run

One busy weekend after another

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Well this last weekend was one hell of a challenge!  The 25K on Saturday proved to be a tough run…physically and mentally.  The cool breeze turned a bit colder and a little sprinkle started right at about 10 miles.  To go with that, the last 5 miles were on a very straight trail, with a headwind and nothing very exciting to look at.  Ugh!!  My sister and I marched on through and finished averaging just under 10 minute miles.  That’s right where we wanted to be.  Especially knowing that we had another 7K race the following day!

The field for this race and the race the following day was just loaded with great runners!  I’m always amazed to watch others that can run with what appears to be little effort and just fly!  Props to them for being Awesome!!  We kept our pace and finished and that’s what was most important!  My hamstring decided to tighten up first and then the calves got ugly just past the 13 mile mark.  I was grateful for the after care people doing the massages!  Rubbed out the worst of it and I relaxed most of the day on Saturday.

Sunday’s Wearing of the Green 7K was chilly but the wind was nowhere near as bad as last year’s run.  The sun was shining and that’s always a bonus!  Started out easy and picked up the pace right after the first mile.  Turned in a 35:51 and grabbed a medal for being one of the first 61 runners to cross the finish.  Nice little bonus!  I looked over the results of my age group and wow!  Placed 8th out of 12 runners!  The competition in the 45-49 group was…well….just WOW!  The first 3 in the group were all below 7 minute miles!  Such speed!  Again, humbled by the talent level.  I never feel bad about myself though.  I know what I’m capable of and I know that there’s room for improvement…and I will.  The main focus this year and pretty much all the time with me is to enjoy running!  No matter where I run in the pack…I’m happy!  I always keep my focus on that.  I don’t want to get caught up in being faster than everyone else…for me, I just lose focus when I do that and it becomes more of a chore than fun!

This weekend coming will be about the same mileage but in a different set up.  We have a 10K (6.2 miles) on Saturday in Gibsonburg, Ohio.  Zip home, grab a shower and pack for Ann Arbor, Michigan!  Packet pick up there before 4 p.m. and then Sunday morning will be the Ann Arbor Half Marathon (13.1 miles).  Another 20 mile weekend!  Thank God for Becky at Massage Works!!  She rescued me this past Monday!  Thanks to her, I’m able to keep this hamstring moving and continue my journey to finishing all 30 races!

My main message today…focus on the happiness that you get from running!  Don’t worry about times so much or where you are in the pack.  If you start a race, you’re already ahead of those sitting.  If you finish…you’re a star!  Never let go of that!  We all have our own goals and I’m not knocking those that enjoy the speed.  It’s just not what drives me to run.  If I turn in a great time…yep…I’m thrilled!  It just doesn’t make or break me.  I run against myself…always!

Thanks again to my Aunt and Uncle for coming out to cheer for Patti and I this past weekend!  It’s always great to see a smile at the finish line!  Thank you to my wonderful wife for being the best supporter ever!  She keeps me grounded and I always feel loved!

I hope to see more of you Zombies out this Spring!  Be it running, walking or standing at the finish line with a big smile and a Zombie shirt on!

I’ll see you on the road!

Zombie

Moving past the setbacks

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The idea of running these 30 races continues to amaze me at times.  Believe me, I’ve questioned my sanity a few times!  My main goal is to FINISH each and every race!  Spoiler alert…I may just run more than 30!  I have the mind-set and a great cause.  Mobile Meals of Toledo!  I remember the first meeting with them and saying “I just hope that I can raise some kind of money to make a difference.”  I was told then and there…anything you do will be appreciated!  They won me over with that statement!  They believed in me more than I believed in me!  How is that possible??  I can never express in words how much I appreciate people like the ones that run Mobile Meals of Toledo and all of the wonderful volunteers that help get people the food they need on a daily basis!  This includes my wonderful wife.  Always thinking of others…just amazing!  I will continue this journey through the entire year of 2015!  I will continue to do local races and even venture to a few other states!  You’ll see my bright RunZombieRun shirt in each and every run!  I’m on a mission to make a difference!  “Running with a purpose!”

The race this last weekend (Run for Super PI) was an awesome event!  Props to Tom Silva and Dianna Ashton…along with many others for organizing a top-notch event!  Without your passion for this sport…what kind of races would we have to run?!  Keep up the fine work and I’ll keep showing up!

