Black Friday: By the Numbers

This past Friday I took my life in my hands and took three women (mom, aunt, and cousin) shopping on Black Friday. There was no serious shopping done by this guy just some good ole' bag carrying and people watching. All of the men reading my blog can relate to the scenario I'm describing, but I will tell you that the bar is raised on Black Friday. So much for economic struggles, people were buying things left and right (probably on credit...which is much of our problem).

I thought I would give you a glimpse into the Black Friday shopping bonanza by the numbers.

• 20 -- Number of couples (man and woman) walking together where the man was carrying all of the bags and the woman was carrying only her purse.
• 5 -- Number of men receiving chair massages in the middle of the mall (note: there were only 5 chairs and several other men were waiting in line)
• 1 -- Kid attached to a leash with a stuffed monkey on his back. This is inhumane in my opinion. Poor little guy was being dragged around by grandma and he had a stuffed monkey on his back.
• 10 -- Number of times I was offered a chance to test the latest and greatest middle of the mall kiosk invention. I tried to explain on several occasions why I didn't need to try the new soap made with Dead Sea salt which makes your hands softer.
• 0 -- Number of times I sat on Santa's lap to tell him what I wanted for Christmas. Simply tragic.
• 1 -- Friend who rescued me and came to the mall to hang out for a bit. I was very grateful for his generosity.
• 25 -- Number of store alarms that went off while I was in the store browsing around. I think all but one store's alarm went off while I was present.
• 1 -- Long lasting memorable experience with my mom, aunt, and cousin that I will not forget for a long time.

Here's to the start of the Christmas season!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope every "Running the Race" blog reader had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. This year, I have so much to be thankful for including my new career path, stronger relationships with family and friends, a healthy family, new friendships, a new church, and the list goes on and on. This year, I spent the holidays back in my hometown in Texas. I got up early in the morning to go run the Golden Triangle Turkey Trot, came home and got ready for our traditional Turkey Day feast with family and then football. My Ags ran out of time once again this season against the 'Horns, but that didn't ruin my day.

Now, it's time to break out the Christmas trees (which my mom has already done) and Christmas music -- December 25 will be here soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

TRAINING UPDATE:
Last week, I strained a tendon in my left foot during a run. I heard a little bit of a pop when it happened and decided to get it checked out. So this week, I've been reduced to light running and a lot of rest. I'm thankful this is my down week in my training schedule and I hope to be back to 100% or as close to it soon. The Turkey Trot was my first hard run all week and I could tell I was lacking a little bit of conditioning. I'm thankful it was my conditioning that was bad and not my foot during the race. I can work on my conditioning.

EDITOR'S NOTE: But on the other hand, you can't really complain when you finish 8th overall and first in your age group.

The Road to Boston - Training Update #1

I'm two weeks into my "journey" that I mentioned on this blog. I originally planned to post my training updates every week so that you at home could follow me and share in my journey. Well....that didn't really happen after week #1. So today, I'm going to bring you up to speed on my first two weeks. Look for my weekly updates every Sunday if you are interested in tracking my progress. I will also continue to post throughout the week -- but it might not be all about my training.

Plan: 10-week marathon training plan, implements cross training elements (cycling and swimming), from Triathlete magazine. The plan is based solely on heart rate zones calculated from my VO2 max and time on my feet. You will not see me talk a lot about mileage although I'm covering quite a bit of mileage in each of my runs.

Last week update:
Monday -- Rest
Tuesday -- Yasso 800s (4) -- 3:09, 3:14, 3:12, and 3:12
(I'm planning to build to 12 Yassos by the end of my training)
Wednesday -- Strength training, recovery run in Zone 1 <156 bpm for 30 minutes c 5 minute cooldown
Thursday -- Rest
Friday -- 5 minute warm up Zone 1, 10 minutes in Zone 2 with 6/ :20 pickups, 20 minutes in Zone 3, 5 minute cooldown
Saturday (in Waco) -- 15 minute warm up Zone 1, 20 minutes in Zone 3, 10 minutes in Zone 4, and 15 minutes in Zone 1
Sunday -- Long run -- 30 minutes in Zone 2 and 60 minutes in Zone 3

This week:
Monday -- Rest
Tuesday -- Took another day off due to extremely sore legs
Wednesday -- 5 minute warm up, 30 minute run building to the top of Zone 2
Thursday -- 30 minute tempo on bike (<90 rpm) top of Zone 2; 30 minutes of cardio strength training

**My knee started bothering me about three months ago. I've taken several precautions to make sure that it remains uninjured as I build my mileage. Thankfully this program is set up in a way that you build for two weeks in a row followed by a maintenance week. It also mixes in some great cross training on the bike and in the pool especially during the maintenance weeks. Just something to keep an eye on throughout my training.

Running the Race,
pbw

Remembering the 12 -- Aggie Bonfire Tribute

Nine years ago today, the headlines in the paper and on the national news read, "Student Bonfire Falls." In the early morning hours on November 18, 1999, Aggie Bonfire collapsed killing 12 students and injuring 27 more. The events of that day will forever be etched into my memory.

I'll never forget leaving the Bonfire stack just 2 hours before it fell with great pride in my university and what it embodied. I'll never forget the early morning wake up call explaining the stack had fallen and the calls that would come from family and friends. I'll never forget seeing the fallen stack for the first time and the heartbreak I felt. I'll never forget meeting Miranda Adams' parents, later finding out she was one of the 12 victims, and then meeting them again 5 years later standing in her portal of the Bonfire memorial. I'll never forget the campus wide memorial service that night at Reed Arena and the entire student body joining arms and singing Amazing Grace acapella. I'll never forget how the Aggie family (past, present, and future) rallied around each other and supported each other during this tough time in the university's history. I'll never forget the candlelight service on campus the night Bonfire was supposed to burn and Jeff Bailey reciting the Last Corps Trip during midnight yell practice. I'll never forget the A&M vs. Texas football game that year and the tremendous show of sportsmanship and support that the University of Texas showed as tragedy shook the Texas A&M campus. And most of all, I'll never forget those 12 students who lost their lives that morning doing something they loved.

