Christmas 2013

Well the day is still very early, but reading my brother's most recent blog entry I had to laugh as I pictured him dealing with the young child in church who had decided to make some changes to his Christmas Eve service.  My brother, who is a Methodist minister in Nebraska, has told me stories in the past at how his services have been "altered by the moment."  (haha..."altered"...get it?)

Anyway, it made me think about the Christmas Eve service I attended at my home church last night.  I attend the Westerville Community United Church of Christ.  After over 20 years at that church, the pastor retired, and in September a different pastor started with our church.  The few services I've been able to attend since Pastor Jay came to our church, he has made it a point to introduce himself to the congregation, and still calls himself the "very new senior minister".  I'm sure last night wasn't his first Christmas Eve service, but it was his first at WCUCC, and I'm sure he was trying to mix in his own traditions without disrupting our congregation's traditions also.  The pastor's family was at the service and sat one row in front of where I had found a seat.  One thing I've noticed about Pastor Jay is that he tends to get emotional.  One some point during every service I've attended, his voice has cracked or he's paused from the emotion that he's feeling with the message he's giving.  I wasn't sure how to feel about that at first.  My first thought was that it brought memories of Jim and Tammy Baker to mind, minus the mascara.  But sitting behind Pastor Jay's father, himself a retired minister, I noticed something.  Several times during the sermon the elder pastor was wiping his eyes.  This, I realized, is a family who have truly been called to ministry and who truly feel the message they are giving.

Anyway, getting back to my original point... The church was pretty crowded last night, and as people filed in and filled the seats, a brass quartet sat up front playing Christmas songs.  People were enjoying the music, but it was more in the background as they greeted each other, skimmed through the program, marked their spots in the Hymnals for the evening Hymns, looked for open seats, etc.  So as the quartet went from one song to another there really wasn't much notice....until...  A few rows up was a young child.  HE was enjoying the music, and when the quartet finished the song he was listening to, this young child stood up on his chair and began to applaud.  Of course, once he did this, everyone else joined in and there were a smattering of chuckles going through the church.

Then the service started and we got the Children's Sermon.  All the children went down front and Pastor Sigrid read them a children's counting book about Christmas that had been written by a member of our congregation.  As with my brother's service, there were several children who answered the questions loudly or would put in their own additions to the answers.  Then, as is tradition in our church, the baby Jesus figure was placed in his mother's arms in the Nativity set.  Pastor Sigrid added a star this year also, and the children let her know that she should place the star up higher...apparently where she originally placed it was too low for everyone to see??  Then a small cupcake was brought out, the candle lit in the cake and the children sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

You all the know the words...or at least think you do.  The children of our congregation of course, had their own version, and they weren't afraid to share it.

Happy Birthday to you  (Cha cha cha)
Happy Birthday to you (CHA cha cha)
Happy Birthday dear Jesus (CHA CHA cha)
Happy Birthday to you (CHA CHA CHA)

As the children filed out I wondered to myself how, or if, Pastor Jay would react.  He stood up and said, as we preparing for the Christmas Eve offering, that he had only one word of inspiration for us before the offering.....cha cha cha.

On a completely different topic.  I've mentioned before that I've been pretty fortunate when it comes to working on Christmas Day.  I was in the Army for Christmas in 1984, 1985 & 1986.  Two of those years I was able to take leave and be home at Christmas.  For one of them I was stationed in Germany, and although I was not able to get home, I did spend the day with family, as my uncle was also in the Army and stationed in Germany during that time.  I've worked my current job as a Police/Fire/EMS/911 Dispatcher since 1998.  A job that obviously needs to be staffed, even on Christmas Day, but this year will only be the third time that I've worked Christmas Day.  I'll say it again, I've been pretty lucky.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Tonight You Will be Visited by 3 Ghosts...

Well, I have not had near as many blog entries in 2013 as I had the previous couple of years.  I think, having gotten back on Facebook, that I feel I have less updates I can make through this forum.  But this forum was supposed to be more than that, so an early 2014 resolution will be to have at least three blog entries a month in 2014.

Being in to the Christmas season is an interesting time of year.  While it signifies a beginning, a birth or rebirth, in some ways it's also signifies as end, as we prepare to say good-bye to 2013.  We tend to reflect, and yes, I will do some reflection today.

Looking back in 2013, I found it almost humorous to look at my first blog entry for 2013.  I was happy at having met my weight loss goal.  It was a great way to start the year.  The humorous part though was looking at my preparation for my first half marathon of 2013.  I was preparing to go to Myrtle Beach and had set a few goals.  My "ultimate goal" or my "push-it" goal was to finish in 2:11.  The reason that's humorous is that finishing my final half-marathon of 2013 a couple of weeks ago in just over 2:11 was something I found disappointing.  What a difference a year makes.  Now, in my defense, I surpassed that goal of 2:11 early in the year, and that 2:11 in December was my slowest half marathon time all year.  But it makes me feel a little better knowing that it was still faster than any half marathon I ran in 2012.  Also, I remember that any time I've been less than happy with my running, I've been able to point to the factors that caused my disappointment and learn from them.  This was no different, and the mistakes I made are easily correctable.

But now looking back, I saw a questionaire that I filled out the beginning of 2013, and I'm going to do it again now for the end of 2013:

1 - What did you do in 2013/will you do in 2014, that you have never done before?

Well, I think I'd have to say that I stepped outside my comfort zone.  Traveled to some places I've never been before and ran some more "big" races that I haven't run before.  Those things are pretty small in comparison.  And although this is small, I have to mention it here. After all, part of the reason for this blog is for me to log those things that are significant for me, regardless of how significant they may seem to others.  My church has a running group that meets on Wednesday evenings in the Spring, Summer and Fall.  I wanted to get out with them in 2012, but was always a little too nervous to take that step.  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up.  I was afraid that I would slow them down.  I was afraid that they were the kind of runners who took running much more seriously than me.  What I found out was that they looked at running the same way I did, as a way to have fun and stay in shape.  As a way to stay in shape and socialize.  Better yet, they were a great group of people that I'm glad I met and got to know.  I enjoyed being out enjoying running with other people.  I enjoyed the company and the conversation.  Most, if not all the people in that group will probably find it funny that I mention the "conversation", but I really am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone, and I thank them for making me comfortable in that group, and doing it so quickly.

2 - Did you keep your New Years Resolutions and will you make more for 2014?

I made two resolutions for 2013.  One was to run at least 1000 miles.  I surpassed that while running the Columbus Marathon in October.  I should end up with over 1200 miles for the year.  The second was to read at least 12 books this year.  I think I've ready 9 or 10 so far, so if I want to hit it I need to get reading these next couple of weeks.
As for 2014, yes I do think I'll make resolutions.  And I know this may come as a shock, but I have no doubt that running will be part of that.

3 - Did anyone close to you give birth?

In January had two great-nieces born.  Addison and Abby were both born this year, and I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of their first Christmas.  My supervisor also had her first child just a few months ago.

4 - Did anyone close to you die?

I'm a little nervous to answer that question since the year isn't over with.  Not that I'm expecting it to happen in the next couple of weeks, but why tempt fate.  I have had a couple of friends who did deal with deaths in their families this year.  Both were close to the holiday season and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

5 - Which countries did you visit?

Stayed in the United States again in 2013.  There are some trips I'd like to take outside the U.S. in the future, but those are for down the road.  Not expecting to leave the country in 2014 either.  I did take a few trips this year going to Myrtle Beach, Lexington, Philadelphia and Florida to run half-marathons and do some site-seeing.