The race was wonderful but my hamstring decided that I finished the last 1/4 mile a bit too fast.  I’ve been fighting off a couple different small injuries and the hamstring really sent a message after the PI run.  I’m here to tell you…message was received!  I have too much riding on these races and I need to keep the focus on finishing…put my pride and desire to fly in a little box for now and just keep from blowing something apart!  I keep thinking that I’m still young…lol!  The body reminds me that I’m not “that” young anymore.  The sore tendons in the foot have settled down and I’ve managed to get the hamstring loose.  Daily rolling on a foam roller and stretching have helped a bunch.  Advil and some rest are doing their part too.  I did a light 3 mile run at the park yesterday and felt pretty good.  I’m taking today off and will do another short run tomorrow.  With a full weekend of races, I need to keep it calm.  No worrying about PR’s!  Thinking of my PR could land me in the ER!  hee hee!!

So to any that want to follow this weekend.  http://www.davesraces.com/ Here is the link to Saturday’s run The Great Black Swamp Festival of races!  Patti and I will be running the 25K and expect to be on the road for about 2 1/2 hours…give or take.  A map along with the start and finish are all listed on this site.  Sunday will be the Wearin of the Green!  This will be held at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon, Ohio!  (My backyard)  Looks to be a cold start but lots of sunshine! http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventOverview.aspx?fEID=19995  There is the link for that race.

Spring is trying to get here!  Whatever you decide to do…make sure you keep moving!  Don’t let any setbacks stop your vision or passion!  Get out and be inspired!  You never know who’s watching…you just may inspire someone else and how cool would that be?!  See you on the road!

Zombie

As always…you can donate on my website runzombierun.net.  It is a direct link to Mobile Meals of Toledo!  They even placed a runzombierun spot on the Mobile Meals of Toledo webpage!  Anything and everything are always appreciated!

March Madness!!

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Well, another month done and wow what a month!  February…I officially don’t care for you at all!  Thank goodness for the Florida break!  Two more races in the books while in Florida.  The Fort Lauderdale 5K and the A1A Half Marathon both completed on the same weekend!  I’m grateful to have knocked out at least two races during the month, keeps me on schedule to complete the task of 30 races this year.

March will be a full month on the racing calendar.  March 14th will be the Run for Super PI!  Math nerds are welcome to come out and walk, run or just spectate the madness!  This race will take place at Second Sole at Levis Commons in Perrysburg.  http://www.roadracerunner.com/re_165794/RunforSuperPi.html

The next race will be a big one.  The Black Swamp Festival of Races http://greatblackswampruns.org/.  This will be a 25K run on March 21st!  I’ll be running with my sister Patti and my sister Leanna is coming in from Florida to run as well.  Not planning on setting any records for this one as it’s 15.5 miles long.  The plan is to just enjoy the company and finish the race with no injuries!

To follow the Black Swamp up, I’ll be running The Wearin of the Green 7K run on March 22nd (the following day!)http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventOverview.aspx?fEID=19995  This was one hell of a race last year!  It’s held at Maumee Bay State Park out here in Oregon, Ohio and being March in NW Ohio…you never know what kind of ugly Mother Nature is going to throw at you!  I’ll be tired from the long run the day before and if the winds were anything like they were last year…I just want to see the finish line!

The final run for March will be the Ann Arbor, MI Half Marathon!  March 29th and will be starting…you guessed it…right there at the Big House!  Not a fan of Michigan Football but it’ll be my first time in the area and hey…It’s another race to mark off my calendar! http://theannarbormarathon.com/

So there you have it!  4 Races in one month!  Right around the corner in April will be the Glass City Marathon/Half Marathon!  I’m working on dropping weight and scoring a PR at that one!  Cross your fingers!  I’ll do an entire blog entry dedicated to the Glass City at a later date.

As a small teaser…I’ve joined a group of people from a running group and have committed to running Ragnar (Chicago 2016) http://ragnarrelay.com/race/Chicago I’ve posted the website for the 2015 relay so that you all can look through and see how much fun this is going to be.  12 runners, 2 vans, 200 miles of running from Madison, WI to the windy city!  Chi town!  This has been on my bucket list for years and I still can’t believe I’m finally going to have the opportunity to do it!  More on that later too!

Keeping up with my running and hitting the gym on schedule.  Cleaned up my eating and will continue to tune it as time passes.  Still have plans of dropping the extra pounds for my challenge at the gym.

As always, thank you to everyone for following along!  Extra thanks to all for donating to Mobile Meals of Toledo!!  They keep me focused to keep the legs moving!  Running with a purpose!  Take care and …I’ll see you on the Road!

Zombie

The Challenge within the Challenge!

