Day One, Post One of re-do. . .

Ok, here goes.

I thought about writing up about the past runs I did, but I think that might bore me out of doing this again.

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Location: Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.
Time: 7:15 am
Start Temperature: 21 F
End Temperature: About 19 F
Mood: Eh. Indifferent.
Distance: 4.9 Shooting for 5, but I thought I had an accident!! Had to get back to the dorms and check. Just short.
Time: 44:00
Average Pace: 9:00 min/mile

Garmin Connect link: Click


Not sure what else to put up here. I am sure this will evolve into something different over time.


Get out there and run!

Trying something new. . .

Okay, here is the deal. I have recently been slacking a lot with my running. Like, A LOT. I went from about 4-5 times a week, to maybe one time every other week. I have lost a lot of motivation. The whole reason for me doing this blog was to remain accountable to myself for my running. If I posted up my running info, and had some semi-regular readers, then maybe I would feel obligated to them, and keep going.

Then I deployed, and the blog got brushed off to the side. My excuses to myself were the lack of reliable internet access and, well, that is about it. So, a couple of weeks ago, we got wireless internet in the dorms here in Kyrgyzstan. A huge morale boost to say the least. However, the last thing on my mind was my blog. Even though my homepage is my Blogger Dashboard.

I was a little more motivated after my wife got me a Garmin 305 for our anniversary. But not enough I guess. I was still having problems getting into the groove again. Blame it on the weather, or the fact that I am deployed, whatever the reason, I just stopped running. Yeah, my ankle hurts every now and then. I can't let stuff like that stop me.

I decided to try something different with this blog. Before, I was just linking to my Nike+ and using Dailymile. Well, I can't seem to figure out how to have Dailymile recognize my Garmin, and that may be my blessing in disguise. Now I am going to sit down and actually write out my information and stats for the runs. That way I will be able to own them that much more. So, bear with me. Time to start over. Let me know if you have any ideas to make this little bog better.

Thanks,

Parker

Dang. . . .

Wow, it has been a long time since posting on here. I am a horrible blogger. My sincerest to any of you who might have been checking on a semi-regular basis for updates. The updates *should* become more frequent. I stress the should, because, in a deployed location, nothing is certain. We just got wireless internet in our dorms. So I now have daily internet access. With that, I think I will be able to post updates more often.

On to some updates.

A while back, I found out about these "incentive programs" at the gym here. Run 200 miles, and get a shirt, bike 400 miles get a shirt, etc. I am sitting at around 250 now, and I am thinking about getting in touch with the fitness center, and maybe doing one for running 300 and/or 400 miles too. So, that helped motivate me after doing the Nike Human Race 10K, and the Phedippidations Half Marathon. Yes, I said it. I signed up for the 10k, and ended up doing the half. I just thought I would go for it, give it a shot. I did it. I won't bore you with the details right now, just know that I did it.

After that I found out about a satellite race being set up by PJ down in Afghanistan. It was a satellite race of the Valley of Fire Marathon, Half Marathon, and 10k, in Nevada. He hosted one there, and I had the opportunity to join him in the run. Not in person, of course, but in spirit. It was great. I even got a shirt and finisher's medal sent to me. Pretty cool.

Aside from that, my dreams of having an AMXS running club came true, even if only for a few days.

About a month ago, on the morning after my day off, a buddy from work came to my dorm room door and told me to change, and that we were going to run. I told him I wasn't feeling it. He said that a few others were going to be disappointed . I said, "Others?!?" He said, yeah, we have a few others running with us today. So, needless to say, I changed and we hit the road. Six total runners, all running, just to run. It was a great feeling to have more company out there. For a little over a week, we had a little informal running club. It was great. People would run at their own pace, head back when they were ready to be done. No pressure to keep going. It was nice. That makes me want to find a running club back in Wichita when I get back. We will see about that one.

