up getting two t-shirts from the race, but one is red, which is my wife's favorite color...so hopefully I can keep them!

-P.J.

March Summary...Wish lists

2011-03-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, March is done and over with. I started the month very light on the mileage, but recovered fairly nicely.
I covered 90.5 miles on trails, pavement, and treadmills.
Nearly 15 hours total were spent running down the street, stopped at crosswalks, stopped on the side of a hill(dying, I might add), imitating hamsters, and thoroughly enjoying myself.

I also burned nearly 15000 calories, and lost 10 lbs. All in all, it's a month that I feel proud of. While I did not hit my goal of 100 miles for the month, I came close.
The hard part every month is deciding on the goal to set. Originally, I planned on setting a goal of 80 miles for March. February I had set a goal of 75 miles and only made it to 65. With that as a basis, I initially thought 80 was a good, safe, bet...and that's just it. It was a safe bet. I didn't want the safe bet though. So, the goal became one hundred.
A goal that I missed. I could have tried a little harder to hit it, added an extra half mile or so here and there, but I am happy.
I pushed myself and because of that, I got the most miles in a month that I have been able to do in over a year.
When you set your daily/weekly/monthly goals, do you have a set schedule? Can you go by a set schedule? If you don't make your goal of 40 miles for the week, does it depress you? Or do the 35.47 miles you did get in make you feel better.
I prefer to set the bar high for my own personal goals. If I can get close to them, good, if I can hit the goal and shatter it, great. Either way I am out there, and I am running.
Here's to next month....cheers!

So, my race schedule/wish list for the year:
April 9th, Xterra Trail 10k Race at Lake Las Vegas (registered)
April 6th, Pat Tillman Las Vegas Shadow Run, 4.2 mile (registered)
August 13-14, E.T. Full Moon Half-Marathon
November, Valley of Fire Half-Marathon
December, Las Vegas Marathon

I'm sure...well, I am hoping that I am able to get in a few more races, but that is the likely race list for my 2011.

-P.J.

Sunshine, Shining on me...Nothin but blue skies

2011-03-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Couldn't have asked for a better morning to run. Sunshine, a light breeze, temps that were just warm enough; made for a great run.
I had planned on running 6 miles, but only got in 4.4 miles. I couldn't make a necessary pit stop at the park because it was busy with two baseball games and the bathrooms were a little on the busy side.
Maybe later today I will head back out and get in another 3 miles or so, and make it a little more of a decent day, mileage wise.
For the past couple of years I have been running in Brooks running shoes. I have used the Ghost and Glycerin models, as well as two versions of the Cascadia trail shoe. I do like the fit of Brooks shoes and they usually seem to have just enough cushion for me.
However, I do have a complaint. Every pair of Brooks shoes I have owned have the same problem. The shoelaces don't stay tied. They will invariably come untied about two miles into a run. Doesn't matter if it's on the trails or the road, they come untied.
I have found a solution though. It's called Ian Secure knot. It works wonderfully once you get the hang of it. I can't remember where I came across the website, but there are several other version of shoelace knots there as well.
The nice thing about the Secure Knot is that it doesn't look an 8 year old tied your shoes for you if you do it right. I have yet to have my laces slip out when tying my shoes this way. As a matter of fact the only problem I have is occasionally pulling the laces to release the knot and ended up with a mess to figure out.
A little piece of advice for those who have shoes that keep coming untied and don't want to do the elementary school double knot...unless, of course you like nostalgia, or looking like an 8 year old.

-P.J.

..Springtime in Vegas

2011-03-25T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's Spring in Vegas. Rain and wind one day; blue skies and warm the next, the weather will be inconsistent for the next few weeks.
The brown and gray colors of the desert are broken by patches of green, yellow, and other colors of Spring.
It's a great time of the year as Old Man Winter slowly, but steadily releases his grip on us and some of us get to benefit a little earlier than others.

My running is going well this month. I am a little behind on my goal for the month, but I am at least getting some longer mileage runs in, and feeling good.
I am also starting to get the ubiquitous runner's tan. Tan face, arms, and legs. Everything else is pasty white. I think my feet might actually glow in the dark.
Ah, spring time...
It's also the time for racing, or at least I'm making it time this year. On April 9th I am doing the Xterra 10k Trail Run in Lake Las Vegas. It is a race I have never run before, so it should be fun.

Running the Capitol...Patriotism

2011-02-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I got the oppurtunity to run in Washington D.C.
I got to my hotel and couldn't check in for another hour, so I changed into running clothes and left my bag at the front desk. Out the door I go.
After about 3/4 of mile I turn left and start running towards the Washington Monument. It was somewhat chilly, but not to bad.

As I ran down the Smithsonian Museums and past the Monument I was greeted by the site of the Lincoln Memorial down the Mall. I stopped at a crosswalk filled with other runners, and with a quick nod and a, "Good Morning," I joined the flow.

We ran past the World War II memorial and followed the path to the Vietnam Memorial. The group turned left and I waved a thanks and continued up the hill to the Lincoln Memorial. At the top of the steps I paused. Surveying the view all the way to the Capitol Building, the feeling was indescribable.

Being able to run surrounded by history and reminded of the triumphs and tragedies that the people of our country have faced helped to solidify my patriotism and also brought to light the value of the service I have done for my country in uniform and will continue to do.
After my brief introspection I jaunted down the stairs and back toward the Capitol.

The run back was solitary. There were other runners and plenty of tourists, but for the next few miles it was just me.

I paused to take some pictures here and there, but I continued up and around to the Library of Congress and then back down the hill to turn towards my hotel again.

All told the run was 7.5 miles long....but something I won't soon forget.
You cannot go to to Washington without being reminded of the sacrifices that have been made by the men and women to defend the rights of the citizens. The rights that we so often take for granted. The sacrifices that pay homage to, but so often forget when we are shopping the Veteran's Day Sale at the local mall.
Someday, I hope to run a race in D.C. For now though, it is enough that I was able to freely run the Nation's Capital.

-P.J.

Stagnate....how do you people do it?

2011-02-13T18:20:00.001-08:00

Ug, treadmills. An evil necessity due to extreme cold, heat, or for safety reasons. It seems like that's all I have been running on as of late.

It has been out of necessity. My schedule rarely gives me the time to get in a run during the day and frankly even when it does, the neighboorhood around where I am does not really lend itself to running. There really aren't any sidewalks and based off of looks of the neighboorhood I don't really feel personally safe either. Why chance it?

On the bright side, I am getting in good mileage and teaching my feet to keep a constant, steady pace. This is something I have struggled with lately. I am trying to use this last few weeks I'm stuck in Virginia for re-building some sort of base so that I will be ready for lovely warm spring when I return to Las Vegas. I cannot wait to be home and running in the desert, walking out my door and heading cross country up into the desert foot hills, or even just around the block.

Tomorrow I head out into the field for Army training. I won't be able to get in any actual runs for the next four days. However, hopefully I will be busy and active enough to make up for it.

I seriously don't know how people can run a treadmill day in and day out. Not just the hamster complex you build, but the boredom...god the boredom. Even with a television in front of you, it is just boring. I think I cycled through the limited channels that the hotel offers 20 times. I ended up watching the tail end of 'Get Smart'. Come on. The torture of running in place isn't enough that I have to watch that while I'm doing it. I don't know what is worse.

Yes, I have tried just listening to music, but I hate staring at blank wall. It's too much of a static display. I have gotten so used to being able to run outside and and have a changing view that I can't just zone out on a white wall.

So there you have. I bow to those runners who are forced to run inside all winter. I bow to those people who will do their long runs this month of 12-16 miles on a treadmill. You have stronger minds and dedication than I.

-P.J.

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Insert Comedy sketch here...walking O'hare count as a workout?

2011-01-09T16:33:00.001-08:00

So, there I was, sitting in a United Airlines plane waiting to take off from Las Vegas to go to Virginia for military training. The pilot comes over the speakers explaining that there will be a slight delay because there was frost on the wings and the tail flaps.

A few minutes later he addresses the passengers again, stating that the de-icing truck was out of fluid and it was the only one they had. In the interest of speeding up the process, we were going to move to a part of the taxi area that would get some of the newly risen sun.

An hour later we were still waiting, and he came across again stating that we were going to turn the airplane around so it's ass could get some sun, too. A quote about dogs popped in my head.

I asked the flights attendants if they had a hair dryer, or space heater. Hell, I could have gone out on the wing with a credit card and scraped the stuff off.

Needless to say we sat on the tarmac in Las Vegas for over two hours. I now sit in Chicago waiting for another flight to get to Virginia. I missed my first one. My biggest hope is that my luggage makes it.

Throughout the whole morning I kept waiting for Leslie Nielsen to pop out and start speaking jive, yiddish, or to deflate the auto pilot; something. Talk about a set up for a comedy sketch. The pilot at one point joked that a Frontier jet was having the same problem and we could back the planes up to each other and use the engines to defrost both at the same time.

The Chicago airport is massive. I think I have easily walked about 1 mile and a half. Going from customer service, finding my new gate, snagging lunch, and then back to my gate.

I have given up hope in getting in a run. By the time I make to the Army post in Virginia and get assigned a bunk, it will be too late to get in a run. Hopefully, I can get one in tomorrow morning, but I'm not planning for it until after dinner.

-P.J.

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Schnowgurls....and Sunsets

2011-01-04T20:04:00.000-08:00

Wow.

2011.

It's here.

I don't feel any different.....

Ah well, winter has finally set in here in Las Vegas. There was even snow on the ground yesterday morning.

My wife made schnowgurl in the backyard...

Of course being Vegas, it was all gone by noon.

Today, we finished taking down the Christmas decorations. We got all the lights off the outside of the house so at least we won't get fined by the HOA here.

After that was said and done, I went out for a Sunset run of a few miles. I ended up doing 3.86 miles and it felt great. According to my Garmin I ran faster than normal, too. Either way it was nice run to burn off the rest of the excess energy I was feeling at the time.

Brooks Ghost 3

Today also marks the second run I have done in my new Brooks Ghost 3 shoes.

Yesterday I ran I on the treadmill at the gym, today I needed to get outside.

The shoes are comfortable, as they should be. I think I like them better than the Brooks Glycerin model I tried last time.

The Ghost 3 seems a little tight across the top, but I think that will loosen up some with a little mileage. Other than that, the cushion and the footbed feels good without taking too much away from feeling the ground, or letting too much in.

Either way, 2011 is here. My running has been great for all of it so far! I have decided to set smaller goals this years. Well, shorter timeframes. For January my goal is to run 100 miles, with at least 1 run of 10 miles.

-P.J.

Goodbye 2010...

2010-12-31T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I finished the year with 570 miles. A little on the disappointing side.
The plus side, I started the year in Afghanistan. I finished the year at home in Las Vegas.

We bought a home in Las Vegas.

I was promoted to Staff Sergeant in the Army.
I got a new job on the civilian side at a real casino and got promoted there at the end of the year.

My son became taller than me, even when I wear my boots.
I buried a true friend, and brother in uniform.

Met some wonderful people and joined the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.

Combat Vetarans Motorcycle Association

I ran one race.

Valley Of Fire marathon

I have no real complaints to voice about the year. Life is good.
Two thousand eleven will present its own challenges.
Hopefully it will include another marathon finish, possibly two.
Good luck to everyone on accomplishing everything they set out to do.
May the next year be another good lap run in the race of life.

Have a Happy and Safe New Years!

-P.J.

Oh, my aren't we sensitive....

2010-12-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

A word to the wise, a lesson learned...Come to think of it, this is a lesson I should have known already...

Loose, moisture wicking top?
......check
Good amount of work equally good amount of sweat?
........check
Cool breeze and low temperatures?
........check
Hour long run?
.........check
Bandaids over nipples to prevent chafing?
............damn it.

I have learned this lesson several times, and I always forget to put bandaids on. It's funny, you can laugh....I am.

-P.J.

Christmas is over...*sniff

2010-12-28T16:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas is over. Sad, I know.
The wrapping is gone, the decorations are going back into boxes, and the lights and tree are reluctantly being taken down.
I truly enjoy the Christmas Season. While I am not a practitioner of any religion, I do feel that there has to be more out there than just our 70-80(or more if you are lucky) years. Christmas to me a celebration in each other, our families, and our fellow man or at least the attempt to celebrate those things.

Either way, a new year approaches. The demarcation line that will seperate the past year from the new one will be drawn in the cosmic sands. What does that mean? Hell, if I know.
I can not say that I will make any resolutions for the next year, other than to live. Any resolutions I make will be for me and my family.

I could make a News Years resolution to get a run in everyday, but I won't.

I will try to run more, and try to run more consistently, but that isn't a resolution, it's a goal. Just like losing weight, going to the gym, quitting smoking, a goal is not a resolution, or at least to me. Maybe I am wrong.

I say rather than deciding to do one thing, strive for a more general overall change. Decide that next year will be a better year not because you lose 10 lbs in the first 3 months, but that you feel better because you are making better choices.
Don't decide that you need to spend more time with your family, just live a happier life with your family because you are there more.
Don't decide that you will run 200 miles a month, just enjoy the extended periods of fresh air you while you were out there.
Set your goals, make your resolutions, but don't lose sight of the true resolution...being a better human being for yourself, your family, and those around you.

Today was a pleasant run. A fairly difficult rocky and hilly route, but for the end of December, the weather couldn't have been better. A little over 6 miles on the high desert trails West of Las Vegas with snow capped peaks for scenery in the distance. What more could you ask for?

-P.J.

Ok, I'm not mad at you anymore...damn it my feet hurt though...

2010-12-14T19:55:00.001-08:00

Hello?

Hey, anyone there?

Hmmm, probably not, but I enjoy talking to myself at any rate.

Lately, I have had some really good weeks running, and some really crappy ones. It seems every time I would get a good week under my belt, the next week I would come down with a cold, or my schedule just wouldn't cooperate as much as it did before.

Now, I'm dealing with a pain in my right foot again. It would be nice if it was in the same place as last time, but it keeps moving. Now, instead of being on the bottom of foot, it's more to the top of the foot. Think of the classic description of the nail through the feet on the cross and that's it.

Of course now, here is the weird part. That pain is most prevalent when I have been resting or sitting. If I am out running, after about a quarter of mile, it's if not gone, then at least bearable. I don't get it. It's like dealing with planar faciatas again only it's on top of my foot, not on the bottom.

I have a new pair of shoes on my Christmas Wish List, which might be the source of the problem. My current shoes are about 6 months old. They don't have as much mileage as they should, which is why I haven't bought new ones yet.

