Dad's Blog #4

Watching the baseball playoff's with the boys and they want to know who are the good guys, I say the guys in grey, the Texas Rangers. Caden ask what are the bad guys called? I tell him the New York Yankees, their "the Evil Empire". Caden says "the yucky Yankees" and Casey stars calling them the "Evil Vampires" which is pretty much the truth, they suck the life blood of small market teams and steal their best players, haha!
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Dad's Blog #3

So this morning Casey was finishing coloring a picture he started at school yesterday, this is some of the dialogue between us.

Casey: Dad I'm I a good colorer?
Me: Yes Casey you are a very good colorer.
C: But I don't stay in the lines very good (points to his picture, he's got like 2 spots were he's a millimeter outside the lines).
M: Oh buddy you do a great job staying inside the lines, remember no one is perfect.
C: That's right, but I did my best. Ms. Adams (Casey's teacher) says always do your best.
M: That's right we always do our best. Nobody is perfect, and we all go outside the lines sometimes. You know who was perfect?
C: ...(Casey pauses as he ponders the question)...Jesus?
M: Yes that's right, Jesus was perfect.
C: I bet Jesus stayed inside the lines.
M: Haha, I bet your right buddy.

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Runners blog #9

I just copied and pasted from my Runner's World Blog...

So yesterday was the day, the day I've been training for the last 18 weeks, my very first marathon. I finished (Goal #1), I finished without walking, well except the water stations (Goal #2) and I had fun (Goal #3). I even finished under my wishful expectation of 4.5 hrs with a unofficial time of 4:26, I even managed to run a negative spilt.

The experience was so much more than I could have asked for, the weather was amazing, I was lucky enough to find a couple of running partners, my brother in law's sister and another first timer, to run almost the entire race with. Without them it would have been much, much harder to complete. I had a couple of scares right near the end, a tight hamstring around 22 miles, luckily a quick stretch and I was back, and a sudden drop in blood sugar at about mile 25, I totally forgot to fuel up for the final 6 miles and I nearly paid for it. Luckily when I was almost ready to hit the wall 2 things saved me, first a final water station, and the site of a man probably in his 60's with a neck brace and a cane making the turn for the down and back to complete the race trucking right along, I figured if he can keep going for another 3+ miles with all that, I could make it 1 more mile.

There were many moments of inspiration during the race, and they came from unusual and unexpected places at times, but they all seemed to come at just the right time. The one that stuck out the most was while on Arsenal Island all the service men and women cheering us on, it was hard not to stop and thank all of them for what they do everyday to give people like me the freedom to enjoy running, so to any Loopsters out there that have previously served or are currently serving, and all the other men and women around the world serving in any branch of the military "THANK YOU" for your service and sacrifice.

It's going to be hard to top my first marathon, it was an experience unlike anything else, and something I'll remember for the rest of my life

Runners blog #8

I've started a blog about my running on Runners World and I'll attach the links here in the future.

You can view and comment on the post here: http://www.runnersworld.com/community/persona/index.jsp?UID=1000010000552984&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=1000010000552984&plckPostId=Blog%3a1000010000552984Post%3a36ea915e-29b3-4e0b-8fab-6bbb0b1e25c1&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest

Dad's blog #2

So me and the boys have been lounging around watching Survivor Man and Man vs Wild, in lieu of a nap while mommy is at a friends wedding. Now the boys are upstairs building a fire pit (out of pillows) and setting up camp, I'm pretty sure they are going to start hunting wild (stuffed) animals here pretty soon. I was talking to Deanna earlier about going camping next year and now I think its a must. I'm pretty sure both boys would get a kick out of it, and they can use the survival skills they're learning to keep us alive.
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Dad's blog #1

So after reading yet another hilarious story from my cousin Dan's blog I've decided to follow suit and start sharing some of my thoughts and observations from being a father. I've been really bad about updating this, so for all 2 of the people who have actually followed this blog, congratulations you may actually have something to read more frequently than every 6 months now....well for awhile maybe....