As for the Vibrams, I have run in them more. The blisters went away. They feel great. The only downfall now, the cold weather. With each individual toe exposed, my toes get super cold, super quick. So, I have postponed my Vibram wearing the mercury is at least visible on a damn thermometer.

On yet another note, they are about to start something called the "Tour de Manas" here. Some sort of a bike race, but as far as I know, it will be on exercise bikes. I am thinking about doing it. That will edge me that much closer to getting that 400 mile shirt.

Ok, I had better stop this before it starts looking like something by Tolstoy.

Get out there (bundle up!) and run!

5K rolled into a 10K . . .

Hey all,

It has been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. It has been a little busy around here.


A few weeks ago, I received and email about a 5k being put on by the Fitness Center here. I was stoked. Something to look froward to sure helps the time go by. When I signed in I found out it was actually a cross country event. You needed 5 or 6 people to make up a team. I don't have that many people at work here that are into running as much as I am. They also allowed individual runners to run the course. So I did. It was pretty chilly. But it sure felt good. At the end I heard the race director say that there would be another one the following Saturday. How cool? I think they will be having one a week until the end of November. Which pretty much rules. I ended up getting a shirt last time. But it had absolutely nothing to do with the 5k we ran. It was actually for a 10k they must have had a while ago.

Well, the second one was this morning. I convinced one guy at work to come along with me. He has recently been coming out with me on my daily runs. I told him he might get a shirt out of it. I also had signed up for the Nike+ Human Race 10K. Which was today. So I knew I needed to run another 5K after I was done with this one. The first 5K was great. I ran most of it using the Pose Method. I think that may have actually helped with the loose sand they had us running through. After the race the other guy told me he was tapped out. I said that is just fine, and that he did great. I dropped off something in my room and when I went out to finish my 10K there he was. He said "Let's go finish this." I asked if he was sure and he said he might instantly regret the decision, but at the moment, why not. He sure hung with me pretty well. It was inspiring. We ended the 5K at 25:37. We finished the 10K at 51:37. Not too bad if you ask me.

See you next week.

Until then, get out there and run!!

Holy Blistered Big Toes, Batman!

So, I took the KSO's out for a spin today. They felt great at first. The only downfall I have discovered with them, the seams holding the toe pockets together. The seams are under my toes, and after 1.5-2 miles, it felt like my toe was split open. I got back to my room and showered and had some decent bliters on my big toes. Ouch!

I will continue to walk around in them for sure. I will gradually increase my mileage while running in them. I will most likely swap days between my KSOs and my Sauconys.

More to come in the future.


Get out there and Run!!

KSO's, and a new personal goal achieved!

Ok, so it must be time for an update.

I singed up for, and completed the World Wide Festival of Races: Pheddipidations Half Marathon. I had signed up for the 10k, but I really wanted to do the half. I kept talking myself up for it. I just had to do it.

I finished it in 01:50:05. I was shooting for a sub 2 hour, and I got it. I was pretty happy about that. It was rough. I can't wait to run one at an actual event. Looking forward to my next one.

On another note, I finally ordered some Vibram Fivefingers. KSO's or "Keep Stuff Out".

They came in the mail today. They are pretty weird feeling right now. I am sure I will get used to them soon. If you want to learn more about Vibrams, head on over to Birthdayshoes.com, a site devoted to Fivefingers, and fans of them. Pretty cool stuff really. Here are some shots of the VFFs. Let me know what you think.













One last thing, I am registered for a satellite running of the Valley of Fire Half Marathon in November. It's pretty cool really. PJ over at his blog "Desert Running" (check out the blogs I am following for a link) has been setting up a few satellite races down in Afghanistan and asked if I wanted to be involved in one. I said Hell Yeah! Well, Tracy, the race director for the Valley of Fire Marathon has implemented something pretty cool. Runners, or interested parties can sponsor those of us that are deployed and wanting to run the satellite race. That is just so cool. I am super excited about this race too. I hope it's not too cold then. We will see. I will keep you guys posted on the progress of this.