The weather here in Las Vegas has been...confusing. We got our winter frost a little earlier than usual, but for the past two weeks it has been absolutely gorgeous. Highs in the high 60's, sunshine, little wind. Fall colors are out on the leaves here. You couldn't ask for better weather for a run. Really. I mean it.

I did manage to get in one race right before Thanksgiving. I ran the Valley of Fire Race Series just north of Las Vegas. The options were anything from a 5k to a full marathon. Because of lack of preparation and scheduling, I chose the 10k.

The schedule leading up to it, was rough. I had to make up time for the military during the day and still work my civilian job at night. So, two doubles, get off at 4am and stay awake so I could drive to a race an hour away that started at 7:30am.

I had to do this race though. When I was in Afghanistan, the race director for the Valley of Fire Races helped us organize and sponsor soldiers to run a 5k, 10k, or a half marathon as a shadow race. Considering Tracy was kind enough to do this for us, I felt that I really needed to show up and thank her personally. Which thankfully, I was able to do.

So, how did the race go? Well, my 10k race turned into 8.33 miles. How you ask? Through a comedy of errors I went the wrong way and ending up running for a short while with the half and full marathoners.

I realized my mistake, and got turned around and headed back in the right direction. Then I was faced with a minor dilemma. I have a Garmin watch and I knew that if I ran to the official 10k turn around point, I would quite a bit farther than I needed to. After all, one of the errors that sent me the wrong direction was a wrong direction from a volunteer on the course.

Here I am though running the scenarios through my head. I was introduced to everyone at the race as someone who has served his country in war. I was readily spotted by the T-shirt I was wearing pro claming my Afghanistan service. Did I really want to be accused by someone else on the course for not running to the half-way point? Hell, no!

I'm a soldier in the US Army. I ran all the way to the 10k turn around, and then turned around. I finished my run in 01:37:24. Yes, it was over a 10min p/mile pace. I'll get to that in a minute. However, I have an unofficial win a race. You see, I came in first in the 'The Idiot Decided 10k wasn't Far Enough, but the 13.1 was too Far' Division. Of course I was the only one, but I took first!

The pace...the race...the course...good god. Do you like the desert. Do you like seeing colorful formations in sandstone and volcanic rock? Do you want to know what it would look like to run on Mars? Do you like hilly courses where the only flat portions to the course are when you crest a hill just before you start flying down the other side? Then come to Las Vegas in November and run the Valley of Fire Race.

This course is a hilly, mostly paved, quad busting run through some of the most colorful sandstone formations in the desert. So, for me to hold the pace at under 11 min/mile, I was happy. Especially considering I was doing everything wrong before the race. No sleep, lots and lots of coffee.

So, that's about it. I have got in some great runs over the past couple of months. I've done some runs in the open desert. Along with that, I have had some really shitty runs too. Runs that just didn't feel like fun, or stress relievers. I'm getting it done though, slowly, and steadily.

Now, if I could just get my feet to stop hurting, I'll be golden.

-P.J.

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Recreational running...

2010-10-18T11:29:00.001-07:00

Ug. No, that's not the right word. My running has been consistenly been inconsistent. A week here and a week there of decent mileage has been puncuated by weeks of barely getting in 6 miles.

The weather is finally cooling off here in the desert. Yesterday it actually rained and I have a new pet peeve. Watching the tv last night the teaser for 10pm news cast came and mentioned the 'fall like' weather we are having. Hey, dumbass, no shit. IT'S FALL!!!!!!! You know that time of the year when the pumpkins come out. Ghosts start going up around neighhboorhoods and Starbucks starts serving Pumpkin pie themed coffees and crap. That's right fall, autumn, cool crisp mornings....it's not fall like weather when the season is Autumn, it's called normal. Now, if it snowed or something like that, you could say winter-like weather and that would make sense because it's not winter.

I am not sure why it bugged me so much, but it just seemed to be really stupid. Am I wrong in that assumption?

Anyway, because of my lack of motivation on some days and over exuberance on others, I have decided that for the time being, I am a recreational runner. I have a half marathon coming up, and I will be able to finish it, but it won't be a stellar time, or a stellar finish. I haven't been training enough for it.

The past week was nice in the fact that I managed to get in two trails runs. They were both fairly flat across the desert floor, but the trails themselves consisted of loose gravel, sand, and some hard pack. All in all challenging, but overly so.

-P.J.

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Motivation...jump roping

2010-08-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

The summer is dragging on, as is the heat. It looks like the heat may finally break this weekend with a high of only 100. I can't wait.

With the summer dragging, my motivation has lagged. My weekly mileage average has been 10 miles per week. It's extremely sad and disheartening. I've packed on pounds, my energy level is low, and I know exactly what the problem is. I have been fooling myself and telling myself that I can indulge in a little laziness because I deployed to Afghanistan with the Army.

I have been home for 4 months now, and the self-desrtuctive behavior has to stop. So, goodbye fried foods, goodbye cake, goodbye pie....and hello jump rope.

I pulled the jump rope out this morning after my 3 mile run. I figured that in addition to the crunches and push-ups I was doing, I could work on some fast twitch muscles and coordination with a jump rope. It's a torture device. It kept wrapping around my feet seemingly of its own accord. I got hit in the eye, and attempted to choke myself, too.

My lower legs are telling me that I did something unusual, too. Hopefully, they will feel better tomorrow.

-P.J.

Desert Running Tip of the Day...

2010-07-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Know when it is just too damn hot to run outside. Sure running around a small circle on an indoor track or on the treadmill sucks, and is boring.
However, running outside when it's 110 and a wind that mimics the inside of a convection oven, is not smart.
Earlier this week, I managed to get up fairly early and head outside for a run. At 9am it was already 99 degrees. Cooling off from that run took forever. So, for the rest of the week, I have run inside at the gym. I'm using the time on the treadmill to help train myself to hold a pace better and for a longer time. That has been a major hold back as of lately is staying on pace.
Also, seeing as how I am already at the gym, I have also been getting in some time with the weights. All in all I am trying to make the most of the indoors.

-P.J.

Long time coming...does yard work count as miles?

2010-06-21T13:21:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I have posted. Life in general has taken priority over my pointless ramblings.

While the economy has been rough and times are lean, the housing market here in the Southwest United States couldn't be better. So, the wife and I have purchased and moved into a very quaint 4 bedroom home in Las Vegas.

Getting moved in has been a chore, and I don't when we will actually feel settled into the new house, but we are getting there.

Mileage wise my running has been low, inconsistent, but now that we are moved in, I'm starting to get back into the groove. Yard work is a new chore to add to the list, but so far I haven't had to too much yet. I'm just wondering how many whacks with the hedge clippers or sweeps of the rake count as a mile? :)

Yesterday, I went for a Father's Day Run by myself as my kids aren't around right now. I went up the new hill just to the west of the house. What a hill it is. There isn't really anything gradual about the climb, so my run up the hill turned into more of a hike. I finished with 3.5 miles of good trail time though.

Today, I stayed on the surface streets and took in 3.75 miles; nice and flat.

I hope to post a little more actively now that things have settled down a bit, and definitely get in more runs, and longer runs.

-P.J.

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Back to work...and beautiful weather

2010-05-07T20:59:00.001-07:00

I headed back to work this week. It amazes me how many people really don't pay attention to things around them.

You see, I work in a casino; a really small, casino that caters to local residents. For two years, I would see many players on a weekly, if not daily basis. The players I left playing craps, blackjack, and other games, are for the most part, the same after being gone a year.

What amazes me is the comments. "Oh, hey, you're back. How was your vacation?"

...

Vacation? They were being serious, too. In their mind, apparently, I had only been gone a couple of weeks.

Granted, none, I repeat, none of the players at the casino are people I would ever introduce as friends, and I really shouldn't care.

It's just...I don't know. Even some of the people I work with had the same reaction.

Whatever.

It sucks being back at the same job, but at least I had a job to go back to. The weather has been great, so i have been riding my motorcycle to work.

The week running wise has been a little rough. I work nights, and then I have to get up early to get my step-daughter to school. The last thing I wanted to do was run after only geting 3.5 or 4 hours of sleep.

I managed 5.7 miles on Monday...and then I didn't run until today.

Today, the weather was amazing and I completed a 6 mile run in the morning. In the late afternoon, I was able to get in another 3.67 miles.

Tomorrow, I hope to get in another 5 or 6 mile run to finish out the week.

Last month I managed to get a good start on getting back into training. I was consistent in running 3 times a week. I got in a small total of 60 miles.

The goal for this month is 100 miles. The challengs of juggling work schedule, and school trips is going to make it a little rough, but I should be able to get there.

...especially if the weather stays perfect like it has been.

-P.J.

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You call yourself a trail runner?

2010-04-28T11:38:00.001-07:00

Today was my first real chance at hitting a high desert trail. After dropping Kid Pajamas off at school, I decided to hit a trail on the way back home. lIt was a trail that I have never run before. As a matter of fact, I don't know the name of it, or if there is a name for it. It's just west of the 215 at the Cheyenne/Cliff Shadows exit. The City of Las Vegas has put in a parking lot with hitching posts...I think they are hitching posts anyway; it would explain why there are horse shoes welded to poles... at the trail head and people are using it for horse riding if the hopscotch game I played at the beginning of the run is any indication. We'll call it the Cliff Shadows Trail. There, it is now named. Next time I'll take a bottle of sparkling, um, cider, and christen the damn thing.

I was expecting a hard packed trail up into the hills to west of the city. Like most of the trails that are located in the high desert. The first 3/4 miles was just this side of the loose sand you could expect on the beach. I ran up one branch of the trail to have dead end on me, but the view of the Vegas valley from there was spectacular, so I'll say it was worth it.

When it was all said and done, I ran a measley 4 miles, and accomplished almost 1000 ft of elevation gain during the run. With the exception of the agility building exercise of avoiding road apples at the beginning of the trail, hills, and loose sand/gravel combination, it wasn't bad.

Well, at the very least, it has the potential to be a great secluded trail to be used for hill work, and showing my pasty white stomach to the cacti.

-P.J.

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Ramping it up...spring is here, maybe?

2010-04-27T19:03:00.001-07:00

The past monh has got me ramping the mileage up, slowly but surely. Yesterday, I completed my first 6 mile run since I made it home. The weather was good and I felt pretty good, too...once I actually made it out the door.

I am not really sure if I can count the run as a straight six mile run. You see, I left to go for the run, and 3/4 mile into it , I had to turn around and come home, to, um, well, poop. Guess my diet has not been very condusive to running as of late. Three bowls of blue corn tortilla chips, salsa, and a margarita does that to you.

At any rate, I came, I went, and I, uh, went out the door again. When it was said and done, I logged six miles on the pavement.

Spring has definitely arrived here in Las Vegas. The flowers are blooming, the cactus is green, and there are leaves on the trees. Spring is trying to stick around, but it seems every 4 or 5 days, a cold front moves in and the temps drop. Hopefully, it will stick this time around and I can start getting used to 100 degree days again!

-P.J.

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...I wonder if they will show Dale's Trail on the Map?

2010-04-10T08:37:00.001-07:00

http://www.lvrj.com/news/grand-opening-at-red-rock-visitors-center-set-for-today-90463729.html

There aren't many people that will care about that news in the link above, but I think it's a good thing all around. Red Rock Canyon is where I run when I want to run trails. The trails usually aren't that difficult, and I love the solitude of the longer trails. There are hidden pockets of trees, wildflowers, and the views from some of the hilltops just can't be beat.

So, the new Visitors Center at Red Rock Canyon will feature a permanent map of the trails that are in Red Rock Canyon along with touchable petroglyphs and other artifacts. I wonder if Dale's Trail will be on that map?

Dale's Trail...two summers ago I decided to go for a run out at the canyon. I had been running in the heat for a while, and was taking my handheld bottle as well as my fuel belt with 4 smaller bottles of sports drink with me. Looking at the map I had at the time, I spotted this trail that wound across the western edge of the area that appeared to be about 4 miles long. It connected to other trails in the system, and so i figured I could turn it into a nice 8-10 miler for the morning.

I started in on the Pine Canyon trail and after a mile I turned north onto Dale's Trail. Dale was apparently not a very smart fellow. Or he was drunk. Or he was mean...and whoever made the map...well, must have been related.

The trail was not used a whole lot, and there many times I lost the trail and had to back track. The trail several times led right to the edge of a cliff or right up to the mountain wall. It took every hill, and through every cactus stand in the desert. You would think a trail would follow some logic, the lay of the land...not Dale's Trail.

When it was all said and done, I ended up having to cut across the desert back to the paved scenic drive, so that I could make it back to the car. My run on a trail that was only supposed to be at most 10 miles, had turned into a very frustrating 8 miles of backtracks, circles, and curly Q's. It was hot. I was angry, and running low on water. I left the trail, which you are not supposed to do, I know. It was either that, or risk something worse as the temps climbed past 100. Once back on the paved road that most people drive on, I turned south and headed back to my car, cursing Dale and the horse he road in on for 4 miles. Catch that, on the paved road it was only 4 miles to my car! A quarter of a mile to the west of that in the desert...8 miles to travel a straightline distance of 4 miles! Now, you know why I don't like Dale.

Now, I have asked around, and no one seems to know the history of the trails at Red Rock Canyon, or in the surrounding areas for that matter. I have not been able to find out who Dale was. I can only assume he started time travellin' on the Strip one night, and ended up out in the wildnerness wandering around. I wonder if he ever made it back to his hotel room...

-P.J.

Tags: Desert, Red Rock Canyon, Trail Running, Dale

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Now this is Spring...dodge the tourist day

2010-04-09T12:30:00.001-07:00

Today is the epitomy of a beautiful spring day. Bright sunshine, blue skies, 72 degrees with a light breeze.

Honestly, I don't think the weather could be better...so down to the Strip I went.

I parked in the Planet Hollywood garage and started from the backside of the hotel. Then I turned towards the Strip and was greeted with a view of the new City Center complex. My route...hell, there was no route. I basically just kind of ran around seeing the new sites and seeing where I could go. City Center is big, but does not seem real friendly as far as walking paths or sidewalks, so I headed south on the strip.

I ran past the Monte Carlo across the Brooklyn Bridge and past the Statue of Liberty. I ran the stairs up to the crosswalks, and...

...the stairs. I don't like stairs. The runner in me knows they are good for me, and they substitute for hills very readily, but the lazy, beer drinking side of me does not like them at all...They hurt, they burn, and when you aren't graceful, they scrape, and humilate you. Stairs are MEAN and EVIL!

