crazy burningitoff

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 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