The Ayres Family Blog, according to Ryan

Welcome Miles August Ayres

2011-08-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

Well August 23^rd, 2011 will be a day our family will remember for several reasons. The biggest reason is the fact that we welcomed into our family Miles August. He was born at 10:06pm and was 8 lbs 7 oz and 21.5 inches long. Most people I tell that to say this is a big baby, which he is but for our family of four kids, he was the smallest one.

The day started nice and early with a call to the hospital at 6am to see if they had a room available for us, since Dacy was being induced (her doc was on call and he likes to deliver his patients if he can). It seems that a lot of people are having babies so we had to wait until 9:30 to go to the hospital. Once there it took about another hour to check in and get into the room. Once in the room we had to wait another hour for the doc to come check. At that point, 11:45 am, he broke Dacy’s water and then the waiting and walking began. At point there were four women walking the halls trying to help the process to move a little quick (I am pretty sure we were the first one’s to deliver).

So the next reason we will remember the day is because of the great east coast earthquake. We live about 80 miles from the town of Mineral, VA (the location of the epicenter) so we felt the earthquake. I was eating lunch in the cafeteria on the second floor will Dacy was sitting in the bed on the fourth floor when the quake hit. I did not think anything of it at first but after about 10 seconds I figured out what was going on and I did not like being that far from Dacy. In the end all was well with no issues caused by the earthquake.

So after trying to walk and walk and walk and walk, it was decided that Pitocin would be giving to start the process, and it did the job. After about an hour the epidural was giving and again all was well. At about 9:30-9:45 the nurse checked and said that Dacy was ready to push. Once they set up the room the nurse asked Dacy to push once and then told that she should not push again until the doctor was in the room. So after the doctor came in the room it was about 3 pushes and then Miles was born.

What a happy and long day it was. I am so grateful that our Father in Heaven has blessed us again with a wonderful and happy baby. Everyone is doing great and the older kids are so excited to have a baby in the house again and just want to hold Miles all the time.

Good Things to Come

2011-01-21T08:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

2011-01-14T08:06:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas 2010 was all about family this year. It was the first time in many many many years that all of Dacy’s sisters and their families would be together for Christmas. As typical Christmas’ go, we ate and then ate some more and then still ate some more.

Here are all of the kids eating the typical Christmas eve dinner of tamales and posole.

After dinner the family reads the Christmas story from a huge picture book which was colored by Dacy and her sister's when they were young kids

As with most families the kids are allowed to open one present before going to bed
which is always pajamas.

Lucky for us, the kids still like to sleep, so Christmas morning did not
start until about 7:30am which is a typical morning.

As I said before we seem to eat a lot during the Christmas holiday with family.
After all of the presents had been opened and us dads were trying to free
the toys from their boxes, breakfast was made.

What a great time is was to spend the holidays with family,
which always includes a family picture.

Here is memaw and papa with all six of the grandkids

And the final picture is of Dacy and her sisters. The reason for the pose is the
fact that Dacy's mom has a picture of her Aunts standing like that and she loves it.
So what mother wants mother gets!

2011 Running Log

2011-01-03T07:20:00.000-08:00

Another year and another blog post with my weekly miles. Again, this post is mainly for my information only but you are more than welcome to keep track if you like to. I am not sure what this year is going to be as far as races go. I am thinking of doing at least two marathons this year, one in the spring and another in the fall. Only time will tell.

Week of Jan 3rd, 01/03/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 01/04/11 4 miles (Hollins Mill), 01/05/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower) = Total for week 12 miles
Week of Jan 10th, 01/10/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 01/12/11 4.31 miles (Cabel St), 01/13/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 01/14/11 3.6 miles (Friday run) = Total for week 15.91 miles
Week of Jan 17th, 01/18/11 4 miles (Lower/Upper), 01/19/11 4.13 miles (Island), 01/21/11 3.55 miles (Friday run), 01/22/11 9.6 miles = Total for week 21.28 miles
Week of Jan 24th, 01/24/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 01/25/11 4 miles (Reverse Miller Park), 01/26/11 4 miles (Island), 01/27/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of Jan 31st, 02/03/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper) = Total for week 4 miles
Week of Feb 7th, 02/07/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 02/08/11 4 miles (Cabel), 02/09/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 02/10/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 02/11/11 3.6 miles (Friday run) = Total for week 19.6 miles
Week of Feb 14th, 02/15/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 02/16/11 4 miles (Miller Park), 02/17/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 02/18/11 3.6 miles (Friday run)= Total for week 15.6 miles
Week of Feb 21st, 02/22/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 02/23/11 4 miles (Island) = Total for week 8 miles
Week of Feb 28th, 03/01/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 03/02/11 4 miles, 03/03/11 4 miles = Total for week 12 miles
Week of March 7th, 03/07/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 03/08/11 4 miles (Island), 03/09/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 03/10/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 03/12/11 10 miles (Race Course)= Total for week 26 miles
Week of March 14th, 03/14/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 03/15/11 4 miles (Reverse Cabel/D St), 03/16/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 03/17/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 03/19/11 10 miles (Race course) = Total for week 26 miles
Week of March 21st, 03/21/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 03/22/11 4 miles (Reverse Cabel), 03/23/11 4 miles (Island), 03/24/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of March 28th, 03/28/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 03/29/11 4 miles (Miller Park), 03/30/11 4 miles (Island), 03/31/11 2 miles (treadmill after 20 km bike ride) = Total for week 14 miles
Week of April 4th, 04/04/11
Week of May 2nd, 05/02/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 05/03/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 05/04/11 4 miles (Reverse Cabel), 05/06/11 3.5 miles (Friday run) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of May 9th, 05/09/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 05/10/11 4 miles (Miller Park), 05/11/11 4 miles (Reverse Cabel), 05/12/11 4 miles (Reverse Kemper st) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of May 16th NO RUNNING
Week of May 23th, 05/23/11 4 miles (Kemper St), 05/24/11 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 05/25/11 4 miles (Island), 05/26/11 (Reverse Kemper) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of May 30th, 05/31/11

Close to Christmas.

