Austin Half Marathon!

After a rough weekend last week, we're in Austin preparing for the Austin Half Marathon. I'm pretty excited to run it since it's the very first time running an event outside of Houston. And what better place to do it then our lovely state capital. I'd like to talk more about it but it's getting late and I need some rest before my 4:30 AM wake up tomorrow. Wish me luck!

The Marathon!!

The alarm goes off at 4:45 AM. I check my knee. It feels almost normal! No significant swelling. No stiffness. I can finally walk normally! I'll have a chance to run the marathon today! I'm excited. I strap on the IT band and patella band as precautionary measures.

It's 6:30 AM, it's time to head off to the starting corrals. I can feel the adrenaline. Maybe I'll have a great run. I'm thinking "I want to get under 4 hours and 30 minutes." The gun goes off and everyone gives a loud cheer. Within seconds, I pass the starting gate. I can hear the chirps of everyone's stopwatch. I look to my right and I can see the sun come up. "Here we go again" I think to myself with a smile. Miles one through nine melt away. They're over in no time and I'm feeling fresh as a daisy. This is where the Half Marathon turn round point is. Beyond this point is completely new territory for me. This is the side of the race I have never seen. The crowd of runners thins out as well as the number of spectators. It gets a lot quieter. It starts to feel more like my weekly training runs. I'm well ahead of the 4:15 pace group. At this rate I'll finish around 4 hours and 10 minutes. I'm excited about my chances. Another few miles melt away and I find myself at mile 15. I'm expecting to see my wonderful wife soon. I just know seeing her and my family will give me some inspiration. I've got to make sure to look cool when I pass them. I have to let her know my knee is doing just fine. The mile 16 marker passes and I'm constantly scanning the crowds for her yellow sweater. My eyes are grabbed by any flash of yellow along the sidelines. I still haven't spotted her yet. All of the sudden I see a familar face. It's my cousin Frances! She yells "They're close! They're just two bus stops down!" My eyes light up and I push on. I spot the first bus stop about 300 hundred feet away. I see the second just after that. And then I see them waving. It's my wife and brother! It looks like she's asking me something. I figure she's wondering where my cousin is. I use my thumb and point backwards. Now it looks like she's asking if I want to take off my skull cap and gloves. I gesture as to say no and I run off. The next couple of miles go by and I start thinking that I should grab for some fruit. I grab a banana and an orange slice. Things are going dandy. I'm on my 20th mile and I'm starting to feel some lactic acid building up in my quads. They're starting to twitch. I worry that a cramp may be setting in. At mile 21, the cramps are setting in. I try to run through it but it is becoming difficult. I'll have to stop and stretch it out. I don't want to lose too much time, but the cramps are taking longer than expected to work out. I get back into the stream and continue running. I run for a few hundred feet and the cramps come back. I start becoming really concerned. I'm so close to the end. Only a few more miles to go. I have to fight through it. I run some more. I'm forced to stop again to stretch and massage. I continue this pattern until I get back to downtown. At this point, the 4:15 pace group and the 4:30 pace group have caught up with me and have passed me. I feel frustrated and disappointed. A part of me feels miserable. I hear the cheers of encouragement. "C'mon Phil! (yeah, many spectators misread my bib and called me 'Phil') You're almost there!" I try to push on but my quads feel like solid marble. I stagger into downtown and see my cousin Frances again. I see her aiming her fancy SLR camera at me and I think "I've gotta look cool for the shot." I start moving my feet and run. She says "they're just up ahead." I decide that I must run the last stretch no matter what. If my quads explode, I have to keep running. So I do exactly that. All of the sudden I see them. It's like a breath of fresh air. I see my wife, brother, and some good friends on the sidelines. I hear them cheer. "GOOO PHI!" The moment is incredibly touching. It's the beautifully pleasant sound of familiarity. I give the last few hundred feet my all. I'm amazed that my legs are still even able to move in their solid state. I see the big timer on the finish line gate. The pain is excruciating. I close my eyes for a moment and keep pushing. A moment later I find myself crossing the last timing strip. Almost immediately, a man comes to me and congratulates me as though he knows me. I'm almost startled by it. He grabs my shoulder and says "You did it! Even through all the pain, you did it! You did it!" I appreciate the camaraderie. I smile and reach out to his hand to say thank you. I notice he's got the finisher's medal already on. He must have come back out to support the other runners. I love that about the running community. Several other volunteers are also there to congratulate me. I limp forward into the convention center. Volunteers are lined up to pass out medals. I'm not sure which line to get into. I know there are some for the half marathoners and some for the full marathoners. I look around almost lost. And I see this lady rush up to me to congratulate me. She puts the medal around my neck and I finally know it's time to rest.

