clanMcGraw.com

Over 2 months ago, I returned from vacation to find a sign similar to this one hanging on my wall:

One of my co-workers, Mike, challenged about 5 of us to join him in running the Vulcan 10K in November. I’ve only ran 2 5Ks in my life before. Never a 10K. However, it’s something that I’ve had as a goal for several years now.

I took him up on it.

Over the past few weeks, ol’ Mike’s kept the signs coming. One of my co-workers, Scott, signed up for a running program. Except for Philly-San Francisco-Las Vegas trips, I’ve ran every week at least twice. I’ve gotten a few 5 mile runs under my belt, and by the time you finish reading this, I’ll have started the Vulcan 10k.

Wish me luck.

I don’t have an iPhone, so I can’t verify this for myself. But apparently, the camera built into the iPhone has some sort of cheap sensor in it that, instead of exposing a picture all at once, it scans the image from left to right. That doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense until you see pictures like this:

Pretty strange, eh?

(HT: Global Nerdy and Geeks Are Sexy)

I finished Christmas shopping yesterday*. That’s 4 days before Christmas – a new record for me.

* – Not including the treadmill that Amanda and I decided to get. It’s a joint Christmas present for both of us, but we’ll probably wait until after January to buy it. I’m hoping that enough of the New-Year fitness craze will have worn off by then, so we can get a better deal.

Note to Self: Watch this video:

Legless boy runs in marathon

Now grab your running shoes, get off your butt, and quit making excuses. I knew I shouldn’t have posted about running that 5K…

(I wasn’t going to post this, because we have more serious items to deal with right now. But I had already planned on what I wanted to say in my after-the-race post, and since Dana did ask about it, I’m taking that as my opportunity.)

Back in the Summer, I decided to start running again. My goal was to run the Vulcan 10K in November. I decided not to mention the goal on clanMcGraw.com, mainly because the last time I mentioned a race, my running fizzled. I ran through my neighborhood, at work, on vacation, and on the track at Church. I was incredibly out of shape when I got started (okay – I’m still out of shape). When I first did 3.1 miles, the time was something like 42 minutes. But I kept working on it. I was really starting to enjoy it. I decided to give a little hint to what was going on – That’s why the Nike+ plugin appeared on the left side of the blog. And if you’re one of my Google Mail chat contacts – that’s why I’ve had a countdown on it for the last 2 weeks.

Today I ran the Hueytown 5k. I had 3 goals:

1. Run time of < 34 minutes. I ran it in 33:25 (unofficially). That's about a 2.5 minute improvement from the only other 5K I've done.

2. Don't Finish last. I definitely wasn't the last one across the finish line.

3. Run the entire race - no walking. I didn't meet this goal. I had about 4 spots where I stopped and walked. But I never walked for more than 20 paces, and I didn't walk until I was past the 2 mile part. Given that I ran the 5K distance exactly 1 time in the last 3 weeks, I'll be satisfied with this result... for this race.

It was fun. I was really tired in the last half-mile. I think that’s because, as usual, I didn’t control my pace in the beginning of the race. I believe that my first mile time was around 9 minutes. That’s way too fast for me, at this stage of my (glorious) running career.

So what’s next? I’ve actually ruled out the Vulcan 10K on 11/3 for various reasons. But I’m hoping to keep increasing my distance, and keep working on my time. I’ll be in another race relatively soon.

One last comment, pertaining to the race course: Apparently whoever lays out the courses has a different definition of the word ‘flat’ than I do.

If you’re reading this, then I’m either running or have finished my first 5K since March 5th, 2005.

I’ve held off on buying an iPod for years. I finally broke down on July 17, and bought a nano. I bought a refurbished unit because it was on sale for $99, and worked with the Nike+ running kit. I wanted one with video, but made the compromise for the small size and compatibility with the running kit.

Today, Apple announces their new Nanos, which retail for $149, works with the Nike+ running kit, and plays video. Had I waited a little over a month, I could have had it all.

I hate technology. Really, I do.

Saw this on somebody else’s blog… It seemed like a cool idea.

The Instructions: Go to your blog and find the first entry for each month of 2005. Post the first relevant sentence of it in your journal, and that’s your “Year In Review”.

January: Thanks to some last-minute hustle, and the generosity of my wife, it has turned into a wonderful new year, with a new XM Roady2!

February: I spent Monday night, Tuesday, and part of today in Atlanta.

March: I’m trying to run whenever I can. I’m registered for a 5K now.

April: We finally had Brandon’s first T-Ball practice of the year tonight.

May: I took the fellas to the McWane center on Saturday.

June: Sometimes working late has its advantages.

July: For those of you in Alabama, WTTO 21 will be airing Hunter Street’s 4th-of-July program on Monday night (7/4) at 10pm.

August: Amanda and I spent the weekend painting the kitchen, while my parents graciously kept the boys.

September: Tonight, on the way to Brandon’s soccer practice, we were discussing Brandon’s week at school.

October: I went through and organized the Flickr photos:

November: When I get home later tonight, I’ll try to post some pictures of the pumpkins that our family carved, and of the boys in their costumes.

December: We’re going to be quite busy over the next few days, with the move.

In a sad turn of events, I did not complete training for the Vulcan 10K, and did not participate in it this past weekend. I was talking with someone else earlier, and it looks like running in the latter part of 2005 is going to be difficult as well.

But on a better note, check out MapMyRun.com. By interfacing with Google Maps, I can click on different landmarks, and it will calculate how far I’ve ran.

While I’m babysitting a database duplication, I thought I’d take the opportunity to update the Running page.

Let me start by saying that I love my new Saucony shoes. I was foolish to run the 5K in my old shoes. These new Jazz are absolutely incredible. I wish that I’d bought 2 pair at the beach, instead of just 1.

I’m on the week 2 training schedule right now. It’s a 2-mile run/walk combination. During week 1 I kept pushing myself to do more than what was scheduled, even though the program frowns upon it. I think it really helped me get ready for the jump from 1 mile to 2 miles. I’ll probably try to ramp up to week three as well.

It’s been extremly hot here, so most of my running has been done indoors on either the treadmill or the indoor track at Church. I’d like to get outside again, but I may wait until it gets a little cooler.

I’m also trying to eat better in an effort to drop some weight before the race. I think that dropping 15-20 lbs. before the race would do wonders for my time, but I’m not sure that’s an attainable goal.