Feeling Better

First off I want to thank ALL of you for your words of encouragement, I really needed it lately. You guys/gals really rock, I owe you. Yesterday I did some automotive work, and was feeling tired, so I went to bed early. I got up this morning around 2:00am and was running by 2:30am. I went for a long run, and when I finally got to Chads house, I had logged 13.2 miles. I was to meet him at his house around 5:30 so we could go for a trail run at the White Tanks regional park. Once we got there we did a 7 mile trail run (very slow for me). I had logged just over 20 miles for the day. My first half marathon pace was a nice 11:27 per mile. I had my head phones on and was singing all the way. The trail run was a little different, for starters I had rested about 1 hour and the muscles were tight. I ended up walking some and had to take a couple rest stops. My average pace for the 7 miles was 14:23. The last time I ran that trail was on March 15th and I had an average pace of 12:38. So with that said I was just under one minute slower per mile today after running a half marathon. I am proud of what I accomplished today all before 8am. I am not too sore, more tired than sore, but I did read an interesting article in the paper that I thought I would share with all of you, since Ironman AZ is this weekend.

Ironman dad driven by gift of son's life
The father looks into his son's eyes and sees himself.
They're the same eyes Lamar Sepulveda looked into 24 years ago. Brave. Strong. And 3 years old.
Eyes Sepulveda at one time thought he'd never see again.
Sepulveda's son, Nick, was diagnosed with leukemia.
So, the two walked into the cancer institute at Children's Hospital of Orange County in Orange, Calif., without enough money for treatment. Thanks to donations and the hospital's fundraising, Nick was able to get the care he needed.
Now, he stands before his father at 27. Healthy. Productive. Cured.
Lamar Sepulveda, who is from West Covina, Calif., but has family roots in Fort Huachuca near Tucson, always wanted to give back but didn't know how.
He figured out how a year ago. He created the Pay It Forward Challenge.
From Saturday to Wednesday, the 50-year-old endurance athlete embarked on a 428.6-mile solo triathlon from Venice Beach, Calif., to Tempe.
He started with a 3.2-mile swim from the Venice Beach Pier to the Santa Monica Pier, then cycled 373 miles from there to his brother's home in Litchfield Park, arriving Tuesday night. The next morning, he ran a double marathon - a 52.4-mile jaunt from Litchfield Park to downtown Phoenix before running what would be the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon course to Tempe. By the time he reached downtown, he was eight hours ahead of schedule.
"We were flying," Sepulveda said on Wednesday as he sat in a makeshift ice tub in the middle of Carnegie Library Park wearing nothing but bike shorts and a grin.
Oh, by the way, he also is competing in this Sunday's 140.6-mile Ford Ironman Arizona triathlon.
Sepulveda is pushing himself through this grueling challenge to raise money for the Orange County cancer institute, the only health center in the Southwest to receive the prestigious Phase 1 clinical-trial designation from the Children's Oncology Group.
He has raised $7,500 of the targeted $59,620 so far, with 100 percent of the donations going to the cancer institute.
"I'm just so amazed at what's he's done," said Sepulveda's sister-in-law, Esther Lumm of Litchfield Park. "My husband (Randolph Lumm) can't even talk about it without tears coming into his eyes. The thing about it is that hospital doesn't just serve California, they serve the whole Southwest."
Light post to light post
The middle child of 10, Sepulveda dismisses the severe toll this journey can take on his body.
When his legs burn, his lungs gasp and his resolve wavers, he realizes it's nothing compared with the suffering experienced by his own child years ago.
So, he just goes forward. His goal is to go from light post to light post. Count the burned-out cars by Interstate 10 as he speeds past them. Remind himself to get into the bungee-cord business after seeing so many on the side of the road.
Anything to keep his mind from breaking down.
"You want to quit all the time. All the time," Sepulveda said. "But you have to get past that."
"It's not about glory," said his cousin Russell Sepulveda of Phoenix, who is also a triathlete. "Completing an Ironman is already an unbelievable goal. It's amazing to me how people find the time and dedication to do them, and for Lamar to go through this right before an Ironman, I don't think it's human."
He is nearing the end of this challenge, the completion of an objective that seemed so far away just days ago.
What has been the most satisfying part? "Of course, it's the sight of my son," Sepulveda said, his eyes starting to well, his voice beginning to crack. "To pay back the Children's Hospital. To help somebody else. It's a lot of years later, but it's something I never forgot about."
So, he keeps on going, running to the next light post and the next until he reaches his destination. Until he reaches his goal. So that maybe another father can look into the eyes he thought he would never see again.

