Air Force Half-Marathon

Stephanie and I went down Dayton to run the AF half. It was a really neat experience. The race started at the AF hall of Fame Museum with an impressive fly over by an f-22 raptor. Very cool. During the run, a replica Wright Brothers plane flew a few hundred feet above us -- very loud. The run was overall tortuos for me just due to lack of conditioning. Stephanie ran the 10k and puked at the finish line.

Studying is Boring

I've been studying my butt off for the last year or so -- mainly for the CCNP certification. If you don't know what that is don't worry -- most of the world doesn't know either. Today I just couldn't muster the strength to jump in with my normal enthusiam. This lack of motivation concerned me so I went introspective to figure it out. It didn't take much thought to discover the source of my frustration -- too much studying isn't fun. I want to study magaritas, the beach, and a long week doing nothing but fishing and swimming. I want to go anywhere -- but preferrably someplace sunny and beautiful like Cancun or Hawaii. I need a vacation like a sponge needs water.
What do you take with you in the end? Your degrees and certifications, or your relationships? If you beleive in the Christian philosophy, then the only thing that you take with you will be your friends and family. If you opt for a more secural mindset, then the tenets of basic humanism reveal that by far the most important element to a happy life is loving relationships with one another.
So either way, I think the moral here is to take a break, slow down, and enjoy life. Put people first and don't worry so much about the material things.
The average American works all their life just to spend their twilight years in a perpetual vacation. That means years of relational neglect and wasted youthful energy. I think Americans, myself included, should start to value fun and recreation more. I guess it comes down to the old saying, "Work Hard, Play Hard" I've just been working hard. Hmmm....maybe I'll buy a boat...

Alum Creek 5K

D motivated me to go run this race on Sunday morning up at Alum Creek. I'm glad I did because it was a great run -- the course went across the damm with some great views of the lake and the weather was near perfect. Ran a lot slower than usual but still managed to place 8th. See the full results here.

Star Trac TR4500

The new treadmill is here! This was a great steal for me. Now I have a $6000 commercial grade treadmill in my basement. The guy from Design Fitness said they got it from World Gym. I've already put about 20 miles on it and the belt needs to be replaced desperately but other than that its awesome.

Carlsbad half Marathon

Last Sunday I ran the Carlsbad Half with my good friends Greg and Ford. To my suprise, Traci met me at the finish line with water and goodies. It was nice to hang out with her. After the race, we headed down to SanDiego and drank some beers in the Gaslamp district. We watched the AFC championship game at a place called Whiskey Girl. It was a really fun weekend and considering I haven't trained hardly at all in the last few months I was happy with my time of 1:57:03 for the half. The course was beautiful -- it ran right along the ocean through downtown Carlsbad, CA. You can see the full results here.

Ipod shuffle is wicked cool

This little gadget deserves all the adjectives you can throw at it. It makes me happy. My little sister gave me an ipod shuffle for Christmas. I have an old clunky ipod from 3 years ago and never use it because I was under the impression that itunes really sucked. Wow was I ever wrong! The new itunes is amazing! I even bought my first legal MP3. The sound quality is incredidble and the shuffle is so small and it clips to my running clothes.....Jesus I don't know what to say....I think I'm in love. This whole podcast thing is unreal too. I can literally search for the most obscure topic and there's always some subject matter expert out there that has created a whole series of podcasts for free. This is likely not news to most of you but hey I've now seen the light and I like it a lot.

Flying Feather Four Miler

Stephanie and I ran this 4 mile race this morning. It was cold and very windy which is what you can ususally expect for a Thanksgiving day race. I would not reccommend this race as even though we did receive a nice finisher's medal and a bottle of wine, the course was too narrow for 2400 runners which created multiple bottlenecks. Also, the parking was a 3/4 mile from the start and finish of the race. There were many other logistical issues that could have been resolved with good planning that I won't get into because today is supposed to be a happy day. Next year I'll be going back to the good old Turkey Trot 5-miler to get my pumpkin pie.