...I continued down past the pryamid before turning around and heading back up the Strip.

Runing the Strip is challenging. It's hard to maintain a pace because of the people walking and gawking at all the wonderful things Vegas has to offer. You have to stop and wait for crosswalks and then it's a mad dash to get in front of the crowd gathered at the crossing.

It is fun though. In and out, side to side, into the road(not recommended) back on the sidewalk. A run on the Strip has everything you need. Stairs, speed work, built in recovery breaks, and obstacles dodging the tourists, panhandlers, timeshare salespeople, taxis.

I love this town.

-P.J.

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The joy of restarting things...warm running

2010-04-07T20:14:00.001-07:00

The joy of getting things back in order now that I have returned is continuing on. The cell phone plan is back in order, the car is getting serviced, and the gym membership is started again...the gym membership...quite the headache for the past two days.

Las Vegas Athletic Club had been my gym for the year prior to going to Afghanistan. When I left, I put what I thought was a hold on the membership. My understanding was that I could just call when I got back home and have it start back up lickity split.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. I was told upon returning that I had two options...pay for the year that I missed in the contract, or start completely over with a new contract. Effectively, I was told that my membership was cancelled due to relocation for military reasons. If I decided to pay for the year that I have been hone, I would get that time 'free' at the end of my contract. Free? I wasn't here for a year that you want me to pay for, but I get it free after I pay for the year...huh?

I did the prudent thing, I checked into a new contract with the gym, and it is a more expensive plan that what I had when I left. For economic reasons, it made sense to pay the past due amount for two reasons.

One, I had a negative balance on an account, and I could just see that popping up on a collection account in two years despite assurances that it wouldn't. Two, a new plan would cost me $6 more a month than what I was paying to begin with.

It took me an hour to convince the 'customer service' person that it was not a free year I was getting, I was paying for it. Then came the fight over what I would pay for the year. Because I had 'cancelled' the contract and was not automatically paying for the membership every month, my cost went up $3 a month...

I was flabbergasted*. Here I am, trying to do the right thing the whole way through. Not just canceling my contract, but still wanting to fulfill the contract, and they wanted to charge me $36 more.

After voicing my concerns about getting screwed over and getting transferred to a supervisor's voicemail, I got satisfaction this morning.

Cindy, from Las Vegas Athletic Club, called to let me that she was sorry for the problem. $36 was removed from my account, and my contract was reinstated at the original monthly price. I still had to pay for the year I was gone, but all it really means is that I pre-paid for a year starting in July.

Oh, and my car is in the dealership, but I get to pick it up tomorrow. What started as just needing new tires for the rear and oil change turned into something a little more major. I needed a new motor mount, transmission mount and the front struts were leaking as well. Thank god I got the extended warranty. It ended up being completely covered by Hyundai under the extended warranty.

Struts- $700, Motor Mount- $400, Transmission mount- $375...

...having it all covered and getting a rental for free

....dealing with the humiliation of driving around a Toyota Yaris...

For the money it saved me, I'll take it. Priceless.

What else is priceless? Today's run...beautiful spring day. Bright, warm sunshine, and the time to take it all in.

3.78 miles in a very slow average of 9:45p/mile...

but I'm back out there, running in my desert. Clearing out my lungs from the Afghanistan crud, and enjoying giving my family post-run stinky, sweaty hugs....my family hates me.

-P.J.

Tags: Las Vegas Athletic Club, LVAC, running, desert, Afghanistan

*Flabbergasted- great word don't you think.

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Home...where is the warm weather

2010-04-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

I have been home for a week now. Three or, is it four runs...I don't know. The lack of running for the past few months have taken their toll, but it is nice to get back into the swing of things.

My first runs have been to just get out there and go. The freedom of running when and where I want to is hard to describe. I haven't had a chance to go and run on the trails yet, but maybe next week.

For now, I am just trying to get my legs and feet moving again.

All I know is that I am home. That's what matters.

Speaking of home. The day I got here, the weather was great. Since then, the weather has been unpredictable. Windy and cold, sunny and warm...and that was all in a 3 mile run!

Vegas this time of the year is supposed to be 80 and sunny, and comfortable and nice. Where is my welcome home weather?

The weather will recover, and I will probably brave it anyway, just because I can.

Thank you all for your support and kind words during the past year, and maybe, just maybe, I can run with you in the future. Just drop me a line

-P.J.Tags: Las Vegas

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Going Home...finally

2010-03-28T03:57:00.001-07:00

I am sitting at my last stop in Afghanistan writing this, and it won't probably be posted until I get home.

The last two weeks have been a test of patience, a test of patience, a test of patience.

Everything about this last stop has been horrible, yet good at the same time. I got to reunite with friends in the unit that I haven't seen since we hit country. I also came to a realization. Well, several really. One, I don't like as many of these guys as I thought I did. Two, socks can only be worn so many times before being turned into a HAZMAT team. Three, I really don't like lines.

That last one, I already knew. Standing in lines, I get bored and frustrated and I am sure that pretty much everyone does. It isn't so bad when you have other people to stand in line with you, but it still sucks.

Thankfully, my wife and I are not big buffet eaters. Occasionally we will go to a buffet, but I won't anytime soon. No lines. It's going to be bad enough standing in line processing off the deployment. No buffet lines for me. Movies? Matinee performance only. No, first showing tickets popping up in my wallet.

Even before my experience in Afghanistan, I never really liked lines. The races I have done, I show up to pre-race packets if at all possible, just to avoid the lines on race morning. This has saved me from having to converse with people I am not sure I will like, or will not like me.

However, when I get home, I have resolved to become a little more involved in the running community around Las Vegas. The explosion of running groups has astounded me. Instead of just a couple of local race directors, ther are groups that meet up and run in several places around the valley.

********

And now I am in Indiana. The lines to process out of the combat zone are over. Now we just wait to get everything loaded up on a truck to go the airport. Home tomorrow, a couple of ceremonies, and it's over.

I get to see my family, my friends, my home again. I get to run where I want to. I get to...oh crap, earlier I resolved to to get more involved in the running community in Vegas. That means I am going to have to meet people, and actually talk to them.

Actually, this is something I need to do. We are buying a house in the Vegas Valley, which will make us permanent citizens more or less. A couple of years ago I did an essay for a college course I was taking that drew attention to the fact that there really is no sense of community for many people that live in Vegas. All the little walled off, gated communities, create islands of isolation. Within those walls, there are more walls around the yards, and so each house, and the people that live there become another seperate part of the whole.

I want to be able to know my neighboors, and know what is going on in my community. The only way to do that is to get involved with it. So, I will try to when I get home...as soon as I get over my fear of lines...

-P.J.

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Yes, I run...but that does not make a sociable person

2010-03-08T22:38:00.001-08:00

I have spent the past 11 months surrounded by the military. For the past two months, I haven't been able to get hardly any time to myself. My morning and evening runs were my time to myself.

Now, I am in transit to go back home. A couple of days ago to pass some time and feel accomplished for the day, I went for a short run. When I got back, a couple of my fellow servicemembers got upset with me. Why? Because I did invite them to join me on my run.

HHmmmmm. Well, I really didn't feel like listening to someone tell me about how a girl he knew i high school had found him on facebook, and how she wasn't pretty then, but she might be now...

Look, dude, you graduated from high school what, last year? Bringing up stories from 'back in the day' before you even have had a 10 year reunion just doesn't quite cut it

Nor did I want to hear about how fast you ran the loop yesterday. I'm almost old enough to be your dad, you should be faster than me.*

Nope, I don't want to talk about how much you are going to miss Afghanistan.

It's not that I am anti-social...okay, well, maybe I am. A little bit.

There have been many running groups that have sprung up in Las Vegas over the past year. I really look forward to running with and meeting some of those people. We now have regular training groups, trail running groups, bar-hopping running groups, and just the general runners you toss a wave to randomly. (Tossing a wave is much safer and more accurate than a water bottle)

I know, it seems like I'm being Mr.Negativity. Not really, I just want to be left alone to wander in my own thoughts. I want to to think about home and the things I'm going to do to Mrs. P.J... I mean with, the things I am going to do with her. All the places we can go when I get home.

I want to be left alone with my thoughts and dreams of moving into a house with my family. I am dreaming of being on a trail with no fence, no loud noises, and exposing my pasty white chest and stomach to the burning sun of the Desert Southwest.

*Good god, I am getting old. Did I just say that?

Off to run now...alone.

-P.J.

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Sleeping in...planning for the future

2010-03-07T01:28:00.001-08:00

Two days in a row I slept in until 8:00am. I am kind of at a loss for words. I had forgotten what sleeping in was. I usually don't ever sleep in, even at home. "Eight A.M. is sleeping in?" you ask.

For me, here, it is sleeping in. I watched a movie this morning. This afternoon before dinner, I am going for a run. That's right, a run! I feel like I haven't run in months, and honestly, what I have been lately is not what could be called consistent training. For the next month, I won't be consistent on running either. Hard to get laundry done on a regular basis when you are hopping and skipping around the world. That's okay though, because I will be home soon, and that's what really matters.

So, what are my plans for when I get home? To state the obvious, spend time with my family. I am hoping that I can get out to Red Rock Canyon at least twice a week when I get home. I want to go hiking with my wife up at Mount Charleston. When my kids are around I want to take them up to Mount Charleston, too, or maybe out to the lake and try fishing out there.

Trail running sounds wonderful, to be sure. The thought of not having to run inside a fenced area just sounds...well, like heaven. To be able to run up a hill for no other reason than to see the view from the top and then run back down the hill.

As far as races go, I have one registration alread paid for a Half at the end of May. I might run a 10k sometime in the summer, but then the Valley of Fire Half in November, and hopefully the Vegas Marathon in December.

What I would like to do from there, is to roll my marathon training into a 50 mile attempt in January 2011. We'll see how I do though.

I think I'll go take a nap now. :)

-P.J.

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What I have learned...take off running!

2010-03-01T08:13:00.001-08:00

Well, the past 11 months have been a journey. Honestly though, the past few years have a been a journey. My running 'career' started in 2006 after my first deployment. My first marathon was run under the shadow of grief. My father had lost his battle with cancer, and I was trying to reflect on everything he had taught me about being a man.

That first finish almost didn't happen. My training was inadequate, my motivation was sketchy at best. The grief of losing a parent had sapped my motivation. I ran and finished it though, and learned many valuable lessons. First, train more. Secondly, taking a hot shower and nap after running for 20 miles and shuffling through 6 miles is not a good idea. Third, stairs are not pleasant after a marathon either.

Since then, I have learned to love the heat, the desert, wide open skies, and rocky trails. Along with that I have also learned to respect the heat, the desert and the rocky trails. Over the past year I have realized the value of being able to choose your own path to run, and I appreciate even more what it means to be an American.

I have learned the value of a phone call, a quick chat, and the value of love. No, 'value of love' is not the right words. Or maybe it is. I know the heartache of being away from the people I love, but I know how important it is to love someone else, and to be loved in return.

I have also learned guilt. Guilt from being somewhere else, when my family is going through some stressful challenges. Guilt from not being there to help with the daily things that crop up, and not being there to console loved ones when they need it.

So, what I have really learned during my lovely tour of a small part of Afghanistan? You have to live. You have to take life in hand and RUN with it. No matter what happens in life, you have to embrace the experience. It goes back to a blog from several months ago.

Amor Fati

Love your fate. Take what it thrown at you, learn from it, but let it stop you. Use the water stops on the course, but take off running as soon as you get what you need.

I want to learn more and more to see as beautiful what is necessary in things; then I shall be one of those who make things beautiful. Amor fati: let that be my love henceforth! I do not want to wage war against what is ugly. I do not want to accuse; I do not even want to accuse those who accuse. Looking away shall be my only negation. And all in all and on the whole: some day I wish to be only a Yes-sayer.-Nietzsche

-P.J.

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Play it again Sam...here we go

2010-01-29T08:45:00.001-08:00

So, the past couple of weeks have had some bright points, but it's not all good. Looking back on my history, it's has not been uncommon for me to hit patches of laziness...or patches of...would depression be the right word? I wouldn't consider it depression, more a 'motivational deficiency'

A lot of it has been burnout. Not burn out from running, but general burnout of being here. To be perfectly honest, I'm tired of most of the people here. The petty crap they come up with sometimes just makes me want to...aaarrrgggg.

So, let's talk about some of the tendencies that tend to bug people...

*Never shutting up- Why do some people have the need to fill every silence with words. If you are going to talk about something, at least say something intelligent. Do NOT tell me for the fiftieth time this week about the same stupid movie you have watched 500 times in the past year.

*When I sit down in the chow hall at a table away from everyone else does not mean it's an invitation for you to sit down.

*Remember that when you know I am too polite to say when you ask if you can sit with me.

*The gym...I understand that you like your music loud in the gym and that it may motivate you, but that does not mean I need to have my eardrums blown out while I work out.

*Oh, and along with that. If someone else in the gym already, don't go change their iPod for yours. I don't give a crap if you don't like Best of the 80's Hair bands...I don't do it to you when I walk in, don't do it me.

*Don't ask me what's wrong...I'm tired of being here, and I want to go home. If you can't figure that out, you are an idiot.

*Yelling at the TV when the football game is on, telling the quarterback to pass for a touchdown every play... every play?

*When someone comes trudging back from the gym dripping with sweat and looking tired, following them to their room and asking for help with a computer might get you an answer you don't like.

*I run on the treadmill with headphones because I want to be in my own world. Unless you are going to offer me a beer, or barring that, tell me we are under attack, leave me alone...even in the off chance you came up with something intelligent to say.

*Quoting a line from a movie can be funny, in the right setting. Quoting the same lines from the same movie...does not count as something intelligent.

*I may have to respect you because of your rank, I don't have to be your friend.

*Just because you have rank, does not necessarily mean you have something intelligent to say. All the rank means, is that I have to listen to you.

*Yes, congratulations you know my full name. My friends don't address me by my full name. I prefer to be called P.J. I shortened it to make it easy to remember and say. Shortening it further to by saying "peej" does not quantify your intelligence.

*Oh, and hey, we are in the military. If you are not my friend, or if it's official business, it's Sergeant.

*Whining...wait...that's what I am doing right now...

Well, I got that off my chest, thanks. Can you tell I haven't had much time to run lately? I know that I can.

As a side effect, I have been able to get in the gym and start getting into the weights. I still have some aches and pains that are going away, slowly but surely. I'm getting there. Considering the lack of outside running I have been able to do, I'm doing okay.

Today, I managed to get outside and run a quick lap. It was nice to be outside and feel the wind and see the sky.