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The idea of running 30 races to celebrate the 30 years of running seemed a bit crazy when I first started toying with the idea.  Then, well, I just got used to it!  It seems I’m always searching for something.  Something to help relax my still slightly restless soul.

I’ve decided to take on a challenge at my local gym.  Between February 23 and April 23rd…the person to lose the highest percentage of weight could win some fun prizes!  First place is a $250.00 visa card, Second place gets $100.00 visa card and Third gets gym credit.  My hope is to take First or Second and then turn the winnings over to Mobile Meals Of Toledo!  So this means it’s time to start writing down all my foods and keeping close track of my intake.  It’ll be a little more complicated on long run days but I think I can master a plan to get through.

Weigh in was today!  I went in to do my leg workout and hopped on the scale.  218 lbs at just shy of 6’2″.  My ideal weight…that I’d like to reach would be just under 200 lbs.  I’d like to maintain as much muscle as possible and lose the extra layer of winter fat.  This too will improve my joint pains and hopefully my times for my races!  It’s a win…win!  What’s the worst that could happen…I could see my abs?!  lol!!  So now you’ll all have to deal with my crazy running rants along with my calorie intake, workouts and just plain craziness!  It’s for a great cause and again…I’ll be laser focused!

The plan is to get 3 workouts with weights in during a weeks time.  Cardio on 5 days of the week.  I’ll bump to 6 after a month or so.  Feel free to jump in and challenge yourself!  Get on a scale or just put on a pair of pants that might feel a bit tight and make a pledge that you’ll be wearing them in 8 weeks!  “Summer bodies are made in the Winter!”  True to form…this won’t be an easy fight!  Getting up at 3:30 a.m. and going out into the freezing cold to run or head to the gym will be tough.  I will make it happen though…you can count on me!

The big wrap up for this will be fun!  The week that I do the final weigh in at the gym is the same week leading up to the Glass City Marathon!  I will be running the Half Marathon but would love to post a new PR during that race!  It’s my home town and I have a number in my head that I want to reach.  So coming in lighter and more  fit…I should be able to put the hammer down!

Alright all…Let’s do this!  8 weeks to a leaner, faster, crazier self!  I’ll see you on the road!

Zombie

Not all pretty runs!

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Today was long run Sunday with my sister Patti.  As some of you may know, Patti just returned to the running game last year and might I  add…has rocked it!  From not running at all to running her third half marathon last weekend is truly amazing!  She puts in the time and the run in return…brings her peace.  Keep running Sis!

The weather looked to be the best we’re going to get for another week or so.  That being said, we decided to hit the roads and see how things shook out today.  My initial hope was to run 13 miles or better.  (I may have forgotten to share that with my sister…lol!)  We headed out and started chatting about the week in Florida and how we wish we were running there right now instead of here!  The temperature was around 21 degrees when we left but there was really no wind to speak of. (YAY!!)  Walked out to the front of my sub-division and hit it!  Down the road we went!  Everything was going well…hit our usual pee stop at a local gas station out here in Oregon and popped open a pack of delicious GU!  Salted Caramel!  Patti’s new favorite!  This was at about mile 5.5..ventured further out into Oregon and my back started giving me fits.  I worked out at the gym the day before yesterday and was getting what is known as “the 2 day effect!”  the second day after a big work out usually brings a certain tightness to the muscles.  I decided to keep plugging away and at about mile 8.2…it was getting a bit rough.  We stopped and walked for a little and then pushed on.  I made it another 1.1 miles and knew I was just toast.  All total with our running and walking we managed 10.3 miles.  They weren’t the prettiest…but we got it done!

I’ll make the proper adjustments and make sure to keep back work outs away from my long run days in the future.  The back has already settled down…so all is well.  The idea that we can always go out there and have perfect runs is frankly…just silly!  Some days I feel like I could run for days!  Then you have days when you feel like a mile is all you can go.  I just chalk it all up as movement!  Anything beats nothing every damn day!

It looks like there’ll be another arctic blast coming for the week so time outdoors running will be kept at a premium.  I think the Stairmaster will be my “friend” for the better part of this week.  Blah!!  Training must continue!  Busy March schedule of racing coming just around the corner!  March 14th…The run for PI!  March 21st…The Great Black Swamp Festival of races!  Then on March 22nd…Wearin of the Green!  I’ll be scheduling a massage soon (Becky at MassageWorks keeps me moving!).  It looks as though my sister will be coming in from Florida for the Black Swamp and Wearing of the green!  So again, I’ll have family to keep me motivated and happy!

