This is who I really am.

This week's Music Monday is "The Right Stuff" by Our Lady Peace. I thought since it's Halloween I would play a spooky song or something. But I couldn't really find a good one. I thought about going with a Marilyn Manson video but I couldn't decide which one. Then I was just looking through my iPod and remembered this video. It is a video that shows a costume party of some sort. It must be Halloween in the video because everyone is wearing masks. The only weird thing is that everyone is just kinda standing around watching the action. Usually at a Halloween party people are mingling and dancing or something. The funny thing is that they are all dressed like that one movie with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. They must be big fans. Anyway, the video ends with the band getting into a food fight with some scantily clad women. That one poor lady was covered in food, it looked like they were using her as a plate! Those crazy Canadians. Happy Halloween!

This week's Music Monday is "Fly From The Inside" by Shinedown. This is a song that I really love. It is one of my "theme" songs. I have alot of these songs. This song is about deciding to take control of your life. One of those songs that I rocked when I was losing weight. I can go on and on about how it inspires me but the song really speaks for itself: I am focused on what I am after The key to the next open chapter Cause I found a way to steal the sun from the sky Long live that day that I decided to fly from the inside Enjoy!

Sunday was the second 10 miler of the MRTC Road Race Series. Another race through the hills of Shelby Forest. I was really happy with the way I ran. These last two months have been a little weird for me. In September I had a strange knee pain that sounded like tendinitis. It went away after about a week of rest. A few weeks ago I had a pain in my foot that sounded like a stress fracture. I still feel it a little but not enough to worry. With those worrisome pains comes fear, doubt and a complete loss of confidence. Usually. However, I have a great support group of people to get me through all of these things. My wife Staci helped me by suggesting when to ice and what medicine to take and when to take it. Thank you. My buddy Kate hooked me up with her friend Lee to show me some underwater running workouts. Thank you. My former running partner/running coach Alli showed me some water running techniques and ideas on how to handle my injuries. Thank you....

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." One of the hardest things about a training schedule is making sure I get all of my workouts done. For me it's not a matter of not wanting to do them or not being able to do them. My problem is that sometimes there are other things I need to do. Right now I am training for a marathon . I have a plan going into every week for what I need to get done and how and when I plan to do it. The problem is that there always seems to be something unexpected that pops up. Usually it is a sick kid or something that needs to be fixed. Sometimes the problem is that I just completely over planned, forgetting that I had already made other plans or that I may actually need to sleep. (Yes, I do live by the saying - "I'll sleep when I'm dead.") One thing I have learned about training is that I need to be flexible with my schedule. I work at night so when something needs to be done during the day I can do it. My...

This week's Music Monday is "Fall to Pieces" by Velvet Revolver. This is a very special song for me. It is a song that reminds me of how I have always handled my father's death. I have always been someone who would not really share what is bothering me. This is especially true when it comes to talking about this. My father passed when I was nine so I really had a hard time dealing with it as a kid/teenager/adult. I could always talk to my mother or my sister but I felt the need to deal with it on my own. As I got older it was even harder dealing with it. I remember a couple of times as a young adult when I just completely broke down when talking about it. (If you were one of those people that I confided in, thank you for listening.) The chorus - "Every time I'm falling down, All alone I fall to pieces" - struck me the first time I heard it. It really captures that feeling that I had for so many years. The feeling of keeping everything inside and de...

This week's Music Monday is "Take It Off" by The Donnas. This is one of my favorite bands. I love female rockers and these girls ROCK! There is a rumor going around that the lead singer, Brett Anderson, has a crush on me. But unfortunately for her I am married. So what if I made up the rumor. I'm sure she would if she met me. Enjoy!

Sunday was the 1st 10 miler of the MRTC Road Race Series. I love running all of the races in this series but the 10 milers are my favorite by far. They are actually harder than the half marathons. The half marathon course is almost completely flat. It goes from one end of Singleton Parkway to the other and then back. Very flat and very boring. The ten mile course is the exact opposite. It is in Shelby Forest and has a bunch of hills, both up and down. It is all road except for some pathways that are mostly paved. I love this course because it is so challenging. There are a few uphills that are extremely steep. Which also make for some extremely steep downhills. And then there are the infamous "switchbacks". Ask anyone who has run this race before about the "switchbacks" and they will most likely cringe. They are located shortly after mile 9. Yes you read that correctly, MILE 9. Once you pass the 9 mile marker you are met with what looks like a steady incline. ...

I finally did something that I have been needing to do for my marathon training. I added my name to a list that I found through Twitter called #GoTheDist. Some of the people I follow on Twitter kept tweeting about it so I checked it out and found all of the info here on an awesome blog by Fat Girl vs.World. You should check it it out it is a great blog to read. Here is a summary of what #GoTheDist is all about: What is #GoTheDist? It's you challenging yourself to meet a goal that is not measured by pounds or inches lost.  It is not measured against the distance of any other person (as we all have different abilities).  It is only measured by your ability to push yourself to meet the goals you set for yourself (we measure success by percentage of goal complete).  The community provides the support, motivation, and inspiration for you to reach your goal. I wanted to sign up because it sounded like a lot of fun. Setting a goal or goals and charting your progre...

This week's Music Monday is "One Man Army" by Our Lady Peace. For the regular readers of my blog who wonder why most of my Music Monday posts are about an OLP song when I have them listed as my second favorite band on my Top 5  page, well...... maybe you forgot this post. The purpose of these posts are to get the music out there that inspires me and OLP is the most inspirational band for me. I will not rest until everyone I know is an OLP fan! Or until I run out of songs to post. Either way you are stuck with them. This song is another important song for me because it was one of my "theme songs" while I was losing weight a few years ago. For me the song represents my journey towards my goal that I had to make on my own. Staci helped me a lot along the way. There is no way I did it alone. However, the part that I did have to do on my own was the actual work that had to be put in. I had to have the will power to change. I had to make sure I ran everyday. I ...