2010-12-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

How you know it is getting close to Christmas time? For some people once they put up their trees and for others it is once the decorations go up. For me I know that Christmas is getting close when I see these packages on the kitchen counter.

Those are bags of masa for tamales. My wife’s mother grew up in Mormon colonies in Mexico. Her family has a big Christmas Eve dinner of tamales and posole. So once Christmas get closer my wife starts to make her tamales which is a process that take ups large amounts of the kitchen but it is so worth it.

Richmond Marathon Race Report

2010-12-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

It has been just about 3 weeks since I ran the Richmond Marathon so I figured I would do a race report and then I thought that would take a lot of time. So I was lucky to get an email forwarded to me from Darrell (who also ran the marathon) the other day. The email was an email from his sister-in-law giving her play by play thoughts on the race. I thought the email was funny and a much better race report than I could ever give so here is the email/race report:

7:50 Did you sleep at all last night? Did you get a blessing? Are you nervous? Your dream is just minutes away.

8:20 I wonder if your knee is hurting at all yet? Remember, NO REGRETS.

8:45 I'm worried that the tracker isn't going to work for me. Looks like I can't see any results until 10k. You can do this Darrell! I'm your 2nd biggest cheerleader.

8:58 Are you staring at your watch at each water station? It's OK to walk the length of the water station if you start feeling rough. Are you drinking enough? Do you have any cliff bars or gels with you? You are probably 1/3 of the way by now. I'm so proud of you, in so many ways. Thank you for taking care of your body so you can be a better father and husband. I know I've said it before, but let remind you that you are my favorite brother in law.

9:35 Holy Cow Darrell you're doing awesome. 54:57 for the first 10k. How is your knee? I'm saying a prayer that you will be able to withstand any discomfort. GO DARRELL GO !!! Ryan's time was 54:40. I call Nobs and she hadn't gotten a text so I'll be calling her at the half way point to let you know how you're doing. Lot's a noise in that hotel room.

9:47 The suns getting hotter. I hope you didn't dress too heavy. Think positive thoughts. Like . . . there's no more Welfare Meetings, no more Activities Committee's, no more RS Enrichment Music calling and lots of other changes to the handbook. Excellent training except the barfable "mock Ward Council Mtg". Honestly I could have strangled the woman depicting the RS President. You are my hero and I can't wait for every natty detail at Fairy Stone. I have GOT to take a shower.

10:00 YIPPEE You're halfway and your time is 1:55:46. Keep your eye on the prize bro!!! You're doing awesome. The hotel gang is cheering and calculating and strategizing for you. They are sending you subliminal messages about your pace. My personal advice is . . . breath in, breath out, and think about chocolate, a long nap, a hot oil massage, or anything else that will help you get to the finish line.

10:23 Two Saturdays in a row of getting absolutely squat done while being glued to race trackers. The house is dirty, the cupboards are bare, there are no clean towels, and everyone has an attitude but hey, I'm supporting some of the most important men in my life and having a darned good time doing it. I will have to get going soon after your race. The 3 missionary sisters, a new convert, and investigator, and M and D are coming to dinner tomorrow and I don't think grilled cheese will cut it. Thanks for providing a lazy Saturday morning for me.

10:35 Out of the shower. No news. Back to brush my teeth.

11:00 Awesome. You're 20 miles in 3:00:01. Your knee's gotta be screaming. Looks like you and Ryan have split up. Nobs and the kiddos's are trying to find the finish line. They just realized they're heading in the wrong direction. Is anyone surprised??? NO. I want to know exactly how it feels to cross the finish line and find your family there to greet you.

11:32 3 of 4 teenagers have arisen and eaten scrambled egg sandwiches and juice. The remaining sloth will have to eat a cinnamon bun. In 30 minutes you'll be flying high. Your adrenaline will carry you for hours. NO REGRETS !!!

11:48 I'm glued to the screen. If you don't finish soon I will definitely be serving PBJ for dinner tomorrow.

12:05 Now I'm nervous. I don't know what a "chip time" is.

(Here is Darrell finishing the race)

(Here I am finishing the race)

12:08 4:04:26. Incredible. I'm so proud of you. Enjoy your victory. Ryan's time was 4:12:08.

Well I have caught the bug so I plan on signing up for another marathon hopefully before the end of the year (also see my post just before this post)

Bucket Lists

2010-11-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

You all know what I am talking about, the list that people have made of their goals and dreams before they kick the bucket, so to speak. (Side note: How many people kick a bucket when they pass away?) I would ask you if you have a list like this. I never had one until the last couple of years when I started running. Once I started running I stated a list of things that I thought I would love to complete one day. The first event on the list was the Virginia Ten Miller, which I have now completed three times. After that I had a half marathon and then a full marathon. I completed the half marathon last year (see here) and I will complete a full marathon this weekend (fingers crossed on that one). So it is time I had to the list of things to complete. I have decided to move in the direction of triathlons. I completed as part of a relay team this year and will probably do it next year also. So I have decided I would like to complete a sprint triathlon, then a half Ironman triathlon, and then a full Ironman. I think I am crazy but then I watch videos like this and start to think I can do this. Time will only tell.

