Author: Zombie

Onward through the cold

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So, here we are in the beginning of a true NW Ohio winter.  Sub zero temps, flurries and bitter cold winds!  The training must continue and I have to keep moving forward.  The next event will be the Dave’s 10 Miler.  This one will be on January 25th and who the heck knows what mother nature will have in store for that one…lol!  I have excellent winter gear and will run through just about anything.  The only thing that will keep me from going out and hitting the road would be an ice storm.  Always worry about breaking something when it comes to the ice.  I’ll keep gearing up and muddle through!

February will bring a welcome change to the race schedule.  Races in South Florida!  I signed up for the 10th anniversary of the A1A Half Marathon.  Even if it’s cold to Floridians…it’ll be a welcome change for someone like myself!  They’re having a 5K the day before in Ft Lauderdale as well…so I thought, what the hell…signed up for that one too!  Look out Florida…Zombie RunVolution is coming your way!

I’ve been staying with the gym on a more regular basis.  Need to keep some kind of muscle going during all this running abuse.  I’ve been lucky enough to still get a long run in once a week with my sister thus far!  Crossing fingers that we can maintain that streak.  My cross training cardio machine of choice has been the Stairmaster.  If you’ve never jumped on this machine…holy hell!!  I’ve gone as long as 45 minutes at level 8 and thought I was going to drown in sweat!  The short-term goal is to maintain the stairs for 60 minutes.  Long term goal will be to do 6.2 miles (10K) on it!  Before Summer hits…I’ll get it!

The new Run Zombie Run shirts were finished today!  I’ll be scooping them up tomorrow and I’m really stoked about them!  Pictures to follow of course.  I’ve been messing with the GoPro look a like camera and watching youtube videos so that I have an idea on how to use it properly.  It’s a very cool little device!  Thanks Wife-O-Mine!

Hang in there all!  Winter won’t last forever and the next thing you know we’ll be complaining about running the air conditioning and sweating through our clothes…lol!  Don’t be scared of the winter months!  It’s still fun to go out and hit the trails.  Yaktrax are available just about anywhere…even Menards!  Put a set of those on your favorite running/walking shoes and hit the trails!  Make the best of the dark and cold months…don’t just hide!

I’ll see you all out there!  Stay tuned for the next adventure!!

Zombie

Remember my webpage runzombierun.net  My race calendar and other links are all there!

And so it goes….

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We are moving through the final hours of 2014.  There were some spectacular moments during the year and some crazy lows.  I’m sure many of you feel much the same.  2015 holds new hope!  A “do over” if you will.  The slate is clean and begging you to fill it with fun and excitement.

I’ll be ending 2014 running and beginning 2015 running!  I know that this may be a shock to most of you…lol!  My first of 30 races will start tonight at 11:45 p.m. and will finish in the New Year!  Race #1!  29 more to knock down!  I’m excited to start what I’ve been talking and dreaming about for some time.  Tonight promises to be yet another challenge.  Cold and wind will be there to greet me at the starting line.  My iron will and some great running gear will get me through…for that, I have no doubts!

2015…New Years day will be race #2!  The Hangover classic!  What the hell…if I didn’t freeze my butt off during the night run, why not try again around noon time?!  No matter how many times I lace up for a “race”, I’m always nervous and excited.  Wondering what everyone else is feeling, how will I run, how many runners are here…all that and more in my head!

I’d invite you all to come out and join or say hello…but hey, it’s cold outside!!  Whatever you do for the New Year’s, remember to think of your health, your family and what you can do to bring the new year in on a positive note.  Enjoy a drink (but don’t drive!), see some friends, watch a movie, work on a puzzle or hey…Go Running!!  I promise to keep the blogging going throughout the entire year.  I also promise to keep talking about running, health, physical fitness and of course…Mobile Meals of Toledo!  I look forward to making 2015 a great year for them!  I want so much to make a difference and help those that are in need.  I need that for myself more than anything.  With the push of my wonderful wife Karla Neeley and the support of all my friends and family, I plan on getting these 30 races done and done in style!

Be safe tonight and every night.  Happy New Year!  I’ll see you on the road…

Zombie

2015 Is Game Time!

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I’ve been enjoying all the running over the past couple of years more than ever.  I’m not sure what brought the whole thing to such a high, but I’m really enjoying the ride!  Lifting and running have always been a favorite for me.  I’ve described in past blogs how I came to be a runner.  It’s no secret to those who know me that I would rather run than lift any day of the week!  I have, however realized that the two really do go hand in hand.  In order for me to maintain my happy running and stay injury free, I need to keep my strength up.  All runners need a good strong core in order to keep going during the long grueling runs.  The beating that the body takes during a half marathon or a full marathon can be intense!  I’ve also learned that the body is an amazing machine and will respond when you ask it to.  Feed it properly, keep it moving and take the best care you can.  The reward, many happy years of activity!