Total for the week is only 15.4 miles. Not a great number, but considering it has been almost exclusively on the treadmill, I won't complain too much. I am hoping to get in another 3.5 or 4 miles tomorrow which would bring me up to almost 20 for the week. We will see if my schedule allows it or not. A new month starts soon, and I am really hoping I can take the running back outside and back up to 100 miles for the month. It will mean several days of two a day running workouts, but I think I can do it. And yes, I know that February is a short month, but I will do what I am capable of.

For January I will probably finish right at 50 miles. Which is not exactly the goal I had in mind, but it's better than nothing.

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Advice...who's the motivator now, beeotch?

2010-01-12T07:01:00.001-08:00

Lately, it has been a bit of a challenge to get and stay motivated. Honestly, the motivation has been lacking on my end since I got back from my R&R.

I am great at giving advice, just not always great and listening to advice. When I was home, I did take the time to go for a few runs. I ran the normal route out and back to my door, but I also explored some variations on the route as well. I got in a run/hike with my son. It was great.

Now that I am back, I dread running the normal track, and I despise even more the treadmill. It has been hard to get back into the swing of things. It's cold in the morning, and that send me scurrying back to bed. Some days have been extremely long and it's hard to force myself to go put in miles on the treadmill. Even trying to force myself I haven't been very successful. Needless to say, my goal of swinging right back into 100 mile month for January is swiftly going downhill. So far, I have logged a grand total of 15 miles. Pitiful.

Last night, I registered for a half marathon at the end of May. It is a trail race, at the Red Rock Conservation area west of Las Vegas. Hopefully, having that goal established, will get my mood and my mind in the right place.

One bright point I have right now, is that I have been getting a basic refresher on weights in the gym. I am sore, but that will go away over the next couple of weeks. Strength training is something that I almost always neglect, but hopefully I can get, and stay in the habit of hitting the weights at least 3 times a week.

At this point, I have to start ramping mileage up one way or another to get my base fitness back under me. That will mean treadmill runs when it's dark, and some cold mornings regardless. Otherwise, I will have a dissappointing race at the end of May.

-P.J.

http://www.active.com/running/las-vegas-nv/desert-dash-moonlight-madness-2-may29th-2010

A new year...just another day...

2010-01-01T09:13:00.001-08:00

Seems every time a year ends, everyone decides that they have something to say. All over the news, you see the year's highlights for whatever show they happen to be on. Sometimes, it is a light hearted look at what happens back stage or funny bloopers that happened on camera. Others show the sad and 'defining' moments of the year, or humiliating screen clips of politicians or celebrities. The Worst Blunders of 2009, the Biggest Scandals of 2009, the Worst Sandwich of 2009, the Worst of...of whatever your sadistic heart desires.

Fitness magazines, newspapers, and websites are flooded with ideas on how to keep your New Year's resolutions. Along side them, usually in the same issue, will predict how you will fail miserably to keep your new commitments.

One thing is for certain, gym memberships will skyrocket this month, running shoes and bicycles will be dusted off. People will be determined to change, and the world will be bright with hope.

The usual resolutions are losing weight, finish school, workout more, quit eating Christmas cookies, or spending more time with family. Or least, that what comes to mind to me as the usual suspects.

For most people the year will start out hopeful and optimistic. This is the year they will make a dramatic change in their life.

Of course, there are people who resolve not to make resolutions. "Why bother?" they ask, " I know my track record on New Year's Resolutions." The pessimist, or realist(depending on the point of view), knows themselves well. Will they fail because of basic human nature, or will they fail because they think they will?

As far as I am concerned, let the people buy their gym memberships, dust off those shoes, order the latest home exercise equipment, and pull some clothes out they are determined to wear again. Some of them will make a change and stick with it. They will profoundly change their lives for the better. Worse comes to worse, they might help the economy out.

(Except for the shoe dusters, they really should buy new shoes to run in! And for the love of God, get rid of the Richard Simmons shorts!)

As far as the past goes, we must honor the memory of those we have lost. As we strive to remember their laughter, their voices, and their faces, we still have to remember to look forward. Honor the memory and sacrifices of the previous years, not just last year. Reflect on the events that impacted your life and learn from them to improve the future.

So, what is, or are my resolutions for the New Year? the new decade? I don't have any. Or, put in a different way, I will continue to live my life and enjoy the moments that I can.

I will mourn when I need to.

I will laugh when I feel like it.

I will never shy away from telling my family that I love them.

I will always be grateful for the friends I have.

In other words, I will try to do what I always have tried to do in the past; live a life worth living. My suggestion to you? Do the same.

-P.J.

*picture above is by Ryan at digitalblasphemy.com

Motivating others....

2010-01-01T03:45:00.001-08:00

The other day on Facebook, my active.com friend posted the question, "How would you motivate a new runner?"
Well, here it is. Interesting question. The main thing would be that the new runner has come to the conclusion on their own that they want to run.

I know that I have tried to convince people to run, or motivate them to start running. Sometimes, I have been successful, but usually I am not.

People have to come to their own conclusion when it comes to excersize, dieting, or quitting bad habits. To be sure, you can arm them with all the knowledge in the world about what is good for them or what is bad them for them. Without the personal conviction though to make a commitment to themselves, it won't stick.

Even when you have made a conviction to yourself, it still takes willpower to actually stick with a program or change to your daily habits.

For instance, I know that I need to eat better. It is somewhat hard to do at times when someone else has to do the cooking for you. However, I know that I could still make better choices. More often than not, I will make an excuse to have the piece of pie, or the bowl of ice cream. It really comes down to making the mental decision or commitment that day to make the right choice.

Every morning...actually every day, I am always presented with the decision on whether or not I am going to run. Lately (with the exception of my recent leave), I have been successful at getting a run in more often than I skip on it.

How do you translate that into something motivating for a new runner? wish I could tell you. The easiest way would be to invite them on a run with you, if it's possible. The nice thing about joining them on a run is that it will help to motivate you as well. It never hurts to have a time commitment that you have to meet.

Just by running with them, you show them that running while inherently a solitary sport, can still give a semblance of a team. I think that many people out there just need to feel that they are part of a team.

Of course, they may discover that they like running by themselves. While I do not mind running with others or running with a runners group, I usually don't. Oddly, it is somewhat hard to find other people out there that are willing to head for training run longer than a block. Out of necessity, I have learned to enjoy running by myself. Well, let me rephrase that, I have learned to run with myself and usually enjoy the outcome(conversations) of those runs.

Where was I going with this? Oh, how do you motivate new runners to stay with it? The answer is to show them what motivates you. The factors that motivate you may be the same factors that motivate them. Who knows, maybe they will discover that it is perfectly find to talk to themselves during a run.

The Return...

2009-12-22T22:00:00.001-08:00

Today started the return back to the lovely and wonderful country of Afghanistan. Which sucks. A lot.
However, I did have a wonderful time with my family and got to enjoy seeing my children and wife open their presents. Which is something that I don't take for granted.
While at home I did manage to get in some runs. The number of runs wasn't important, but the enjoyment out of those runs was good.
A short trail run/hike with my son, a long run on a route I had never run before, and some short runs around my neighborhood were all very enjoyable.

When I get back to Afghanistan I will try to go right back to my normal routine of trying to get 100 -plus miles a month. Then the goal is to carry it forward home. When I get back home for good my goal is to try and get out to either Red Rock Canyon or Mount Charleston at least once a week for a trail run. Eventually I would like to get those weekly runs up to an average of 10-12 miles each week. That along with my normal work outs should prepare well for the end of the year. Right now, I have two races planned for next year. The Valley of Fire Marathon, and the Las Vegas Marathon.

One thing I really noticed on the runs I did in Vegas the past couple of weeks is that I need to do a lot of hill workouts when I get back home. The flat route I run everyday in Afghanistan is not working for that kind of workout. Those weekly trail runs I plan on doing should work out nicely for that.

Another thing I have come to learn over the past few weeks is that running with a water bottle is great, but there is a catch. When it's cold outside, and you take water from the refrigerator, that bottle gets REALLY cold when you run. So, for the future, I will take the water out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before heading on down the road.

I know, I know, duh.

Well, Merry Christmas to everyone.

-P.J.

I'm a Mac...and a lovely Runner

2009-12-16T08:22:00.001-08:00

I have been enjoying my time at home. It's going by entirely too fast, but I expected that. Being home has been a joy, and getting to see my children and my wife was definitely uplifting.
Last week I splurged and got a new MacBook. For the most part I am happy with the purchase. It's sleek, fast, and after playing with Windows machine exclusively for the past 10 years or so, a little bit of a challenge. I'm getting there though. The really nice thing? The battery life on the machine is amazing! I have a laptop that I will actually be able to watch an entire movie while traveling now!

The main issue is getting everything ported over from the pc laptop to the Mac so that I can continue to work on everything I need for school, tracking my runs, and getting my school work done.
I do like the interface better on the Garmin Training Center on the Mac too. Where on the PC it took the data for speed, cadence, elevation and stuck it all together on one graph, in the Mac interface it shows it separately. Easier to read that way.
While home, I have managed to get in some runs. One of them was a short trail run/hike in Red Rock Canyon with my son. Always a joy to get him to go running with me. Hopefully in the next year or so I can get my daughter to come along, too.
Yesterday, my wife had an appointment with the hair stylist, so I took the opportunity to go for a run while she was under the dryer. I managed to get in a 6 mile run that felt great. Having the freedom to go run where I want and when I want to has been liberating. And I look good in my new bright yellow Brooks Running Jacket. Well, at least I can be seen.
I only have a few days left before I head back to hell, but at least when I get back it will be on the downhill slide.
I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmahanukwanzaa!
-P.J.

I'm a Mac...and a lovely runner

2009-12-16T08:02:00.001-08:00

I have been enjoying my time at home. It's going by entirely too fast, but I expected that. Being home has been a joy, and getting to see my children and my wife was definitely uplifting.

Last week I splurged and got a new MacBook. For the most part I am happy with the purchase. It's sleek, fast, and after playing with Windows machine exclusively for the past 10 years or so, a little bit of a challenge. I'm getting there though. The really nice thing? The battery life on the machine is amazing! I have a laptop that I will actually be able to watch an entire movie while travelling now!

The main issue is getting everything ported over from the pc laptop to the Mac so that I can continue to work on everything I need for school, tracking my runs, and getting my school work done.

I do like the interface better on the Garmin Training Center on the Mac too. Where on the PC it took the data for speed, cadence, elevation and stuck it all together on one graph, in the Mac interface it shows it seperately. Easier to read that way.

While home, I have managed to get in some runs. One of them was a short trail run/hike in Red Rock Canyon with my son. Always a joy to get him to go running with me. Hopefully in the next year or so I can get my daughter to come along, too.

Yesterday, my wife had an appointment with the hair stylist, so I took the oppurtunity to go for a run while she was under the dryer. I managed to get in a 6 mile run that felt great. Having the freedom to go run where I want and when I want to has been liberating. And I look good in my new bright yellow Brooks Running Jacket. Well, at least I can be seen.

I only have a few days left before I head back to hell, but at least when I get back it will be on the downhill slide.

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmahanukwanzaa!

-P.J.

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Almost home…

2009-12-06T08:12:00.001-08:00

No real update training wise. I have travelling and hopping planes from location for the past 4 days. I am finally back in the United States for my R&R leave. Just waiting to catch my final flight to Vegas.

I can’t wait to get home and see my family.

P.J.

13.1 Mile Turkey Trot…pass the pie please…

2009-11-26T09:12:00.001-08:00

In many communities around the United States there are road races that are collectively called ‘Turkey Trots.’ These races are usually 5k or 10k in length and are held in the mornings. For many runners, this give us them an excuse to indulge, or overindulge on Thanksgiving Day.

Today, in our little corner of Afghanistan, we held our own ‘Turkey Trot’ of sorts. Thanks to Tracy, the race director of the Valley of Fire Marathon race, we were able to host our own 10k and Half-Marathon here.

While the morning started off quite chilly, it was a clear and bright day. I had opted to run the half-marathon distance.

How did it go?

Well, I felt pretty good until about mile 5 or so. After that, I had a hard time keeping a steady pace. This was the longest run I have ever done without music in my ears.

There were times I didn’t notice it. There were times where I zoned out just listening to my feet hit the ground. There were other times where I just wanted to zone out and listen to music though. Music is not always a necessity for me when I run, but it is rare that I run without headphones. So, today was a little rough and I think I mentally beat myself.

My finishing time was 2 hours 6 minutes. While I am happy that I finished the run, I am a little disappointed in my time. I really thought I could run it under 2 hours. The week being sick or under the weather after the flu shot didn’t help. The cold didn’t help. Not having music didn’t help.

I did learn a couple of things though. One, I learned that I can run 13 miles without headphones and not go completely crazy…just a little crazy.

Two, if I ran somewhere a little more picturesque or in a place that I could enjoy the sounds of nature, it wouldn’t have bothered me as much.

Three, that article I read about doing a nice, easy recovery run at the end of the day…I’m gonna say, no.

I went for a ‘recovery run’ tonight. The idea behind it is that you loosen everything back up with an easy 3-4 mile run. So, I stretched a little bit, and hopped up on a treadmill and set it at a fairly slow speed. After about half a mile everything seemed to loosen up. It felt…not great, but not bad either.

At three miles, I called it good. That was a couple of hours ago. The verdict?

Well, my hamstrings seem a little better and not quite as tight. My quads are about the same and feel fine. The lower legs, not great. Not sure if it’s really worse, or if it’s just…I don’t know.

To pass judgement on this technique, I will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now though, I think the better option is to do the recovery run the next day. Not the same day.

So, for today, I ran a total of 16.1 miles, and burned a total of 2500 calories. At dinner I had an extra piece of pie.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I miss you Mrs. Johnson, Andy and Simone. See you soon!

-P.J.

Sick…better…sick…better…well?

2009-11-23T07:51:00.001-08:00

So, a little over a week ago, I was given a free bonus gift by Uncle Sam. It wasn’t advertised as part of the round trip ticket, all inclusive package to Afghanistan, but it was free!

Yes, the H1N1 vaccine was given as an early Christmas present from the CDC.

The day I got the shot was just a typical day until I started to head out to the track for a recovery run from the 10 miler I did the day before. The medic stopped me and pointed to a note on the board…

“NO WORKING OUT FOR 24 HOURS AFTER RECIEVING THE VACCINE”

“But Doc, if I go out and get in a short 3.5 mile run I will be at 40 miles for the week. It’s a new record for me…”

“Not a good idea, bub.”