Bib number 2040

2010-10-29T11:22:00.000-07:00

On November 23, 2009 I signed up for my first marathon in Richmond Virginia. I have trained hard for this race since July and did my longest long run last weekend. With only two more weeks until race day I find myself telling myself “You can do this in my goal time of 4 hours” or telling myself “I sure hope they do not close the course before I am done.” In two weeks I will let you know how this all turned out.

Here is video of the course

Running family

2010-10-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Well in the past 3 years our family has started to run more and more. In the town of Lynchburg we have the Virginia 10 miler, which has a four mile race and then a kid’s one mile race with it. In the past the kid’s race has been during the 10 mile so neither Dacy nor I could watch the kids. This year they moved the kids’ race to Friday night so Quin and Max were able to complete. Quin did a great job considering she fell at the beginning and was the very very last one to start the run. She passed several kids in the end and her time was 14:36. Max did a great job. He just seemed to be having a fun time and his time was 9:48 and he finished 7 overall in his age group (5 and under) and was the 4th boy in his age group. The past two years I have run the 10 miler while Dacy has run the 4 mile race. This year Dacy decided to run the 10 miler. She did an amazing job. I am training for the Richmond Marathon so I ran with her and used the run has part of my training. We used the run-walk-run method (run 1 mile, walk 30 sec) She did great until the last hill which is a 1.5 mile long hill, and it is the last 1.5 miles of the race. I will quote the winner of the race “It was very hilly course.” We finished the race in 1:42:00 which is 3 mins faster than Dacy’s goal time.

The kids after their races with their metals

The start of the race

I took pictures of Dacy every mile but the best picture which shows how hard the last 1 1/2 miles is, is the picture I took of her at mile 9

See what I mean. She may kill me for showing this picture.
Some breast cancer club was handing out the pink gloves
which is the reason Dacy has a pair.

After the race, standing in the line for free food

Summer 2010

2010-06-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

LET THE FUN BEGIN.

We will be traveling out west this summer to Arizona for Dacy's sisters wedding and then after that we will head to a family reunion in New Mexico. Round trip we will be traveling about 4300 miles and will spend about 72 hours in the car. We have done this trip 2 times before but this year will be the first time we willing not be following anyone and will be heading thru different cities and spending more time with family and friends. Our kids for the most part travel well. The first day is the hardest (and one of the longest) days and then after that the kids realize that they are going to be in the car for a long time and just learn to deal with it. I will follow up on this post with pictures of our summer adventures.

The total number of miles we drove this summer trip out west!

2010 Running log

2010-01-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

This post is for my information only. I need somewhere to write down how far I run every week just to keep track. This year is a big big year for me as I plan on running my first (and hopefully not my last) marathon in November in Richmond. When I start to really think about running 26.2 miles, which my goal is to do it under 4 hours or 9:00 pace, seems nearly impossible to do. Luck for me I have some great guys I have gotten to know over the past 4 months or so who the majority of them have run marathons before so they can and will provide that motivation that I will need. My biggest concern will be this summer when we are planning on being gone for two weeks for a weeding and family reunion in Arizona and New Mexico which is not cool during the summer. So I hope to be able to find the time and motivation to keep my training up during this time. So here we go.........