Now back to the build up.  I pushed myself towards the end of 2014 to see if I could hold up by doing 5 half marathons over 8 weeks.  Not only was I able to complete the task, I felt wonderful!  I knew I wanted to challenge my body again for the upcoming year and was thinking; I’ve been running for 30 years, why not run 30 races!?  To add to that, I decided to take the focus off of me and put it on something even more important.  People in need.  I contacted Mobile Meals of Toledo and asked if they would be interested in helping set something up to help raise money for them.  After a couple emails and a sit down, the runzombierun.net website came to life!  This blog (30races.com) was started with the help of my wonderful cousin Marilyn Matevia.  In short order, things seemed to be falling into place.  I couldn’t be more proud.  Along with that, a small amount of stress.  The stress is placed upon myself to succeed!  Not just to run the races but to make a serious difference for the charity that I’ve chosen to help.  Mobile Meals of Toledo is a great outfit that really takes a tiny budget to do great things!

So…It’s Game Time!  2015 is coming up quick!  My body is ready to go!  I’ve cut down on my eating, picked up on my gym workouts, kept my running at a steady pace, I think I’m good to go!  I plan on being a very lean and well oiled machine by the end of the adventure.  I have great hopes and dreams of doing a good thing in my life.  Making a difference!  So stay with me people!  Enjoy this adventure with me…because 2015 Is Game Time!

Zombie

An investment in health

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While wrapping up the Holiday season, I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels a bit on the over stuffed side…lol!  I love the end of the year Holidays but at the same time dread the feeling of so much sugar and crap going into my system.  Could I avoid eating this stuff??  Why yes!  Why the hell would I want to do that to myself though?!  It’s really the only time of year I get crazy and eat everything, so what the heck!

Moving on…the new year is approaching quickly and I have races to run!  I’ve decided to change-up my diet, drop 15 lbs. and get leaned out so that I can speed up!  I do this pretty much every year but this year it’s more important to me than others.  I have dedicated my time and efforts to Mobile Meals of Toledo and don’t want to let them down.  Cleaning up my eating and doing regular exercise is just an investment in my own health anyway!  I plan on sticking around for years to come and I have mountains to climb yet!

The gym will be a 3 day a week thing for me.  Push movements, pull movements and leg day!  Running will move to a 3-5 day a week depending on how I feel and races.  I’ll keep one run a week as a long run and the rest will just be maintenance.  Dropping the extra weight will also give my joints a break and help me to recover quicker.  Less weight to lug around means less hurt!

I urge all of you to make a plan for this next year and go for it!  Bodies were made to move!  Don’t buy into the lay around and do nothing thing.  It’s just a slow and terrible way to rot away.  I don’t care what you do as far as exercise…just move!  Invest in you!  If you’re doing something, grab a friend and get them moving with you!  Invest in their health, make a difference in their life.  Remember to just keep moving!  Join the Zombie Runvolution!!

I received a GoPro type camera for Christmas so look out!  Youtube videos will be added to the runzombierun.net websit in January!  There’s a head strap and a chest strap for the camera as well, so this should be fun!  When I run, hike, race or just go on a training run, you just might see some of it!  I’ve seen some wonderful sights in my life and look forward to many more.  Now, you’ll get to see them as well!  Happy Running Everyone!

Zombie

Trying to keep everything together

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Well, we have the Holidays upon us!  Shopping, wrapping, making cookies, planning family get togethers, everything is in full swing.  Somewhere in there I need to find the time to keep my training going.  Working the morning shift always turns things upside down for me.  I need to wake by 3:15 a.m. in order to wake enough to go out and get my run done or do weight training at the gym.  I can’t just blow it off…there’s too much riding on this next year!  I’ve committed to helping Mobile Meals of Toledo and refuse to let people down.  Along with that, I have 30 years worth of running mileage on this body.  That means that some days the lower back is tired, the feet hurt a bit, muscles want to cramp, just kind of beat up.  I’ve made a return to the gym a priority to keep the muscles strong.  I’ve been going to see my favorite massage therapist (Becky-Massage Works) on a more frequent basis to keep the moving parts moving!  A little Advil and a lot of praying!  2015 needs to be great!