6 - What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013.

Part of that answer is a little too personal to share in this blog.  Overall I'm in pretty good shape though.  I've got what I need.  I could always use more, but I think I've had a pretty blessed year.

7 - What dates in 2013 will remain etched in your memory?

I don't know that there are any specific dates in 2013 that stand out so much that they would be "etched in my memory".

8 - What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Again, I revert back to a running achievement here.  Breaking the 2:00 mark in the Philadelphia half marathon is something that I have to look at here.  While I point at the time as the achievement, it was more about what I had to do to achieve that time.  The preparation and the commitment.  I could go on and on with what that achievement symbolizes for me.  It was not just about the running or the time, but about so many other things that are too numerous to mention and very personal for me.

9 - What was your biggest failure of the year?

I still tend to get sucked in to the negative from time to time.  I still talk about others at times when I should be focusing on myself.  I think I've done a little better, but as long as it still happens, it's still a failure on my part.

10 - Did you suffer illness or injury this year?

Another question I want to be careful with.  No injuries (as I knock on wood).  I did take a couple of sick days early in 2013, but have done pretty well since then.

11 - What is the best think you bought?

Didn't really buy myself anything special in 2013.  The money I spent was spent on race registration fees and running equipment.

12 - Whose behavior merited celebration?

In 2013 two of my nephews have found themselves deployed as members of the U.S. Air Force.  I applaud their continued commitment to serve.

13 - Where did most of your money go?

Paying the bills, giving to my church and running.

14 - What did you get really really really excited about?

I think I'm more excited this year for the number of races that I'll get to run next year.  I plan to add at least five new states in my "quest for 48".  That, and the travel and site-seeing that come with those races are exciting for me.

15 - What song will always remind you of 2013?

Really?  That's like asking me if I were a tree, what kind of tree would I be?  A Barbara Walters Special I'm not.

16 - Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?

I'm not sadder.  Don't know if I can say that I'm happier really.  I was pretty good this time last year and still have that same general optimism.

17 - What do you wish you'd done more of?

More site-seeing.  Seems strange to say that, but sometimes when I take trips for races I spend so much time dealing with the race and don't give myself time to see the sites around the area and make it a true running VACATION.

18 - What do you wish you'd done less of?

Eating Christmas cookies.  :-)

19 - What's your favorite TV program?

- Big Bang Theory
- Survivor
- Almost Human
- Sleepy Hallow
- The Black List
- Mike & Molly
- Two Broke Girls
- Grimm

20 - What was your favorite film this year?

Nothing really stood out in 2013,  Didn't do a lot of movie-going this year.

21 - What was the best book you read?

I think Sinners & Saints was a pretty good book.  Nice thriller/crime drama.

22 - How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2013?

I think I'd laugh if anyone asked me that question out loud.

23 - What kept you sane?

As has been the answer for a while now...running.

24 - What political issue stirred you the most?

I think probably the "Affordable" Care Act.  Don't want to get to political on here, so I'll leave it at that.

So there's your ghost of 2013 past.

As for the present, we are in what is my favorite time of the year.  The smells around my house bring back a lot of Christmas memories for me.  The smell of a pine tree in the living room, combined with spray snow and rocks baking in the oven remind me of when I was young.  (For those who don't know, "rocks" are a family Christmas cookie.  We did not go out to the garden as kids and get stones and throw them in the oven).  This year I'm going to try my hand at making some home made salami.  I remember coming home on leave when I was in basic training and smelling the salami cooking "low and slow" in the oven.  If Christmas ends with me wanting just a tiny bit more, than I've celebrated the season just right.

For 2014, I'm looking forward to a few different things.  I won a free membership to the Run Fitness running club for next year.  This will be an opportunity for me to meet even more runners, run with others who "run like me" and meet others who have that common interest but share varied stories about, not only their running, but who they are as individuals.  Getting back together with the WCUCC running group when those runs start again in the spring.  A great group of people that made me happy I took that step and joined the group.  The continuing changes at work, as we take on dispatching for a new customer early in the year and welcome some more new dispatchers to our group at work.  The many races that I will be participating in during 2014 that will stretch all the way from the east coast to the west coast and add at least five more states to my quest.

Remembering My Time

A friend of mine, an old Army buddy, was posting some pictures today on Facebook.  He had a good career in the Army and is now a retired First Sgt.  More about him later.  But as I was looking through his old photos, it made me start thinking about my time in the Army.

I enlisted in the Army on November 19, 1984, which was three days before Thanksgiving. At that time you could enlist for either 2, 3 or 4 years.  I chose to enlist for three.  I left for basic training a week later and arrived at Ft. McClellan, AL late on November 26.  After a few days at the reception center I was bused out to my basic training unit, E Co., 11th Military Police Bn.  That was, without a doubt, the most stressful day I spent in the Army.  Beyond that, basic training was not a mentally difficult as I had expected it to be.  Sure I got yelled out, sure I did a LOT of push-ups, but it was training...what kind of training?  ARMY TRAINING SIR!

One problem I had when I was in basic training was being able to do enough push-ups to pass the PT test.  Because of that, I actually got "re-started", which means that I was sent back in to a different basic training company that was about five weeks behind the company I started in.  Fortunately that was enough to get me through the PT test.

After finishing up basic training and military police school I went another school.  The Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA.  This was a Dept. of Defense school where all branches of the military sent people to learn foreign languages.  I spent about nine months there, eight months of which were spent learning to speak German.  The classes were pretty small and had a combination of services, enlisted, officers and civilians in the class.  I spent my next Thanksgiving in the Army at this school.  Fortunately I had become friends with another MP that was in the school.  Norm Babcock and his wife would have me over for dinner on Sundays to watch football and have a good Italian meal.  They were kind enough to have me spend my Thanksgiving with them in 1985.

In February of 1986 I left that school and made my way to Germany.  There I was stationed in a small town called Hardheim at a remote HAWK anti-aircraft missile site.  Hardheim was in the south-central part of, what was then, West Germany.  While I was Germany I had the good fortune to make another good friend.  At the time he and his family came to Germany, Roger was a Cpl. who worked in Communications.  I said then, and I still maintain, that he was one of the luckiest SOB's in the Army.  He'd make a heck of a politician and a better salesman.  But, I'm indebted to Roger and his family for all they did for me while I was stationed in Germany.  They had me over for dinner at times, invited me along when they would go to Wurzburg to go shopping or site-seeing, taxi'd me to softball games and generally helped me get out of the barracks when I wasn't working.  Germany, was where I spent Thanksgiving of 1986 also.  I spent that Thanksgiving in the northern part of Germany, again with the Babcock family.  That was the weekend I watched Top Gun in a Dutch Movie Theater (AKA School gymnasium).  In Germany is also where I actually did my first marathon.  It was not a run, it was a Volksmarch, but it was marathon distance.  I did this with Roger Lush and Bobby Brown.  SFC Brown would end up rising to the rank of CSM before he retired.  The three of us just decided to try the marathon volksmarch.  No training, which didn't seem like a big deal at the time.  It lets me know what kind of shape I was in, because even walking 26 miles can be tough on a body if you're not in shape.  And Roger and Bobby must have been in even better shape, because they did the 26 miles on very little sleep and, I suspect, more than their share of adult beverages the night before.  Yet, after all that, it was not them who almost passed out at the end of walk, but me.