by Odeen Domingo - Apr. 11, 2008 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic

I am fat and slow....

Well I am feeling discouraged today, I went for my lunchtime run of 5 miles. During which I went by the registration tent for Ironman AZ, and most of the individuals looked so much more healthier than I am. Granted there were the skinny as a rail individuals, but most were looking rather fit.

If I was entered into IM AZ, I would need a scuba tank, because I would be the one walking along the bottom of the lake. Swimming to me is controlled drowning. Then biking for 112 miles in mid 90 degrees temps, with a seat that is small and hard as a rock giving you a 6 hour wedgie, is not for me. Then to top it off do a marathon as a cool down. I could handle that part. I will say that I hold the utmost respect for all the competitors, and wish them well. I can without hesitation say that I would rather run Badwater than do the IM. I am a runner, not a Triathlete. I am certain that I have found my calling as a runner and I am more than happy with that, even if I am slow and do not have the body of an Olympian. I am a legend in my one mind.

When I got back from my run, I learned that Pincorker had tagged me to play a little game called "six word memoir".

Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links
5) Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I love reading to my daughter

I reade several books to my daughter every evening before she goes to bed, this routine has been good for both of us. It gives us a bonding time that I rarely did with my older boys. Each night after we brush her teeth and she has her pajamas on, she picks out three books from her book shelf for me to read. I spend the time reading to her then tuck her into bed each night. She does not like it when I have a substitute reader for her, she wants her daddy to read to her. She is 3 now and in a couple of years, she will be reading to me. I am not sure exactly how that will play out, but I am sure we will have our time together still.

I here by tag the following individuals:

Pokey

Lana

Chad

K - Doing it for the kids

Nancy

Considered yourself tagged.

Have a safe weekend everyone.

Graduation time - come on.....

Well it is official, I are graduMutated. Last night I finished up my physical therapy. It has been a long time since I injured my achilles tendon. In fact it was during the famous 9 on the 9Th race. The total cost of that event was many miles and lots of $$ to get back to normal. Thanks a lot race director Nancy. In all honesty, Nancy is a wonderful person and I would never hold her accountable for my actions.

I am now running further and slower than before. I am focused on this year's races. Other than many 5K's a half marathon, one marathon, one 50K, and who knows beyond that.

Work has kept me extremely busy, and got a new assignment supporting the Police department's computer stuff. "STUFF" is a highly technical term that means stuff. I did learn that they will not allow me to wear shorts to work, when I am there. How dare they tell me not to wear shorts, I have wonderful looking runner legs, I have been told that they are even sexy. I will have to buy more pants, since I have worn shorts all winter.

My commute is taking longer this week; there are road closures near my work. There is some small event, called IRONMAN ARIZONA happening near my work. If you remember, I run their marathon trail during my lunches. I will be avoiding this area Saturday. I do with that all the athletes that are racing this weekend to be safe and earn lots of PR's.

Race Recap

Well, I completed the Laughlin 1/2 marathon this past weekend, which was as hilly as south Florida. I think the only hills were the rocks on the trail. There is like 40 feet elevation change from the start to the half way turn around. It reminded me of South Florida. I set my pace for the first half at a 10 minute mile which was about the correct pace for me. I decided on the second half to slow it down to an 11:40 minute pace and play it safe on my ankle and tendon, since it was on a dirt road. I finished the race in 2:21:58 and felt great. Afterwards we went for Mexican fajitas.

Over all, the body felt great and had a great weekend. Back to training for the RNR Marathon.