I finished at 4 hours 41 minutes 14 seconds (10 minutes after gun time). Not exactly what I was hoping for, but at least I've got something to beat next year.

I'd like to send out a very heartfelt "thank you" to my wife, my family, and my friends who supported me out there. Your support meant the world to me. You see, the thing about running is it makes you feel like you're somewhere else. It feels like living an entire lifetime in the span of a few hours. And when you finally see a familiar face in crowd? Well, that's like finding home again.

-phi

Check out the last 30 seconds of my race. I show up around the 16th second. I'm wearing grey.

First Last Week's Recap...

So this is what happened last week. I bought those knee straps and knee sleeve. I did a couple of short runs on the tread mill in my neighborhood gym. It felt okay. I figured I could get used to it. So on Wednesday I went to the gym anxious to give it a full work out. I got in a few games of full court basketball before I hit the tread mill. Then lifted some weights with Dan. The knee felt fine. I even did some reps on the calf lift machine at 195 lbs. So I got cleaned up and went to work. A few hours of sitting go by before I get up out of my chair. I noticed that my left knee felt stiff. I checked it for swelling and I didn't detect much. As the day went on I noticed that the swelling and stiffness worsened. I grew quite concerned. I didn't remember doing anything unsual at the gym. No hard falls, no trauma, no anything. I decide I should ice it and keep it elevated. I do that for the rest of the day and hope for the best. That evening, I checked my knee before going to bed and I noticed that the knee was more swollen than it was before. Now I start to really worry. The next morning I was disappointed to wake with the knee in the same state. At work, I felt distracted the entire morning. Would I be able to run the marathon? Would I be able to walk to my car?? I didn't want to go so the doctor for fear of him telling me not to run the marathon under any circumstances. After a little talk with Dan, I decide to do the smart thing and have it looked at. So I call my doctor and leave early from work. The doctor checks my knee for any structural damage by bending it and torquing it in different directions. He tells me my ligaments seem fine and that I must have done something to my knee to cause it to start to swell. He tells me I should stay off of it and to take some anti-inflammatory medicine. I told him that I was planning to run the marathon that Sunday. He tells me that ideally I shouldn't and that in the worst case scenario I my cause internal bleeding in my knee, which would be very bad. He said that if I must run I should rest it until then and take it easy on the run. I did just that and fortunately the swelling subsided just in time for...

Just a few more days...

until marathon day! I'm feeling pretty good about it. However, I admit I am a bit nervous about my knee. My knee has started giving me some problems in the last couple of weeks. There is some discomfort in my left knee and I'm hoping it doesn't worsen during the run. I'm convinced that it's my iliotibial band (ITB Syndrome). It was worse last year after some careless training. This year, I decided to train smarter and I was hoping to stay completely injury free this season. All was going so well until a couple of weeks ago. I've just purchased a knee brace/sleeve and patella knee straps in hopes of reducing the discomfort during the marathon. I'll have to get out there to give those straps some test runs first though. Well, wish me luck!

Jamaican Me Happy

We just got back from our trip to the beautiful island nation of Jamaica. I'm already finding myself missing the place. We had an incredible time soaking in all the culture, food, and fun. I highly recommend it and hope to be back one day. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

Oh, and also...

I ran 18.6 miles today in the cold! It was 27 degrees with the wind chill this morning! Yowsers! It was a good run all in all. I'm pretty sore, but that's expected. Next week I'm going for 20 miles...maybe.

It's time for a vacation!

We're finally going to Jamaica!!

Time To Ramp It Up!