Although I only mentioned a couple of people in this entry, I made a lot of friends during my three years in the Army.  Thanks to Facebook I have been able to connect with some of them, others I have not been able to keep in touch with.  I do keep in fairly close touch with the Lush family.  I visit them whenever I get through North Carolina, which is usually a couple of times a year, and again I can take this forum to thank them for hospitality they showed me when I was stationed with them in Germany, and even afterwards when I would visit them in Ft. Knox or their current home.  I also want to take time to thank the Babcocks for the hospitality they showed me during my time stationed with them.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Well, we're getting to it.  The weather has cooled off and for some, the running season is coming to an end.  I've still got one more half marathon to run this year, and may try to throw in some other races between now and the marathon I'm scheduled to run on March 1st in Phoenix.

My goals for 2013 were to run 1000 miles this year and to read 12 books.  I've surpassed the 1000 mile mark.  That came about five miles in to the Columbus Marathon last Sunday.  I figure I'll end up with about 1200 miles, give or take, by the end of this year.

I'm in the process of reading book #9, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.  Yes, you read right, I'm reading The Wizard of Oz.  I enjoyed the book as a child and sometimes going back to something you enjoyed as a child can bring enjoyment, even to us adults.  And since no one wants to play kickball in the street with me, I'm reading The Wizard of Oz.

As for my Columbus Marathon goals, I achieved one of the three I had set.  I did run a personal best time, finishing in 4:43:51.  I think, had I listened to my inner runner, and the running partner who was running with me for the first 15-16 miles, I would have been able to beat goal #2.  But, I started moving a little too fast during the first half of the marathon, and that caught up to me later on.  Sometimes we need those reminders though.  Again, I've been reminded that, in order to finish faster we sometimes have to slow down.  I'll take that lesson with me to the Space Coast Half Marathon in December, and more importantly, to the Phoenix Marathon in March.  As of right now, my goals for Phoenix remain the same as they were for Columbus.

Changes are coming for me at work too.  We've taken on dispatching another fire department, and that has increased our work load.  It's been a little stressful, as any change can be, but I think we've dealt with it well, and the relationship with have with our newest customers is looking to be a good one.  They seem happy with the way we do business and we're enjoying some of the changes we have made.  Change can be stressful, but it doesn't have to be a bad stress.  Changing things up can be a good thing.

In January we will add a new customer to the mix when we start dispatching for the Hilliard Police Dept.  That brings with it some new challenges, one of which involves our staffing requirements.  As our activity here increases, so does our need for more people.  We won't be able to provide the kind of service we're used to providing with our current staff, so in addition to the three people we currently have training, the process to bring on at least four more people has started.

The scheduling will be tight for a while, until we can get some new people on board and trained.  A new person, even one who's done this job before, takes about five months to get trained.  So we're looking at the middle part of next year before we're fully staffed again.

All of that also means that next year's schedule will be a little different, and I've decided to go back to third shift, at least for 2014.  Looking at all the changes I knew that I would have to make some sacrifices next year.  The question was, do I sacrifice some of the races I want to run, or do I sacrifice the day time work schedule.  In the end I decided that going to third shift would mean being able to run more races next year, and for me, it's worth it.  Even with the change, there are still some races I want to do that may have to be scrapped until another year.  But I'm hoping, as the year goes on and people get trained and on board, that I'll be able to throw some of those races back in the mix.  We'll see what 2014 brings.

But let's not look ahead too fast.  2013 still has some time left.

It's All Over But the Running

Well, in about 24 hours I plan to be with my Church Running Group celebrating the fact that we finished our 26.2 or 13.1 treks in the Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon.  It's been a fun season running with this group on Wednesday evenings.

Although I had not started 2013 planning on running a full marathon, it has worked out that way.  Of course when it comes to running, very little goes as planned, so I'm gonna roll with it and hope that tomorrow brings an enjoyable experience.

As with most of my races, I'm going in to this with three goals.  My, "I should be able to do this" goal.  My, "It would be great if I can do this" goal.  Then my, "If the stars and planets align, the wind is at my back the entire way and I get lucky, I can do this" goal.

Goal #1 is simply to finish with a personal best time.  Since my best marathon time was back in 2009, and those were both in the 5 hour 30 minute area, I should be able to accomplish that.

Goal #2 is to finish in under 4:30, more than an hour better than my best marathon time.

Goal #3 would be to finish better than 4:20, which would mean maintaining a little better than a 10 minute per mile average throughout the entire race.  Ten minutes isn't a real fast time, but for me to maintain it for 26.2 miles may prove a little difficult.  Of course, if the start and planets align, the wind is at my back for 26.2 miles (no matter what direction I happen to be running at the time) and I have a little luck...well, we'll see.

I want to wish everyone who runs tomorrow luck in their race.  Regardless if you're running 13.1 or 26.2, or start at 26.2 and decide to make that left turn half way through, running that race is no small accomplishment. 

We all run for our own reason(s), and to each individual runner those reasons mean a lot.  I'll have plenty of time tomorrow to think of my reasons, to focus on my run, my form, my hydration needs, the pain in my legs and everything else.  But I'll also have time to think about the reasons others I know are running their race both literally and figuratively, and I want them all to know that, while I'll be thinking a lot about my own race, I'll be thinking about your races too.

Philly Trip

As I was sitting here thinking about my trip to Philadelphia, I thought I'd post about it on my blog.  I had made the decision to fly rather than drive to Philadelphia, and it wasn't long before I realized that was most definitely the right decision.  I flew Southwest Airlines out to Philly and took a cab from the airport to my hotel.  After sitting in the traffic I was really happy that someone else was doing the driving.  

I flew in on Friday afternoon and got settled in my hotel.  I then made a quick trip to the starting area for Sunday's race, just to make sure that I knew where it was, how to get there, and had everything set.

The City of Philadelphia as well as the Competitor's Group were already getting things set up for the race.  In addition to familiarizing myself with the start area, I took in a few sites.  The start and finish for the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half marathon was at the base of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

These were the steps that Sylvester Stallone ran up in the Rocky movies.  Yes, I did see tourists running up the stairs and taking pictures at the top in the "Rocky Pose".  No, I was not one of those tourists.

On Saturday I attended the runner expo.  For the non-runners or newbie runners that may be reading this, the runners expo is where participants go to pick up things like their race bib, timing chip, etc.  But it is also like attending a sale/vendor show at a convention.  Several vendors set up booths and sell their wares.  They also have some speaker and educational sessions at some expos.

I had an opportunity to listen to a Q&A with former men's marathon world record holder Khalid Khannouchi. I also attended a session with author and runner John Bingham and had an opportunity to chat with him for a little bit both during and after his session.  I also got some advice from him on how to run my race the next day.  Valuable advice that helped me in exceeding my goals.

The start area for the race was very well organized.  Pretty impressive for a race involving over 15,000 runners.  It wasn't too crowded, but you wouldn't have thought so looking from the outside.  I've been in races with the same number of people, or even fewer, in which the start area was not nearly as organized and was much more crowded.

I finished the race in a personal best 1:57:37.  I was very happy to run a personal best time, but even happier to have finished in under two hours.

After the race I went back to the hotel and relaxed a bit.  The next day I went out and did some siteseeing.  Although the day started a little rainy, I was able to take in some sites.

I went to Independence Hall, originally known at the Pennsylvania State House.

