Early Week Update

I haven't posted for a few days so here it goes.  The weekend was good.  The auction went really well.  We were able to sell all of the units that were up for sale and recouped about $500 of the money that the delinquent tenants owed us.  We had one lady who ended up dumping a bunch of stuff on us from the unit she won.  Par for course.  Everyone had a good time visiting on Sunday.  I played quite the game of "freeze tag" with all the kids.  I was able to eventually catch all the kids and freeze them without getting freed.  I have to admit, it was much harder than I thought it would be.  Everyone enjoyed having Uncle Aaron up here too.  He was up to bring the household belongings and his 4Runner with the Uhaul.  

This week is off to a good start.  I had a good run last night.  I went 8 miles on the trail while Dad and Mercedes rode their bikes alongside me.  Aaron ran the first couple of miles with me and then he and Richie headed back.  I ended up doing my last mile in 6:30 and my last 6 miles averaged under 7 minutes per mile.  I felt really good.  I have been eating a light snack around 3 p.m.  the last couple of days, and I think that has helped me with my energy during my workouts.  Tonight I ran 7 miles from BSS on the trail.  It was super duper windy today.  There were some gusts that about stopped me in my tracks on the way out.  I managed to get over to Graham to get my swims in the last couple of mornings too.  I could sure use some nice warm spring weather any day now.

Rainy Saturday Morning

Dallas woke me up at 5:30 this morning and asked me if we could go swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I told him I was running 10 miles while Grandpa rode his bike.  He said he wanted to come too, and I told him the farthest he had rode his bike with me was 7 miles and if he thought he could make it 10, and he said yes.  So we put his bike in the back of the truck and drove to Orting to meet Dad.  It was pretty nice weather for the most part until about 3 miles into it when it started raining lightly.  It continued for most the run.  Dallas did great and made the entire 10 miles with no problems at all.  He arose so early today because he was in trouble for some stuff and went to bed early yesterday while the rest of us ordered a movie and ate popcorn and stuff.  He was pretty sad about that.  He had the table set and 5 bowls filled to the top with fruit loops with the milk out and spoons for everybody this morning.  He even had yogurts out for me and Derrinda.  It was very thoughtful.  We have the auction in an hour and Aaron will be here with the U-Haul around noon.  Should be an exciting day!!

Friday Know'm Sayin'?

Had a fun morning today.  I got all suited up and drove the bike out to Mom, Dad, and Tam's house to go swimming.  It's quite an adventure riding in the dark with that bike because the headlight is so dim.  Dad said he watched me come up the hill and that a flashlight is brighter than my headlight.  No argument here.  I want to get a brighter headlight, but I don't know if the lamp is the problem or if it is so dim because my bike runs off of magneto instead of a battery.  Regardless I need to do something about it if I want to continue to ride in the dark.  I even got to say hi to Mom and Tam this morning because they were up when I got there at about 5:45, so that was cool.  I swam 1/2 mile again.  I'm starting to feel better in the mornings.  I'm usually still pretty dead come nightfall though.  Those 8 mile runs are tough!  I covered 8 with Dad last night in 58:00, which is a 7:15 pace, not bad.  I'm only going 5 or 6 tonight because I am going to run 10 tomorrow.

An Adventurous Thursday Morning

It's only 11 a.m. and so much has already happened.  I got up this morning to go swim and I heard the T.V. on in the living room, so I go out there and Dallas was already awake.  He said "Hey Dad can I go with you?"  I said "Of course you can, go get ready."  So we had a fun morning.  We drove out there and I did the usual 1/2 mile swim; Dallas swam a lot too.  He is already a good little swimmer.  Dad was out there too so we had 3 generations of Stone athletes getting their workouts in at 5 am.  It was fun having Dallas there.  We had a good drive home, but Dallas fell asleep about half way.  We also were able to eat breakfast at Grandpa's house because Dallas said he was "Starving!" after we finished swimming.  