I took this photo at Gab-Gab beach in Guam. I was excited to come across this huge cluster of Pacific anenomes hosting Tomato clownfish the size of my hand. I wonder what clownfish tastes like? That's something you just can't get at the grocery store. Clownfish sushi.....mmm.....sounds good.

Awesome Underwater Digital Camera

Stephanie bought me an Olympus Stylus 770SW for my birthday. It's 7.1 megapixels. It's shockproof to 5ft, crushproof to 220lbs, freeze-proof to 14F, and best of all it's completely waterproof down to 33ft!
It's hard to beleive this camera can take underwater pictures considering it looks like an ordianry digital camera. I messed with the settings a little bit and ended up with some incredible images worthy of National Geographic.

Haputo Beach - Guam

I had the chance to hike down to the illusive Haputo Beach in Guam. This place is likely one of the most secluded and beautiful spots in the world. What an opputunity to experience a place like this! A dangerous hike through the jungle rewards you with a breathtaking sliver of sand that extends for a quarter mile. Watch the video!

This is the actual route I took. Garmin's software allows you to export your run into Google Earth and save it as a jpeg image. Very cool. The white line is the path I ran.

Six and a half miles in Honolulu

I was in Honolulu for a day so I used my Garmin GPS watch to bust out a nice run from my hotel up towards Diamond head and back. Oh my God I think this run topped Boston! Unbelievable views of the ocean and of the towering cliffs of Diamond Head. As always, the air in Hawaii was "just right". It's runs like these that make me thank God I'm a runner.

The Columbus Half Marathon

Sunday I ran in the Nationwide Columbus Half Marathon with Ford and Jill. At the starting line they really got everyone pumped up with music and Blackhawk helicopters flying in formation above us. Mayor coleman started the race. There were lots of drink stations and even a goo station near mile 7. I had a perfect race running 1:42. This is one minute off my PR for the half! It's amazing what a little training will do for you. Thanks to Stephanie for meeting me at the finish line. I will definelty do this half again.
Now to slowly increase my mileage to 40+ miles a week -- then I can start thinking about getting fast. I had the oppotunity to talk to a few elite runners in the past week and both told me that more miles means more speed. Higher mileage is the one thing I'm missing. I'm kinda excited about reaching the 40-50 mile/week range....

12 Miles on the Charles River -- Boston

I loved this run. I would have to say that this was by far my favorite long run of the year. What I love most about longs runs is the serenity they bring -- a calm, focused effort that is deeply satisfying. 12 miles flew by. I ran by Harvard, Boston College, and MIT. The river was full of boats -- there was a rowing competition going on. Past the Cambridge area I crossed over the river into downtown Boston. The streets were narrow and the sidewalks old cobblestone. Running back on the Boston side, I picked up the pace to 7:30 min/mi and felt really strong. The air was starting to get crisp and I was happy to get back to my rental car. I envy Boston runners -- they don't know how good they have it!

Walk for the Whisper 5K

This was a happy day for me. Any day your girlfriend and one your good buddys agrees to get up early on a Sunday morning to run a race with you is a great day. Stephanie and D ran together and had an impressive finish time. I placed 16th out of 325. A nice course that started in front of the Westerville community center and weaved through Heritage Park. Good job once again by RunWild Racing. You can see the results here.

future pic

The Chicago Half Marathon

Well I've been trying to avoid talking about this because it was a tough half -- and my worst ever. I actually ran a 2:09 which I didn't think was possible for me. I can't remember what Ford's time was but I think he had some throuble as well -- mainly due to the heat. By the end of the race it was pushing 80F so we were dying.
The saving grace of the entire trip was going to the Map Room the night after the race. They had like 200 beers and 75 on tap or something crazy like that. They had Three Floyds on tap which I had never seen. Also -- they had every flavor of Bells that has ever existed. After the Map Room we ate dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery.
We also took a lot of silly pictures of a small stuffed frog that Mya pooped on. You can see the pics at www.poopfrog.com

Baby Mya!