In this room the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Constitution of the United States were debated and signed.  President George Washington presided over the Constitutional debate from that seat.  Interesting information was that the founding fathers were conservatives by today's standards.  They were very strong believers in states' rights and in a limited federal government.

I then went over the check out the Liberty Bell.  I found out something I didn't realize.  The original crack in the Liberty Bell was a very small crack.  The large gap in the bell that we know now was a result of attempts to "fix" the crack and caused more damage.

I then went over to the cemetery to check out the graves of some of our founding fathers, including that of Benjamin Franklin.

Overall, the trip went very well.  I also have to say that Southwest Airlines won my loyalty during this trip.  They treated me like the reason for their jobs instead of like I was there interrupting their jobs.  Something that, unfortunately, can't be said of a couple of other airlines I've flown over this past year.

I came back home, got back to work and continued my training to prepare for the Columbus Marathon.  This past weekend I ran a 20 mile long run and was happy with the results.  Back into another taper now and looking forward to my first full marathon in four years.

Some Changes - Some Challenges

This past week has put me on a different schedule than normal at work.  It forced me to make some adjustments to my running schedule, but nothing I wasn't able to adapt to.  I also am dealing with the taper once again, something I haven't done for a few months.  As I prepare for this week's Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon I will be cutting back on my running, giving my legs a chance to fully recover from two separate 18 mile runs last month.  After my race on Sunday, I have to work to get right back in to my training schedule so that I'm fully prepared to run a full marathon one month later right here in Columbus.

But I've been making some changes and plans for this year and next.  Since changing my registration for my Columbus race in October from the half marathon to the full marathon, I've adjusted my training schedule.  I've also started planning for 2014.  I've already registered for the Phoenix Marathon on March 1 and made my flight and hotel reservations.  Hopefully I don't end up having too big of a wrench thrown in the works there.  I made those reservations on somewhat of a leap of faith as I don't know what my schedule will be like next year, what my days off will be and if I will get approved for the time off.  Those are all things that I won't find out for a couple of months, but I have faith.

In addition to Phoenix, I'm hoping to do at least seven more races in 2014.  Ideally I would like to run the Raleigh Rock 'n' Roll Half and Nashville Rock 'n' Roll Half in April, the Laugh & a Half Marathon in Nebraska in June, the Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half in August, the St. Louis Rock 'n' Roll Half in October, the Big Sur Half Marathon and, of course, the Space Coast Half Marathon in November.  That would be my ideal 2014 race schedule.

With 11 states currently under my belt in my Quest for 48 States, and one more scheduled the end of this month in Iowa, an ideal 2014 race schedule would put me 18 states down and 30 more to go.  Raleigh and the Space Coast would not give me any additional states in my "Quest", but would both provide me with additional medals to add to my collection.

For 2014, I'll have to see how things play out and hope for the best.

Another change was a late change to my travel plans for my trip to Philadelphia.  After looking at the cost of gas and parking in Philadelphia and comparing that to the cost of a flight and cab fare, it turned out that I would be paying nearly exactly the same thing to fly as I would to drive, so plane reservations have been made.  I also added an extra day to my stay in Philadelphia.  Having never visited Philadelphia, and being somewhat of a history buff, I wanted to make sure I had some time to see the city without wearing my legs out the day before the race, and without having to rely on walking around the city the same day that I run a half marathon.  As I posted on Facebook, what good is a destination run if I don't take some time to visit the destination?

I really think everyone should run....

Busy Busy Busy

Well the next few months, as I've said before, are shaping up to be pretty busy, both personally and professionally.

Professionally, our communications center officially begins dispatching for a second fire department on October 1st.  In addition we will start taking the landline 9-1-1 calls for that area so I'm expecting that phones will be staying pretty busy after this month.  We currently have one new dispatcher in training and two others have received conditional offers of employment with hopes that they will be on board and starting their training by early October.  So...in the first week of October the following will be happening:

1 - Three new dispatchers being trained
2 - Dispatching for a second fire dept.
3 - The Presidents Cup Golf Tournament comes to Dublin
4 - Answering 9-1-1 calls for two cities in addition to being a regional wireless 9-1-1 call center.

I also received a summons in the mail to report for jury duty for that week, one of our supervisors will be off work on maternity leave...let's see...is there anything else happening in October????

Personally, I am currently in my taper period leading up to the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon in a little over a week.  Just to throw a wrench in the works, I decided to change my entry for the Columbus Half Marathon in October to the full marathon, so I'm in a period of trying to taper but also build mileage.  That pretty much means that the week after I run Philadelphia, my long run for the week will be a 20 miler.  Nervous you ask....ABSOLUTELY!!

I also realized today that I signed up and got assigned overtime the morning that I should be doing that 20 mile run.  Not a huge problem, as I can do the run the following morning instead, but it made me realize that as I sign up for the overtime that will be coming as a result of all the changes happening at work, I've got to remember to take my training schedule in to account.  This week is a great example of that.  For four out of my five work days this week I'm scheduled in at 2:45am instead of my normal 6:45am.  Since I typically do my training runs before work, I had to make some adjustments on the fly.  Fortunately, making "on the fly" adjustments is a pretty common occurrence, both in my work and in my running, so I'm able to deal with it without too much stress.

One would think that after getting through the Columbus Marathon in October that I'd be able to rest up a bit, but one would be wrong.  I then start preparing for the Space Coast Half Marathon, which will be held in Cocoa Beach, FL on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend.  I have to do some careful planning that weekend in order to make the trip, get my packet for the race, and still be in position to watch the Ohio State - Michigan game.

But then I can relax right?  Nope, I've registered to run the Phoenix Marathon on March 1st.  So, it'll be right back to training when I get back from Florida.

Along with all of this, I've got a trip planned to head out to Nebraska to visit my brother for a weekend.  My sister-in-law has promised me a gourmet meal.  (I remember hearing something about bologna).  That weekend we'll be checking out an auto auction with some vintage/antique cars that have never been driven.  I'm not really a "car guy", but this sounded really interesting.  I've also registered to run a 5K in Iowa while I'm in the area that weekend, knocking another state off my list in my Quest For 48.  (Hey, that's what I'll call it now).

Interestingly enough, with all that's going on these next few months, both professionally and personally, I feel pretty good about all of it.  While it could be stressful, the fact that running plays a big part in all of this is actually the saving grace.  Any stress created by the busy schedule, the changes at work, the extra overtime, or anything else, is alleviated by running.  Running helps to relieve the physical stresses.  The runner's high is a real thing.  The relaxation I get from it is nothing short of amazing.  I'm able to keep things at work in perspective.  Are we going to busy?  Yes, but we've been busy before.  Are we going to be short staffed for a period?  Yes, but we've been shorter staffed than this and made it through just fine.

The more challenges you're faced with, the more opportunities you have to prove to yourself that you can face them, deal with them, and if necessary, beat them.  

Experts

Having spent the last few months back on Facebook I laugh at all the "experts" out there.  Not to say that I won't interject my own opinion plenty and get engaged in some debate and conversation on the issue.  But the biggest laugh I get come from the hypocrites.  I probably spelled that wrong, so I won't make fun of all the people or think loose means lose or to means too...alright, maybe I will.