WWFoR. . .

This weekend is the World Wide Festival of Races. I am gettting excited. I found another guy here who is a runner, and was interested in the race. He signed up for the Half Marathon. Then that got me thinking. I had signed up for the 10k. Should I try for the half? Well, this morning when I was running I decided that if I was going to try for the half this weekend, I should at least run 10 miles. And I did. It felt great. I hope Steve and everyone at WWFoR won't mind if I decide to do that.

I have started up a running club for my squadron here. Kind of short notice for lots of people, and pretty early for most of them too. I don't think I will be having many people out there with me. My lead tech here with me has been coming out to run with me. The first day out he managed to hang with me, running at my roughly 8:30 min/mile pace, for 3 miles. I was pretty impressed since he didn't run a whole lot previously. A few days later, he came out with me again, saying he knew he couldn't go much further than he had two days prior. I thought to myself, "We'll see about that." I figured I would try and test his motivation/drive or what-have-you. Any time he asked how far we went, I lied a little. I told him we hadn't gone as far as we actually had. I was going to get him to 4 miles. At 3 and a half, he said he was done. I told him that if he could make it another half of a mile, he would have gone 4 miles. He called me some names with some choice words sprinkled in there, but he kept going. He was elated when he finished too. He said I was still a bastard, but that he appreciated what I had done. I felt good that I had succesfully pushed him further than he thought possible.

I told him something my father told me many times growing up. "It takes doing something 28 times to make it a habit." So he is determined to run 28 times, to try and make running a habit. I will be with him every day too, to help him along. Just doing my duty in this world, as a runner.


Get out there and Run!

Frustration. . . .

Well, the past two days, I tried out the "nature/running trail" here on base. I don't know if it was the difference in temperature from when I am used to running, or the fact that I was running in sand, or both. But I was dying. I struggled to get 3 miles in on that trail. I was dripping sweat like crazy. I got pretty frustrated with my performance. I ended up with another mile or so on the sidewalks. I kept my pace pretty good I think. I guess that is a good thing that I was able to do that on a trail setting. I was sniffing around some of the Manas websites, and I found a map with 5/10k distances drawn up. I went out there today to give it a shot. I don't know who measured that, but they were wrong. Unless they meant two laps. Which actually, I tried, but had to stop in walk. I barely finished 4 and a half miles. This place is killing me. I'm not sure what the elevation is, but I am certain it's not that much different than Kansas. So that isn't my problem. I think it may be having to wear this suffocating Air Force PT gear. Whoever decided to make the shirts a polyester/cotton blend rather than 100% cotton should be forced to wear this stuff in the same places we do. But I digress. I need to get behind this running block I am having. I may have to start running in the morning again, after work. I'm not sure if that will effect my sleep or not. I may try that next week and see how I do with it.


I am still up in the air about the Vibrams. One thing I hated about running the trail was after only about a mile I already had sand in between my toes. The Vibrams i'm thinking about getting are the KSO's, which stands for "Keeps stuff out". That is pretty appealing to me after getting sand everywhere. Also, the upper portion of them are made of neoprene, and I am hoping that, with socks, they might be fairly warm in the winter time.

Until next time.

Get out there and run!

Venting. . .

Yesterday at work I Was pulled aside and asked if I minded moving to night shift. I said no problem. I am not a seven level yet, so we don't have one on days. There are two on nights, so it just makes sense to level out the playing field, so to speak. Monday would normally be my day off, but I came home after hanging out with a friend from a past assignment, to find a note on my door instructing me to report to work today at 1830. So, not only do I not get my scheduled day off, I have a mere 24 to try and acclimate to a night shift schedule. What the hell is that about?? So I tried to stay up as long as I could. I managed to stay awake 23 hours, I just couldn't make it any longer. I ended up sleeping close to eight hours. Getting up around 10 this morning. I just can't go back to sleep. So, I am going to be dragging tonight. They had better not expect too much out of me tonight. Ok, now that that is over.