I walked Dallas over to school after I myself fell asleep on the couch for almost an hour after we got back.  We then opened up the business and I went and did the overlocks, moved a refrigerator into a unit we are auctioning, and had a super fun time drilling out Rick Hiller's sweet disc lock that he put on his unit and didn't take with him when he moved out.  I broke a drill bit doing that and it took me almost an hour to finally get through that lock.  Bolt cutters would have probably been easier.  Anyway, another reason it took so long is half way through the job, I hear Cody screaming "AAAAAAAAAHHH ... DAD, DAD, DAD, DAD".  It sounded as if the grim reaper certainly had him in his grasp.  I dropped the drill and sprinted to the end of Bldg. C where I found Cody holding his forehead with both hands and screaming like a banshee.  He had been riding the electric Razor scooter around the buildings and somehow managed to get bucked off and do a face plant right in the middle of the road.  He was not wearing a bike helmet like he was supposed to.  We got him cleaned up and iced his head for about 25 minutes.  He seems to be doing fine, but has quite the goose egg on his forehead.  So that has been my day so far today.  I can only imagine the adventures that await after lunch!!

Orting Trail

I met Dad in Orting and ran 8 miles on the trail while he rode his bike tonight after work.  It was hectic at work at closing time and I was running behind and ran out the door without something I was supposed to take for Lisa.  

I am pretty exhausted tonight after that run and it is only 9 p.m.  I will probably be going to bed soon actually.  

69 Chevy Nova

I fired up the old 69 Chevy Nova this morning at 5 and drove it over to Mom, Dad and Tam's to go swimming.  It ran good considering it could use an overhaul.  It was fun driving it again.  I swam 1/2 mile.  I'm a little tired from the workouts this week.  I think I'm mostly tired from going to longer runs of 8 miles.  

We've got the auction this Saturday at BSS.  Those are always fun -- not.  The people are usually really annoying and put me in a bad mood.  Oh well, it needs to get done.  I can't wait for all this overcast, rainy weather to be over with.

Tuesday Night

I met Dad at the Eagles lounge at 5 tonight.  I got in a mile and 1/2 before he got there.  So we went 6.5 miles together.  It was fun.  It's always nice having Dad go with me.  We always reminisce about our old running days.  We got rained on pretty hard 1/2 way into it, but luckily it wasn't too cold.  The bike started on the first kick on the way out and the way back, so that was cool.  

Derrinda is off saying goodbye to her friend Desiree who is moving to Florida this week.  She even made creme brulee to take to her.  Derrinda is always so sweet and caring.

My Guitar Heroes Part VI

I can't say that Randy Rhoads was a huge influence on me, but every time I hear him play I am blown away by his technical skill and ability. A lot of people said that when he died, Eddie Van Halen failed to improve much because they were pushing the limits of rock guitar together and were in a league of their own, and Eddie no longer had the motivation (competition) when Randy died. I don't really agree with this though, and there were many upcoming guitarists with lots of skill, but Eddie and Randy were masters of melodic finger tapping. I chose this clip because you can see Randy's guitar work during the solo. It is also my favorite riff of his, and hence my favorite Ozzy Osbourne song. Listen and watch closely around the 3 minute mark to Ozzy for an added bonus. Randy died tragically in a plane crash at the age of 25. Here is the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ER3SsLQY8

Tuesday

I got up this morning at 4:45 again and drove the Speed 3 over to Mom, Dad, and Tam's to go swimming.  I swam 1/2 mile.  It took me about 30 minutes.  I felt better today than I did yesterday.  It was a little harder to get out of bed, but once I did I felt fine.  I ran 8 miles while Dad rode his bike last night on the trail in Orting.  It took me an hour.  If anybody reading this has a hard time falling asleep at night, I highly recommend working out twice a day.  By the time bed time rolls around, it's amazing how easy it is to fall asleep when you are working out like that.  It sure is fun to be swimming again, even though I have to get up super early.  There is something about being in the water early in the morning like that.  It feels good.

Yesterday was a good day at BSS.  Our new printer got here and I got it all set up.  It works so much better than the old noisy one.  I rented a 5x15 right at closing time too.  It was actually quite busy yesterday.  