The most hypocritical thing I see are the so called Facebook Experts.  I don't mean that they're experts about Facebook, I mean that they go on Facebook spouting their beliefs as if it is knowledge.  The best part was a debate I recently watched unfold (and admittedly took part in) in which one person criticized others for "spouting talking points" for their side of the argument, while they spent the entire debate spouting talking points.  When evidence was provided and cited, the other side would spout some more talking points but never provide any specific evidence to back their beliefs or refute the evidence provided by the other side.  Facebook Expert?  Or impersonator?

I once tried to get someone to have a conversation about an issue by giving me the benefits of their side of the issue instead of attacking and insulting the other side.  I'll quote, once again, a man I work with who told me, "If you spend more time putting down or attacking the other side of the argument than you do supporting your side of the argument, then there must be something wrong with your argument."  Expert?  Or impersonator?

As long as I don't take it too seriously, I can have a lot of fun calling out the so called experts.  It's not just Facebook.  They're everywhere.  But Facebook and other social media sites have really brought them out of the woodwork.

For me, I'll give you my argument.  If you can show me where my argument is flawed, I'll admit the flaw.  But I would ask this, don't be so intent on winning the argument that you refuse to listen to the argument. 

Leave the impersonations to the experts.

Reading, Running and 'Rithmatic

I have been a tad bit lacking on getting out the blog entries, but I've noticed that the blogs I follow have also been slow to get updates out, so I don't feel so bad.

After running three half marathons early in the year, all within about 4 to 6 weeks of each other, I have had the last few months off of the long runs.  In order to keep on track with running, and to increase my endurance, I decided to spend the last few months working a full marathon training schedule in preparation for my next half marathon, and to determine if I'd be up to taking on a full marathon anytime soon.  Tomorrow will be the final test in making that determination, as I take on an 18 mile run.  The full schedule would have me running 20 miles in two weeks, but with the Philadelphia Half Marathon coming up in mid-September, I don't want to put in a 20 mile run on this go around.  I'll then have a couple more half marathons in a short period of time, running Columbus in October and the Space Coast Half on Thanksgiving weekend.

I'm planning on making the trip to Phoenix for the March 1st Half Marathon, but may decide to make that my next full marathon, just depending on how I feel after tomorrow.  That would mean a winter training schedule, but I'm ok with that.

I set a goal to run 1000 miles this year.  I'm well ahead of schedule on that goal, having put in 717 miles so far.  Even if I didn't run anymore this month, I would still be 50 miles ahead of schedule to achieve that goal, and with three half marathons to train for by the end of the year, and potentially a full marathon in early 2014, I'm confident that I'll meet my goal.

I haven't read any new books this past month, so I'm still at eight books read out of the twelve I resolved to read this year.  I started to read a new book this past month, but didn't get in to it very far before I decided it just wasn't for me.  It's not that I'm not reading, my issues of Runner's World Magazine give me plenty of interesting reading, but I need to get back to the books.

At work, things are going to be getting pretty busy as the year starts to wind down.  We currently have one new dispatcher in training and just completed an interview process to hire another.  With the planned changes that are coming through the end of this year and early next year, we expect to have to hire at least four more on top of those two.  That will result in fewer opportunities for casual leave, but more opportunities for some overtime, which helps pay for some of my running events and trips.  I'm taking advantage of the time off that I do get and staying away from work during those days in order to make sure that, when I am picking up a lot of overtime, I'm not burning out on work.

On a completely different note, I've found that I really have no clue when it comes to reading people.  Almost every person that I've gotten to know turns out to be completely different than the "first impressions" that I had.  It's humorous really.  People who I thought were honest, turned out to, in some cases, be outright liars.  People who I thought were positive individuals have turned out to be some of the most negative.  The reverse has also shown to be true though.  Maybe that's a way of telling me to just quit trying to figure people out and just "go with it".  Who knows?

I had an opportunity this past month to spend an evening with some of my classmates from high school.  Only a few of us from the Pickerington class of '84 were able to make it out, but it was a fun evening.  That was probably my first realization that I'm ... wait for it...wait for it....getting old.  Yes, I said it.  As we sat around the table contemplating how "this younger generation just doesn't understand" and how they "expect everything to be handed to them" and how "they have no real work ethic", I realized that I'd heard conversations like this before.  They were from those who I once considered to be the "older generation".  But they were in their 40's and 50's when they were saying those things.  Now here I am, 47 years old, and making the same kinds of comments.

So I'll continue to keep a good attitude, while hoping that one day "this younger generation" will figure it out.  Hopefully they'll figure out that anything worth having is worth working for, and nothing is handed to you on a platter.  Change CAN be a good thing.  But sometimes, as my father has said, there are reasons why some things don't change.  Sometimes, things are good the way they are.  Change simply for the sake of change is not always a good thing.  

Rehashing

I started "really" running in 2008.  In 2009 I was asked to write an article for the City of Dublin Employee Newsletter about running and why I run.  I posted that article on my blog a couple of years ago, just after I had gotten back to running, but recently have answered some questions from people about why I run.  So...I thought now might be a good time to post it again.  This time I've made a few revisions, but it'll give you an overview of why it is that I enjoy running so much.  It will also serve as a reminder to me, as I sit here at work with very sore legs after this morning's 16 mile run.

Anyone who knew me in 2006 would have found it difficult to believe that I was a cross country and track runner in high school.  They may have also found it difficult to believe that I spent three years as a military policeman in the Army, where running and strenuous physical activity was an everyday thing.  As a matter of fact, running had been such a dominant part of my life for so many years that I had grown to purely hate the thought of it.  I didn’t just hate the thought it…I hated doing it.  I hated going to cross country practice.  I hated going to track practice.  I hated waking up at 4:00am to run and words “double-time march” were words that I grew to despise.

However, the fact that I hated running is not why those who knew me would have found it difficult to believe that I’d ever done it.  Not that my current physique would bring to mind “runner”, but in March of 2006 I weighed in at a svelt 440 lbs.  With a history of heart disease on both my mother’s and father’s side of my family I was on the fast track to an early grave.  I got winded walking from the justice center parking lot to the communications center, so the thought that I would, or could, run anywhere was unbelievable.

I made a decision then that, if I wanted to live more than ten years, I had to take drastic steps.  Within a year, with the help of diet, exercise and weight loss surgery, I had lost over 200 pounds.  My blood pressure, which was borderline, had become good.  My blood sugar levels, which were close to becoming diabetic, became normal.  My LDL cholesterol level, which was high, had fallen to an acceptable level.

While I can certainly attribute most of my weight loss to the effects of the surgery and the restricted diet, I have to attribute the amount of weight lost and the short amount of time in which I lost it, to the exercise that was promoted by my bariatric surgeon and his staff.  There is no doubt in my mind that maintaining my weight loss during that time can only be attributed to the exercise.

But something happened during all that exercise.  I started to actually enjoy it.  I started to realize when people say that exercise is the best way to deal with stress, that’s not just a line to get people to exercise.  It really is true.  As you can imagine, working in a 9-1-1 communications center can be a stressful environment.  Instead of turning to food to deal with the stress, something I had done in the past without even realizing it, I turned to exercise.  Instead of an order of the house Lo Mein, I would put in a couple of miles on the treadmill.  What was more amazing to me was that I was enjoying my time on the treadmill, I had started to like running and in time would run anywhere from two to six miles on the treadmill each day or every other day. 