Our new boxer puppy has arrived. Her name is Mya and she is very cute and tenacious. Barley isn't sure what to think of her -- she likes to bite his face and try to walk him around on his leash. Having two boxers in one house is a lot of work!

The Green Dragon

There is a well known pub in Boston, which goes all the way back to Colonial times. As most colonists did not read, the pub was marked by a copper sculpture of a dragon above the door. It did not take very long for the Boston climate to corrode the dragon a bright shade of green, so quickly that the pub's owners did not waste the effort to keep the dragon sculpture polished. The pub came to be popularly known as the "Green Dragon".
During the birth of our country, many of the founding fathers would gather at the Green Dragon to hoist a tankard of ale and invent a new nation, along with deciding if this was the week they got to dump some tea into yon harbor.
To eat and drink in the same little place that Samuel Adams, Ben Franklin, John Adams, and Paul Revere did in the seventeeth century is just awesome.

The Redhook Brewery - Portsmouth, NH

Ever since I was a little kid I dreamed of one day visiting the Redhook Brewery and quaffing a luxurious pint or three. To my sublime enjoyment, the brewery in Portsmouth had a special treat for me (it was just for me I swear) -- a unique brew called the "Long Hammer IPA". Wow. That's all I can say. Mainly because I'm still kinda drunk. Hoppy is an understatement. This ridiculous concoction is derived from the second runnings of a one-of-a-kind barley wine that the brewery runs once a millennium. In other words -- lots of malt, lots of hops, and lots of alcohol. This is fuel for the soul. I only had half a beer because I had to fly and, well -- I'm actually responsible nowadays belief it or not. But I did buy a hat, a shirt, and 6 or 7 Redhook glasses.

Stephanie goes to Harvard

We went to Harvard for a day and just bummed around. I had always dreamed of one day going to Harvard and taking a poop which I did. Stephanie wanted to go for the intellectual stimulation. Being super smart and cute, she was right at home at America's oldest institution of higher learning. I took her to the library but she was more interested in playing in the fountain in front of it than reading a book. Harvard square is a crazy place and I can guess that going to school there would be pretty intense to say the least. Oh yeah -- I did learn one thing at Harvard -- it's pronounced "Haw-vaad"!

Exploring Dowtown Boston - Farmer's Market

Right smack in the middle of the skyscrapers is this massive farmer's market with super fresh and uber cheap prices. Any type of veggie or seafood could be found here and it was fresh and delicious. We bought some snacks for the day.

Boston Holocaust Memorial

Six stark glass towers rise above the Green Dragon and Bell in Hand in downtown Boston. Each tower has 1 milllion numbers on it -- each representing a human soul. Steam filters it's way through these translucent memorials and gives the passerby an eerie sense of pure evil -- a time when the world witnessed the muder of 6 milllion jews. This memorial is sobering yet so very important because it helps us to remember what mankind is capable of. People pass silently through the towers as a sign of respect and awe.

U.S.S Constitution

This ship was the 3rd vessel to be commissioned for the US navy and really the first one that could actually put up a fight. If you don't know much about the Barbary War -- it is fascianting. Early Americans needed to trade with other countries to survive economically but our tradeships kept being sunk and or captured by pirates off the Barbary coast in northern Africa. After years of unsuccessful attempts at diplomacy and paying huge protection fees to these pirates we finally had enough and bulit this ship to protect our trade vessels. The USS Constitution pretty much won the Barbary war for us -- this ship kicked some serious ass in the city of Tivoli on Africa's Northern coast. The war was America's first great victory as an independent nation. By the way, the word "barbarism" originates from this time.

