Back from a paid tour of the Middle East.

Well, as some of you might know, I have been in Afghanistan for a little while. I just now have hit a year of being stationed at Eglin, and already have a deployment under my belt. It was much, much different than what I am used to with "Big Blue". The job satisfaction on this trip was easy to find. Well, anyways, I am home. Just got back a few weeks ago. Been fishing as much as I can. My wife is around 7 months pregnant. Life is going to get crazy here pretty soon. I can't wait though. Very excited. We decided not to find out what the gender is of the baby. It is really the one last big surprise you can have in your life. Some folks might be a little perturbed, because they can't buy us gender specific clothes, but hey, it's alright with me. How about buying us something we really need, like diapers, or baby wipes?? sounds like a no-brainer to me.

I started fishing over at East Pass in Destin. Around the Coast Guard Station there, are some nice flats that are supposed to hold some reds. I haven't hooked up with any reds yet, but have slayed some trout.

I am thinking about getting a 6 weight set up for the salt. Since I can only seem to hook up with trout, that should be a blast. Then, if I manage to get a hold of a red with the 6 weight, it should be a blast!

Snow, who needs it??

I was super stoked to come home.  Until it dumped a foot of snow all over the Ozarks.  Totally ruined every plan I had made.  So, needless to say, I left my fishing stuff at home in Florida.  I did, however, bring my running stuff.  Well, today it was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 10.  Sorry, I don't think I'll be running unless it warms up considerably.  Weak.  Well I did take some pictures from the plane.  Check them out!

The neighborhood maze.

I hadn't ran in a few days. I knew I needed to. I didn't really want to drive to go run. I decided to run around our neighborhood. I don't think I ever went as far as half a mile from the house as the crow flies. I ended up having to zig-zag and pretty much run every street twice. Oh well, at least I was out there. It was cold too. In the 40s, with a wind chill in the 30s. Brrrrr.

This weekend we officially signed up for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon in Pensacola. I can't wait!

I wasn't so sure about today.

I knew Tracy wanted me to run with him today. I wasn't so sure my body wanted me to run, however, since I had beaten the crap out of it this week. I pretty much had to beg my boss to let me get of of work in time to meet Tracy. All of that was stacked against my better judgment. Urging me not to abuse myself. Well, I got out of work barely 15 minutes early. I made it to the gym where Tracy was waiting patiently. It went well. 3.41 miles in 32:36, average pace, 9:33. Not too bad. I really needed to run today. Jodie made cupcakes for her boss, and of course, I took the extras to work. I ended up eating a few. I felt totally guilty and majorly fat after that. I feel less so now. Great run.

Now I just need to make time to go out and ride my new bike! Tomorrow. . .

Until next time. . .

Running on a whim.

I have had a pretty freakin' bad week so far. I won't go into details, but I will say this, it made me question re-enlisting.

Today when I got home Jodie told me she might go for a quick run. I decided I could easily go and harness that rage and anger that I had bottled up. I decided I wanted to go to a good distance. Well we went back to Hurlburt Field and ran on one of the paths there. I was wearing a winter long sleeved running shirt and a shor sleeved running shirt. For some reason I decided I wanted to wear my hoodie as well. Not such a great idea. About a mile in I was burning up, so I took the hoodie off. I ended up carrying the damn thing for 3 more miles. I am not sure if it threw off my rhythm or not, but as soon as I dropped it off at the Jeep I was able to go another 1.2 miles without feeling too terribly beat. All in all, it was a great run. It got dark quick though. I ended up going 5.29 miles in 49:11. Not too shabby. Well, time to clean up.

Until next time. . .

Camera addiction.

I love technology. It's hard not to. I also love photography. So when the two get together, what's not to love?? Well I recently got a Droid 2 and have been learning my way around it. I found this App called Vignette. It's a camera app and it processes your photos as you take them to resemble lots (and I mean LOTS) of different kinds of effects. Films, exposures, tilt shifts, etc. Well I am a little addicted to this app. I take WAY too many pictures with it. They normally just sit on my phone unless I think they should be on Facebook. Well I decided to start posting them on here. So, here is the first installment.

Another great run.

So, as I have mentioned, I have been running with my friend Tracy. As it turns out, Tracy might end up to be a faster runner than me. Until Sunday, the furthest he had ran was 2 miles. So, in his mind, 3 was damn near impossible. So, after running 3.2 on Monday, he feels unstoppable (well, not exactly unstoppable, but it really broadened his running horizons.) Today we ran the same loop we have been running, but today he we crazy motivated. We started out nice and steady, and after a mile or so he started to pick up the pace, intentional or unintentional I'm still unsure. We ended up running 2.6 at an average pace of 9:23. Not bad compared to the first few days of him running. I am afraid I have created another monster. I know I did with Tony Burch, well, I'm not so sure he is still running. When he was, however, he was a monster. Now, I am worried Tracy might get the bug. Well, let me rephrase that. I am not worried, just uncertain. I don't want him going out and trying to run XX number of miles without at least working a little while longer at the shorter runs. I did lay it out there to him that once you get down the ability to keep a pace for a while, and can maintain that pace without killing yourself, then you can run however long you wish really. I mentioned the half marathon to him and said there should be a 5k, I think he is down for that. We will see.