Week of Jan 4th, 01/05/10 3.2 miles (treadmill)= Total for week 3.2 miles
Week of Jan 11th, 01/13/10 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 01/14/10 6 miles (treadmill) + 01/16/10 5 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 15 miles
Week of Jan 18th, 01/18/10 4 miles (Kemper St) + 01/19/10 3.3 miles (downtown) + 01/20/10 4.2 miles (Percival's Island) + 01/21/10 4 miles (Wyndhurst) = Total for week 15.5 miles
Week of Jan 25th, 01/25/10 4 miles (Kemper St) + 01/26/10 4 miles (treadmill) 01/27/09 4 miles (Cabell St) 01/28/10 8 miles (Wyndhurst) = Total for week 20 miles
Week of Feb 1st, 02/01/10 4 miles (Reverse Miller Park) + 02/02/10 4 miles (treadmill) + 02/03/10 4 miles (Reverse Miller Park) + 02/04/10 3.6 miles (Graveyard run) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of Feb 8th, 02/08/10 4 miles (Reverse Miller Park) + 02/09/10 4 miles + 02/10/10 4 miles (new course) + 02/11/10 6 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 18 miles
Week of Feb 15th, 02/15/10 4 miles (treadmill)= Total for week 4 miles (bad week)
Week of Feb 22nd, 02/22/10 4.1 miles (new course) + 02/23/10 4 miles (treadmill) + 02/24/10 4.3 miles (Cabel St) 02/25/10 4 miles (treadmill) 02/26/10 3.1 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 19.5 miles
Week of March 1st, 03/01/10 4 miles (Kemper St) 03/02/10 swimming, 03/03/10 4 miles (Miller Park), 03/05/10 8 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of March 8th, 03/08/10 4 miles (Kemper St) 03/09/10 swimming, 03/10/10 4 miles (Cabel St), 03/11/10 6 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 14 miles
Week of March 15th, 03/15/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 03/16/10 swimming, 03/17/10 4 miles (Lower Basin), 03/18/10 3.1 miles (Wyndhurst) +03/19/10 3.8 miles (Friday run) = Total for week 14.9 miles
Week of March 22nd 03/22/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 03/23/10 swimming, 03/24/10 4 miles (Island), 03/25/10 2 miles (sprints)+ Total for week 10 miles
Week of March 29th 03/30/10 3.25 miles (treadmill) and swimming, 03/31/10 4.1 miles (Mike's course), 04/01/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St.) 04/03/10 3.1 miles (Point of Honor 5k) = Total for week 14.45 miles
Week of April 5th 04/07/10 4 miles (Lower/Upper), 04/08/10 swimming, 04/09/10 3.8 miles (Friday run) = Total for week 7.8 miles
Week of April 12th 04/12/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 04/13/10 swimming, 04/14/10 4 miles (Lower/upper), 04/15/10 swimming = Total for week 8 miles
Week of April 19th 04/19/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 04/20/10 swimming, 04/21/10 4 miles (Percival's Island), 04/22/10 swimming = Total for week 8 miles
Week of April 26th 04/26/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 04/27/10 swimming, 04/28/10 swimming, 04/29/10 swimming, 05/01/10 swimming
Week of May 3rd 05/03/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 05/04/10 4 miles (treadmill), 05/05/10 4
miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 12 miles
Week of May 10th, 05/110/1 4. 17 miles (Percival's Island), 05/12/10 4 miles (Lower/Upper), 05/14/10 5.7 miles (Grayson Loop), 05/15/10 10 miles (Grayson GA 20)= Total for week 23.87 miles
Week of May 17th, 05/19/10 4 miles (reverse Miller Park), 05/20/10 10 Miles (Rivermont Ave), 5/21/10 3.6 miles (Friday run) = Total for week 17.6 miles
Week of May 24th, 05/24/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 05/25/10 3.2 miles (Wyndhurst), 05/26/10 4.1 Miles (Island), 05/28/10 3.2 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 14.5 miles
Week of May 31st, 05/31/10 6.2 miles (10k race), 06/01/10 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 06/02/10 4 miles (Blackwater Trail), 06/03/10 10 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 24.2 miles
Week of June 7th, 06/07/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 06/08/10 4 miles (Wyndhurst), 06/09/10 4.87 miles (Dearington), 06/10/10 11 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 23.87 miles
Week of June 14th, 06/14/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 06/15/10 4 miles (Wyndhurst) = Total for week 8 miles
Week of June 21st, 06/21/10 5 miles (Mesa, AZ) = Total for week 5 miles
Week of June 28th, 07/01/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 07/02/10 3.6 miles (Friday run), 07/03/10 12 miles (Trent's Ferry Loop) = Total for week 19.6 miles
Week of July 5th, 07/06/10 4 miles (Lower/Upper), 07/07/10 4 miles (Island), 07/08/10 10 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 18 miles
Week of July 12th, 07/12/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 07/13/10 4 miles (Reverse Miller Park), 07/17/10 14 miles (Trent's Ferry Loop) = Total for week 22 miles
Week of July 19th, 07/19/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 07/21/10 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 07/22/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 07/24/10 12 miles (Blackwater Creek trail) = Total for week 24 miles
Week of July 26th, 07/26/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 07/28/10 4 miles (Miller Park), 07/29/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), = Total for week 12 miles
Week of Aug 2nd, 08/02/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 08/03/10 4 miles (Lower/Upper), 08/04/10 4 .1 miles (Hollins Mill Rd), 08/05/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 08/07/10 16.1 miles (Trail) = Total for week 32.2 miles
Week of Aug 9th, 08/09/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 08/10/10 4 miles (Island), 08/11/10 4.4 miles (Wild Card Wednesday Bob), 08/12/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 08/13/10 10 miles = Total for week 26.4 miles
Week of Aug 16th, 08/16/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 08/17/10 4 miles (Island), 08/18/10 4 miles (WCW), 08/19/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St.), 08/21/10 17.13 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 33.13 miles
Week of Aug 23rd 08/23/10 4 miles (Kemper St.), 08/25/10 4.1 miles (WCW), 08/26/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St.), 08/28/10 18 miles (Cracker Barrel loop) = Total for week 30.1 miles
Week of Aug 30th (Cruise week=not good) 9/2/10 4 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 4 miles
Week of Sept 6th 09/07/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 09/08/10 4 miles (WCW), 09/09/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St) = Total for week 12 miles
Week of Sept 13th, 09/13/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 09/14/10 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 09/15/10 3.82 miles (WCW), 09/16/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper St), 09/18/10 20 miles (10 miler/Blackwater Creek Trail) = Total for week 35.82 miles
Week of Sept 20th, 09/20/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 09/22/10 4 miles (WWC), 09/25/10 10 miles (VA 10 Miler) = Total for week 18 miles
Week of Sept 27th, 09/27/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 09/28/10 4 miles (Rivermont Ave), 09/29/10 4 miles (WCW), 09/30/10 22 miles = Total for week 34 miles
Week of Oct 4th, 10/04/10 3 miles (Island), 10/05/10 4.5 miles (MTY), 10/06/10 4.5 miles (WCW), 10/07/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 10/08/10 23 miles = Total for week 39 miles
Week of Oct 11th, 10/11/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 10/12/1 4 miles (Downtown), 10/14/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 10/15/10 10 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 22 miles
Week of Oct 18th 10/18/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 10/19/10 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 10/20/10 4 miles (WCW), 10/21/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 10/23/10 24 miles = Total for week 40 miles
Week of Oct 25th, 10/25/10 4 miles (Treadmill), 10/29/10 4 miles (Friday run), 10/30/10 18 miles (Long run) = Total for week 26 miles
Week of Nov 1st, 11/01/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 11/02/10 4 miles (Upper/Lower), 11/03/10 4 miles (Island), 11/04/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of Nov 8th (RACE WEEK), 11/08/1 4 miles (Kemper St), 11/09/10 4 miles (Upper/lower), 11/13/10 26.2 miles (Richmond Marathon) = Total for week 34.2 miles
Week of Nov 15th, 11/15/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 11/18/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper), 11/19/10 3.6 miles (Friday run)= Total for week 11.6 miles
Week of Nov22nd, 11/22/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 11/23/10 4 miles (Miller Park), 11/24/10 4 miles (Island), 11/25/10 14.5 miles (Trail) = Total for week 26.5 miles
Week of Nov29th, 11/29/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 11/30/10 4.25 miles (Cable St), 12/02/10 4 miles (Reverse Kemper) = Total for week 12 miles
Week of Dec 6th, 12/06/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 12/07/10 4 miles (Reverse Miller) = Total for week 8 miles
Week of Dec 13th, 12/13/10 4 miles (Kemper St), 12/15/10 4 miles (Upper/Lower) = Total for week 8 miles
Week of Dec 20th, 12/20/10 4 miles (Reverse Miller), 12/21/10 4 miles (Hybrid Friday run), 12/22/10 4 miles, 12/24/10 4.25 miles = Total for week 16.25 miles