Boston Graveyards

The graveyards in Boston are really neat. The most intriguing thing about them is the incredible engravings on the tombstones. You can sense that their ideas of death and the afterlife were likely much more morbid and existential than ours today. A common symbol was a skull and bones -- sometimes elements such as sickles and pentagrams are present. This is likely due to lingering Pagan and Druid-like beliefs that Europeans of the day held onto and incorporated into their Christian doctrine. (in modern day we see the Christmas tree as an example of this) Also, Free Masonry was alive and strong and can be seen in the many symbols that adorn the gravestones.

The Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail is a brick line that runs thorugh downtown Boston. If you follow the line it takes you to all the significant historical spots. It's an incredible experience to see the places where American independence was born.

Maine has Beaches

Well I'm fianlly updating this blog after our vacation to the Boston area. We had an incredible time and really got to see some amazing historical places. We flew skybus into Portsmouth, NH which is itself a beautiful and old city. We rented some sea kayaks at the sub base there and paddled around the bay. Then we drove across the river over to Maine. This is the first time I've ever been to Maine. It's a beautiful state -- lots of trees and old historical homes.
We went to the small beach town of York and got a little sun. The beaches were suprisingly great -- nice sand but the water was freezing. Ate the best lobster roll in history.

2007 OSU Cabin Fever 5K

Ran this morning with Steph -- it was her first 5K! She actually did pretty well -- 88th out of 140 runners. My race however was a lot different. I went into the race half-heartedly thinking I could break 20 minutes. I ran a miserable 21:17 to place 14th out of 140. Several factors combined to bring my demise: Huge meal the night before, lack of proper conditioning, smoking, and lack of sleep. Overall this run was a slap in the face for me -- a wakeup call to get off my lazy ass and make it happen. I should consistently run sub-20's at this point. The only one I have to blame is myself. That's the way it is with everything actually -- it all comes down to how hard you work. I can't expect to run 15 junk miles a week with no interval training and magically be fast. I need to get a purpose.

Barley's growing up..

You might have remembered that 6 months ago I got a puppy. Now that puppy is pushing 40 lbs and he's a terror. The only one that can really keep him in line is his mom Stephanie. Today I had the day off so I took him up to the dog park at Alum Creek to burn off some energy. He took on a German shepard and got his ass kicked.
Came home and gave the lawn a haircut. Cooked out with Steph who also got a haircut.

Country Music Half-Marathon: Hills and More...

Headed down to Nashville this weekend with my good pal Ford to run the Country Music Marathon. This was a monstrous event with over 30,000 runners total competing in the full and the half marathon.
The race can only be described as tortuous. One thing I did not anticipate was the long arduous hills in the Nashville area. There were uphill sections of the course that stretched over a mile. In some of the residential areas there were steep grades to climb. On top of that, the temp was hitting 70 degrees mid-way through the race and continued to climb. The elements of heat and hills are something Columbus runners aren't as conditioned to and they really took their toll.
Regardless, I ran hard and did reasonably well considering the hilly course. There were 19,416 runners in the half-marathon and I finished 1,183 with a time of 1:45:48. Not the sub-100 minutes I had hoped for but nonetheless OK considering the evil hills.
Felt wasted and drained after the race so I drank two guiness which made me feel a little better for awhile. I took a nap and headed home. I love Nashville but next time I visit it'll be to drink beer and relax.

Lasalle Bank Columbus Half Marathon

I ran the Columbus Half marathon on Saturday morning. (Course Map | Virtual Tour) It was an enjoyable training run for me. Surprisingly I didn't do too bad considering my goal was not to push myself. I placed 338th out of 3107 runners. Another plus to this race was beating my Columbus half-marathon nemesis Andy Hyatt by a whopping 15 seconds. I took it easy the first 8 miles and then picked it up to about a 7:45 pace for the final few miles. I continue to be impressed with JBR racing -- they do a great job. I'm very sore today. My quads are tender to the touch but other than that I'm recovering quickly. I'm running the Nashville half in two weeks and my goal there will be to break 100 minutes. (1:40) If I can do that I'll have a new PR and a respectable time.

