Currently Listening X&Y By Coldplay see related

Chicago Marathon October 22, 2006

 Hey all, survived my first marathon!  It was an awesome experience!  I will undoubtedly remember this one for the rest of my life.  It was an amazing feeling to be one of 40,000 competitors in such a sweet race.  Let me give you the run down.

We (Drew, Doug, John, Jennie, Melissa, and myself) left Saturday morning for the windy city.  We got there around 1:30 and only ended up getting lost once.  Fortunately Steph and Dan Fisher are students at Moody Bible Institute so we were able to shack up with them for free and save ourselves those hard earned pennies. 

That afternoon the four marathoners made our way over to McCormick Place for registration and to check out the Chicago Marathon Expo.  The highlight of the expo had to be meeting the king of everything marathon, Hal Higdon.  Hal has run over 100 marathons in his life and has put together training regimens for runners to train for marathons.  We followed one of his programs to the T and it showed great divedends.

We came back after the expo, relaxed the afternoon away, watched the Michigan football game, and then got ready to walk over to a restaurant for our final carbo load.  The restaurant we had planned on going to had a 3 hour wait so we decided to go else where.  We ended up going to a Chinese restaurant called PF Changs.  There we were granted the pimpiest seat in the house.  Maybe pimpiest isn't the best word for it.  We were taken upstair where we walked across a catwalk balcony and had our own private balcony with a  round table that comfortably sat seven.  We were catered great food, a beautiful view of the city of Chicago, and an excellent dining experience.  We thought we were given some type of presidential treatment.

We got back that evening, got ready for bed, stayed over at the Fisher's neighbor's place who were kind enough to lend us their apartment to sleep at.  We did our best to get a good night's sleep, but found that it would become somewhat restless as we anticipated the big race.

Woke up around 5am and ate a good carb filled breakfast and hydrated ourselves.  Got dressed in our running gear and started our two mile walk over to Grant Park where the race would begin.  When we got to the start we made our final gear preparations, hopped the fence for the runner corral, and waited for the gun to sound.

The gun sounded and all that was left was 26.2 miles between us and reaching our goal.  The morning was cold... somewhere in the 40s.  We were fortunate that it didn't rain.  As the race continued our bodies continued to battle the cold, but we all seemed to be doing well!  It seemed that for all of us it was around mile 20 that our bodies started to feel fatigued and the soreness began to set in.  The last six miles became more and more excruciating, but by the time we hit the 1 mile left to go mark there was no looking back, but only pushing on knowing that the finish line would come as long as our legs would keep pounding that pavement.  Sure enough it came and we were greeted to the finish by the thunderous cheers of thousands of people. 

Reflecting on the race it feels good to have reached to goal, but it's made me think even more about how thankful and blessed I am to have your support and have you standing by my side as I aspire to do whatever it is I do.  You all are wonderful and I'm confident that you were placed in my life by God.

This was long... but hey, I guess 26.2 miles isn't anything short of "long."  I hope you enjoyed and I'd love to tell you more about the experience next time I see ya.

Currently Listening In the Name of Love By Various Artists see related

Tis the season to bob for apples.

Been a while since I've updated.  I've been really busy teaching I guess.  Seem to be enjoying it so far even though the little rugrats can be mini devils every now and then.  For the most part they are good kids though. 

Um, looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Halloween because I'll be heading to Ann Arbor for some fun with friends.  Thanksgiving because Oma's house is the greatest place to be in the entire world on that glorious day. 

Movie to see: You, Me, and Dupree.  I saw it a couple of weekends ago.  Totally cracked me up!  Has a good soundtrack too.  "Fix You" by Coldplay would be one of those.  Anyways, hope you're all doing great.  Let me know what's up!

Currently Listening The Question By Emery see related

Pork Rinds are recommended by 9 out of 10 doctors to prevent heart disease.

Hey there!  Just taking care of some essential essentials.

First on the agenda.  This is a must know for anyone who is anyone.  Mark your calendars for the "Night Of Destruction!"  That's right... for 15 dollars you can witness the most life changing event ever known to mankind.  It will seriously be a fun time.  Let me know if you need more info or just check out the Kalamazoo Speedway webpage.

