Run for Your Life 10k / 5k / Kid’s Run Preview

      I have heard great things about this race, but never had the opportunity to run it.  This year is finally my year, so I signed up for the 10K and now, I have to decide if and if so, what costume I plan on wearing.  This should get interesting, considering I really am not the costume kind of guy.

     For those of you that haven't heard of this race it falls one week after the annual MacQueen Orchards Apple Butter Stir Festival, and the race is called the Run for Your Life 10k / 5k / Kid’s Run, which is presented by NAIFA Toledo.  We don't really get a lot of 10k races in our area so when that elusive area 10k is available, you take it.  They encourage you to get ready for the Halloween season by coming as a family and trying out your costumes during the run.  The course starts and finishes at MacQueen Orchards and travels through the scenic, paved Holland roads.  The orchard is located at 7605 Garden Rd, Holland, Ohio 43528 and you can sign up for the race by clicking HERE but you better hurry, because prices increase after this Friday!

I grabbed a couple of pictures from their Facebook page to give you all an idea of how much fun this race looks to be.  Oh and I forgot to mention, donuts are waiting for you at the finish line.  I  did the math and if I run the 10k at a ten minute mile average I will burn roughly 840 calories.  The average donut has 198-330 calories depending on type and toppings, so that means I can eat between 2 to 4 of those tasty devils.  

December 19th

     What does December 19th mean?  Well for most it means it's Monday or just six more days until Christmas, but for me its the start of an 18 week journey to the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon.  

     Minutes after I crossed the finish line of my first marathon I knew deep down this wouldn't be my last, its all I could think about actually.  I made the decision that the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon would be my next attempt, but due to severe IT Band pain I wasted most of my training time trying to solve it on my own instead of seeking professional help.  Finally after weeks of trying different shoes, exercises and gimmicky products I listened to my friends and sought out professional help.  Alisha at Elite Sports and Orthopedic physical therapy got me fixed up and I was able to get enough training in to not only complete the GCM Owens Corning Half Marathon, but I PRd the shit out of it.

     Shortly after that race I was in Milwaukee for work and was able to meet up with Rik from the Fat to Finish line documentary who, at the time, lived in Milwaukee.   Super quick back story, Rik was on a podcast talking about the documentary and about his weight loss journey and for some reason it really hit me and stoked the fire under me to get my ass moving and lose the weight.  Rik and I became friends on Facebook and while I was in town we were able to get together for a run and hang out.  Trust me I am getting to my point here, so anyway we were talking over dinner and he had mentioned that he has a goal of running a marathon in all 50 states and I'll be damned if he didn't do it again with the inspiration thing.  I rode the motorcycle on this trip which allowed me plenty of alone time from my co workers to think and while on the way home that was all I could think about.  I came to the conclusion that a long, long term goal will keep me striving to stay healthy and engaged in running, so I signed up for the Detroit Marathon to kick off my 50 in 50 journey.  What better way to knock the second state off my list than go and complete the marathon of the first half marathon I ever ran.  Well for those of you that continually read my ramblings that never happened.  A couple weeks into my training the pain in my hip surfaced and my race hope was extinguished with the need for hip surgery.  

     When I toe the line on April 23rd, 2017 it will be roughly two and a half years since I have attempted 26 miles 385 yards, so I pretty much consider this to be my first ever marathon all over again and the start to my 50 in 50 state marathon journey, at least that is how I am going to approach it.  The plan is to just having fun at the race and taking it all in, with no pressure to finish in a certain time like I should have done the first time around.

     I sit here now typing away and I realized that if I am successful the GCM will in fact be my second marathon as I always planned it, but I can't help but wonder why the detour.  Was it just bad luck or did the good lord truly have a plan in place?  I don't know, but what I do know is, I have 13 weeks to get myself ready for the training cycle.  Starting next week, building a solid running base, strength training and trimming a little body fat are my biggest priorities for when December 19th rolls around. 

Yeah, We Are Crazy Like That!

    
     Well what can I say, my wife and I just can't get enough joy out of having cute little dogs running around, so without further ado, meet Mekah.  She is an nine week old short haired red dapple dachshund, that so far has fit in perfectly.  We have slowly transitioned away from chihuahuas into dachshund lovers, we must just love sausage parties! (#)  Sorry I had to say it!

     How we came about getting another dog you ask, well this one, like them all, was all Mandy.  She trolls this website hoobly.com that has all kinds of stuff for sale, kind of like craigslist, but seems to be a big site for pets.  She came across this listing for Mekah and we both instantly fell in love with her and there was no way I could say no.  If you are wondering why we would buy a dog when there are so many great dogs that are in need of adoption, well when you are interested in a specific breed it is harder to find a one that way and believe me when the time is right we will have a rescue dog in our family.

     Mandy came up with the name from a short lived character of a little girl on the Walking Dead after we were re-watching all of the seasons on Netflix.  This will will be the first girl dog since Buffy our Cocker Spaniel we had when I was a little kid.  She is definitely a daddy's girl and is working overtime to wrap me around her little paw.

Now for the gratuitous cute puppy pictures.