Chilling in the Executive Suite

So I acquired a couple tickets to the Christina Aguilera and Pussy Cat Dolls concert thanks to my new co-worker Eric. Normally I would never go see her in concert since I'm not gay but these tickets were for the Executive Suite at Nationwide Arena so I figured why not? Anyway it was a blast mainly because my good buddy Duane had tickets also. He brought his girl Angie along. We drank a bottle of Absolut which is really what made it fun. Actually the concert was kinda entertaining. The executive suite was pimp -- it was pretty cool to get the VIP treatment. Afterwards we went to the Lodge bar. I'm dragging today but overall it was a great time.

200 Miles

Today I ran 6 miles and hit the 200 mile mark for the year. I feel stronger and faster but I really feel like I need a structured program of speedwork to reach my goals. I have dreams of running in the 18's for a 5k. Of course the reason I haven't achieved that yet is becuse I don't want it bad enough. I know I'll never be an Olympian but I can't help but try to win a local road race or two. Once I actually break the 20 minute mark for my 5k I think it'll be a huge relief. I know by a lot of standards that's slow but for me it's fast.
My gf Stephanie is running her first 5k ever with me on May 6th. The OSU Cabin Fever 5K looks like fun. Check out the course map here. It finishes in front of the horseshoe.

Chase Shamrock Shuffle 5K

The race was windy and cold. Lots of fun and I was happy with my time of 20:04. I placed 7th overall and set a new PR for my 5K. I didn't realize I was so close to breaking 20 minutes otherwise I would have run harder. Got a mug and a shirt. I'm feeling much stronger and fast -- hopefully next 5K will be sub-20 minutes.

Order of the Musket

I attended the Order of the Musket dinner at the Ohio Statehouse last night where the enlisted members of the Ohio National Guard presented the prestigious Order of the Musket award to the Honorable Senator Dobson. The occasion was very formal and elegant and offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to brush elbows with generals and political leaders. I was honored to attend the event with my date Stephanie. We ate dinner in the spot where President Lincoln presented an address in 1859. An orchestra played while we ate and the service and food were incredible. It was a surreal experience which I will remember for the rest of my life. Senator Dobson was gracious and funny in his acceptance speech and I was afforded the opportunity to meet him and his wife after the event. He gave me a personal coin that featured the Ohio State University logo trimmed in gold. Thank you Senator Dobson for your commitment and service to our troops in the Ohio National Guard.

Frozen Niagra Falls

We visited Niagra Falls, Ontario after a night of the casino and bars. We lucked out at the Ramada and ended up scoring the penthouse for the price of a regular room after a last minute cancellation. The penthouse was amazing!! The actress Judith Light stayed there during the filming of a B-grade made for TV movie.
Niagra Falls in the winter has it's own unique beauty unlike any other location on earth. The water plumets down into a cavernous nothing clouded by mists of micronized air cystals that float around you like a fine powder. The air is dense with frozen moisture and if you stand too close the outside of your wool hat will become crusty and cold from exposure.
The falls also create a misty ice plume that rises high into the sky like smoke from a fire. You can see this from miles away and serves as a landmark much more impressive than the glittering high-rise casinos and hotels that hug the river.
What struck me the most was the bleak starkness of the falls. Ice covered everything-- railings, trashcans, and people all covered in God's ice-armor. I felt like I was on a different planet -- one of extreme conditions where life was sparse and precious.

Glade Skiing at Holiday Valley

I'd pretty much given up on the idea of good skiing east of the Missisippi. When I lived in Seatlle there was no shortage of great ski areas with super long runs and untouched powder. Holiday Valley is great. The snow quality was superb and they have a black diamond glade that is incredible. Steph and I must have skiied that thing 30 times.
If you've never tried glade skiing I highly recoomend it. I was impressed to see a few snowboarders navigate their way through the trees and the hidden moguls. I would proably kill myself on a board. Instead I opted for some Salomon Tornadoes -- a very high end ski (I rented) that I fell in love with.
We were instanlty addicted to the beauty of the glade. A fine powder fell from the sky and continually covered our tracks. Each run was unique and challenging. My legs were jello toward the end of the second day. I can't talk much more about it otherwise I'll want to hop in the truck!

