I enjoyed the 8 miler on Saturday. I was actually doing ok! Phil has always been a great running/training partner and I hope we can remain friends long after October. Anna has been a great addition to the duo. She is great to run with and never complains the whole way like I do!! (If you've never run with me, I critique myself the whole way until Phil says, "Just Shut Up!!").

I was in and out quickly on Saturday as I had to attend Referee school. I thought it would be fun to do jr. high and high school games and get paid for them. I told Tamara that would be our 'fun money' in Chicago. Of course, I can't wait to see how a XXL Zebra will look. I also have to shave my facial hair for that 'professional look'. I haven't seen my upper lip in 14 years!! So, in the future, when I show up on Saturdays and you don't recognize me, that's why.

I am dreading and looking forward to Saturday. Dreading the 18 miler (hopefully, my foot will be a little better after my trip to the foot doc on Wednesday) and looking forward to the butt challenge. I love a good butt!! (and the BBQ'd type is good too!!). I'm still working on mine. You know how most men have 'buns'? I still have the whole loaf!! :-/)

Has anyone seen my legs???? I think I ran them off on Saturday. I was pretty sore on Saturday and Sunday due to not stretching and not ice bathing afterwards. I went out like a lion and came in like a lamb. My left foot is driving me nuts! I probably couldn't have made it as far as I did if I didn't change shoes at the halfway point. I've made an appointment with a specialist at the end of next week to see about some other options besides what I've been doing per my physical therapist. I want to make sure it is plantar fasciatis and not something else.

It was kinda cool Sunday at church though. People would come up to me and ask me why I was limping, and I would casually just say, "oh, my foot hurts after running 16 miles, that's all." Like it was just an everyday event. I loved watching people's jaw drop and then the comments that would follow......It's pretty neat being in another level as far as exercise go. Not that I'm cocky or anything.......but I do have a little swagger to go with my whine.

It was nice to meet Vicki's husband on Saturday. Seems like a nice guy (no matter what Vickie says about him! (ha!)). Shout out to Cookie for helping me with Phil. It was great to have a blood pressure cuff and stethoscope available. Maybe I'll start bringing mine on Saturdays and keep in my car in case we need it (and I hope we don't).

I need to go to Target or somewhere and buy some air fresheners for my car. Maybe some Febreeze. My big ole sweaty self getting home each week has wreeked havoc on the interior of my car. Even putting towels on the seat gets soaking wet. My wife got in the other day and said, "my gosh! did you fart?" I knew I shouldn't of had those beans for breakfast........:-)

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Not much to talk about this Monday. The weekend went by pretty uneventful. Saturday's run felt pretty good except for the slight inclines.
Sunday, I stopped by Brewster's Ice Cream over by the resevoir. They were having an all you can eat ice cream contest. No, I know what you are thinking.....I didn't enter it. I wanted to, but Tamara talked me out of it. The winner ate two and a half quarts in 10 minutes. I really think I could have taken him, but we'll never know......... I have won my share of eating contests before. (36 pieces of pizza at a buffet. One chocolate cream pie in 2 minutes and eight seconds) but ice cream is the only thing I eat slow. I'm always the first to finish my plate when everyone eats, but last to finish when I eat ice cream. So I don't know if I could have done it. If I had all day, I think a couple half gallons might do it.

But alas, I di-gress. I'm trying to look like I have a six pack and not a whole case. I'll never be long and lanky like Scotty, but hopefully, this marathon thing will help me get close to maintaining my ideal weight for the rest of my life.

(Screw That! I still want my ice cream!! So much for self reflection.......I must have had another out of body experience......)

Best of Times, Worst of Times......

Well I'm back from Vacation and I only gained three pounds. That's pretty impressive considering how much I eat! I did do two miles on Thursday morning as the family unit was waiting to go sightseeing on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

I was going to do the 15 miles on Friday, but we went to the Schlitterbahn all day. If you've never heard of it, it is the world's largest and best waterpark. We had sooooo much fun and I was sooooo tired. Ok, I'll do my 15 on Saturday.

Well, Saturday we went up to San Marco at this world famous outlet center. Oh my Lord! We shopped until we dropped! (Cold water Creek, Talbot's, Tommy Bahama, Pottery barn, Coach.)You name it, they had an outlet for it. They even had a Saucony outlet and they guy told me that whenever I needed a new pair of shoes, to call and see if they had the style I wanted and they would ship it anywhere for just $5.00. The shoes I bought for $115 were for sale there at $69.

So then we go to the Dry Comal Creek Winery for P2 aka Phil Squared, aka, Phil Purser who wanted me to pick him up some high powered grape juice while we were in the area. So after doing a wine tasting of all of there brands, and feeling a tad tipsy as well, I ended up buying a total of 9 bottles.

And so, here I am. It's Saturday night and I haven't ran. I have me a myoplex protein shake and a poptart (sort of like a snicker's and a diet coke) and take a nap. I get up at 7pm, get dressed, and go outside for the best and worst run of my life...........

As soon as I walk out of the door, all of the oxygen immediately got sucked out of my lungs. It had rained while I took a nap and the steam was everywhere. If you've ever ran on a treadmill that was located in a sauna, that would be pretty close. I could hardly breathe. There was a circle of about 0.6 miles that I had scoped out when we got there, so I knew I had to run it about 30 times. Needless to say, my clothes were already soaked by the time I finished stretching.

So I start. It hurts because I have a hangover from the wine. It hurts because I have done nothing but walk, climb, stand and everything else involving my legs for the past four days. It hurts because I wanted to be with my family who was having chinese and then watching Transformers and I had to run......

And then the most amazing thing that as ever happened to me while running happened. I turned the corner and there were wild deer on my entire run! I counted 19 adult male and females, 4 fawns, two cats, and one real live road runner ( I kept looking for Wyle E Coyote).

They never ran. They would just stop grazing and stare at me pass. The fawns would be suckling their mothers and the adults would just look at me. By the time I had made about 10 laps around they didn't even look up at me anymore, and we are talking about two car lengths from the road. I wish I had a camera with me. It was truly a spectacular run for someone who sounded like they were having an asthma attack........

Well, to make a long story short.......I ran out of water, ran out of daylight, and was getting eaten alive by what I hope were misquitoes. I thought I was donating blood at one point. I was cramping so bad that I had to stop after 9.6 miles. The way I look at it, I did the other 5.4 while climbing in caves, climbing up water slides and walking around the outlet center. My wife thought I wouldn't even get that far.

We ended the trip by coming back through Houston and stopping at Dave and Busters (my son has always wanted to go there) and getting in last night at around 10pm. I'm typing as I'm yawning. Great trip, great food, and great times even if I didn't get the whole 15 miles in.......

Giddy-up Cowboy!

Thanks to all who commented on my last blog. It is so nice to know people care about you even when they just met you on a few short months ago, butt gaunlet and all! On a more somber note, my wife Tamara found a lump in her right breast that frightened us over the weekend. Luckily, on Monday pm, the radiologist drained a rather large cyst known as a complex cyst. It has already returned to full size again, but we are leaving for San Antonio on vacation in the morning. Please keep us in your prayers that it will not continue to grow any worse until we get back.
I will try and find a place to run where we are staying in Texas. I know it will be extremely tough doing it solo and not seeing everyone for encouragement. Maybe I'll eat some chili peppers before I start to give me some motivation! Just tell myself there is a glass of water just 15 miles away. I'll miss ya'll and see you guys on the 15th.