Dallas has a dental appointment today.  He is getting a couple of cavities filled.  They are referring us to an orthodontist for him already.  He has a cross lateral bite that will cause him problems later down the road if we don't get on top of it now. 

Ayawahiaway!

I got up this morning at 4:45 and drove to Mom, Dad, and Tam's to go for a swim.  I swam 60 lengths or 1/2 mile.  It sure was fun to swim again.  I really like swimming.  I got to a point where I could easily swim a mile non stop about a year ago, but certainly couldn't do it now.  My achilles have not let up, so I figure I should swim for one of my workouts during the day to ease the stress on them.  I will probably start going 6-8 miles for my run now because I'm only running once a day.  I have learned over the years that if your body starts getting little tweaks of pain, you had better listen or the little tweaks become serious injuries that scrap all you have worked for.

In other news, I had a gig up in Everett Saturday night.  It went pretty good considering Greg (rhythm guitarist) was out of town and Dave (the guy I replaced ) filled in for him.  There were only a few little glitches in the show.  It was for some private school (the kids all looked to be middle school age), and let me tell you those people were not hurting for money.  They had an auction for things like getaways, trips, dinners with celebrities, etc., and I got to hear some of the bids which ranged from $500.00 - $15,000.00 with the average winning bid probably around 3k.  Ridiculous.  We only had to play for about an hour because the auction went long.  They loved us as always.  I don't really know why.

Saturday Morning

I met Dad at the Eagles Lounge in Orting and we went 8 miles on the trail.  It was right around an hour.  Then we jetted over to Ptarmigan Ridge School to watch the kids run a 1 mile race.  They all did great.  I ran with Richie and Dallas while Chanelle stayed with us for a few minutes and then she ran on her own.  Mercedes ran with Cody.  Richie finished 3rd I think.  And Dallas finished 5th.  Richie ran an 8:50 and Dallas an 8:54.  I think Chanelle was around 11 minutes and Mercedes and Cody were right around 12 minutes.  They all did awesome for not really running at all and just jumping in the race.  The 5k was won in 16:4?.  That makes me fired up to get in shape so that I can start winning races around here.  Lisa said she knew the guy who won it because he is in the Puyallup ward and she saw him at some of my races.  She said I always beat him.  I didn't know who he was but he looked somewhat familiar.  I have to drive up to Everett today for a gig.  I'm going to have to leave here around 2:30.  It sucks because we don't even play until 8, but have to be completely set up by 5.  

School Program

Dallas did a great job at his musical presentation last night. His homemade triangle that Grandpa Stone helped him make was the best one there. You could hear it loud and clear when Dallas hit it (which wasn't very often). The program was all about preventing forest fires and taking care of nature. It was fun to see Dallas in that setting. He doesn't get into the singing too much yet, but give him time, I was the same way when I was young and now I get up on stage and sing my lungs out all the time.
I have been doing good with my training. I ran pretty easy last night and this morning because my achilles have both been pretty tender the last couple of days. I don't know why my achilles always trouble me lately. They gave me some trouble last year when I was doing high mileage weeks (80+), but I am surprised they are acting up at under 50 miles per week! The weather is still terrible. Nothing but grey clouds and rain for the last week. Oh well, I guess this is the Pacific Northwest.

Puyallup School District Sucks!

This stupid school has scheduled things and cancelled them without telling anybody one too many times. Dallas was supposed to have a musical concert this morning for parents, grandparents, friends, blah, blah to come and see their young budding musical talent. Well, I knew that people were planning on coming to see it and Dallas couldn't find the flyer that said what time the morning performance was at. So Derrinda called the school to ask what time the performance was scheduled for and she was told that "that was cancelled this morning." Nice of them to let everybody know. If we hadn't called, my parents and Tam would've shown up at 10:30 (that's when we thought it was but we wanted to make sure) and been told it was cancelled after getting up early to get Tam ready and driving 1/2 hour to get there. I'm sick of this stupid school district. I always heard how awesome the Puyallup Schools were supposed to be, but my experience has shown me quite the contrary. I always hated the public school system when I was a kid and I still do. It's a waste of time and resources. And then when Dallas missed one day for illness, they sent us a fierce note home with him saying how being absent is a terrible thing and it really disrupts the learning process. Well so does cancelling school when there are rumors that there might be a trace of snow you freaking weenies!! Good, I feel a little better now after my rant.
In other news my running is going good. I have still been putting in about 8 miles a day. Last night I met Dad at the Eagles lounge and we went 4 miles. It was perfect timing because it rained all day yesterday except for the 1/2 hour window when we were on the trail. I just wish it would've waited another 1/2 hour because it was a very wet and miserable ride home on the motorcycle. It was half hail and half rain which was extra fun because I have dirt bike helmets with goggles instead of full face shields, so I got the awesome sensation of having someone shoot bb's at my face and neck for the duration of the ride. Good times.