Just a few more weeks and it's marathon time! Am I nervous? Not really. Well, maybe just a little. I'm more anxious and excited than I am nervous. Yesterday morning, I completed my longest run to date. I ran 15.11 miles and at a decent average moving pace of 9:04 min/miles. I suspect it would have been better had I not been overly conservative in the first 3 miles. Even so, it's better than my best half marathon time. Next Sunday I'm planning on running 17 miles. And then 20 miles the following week. Then it's time to taper. Wish me luck!

New link added

I just added a link to my brother's new blog. He's dedicating it to all the sweet deals, sweepstakes, and free stuff he finds. Thanks for sharing the wealth, bro.

Whoops! Say good bye to October...

And hello to the greatest month of them all! Give it up for November, ladies and gentlemen. November is great for so many reasons. The weather is cooler, it's a huge month for video game releases, there's Thanksgiving festivities, and there's several birthdays including my own. It all contributes to an overwhelming sense of comfort and excitement for me. I totally dig it.

February Fun

I just got through registering for the AT&T Austin Half Marathon. My cousin and I have been talking about running it for fun for some time now. It fits snugly in between the Houston Full Marathon and the big Texas Independence Relay. We figured it be a fun training run for the TIR. Plus, we'll get to run through scenic Austin, which should be a treat.

http://www.attaustinmarathon.com/cms/default.asp

Get out there and run!

September in Review

Wow. These months sure go by fast. I can't believe it has been well over a month since I've been back from Rome. It's truly frightening how fast time really goes by. Well, September was a real blur. The highlights include cutting both my hair short and my personal best running time down significantly. September marked the official beginning of my training for the Chevron Marathon. It hasn't been all the different from my normal running, but this year is different because I'm really making it official. Other big news includes me getting Halo 3 a day early (because I had won it as a prize through this online promotion). Unfortunately, my xbox 360 became dysfunctional just a few days prior. So I have two options. 1. Send it to Microsoft to repair. 2. Wait a month and a half to use the replacement plan through MicroCenter. I've decided to go with the latter only because I'd rather get a new premium xbox (hopefully with the newer chip and motherboard) with HDMI. I have to officially wait until November 14th before I can do that, however. That's over a month away!! Thank goodness these months are flying by so quickly...

There's no place like Rome

Well, we've been back from Rome for a few days now and I think we're finally getting back into the old routine. The trip was terrific. We did our best to soak in all the sights and sounds of the old city and took hundreds of pictures to prove it (nearly 1,000!). Here's a link to our photo book featuring some of the highlights.

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0CYsmzJo0bMXtg

Enjoy!

We're going to Jamai...err...Italy!!

So we had planned this much needed vacation months in advanced. We did our research and had everything booked for a nice trip to Jamaica. Then Hurricane Dean shows up and basically says "sike." So, anxious to "get away" we scramble to figure out new vacation plans. The idea of a trip to Europe bubbles up and the wheels are set in motion. We did have plans for a European trip, but that was supposed to be in 2008. Well, things have changed. It's alright though, because we're both very excited about this trip. There are tons of things we're looking forward to seeing and doing. One of things I'm most excited about is running in Rome. There's this incredible park near our hotel that promises to be one of the highlights of the trip. I've read that there's an 8 kilometer loop there too, so I should be able to get some decent distance in. I intend on bringing back a lot of pictures so stay tuned. (revs moped, "Ciao" *)

(*Eddie Izzard reference)

A New Beginning...

I know I've said this many times before, but this time will be different. How do I know this? Well, I really don't, but I really think it will be.

I'll just start with the highlights of what's going on in my life right now.

Married Life:
Things have been great. I think my wife and I have really struck our balance in terms of living together. We make a great team and I completely adore her.

The Family:
Exciting times for the family. My sister is due to give birth within the next week!!! Anyday now, we'll have a new addition to the clan.

The House:
The house has being great, aside of this recurring leak we've been having. The builders are working on it right now, actually. This is the 4th time they've tried to fix it. With any luck, we'll finally get it today.