Hang tough everyone!  The runs aren’t always pretty, the weather isn’t always good, but the heart will carry you through it all!  Happy Running and…I’ll see you out on the road!

Zombie

Driven with a purpose

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What is it that makes one get up in the early a.m. hours, prior to any sign of sunshine?  Why would you get out of a nice warm bed on a cold winter’s morning and purposely walk out into the cold morning air? These questions and many others can be answered with a single word…Driven!

When I hit the road or trail to get my run going, this word rattles through my head on a regular basis.  It started at a young age but was mislead.  I became driven for success but thought it would come through things, possessions if you will.  I felt empty when I obtained possessions yet couldn’t understand why.  To share each and every step of my young life would take more than just a blog…lol!  A book perhaps, but I’m betting there’s not a huge market for the life and times of a poor Eastside kid from Toledo.  That being said, once I discovered running…things began to clear up!  You could say that I “Get it” now!

I’m now Driven with a purpose!  My love for running has brought me to wanting to share my experiences.  To help, to make a difference and hopefully change someone’s life for the better.  Whenever I sit down to type…I hope that at least one person is touched or moved.  If it makes them smile, or put on running shoes for the first time, I’m making a difference.  My purpose is to share what I’ve learned, to guide when someone needs it and to be a good person.

Driven With A Purpose…let’s use that slogan today!  Think about your life and what you do.  How you can make a change for the better.  Take care of yourself and your health for there are those that rely on you and love you!  Remember that you matter!  Find the fire that’s inside and go with it!  Hit the gym, take a walk, go for a run!  This will only turn into better things…I promise you!  You’ll discover something about yourself while moving and you’ll have time alone in your head to think about a great many things.  (I know I have!)  From there, you’ll find your purpose.  It’s my belief that all of us has a common purpose…to help others!

Enjoy your day and keep checking in on me!  There’s more to come!

Stay Driven!

Zombie

Treadmills OR Dreadmills?!

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When the weather gets to the point of ridiculous, like today.  One needs to seek other forms of cardio, of the indoor version.  Now most runners can step right up to a treadmill and go without any issues.  Me, it’s a whole different adventure!  I hate to even look at the damn things!  I don’t trust them, I don’t like the way they sound and I really hate looking at myself running in a mirror!!  (Thanks Snap Fitness for that!)  Did I mention the close proximity of other people while you’re trying to run on this torture device??!!  I just may be one of the sweatiest persons on the planet when it comes to running.  If you’re parked on a treadmill next to me, yeah, you may get overspray on your machine…sorry. 😦

These machines are discussed by runners all the time.  The best brand, how far can you run on them, do you go to a gym to use or is it at home?  That kind of stuff.  My take has always been, I will run outdoors every single change I get!  It has to be God awful outside for me to get on the Dreadmill!

The other issue I have, I can’t do long distance on one.  Mental block of some kind, but I just can’t do it.  Today after doing my weights, I walked over to the “yuck machine.”  Maybe muttered under my breath for a moment or two and then climbed aboard.  I was able to get 2 miles worth of sprints done and a very mild “runner’s high!”  I did get it done though and I’m happy for that!

So I’m curious, your take on these machines.  Do you love them?  Do you hate them?  Love to hear stories!  Maybe I’ll share some of my adventures another day of the many mishaps I’ve had on the Deadmill!  My reasons for such distrust…lol!  I can laugh now…but it wasn’t so funny at the time!

Happy Tuesday all!  Get up and get moving!

Zombie

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I have to be honest.  I’m inspired by a woman who has done much more than I could ever hope to.  She helps quietly and without fanfare.  She’ll spend time driving meals on her lunch time, help children with their reading during after school hours and volunteer for just about any cause that’s in need.  During the water crisis in our area, she was called upon to deliver water to those that had no way of getting any.  She dropped what she was doing and immediately went and filled her car with water, spent the day delivering to the masses.

I suppose this is my way of saying thank you to her.  This is my way of letting her know that I’ve become a better person from watching her actions.  I’m letting her know that what she does daily is something special…that she is special!

When I run these 30 races in 2015, there will be someone with me at all times.  Whether she’s able to make it to the race or not.  I’ll carry her in my heart during every step.  I want her to know that she’s changed me…for the better!  I want to thank her for being an inspiration to so many!  My wife (Karla Neeley) is my hero.

I know that when she reads this she’ll say something like “that’s not necessary” or “you’re a silly boy”.  I think it’s necessary!  I have hope in my heart now and it’s because of her.  I look forward to the challenge ahead and WILL make a difference!  Because I still believe in heroes…

Zombie