Grand total for the year of 887.94 miles

I don’t need no pace.

2009-12-18T12:11:00.001-08:00

Most people know that I was a swimmer for most of my life. During my last two years of high school and all 4 years of college I had the problem of always taking races out way to fast. Well now that I am getting into running nothing has changed. My first race last year, the 2008 Virginia 10 Miler, my first mile split was 8:30 which when compared to my goal pace of 10:00 is way to fast. Well on Saturday November 14, 2009 Darrell Manning and my self signed up to run the Danville Half Marathon (13.1 miles). It was supposed to be on a FLAT trail next to the river (I highlight flat for a reason). Well the week of the race the left over rain from a hurricane came through the area and the river flooded. So the race director had to find another course and find one very quick. The course they choose was very hilly, which is not what I was prepared for. So when the race started, as usually I took off like a bat out of h***. Our goal pace for the FLAT course was 8:00 but with the hills we were thinking closer to 8:15 would be good. Our first three miles was at a 7:30 pace, which is not close to either of my goal paces. The biggest and longest hill was at the beginning of the course (which we had to run 3 loops of). In the following pictures you can tell that each time I was in more and more pain. By the third loop around my body was done with and I had to walk almost the entire last loop.

(1st time up the hill and still felling good)

(2nd time up the hill and starting to really fell the pain)

(4th time up the hill almost to the finish line.

I thought I was going to die at this point.
There is no picture of us going up the hill the 3rd time because I was walking)

I am grateful for my good friend Darrell who decided to stay with me the whole race even though I know he could have easily run the last loop with out stopping. The only lesson I learned from this race is “slow and steady wins the race.” Darrell and I have signed up for our first full marathon (26.2 miles) at Richmond in November 2010. Luckily the Richmond race will have pace teams which will help me make sure I start out at a good SLOW pace.

On a little side note I am grateful for our wives who have learned to put up with a training schedule for these races and also for good friends who come to support us and watch us die in pain.

Let them Eat Cake

2009-11-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Dacy has many many talents and she is finding more talents every year. One of those new talents she discovered at the beginning of November is decorating wedding cakes. There was a couple in our ward at church who were getting married and had asked another lady at church who was not going to be able to do the cake for them, so this lady asked Dacy if she would be willing. Dacy has a small problem of saying no, so Dacy had about 2 weeks to get ready. The week of the wedding was crazy with cakes and frosting all over the house.
The worst part of this is the fact that I was getting ready for a half marathon the weekend after the wedding so I was trying to eat good, but with a large bowl of frosting sitting on the kitchen counter I had more than my share of frosting. The cake turned out beautiful and I am very proud of my wife. She as many amazing talents that I could only dream of doing which you can see at her blog Dacy Did It.

Since I am talking about cake I thought I would share one of my favorite routines from Bill Cosby about chocolate cake for breakfast.

Sweet Halloween there Matey

2009-11-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

This Halloween the kid’s costumes where somewhat homemade with the girls being sweet witches this year and Max being a pirate, which he was really really good at. Dacy was able to find the girls matching shirts and then made their skirts from fabric. Max’s costume was made using some pants that were too short already and using a shirt from his dress up box. The kids had fun and were ready to get lots of candy. On Wednesday night we went to our church’s trunk or treat and filled up the bags there and then Halloween night we went to my mom’s neighborhood and made off with a good amount of candy. As usually the kids were done walking by about the sixth house and the fact that a little rain was falling did not help the problem.

What a difference a year makes

2009-10-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

Last year I started training for the Virginia 4 miler but after a week changed to training for the Virginia 10 miler. The course for the race is a tough one. It is an out and back with some major hills between mile 1.5 and 3 and then the last 1.5 miles are uphill. Last year I took the race out way to fast and died like no other and had to walk up the hill. This year I have been training since the end of May and what a huge difference it made. My time last year was 1:52:25. I had several different goals in this year’s race. First was to run the whole the race, which I completed. The second was to beat my training partner’s time from last year 1:24:55. My third goal, which to meet I would have to a perfect race, was to beat my last years time by 30 minutes. My time this year was 1:23:47. As stated I completed my first goal. I also completed my second goal. My third goal I was off by 1:22, which was so close. I was very very happy with my time and only hope over time to keep dropping time. My goal next year is to break 1:20:00.
(See web site for information if you would like to run next year www.virginia10miler.com/dotnetnuke/)

Race Log

2009-09-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

I have created a training log which helps me keep track of my mileage I am running. I have keep track of the races in which I have run on a post it note on my desk which I know will one day be lost. That is the reason I am creating this post. Like I stated in my training log, this is mainly for my information only.