The first T-shirt campaign went well and I’m working on a test shirt to start the year off with.  It will be geared for those that prefer tech shirts over a regular t-shirt.  The first couple I hope to have ready shortly after the beginning of the year.  I know that I must have them ready before my 10 miler on 1/25 and for sure before the A1A Half Marathon down in Florida!  I want people to see the shirt and ask questions, become interested and maybe even pledge a few bucks!

Remember that the Website runzombierun.net has a donation page that links directly to Mobile Meals of Toledo.  No monies go to me what so ever!  This is all about the charity and helping to make it stronger.  You can do one time donations, or you can just pledge a set dollar amount for each race I run…however you want to do it!

The first race will be the Midnight Special 5K run and is listed on my events calendar on runzombierun.net.  It actually starts on New Years Eve but finishes in the wee hours of New Years Day.  I’ll work on getting some video going for the first couple runs and have that added to the website and probably Facebook as well.

I hope everyone has a warm and wonderful Holiday season!  Christmas is always a special time of year.  (Even if it is cold and dark most of the time!)  Keep in touch, don’t be scared to follow this blog on a regular basis.  Sign up and get email notifications!  Everytime I do an entry on here, it goes to Facebook as well.  Share the website and talk about this crazy idea I’ve come up!  Even better, come out and run along with me at a race!  Love having peeps with me!

I’ll get on here again in the next day or so.  If you don’t read then, Merry Christmas to you and yours.  Be safe!

Zombie

Why Zombie–The story behind the name

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Some of you may be wondering “why the name Zombie?”  No, it’s not because I’m part of the Walking Dead nor have I been bitten by any such creature…lol!  I’ve worked a great many strange shifts during my time on this earth.  Most of them have been during the dark hours.  I’ve also worked and still work swing shifts!  This can make one become a little on the sleep deprived side, cause dark rings under the eyes and maybe a bit cranky.  Years back after working a long stretch of late night shifts, I went to a get together with friends.  I could not recall the day of the week and obviously looked a bit rough.  I was given the name “Zombie” that day and it’s stuck all these years later!  I’ve embraced the name and actually become very proud of it!  You’ll find it on my license plate (for both cars), on numerous shirts that I own and I still answer to it at work or at home.

I know it’s probably not the exciting story you all were looking for.  I felt that I should at least explain the origin though.  I wear it like a badge of honor now!

RunZombieRun is the perfect depiction of who I am and what I love to do.  I have plans to run until I can do it no longer, to try to bring awareness to good causes and hopefully to inspire some people along the way.  “Inspire before you Expire!”  I’m not sure what the life expectancy is for a Zombie but I’m not taking any chances!  I want to live with no regrets and enjoy every mile!  Running is truly a blessing and being able to share it with others…priceless!

Feel free to join the Zombie Revolution!  Get out the shoes!  Walk, Bike, Run, Donate, make a difference!  Be proud of your inner Zombie…you know you have one too!

Zombie

Running The End Of The Road

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Being that I might be a bit of a Nerd, I was thrilled that a local running shop (Second Sole) and (Toledo Roadrunners) decided to team up and hold the End of the Road run!  It was a 9K that started at 10:11 p.m. on the date 12/13/14.  So you get…9,10,11,12,13 & 14!  It’ll be a while before we have dates that line up in such a fun order and some have felt that dates like these only lead to Armageddon!  Well, it’s now 12/14/14 and I’m still here working on my blog…lol!

The night in the Toledo, Ohio area was actually quite pleasant.  Temps in the mid 40’s with about a 9 mph wind.  No rain or snow!  Headed out to the run and found a really nice sized group of runners had shown up.  This is awesome being that on top of it, it was a Saturday night!  Normally date night or Christmas shopping night for many.  My sis and I checked out all the new and exciting running gear, enjoyed a few fun dogs that were brought out for the run and just kind of enjoyed the show!  People dressed up, lots of fun lights on, strange costumes and I may have witnessed a group of ladies in blinking tutus!  LMAO!  They were so fun!  I loved the atmosphere and the shopping plaza that the run is held at was loaded with Christmas lights.  Awesome!

If you’ve never run late at night, it throws the body way out of whack!  Everything about it just feels strange.  To me, it’s just another challenge that I love to place upon myself and I really wanted my sister to experience the whole thing.  Not to mention, it could be the end of the World!  Everything went off without a hitch and it was just plain fun!  Finished our 9K in 51 minutes and some change.  Not that it really mattered.  We smiled and chuckled on the drive home, talked about the fun animals, the strange outfits and some of the cool lights we checked out on fellow runners.  Good Times!

I hope everyone found a fun way to celebrate the 12/13/14 date!  I know we did!  Here’s to many more!