9/23/06

Night of Destruction - featuring the Four Cylinder Enduro Race- Sprint to the Finish 100  - Also feturing Monster Truck - Bus Races - Jet Jeep - Rollover Contest - Fireworks and more!   Presented by Belle Tire and USA Autobody

$15.00

Secondly, an important goal in my life is to become a true Bromanteer.  What is that you might ask.  Well, Brohman is more than just the greatest place known to mankind, I like to think of it as a lifestyle.  Hence, I've taken the quiz to prove how well I fit the Brohman mold.

How Brohman are you? X those that apply.

You have...
[x] ridden a horse
[  ] owned a horse
[ ] owned land
[ x] been 4-wheelin' 
[x] said "aint"
[  ] been cow-tipping
[x] been deer hunting
[x] been swimming in a spring.
[x] caught a fish
[x] seen a deer get skinned
Total: 7

You ...
[ x] have worked on a ranch or on land
[x] have lived in a house in the middle of nowhere
[  ] have been duck hunting
[x] have gone swimming in a river
[x] driven or have owned a truck
[  ] own/owned a rebel flag
[x] like to fish
[  ] have a southern accent 
[x] own/owned a pair of boots
[ x] own/owned a cowboy hat
[x] have gotten made fun of for sayin "y'all"
Total: 8

You also...
[] only sometimes cuss when ur mad 
[  ] dipped/dip snuff
[x] gou to church on sunday
[  ] owned/own a bird dog
[  ] have riddin a horse to somewhere in town
[x] have gone on a field trip to a farm
[x] have eaten deer meat
[x] have shot a gun
[x] own a gun
[ x] park vehicles in the yard
Total: 6

You...
[ x] have gone shopping...for a gun
[x] get the kids in your family a toy gun for christmas
[] wear long sleeves even in the summer
[x] know what stirrups are
[x] have fed the deer
[  ] have named a pet in spanish

Total: 4

Total: 18
Now count all the X's and multiply that number by 3

75% Brohman!!

Currently Listening MMHMM By Relient K see related

Good to go...

Canada was simply awesome.  There was never a doubt in my mind that it wouldn't be.  It truly lived up to all the expectations.  Fishing was great, I think we caught the most fish that we ever have that week that we were up there.  Caught some real monsters too!  I think the best part of it all was just being able to get away and relax a little where it is always quiet, the water is cool and refreshing, the sky is as blue for as far as you can see, and there is nothing but pure nature all around you for miles and miles.

I'm getting ready for school to start.  We will have our first day on September 5th.  It'll be something else when I see all those little 2nd grade vermin crawling through my door.  I took two nights out of my week to go door to door and meet the families of my students.  That was interesting and for the most part a good thing.  I think that most of the families were excited to meet their childs new teacher and saw it as a nice gesture on my part.

Marathon training continues.  I think we're getting close to the half way point.  We had a 13 miler last week and it was rather killer.  This week is a little lighter and I have so far been managing.  I'm guessing none of this paragraph interests you unless you have run or plan to run a marathon so I'm gonna stop now.

Currently Listening Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest By Hans Zimmer see related

Summer In Progress

Summer sure is kicking.  It seems to be moving by pretty quick.  Before I know it it'll be all over and I'll be back in school.  I've been keeping busy with the lawn business, preparing for my first year of teaching, and training for the Chicago Marathon.  By the way... I'm fundraising for World Vision (they support children in foreign countries who are in need).  I've built a fundraising website that you can check out.  http://www.firstgiving.com/rookierunners  Even if it seems like a small amount that you can offer please realize that every little bit helps. 

Fourth of July weekend was spectacular.  We went up north to our cabin.  I went up on Thursday and stayed all the way through Monday, so it was a nice long weekend for myself. 

Thursday night at midnight we went to see the much anticipated Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.  I enjoyed, maybe not as much as the first Pirates, but felt it was worth my time and money.  It is definitely beginning to have that "trilogy" feel.  There are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied so I'm looking to see what the final Pirates installment has in store.  Go check it out for yourself.