2008 Virgina 10 Miler 1:52:26 (pace of 11:15)

2008 Apple Valley 5k 29:44 (pace of 9:36)

2009 CVKA Memorial Day 10k 52:28 (pace of 8:27)

2009 Presbyterian Homes 5k 25:09 (pace of 8:07)

2009 Percival's Island 5 miler 39:29 (pace of 7:54)

2009 Virginia 10 Miler 1:23:47 (pace of 8:23)

2009 Apple Valley 5k 23:27 (pace of 7:34)

2009 Danville Half-Marathon 2:03:00 (pace of 9:24)

2010 Point of Honor 5k 23:25 (pace of 7:34)

2010 CVKA Memorial Day 10k 49:03 (pace of 7:54)

Strabismus

2009-09-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

If you are wondering what that words means then I would suggest you look it up on Wikipedia. For the lazy people out there, it is a condition in which the eyes do not properly align with each other. Well we noticed one of Zia’s eyes was turning in. We went to the eye doctor and we started by patching the good eye.

We went back to the doctor about a month later and she told us that Zia needed glasses. After that it seemed to us that both eyes would turn in (not at the same time). So we went back and the doctor told us that Zia was only using one of her eyes at a time and she could switch pretty quick between which eye she was using (that takes some talent).

Well the doctor suggested that Zia have surgery to try to correct the problem. The day of surgery was a hard, somewhat long day. We were at the hospital at 6:30 am and we were home about 1:30 pm. Zia was happy most of the time. She cried when the nurses took her back for the surgery, which I knew was going to happen. When Zia first woke up after the surgery she was a little grumpy, but after she quickly feel back a sleep and after her third 30 min nap she was back to her normal crazy self. The pictures below are the night after her surgery.

Dacy Did It

2009-07-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

Please check out my wife’s blog. Her blog is to showcase her custom vinyl lettering and other handmade items by her. Vinyl is a great way to customize any space in your home, office, church, car, etc... Her vinyl lettering is easily transferred and just as easily removed without ruining your paint or walls. Check out some of pictures of her work and for more information on her vinyl and other handmade items.

http://dacydidit.blogspot.com/

Labels

2009-07-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

How many people have a sticker on their car or something that lets people know what school you go to or went to. Growing up in a state were you are not required to have a front plate on your car, people always have a plate showing their support for a college. In the great state of Virginia cars have front license plates so the way people usually show support for their college of choice is to have a license plate frame. I have one on my car to support my alma mater. In doing this I feel you place a certain label on your self. Most schools, it is usually a label which may not always be correct. (FSU=party person, Radford=heavy party person) There are certain schools were the label is correct. For an example I graduated from BYU, so most people would put two and two together and realize that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In doing that they would expect me not to be doing certain things, like hanging out at bars or making a run to the liquor store. This label also applies to the student parking stickers that appear on the bottom left of the rear window of a lot of cars in the town I live in. This school prides it self on being “the largest and fastest growing Christian Evangelical University in the world” There have been articles in the newspapers about the code of conduct the students are to live by. So I have a very hard time when the local police are called to a neighbor’s house at 12:30am because the party is getting out of control and the next morning there is a large garage can full of beer cans and other alcohol bottles. Parked in the driveway of this house are 3-4 cars all with the student parking sticker in the bottom left of the rear window. It also drives me up the wall that for the past 2-3 weeks the same white car is parked in front of the house across the street. I know for a fact that there are 3 girls living in that house but the owner of the white car is a male. And you guessed it right, all of the cars (including the white car) have the student parking sticker in bottom left of the rear window. I hate to judge people but something is not right there. It is my understanding that when you go to said school you agree to live by certain rules (like no drinking and boys and girls are not supposed to spend the night together). When you chose not to live by those rules you put a bad light on that school. I hate to judge a school by the actions of a few, but that is all I have to go by. So next time you think of doing something that you know is not right, think of the labels that you have placed on yourself via your cars.

The real issues.

2009-06-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a sad week with the passing of Ed Mcmahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson but let us not forget what the real issues are. There are 2 wars going on now, with another 2 countries causing some major headaches in the world today. The President of the United States was able to have a free 1 ½ hour infomercial on government run health care. The Congress is going to vote today, June 26, 2009, on the largest tax increase in the history of the country and try to mask it has helping the environment. The government now owns 2 major car companies and is going to try to limit pay on everyone. PLEASE LET US NOT FORGET THE REALLY ISSUES THAT EFFECT US. Please contact your members of congress and your senators and let them hear your voice. We voted them in office to represents us and the only way they can do that is if we contact them via email, phone, or good old snail mail.