Last night I was at least able to hang out with some buddies from my first duty assignment at Pope AFB. One of them is deployed here, and another is just passing through. It was cool being able to catch up, and have a few beers and a cigar with them.

Another thing about switching shifts. I originally had no problem with it, strictly because I am training for a half marathon, and it is supposed to get really cold here soon. With me being on nights, I will still be able to run before work when it is the warmest time of day. I hope I can manage. We will see. . .

Get out there and run!

Some more miles. . .

So, I have been able to log some good miles this week. No less than 5 miles a day. Yesterday I got in 7, this morning, 8. Feels good. It's getting pretty chilly of a morning here. But that is all about to change as I am about to have to switch shifts. I'll be working 6:30pm to 6:30am. That means that it should be decently warm before work to help get some miles in in the colder months. We will see.

I am about to order some Vibram Five Fingers, and try out this forefoot running stuff.

On another note, I feel like I have gained some weight back. I haven't found a scale yet. I don't think I am eating anymore than I was before I left. Maybe they are loading this food up with butter and stuff to try to make it taste decent.

Then again, I guess the cookies aren't helping anything either. It's only been a week, I can't have gained too much in a week, right???


Get out there and run.

Featured again!

Hey guys!

Just a small update. I happened to look on Nik and Dan's blog the other day and noticed that they mentioned me on it.

Check them out over at http://http://4feetrunning.blogspot.com/2009/09/episode-66.html

It was pretty awesome, and motivating to hear them talk about me this morning during my run. It helped me get to 6.1 miles.

Thanks Nik and Dan! You guys rock!

So, like I said, I was able to crank out 6.1 miles this morning. I may be able to get past the monotony of doing laps around here once I start getting out there. I don't know. We will see.

I am seriously contemplating picking up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. Experimenting with forefoot running. I won't call it barefoot running, since I don't intend on doing it actually barefoot. It is supposed to be a more natural form of running. It intrigues me. I think this whole barefoot running craze might be on to something. More on that in the future.

Get out there and run!

I'm here

So, I made it to where I was going finally. Kyrgyzstan. Not bad. The climate is very similar to Wichita. I have made it out to run twice since I got here. I'm afraid that I am also getting bored with the running here already. I mean, don't get me wrong, it felt great to get out on the road again. Not much acreage to run on behind the gates. Not allowed to run off base. I'm stuck. I will try to manage.

I was able to get in 5 miles yesterday morning before work, and 4.3 this morning.

One good thing about this place, they have races about once a month, from what I have heard anyways. Yesterday was a satellite race of the Air Force Marathon. I didn't find out until it was too late. Evidently you could run the full marathon on your own. Or you could pair up in a team of two or four, and do a half or quarter of a marathon. I wish we hadn't broken in England. Oh well. We'll see what I can do in the future.

On a side note, I just saw an update from Nik and Dan with 4 Feet Running. I noticed my blog was mentioned on their blog. I haven't had a chance to listen to the new show yet, but look forward to it.

I am currently working 6 and 1's here. 6 days on, one day off. I will most likely take my day off as a day off from running. Unless I find some hidden trail or something I can run on and do my longer runs on my day off. We will play that by ear.

I will post up my run info on Dailymile and here on my days off too.

Until next time,

Get out there and run.

Oops!

I hit enter instead of shift, so it posted this awesome blank post!!

Regrets

Well, right now I am regretting not packing some running clothes in my carry-on. We spent a day and a half in England, then we broke on our way down range and had to return to base. We broke for me, how awesome! Luckily it was an easy fix. But we spent the night again. So, one more day without running. I haven't run since Saturday. This is killing me! Oh well. I will have to make up for it when we get where we are going. Ok, time to get ready.


Get out there and run! (I promise I will soon enough!!)