Running:
So the last time I posted was way back in January right after my second successful Half Marathon. Coincidentally, I just registered for the 2008 Chevron Marathon last night. I'm stepping it up this year by trying the Full Marathon (that's 26.2 miles). I'm pretty excited about it and intend on taking my training much more seriously this season. I'm also planning on running in the Texas Independence Relay race next March (www.texasindependencerelay.com). A team of us will be running the 200 miles that from Gonzalez, Texas to San Jacinto, Texas.

Basketball:
Things are pretty much status quo. I still list it as one of my pure loves. I've been having a nagging injury on my left index finger that has been a real pain, but I try to play through it. I'm planning on playing in a tournament in August.

Gaming:
Gaming has been decent lately. It's a luxury that my wife is really into gaming as well. And not only is she into it, she's just about as competitive as I am about it. So there's always someone to play against. I've won our 2k5 Football offline league this past weekend, which was a treat. My SPM in Battlefield 2142 keeps going up, which is what I like to see. I only play about once a week, but at least it's productive. I just ordered Mario Strikers Charged yesterday. I'm really anxious to play online with the Wii. A lot of good games are coming out this year, so it should make for a pretty interesting holiday season (Call of Duty 4 anybody?). Let's not forget Metroid, Mario Galaxy, and Smash Brothers Brawl. And that's just on the Wii.

Work:
I don't want to dedicate too much space on work so I'll keep it brief. Work is better now that we're not working 60+ hours a week.

Well, that's it for now.

Round 2

So I've been slacking off pretty badly with this blog these last few months. I've kind of lost touch ever since I moved. It's surely not due to the lack of things happening in my life. The most recent notable thing is that I finished my second half marathon this past week. I've been looking forward to it for the last 12 months and it had finally come around. My goal was to better my time from last year. I can happily say that i accomplished that. Last year I finished the 13.1 mile run in 2 hours and 13 minutes at an average pass of 10 minutes 12 seconds per mile. I felt that this was a fairly strong pace and was concerned that I wouldn't be able to improve it. As the race day approached my training intensified. I suddenly devoloped knee problems in my right leg. I feared that this would dampen my performance in my second try at the half and my goal shifted towards finishing in one piece. Fortunately, I was able to hold it together to finish the race in strong time of 2 hours and 7 minutes at an average pace of 9 minutes 42 seconds per mile.

Meanwhile...

Well, another three months have past and I'm now living with my wife in our very own home. Things have been going very well for us lately. We're really starting to settle down in our new home. Life is good.

SpaceMonkey Update!

Geez! I haven't posted anything since April! I know I've really dropped the ball on this. So much has been going on in the last few months. Oh, how time flies when you get a little older.

I can confidently say as of this moment, things are going swell on all fronts. That's nothing to take for granted. The last 12 months have quite a rollercoaster ride. Life has really settled down. It's just the calm before the storm though I suppose. Things are about to change pretty dramatically for me pretty soon. I'll be moving into our new house in a week. Talk about big changes. Moving away from the family I love so dearly won't be an easy thing. Fortunately for me, I've always been good at seeing things from a wider perspective. In the grand scheme of things, life is just as it should be. My wife and I are about to start the next big chapter in our lives and we look forward to all it has in store for us.

Wish us luck!

Smash Makes it Better

The day started pretty rough for me. I woke up 30 minutes late. I barely got any sleep. Then on my way to work, I get rear-ended while sitting at a stop light. Fortunately, it was just a minor fender-bender and there was no new noticeable damage. I get to work, and I'm inundated with a ton of new work issues. On top of that, a stored procedure I had written was giving me some problems. I felt like I was at a melting point, and it was only 11:00 A.M.

I get an IM from Dan and Jackie asking if I felt up for a Smash lunch. I regretfully declined, concluding that I just didn't have the time. A half an hour later and I decided I just needed some fresh air (in the form of a session of Smash Brothers). I'm telling you, there's no medicine like Smash. Everyone was at the top of their games. Jackie was throwing down some combos I have never seen her try before. Dan's knees were particularly electric. And I was trying some new stuff out as Fox with a decent amount of success (I got some nice shine-blinds in). A quick hour lunch filled with knuckle sandwiches and I was good to go.

...Sigh...I love Smash.

Construction Begins!!

Big news! Construction our our house is finally starting! After about a month of sitting idle, our house will be more than just a plot of dirt!