The Joys of Traveling During The Summer (Part 1)

2009-06-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

With my job I am required to travel to job sites to do a site visit every once in a while. I am one of those who likes to travel for work. It allows me to get to see the finished product. Believe me when I say a completed house looks much much better in real life then on a piece of paper. Another perk is that we have some jobs in some nice locations (like Hawaii) One thing I have learned over the years of my traveling is that I run into the most trouble during the summer months. The main reason of course is when the heat builds that usually means thunderstorms which can turn into long delays. On my last trip I did not take the laptop (or portable DVD player), for some strange reason. I always have a book with me (it is usually the only time I read) but I am one of those who must have a quiet area to read. So off course my site visit was done somewhat early and so I had to sit around the airport for about 3 hours. I could have watched one movie during this time and the airport in question had free wifi so I could have surfed the web. I survived that long layover by reading a newspaper which I can read with some noise. The next delay (2 hours) came at my connection, as usually happens (I am so close to being home I can taste it.) This airport also has free wifi so I could have also being on the internet looking at useless information. So what do I do in this case? I find my self a chair and sit and watch. I am an aviation geek so if I can look out the window that is my first choice. This night I was stuck sitting on the floor. This gave me a great chance to people watch. Every time people watch I am amazed at what some people wear. I have seen so many people wearing clothes that are way too small and show way too much skin. It makes me wish for my childhood again. Growing up we did not travel via airplanes that often and when we did we always dressed up, as did most people traveling. It just shows how lazy this world has/is becoming. There is another joy of traveling during the summer but that will have to wait for another time.

2009 Running log

2009-06-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

This post is for my information only. I need somewhere to write down how far I run every week just to keep track. My main race this year is the Virginia 10 Miler which is Sept 26th 2009. (Any one want to run it?) I am trying to decided if I should run the Lynchburg Half Marathon which is Aug 15th.

Week of May 25th, 5/25/09-6.2 miles(10 k race)+ 5/26/09 3.72 miles(Jamerson Y)+ 5/27/09 5 miles(treadmill)+ 5/28/09 5.3 miles (Jamerson Y)=Total for week 20.2 miles

Week of June 1st, 6/3/09 4 miles (treadmill)+ 6/4/09 7 miles (treadmill)+ 6/5/09 7 miles (treadmill)+ 6/6/09 4 miles (race course)= Total for week 22 miles

Week of June 8th, 6/9/09 4.5 miles (Jamerson Y)+ 6/10/09 2.6 miles (Blackwater trail w/ sprints)+ 6/11/09 3.1 miles (treadmill)= Total for week 10.2 miles
Week of June 15th, 6/16/06 4 miles (treadmill) + 6/17/06 3.1 miles (treadmill) + 3.1 miles (5k race (25:09)= Total for week 10.2 miles
Week of June 22nd, 6/22/09 6 miles (treadmill) + 5.2 miles (Jamerson Y) + 4 miles (treadmill)+ 5 miles (downtown)+ 4.8 miles (Jamerson Y)= Total for week 25 miles
Week of June 29th, 6/29/09 6.1 miles (treadmill)+ 6/30/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) + 7/1/09 5 miles (downtown) + 7/2/09 4.2 miles (treadmill) 7/4/09 6.2 miles (10 miler course)= Total for week 26.7 miles
Week of July 6th, 7/6/09 3.1 miles (treadmill)+ 7/7/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) +7/8/09 4.4 miles (downtown) + 7/9/09 4 miles (sprints) + 7/11/09 7 miles (10 mile course) = Total for week 23.7 miles
Week of July 13th, 7/13/09 4 miles (treadmill) + 7/14/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) + 7/15/09 5 miles (treadmill) + 7/16/09 4 miles (treadmill) + 7/18/09 5 miles (race) = Total for week 23.2 miles
Week of July 20th, 7/20/09 4 miles (treadmill) + 7/21/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) + 7/22/09 4 miles (downtown) + 7/23/09 2 miles (sprints) + 7/25/09 7 miles (10 mile course) = Total for week 22.2 miles
Week of July 27th, 7/28/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) + 7/29/09 6 miles (treadmill)+8/1/09 8 miles (10 mile course)= Total for week 19.2 miles
Week of Aug 3rd, 8/3/09 4.4 miles (Wyndhurst loop) + 8/4/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) + 8/5/09 2 miles (treadmill) + 8/6/09 7 miles (10 mile course)= Total for week 18.6 miles
Week of Aug 10th, 8/10/09 1 mile (treadmill) + 8/11/09 5.2 miles (M-J course)+ 7 miles (beach)= Total for week 13.2 miles
Week of Aug 17th, 8/17/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 8/19/09 5 miles (treadmill) + 8/20/09 5 miles (treadmill)= Total for week 14 miles
Week of Aug 24th, 8/24/09 4 miles (Blackwater trail) + 8/25/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) + 8/26/09 4 miles (Blackwater trail) + 8/27/09 .5 miles (hill sprints) + 8/29/09 9 miles (10 mile course)= Total for week 22.7 miles
Week of Aug 31st, 8/31/09 4 miles (Kemper St trail)+ 9/1/09 1 mile (sprints)+ 9/2/09 1 mile (treadmill) + 9/3/09 10 miles (race course)= Total for week 16 miles
Week of Sept 7th, 9/8/09 4 miles (Miller Park) + 9/9/09 4 miles (treadmill) + 9/10/09 10 miles (race course) = Total for week 18 miles
Week of Sept 14th, 9/14/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 9/15/09 5.2 miles (M-J course) +9/16/09 4.1 miles (Miller Park) + 9/19/09 10 miles (race course) = Total for week 23.3 miles
Week of Sept 21st (Race Week), 9/21/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 9/22/09 1.1 miles (hill sprints) + 9/23/09 4.25 miles (Cabell St) + 9/24/09 3.33 miles (Percival's Island) + 9/26/09 10 miles (RACE) = Total for week 22.7 miles
Week of Sept 28th, 9/29/09 4 miles (Wyndhust) + 9/30/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 10/1/09 8 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 16 miles
Week of Oct 5th, 10/05/09 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 10/06/09 4 miles (Wyndhurst) + 10/07/09 3.833 miles (Percival's Island) + 10/08/09 10 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 21.833 miles
Week of Oct 12th, 10/12/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 10/13/09 4 miles (Wyndhurst) + 10/14/09 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 10/15/09 7.5 miles (treadmill) = Total for week 19.5 miles
Week of Oct 19th 10/19/09 4 miles (Miller Park) + 10/20/09 4 miles (Wyndhurst) + 10/21/09 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 10/22/09 11 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 23 miles
Week of Oct 26th 10/26/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 10/27/09 4 miles (Wyndhurst) + 10/29/09 12 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 20 miles
Week of Nov 2nd 11/02/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 11/03/09 4 miles (Wyndhurst) + 11/04/09 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 11/05/09 10 miles (Rivermont Ave) + 11/07/09 3.1 miles (Apple Valley 5k) = Total for week 25.1 miles
Week of Nov 9th (Race week) 11/09/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 11/10/09 4 miles (Blackwater Trail Loop) + 11/12/09 4 miles (treadmill) +11/14/09 13.1 miles (Danville 1/2 Marathon) = Total for week 25.1 miles
Week of Nov 16th No running, just swimming 4x this week.
Week of Nov 23rd 11/23/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 11/24/09 3.5 miles (treadmill+wind sprints) +11/26/09 4.5 miles (Grayson Loop) = Total for week 12 miles
Week of Nov 30th 11/30/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 12/01/09 3.25 miles (treadmill) + 12/02/09 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 12/03/09 8 miles (Jamerson Loop) = Total for week 19.25 miles
Week of Dec 7th 12/07/09 4 miles (Kemper St) + 12/08/09 2.1 miles (treadmill + 1 mile swim) = Total for week 6.1 miles
Week of Dec 14th 12/14/09 4 miles (Kemper St) +12/15/09 4 miles (treadmill) + 12/16/09 4 miles (Loop) = Total for week 12 miles
Week of Dec 28th 12/28/09 4 miles (Percival's Island) + 12/29/09 4 miles (treadmill) + 12/30/09 4 miles (Rivermont Ave) = Total for week 12 miles