Saturday Morning

Got up and drove the motorcycle over to the Eagles Lounge to meet Dad at 7:30 this morning.  It was a rainy drive, but not too bad.  Ran a nice and easy 8 miler while Dad rode his bike.  I forgot to stop my watch when I finished, but I think it was right around one hour.  Then I hopped on the bike and it started up after a few kicks.  I guess I didn't let it warm up enough because it sputtered and died on me at the stop sign at Los Pinos.  I walked it to the corner and it kicked over.  I was a little worried because I couldn't get much compression that time, but it started.  Then I drove home in the rain.  I had a nice warm shower and Derrinda made pancakes for breakfast.  It was a good morning.  I got in 48 miles this week, that's a good start for getting back into shape.  

Dallas must really want to try boxing.  Last night at the mall we were looking at this set of boxing gloves that comes with an adult pair and a kids pair, he really wanted them, but I reminded him that I just bought him a brand new pair of running shoes because he just HAD to be a runner, and that he only ran a few times and then gave up.  I told him that boxers run a lot to stay in shape and that if he started running again consistently I would think about buying the gloves so he can start boxing.  Needless to say he is on the treadmill running right now.  He has already gone almost 2 miles and is still going strong.

Spring Day in the Northwest!

Just got back from a run with Dad.  Dad rode his bike while I ran along the foothills trail.  We met at the Eagles Lounge and went out 2 miles and back.  It's always fun when Dad is there.  My clutch cable finally got here for my dirt bike, so I switched that out today and got the bike started.  It wouldn't kick over, so Derrinda had to tow me with the truck to get it started.  She did an awesome job I must say as I was able to start it right up without any problems.  No injuries either.  I was afraid she was going to start too fast and drag me down the road on my side, but she did great.  I was able to drive it over to Orting to meet Dad at the trail.  It was tons of fun riding again.  I do get sick of kick starting it though because half the time it won't start.  Dad and I covered the 4 miles in 27 minutes.  The weather was beautiful today!

Wednesday Night Adventures

I had two good runs yesterday of 4 miles each.  Nothing too exciting there, except to note that I am starting to feel better with the two-a-days.  I guess I should increase my mileage a little bit in the next week or so.  Maybe I will keep the 4 milers for another week and then jump to 5 milers the next week.  I don't want to jump too quickly, because every time I do I end up injured.  I got my 4 miles in this morning too.  I felt really good except my ankle was acting up a little bit.  I have sprained and/or broke my ankles too many times, so it is just a fact of life now that I have to deal with.

I had band practice last night.  Greg is going to miss our upcoming gig on the 21st, so we are rehearsing with Dave, who will be filling in for him.  He is the same Dave who I replaced as Singer/Lead Guitarist.  It went well, but he wasn't quite as prepared as he should have been.  We spent a lot of time waiting around on him to figure stuff out.