....So Casey is getting ready to start Kindergarten next week, Deanna is going through the typical mommy reaction of my little baby is growing up, and Casey is both excited and nervous. The older he gets the more and more I've realized that he is as I put it "A sensitive soul", he very much cares about how other people view him already at such a young age. Which I suppose is good in the fact that it may keep him from doing things to get him in trouble, but it may also cause him some heart ache and potentially lead him into situations to please others instead of using common sense. The other day he was in a mood and seemed sad after some prying he confided in me that he was worried about making friends at school, he is the only 5 yr old from his daycare that will not be attending kindergarten with an already established friendship. I reassured him that he will make friends and told him the story about how when daddy started 3rd grade he had to leave all of his friends for a new school, and I think it helped a little. Its hard watching your child be nervous and anxious about going to school and making friends and know there is nothing you can really do for them except give them the best advice you can and hope it works out for them. I'm really not concerned that Casey will have any problems with making friends, he is such likable person it would be hard to imagine him not finding someone to be his friend.

Runners blog #7

So the QC Marathon is just about 5 weeks away, and I'm feeling pretty confident at this point, I've had an 18 and 19 mile training run and was able to survive both of those. My real test is this Sunday with my first 20 mile run and then again in 2 weeks with my final long run of 20 miles, those 2 runs will be the real barometer of my fitness and whether I will be able to complete this endeavor.

I recently read somewhere by a highly successful ultra runner that she goes into each event with 3 goals, winning is always one of them but the other 2 may vary. Well for me winning isn't even an option so my 3 are as follows,

1) Finish - for a first time marathon this is the ultimate goal and really in question.
2) Run in 4:30, that's under 10.5 min/miles which would be really good by my standards, my stretch goal is 4 hrs though.
3) Have fun! This will be the first and only time I get to run a marathon "for the first time" so a PR (personal record) is a guarantee. Every marathon from here on out will be in some way judged against the previous one and its time, this one is all about survival and having fun.

So this morning I really did not want to run and I of course forced myself to do it, as I often do I started making deals with myself, get out and do 2 miles and see how you feel. Then it turns to "Okay 2 felt good, just do one more, or you can cut short the rest" and so on and so on that goes until the next thing you know I've run the entire course and when I click off my stopwatch, I'm pleasantly surprised to see I've just run my regular 5 1/2 mile loop faster than ever before. A run I never even wanted to do, that I had to bargain my entire way through turns out to be my best one yet, that right there is why I have become addicted to running. That and the time I had a really crappy run, one that left me completely demoralized afterwards, until I realized that even though that run absolutely sucked the life out of me and left me questioning whether I wanted to keep doing this to myself, I remembered that I had still just completed 17 miles in under 3 hrs which let's be honest, isn't something most people can say they did over the weekend. I guess that's what I really love about running, everyone can do it if they want to, but most choose not to do it and even fewer choose to do longer distances. I guess I've kind of always been one to go against the grain a little bit, which suits me just fine I suppose, just wish I'd realized that at a younger age...but that is, I suppose the ignorance of youth.

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Random pics from my BlackBerry

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Runner's Blog #6

Marathon Training starts tomorrow...


...I'll let that just hang there for a minute...

Yup only 18 weeks till the QC Marathon and I'm determined to run it.

Now I know 18 weeks seems like a really long time but in the reality of a first time marathon runner it certainly doesn't seem long enough. Yes I have already finished a half marathon and will have at least one more completed next month, and yes I'm routinely doing training runs of 10 or more miles. But that's like comparing hitting a home run in a little league park versus doing the same thing say at Wrigley Field. I recently watched the latest contestants of The Biggest Loser run their marathon and I'm pretty sure if they can do it so can I. In fact the guy who won, Darris, is roughly about my size and he finished in just over 4hrs, and he had a bum knee from training to hard. I have a training plan to increase my mileage and endurance and I will be training during the hottest time of the year so I figure if I can make it through that then come race time in late September I should be just fine.