That 24 hours no running turned into a solid week of feeling horrible. The side effects are supposed to last 1-2 days? Reeealllllllyyyyyy……*

Last Saturday, I just couldn’t take it anymore so I decided to run on the treadmill and see if I could sweat it out. Seems to have worked.

The down week and being sick effected me more than I thought it would though. A 3.5 miler Sunday morning left me feeling like my legs were made out of lead.

Tonight I cranked out 5 miles on the treadmill. Have I explained how much I don’t like running on the treadmill?

At any rate, it looks like I am back into the swing. I still have a little bit of sinus congestion, but other than that I feel fairly well now.

There is good news for the week, too. It’s only Monday and I beat my mileage for last week! Of course it was only 5 miles last week, but I’ll take the self-esteem boost where I can.

Not sure if this will be a 100+ plus month or not. It will probably fairly close, but if it isn’t, I know that I did the right thing by taking the days off that I did.

-P.J.

*The FDA says common side effects of the vaccine are: Mild problems that may be experienced include soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given, fainting (mainly adolescents), headache, muscle aches, fever, and nausea. If these problems occur, they begin soon after the shot and usually last 1 to 2 days

40 mile week…alas, no…damn swine…

2009-11-14T05:31:00.001-08:00

This weeks training went fairly well. Considering many of my training runs were on the treadmill and left me feeling like a hamster, I can’t complain. Although I’m not sure I like the buck teeth and little whiskers.

I managed to get in a 10 mile run yesterday that went fairly well. The really nice thing was the weather. Being able to go running for that long was great. A complete 90 minutes all to myself. My average pace fell just over 9min p/mile on the run, and other than some stiffness this morning, no real soreness to speak of.

Today was going to be my day to crack the 40 mile barrier. Alas, those plans were changed. Because of the stiffness I felt this morning, I opted to hold my run off until tonight. Earlier this afternoon, however, I was given my H1N1 vaccine, and was told no strenuous activities such as running. On the plus side if I want to pig wrestle at a county fair in the Midwest, I should be safe.

So, I am left with a weekly total of 36.43 miles. Pretty solid week all in all. For most of the runs I just tried to relax and didn’t push the pace all that much. So far for the month I have totaled 58.29 miles at average of 8:44 p/mile. Not quite as fast I would like to be averaging but an improvement over last month so far.

To put in perspective for distance, I need to hold an average of less 9:09 p/mile to run a sub 4 hour marathon. I am right where I want need to be.

The really good news, I am another week closer to coming home. I am another week further into a training schedule that I like and I hope I can maintain while I am here.

What I still need to do is some speed work. I have done a little here and there, and maybe for the remaining time I can finally start to design some interval training and speed session into the training schedule. Let me rephrase that…Maybe I can actually convince myself that the speed work could be fun and remember to do the damn workouts.

And on a completely related, but obscure note that no one will probably get: I am down to 4 or 5 a day. Almost there.

Where’d the Damn Sun Go…yes, that is Christmas music coming from my iPod

2009-11-09T00:22:00.001-08:00

With fall well underway here in Afghanistan, the sun rises later everyday and it gets dark early every day.

So, now I have no choice but to start hitting the treadmill for some of my runs. Actually, with the way things are going, most of mileage will end up being done inside. I am starting to get used to it I suppose.

Hopefully though, I can figure out a way to get some runs in on the track.

It’s funny though, a month or so ago I was complaining about having to run the same little track day in and day out. Now, I am faced with the prospect of running in a small room facing a blank wall. The same track sure looks good from this point of view.

When I get down with this deployment though, and get back home, I will be varying my routes. If for no other reason than to just enjoy freedom again.

Either way, I can’t for the sun to come back and stick around till at least dinner time.

**************************************

Deck the Halls…

Yup, I added some Christmas songs to my iPod. I know…I know…it’s not Thanksgiving yet. I have given in whole heartedly to the retail industry and my Christmas season starts right after Halloween. Of course I still most of my Christmas shopping the week before Christmas. Maybe it’s just because I light flashy lights and shiny things.

Don’t get me wrong. I still think Thanksgiving is a great holiday. You get to go to someone else’s house, eat all the food, and not bring a present. Unless of course said present is a bottle of wine or store bought pie cleverly disguised as homemade…

Back to Christmas music…Bob Dylan has released a Christmas album, Christmas In the Heart. I am tempted to get it just to see. When you think of who would put out a holiday album, Mr. Dylan is not one you would expect.

Does anyone remember the movie Love, Actually? The has-been rock and roll guy remakes one of his old hits into a Christmas song? That’s what I am picturing.

On one had though, all the proceeds from the album go to a charity for the hungry, so at least we know he isn’t releasing this album just to make a quick buck.

******************************

Last week was not a great week. Scheduling got in the way on some days, laziness crept in others.

I still managed to log in 21.86 miles. Like I said, not great, but not a complete waste either.

Yesterday, I started the week off right, and did two runs for a total of just over 9 miles.

Today, because of schedule, I will run tonight on the treadmill. Looking at trying to get in a full hour on the treadmill. We’ll see.

Excuses…October Summary

2009-10-31T10:12:00.001-07:00

I fully entered into my running this month wanting to hit 120 miles. As plans often do, this is one that got sidetracked.

October presented some challenges for me. At time I lacked the motivation to get up and get out. There were days where I had planned to go long. Some of those days, I went for short runs, and some of them I opted to not run at all, because I didn’t want to just in another three or four miler.

What happened to the idea that any run was better than no run? The thought that I rarely, if ever, ever felt worse after a run, than I did before it?

I don’t know. Honestly, it was a fairly decent month training wise. I finish with over 100 miles for a month. Last month was the first month since the last marathon that I hit 100 miles for a month. Now, I have a record for me of two months in a row with more than 100 miles.

High desert fall air. That’s what I’ll blame it on…yeah…no.

Lately,especially this last week, it was my ability to procrastinate that got in my way. Because of the chill in the morning air, I have opted several times to stay under a blanket. I would tell myself that I would make it up later in the day.

The problem that occurs is that sometimes the events of the day get in the way, and it’s not possible to get it back.

I should be on a treadmill right now, but I have consigned myself to trying to celebrate Halloween.

It’s my wife’s favorite holiday, and she was nice enough to send me some Halloween lights, and snacks. So, I will use that as an excuse for not running tonight, and I am happy about that.

As it is, here are my totals.

105.42 miles at an average pace of 8:53 p/mile

15 hours and 37 minutes

15331 Calories burned or 2190 pieces of Candy Corn

I also lost a little weight. How much? Well, I don’t really weigh myself regularly, and our scale isn’t calibrated. I think I lost around 8 lbs, and according to the scale here, I weigh 208 lbs.

My goal is to be back under 200 by December…which means I can’t make excuses for deserts anymore.

What? You can’t tell me I’m the only one who says yes to a piece of cake or ice cream and justifies it by running an extra 2 miles the next day.

Although, I think I said that last month, too… got to treat myself every once in a while right? *

To be perfectly honest, what I want to do is get in another 100+mile month. Finish the Valley of Fire Half-Marathon closer to 1:50 than 2:00, and basically just run to feel good.

*Yes, I do realize that treating yourself every once in a while does not mean 3 or 4, or 5 times a week…Ok, 7 times a week…

Arrrg…cold…and just plain homesick

2009-10-29T09:04:00.001-07:00

Well, the morning temps have gone from pleasant to slightly uncomfortable, or, maybe it’s just me be lazy. I don’t know.

Partly, my lack of mileage this week has been laziness, uncooperative schedule, and somewhat just a general sense of being homesick. That, and a steadfast refusal to run on a treadmill. Someone has ‘strategically relocated’ the video cable that connects the TV in the Hamster Cage. I have a hard enough time running on the treadmill as it is, but having to stare at a blank wall or at a poster of some second rate mascot from the Arena Football League, does not stimulate the mind very well.

I need to find a new cable for that TV, and quickly. With winter fast approaching, the days are getting shorter and shorter.

Also, I am starting to really feel homesick right now. I am irritable, and I just want the next month to go fast. Although my days are pretty much filled, it seems that the days just tend to drag on and on.

Time is at a standstill, it seems.

Unfortunately, I know that when I get my break to go home, time will move way too fast.

All I can do, is try to enjoy the time I have relaxing with my family, and to make the most of the time I will get them.

I just wish it would happen now!

Tomorrow, I have to drag my happy ass out of bed and into the cold to try and get in at least four miles, if not five. I need to repeat that again tomorrow night as well, even if it’s on the treadmill. Maybe, I can get my head back on straight then, too.

-P.J.

Did You Really…?OK, it was only one double…

2009-10-23T08:37:00.001-07:00

At what speed can you still honestly say you are running?

Does finishing a marathon in 6 hours really qualify you to say you ‘ran’ it?

What is the difference between a jogger and a runner? Which am I?

It seems every year that I have counted myself in the crowd of runners, there is an article put out somewhere in the mainstream media that bemoans the slower marathon finisher.

Plodders have a place, but is it the marathon?

While the article linked to above was not as mean spirited as others I have read, it still denigrates thousands of people who have at least gotten off their butts to get out and participate in an event that can celebrate fitness, health, vitality, and humility.

I don’t really care who you are; getting out and moving on your own two feet for 26.2 miles involves determination, endurance, mental toughness, and just sheer guts.

There are 2 marathon finishes that qualify me as a ‘marathoner'. The first took me almost 5 and half hours to finish. The first 20 or so miles went well, and I pleasantly thinking of a finish of around 4hrs and 30 minutes. At mile 21 it fell apart.

The next 5 miles were the most excruciating 5 miles of my life. It wasn’t a walk in my mind, it wasn’t running, either. I finished though. Even though I wanted to stop and quit, I forced myself to finish. It was one of my proudest personal accomplishments. Now, do I still get to say that I ran a marathon even though I essentially walked the last miles?

The next marathon I finished, was in 4 hours and 8 minutes*. I ran the entire way. Or at least I think I did. While I didn’t completely fall apart at mile 21, I did really start to hurt around mile 24.

Of course to some people, running any pace over, say 8 minutes a mile, is considered jogging. So, did I jog a marathon, or run it? Does it matter?

I don’t think it really does. The races I run, I don’t really run ever expecting to win anything. My races are run to help motivate me in my training. They give me a goal to work towards, other than general fitness.

So, if someone has a goal to walk 26.2 miles, and they do it, why not give them a shirt and finishers medal? It doesn’t take away from my own sense of accomplishment one damn bit.

At the beginning of the week, I said that doubles were back. It happened once, and maybe twice if I can arrange it tomorrow.

I would like to be able to get in two runs a day. It’s nice when I can do it here. Will I do it when I get back home? I don’t know. Here the second run of the day is just so I get away from it all for a few more minutes. At home, I usually don’t need to get away from anything.

Will I get in runs while I am home on leave? I might get in a few runs, but my focus will be on spending the precious moments with my family. Although, I know if I do get in some runs, they will be a new sense of freedom, and appreciation for what we have in the United States.

-P.J.

*If the line at the porta-john hadn’t been so long I might have broken 4 hours…maybe.

Crazy I tell ya…a return to doubles

2009-10-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

Well, for the past two days I was sick. I woke up a couple of days ago and just didn’t feel well. The day went downhill from there. There is no reason to describe the symptoms, but it wasn’t pleasant.

Yesterday, I felt somewhat better, but still not well. I opted to sleep in again and give myself a little bit of a chance to recover.

I think it was a good choice. This morning a couple of us got up and did an Abs workout from the P90X video set. It’s a good workout, but I really don’t like it.

Core muscles are something that everyone will tell you is important for running. It helps with your posture during running. With proper posture you can breath better, and your running form is supposedly more efficient. When you are long runs, a strong core will enable to keep an efficient stride. If nothing else, having a strong core just sounds…it just sounds…well, strong.

Core workouts and weight training are things I need to start doing more of. In the mornings though, I just want to get my run in and get in some miles before my day officially starts. At least I got one in today. Evenings around here in the gym are busy, and a little too crowded.

After the morning Abs workout we went for a 3.5 mile run. My friend thought it crazy to do the Abs workout and then run, but we did it anyway.

It was a good run for me, 3.5 in under 30 minutes, at at 8:27 p/mile pace.

At the end of the day, I went out for another, slower run. I covered 4.3 miles at just under a 9:00 m/pile average pace. It felt slower than that during the run, but it felt good. I was trying out new shoes, the Nike Free's. It’s hard to give an impression right now on them. They feel…odd. During the run though, I did feel a slight difference in my stride. After the run, my hamstrings felt like they had gotten a little more of workout.

When it’s all said and done, last week was a rough week for mileage. This week didn’t start off well, but today I logged nearly 8 miles and I am still on track to hit the 100 mile mark again this month. Provided I can get in the long run I need to this week. I might even hit it this week, or come really close to it.

-P.J.

The Sufferer must help…

2009-10-17T07:42:00.001-07:00

the sufferer must help himself-Kierkegaard

I don’t know a whole lot about Kierkegaard, other than he was theologian from Denmark I believe, but I read the above quote in relation to an article about running.

I believe I understand the sentiment, that only you can ultimately help yourself. God, faith, fate, dumb luck, can’t help you, but you can help yourself. At first glance of this quote, I believed it to be true, and an apt sentiment. Now, I am not so sure it is so cut and dry.

Tonight, I went for a run. It was a much needed run, just to burn off frustration. The frustration of the day, frustration at myself, frustration of other people, needed to be let loose.

I started off at nearly a full on sprint, just to burn off the excess. As they say, “Run away from your troubles.”

I burned it fairly quickly, and slowed to what felt like a very slow jog, and my mind started working.

You, the sufferer, get to make the decision every day if you will end the suffering. Overweight? You decide on whether or not you go exercise. Run slow(like me)? You decide on whether or not you will do speed work to speed up. Bad Habit? You decide every day, either consciously or unconsciously whether to engage in that habit.

We make the decisions that generate the majority of our own suffering. The people around you, however, can contribute to help you, or hurt you further.

You decide that you want to run, the people in your life have to support an understand that you want to do it… okay, it’s impossible to understand why anyone in their right mind would run 6 miles or 26.2 miles.

Everything you do, you do have to make the decision for. No one else can. You can’t accomplish anything truly on your own though. Your family can support you and cheer you on. Friends can run with you to help push you further. Faith in whatever god you worship, can give you the boost you need, the inspiration to be a better person. Dumb luck, well dumb luck works in slot machines, lotteries, and the occasional ‘free cheeseburger’ scratch ticket from a fast food place…

(but that won’t help you lose weight, give that coupon to someone else who doesn’t need it).

