The Power of the Dark Side...

Team Lombardo got some unexpected and positive press coverage for the Knoxville Marathon. Great work, Stefan! Blount Today Link

Covenant Health Kids Run 2011

Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon 2011

AWESOME race! Still waiting on the official time. This is pretty close to the gun time; chip time should be just a hair lower... but who's counting? 
First marathon was amazing. Weather was AWESOME, I got to run with a friend from Alabama I hadn't seen in ages (at least for the first 15 miles, before he turned on the afterburners :) .... Jodie, Bailey, and Myers,--err, Darth Vader--made it out to see me near Island Home and it made my day. I set out with the goal of 4:30 and wheeled in right under. I feel pretty good, even considering how much I ran too fast during the first half (at the split I was at 2:04). Add in a little extra morale from Blount Community Church (the Kenny Crook/Andy Self 4? person relay team), and it made for a great race. Sure I'm sore and just had to drain blisters from under 3 toenails (bleck!), but it was just plain awesome. The end in Neyland Stadium was very cool. The only downside is that Myers ran the kids mile last night (16 min!), and he is TOTALLY convinced that he got first place, even though there was a big line of kids in front of me... which is fine, but at lunch today, he said "Gratulations Dad. You did a good job running but you didn't get first place like me!"

Mileage Milestone

18 Miles. Longest run to date. Miles 1-15 were GREAT. I actually thought to myself around 15.5 that I may try to make it an even 20. At mile 16, though, my ankle started hurting (right ankle has always been my weakness). After post-run analysis (done by my wife, because my brain wasn't working), it seems the problem was my ankle swelling and making the brace too tight. I was back at the car and ready to stop at mile 17.5, but had planned 18, so the rest of the group cheered me on and ran me in circles around the parking lot. On a positive note, the ankle was feeling better by the time I stopped, so I think some brace tweaking will fix the problem. And did I mention: AWESOME WEATHER? Time to go lay in the hammock. Ahhh....

My Gym Membership: a Symbolic Gesture...

January 26 is a pretty big day for me. Three years ago, on January 26, 2008, I joined a gym. Now, joining the gym didn't do much for me, but it was the first time I took a concrete step in the right direction. As much as anything else, it was a symbol that I needed to make a change. On 1-26-08, I recorded my weight on a dry erase board we keep in our kitchen. 1-26: 238. In the first year after joining the gym, I made some good habits. I worked out regularly from January till August. I did cardio, mostly the elliptical, and some weights. When school started that August, however, I derailed quickly. Although I'd made it down to 220, the stress of school and work (teaching, department head, chair of a gazillion committees, trying to start and maintain a small business) made keeping my routine impossible. And once a healthy routine is broken, it's hard to get back on track. For the next year or so I made a few more goes at it, with my weight getting as low as 215 and as high as 240.

At 240 is where I sat in February 2010. It was my first year at a new school, plus working on a new degree, and I was not taking care of myself.

That's when I started running.  Now, after 11 months of running, I can mark something else on the board:

1-26: 195*

In the end, I cancelled my gym membership the first day after my contract was up. While I had a thousand reasons for doing so, the top two being an awesome low-cost family membership to Olympia and the fact the the TV channel selection at the Rush worked to INCREASE my blood pressure considerably, I've found that the simplicity of lacing up your shoes and hitting the pavement is cathartic in ways a gym just can't be.



*The last time I was at 195, I was in 5th grade and about a foot shorter! 

Race Day Mantra

I've read tons of running articles filled with top ten lists of how to stay motivated when the running gets tough. Most suggest finding a meaningful saying to repeat to yourself is a good way to find the extra umpf for the last few miles. I always thought that sounded like a bunch of hooey till I found my mantra. Shooting for a PR in the New Year's Day 5K this year I had to dig deep to find something to overcome the wind and rain and cold. At one mile I hit a strong stride, but I was a few seconds too many off pace to hit my sub-25 goal. Normally this would have taken the wind out of my sails, but my mantra found me, like the mythical search-for-the-spirit-animal montage in every cheesy movie scene about coming of age as a Native American... This is my race. No one can beat me in my race.

197!

Can I mention that today, FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 6th GRADE, I'm under 200 pounds?  I clocked in at 197 today. 20 years over 200 was enough... that's why every mile matters!

A Case for Pre-Registering for Races

At about 5:45 this morning, I was really wishing I hadn't sent in my registration for the Calhoun's 10 Miler over a month ago. I wanted to get my registration in early so I could reap the benefits of the early reg discount and my Knox Track Club discount. At 5:45 this morning, I would have done anything to skip the race. I felt guilty about not being here to start the day with the family, for wasting gas and driving to the race, for knowing that I'd be tired and useless for a while after I got home, and just ultimately feeling selfish for the time and money that takes out of my family's schedule. Couple that with self doubt for not having trained enough the past two weeks, and I was questioning why I was even DOING a ten mile race. Even my previous best 10 mile time was right around an hour and fifty minutes, and that was when I had been training consistently. O, and can I say hills?
If I hadn't pre-registered, I would not have run this morning.

In the end, I had a great run. I beat my previous best 10 mile time by about 10-15 minutes (1:32:54... 50 minutes for the first 5 miles, 43 for the second 5 miles). More importantly, it was a great recharge. My longer runs are always a combination of time to think, plan, reflect, pray, and meditate. Whether you're running or drawing or writing or weaving rope out of recycled dental floss, you need something to find your center.

**********

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:1-3

The Temper Trap

There just aren't enough choreographed running opportunities...

I'm trying to figure out how to throw fire balls (3:10)...

Tip of the Day: Stay Motivated

It's been over a week since New Year's. Maybe the luster and hopefulness of the resolution is starting to wear off. Stay motivated by keeping track of your progress. Something as simple as a spiral bound notebook or a high tech solution like DailyMile.com helps you see improvement. When you start to get discouraged, it will help you see the big picture.  If you're weekly mileage goal is 12 miles, what could be more motivating for getting you out the door than looking at a running log sitting at 10 miles on the last day of the week?

Ink

Still working on designing my 30th birthday present to myself. Still some tweaking to do with what personal information to include (and to figure out what my blood type is???). Also some practical considerations for figuring out if fine lines like this would even work.

The ISBN number is going to be registered with the title A Life in Flesh and Blood. I thought this would be the perfect reminder that this body is just a temporary commodity.

Out with the Old, in with the New… Year, of course

It’s almost been a year since I started running at the end of February. I ended the year with 640 self-propelled miles… of which about 571 were running, 34 mountain biking (I remember thinking to myself “THIS will be a good REST DAY activity.” HA!), 18 paddling, 12 hiking, 5 walking.

A year ago I was looking at my all-time highest weight, clocking in at 240. Even though I hit 220 in 6th grade, I’d managed to stay within 10 pounds on either side of 220 for the almost 20 years since then. By September, I dropped down to my lowest weight since 6th grade, hitting 200.4 pounds on my birthday. I haven’t been able to drop below 200, so I’m resting at 207 to end 2010. I’m still very happy with a net loss of 33 for the year.

Since I’ve hit a wall with losing strictly with running, fulfilling this year’s goals will focus on adding better nutrition into the mix.

Specific, Measurable, Attainable Goals:

190 pounds
Full marathon (4:30 neighborhood)
24 minute 5K
1000 miles for the year