Until next time. . .

Taking a day off.

Yeah, it's a hard decision to make after having ran for the past three days in a row. However, I think my body may need a day to recover after beating it down repeatedly.

Also, my bike is coming in today. The new fixed gear that my wife got for me as an early birthday present. It's from State Bicycle Co. Here is a link to their site: The Marino

I can't wait for this bike to get here. Rest assured, there will be updates once it arrives and I begin assembly.

Who knows, maybe I will get out and run a few miles while i'm waiting.

Until next time. .

Trying this from my phone.

So, I have this smart phone, right? Let's see how smart it is.

This afternoon I met up with my friend Tracy for another jaunt. I convinced him he could go longer than we went yesterday. We did. 3.2 miles in 32 minutes. I'll work on getting him faster after he can get some more distance in. Once again, it felt great to pound the pavement. Can't wait to get back out there.

Until next time, get out there and RUN!!

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2.25 mile run

Today we met up with some good friends of ours and went for a morning run before breakfast.

My friend is also in the Air Force, and is concerned about passing his fitness assessment. I am trying to motivate him some by running with him, and passing on any info I might have about running. We ended up running 2.25 miles in 22 minutes. Average pace was 10:04. Not horrible, not great either. It was better than sleeping in, that's for sure. After running, we went to a great breakfast place here in Ft Walton. Joe & Eddies. It's a great diner food type place. They specialize in omelets. I got the Gerard, which has sauteed onions, ham, cheese, and hash-browns mixed in. AMAZING. Also, Jodie noticed that they had cinnamon toast on the menu, so I got that as well. Such a great breakfast.

Now I am going to work on a messenger bag that I've been working on. I have to be prepared for my new bike this week!!

Until next time, get out there and RUN!!

Ok. Wow. I need to do this.

HAHA! Wow, I just looked at my blog for the first time in, a LONG time. I posted 49 blogs in 2009, not too bad, not great, but whatever. I posted 4 in 2010!! 4. Wow. I really need to work on that. I was much more accountable when I was blogging regularly.

So, there I was, not blogging. Not running. I was, however, getting quite a bit of fishing in.

Recently we moved to Ft Walton Beach, Florida. Quite a change from Wichita, KS. I love it down here, so much. In my childhood, my family would come to the Gulf Coast at least once a year for vacation. Specifically, Gulf Shores, AL. That's like my second home. So when the chance came to come down to the gulf, I jumped on it. Not weeks after I got orders down here, the Deep Horizons oil rig exploded. Kind of put a damper on my mood of moving down here. Well, however many months later, and tar balls are still washing up down here. I just hope that by the end of this year, things will be back to "normal."

Whenever we moved down here, I was extremely exited to get into saltwater fly-fishing. I met a few nice guys who gave me pointers on what patterns to use, and how to fish them. I still wasn't sure where to go though, there is so much water to choose from. Well my extremely gracious, and loving wife got me a kayak for our anniversary (I got her one too). So, I have been paddling around Choctawhatchee Bay and chasing Speckled Trout, and Redfish. Such a blast!!

I also have been riding my bike to work. It's around a 12 and a half miles one way. Takes me about an hour. I could probably do it faster, but I am also carrying some necessities in a bag on my back, so I an a little heavy in the saddle. My wife just bought me a new bike, an early birthday present. It's another fixed gear. This time, without the retro styling, and fat tires. This is a more conventional road bike. Not quite as extreme track geometry, it should be a nice commuter. It should be here in a few days. Be looking for a post when I put her together.

Okay, so that takes care of the fishing, and the cycling, what am I forgetting?!? Oh yeah, running. . . . About that, well, I just recently started to get back into running. I could sit here and pour out excuse after excuse, but it just boils down to one thing. I didn't want to. There, I said it. I did not want to run. I had lost the enjoyment. The spark was gone. Sure, I would take a little 3 or 4 mile jaunt here or there, but it just didn't feel the same as it did before. My wife wants to train for a half marathon, and has wanted to for some time now. I encourage her as much as I can. Well, she found the one she wants to do. The Gulf Coast Half Marathon at Pensacola Beach. Well, it's not on the beach, but it's on the road that travels parallel to it. I will be training for this race also. That way, maybe I can get back into it. In fact, last night, we ran 5.5 miles along the Navarre Beach Highway. It felt GREAT!! I can't wait to run this half.

Well, I think I said this on past sporadic posts, but I am really going to try and post more blogs about my adventures here in Northwest Florida.

Until next time, Tight Lines! Or, should I say, Get out there and Run!! Either way, we'll see ya next time.