My mileage for the week is just under 18 miles, 17.96 to be exact.

Considering last week’s mileage was 32 miles, it’s a little disheartening. I have some valid excuses, but they are still excuses. Even tonight, I could have gotten in more mileage on the treadmill if I had wanted to. Or if the people around had supported me a little I could have gotten an earlier start.

The run tonight was 3.6 miles, at an 8:44 p/mile pace. I am still on pace to log a second month of 100 miles or more, but I don’t think I can hit the 120 mile mark at this point.

-P.J.

Bringing your head up…

2009-10-10T10:08:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I went for a run with a goal, finish another race. This one came with no t-shirt, no finishers medal, and no entry fee.

It was the 10k Zen Run; part of the World Wide Festival of Races. I was supposed to have completed this run in the morning, but I didn’t get much sleep the night before. So, tonight headed out with a goal in mind; dropping my average pace from the Tahoe Race.

The night was cool, and the sun was just about to set. As I headed out to a turn around point, I noticed the falcons. The falcons were all on the ground, resting I presume. Running towards them I was amazed at the sight.

They started to take flight and circle around as I approached closer and closer. One or two of them appeared to fly along with me, probably trying to determine if I was a threat or not.

I hit the turn and started back the other directions. As I cleared the area that the falcons were in, I looked back. The falcons were pretty much gone, probably nesting somewhere nearby on a wall, or a stand of trees.

Continuing on, the sun had set behind the mountains, turning the sky shades of orange, red, and purple. I noticed that bats were out now, the silent predator of the night.

Their shadowy forms were easy to spot in the final dusky orange glow from the sun. At first I thought it was maybe 20 or 30 bats flitting around. Briefly, somewhere in my head a comparison of predators and times of day flitting by. That’s when I actually brought my head up to look around.

The sight in front me, silhouetted against the sky almost stopped me dead in tracks. It wasn’t just a few bats out early, it was hundreds of them. There is no order to bats flying around, like ducks, geese, or falcons who glide on the thermals in lazy circles.

The bats were flying every direction at once, changing direction so as not to run into each other, or me. The only way to describe it was controlled chaos.

As I continued to run on, the sun was dipping completely, and the first bright stars popped their holes in the sky, and the bats disappeared into the darkness.

It never ceases to amaze me what we can miss that is right in front of us some times. We get so focused on the short term goal, or what it is directly in front of us, that we miss out on everything around us.

Sometimes, you have to focus on the task at hand(usually, while running, it means you are focusing on not tripping and falling flat on your face). Other times you have to bring your head up. You have to have the confidence in your own ability to move forward in life. If you are continually looking at your feet, how are you supposed to know when to change directions?

You can’t notice the beauty of world if you only look down.

You can’t notice the beautiful woman in front of you, unless she brings your head up.

You can’t breathe deep and live life, unless you are willing to see where in life you are going.

The question is this, do you live your life, or does your life live you?

Uh-oh. Was that deep or what?*

Back to the run. Yeah, so there I was continuing on to my second lap. My head is down, looking at my feet, so I don’t fall down flat on my face. The sky is being pierced by more and more stars, but I can’t notice because I’m trying not to trip on rocks.

My wrist beeps at me that I have finished 6 miles, .2 to go. Time to push.

I finished the 10k race in 54:07. Didn’t push hard enough to get a 54 flat, but I held an average pace of 8:42. Not a single mile was over 9 minutes.

On a side note. I refigured the Lake Tahoe Race time for me. After sitting down with an online pace calculator, I would have finished in 55:50, not the 54 range I had projected earlier. So, I don’t know what my PR is right now.

So, after careful review, I set my Personal Record in the 10k at 54:07, if for no other reason than to make myself feel better. My toe caught an unseen rock right at the end, and I almost…almost fell flat on my face.

Final tally of the World Wide Festival of Races 10k Zen Run(can we shorten that title next year?)

6.2 miles in – 54:07

Average pace – 8:42 p/mile

Total miles for the week- 32.75

and a thank you to my wife. She lifted my eyes up off the ground several years ago, to show me where I could go, and who I was going there with. Love you A.J.

-P.J.

*I think one of the reasons I seem to enjoy running is because of what you can learn about yourself, and the world around you

The Morning Ritual…

2009-10-08T09:47:00.001-07:00

An alarm goes off, disturbing two sleeping bodies. The one closest to the alarm reaches over and turns it off, cursing silently. “Is the sun even up?” he ask himself.

He swings his legs from under the cover and sits up, yawning. The shadowy form of his wife reaches out to invite him back to the warm, soft comfort of bed. Leaning over, he kisses her on the cheek and moves the hair out of her face, admiring the angelic, sleeping face.

The sun is starting to come to up, and the night sky is giving way to a rosy dawn. Dusty shoes wait in the corner of the closet. After donning shorts and t-shirt, the runner grabs the shoes and heads out of the bedroom, again yawning. Looking back at the now half-empty bed, he realizes that he would much rather go back to the embrace of his wife.

Out in the kitchen, the shoes are tied, water bottled filled, and earphones are on as the runner heads out the door, beginning yet another day.

How many people do this every day? For me, I am usually not greeting the dawn when I am home. I work nights in the civilian world, so I usually get up around 9:00 or 9:30 before it gets too hot.

Here, in Afghanistan, I usually do greet the dawn. For the past two months, I have witnessed more dawns than I have slept through.

The question is though, how do you get to the point to where it is habit to get up and go? Even though, I enjoy running, I have to force myself out of bed every morning. When I run at the end of the day, it’s easier to get into.

However, I can’t always be sure that I will have time to run at night. Well, that I am trying to avoid the treadmill for as long as possible. The hours of daylight are getting shorter here, so pretty soon, I will have to start hitting the treadmill.

Habits. Why are certain habits easier to start than others? Why are other habits harder to break than others?

I remember reading that it takes at least 30 days to ‘set’ a habit. How long to break habits? I don’t know.

I do know that habits that are bad for you seem to be harder to break. It all depends on the habits. Running can be a habit, but it takes an effort to get out there and put foot to pavement.

Getting that piece of pie after dinner… well, no real effort there at all is there?

Grabbing a water instead of a soda?

Good habits are hard to form, and bad habits are hard to break.

I guess it comes down to what level of stress someone is willing to go through to break a bad habit. It puts you outside of your comfort zone. Your mind tells you the easy way out is to fall back into the comfort zones.

“I’m too busy, I have too much to do”

“Didn’t get enough sleep.”

“Sleep in, don’t run. Easier on the knees.”

“Sleep in, don’t run. The bed is warm and there is a loving companion there, waiting.” That one works on me when I am at home.

and my personal favorite,

“Have a piece of pie…you ran 6 miles this morning, and you are getting up tomorrow to run another 6.” *

*Ok, I only ran a little over 3 miles today, but it’s the pie was really good!

-P.J.

The Freedom to Run…

2009-10-06T09:45:00.001-07:00

The past week has been a little rough mentally. I briefly lost a little motivation to run, but I have managed to work through it, for the most part.

This morning I was planning on getting in 7-8 miles. I keep planning on doing, but time and later sunrises are getting in the way of doing that. Instead I ran 5 miles, with a goal for the first 3.5 miles. I wanted to finish the 3.5 route in less than 30 minutes.

I started picking the pace up and holding it in the transitions to gravel. I hit the 3.5 point in 29:54, and average pace of 8:33 p/mile. I know I can get it down further though. The question is could I hold an 8:30 pace for…a marathon?

Tonight I ran another 4.15 miles at recovery pace of 9:15 or so. Total on the day is a little over nine miles, so in theory I did get in my distance today.

During the evening run, as the sun was setting, my mind started to drift. It started to drift to the few trails that I have run around Las Vegas. Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Boulder City, and Lake Mead, all have trails to run. Some are more challenging than others, but they are all available to run. You may have to abide by park hours, or avoid crowds, but you have the freedom to go.

Hoover Dam, from the Arizona Side

Hell, I have even used the Strip as a ‘trail’ run a couple of times. I miss going to the NikeTown sponsored weekly run. You would start in the Forum Shops and run out away from the Strip, and then finish back in the mall. The look on the faces of tourists coming out of the high-end designer stores was priceless.

Here they are, spending more money than I make in a month on a wallet, watching us arrive back in the mall sweaty and out of breath. I know for a fact that I am no fashion plate in running gear either. Oh, the humanity.

It’s just the freedom of it all that I miss. Whether it be running out the front door, tourist dodging on the Strip*, or laboring through jagged volcanic rock and cactus, I can’t wait to explore and express my freedom to run where I want when I get home.

Red Rock Canyon/Great Loop Trail

6 Tunnels Half-Marathon, Lake Mead

In the meantime, I’ll have to make due with still having the ability to run, and daydream about better scenery. –P.J.

* the best time for running the Las Vegas Strip is early in the morning, when most of the tourists are sleeping it off. While not nearly as entertaining as trying to run around and through tourists at night, it is inherently safer for both the runner, and those around him/her. Either way, if you decide to run the Strip at anytime in the future, relax, and enjoy the sights, sounds, and the lights if you run it at night.

The Empty Runner…

2009-10-03T09:00:00.001-07:00

Here we are into another month. The week started off great with the completion of our first Shadow Race, and I kept the mileage at a decent level. I am finishing the week with just over 22 miles, which is a respectable number for where I want to be.

This morning though, I went for a run that was supposed to be 4 miles. I just couldn’t get myself into it. I had company in another soldier and the ‘strays’ that run with us, but I just wasn’t feeling it. We were able to push the pace a little because it was a short run, and I should be happy with it as a speed session.

I just felt…empty and drained.

Right now, I am trying to do everything I can to make everyone happy. I guess I was starting to feel selfish because I have been forcing the issue of getting my runs in.

I don’t mean that I have just said, “screw everything, I’m running.” What I mean is that I have been making the time to get the runs in, while still doing my duties.

It’s just that I feel selfish for doing so. I don’t know why. Does wanting to lose weight, or have some time to think, make me selfish, and therefore an empty, uncaring person?

Maybe it’s just that I miss my wife and children. I miss going for runs out my own front door and coming back to find my family waiting for me. I miss home.

-P.J.

September Totals…and missing family

2009-09-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

Last month turned out to be an outstanding training month for me. Having multiple reasons for motivation allowed to me to be consistent in my runs. My reasons were and are upcoming races to train for, stress relief, general health, and accomplishing for myself.

It was also a month that I missed some important events. My wife’s 40th birthday was last month, and I wasn’t there. Not only was a big event in our life together, it was also another birthday that I missed.

I also missed the wedding of our friends, David and Heather, whose wedding cake was made by my wife.

Back to school with our kids. I don’t get to be there for my son’s back to school days in person, but at least I could call and see how things went. I am not there to help with homework in person or over the phone with my daughter or son.

There are a lot of things that I will miss during my ‘tour’ of Afghanistan. This past month was hard, but the next months will be harder even still. Once the year is over, time for me seem short on paper, but everyday will drag. It will be long days, and longer nights of missing my family, but every day will be a little sweeter knowing that it’s almost over.

So, for the month of September, I have accomplished a lot, but missed home and family more. I see them when I run, and I am there when I am asleep.

Well, then. So what were the final tallies for the month?

112.31 total miles on the month in 28 workouts, average run length of 4 miles

16,738 calories burned

An average page of 9:27(which was a drop of 20 seconds)

Lake Tahoe 10k Finishers Medal

All in all, a very good month for me, running wise.

Lake Tahoe 5k/ 10k/ Half-Marathon-Afghanistan Edition…and introducing the newest Race Director in Afghanistan…

2009-09-27T05:09:00.001-07:00

This morning we ran the Lake Tahoe Race; only it was in Afghanistan.

We had a total of 8 official particpants and a couple of people decided to run it with us.

One person ran the 5k, five people ran the 10k, one ran the Half-Marathon Distance, and two dogs that ran…where they wanted to.

All in all the race went well. Several of our fellow service members volunteered to man the water stations, start and finish lines, and we also had a medic station set up, too.

Myself personally, I don’t know if I set a personal best or not. The course I recorded fell a little on the short side because of where we had to start and finish(and not pushing the right button on my watch), but either way, I am very pleased with how I felt, and how I did. I managed to keep an average sub 9 minute pace for the entire race.

Honestly, I was just really happy that we were able to run the race. It is not everyday that you get to run an ‘organized’ race in a combat zone.

Does this mean I get to add ‘Race Director’ to my resumes?

*unfortunately, not everyone was able to stick around and get in the finishers photo.

Escaping the Herd…rest days are important

2009-09-19T10:13:00.001-07:00

For the past 2 and half years I have often been asked, “Why? Why do you run?”
“Why would you pay to run a marathon? “
And my personal favorite, “Who are you running from?”
Often, my answers vary day to day. There are days that I ask the same questions of myself. Three years ago if you would have told me that I would run for pleasure, I would have told you that you were crazy. Three years ago I told my now wife, my friends, and my family that I wanted to try to run a marathon. Their response was, well, less than enthusiastic. I had talked about wanting to do many things, so I understood the doubt. Hell, I doubted myself, too.

Here I am now. Still running, with a couple of months worth of breaks in the recent past, but still running.
Why? What would possess someone to want to run? There are studies and articles that say we are actually designed to run long distances. That is a subject for another day.
It is a hard question to answer, but a chapter in a book that I am reading called Running & Philosophy got me thinking. The chapter is called The Freedom of the Long-Distance Runner.
Right now, I run to find peace, or the closest thing I can get to it. My runs are the only way I can escape the daily pressures and demands that are placed on me. For an hour or so though, I am left alone, with my thoughts.
Because of my surroundings I have to remain vigilant, but for the most part I am able to shed the mantle of Soldier, and be me. I get to think, or not think, I get to….relax.
I get to be myself, and not part of a herd. Here, and back in Vegas, I get to get away from it all on my runs. I can look out in the distance and just let my mind wander.
Sometimes, I have people run with me. I don’t mind it, because the talk during the runs isn’t usually about our ‘work’. It’s about our families, about back home, the things we miss.
When I run, I am free to think about what I want. I am free to admire the sunrise, or not. When i run, if I want to, I can stop to look at something I haven’t seen.
Even though I might be running around in circles(in the literal sense), I am at that moment, in control of my life. I am not just wandering around in the midst of everyone else. I am not part of the herd.
I am me.
What separates you from the herd?