Boxers and Beer

I just discovered an interesting and intriguing fact concerning the boxer breed. Boxers are historically linked to beer. In past centuries, German boxer owners would take their dogs with them to the local beer garden to sit with them outside and enjoy the weather and a good lager. There is evidence that boxers would quaff a quarter pint or two while chilling in the cool Bavarian breeze with their owners:

In the same vein runs a theory based on the fact that there were a group of dogs known as "Bierboxer" in Munich by the time of the breed's development. These dogs were the result from mixes of Bullenbeisser and other similar breeds. Bier (beer) probably refers to the Biergarten, the typical Munich beergarden, an open-air restaurant where people used to take their dogs along. The nickname "Deutscher Boxer" was derived from bierboxer and Boxer could also be a corruption of the former or a contraction of the latter.<sup>[7]


(source = wikipedia)</sup>

100 Miles

Today I ran a nice easy 5 miles in 40 minutes or so. It was a good change from the breakneck 4 milers I've been doing lately. Yesterday I hit a speed milestone for 28:22 4 miles on the treadmill. It's not race pace but 7:05 is a good pace for a steady-state run. Odd thing is I'm the fastest in my life and the speed seems easier and easier. Mentally also I feel very strong. They say the greatest age for a distance runner is around 28 so maybe I'm just hitting my peak in life I dunno.
Today marked mile 100 for the year thus far. My New Year's goal is to run 1000 miles this year. Also I want to run a sub-20 minute 5K and set a new PR in the half-marathon.
6:27 min/ mile = 19:59 5km

The Honorable Bartholomew Winchester Milholen

Little Barley has only been with us on this earth for 8 weeks. He is about 10 lbs but in a few years he'll be pushing 90lbs if all goes well. He's very smart and energetic and loves to play all day. He is a purebred boxer pup with AKC pedigree to 4 generations. His dad is an AKC champ. We were lucky enough to meet the mom and dad. He had 8 pups in his litter and he was the biggest and best looking of the bunch. I can't wait until this dog gets big enough to run with. He's going to be a great frisbee dog as well. Here's what the AKC says about the boxer breed:

With family and friends, his temperament is fundamentally playful, yet patient and stoical with children. Deliberate and wary with strangers, he will exhibit curiosity, but, most importantly, fearless courage if threatened. However, he responds promptly to friendly overtures honestly rendered. His intelligence, loyal affection, and tractability to discipline make him a highly desirable companion.

Boxers are one of the few breeds that are not only good guard dogs but also excellent protective dogs. This means they have the physical and mental ability to protect their owners rather than just warn their owners of danger. Boxers were used in World War I and II as guard and attack dogs. Despite this, boxers are a bright, energetic and playful breed and tend to be very good with children.

To summarize:

Although not right for everyone, the Boxer can make most a loving addition to their family and provide years of joy. The key is to properly socialize and train the Boxer at an early age and set limits for your Boxer baby. If these simple guidelines are followed, you can look forward to one of the funniest, loyal family member you could imagine.

Cisco Certified!!

Well I finally passed my CCNA exam. After nearly 2 weeks of being a recluse locked up in the house studying night after night and going through sleep deprivation and having dreams about routing protocols I took the plunge and went down to Babbage and Simmel and took the ICND test. I think I overstudied as the test wasn't as bad as I had feared. There were celebrations at work and I brought in CCNA burgers for everyone. Now I'm already digging into the routing book for the CCNP.

121 ARW Military Ball 2006

Steph and I attended the military ball this weekend at the Makoy Center in Hilliard, OH. It felt good to don my semi-formal service dress and show off a medal or two. Stephanie looked amazing. There was dining, dancing, and drinking. Lots of brass getting lit up at the cash bar. It was cool to hang out with my military friends and enjoy a memorable night together.