Texas A&M has many traditions that look "weird" or "different" to the outside world. Bonfire was one of those traditions. It was a tradition that embodied what it means to be an Aggie. It brought the Aggie family together. And today, I stop to remember and reflect on that day nine years ago.

Here is a video remembering the day and the 12 Aggies who lost their lives.

One GOAL, One JOURNEY

Today begins a 10-week journey that I hope ends victoriously on the streets of downtown Houston on January 18, 2009. Victory for me on that day in January is not standing on the podium, but rather, achieving a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.

According to the qualifying standards set forth by the Boston Athletic Association, I must run a 3:10 marathon. My last attempt at this standard fell horribly short, but I've picked myself up, doctored my wounds, and I'm ready to go out and conquer this goal. It's going to take grit, determination and a lot of dedication to reach this lofty goal and I'm planning to bring you along for the ride over the next 10 weeks. You will see my highs and lows, so buckle up and get ready.

For those of you that are interested, I'm using a 10 week training program developed by a coach with Triathlete magazine. It focuses on target heart rate zones and mixes in some time on the bike and in the pool for cross training. I'm planning to tweak it a bit to strengthen my strengths and work on some of my weaknesses -- all with the goal of getting me to the finish line under 3:10.

How awesome would it be to qualify in the city that you once called "home" and one that you grew up around?

One of the hardest parts of this 10 week training season will be the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) and the massive amounts of food intake that will ensure as well as final exams at school. I've made it a goal to keep my eye on the prize and only take in a couple of my grandmother's scrumptous Martha Washington treats and keep my intake of my dad's award winning sweet potatoes to a minimum.

If you see me spending too much time around the treat counter during the holidays, be sure to hold me accountable. And finally, it's not humorous to tempt me with things that you know I can't eat while you proceed to stuff yourself with all things artery clogging and sugar filled. :)

I can't wait to share this journey with you. As I said in a previous post, anything worth doing is only worth doing with EXCELLENCE. I'm going to carry out my plan and accomplish my goal with excellence.

DFW Mud Run 2008 - Recap

What do you get when you take a 10K add four friends and a little bit of mud? A great time (and the DFW Mud Run). Justin, Mike, Preston, Dean, and I took to the field and completed the 10K run with a couple -- well, several -- muddy obstacles mixed in throughout. It was an INCREDIBLE experience!! It was a bunch of grown men playing GiJoe and just being kids again. Everyone of us was soaked, muddy, and our shoes were water logged when we finished the race. It brought back so many memories of my days in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M.

In my opinion, the pictures speak much louder than words.

Enjoy!

You Decide 2008 -- Have you Voted?

Today, we, as Americans, get to participate in one of the blessings of living in a democracy. There are many people throughout the world that live under government oppression, communism, and in places where their voices are silenced. But in the United States, we have the opportunity to go to the polls and cast our ballot for who we think should lead our country and serve in our national, state, and local governments. This is a precious right that many Americans male and female have paid the ultimate price for and are still paying the price for today. So today, whether you are Republican or Democrat, Independent or Libertarian, male or female, I encourage you to get out and let your voice be heard. It is our right. It is our duty.

To give you a little kick in the pants, I thought I'd let you hear it from a 4 year old.

Commuter Blogging

Every Monday and Thursday, I take the Trinity Railway Express (TRE for short) from Arlington to downtown Dallas. When I first came to Dallas, I was traveling from Keller to Arlington, Arlington to Dallas, and then Dallas back to Keller. If you are not sure where each of those cities are located on a map -- they are pretty far apart and the gas alone was killing my budget. So I decided to look for ways to be more frugal and discovered the TRE.

The TRE is equipped with free wireless Internet which is great because I can get a jump start on work, check e-mail, and even blog from time to time while I'm in route. Additionally, I'm saving a lot of money since my company is paying for my train ticket and I'm not using all of that gas.

One thing I've learned since going back to school is that you will find any and every way to save a little bit of money when you are paying for school and living on a student salary. You also start developing some good spending to saving habiats which I hope to carry forward once I get out of school.

So if you see a blog post pop up in the middle of the day during the week, it might be while I'm traveling from Arlington to Dallas via the TRE.

Happy Monday!

Trick or Treat

Let me preface this post by saying that I don't agree with everything Halloween is all about.

However, I live in a relatively new neighborhood with a lot of little kids and knew that I would have few stop by to trick or treat. At that point I had two decisions, not answer the door and pretend I wasn't at home or go out and purchase several bags of "good" candy and sit out and meet my new neighbors and kids that came by my house. I chose the second option. I got the opportunity to see kids' faces light up throughout the night as they dug through my candy basket. I had the opportunity to interact with Transformers, princesses, Superman, Batman, police man, fire fighters, football players, and Hannah Montana throughout the night and it was a blast!!

I'm a firm believer in the fact that the Lord wants us to pursue life with excellence and not just mediocrity. He wants us to achieve our goals not just "get by." He wants us to impact the lives of others and not just concentrate on ourselves. And in so doing, learn more about who He is and how to reflect His glory.

I don't want this mindset of EXCELLENCE stops at giving out candy at Halloween. I want it to be apart of every aspect of my life. I want to live that way. I want to serve that way. I want honor God that way.