I read somewhere that only 1% of the population will ever run a marathon, I want to be part of that select few. Accomplishing something like that means so much to me, its not something anyone else can give me, or help me through, I'm the only one who can determine the outcome of this endeavor and that is where my glory lies.

Runners Blog #5

Half Marathon...check!

So I ran (and finished) my first half marathon this past Sunday and I'm happy to say I survived. I did much better than I expected or hoped for, I finished in just under 2hrs 13mins for an average of 10:09 min/mile. My main goal was to finish and hopefully be at or around 2hrs 20mins so I'm pretty excited that I was able to finish under. my target. Now that being said I wasn't even close to finishing in the top of my age group let alone top half of the race but I'm pretty sure for the group of "People who weighed 300lbs last year and were a lot closer to death than any 32 year old should be" I may have won. Honestly the fact that I even believed I could run this race proves I won that small victory as well as the larger battle of regaining my life.

It has been a slow process this last year, losing 75lbs pounds and I'm not done yet. I would like to lose another 25-30lbs and I know they will probably be more difficult then the previous 75. It took running that race for me to really appreciate and comprehend what I have done and how far I've come, and not just physically but emotionally, spiritually and mentality as well. I hadn't even realized how depressed I was before and how unhappy I was with who I had become. Working out, training mma and running not only gave me a way to lose weight but it gave me the tools to change other avenues of my life I wasn't happy with as well. It literally took me hitting rock bottom physically to finally decide to make a change and I'm lucky I did. Now I can be more active with my boys and have more energy during the day so I'm not as crabby and tired when I'm home. I hope I can be the example my boys deserve so they can lead a life of healthy activity, they certainly are active enough now, just spend a couple hours with them and you'll be wiped out. I remember being a kid and looking up to my dad and the things he could do physically and athletically and was just in awe of him, I hope someday my kids can look up to me that same way. I'll never be a world champion in mma or win the Boston Marathon and I really have no desire for those things, but if I can be a champion in my little boys eyes it will be just as good.

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Runners blog #4

So it's been officially over a year since I started my new active lifestyle and quite a lot has changed over the year. First and foremost I've dropped 70 pounds, I've completely changed my eating habits, I've eliminated my high blood pressure and cholesterol as well as my need for those medications. A year ago I couldn't run more than a few minutes let alone a mile and just this morning I knocked out 8.5 miles in 1:30 and could have easily done more if I didn't have to get home so the boys could hunt for easter eggs. Running and exercising has not only changed me physically but also mentally and spiritually to an extent. I have a much deeper appreciation for life these days, I'm enjoying my life a lot more and am a lot less stressed out. Running allows me to enjoy the outdoors and gives me an awesome outlet to relieve all that stress and unlike MMA no one is trying to punch me in the face.


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Random pictures from my phone

Haven't posted any photo's of the boys lately, since Deanna got here fancy new camera and now she downloads them on her laptop. So here's a few I've taken on my phone until I have a chance to get on her computer and upload some better ones.
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Runners blog #3

So in case you are unaware in the Midwest during the months of January and February its bitterly cold outside, and not just cold but windy too. Basically crappy weather for running outdoors which has limited me to running on a treadmill recently which is ok for a couple miles but trying to do 4, 5 or 6+ miles on a treadmill is truly monotonous. I was in Tulsa last week and was really looking forward to the opportunity of getting some miles logged outside for a change. But just my luck it was unseasonably cold and windy, as if the lovely weather of Iowa and Illinois boarded the plane with me and made the journey south. Fortunately one evening after a long day of meetings the sun was still bright and the air though still cool was warm enough for an outdoors run. The resort we stay at for these meetings is very secluded out in a wooded area so I was able to enjoy the scenery and get my running fix, even scared a few deer in the process. Granted I'm now back home and jonesing again to run outside, man I can't wait for it to get warmer so I can run outside everyday again. Got to start logging some serious miles again, hopefully running a half marathon on May 9th, running really is addictive!

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From the mouths of babes

The boys are pretending to be Scar and Simba from 'The Lion King'.

Casey (to Caden): I'm Simba I live on Pride Rock where do you live Scar?

Caden: California


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