Now I'll get to the most exciting part of my evening: the drive home.  Does anybody think it would be wise of me to hook up my Mazdaspeed 3 to a loaded trailer and try to out pull a full size Dodge pickup truck?  That would be foolish.  It would almost be as foolish as being a full size Dodge pickup truck and trying to race a Mazdaspeed 3 on the freeway.  So here's how it went down: I was minding my own business cruising at about 65 -70 in the fast lane.  I notice this Dodge truck getting close to me in my rearview, so I pull over to the middle lane to let them pass.  Then they slammed on the gas and went past me, I picked up the pace just a little bit to stay right on their tail.  Apparently they didn't like a little car staying right with them when they are thinking they own the road (at this point we were doing maybe 80, I was still only in 4th gear), so they made an obvious move to show me who was boss, at this point I had seen enough of them and shifted into 5th.  I have no idea why they would be so stupid as to think they could beat me.  After about 5 seconds, I could barely see their headlights in my rearview mirror.  I did not want to waste this opportunity, so I decided to shift into 6th gear for the first time ever!!   Needless to say the experience was very exhilarating.  I think I will forego mentioning the highest speed I reached (for Mom's sake),  but I will mention that I didn't stay in 6th gear for more than about 5 seconds.   The funny part of the story is that about 3 minutes later, I noticed someone coming up very fast.  It was the Dodge truck, and they wanted to show me yet again who was boss as they went in front of me just in time to exit the freeway.  I guess they showed me!!

Running with Dad

I just got back from running.  It was especially fun this afternoon because I was accompanied by my Dad riding his bicycle.  For anybody who is unaware, my Dad and I have put in a lot of miles together over the years.  It's always fun when he can go with me.  The miles pass too fast.  We went 4 miles and we were just getting the conversation started and it was already over.  I guess I need to become a marathoner so we have more time to chat!  It turned out to be a beautifully sunny day, so I would've lost the bet I made earlier when I said it would turn cloudy.  I am happy to lose that bet, I love seeing the sun.  Cody has Kindergarten registration tonight and Derrinda is heading to some party with her friends after that, so it will be party time with the boys around here!!

Tuesday Morning

Ran 4 miles this morning from BSS over to Freddies and back on the trail.  I felt pretty good this morning.  It was spitting a little snow, nothing like yesterday though.  It is actually nice and sunny out right now.  I guess we will see if that lasts or not.  I would be willing to bet that it doesn't last long.  We were invited to dinner last night by a family in the Puyallup ward.  They had the elders over there also.  It was o.k.  The elders are pretty cool.  One of them plays guitar and the other one is a runner, so I have a lot in common with both of them.  BSS is slow here so far today, but it isn't even 10 o'clock yet so hopefully things will pick up.  We had some people inquire yesterday about units, and they all seem like sure bets on renting with us, so later this week we should be getting some rentals.

Dumb Drivers!

It is snowing like crazy here in Western Washington!  Here we are almost 1/3 of the way through March and it is snowing.  This has been a crazy winter.  I think we've had as much snow here this winter as there was in Utah the last winter before we moved up here to Washington.  I ran 4 miles this morning with my stocking hat pulled down low over my eyes to keep the flakes from getting in my eyes.  I actually felt pretty good this morning.  I usually do on Monday mornings since I usually take Sundays completely off from running.  I was surprised that they didn't cancel school here today.  They usually cancel it even if the weatherman says there is a chance of snow.  They are kind of wimpy up in these parts when it comes to cold and snow.  Dallas and I had fun walking to school in the snow.  Although Dallas did mention that it would be the worst school day ever because they probably wouldn't let him have recess.  On my way back I saw a black Ford Ranger rear end an SUV of some sort.  It didn't even look like he tried to stop.  I don't think it had anything to do with the weather, the guy was just an idiot.  I was watching it and thinking to myself "Why isn't that guy slowing down?  He's totally gonna hit..." SMASH!!  Then they both got out to assess the damage.  All this happened while I was just standing at the light waiting for the WALK sign.  It will probably be dead here at BSS today with all this snow.  I guess we'll see.

Saturday Morning

Derrinda got up this morning and ran 3 miles.  When she got back I drove over to the trailhead and started plodding along.  I ran 6 miles.  I didn't take my watch because I wasn't planning on running a decent pace, but now I wish I would've taken it because at the 3 mile turnaround, I had just turned and noticed something out of the corner of my eye, I glanced to the cut and saw 3 runners coming up behind me.  I am my father's son, so I was determined to pull away from them while making it look like I wasn't even trying.  So that's what I did.  I wasn't planning on pushing the pace, but I did coming back because I wasn't about to let some marathoners from a running group pass me.  I assume that's what they were because if they were 5K or 10K runners who were in shape, they would've been able to pass me.  I'm 15 lbs. overweight and only been running consistently again for 2 weeks.  Oh well, it was fun.  It reminded me of running with Dad back in High School and getting into races in the Smith Fieldhouse with 2 lap Joes and 1 lap Johnnies.  It was pretty windy this morning, but not too bad except for a few gusts.  