Then, in the spring of 2008, some friends encouraged me to register for a four mile run at Alum Creek.  I was leery about running out on the roads.  Afraid of what might happen to my knees, which had spent years supporting my 300-400 plus pound frame. I was also afraid of how I would look, with all those runners.  After all, I wasn’t really a runner.  I was just someone who ran for exercise.  I couldn’t possibly keep up with people who register for these four mile road races and run for the competition.  What I found out though, was that the running community is not like that at all.  People of all abilities come out to run, or walk.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t run the entire four mile course.  I ran about three miles and walked for about a mile, but no one laughed at me, no one ridiculed me.  I wasn’t the only one to slow down and walk part of the course, other runners were doing the same thing.  Another thing that I found was that the running/walking community is very supportive.  As I approached the finish line, those who were there to support other participants and those who had already finished the course cheered me across the finish line.  They didn’t know me, they’d never seen me before, they didn’t know that this was my first race since high school.  All they knew was that I was finishing, and that was all that mattered.  From that point on I was hooked.

Throughout the remainder of 2008 I participated in more than thirty running/walking events.  During that time I found that the City of Dublin has its own running community.  Within the Justice Center there are at least three police officers and a mayors court clerk who have run marathons, and several other employees who run for exercise, recreation or both.  It’s not just the Justice Center either.  Employees from all over the city run or walk.

Then, in 2009, I did something that I would have never thought was possible.  Even when I was running two or three or even four 5K events in a weekend, I would have never thought it possible that I would run a marathon.  People who were in much better shape than I was in ran marathons.  I ran 5K’s.  Competitive runners ran marathons.  I ran 5K’s.  But I read a book and it inspired me.  The book, “Marathoning for Mortals”, was written by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield.  John was someone I identified with.  He was someone who started running to lose weight.  He was someone who didn’t run very fast but had gotten hooked by the running community.  He was also someone who had completed thirty marathons.  After reading the book I decided to give it a shot and registered for the 2009 Myrtle Beach Marathon.  I trained using a 20 week training program in the book, then on February 14 I participated in the Myrtle Beach Marathon.  By mile 16 I was wondering why I had taken on such a challenge.  By mile 20 I swore that I would never do it again.  But I finished.  I crossed the finish line 5 hours 38 minutes and 21 seconds after I started.  I came back home, proud of the finishers medal I had received.  I took a week away from running, then signed up to run seven 5K and 4 mile runs.  Then, remembering my promise to myself that I would NEVER run another marathon, I registered for the Columbus Marathon the following October. 

This is where the story takes a slight detour.  After training for another 20 weeks and running my second marathon in a year, I took a lot of time off running.  I didn't train much at all after that, but ran the 2010 Disney World Half Marathon.  I registered for and completed the 2010 Cap City Half Marathon also.  But again, I did that with absolutely no training to prepare, and my time showed it.  After that I really didn't run much at all for quite a while.  Things in my life had changed, I made excuses and just never took the time to run.  I missed running, but as the time went on it became harder and harder to motivate myself to get out there.  As my running times increased, so did my weight because, while I no longer excercised like a runner, I certainly had no problem continuing to eat like one.

In 2011 I started "sorta" running.  I would get out occassionally, and I did get that joy that I once felt from running.  I started to once again feel the stress relief I had once felt.  So in 2012 I made a commitment to run at least two half marathons.  By the end of the year I had ended up running a total of four half marathons.  This year I've run three more and will be running three more by the end of this year.  I've lost all the weight I regained, and am even maintaining a weight nearly 20 lbs. less than where I was when I ran my two marathons in 2009.  

My third and fourth half marathons this year are far enough apart that I decided to try working a full marathon training schedule in.  The purpose was basically to see if I could, or even wanted to, run another full marathon.  Today's long run was 16 miles long.  I'm happy with how I did, but the decision about running another full marathon is still up in the air.  It may or may not happen, we'll see.  Regardless, in a few weeks I'll begin to taper my training in preparation for the Philadelphia Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in September.  I expect to have a successful race, and have set my "ultimate goal" at running the half in under 2:00.  If I'm unable to do that, then I do hope to at least beat my current best of 2:04:21.

Do you Need to Know...or Want to Know?

Over the last several years I've tried to do some things to reduce my stress level.  Unless you are completely new to this blog, or to me, you know that running is one of those things.  This blog is another one of those things I've done to reduce stress, as it provides me an opportunity to "vent" at times.  A few years back I stepped down from a supervisor position at work in order to reduce stress.  In this "search" for a more relaxed me, I've also become more spiritual (if that's the right word).

I was talking to a co-worker this afternoon and began talking about some of the changes that are about to take place here where I work.  I think the fact that I've been actively working on lowering my stress level will help when it comes to all the changes.  They are changes that I regard as positive.  But positive or negative, changes...especially major changes, create stress, and these are, what I would consider to be major changes.  I made the comment that the next year will be "fun".  The co-worker used the word "entertaining".  Although they may sound the same, they are very different, and I think his term is probably more accurate than mine.  Don't get me wrong, I will have fun over this next year, but some of what is going to happen may not be "fun", but it will most certainly be entertaining.

We spoke some about the changes and what would happen and then spoke of how much we know, or how "in the loop" we were.  That's when it kind of dawned on me that sometimes being in the loop can create more stress than it relieves.  Through the changes that have been coming we've been kept pretty well in the loop here, while others have not been.  In those cases, knowing a little about what was happening helped to keep our stress levels down, while hearing and listening to the possibilities and rumors has undoubtedly contributed to the stress level of others.  It helped me to realize that I don't need to know what I don't need to know.  I feel pretty comfortable knowing that I'll be told what things I need to know at work.  So if I don't know the story on something, I'm confident that I really don't need to know, cuz if I need to know I'll be told, but if I'm not told then I don't need to know.  Ya know?

Basically I realized that not being "in the know" can be one of those things that reduces stress.  More often than not, being in the loop just means that you know a lot about the rumors and half truths that are circulating anyway.  On top of that someone who is "in the know" adds their own spin on things, and that speculation becomes someone else's fact and by the time the story gets through a few people it becomes so distorted those who think they know what happened or what's going to happen have no clue.

Today Was a Good Day

Once or twice I year I teach a class at the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.  The class is called Public Safety Telecommunicator I.  It is basically a "Dispatching 101" course and is geared towards new public safety dispatchers who are starting their careers (although I've had students in the class with as much as 26 years of service as dispatchers).

One of the things we talk about in the class is that you can't take it personally.  People will call and yell at us for any number of reasons.  As human beings, our natural reaction is to become defensive.  It's not my fault your street hasn't been plowed yet.  It's not my fault your electricity is out.  It's not my fault you were arrested for OVI on Friday night and you can't get your car out of impound until Monday when it's already racked up 3 days worth of storage fees by the tow company.  I try to explain to the students that those people are not upset with us as individuals.  They are upset with the police dept. or the city or county or whatever.  They don't know us as individuals.  To them, we are the police dept.  I am not Chris Burkhardt, I am the City of Dublin.  I even have a name tag that proves it.

One thing that I try to remind the students of is that people very rarely ever call the police dept. or fire dept. because they are having a good day.  If they have to make that call, it's usually to let us know that there is something wrong, sometimes tragically wrong.  But if we, as dispatchers, take it personally, it makes our job even more stressful that it already can be.  It can lead to burnout and lead to a very short career.