Zombie

Running to burn off the crazy

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Hit the road with my sister this evening for a nice 7+ mile hop.  When she arrived at my home, I was bumbling about and cursing.  My after work mood was not the best and I don’t think my sister had any idea the amount of craziness that had built up inside of me.  I finally got my gear situated, or so I thought and we headed out the door.  After walking down my street that leads out of the sub-division, I realized that I’d left my road ID, my Garmin and my shin compression wrap all at home…sigh.  Some days or nights, just seem to go this way.

We reached the main street and proceeded to get the run started.  Cars were riding very close to the edge of the road, a few even seemed to be aiming for us more than trying to give clearance.  The whole time I’m thinking to myself “just get into the run and burn off the crazy!”  After the first mile or so of the “grumbles” I started to come around.  It’s almost like you can feel the ugliness slowly burning off.  Bleeding out of your sweat!

By mile 3 I was feeling much better and apologized to my sister for being such a turd at the start of the run.  She understood and kind of chuckled.  She said “how many times have you listened to me when we get out here going all nuts?!”  Running is a special bond and has a certain kind of magic to it.  I love being able to share it with numerous members of my family and friends.  When you speak with other runners or tell them stories like this, they just get it.  I often wonder where I would be or how I would be able to rid myself of the awful feelings we humans get some days if I didn’t run.  Whoa…let’s not think about that! lol!

The run was wonderful, I got over my crankiness, I’ll sleep better knowing that I drained the body and mind of all the impurities.  Thanks to my sis for putting up with me for the first part of the run tonight!  Thanks to all of you for taking an interest in a crazy runner like me!  Off to rest and wake at zero dark thirty once again.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Zombie

Zombies Unite!

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We’re just weeks away from the crazy start of it all!  30 races will be run to celebrate 30 years of running and to boost donations to Mobile Meals of Toledo!  The first T-shirt campaign was kind of fun and I’m looking forward to getting tech shirts going here locally.  All runners love tech shirts!  I’ll keep going on the blog, reaching out to companies and hoping they’ll jump on board and give some kind of help.

I’ve also been looking over races and started signing up for some during the first couple months of the year.  The calendar listed on runzombierun.net will have all races listed and as I add them, my friend Mike Toth will update the calendar!!  I’m hoping to see some of you at these races and hopefully you’ll have some kind of runzombierun gear on!  The more talk there is and the more people who gain interest, the better this whole campaign will go.  I’m so thrilled to be doing this and really want to make a difference in my community.

I’ll be working on catch phrases and such to add to shirts or decals.  I really like the Zombies Unite!  We’re all Zombies at one time or another.  Whether its lack of sleep, board at the work place, whatever the moment…we’re all Zombies.  It’s time to rally the troops and have all Zombies Unite!  A Zombie Revolution…if you will!!

I knocked out my 7.5 mile run this evening and have a very early morning gym day tomorrow.  Legs are still tired from my leg workout at the gym yesterday, so sitting at work tomorrow should be a blast!  Zero dark thirty is my get out of bed time so I’ll go ahead and push on to bed.  Let’s get this done Zombies!

Zombie

Gym day and sponsors

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Today was a gym/strength day!  In order to keep myself going through the challenge, I have to maintain a solid structure.  That means getting to the gym on a regular basis to help prevent the onset of any injuries.  This along with my massage therapist, I think I can get this done!

I trained legs, a little bit of chest and then did 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.  If you’ve never experienced the Stairmaster, It was developed by someone who is truly into serious torture of the body!  As always, you don’t want to be anywhere close to me when I’m on this thing!  Remember…I sweat…a lot!  Anyway, I got everything done and did some stretching, feel pretty good at the moment and looking forward to running tomorrow!

I sat down last night and started contacting larger corporations for sponsorship.  I’m hopeful that I can get at least 1 big one to get on board and help me with the venture.  I have plans to talk with a couple local businesses about sponsorship and will explain how they can be added to the website runzombierun.net.  A special sponsor’s page can be added where everyone can see who’s stepped up to help this cause.  I’ll also add their logo to my race shirts that I wear at each and every running event!  Cross your fingers that we can land at least a couple.

I’ve said this before, the running to me is the easy part.  Keeping everyone’s attention and keeping my charity on everyone’s mind is the work part.  People move so quick in today’s society and anything can be lost in an instant.  I plan on staying on this all the way through!  I’ll talk about all of it any chance I get because it’s important to think of others and the struggles they go through.

Stay tuned!  If I’m able to land a sponsor soon, I’ll share the information!  I want to make this a very successful campaign and help Mobile Meals of Toledo get the boost they deserve!  Great people doing great things!

Happy Sunday and Happy Running!

Zombie