In other news, I am down in the office now at BSS and someone is coming in for a 10 x 15.  O.K. I just rented it.  Good times.  I hope my clutch cable for my dirt bike gets here today.

My Guitar Heroes part V

Nobody ever quite mastered the style of rhythm and lead like the late Chet Atkins.  When Chet plays, if you close your eyes, it sounds like there is AT LEAST two guitars playing, maybe 3 or 4 at times.  He makes it look so easy and sound very smooth to do things that most accomplished guitarists wouldn't dare to attempt.  The guitar world lost a giant of a player when Chet passed away.  He will always be remembered as one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHtwF-gpluc&feature=related

My Guitar Heroes part IV

Willie Nelson doesn't get near the credit he deserves as a guitar player.  First of all he doesn't use effects to alter his sound, everything you hear is a natural, clean classical guitar sound.  That old beat up guitar of his is as familiar to him as the whiskers on his face, and it shows.  The guitar is like an extension of him, a part of him.  I love this video clip.  It is classic Willie and some amazing guitar playing.  I love watching those around Willie and seeing them try not to show it on their faces that what they are hearing is one of the most amazing sounds of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZaZqx9v3dU&feature=related

My Guitar Heroes part III

Slash has been the most influential guitarist to me of any guitarist.  I call Slash my guitar teacher even though I have never met him.  I took guitar lessons for about 6 months or so; I basically just learned open chords and basic technique.  Then I started listening to Guns 'N Roses and started dissecting Slash's guitar solos.  The style that I have developed is for the most part greatest influenced by Slash.  Slash is also arguably the greatest guitarist ever, but that is a moot point as I said earlier.  What I really like about Slash is his sense of melody for the lines he chooses for his solos.  He can shred too, but his sound is more melodic than most guitarists who consider themselves shredders.  Here is my favorite Slash solo ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW0c3F1KhcM

Beautiful Sunny Day!

I drove over to the trailhead and ran 4 miles on the trail this morning.  It was cold for Western Washington, but the nice part is that it is a beautiful sunny day today.  The sky is even blue for a change.  Poor Dallas was making his diorama and we told him to use blue paper for the sky and he didn't understand, he said that the sky is white, not blue.  He was dead serious.  I explained to him that the sky is blue, we just don't get to see it very much because of all the clouds that get in our way of seeing it.  He still used white for the sky.  Days like today make me realize how much I miss seeing the sun.

My Guitar Heroes part II

Eddie Van Halen is arguably the greatest guitarist ever, but I don't like arguments like that because they are pointless.  There are too many styles of music to say that one guitarist is the best.  But EVH definitely turned the rock world on it's ear when he started recording his unique style.  This is a clip of him playing at a tribute to Les Paul in 1988 I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1VOcZ280vA

My Guitar Heroes

I am going to start posting some videos and maybe some interesting info. on some of my guitar heroes; the players who inspired me to pick up the guitar and also those who continue to inspire me by their interpretation of the instrument and how to bring something new to the table.  This first video is of Brian Setzer of Stray Cats fame.  I don't think a lot of people realize what an amazing talent he is on guitar (guitar players know).  This video caught my eye because it is nothing more than him and his guitar, no drums, bass or any other thing involved.  The guy is a guitar legend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdkTRMU_vpc

Brandon's 1 Today!!