Today was a little different though.  Today, the first emergency call to come in to the center ended about as positively as a call to 9-1-1 can end.  It started off a little frantic, and while I hope to be able to get this call in the future, I'm glad I'm not the one who got it today.  The call came from a man telling us that his wife was in labor, and this child was in a little bit of a hurry to make her way in to the world.  Ironically, the call was taken by my supervisor, who herself is expecting a little girl in a couple of months.  She stayed on the phone with dad and provided him with the instructions he needed to help mom if the baby did show up prior to the medics.  It was also the first time I saw her make a follow up phone call to the medics to make sure that everything ended up ok.

To make a long story short, medics arrived prior to the child being born, got mom to the hospital where she gave birth to a healthy baby girl within minutes of their arrival.

That's a good day!!

I've had a few calls of my own that stand out.  Ones that I probably won't forget.  The worst call of my career so far was the three year child that drowned in a swimming pool.  The best, the call from a new father.  Not just new, but BRAND new.  You see, his wife actually gave birth in the car while they were on their way to the hospital.  I asked dad if he wanted to pull over and wait for a medic, but he was close enough to the hospital that it actually made more sense for him just to continue to drive on in to the hospital, so while I stayed on the phone and gave him some directions for making sure mom and baby were ok, and radioed ahead to the hospital to let them know what they had headed their way, dad drove his wife and new born child on to the hospital.

They're not all bad calls, and today was a good example of that. 


 

Has it Really Been a Month?

I think this is the longest amount of time I've gone without a blog entry.  On this, the last day of June, I went back and looked at my last blog entry, which was on the first day of June. 

So here we go with the updates, ramblings and what-nots.

First, my 2013 Resolutions.  I had two resolutions for 2013, they were to read twelve books and to log 1000 miles of running.

I read my 8th book this past month.  I read the book "Inferno" by Dan Brown.  This is the fourth in his "Robert Langdon" series, but the first I've read.  Dan Brown wrote the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol.  I've seen the Da Vinci Code movie as well as Angels and Demons, but had not read any of the books until now.  I did enjoy the book and there were a lot of twists and turns in the book.  Just as soon as you had processed one twist, that twist would twist again and then twist yet again.  So...until the end of the book the reader wasn't sure who was playing what part in the drama that unfolded.  It made the book that much more enjoyable. 

As of yesterday I have logged a little more than 550 miles of running this year.  Being 50 miles ahead of schedule at this point on my running goal makes me feel pretty comfortable with my training schedule and with the fact that I can adjust the schedule as needed without being too worried about falling behind. 
I've especially been happy with my running this past week.  Yesterday I completed a 12 mile training run.  That's the longest training run I've done in a few years and, while my legs were pretty sore afterwards, I was able to recover without any issues.  The worst part of that run was when I stepped calf high in to a mud puddle.  I was only 4 miles in to my run at that point, and not quite sure where I was at.  It was about 4:30am when I hit that puddle and I did not see it as I was trying to move from the bike path to the roadway in the middle of an area where there is some road construction in progress. 

What I liked best about finishing that long training run though was the fact that I had done some running just the night before.  Usually I reserve the day before a long run for a rest day, but this was a little different.  The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics was the day before.  It was less than two miles of running, ran at a very slow pace and with several breaks in the action to take pictures with companies who were sponsors for the Special Olympics.  When it ended I ran back to the start line at a little quicker pace, but also a little shorter distance since I wasn't taking the detours in to the parking lots of businesses.  I then ran the Worthington Hills Firecracker Trot 5K run that evening.  This is where I thought I might have burnt my legs for the long run the next day.  I ran the 5K at a personal best time of 24:51.  To some, that may not seem very fast, but for me it was pretty fast, and as I mentioned a personal best.  As a matter of fact, it had beaten my previous best by over a minute.  So after that addition to my running schedule to the week I had decided that I would "play it by ear" (or by leg) and, if I made it 10 miles and decided to stop, I'd be ok.  So I was really happy to get through the entire 12 mile run.

This week my "long run" is shortened to only 7 miles.  I do chuckle as I type that.  To think that I now consider 7 miles a bit of a break lets me know how far I've come since I started running again.  It will be a much needed break though, coming at a perfect time.  This week will be a 59 hour work week for me.  It would have been more, but I did manage to take a vacation day this week.  There have been some changes happening and about to happen at work which has been opening up some overtime opportunities, and with the trips I've currently got planned for this year and next, I want to take advantage of those as much as I can without burning myself out.

Other things going on....last week I had the joy of meeting one of my great-nieces.  Addison Marie Burkhardt was born last January.  Her father was deployed with the Air Force shortly after she was born and returned home this month.  So last weekend we got together at my parents' place so that they could meet their great-granddaughter and I could meet my great-niece.  I have to say, she's a real cutie and no doubt has her great-grandparents wrapped around her little finger already.  (And let's face it...her great-uncle too).  I've got two other great-nieces in Minnesota who I have yet to meet.  Hopefully their parents will get down to Ohio sometime soon so the girls can meet their great-parents, aunts and uncles.

Another nephew, Ryan, is currently deployed to Jordan with the Air Force.  Praying that he is staying safe and will be home soon.  I believe he was originally scheduled to come home in the next couple of weeks, but not sure if that could change depending one what the military has his unit doing.

As I met Addison last week it made me think back.  In November of 1985 I was in the Army, stationed in Monterey, CA at the Defense Language Institute - Foreign Language Center.  At about 3am I got a knock on my barraks room door from the CQ telling me I had a phone call.  I went to the phone, picked it up and said, "Is it a boy or a girl?".  My brother laughed and asked how I even knew what the call was about.  I let him know that if he was calling and waking me up at 3am on a holiday morning that it had better be to let me know that his wife had had their baby.  Christopher Michael was the first of the next generation of Burkhardts.  Shawn followed a couple of years later.  After that came John, his brother Ryan and his other brother Ryan, then Alex, next were Kylie and Bailie and finally Jessica.

Christopher had his first child and the first of the next generation of Burkhardts three years ago.  Liberty was followed by John's daughter Addison and then Chris' second daughter Abbigail Lanett.

I say all this to lead in to this.  Recently I noticed a post on social network from one of my nieces.  She seemed to upset about something and I posted some advice.  The advice was to go with her gut, go with her heart, and realize that a lot of times the right decision is not necessarily the easy decision.  That advice seemed to upset someone else and my response was this..."I'm concerned about only one person in this situation, whatever it is, and that is"...my niece.  Although I may not always agree with them, they are my family.  I care about them and I care about what happens to them.  I want all of my nieces and nephews to know that I will always be there for them if they need help.  I will always do what I can to help them, whether that is to give them advice or to give them a needed kick in the rear, or just be someone to talk to.  Please don't ever think any different.

And now for something completely different....

Who Are We?

If there is one thing I know (and some would tell you that there is) it is this...if you're not happy with who you are, no one else is going to be all that impressed by you either.  If you feel like you have to constantly get recognition for who you are, then the recognition you do get will not be true recognition of who you are so much as it will be recognition of the fact that you want recognition.

I read an article several years ago that talked about the different kind of status messages that people put on facebook or other social media websites.  I can't recall all the names the article gave the different types of messages, but one of them had something to do with baiting.  Putting a status message just vague enough so that others would question its meaning.  At that point the door would then be opened to brag about who you are or what you accomplished, and if called on the fact that you were bragging you can always say, "I'm not bragging, I'm just responding honestly to the question that was asked."

This type of thing is usually born out of some insecurity with yourself, and I'll admit that I've done this.  Not so much on facebook (at least not that I can recall) but in life.  I've been called on it a few times too.