Today was a rest day. I wasn’t feeling well this morning, so I decided that 26.9 miles was a good round number to log for the week.
According to the log my totals for the week are:
26.9 miles at an average pace of 9:31 per mile
3,965 calories burned in approximately 4 hour and 15 minutes. Or put another way, I burned off 24 Oatmeal Cream Pies*.
Not a bad week. I should have gotten in a long run today, but I am satisfied with the week.
I have 31.1 miles to go in ten days to log my first 100 mile month in almost 2 years. –P.J.
*not that I ate 24 Oatmeal Cream Pies, I’m just craving them for some reason right now.

5.73 Miles on a treadmill and other thoughts…

2009-09-17T09:57:00.001-07:00

Tonight I went to run on the treadmill. I was really just going to go for a 3 or 4 mile run to relax. Instead I started watching the sports highlights from a football game earlier in the week and ended up staying on for almost 6 miles. Not a bad days work putting in over 9 miles.

I am happy about that, but I can’t help feeling a little down right now. Things around here have gotten a little…well, tense. I can’t say much other than it seems like it will get busier around here if that’s possible.

For me, although I have been busy in a different way, things are about to get busier as I start to pull double duty. Which is fine, but for everyone else, at what point does it become too much?

I don’t know. What I do know is that I want this thing to be over with. I cannot wait to be home with my family again.

Less daylight…missing small things

2009-09-14T08:48:00.001-07:00

Now that fall is officially on it’s way the hours of daylight available is getting shorter and shorter. Right now, I have just enough time in the mornings to get in maybe a max of 8 miles before I have to get ready for the job of the day. Now that dawn is a little later every morning though, that window is getting shorter. So, I will either need to run faster…or start moving back to doing some runs on treadmills.

Ah, fall is the time for cooler weather, but shorter days. What I wouldn’t give to be at home with daylight savings time and streetlights to run under.

Actually what I wouldn’t give to be home, with my family. I really miss coming home sweaty from a run and threatening my wife and daughter with a stinky, sweaty hug…. :)

It really is the little things you miss when you are out serving your country.

I miss getting up early to get in a run. After the run I would get cleaned up and if my wife was still in bed, I would crawl back into bed and watch her sleep. Of course, I know that sometimes she would rather I just stay in bed because usually I would be too noisy.

I miss taking my daughter to Starbucks on Sundays to get a chocolate donut and apple juice for her, and an apple fritter and large coffee for me.

I miss being able to talk to my son when I want to. I really miss not being able to see him over his Christmas break this year.

I miss the paved roads, dependable electricity, and American style toilets.

Going out and seeing the way of life here….just really…Well, it’s not that I don’t feel sorry for some of the people here. Many of them are literally scraping by off the land.

At the same time when you see how they hound us for things, you want to grab them and shake them, “Start working for yourself, and stop waiting for a handout from the U.S. government.”

Today, one of the things I saw was a boy that couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 driving two donkeys with water jugs on their back up a fairly large hill, where I am assume his village or family settlement was. I was awed by two things. That he was doing it, and that the donkeys were actually following his commands. Most donkeys I have had experience with don’t usually do the things you want them to. What do i know though?

I ended up finishing the day with a 3.5 mile run. Just a run to kind of relieve tension and relax. That statement doesn’t make sense to me either. That I run to relax. At home I ran to try and stay in shape and to help my head sort through things. Here my running is my only escape. The few people that will run with me, or are willing to run more than the required 2 miles, usually aren’t bugging me to do things. Running in Afghanistan is similar to Las Vegas in that aspect. There aren’t a whole lot of people that are willing to run longer distances in a desert. Just me, and a few other choice idiots.

-P.J.

Not Quite so long…and boredom

2009-09-12T07:24:00.001-07:00

I did manage to make it out this morning and get in a 6 mile run. It wasn’t the 8 that I set out to do, but I was really feeling it around mile 5 and decided that I would stop at 6 miles.

The last half a mile I got a bit of that ‘runner’s high’ feeling that I haven’t had in a while.

Everything just started flowing and felt…connected. Whatever causes that feeling, it just puts you on top. When I checked the log for that mile, I was running right around 10 min/mile. I hit that high and effortlessly the pace dropped to 8 min, 7:30, and even close to an even 7 min pace.

I can run those times when I am really working, but when that brief rush of endorphins kicked in, it was effortless…

Now if I could just

A) Start hitting that pace on long runs consistently

B) Get that ‘runner’s high’ more often.

Maybe, right now my focus is on finishing the half marathon in November in less than two hours. Then after that, is getting my pace to where I can sustain and hit a sub 4 hour marathon in May.

As for the rest of the day, it was allright I guess. Everything was staying fairly quiet so I sneaked out for another run. Logged 3.32 miles in a fairly decent time. It had been bugging me that I did not 8 miles this morning. So, for the day I ran just over 9 miles and finished the week with 22.18 miles. Not as good as last weeks totals, but I think I got in some quality runs.

All in all the past week has been a fairly good one. I was able to get out and see a little of the country finally, and my mood is improving. I’m not sure if it’s because of the running I have been getting in, or that I’ve gotten some little breaks from the job here and there. Mission days aren’t days off, but at least for me they are a change of pace. What I do know is that every day brings me closer to going home. –P.J.

Generator problems…no run today

2009-09-10T08:07:00.001-07:00

I woke up a little earlier than planned this morning. As I woke up I realized it was too quiet in my hallway. No fans, no lights whatsoever. Very quickly I realized that our generator had quit working.

After waking the technician up and trying to help him, we ended up switching the generator out with another one.

Needless to say when that was all said and done, my time for running today was gone.

I am a little disappointed though. It marks the second day I won’t get a run in this week.

Maybe I can make it up tomorrow. Well, that’s the wrong idea. You can’t really make up a day. You have to chalk it up to just not getting it in. I still have plenty of time to get the mileage up for the half marathon in November.

Hopefully tomorrow I can get in at least a six miler. Saturday I need to try and go long, 8 miles long. Of course that all depends on the schedule for the day. –P.J.

The Race Schedule

2009-09-06T04:02:00.001-07:00

How about that? The shadow races that we are doing here in our little corner of Afghanistan were mentioned in one of the more popular podcasts on the web.

Steve Runner, the host and creator of Phedippidations, the runner’s podcast, was gracious enough to mention the races we are running shadows of, as well as the sponsorship link for the Valley of Fire Race.

Thanks, Steve, we really appreciate your kind words and the mention.

Also, I have added a new race to the schedule for October. The World Wide Festival of Races, or WWFoR, has distances from 5k to Half-Marathon that are free events. I will be running the 10k version sometime in the middle of October. The link if you want to join in on the fun is here at World Wide Festival of Races.

For the other races, we are running the Lake Tahoe Shadow Race at the end of this month. If you would like more information on the race itself, click on the picture below. I really hope to do this one in person next year. Check out the Super Triple Event and tell me what you think.(Yes, honey, I am still thinking about trying it.)

For November we are running our shadow version of the Valley of Fire Race that is held in a protected area just north of Las Vegas. The Valley of Fire is a sight to behold, and this is a race I know I will be running in person next year. The race director, Tracy, has been amazing. She took the idea of the shadow race for the troops here and truly ran with it. If you would like to sponsor a soldier and get their picture on a custom T-Shirt for yourself, or just want to know more about this very challenging and picturesque course, visit the race at the link below.

It probably sounds odd that amidst everything around us, that there are those who want to run races here in Afghanistan. Some of our racers will be doing their runs on treadmills, some will be doing small laps around their respective areas. Each one of us is doing for our own reasons. We have first timers who have never run a 10k or Half Marathon. Then there are those who wish we could support a full marathon.

As for me, I needed the motivation to train more, and get myself back up to speed. I needed to stop making excuses and just get ‘out there’ and run again. In the past I have finished two marathons, a half, and several other 5 and 10k’s. Being able to organize the shadow races forces me to push and work harder, for myself, not for anyone else.

Amor Fati…and the base is set...

2009-09-05T02:42:00.001-07:00

Amor Fati- Loosely translated, ‘Love your Fate’.

Basically it means that you should take life for what it is. It doesn’t matter what life throws at you. If it’s pain, embrace it and learn from it, if it’s joy, embrace it, cherish it, and learn from it.
Everything that happens to you is what will happen to you. It comes at you from everywhere, and for you to live, you have to love and learn from everything that gets thrown at you.
Now, I am not one who really prescribes to the whole Fate controls your destiny. At first glance, ‘Amor Fati’ may seem to describe exactly that.
Essentially though, ‘Love Your Fate’ means that rather than trying to rail against everything that goes wrong, or question what you did to deserve the things in your life, you learn from your life. You take the pain and suffering that is part of the human condition and you begin to live your own path to find joy and completion. It’s not a fatalist view point, it’s a realistic one.
We have to learn from our experiences, our trials; otherwise it is really a life?
I look back on the past, and sometimes I catch myself thinking, ‘what if….’. Then I realize that my past has given me the experiences in life that make me who I am. Without those past memories, those past mistakes and triumphs, I would not be the man I am today. The life I lead would be different, but not better. I might have a different path, but the path that I followed brought me to here, now. Married. In Love. With children. Running. Serving my country.
If I hadn’t followed the path I wouldn’t be a runner, or maybe I would have started running sooner, who knows. Today, I would like to think that I enjoy running now, because I have the maturity to understand that running is not just physical. I would like think that I still have many more things that Fate will throw at me that I can learn from. Amor Fati!

It was a good strong week for me, probably the strongest week mileage wise in over a year.
I had three runs of 4 more miles, and for the first time since going on leave, I hit the 5 mile mark. Friday, I did not train, and today, I finished a 7 miler.
My Totals for the week:
28.36 miles
4,323 calories
and a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
Improvements I need to work on are speed. I did some speed work earlier in the week, and although I don’t really like doing the speed work, I need to start doing it if I want to have a chance at breaking 4 hours in my next marathon. At least I have a fairly good solid base going into my training now.
The 7 miles I ran this morning is starting to affect me though. Admittedly, I am a little sore, but tomorrow is a start to the new week, and a new mileage goal. – P.J.

An Even Stronger Week?

2009-09-02T08:36:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally received our 'combat' patch this week. It's more of a patch that says you have been overseas, but...honestly I don't know what my feelings are on it.

I mean, I'm away from my family, overseas in a country that at times only views us as a paycheck, not anything more. Here I am again doing a job for the Army that wasn't really in the job description and more often than not getting yelled at for it. The time away from home, the lack of freedom, and the seeming lack of respect from those around me, and the local population should mean something, right?

I guess that's what the 'Combat' patch is. It is an acknowledgement that you have served time in a combat zone, or hostile fire zone. So, accordingly I should have the attitude that I will wear it with pride. I just don't feel it right now.

At any rate the week's running is going fairly well. I completed my first 5 mile run today. The run itself was a little rough. Using my new running watch I set up a workout that was a little on the hard side, unbeknown to me.

The pace zones I set up need to be more fine tuned and personalized for me. Plus, it got a little frustrating when the watch kept beeping at me to 'Speed Up'. Once I get the work out settings a little more customized, I can definitely see where it will be useful for pushing me to improve my limits and not pushing me beyond my limits.

It felt good to hit the 5 mile mark though. It took a little longer than I wanted because I went at too hard for 3rd mile and had to slow back down and even take a walk break or two.

I have noticed that once I take a walk break though, I get really frustrated with myself. Sometimes, like today, I kept questioning my abilities. With the combined frustrations of pushing it harder than I could sustain, and the disappointment in myself for walking, I ended up walking again. It probably took another quarter mile to get my head back into the run.

Tomorrow will be another day. Another run, just me, a sunrise...maybe a dog, and maybe a friend....that doesn't 'beep' at me every time I do something not quite right. -P.J.

A Strong Week...well, for me anyway

2009-08-31T01:31:00.001-07:00

Found on the side of an old Soviet Plane...I wish that's how much time I had left here, 8 days. Unfortunately though, I have a little longer than to go.

Last week went fairly well as far as runs go. I finished with 22.13 miles for the week, and burned a total of 3300 calories. Guess I can have a bowl of ice cream now.

I am starting to feel a little like a caged animal though. It's great to finally getting off my butt and running, but I really miss the freedom of running where I want to.

The funny thing is, I didn't really vary my routes all that much back home. I pretty much had two routes that I ran from the starting point at home. One that headed north and one that headed south.

Both runs had their advantages, but I tended to prefer the route that headed north. Not sure why, maybe it was the return trip that gave me a nice 1.5 mile long downhill section. Or maybe it's just because it was familiar.

As it is right now, I'm trying to occupy my mind with the little details of the route I am forced to run now. Today, I noticed a small patch of sunflowers that have been there a while, but I never took the time to notice.

I have little bumps and smoother parts of the route that I can head for instead of just running a straight line. The rising of the sun through the smog, and dust, and the sign on the tail section of an old airplane.

They are things that I have noticed lately, while dreaming about running next to Lake Mead on the 6 Tunnels Trail. Little things I have forgotten to notice, while thinking about the different colors that I have run through at Red Rock Canyon.

Sometimes people think I'm crazy for some of the places I have run to, or run around, when it comes to the desert. What I am discovering again though is that no matter how desolate or boring the surroundings may seem, there is a small, little detail in there that has the possibility of amazing and astonishing you. Whether its a group of sunflowers in the middle of a war zone, or a small gecko that runs in front of you, you can always appreciate your surroundings. And if you can't find something to appreciate, maybe it's time to change your route up. -P.J.

Attitudes make your day.....and a new watch

2009-08-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

Attitude is everything...or at least I've heard that said my entire life. Your attitude can determine what the day will hold.
You know, I envy those people that can always maintain a positive attitude in life, everyday they wake up and see the day for the possibilities that it offers. I wish I could do that everyday, and honestly everyday I do start with a positive attitude, or at least I try to.

Today, was a rough day for me. It shouldn't have been. Simple tasks to complete, but the people involved just aggravated the hell out of me. I felt stupid enough having to paint a floor in Afghanistan to try and hide previous paint splatter. What I didn't need to was to have people make fun of it, especially the people that decided that it needed to be done.

Not only are we in a war zone, we are in a 3rd world country, and the buildings we are in...let's just say that they wouldn't hold up to code in the U.S.

I'm more worried about the walls falling down, than I am about a little paint on a concrete floor.

The thing that kept me going, was I talked to my wife this morning. It wasn't a long enough conversation because I had an early morning briefing to go to, but I was able to remember that someone loves me and appreciates me for who I am. Sounds sappy, I know, but it's true.

This morning I ran 3.5 miles in 33min, 23 seconds. Not too bad. It felt good, and I know that my time is dropping on the route.