Goals

Ok, so this is a few days late. I joined Weight Watchers In April this year. For years and years I was overweight, but never saw myself as very fat. I guess I thought it was ok, or I carried the weight different than other guys. Something clicked this past spring. I talked Jodie into getting a Wii. So, of course, we got the Wii Fit. Well, that little turd on there inflated and it said to me "That's obese!" I just new I had to loose some serious weight. Part of it was to get under the "overweight" classification in the Air Force's BMI chart. Another part was to make that little guy on the Wii Fit tell me I was normal. I actually haven't been on the Wii Fit in a while. It might be interesting to see. I am currently sitting at 163.8. Well, that is as of Thursday night. It feels awesome. Last night we went out and I got some new jeans. 32s. I haven't worn 32s in a long time. If I recall correctly, I was in 33s in high school!


Get out there and run!

I did it,

So, I made a promise to myself that I would try to run 10 miles before heading over the pond. I did it. Today. Jodie had to run 7 miles today for her training plan. I'm not following a specific plan, although I probably should be. I would run in front of Jodie, then at intersections turn around and run back to her, then run back to where I had left off. At first it was to check on her, since we were going through a sketchier part of town, and men are pigs. . . . After doing that a few times I figured I would have at least a mile on her after we were done. So when we got to the end of our loop, she was a ways behind me and I decided to keep going. Just another mile and a half. For some reason, that was the toughest mile and a half I have ever had to run. I did it though.

Any time I add some distance on to my runs I remember something my dad told me when I was trying to get into the Air Force.

Note: This is probably not exactly how it played out, but I am sure it is close.


Me: I just don't think I can run two miles without stopping
Dad: You know you can
Me: Nope, pretty sure I can't do it.
Dad: 90% of Americans can't even run a mile without stopping.
Me: Really?
Dad: Well, i'm sure it's close to that

Ok, so this may sound pretty conceited of me, or imperialistic. (Although, I am positive that is the wrong context for that word.) Big Headed, Self inflation of the ego. Whatever. So, any time I add another mile onto my distance I think to myself. "If 90% of Americans can't even run a mile, then how many can run (insert mileage here)? That makes me feel part of an elite, exclusive club.

Quick, somebody burst my bubble. . .

Wait, not yet, give me a few more days with these delusions of grandeur.


Get out there and run.

Almost 8,

7.9 Almost 8. Normally I try to finish on an even mile number. You know, round it up some. But today, I am just tired. As I sit here typing this, I am about to fall asleep. I have no idea why. I had to give a blood sample and get Typhoid and Anthrax vaccines (annual boosters, not that where I am headed soon is running rampant with those diseases). So, maybe my body is still trying to figure out what happened yesterday. Trying to get back to Homeostasis. I love Homeostasis. Such a great thing. Sometimes I like to think of the planet as being a very simple organism trying to reach Homeostasis on it's surface. I'm weird I know.

. . .

Time to go finish up outprocessing.


Get out there and run!

A late run,

Hey all.

Don't you just hate it when your alarm clock doesn't go off?

I sure do. Especially when I want to get some miles in before heading to work. That is what happened this morning. Jodie woke me up asking what time I was going to get up. I said 4. She said "um, it's 4:30. " Crap!! So needless to say, I was behind schedule this morning. Luckily I still had time to get in 5.8 miles. It sure felt great to get back out on the road. I can't wait to start running here again when I get back from my deployment, and I haven't even left yet!

. . .

If you have time, under the blogs i'm reading, or subscribed to section, check out the blog called "Desert Running." You can find it here. Click.

It's about a soldier in the Army, who is training for half marathons. In Afghanistan. He makes time to get miles in, and he also has organized "shadow races" over there too. Shadow races are when you get permission, and help from actual races stateside, then you run the race wherever you are. Pretty cool! An inspiration for fellow runners in the AOR.

