This is who I really am.

This week's Music Monday is the song "Made of Steel" by Our Lady Peace. There is no real reason that I picked it. It is just a song that I really like. It is a song that could be for a friend that has a problem that you can't really help them with. But let's them know you are there for them. Even though they have to make their own choices they can lean on you for support. Or maybe you can find another message for yourself. Enjoy!

This week's race in the MRTC Road Race Series was the second 5 miler. And just like the first one, this race was really fun. Staci and I ran together again. This time we took over a minute off of our time from 59:06 to 58:04. We only stopped to walk at the two water stops. The first stop was at mile 2 and the second stop was at mile 4. I was so proud of Staci because she just kept pushing. I shouldn't be surprised though. After all she is an athlete. Running is my sport. Running is exercise for her sport (volleyball). The best part of the race was the last 3/4 of a mile. A lady running beside us said "you two are gonna beat me again. I have been trying to catch you the whole race." She also told us we had a good pace. (And no I did not take credit for that, haha.) Staci picked it up a little and we didn't see that nice little lady again. After we passed a few other people we came up on a couple about a tenth of a mile from the finish line. And yeah, we smoke...

Saturday was the Munford Celebrate 5k. This was my third year to run this race and each year has been fun.  The course has several small hills throughout-which I love. My only problem is that my usual training course is completely flat. However, I do enough hill training that these hills really aren't that bad. It is usually pretty hot on race day (again something I love) but this year was not too bad. The people that put it on are really awesome. And to make things even better there is a Kid's Fun Run after the 5k. This year I ran into a small dilemma. After a horrible long run on Sunday, my 1year old was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday. I had some pretty hard workouts planned for those days. I made the mistake of doing them both on Thursday....two days before the race. That meant sore hamstrings and shoulders for a couple days. I was over all of that by Saturday morning and actually felt pretty good after I stretched. I got a chance to see a few people I hadn't seen i...

This week's Music Monday is the song "Not Again" by Staind. It is a new song that has been out for a couple weeks. But I really just caught onto it early last week. My training schedule for my marathon is set. No problem there. The problem has been adjusting to everybody else's new schedule and everything else life throws at me. The first week did not go nearly as well as I wanted. It was so busy that I didn't really get a chance to do everything I wanted. The second week went well but ended with a "bad" long run. Last week was my third week, which had my one year old sick on the two most important days of my training. I had a 5k on Saturday and needed my harder workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Now I am not complaining about things not going my way, I know how to handle that. In fact I have a blog post that I need to finish right now about being flexible with your training schedule but I have been too busy to write it. Because I have been being fle...

For this week's Music Monday I have chosen one of my favorite songs to have come out over the past couple of years. The song is "Back From Cali" by Slash and Myles Kennedy. The song came out last year on Slash's "solo" album. He plays with all kinds of different singers from Ozzy to Kid Rock to Fergie so it is not Guns N' Roses type music. There are some heavy songs and some really light songs. There are alot of other great songs on the album but this is by far my favorite. Myles Kennedy has an awesome voice so I checked out his band Alter Bridge and fell in love with their music. He is one of those guys that are just on a different level vocally and lyrically. If you are into this song check out the rest of the CD. If you like Myles Kennedy or have never heard Alter Bridge  check out their latest album ABIII, it is amazing. Enjoy!

Sunday was the first 5 miler of the MRTC Road Race Series. And it was probably the most enjoyable race I have ever run. These past two weeks have been very busy at my house. Staci getting back to work teaching and coaching volleyball. Nate starting 1st grade and summer baseball season. And Sophie and Olivia getting back to their daycare and babysitter. Everything went from slow-paced, let's find something to do to this needs to be done now and let's get moving! So Staci and I haven't really had time to enjoy each other's company. In fact we hardly talked for most of last week because we were so wrapped up in everything that was going on we didn't take time to find out what each of us were so upset about. Finally, when it looked like we couldn't stand each other anymore it was time to take the kids to my Mother's house to spend the night. We finally got a chance to talk and found out we, and by we I mean me, were just being stubborn and silly. So Sun...

At the end of 2010 I found this song by Lenny Kravitz. I had a friend who was going through alot of ups and downs just like me. I shared this song with my friend and we decided that this was a song that each of us could use to tell 2011 to "Bring it on!" We decided to stop letting things beat us down. In 2011 we are fighting back! It is easy to get overwhelmed, and my friend has had some moments, but you just gotta take control and say "It's gettin' heavy, but I'm ready!" Enjoy!

I can't believe it has been almost two weeks since the second 5k in the Road Race Series and I am just now getting to the recap. Once again Staci finished with a new PR. And once again she beat it by a minute exactly. She has run three 5k's this year. Her times were: 36:16, 35:16, and 34:16. Each race she took a minute off of her time. Amazing! She only walked when she went through the two water stops this time around. And I think she really enjoyed it. As for me, I finished with a decent time: 22:31. Not bad because my main goal was to not have a heat stroke. It was extremely hot. I don't think I have ever seen that many great runners look that tired and that drained after a 5k. Usually the runners that finish ahead of me look like they could run the race again with ease. Not this time. Most of them were done. I did finish strong. I really didn't try to push it until about 2 1/2 miles in. In a 5k that is where I usually figure out how much I have left in the tank...

Today is the day I start training for the St. Jude Marathon. I always love starting a new workout or training routine. This time I have what I think is a great plan. I have my running schedule thanks to Hal Higdon . I have some great workouts thanks to Runnerdude . And I have some great yoga, pilates and muscle works classes at the YMCA. My running schedule is exciting because I like having a set amount of miles to run. Most of the runs are easy runs so that is a little different. I love doing speed work but for now my main focus is getting stretched out for distance. I still get to work on speed somewhat but not as much as I like. There is also a day for cross-training. Cross-training is any aerobic type activity other than running. I am not crazy about swimming, the eliptical or the bike but I am gonna try to make that work instead of running. I also have a plan for lifting weights. I will have one day of heavy weights for the upper body. One day for light weights for the u...

My latest Music Monday post is a very personal one. I have read a few blog posts from different people that were letters to relatives, usually parents, that had passed away. When I read these I am amazed at how strong these people are and how I really don't think I could do that. It has been 23 years today since my father passed away so if I were to do one I wouldn't even know where to start or what to say. There is a song that is perfectly written with the words that I would say. The song is "My Goodbyes" by Saliva. The first time I heard it I was blown away because it was everything that I have felt. Especially the part about feeling like I have wasted time. I have always felt that if I wasn't thinking about him I was wasting time and being a terrible son. Saliva is one of my favorite bands. This album came out in 2001 but I remember when the lead singer Josey Scott's father passed away. It was sometime between 1998 and 2000. That time is all a blur no...