Happy birthday to my giggy hon giggy hon!  I ran 4 miles this morning nice and easy from BSS to the trail behind Safeway and up to Fred Meyer and back.  I was pretty tired this morning.  The time change is next week so that will be fun to have the daylight for an extra hour in the evening.  I love when the days start to get long.  Hopefully my clutch cable will be here tomorrow or Saturday so that I can start riding my bike over to the trail to run while Dad rides the bicycle.  That is always nice to have Dad there to talk to while I'm running.  BSS has already been interesting today; first thing this morning there was a semi-truck parked on 15th waiting to be let in the gate, so I wasn't able to go with the rest of the fam to walk Dallas to school this morning.  Oh well, at least the driver was good and didn't take 20 minutes to finally get the truck in like most of them do.  

I Hate the T.V.

Tam's post about the negative effects of television inspired me to post this blog.  One of my favorite songs by V.F.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH3fSUq0TBk

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I drove over to the trailhead again after work tonight.  I ran 4 miles and decided to push the pace a little bit to see how out of shape I am.  The results were good and bad.  The good is that I did manage to run the 4 miles in 26:47, which is a 6:42 pace.  The bad is that I was breathing pretty hard at that pace.  Another good thing is that it didn't feel fast to my legs, I was just sucking air.  More good news is that I've just started running and have absolutely no base built up yet so it's just all my natural running ability, so I have lots of room for improvement to say the least.  It felt good to push the pace a bit and get the heart and lungs going again.

Photo Tag

Admittedly this was not picture #6 from file #6.  But I was just looking through the pictures on the work computer and I had to laugh when I saw this one of Dallas.  He has always had so much personality.  This was after his soccer game when he had just turned 6 years old.  It is so amazing how fast kids grow up right before your eyes.  I love you Dallas!!

Wednesday Morning

Drove over to the trailhead this morning around 7:30.  I get up around 6:45, but Derrinda goes running for a couple of miles before I can go.  I was pretty tired this morning.  My legs are still adapting to these two-a-days.  It was wet on the ground, but there was no rain during my run.  Ran 4 miles.  It always feels good to be out in the morning.

Kick Start my Heart

I ran 4 miles from BSS and back this morning.  I was pretty tired from yesterdays two workouts.  It is really amazing how taking some time off can totally obliterate the fitness you had.  It is good though because I have always been one to train for a few months, get in shape, start doing intervals and long runs, race for a couple of months, and then I need to take a break.  It starts wearing on me more psychologically than physically I think.  Hopefully the timing will be good this time around for me because I'd really like to get under 10 minutes for the 2 mile again this summer.  I came really close a few years ago when I ran 10:04.  I did that pretty much all from just mileage.  I was running close to 80 miles per week with a long run of 20 miles which gave me great endurance, but I didn't have the speed because I was just getting into the speed work when track season was over.  Hopefully the timing will be better this time around.  I didn't time myself this morning, but I just went easy.  Probably 7:30 pace or so.  

On a completely different subject, I ordered a new clutch cable for my motorcycle because I broke the old one trying to tow start the bike.  I would really like to get it fixed and maybe sell it so that I can buy a road bike with an electric STARTER!!  No more kick starting.  It's usually not bad, but if I haven't started it in a while, it can be frustrating to say the least.

Jesse James and the Coward Bob Ford

I was thinking about Jesse James getting shot in the back of the head by Bob Ford on my run this morning.  A true coward in every sense of the word was young Bob Ford.  It got me to thinking about how different our times are now and what constitutes a coward today.  In the middle of my thoughts I was interrupted by a song that came on my iPod while jogging along.  The song was "Father of Mine" by Everclear.  It is an autobiographical song by Art Alexakis and how his father left him at a young and impressionable age.  That song is very powerful in showing the long lasting hurt and pain caused by a father leaving a child.  The song was released on the album "So Much for the Afterglow" in 1998 I believe.  Art was almost 40 years old at this time and those feelings were still very strong as I'm sure they still are.  In my opinion there is nothing more cowardice than being a father and leaving your child(ren) and not being a part of their lives.  I know there are many valid reasons for divorce, but there is no excuse for not being a part of your kids life (or lives).  I do not claim to be an expert in this area, because I have an awesome father who has always been there for me.  I am just offering my opinion.   Oh, and I ran 4 miles in 28 minutes this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8uamNDLEA0