On to next year.

Pro-life and Prop 8 debate

2009-05-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Over the past two days I have seen a great debate on Facebook over a comment concerning the Prop 8 debate in California. During this debate I have come to the conclusion that there are two ideas that people probably will never change their mind on.
First is gay marriage. No matter what people say, what studies are done, or what polls are taken, people are either for it or are against. Second is abortion. Again no matter what people say, what studies are done, or what polls are taken, people are either pro-life or pro-choice. (People who know me know were I stand on these issues) Does this mean that we should stop debating these two ideas? NO, for several reasons. One is the fact that is makes Facebook fun to look at. Second, someone may actually change their mind. So let us keep the great debates going. That is what makes America the greatest country on the earth, in that we have the freedom to debate without fear of punishment (at least from the government).

Eating junk good during Biggest Loser

2009-02-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

I ask a simple question: Why does watching weight loss reality shows on TV make me want to eat?
I find it funny that I have seen so many people talk about how they are eating ice cream, eating cookies, and so forth while watching the Biggest Loser. For me that is usually about 8:30-9:00pm after the kids are in bed. It is at this time that I get my desert. I waited this long because I did not want to share. I know what a great example I am to the kids. I will tell you that the watching the Biggest Loser has got me thinking about running a marathon. I know, I AM CRAZY. After watching the show Wednesday night where Dane said he ran a marathon, I thought to myself if an overweight guy like Dane can run one then an overweight guy like me can run one. So I started to look at some training tips and tried to find a marathon close to me that is later in the year and fairly flat (which is hard to do close to the Blue Ridge). Then I was reading on the internet this morning that Dane did not run the full marathon.
So I am thinking now of only running a half marathon this year and then sometime next year run a full marathon. At least I am exercising and hope to lose my 20-30 pounds of extra weight, which should make the Virginia 10 Miler easier this year!

Cold weather so no school?

2009-01-16T08:59:00.001-08:00

Well global warming still has not shown up here in Virginia, so it was 10 deg this morning which is really really cold for us. So last night I turned the TV and noticed that most local schools (only government schools) had canceled for the day. I thought maybe the forecast had changed to included snow but no snow in the forecast. So I started to wonder why they would cancel school. The only reason is that they did not want to have the kids standing out in the cold to wait for the bus. That would be the reason that most of the private schools were still open. Usually this would not bug me but then they started canceling preschools, which Quin's was one of them. This makes no sense. None of the preschools that I know of have buses. Parents drop the kids off in the warm cars and then they go into a warm building. The only reason I can think that they would cancel preschool is that they wanted to help the kids prepare for school when they cancel school for no reason at all. Please help me understand why they cancel preschool.

Rhyming words

2008-12-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

Dacy called me a work this morning to tell me a funny story about our oldest daughter Quinlan. At Quinny preschool they are always working on rhyming words. So it seems every couple of days that Quin we start asking us if X rhymes with Y. This morning Quin started with the word DUCK and then F*** come out of her mouth. Quin, has far a we know, has never heard that word before. Dacy said that she could not stop laughing that a four year old kid can be so good at rhyming. Dacy has told her that that word is a very very bad word in our house and that she should not use that word again. We did suggest that DUCK rhymes with YUCK.

Quick Start

2007-08-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well we are now starting to join the rest of our family and friends and trying to become bloggers.
Please forgive our growing pains but we have to start some place