I came across his blog through http://www.steverunner.com. The home of Steve Runner and his podcast "Pheddipidations" Steve features a couple of blogs every week on his podcast.

This week it is "Desert Running" and *drum roll* RUNNING WITH FISH!!! Seriously! I am not sure what I did to get the honor, but I was sure to send him a note of thanks. Do me a favor, and check out Steve's podcast/blog. It is great




Get out there and Run!

Rain, rain, go away!

I woke up this morning at 2am to lightning and thunder. I checked the radar and I knew I wasn't going to be getting out on the road before work. In fact, the cell has stalled out above us and just keeps dumping rain. Flash flood watches/warnings abound. Good thing I sold my Integra, because I would not have been able to drive to work without hydro-locking the motor. Maybe I will get out there later this afternoon.


. . .


I should probably take my own advice and:


Get out there and run!

Wet shoes

I have today off. So I slept until Jodie needed to get up. Well, I tried too. Hoss woke me up about 12 minutes before the alarm needing to go pee. After letting him out, I sat down on the couch and picked up my Nintendo DS. Big mistake. I sat there for about an hour trying to figure out this new game I got called Animal Crossing: Wild World. The next thing I know there is a big cell headed our way on the Weather Channel. I quickly changed into my running clothes to try to get some miles in before the storm. I had originally planned on doing 6 miles today. I am glad I didn't. I ended up doing 4 miles. At the beginning of the fourth mile it started to sprinkle a little bit. Then, about a quarter of a mile later, it started pouring. Needless to say, I then had some motivation to pick up the pace some. At one point during that fevered pace, I hit the center button on my iPod to see what my current pace was. It told me I was going around a 6:15 minute mile pace. "Holy Crap," I thought. If I could only maintain that speed for longer distances, I might be able to do some competing! I may have to work on that. Anyhow, I had better get to packing, and loading up the car. T-minus 6 hours and 35 minutes until we pull out of here and head home for the weekend.

. . .

Here is the link for today's run. Check it out!


Get out there and run!

Short day

Today I decided to just run around the block. Not too far. I decided to work on my pace some. I shaved 30 seconds off of my average pace time. I'm just wondering what I will be able to do on Saturday. Getting excited.

. . .

Anywho, here is the link for today's run. Click.



Get out there and run!

Dailymile

I just happened upon a cool new site called Dailymile. It's kind of like Nike+ and Facebook combined. Plus I can just sync my Nike+ workout data with them and it updates. Another cool thing, they have these cool widgets (like the one above where you can subscribe, on the left side of the page) I will still make daily posts about my run. I just thought it might be cool to put up on here in case those of you who like to keep tabs on me are in a hurry, you can just check out the widget. Rather than reading a post. Those of you not in a hurry, can read both! Let me know what you think.


Get out there and Run!

Tapering?

Ok, so after making that post yesterday I was thinking to myself. "Self, why would you start tapering on a Tuesday when the race is on Saturday. On top of that, why would you taper for a 5K?? It's not like it's a half or full marathon." So I decided to just keep doing what I have been doing all along. Maybe the 5K on Saturday will be my "tapering" for the 10K on Monday. Yeah, that sounds good to me.

. . .

I ran 5.88 this morning. Normally I try to round it off, but just wanted to finish today. Here's the link. Click.

. . .

On a side note, I just can't wait to go home this weekend. I am super excited to see my parents and Jodie's parents. As well as some friends from back home too. Oh yeah, I'll be trying to hit up some fly fishing on the Beaver tailwater while i'm home as well.


Get out there and run!

Tapering

I think that's what it's called. When you start to taper off your run distances before a race. Well, that's what I am doing. Although, I don't think I will taper off more than what I did today. I am confident I can run 5 miles the day before a 5K and still be good to go. The day before the 10k though, that may be another story. I'm not sure though.

. . .

So, yeah, I ran 5 today. Just taking it a little easy before Saturday.

Here's the link: Click.