I'm not sure what I can describe about the route, but I can tell you that it is half paved, half gravel. The sunrises are beautiful, but oddly enough, the sunsets have been mediocre at best.

Tonight, I ran another 2.5 miles trying to burn off steam and stress from the day. That took me 23min 23seconds, but I finished the last quarter mile or so, doing a little speed work. Just some increased turn over and speed up session with a couple of walk breaks. On the second to last sprint/push, I managed to hold a sub 5min pace for a few seconds...For me, that's pretty damn good.

What I do know, is that the run tonight helped. Being able to let people know I was going for a run and wouldn't have the FOB leash on...well, I haven't heard anything on the radio since. It's a great thing.

Ah, yes, the new watch. I recently purchased the Garmin 405cx. So far, I am impressed. It has taken some getting used to, but I am starting to figure out the functions.

The reviews of the watch that I read complained about the touch bezel being unresponsive when you are sweaty or its raining. They were right, but for the most part I haven 't need to touch the bezel during a run at all anyway. I have the watch set to display and scroll through my heart rate, time of the current lap, lap pace, total time since I pushed start, and then the actual time of day.

It took a little while to find the satellites the first time, but since then it's has been very quick to find them. I guess it has a "hot" spot memory and picks up the same satellites within a few seconds. The assumption is that when I go home, it will take a little while to pick up the signals again.

Home I can't wait to go home...to my family, to my home, and to my old training routes. Yesterday morning as I let my mind wander while running I looked at the hills in the distance, and....well, I don't think they would agree to having a convoy provide cover for me while running a trail in the middle of Afghanistan. So, here I will stay, running laps around the same scenery, safe and sound(as I can be), and dreaming of running/hiking the trails around home with my wife.

3 painful miles...on a treadmill, or was it a swimming pool?

2009-08-06T09:40:00.000-07:00

Tonight, was the first chance I have had to run since Sunday. I managed to get to the treadmills and slowly and somewhat painfully knock out 3 miles.
I did some...I guess you could call it speed work for the last mile or so to try and make it interesting. My heart wasn't in it though...I kept thinking about home, my family...anywhere but here. And the end of the workout I was drenched in sweat. I literally felt like I had run in a swimming pool I was so soaked.

Last weeks totals weren't bad, though. I finished with 21 miles for the week. The 5k 'loop' I ran at the beginning of the week in 35:45. The last loop of the week was at 34:11. So at least I'm getting back into the swing of things. I can't remember the total number of calories burned, but I think it was around 2800 calories.

On the bright side though, I do feel better after the run. A little more relaxed anyway.

Adding in the Core

2009-08-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Today, I drug myself out of bed to run with Josh. It was a painful 5k for me for some reason. I guess 4.5 hours of sleep will do that to you. As it was, I managed it, and once again proved to myself that any day with a run, is bound to be better than one without.
Or so I thought.
Today as, “Mr. West,” the FOB Mayor was a busy one. It didn’t help that I was so tired. Being out in the heat all day with the humidity took its toll. Here, there, everywhere a problem. Then the thunderstorm hit. We got pounded with rain, hail and wind. One of our MWR buildings lost half of the roof. It was a mad scramble to repair the roof before my workers called it a day. It was accomplished though.
Tomorrow should be a lighter day for me, other than catching up on paperwork and trying to get a desk area organized in an office.
Back to running-
Tonight, I needed a release. My wife had bought the P90X program awhile ago, and when I was home on leave before coming here, I made my own personal copies(I know…I KNOW…sshhhh!) to bring with me in case I could find the space and time to do the workouts. The other night I watched the abs routine, and made some notes of the moves.
To the Hamster Cage I went. It has room to stretch out, and I got started. There are 12 different moves that you do 25 repetitions of. When I watched the video, I remember thinking that it didn’t look that bad. I was wrong. It is extremely hard, but I managed to do most of it.
It’s the first time in I don’t know how long I really focused on my core muscles. I know I should have been working it more because it helps so much with running form, balance, and breathing. We will see how I feel tomorrow.
After the abs workout, I headed over to weight room where I did a general upper body routine. Maybe there is something wrong me, or maybe I am just easily annoyed by people, but the other people in the gym were bugging the hell out of me. For me working out is primarily a solitary thing. In the gym or on the pavement I use my workouts to let my mind wander and work itself out. I don’t need to hear someone else’s music blaring at full volume. I like my music just fine. Maybe because I have so many people during the day coming to me and asking me to take care of this, or take care of that, I just want to be left alone.
Once I got a good burn going on the rest of my upper body, I headed back to the Hamster cage to recalibrate my Nike+ system and see if I could knock out a couple of more miles on the day. With the iPod set to calibrate at half a mile, I started the treadmill up. In the middle of my run, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Someone needed to tell me that the battery was out in a smoke detector in a room.

*the photo posted today is from last week. I managed to catch a partial eclipse at dawn.

Motivated...or, Not?

2009-07-29T07:19:00.001-07:00

Last night I forced myself to crank out 4 miles on the treadmill. We have a TV in our cardio room, but apparently the DVD player that was in there, and the satellite connection to Armed Forces Network have 'disappeared'.
Tough cranking out miles when you are looking at an off-white wall 8 feet in front you.
I really tried to get out this morning and do a run around outside, but I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. I was up until midnite trying to do a plan for my job here that is honestly, somewhat absurd.
Well, tomorrow I made a deal with one of my buddies, and we are getting up early together and force each other to run.
His idea, but he isn't happy about me wanting to shoot for 4.5 miles tomorrow.
Ah, the joys of small running groups!

First Real Week of Training

2009-07-29T07:18:00.001-07:00

Here we are in Afghanstan. I am finally settled in a little bit anyway, and I was able to actually get in a little training.
For the week, I ran 5 times for a total just over 15 miles. Rough going so far. The air here is not the best, and for some reason, I just can't seem to find my pace and my breath. I am getting there though.
Oddly enough, I actually have plenty of space to run in safety. I use the word safely loosely, but for the most part it's ok.
Even so, finding the time and the motivation to run has been hard. Long days turn into long nights. I try to get up and start running early, early in the morning to beat the heat and humidity of the day.
Other than that, we are going to be running our first satellite race here on my FOB. Lake Tahoe Marathon has graciously agreed to let us organize and run 5k, 10k, and half marathon distances. I am really looking forward to it.

First week of training...all over again

2009-07-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

I feel like it's my first week of running again. Slow, many walk breaks, feeling tired...
but here I am, in Afghanistan, training for a half marathon amongst all of my Army duties.

Suprisingly enough, we actually have room to run. Not a lot, but some room so you aren't stuck on a treadmill the whole time.

I managed to knock out a total of 15 miles this past week. Nothing outstanding, but a good start. Hopefully I can increase that to at least 20 miles next week, and then start adding in some lonnger runs.

As a whole, things are going ok. I got stuck being what is called FOB Mayor. Basically it means that I run around with no real idea of what I am doing and try to take care of things like broken doors, painting signs, making sure things are clean.

I guess you could say that my job is to make sure the FOB is operational. I manage a force of around ** local nationals that do most of the work from cleaning to helping in the chow hall, and I also act as a coordinator with the various other groups that share our space.

Sometimes it feels like I'm nothing more than the errand boy or a Mr. Fixit severly lacking in the handyman skills department. The hardest thing is not really being with my team. I get stuck running the FOB, instead of out there with my guys.

The locals that work for me are for the most part eager to please and participate. They seem grateful to have a job, and many of them have worked here for several years.

When it's all said and done, we are pretty comfortable here, considering where we are, and where we could be.

I'm just glad I have had the chance to run. Hopefully, once we get good and settled in, and I get a handle on the job, I can relax a little bit on the schedule.

Weather wise here is hot, and somewhat humid. The air never seems to be clear, and there has been a perpetual haze since we got in country. I haven't run without a source of water, just because it so warm all the time. Even if I am only going to go a couple of miles around, I take water. It just seems that I cannot stay hydrated at all.

Hopefully, next time I post I can post a picture of a partial eclipse at sunrise from a couple morning ago.

Home and running in a desert again

2009-06-20T09:59:00.001-07:00

Made it home for leave.

This morning I went out and enjoyed the relatively cool morning. Tempature was 84, with low humidty and a strong breeze out of the west cooling the valley floor off.
It was a slow slog, but I concentrated on form instead of speed. I ran a total of 4.5 miles at a very slow 10:15 pace, but it felt good to be home and free to roam the road and just relax.

My wife and step daughter were happy to see me, obviously. My son arrives tomorrow, so we'll have the whole family together next week. I'm just going to do my best to enjoy the next week and spend as much time with my loved ones as possible.

Training, but no running

2009-06-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Here we are into the last portion of training...and because of, shall we say, somewhat idiotic rules, I haven't been able to run. I think tonight I will, mainly because I have noticed a double standard as far as uniform goes during the training exercise week.

At any rate in about a week, I'll be home visiting my wife and my kids. I think I'll go for a couple of runs while I'm there. Maybe do an early morning run down the Strip.

I mentioned to my son to bring his running shoes, but he didn't seem interested in running in Vegas in June. I can understand that, it gets hot as soon as the sun comes up. You just have to prepare for it, but hydrating and bringing water or sports drink with you. Or at least cash to buy at a store on the go.

Either way, a little preparedness and you are good to go running in the desert.

What I am really looking forward to is being home for a little while. I know once I hit the ground in Vegas time will fly by too quickly, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

Then it's off to the races in Afghanistan. I am starting to get a little nervous, and a little excited too. I'm sure that sounds odd, but I don't know really how to describe it. After 5 and half years, I am getting my combat patch, and my combat spurs. Yes, there is a sense of pride in that. There has to be. When it's all said it done, pride in a job well done.

Green Running

2009-06-07T05:16:00.000-07:00

Last night after dinner, I managed to get the motivation to go for a run. I say, "managed", because honestly I haven't really been motivated to go running.
It was good though. I pounded out 4 miles around Camp Atterbury. The evening itself was pleasant for the run, not too humid and a nice breeze coming out of the west to help cool you off.

The hard part about getting some runs in, is lack of music. We aren't allowed to wear headphones while running on the streets. I am starting to get used to it, slowly. Their is something about hearing the methodical thump of each foot as it strikes the ground. Birds chirp and squeak at you, and insects buzzing around in the grass are not new sounds to me, but it has been a long while since I've actually listened to it.

I miss running the desert though. The green trees and grass here is nice, but I wish there was a trail or two that I was allowed to run on through the trees.

Not a desert, kinda green

2009-06-01T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here we are in lovely Indiana.
I have been able to run a few times at maybe 3.5 to 4.0 miles at a time.
It is humid here though, which has taken some getting used to. I don't like it.

On a more positive note though, I am heading home for a short trip in a few weeks. I can't wait to see my family and my son is flying out as well for the short trip home. Originally I wasn't gonna fly him out because the last time was very difficult for me. After putting a lot of thought into it, I decided that I would not pass up a chance to see him considering where I am headed.

When I told him today, he seemed very excited about coming to Vegas again.

Maybe him and I can get up and go for a run together again.

An interesting side note is that we got information that we will, in fact, have plenty of room to run. That means I may actually be able to train for a race while I am gone. Hopefully that is the case and maybe I can get a couple of sattelite races organized as well.

More updates to follow, hopefully a little more frequent in a month or so.

5k run...slow...5k jog, slog

2009-04-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

We are being treated to another beautiful spring day here in the Vegas Valley and so after 4 cups of coffee, breakfast, and some news, I laced up and headed out the door.
I set my little iPod system for a 5 mile run, but because I haven't been consistent with running as of late, I decided to cut it short.
It was nice to get out and work up a sweat though. My achilles tendon and arch on my left foot is still bothering me, but I just mainly wanted to get out and enjoy the day.
During the run it struck me that after this weekend, it's going to be a year or so until I get to run around the desert here in the states.
It made me slow down and start to reflect on everything I am going to miss, mainly the freedom to enjoy life.
The next year is going to be an experience. That's what keep running through my head. An experience, a life changing one, and a dangerous time.
Yesterday, I helped fold the flag of a fellow soldier who was going to deploy with us. He was killed in a motorcycle accident last week on his way home from the armory filling out paperwork for the upcoming deployment. It was a very emotional day, and...he will be missed.
A fellow soldier who always had a smile, and positive attitude towards life and everyone around him. His presence will be missed sorely in the squadron.
RIP SSG Sneck

Setting up Satellite Races

2009-04-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today, I sent out a couple of emails to some local races to see about the possibility of getting some satellite races set up for us overseas. I know that other races around the country have done this, so I am hoping that a local sponsor or two would be willing to send some race numbers or medals.
Due to the environment we are going to I highly doubt we would be able to set up a full marathon course, and might possibly have to conduct all races on treadmills in gyms, but for me it would be kind of cool to say that I completed another half marathon or two while in Afghanistan.

I got the idea to contact Calico Racing and the Las Vegas Marathon from the Warriors Tour put together by Rob Powers and co-hosted by Bart Yasso.
They have quite a list of participating races, but so far it's only taking place in Iraq. I understand that completely, because the security situation and infrastructure is a little more stable than Afghanistan is.

Hopefully, the races I contacted will be interested or willing to help.

Military used pigs in blasts to test armor - USATODAY.com

2009-04-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Military used pigs in blasts to test armor - USATODAY.com

I know that the animal rights people are upset by this, but myself personally, I am thankful this is done.
The military uses pigs for a lot of things, training medics to treat gunshot wounds, tourniquet applications, chest decompression, treatment of all sorts of wounds that combat medics see in theatre.

I know for a fact that usually the pigs are anesthetized and usually treated more humanely that they would be in a slaughterhouse.

Other Running Locations

2009-04-03T17:28:00.001-07:00

This a picture taken in Oatman, AZ, about 30 minutes from Laughlin, NV. I didn’t really get to run down Route 66, but at least I got to act like it!

Runner's Wall | A community that meets you stride for stride

2009-04-03T00:16:00.000-07:00

Runner's Wall | A community that meets you stride for stride

I am a featured runner on the RunnersWall Website. How cool is that?

Opening Salvo

2009-04-02T17:11:00.001-07:00

This morning I got up and went for run. The run lasted for a little more than 3 miles, and served it's purpose of clearing my head a little bit.
I found out one of my fellow soldiers was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday. I will be participating in the military honors for him as part of the Honor Guard of course.

It's just so odd. I mean here we are getting ready to deploy to a combat zone, and he dies here in Las Vegas, where it's supposed to be safe.

Sad.