I recently got back on facebook.  While the drama is still very much there, I got back on more to try and keep up with what is going on.  Unfortunately I was missing out on a lot of what was going on with members of my family who I don't hear from often because I was not seeing things on facebook.  Two of my nephews recently celebrated the births of daughters, and not being on facebook, I didn't have the opportunity to see pictures or know much about what was going on.  Two of my nephews were recently deployed with the military, and again, because I was not on facebook, I wasn't aware of it.  But I also noticed some who not only made sure to let you know what makes them so great, but who also portray themselves as being someone that they are not.  If you like to talk about who you are and things that you do, great...that's why I do this blog, it lets me talk about those things and if those who read are interested, great.  If they are not interested, that's ok too.  I like to talk about things I do, especially my running.  I can honestly say that I don't do it to brag, but because it is something that brings me real happiness and I like to share that part of my life with people.

But my main point with all this rambling is, I don't need to impress anyone and no one needs to impress me.  There will be those who impress me, but they will do it by just simply being themselves.  If someone is trying to impress me I'm rarely impressed.  Impress me by being a good person.  Be a John Kreuz who, while kind of quirky and who tells some of the worst jokes I've heard, is always helpful and is always trying to help someone out with whatever they need.  Be a Tammie Carroll, who has raised two kids to be good students and have respect for those around them.  Neither one of these people are perfect, but they're not out to impress anyone either.  They are who they are.  They don't try to be someone or something they are not.  Saying it enough times does not make it so.  It's your actions that dictate who you are, not your words.  Those who are truly impressive are the ones who are not trying to impress anyone.

A Wrench in the Works...OR...Runners Collect Things

I didn't really think about it a lot until today.  But runners like to collect things. 

- We collect t-shirts (my dresser drawers were filled and closet shelves overflowing with race t-shirts for the first couple of years that I ran).

- We collect finisher's medals.  (I've got 10 half marathon, 2 marathon and a bunch of 5K, 4 Miler and 5 Miler medals).

- We collect racing bibs.  That's right, the piece of paper that you pin to the front of your shirt in a race that identifies you by number.  There are even binders runners can purchase with the clips at just the right width to allow you to put the bib in the binder without punching extra holes in it or worrying about tearing it.

- We collect states.  Most of you who read this know that I've set of goal of running a race in all 48 contiguous United States (and if I can get Alaska and Hawaii in there along the way, all the better). 

It's this last "collection" that I've started to focus on more recently.  So far I have run races in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Nevada.  So, ten states down, thirty-eight to go.  I had hoped that I might even be able to squeeze California in this year with the Big Sur Half Marathon in November.

So my plan was this, if I can get at least four out of state races in each year, I should collect all the states in no more than 10 years.  Not too bad.  In order to do that I had decided that after this year I would limit my out of state races only to states where I had yet to race (and maybe the Tunnel to Towers Run in NYC) so that I wasn't spending too much money traveling to run in states that weren't moving me closer to my goal (adding to my "collection").

Then, as I was looking through my latest edition of Runners World Magazine, I saw this...

An opportunity to "collect" things.  Not a bad idea.  A pretty smart one actually.  I remember when I was in the army and stationed in Germany I used to participate in something called a Volksmarch.  People from all over would come to a town, pay a small fee and go take a walk.  Usually the walks were 5 or 10 kilometers.  At the end of the walk we would get some souvenier.  Something to...you guessed it....collect.  Many of the towns had figured out that if they made the souveniers relevant to previous years then people would return to their town the following year to complete the collection.  One town did "half" of a medal, so in order to get the other half and complete the collection, one had to come back to that town the following year and participate in their Volksmarch.  One town gave away plates each year.  In 1987 they started a series.  Each plate would feature one of the 50 states of the United States.  That meant, that in order to complete the entire collection one would have to return and participate in that town's Volksmarch for fifty years.

Now the Space Coast Marathon has figured out the same thing.  Starting this year, and for the following four years, their medal will feature different space shuttles.  In addition, if one runs three out of the five years they receive an additional medal.  All five years get yet another medal.  So, in order to collect the entire seven-medal series, one would have to commit to running the Space Coast Marathon or Half Marathon through 2017. 

So there's the wrench...I've already run in Florida and this means making Florida one of my out of state running destinations this year and for four more years afterwards.  That wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't interested in this particular collection...but let's get serious, I'm blogging about it right?  I'm interested.  Not only am I interested, but I want it.  I want to collect this particular series of medals.  not only for the unique collection, but because the space shuttle program is such a part of our history.

I can remember as a child taking our first real family vacation to Florida.  We piled in the Chevy Malibu and headed south.  We went to the Kennedy Space Center and saw the people from NASA talking about what was, at that time, the "next step" in space exploration.  Something called the Space Shuttle.  This was a cross between a rocket and and an airplane.  This particular space vehicle would have reusable fuel tanks that would fall of the rocket and parachute to the ocean.  They would then be retrieved to be used again.  The shuttle, instead of falling in to the ocean, would become like an airplane when it returned and the pilot would land it on a runway.  It was all so futuristic then.

I remember the first test flight.  They put the space shuttle on top of a 747 airplane then let it go so that the pilot could see if they would be able to land it on a runway.

I remember being in class at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA when one of the instructors came in and told our instructor that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded.  He was speaking German when he said it, and I thought to myself that I surely had misunderstood.  Unfortunately, I had understood perfectly.

I remember a few years later stopping by my dad's office to have lunch with him and watching as the Space Shuttle program got back in to space for the first time since that explosion.

So, if I can make this work it looks like it may take an extra year or two for me collect all of the states.  But that's ok.  My plan is to be running for many more years than that, so why put a time limit on it? 

10 Down

I completed my 10th half marathon yesterday at Cap City.  Had some rough spots along the way, started off too fast (classic mistake), but finished with a really good time.  Although I didn't hit a personal best time (2:04:26) I wasn't far off, finishing in 2:04:46.

Cap City is a pretty organized event, with over 8,000 people running the half marathon and several thousand more running the quarter marathon and 5K runs, they pretty much have to be.  But they seem to be better organized with more room than even the Columbus Marathon, which has been around longer.

I was able to upgrade from my original corrall assignment of corrall E to corrall D.  They planned it out to have a couple thousand runners in each corrall.  Those that aren't familiar with running events this big, the corrall starts are meant to start people based on the time they expect to run.  By starting races this way there is less chance of faster runners getting stuck behind slower runners or slower runners and walkers getting run over by faster runners.  It also helps to keep the field a little more spread out right from the start and allows the runners to settle in to their pace early.

The running community was affected a great deal by the bombing at the finish area of a Boston Marathon a few weeks ago.  At the front of each corral there was an American flag flanked by a City of Boston flag.  The festivities of the day started with the National Anthem and a moment of silence for the victims of the bombing in Boston.

This was the 10th year for the Cap City Half Marathon, and the finishers' medal reflected their anniversary.  With ten Half Marathon and two marathon finisher medals, I've run out of room on my display shelf, so I'm going to have to figure out a different way to display my running medals.  I've got several other medals from 5K's and other runs that I've done, but I only display the half marathon and marathon medals.

Now it's time to start getting ready for Philadelphia.  The Philadelphia Half Marathon isn't until Sept. 15.  Starting May 6 I will start my training schedule.  It's a training schedule for a full marathon.  This training cycle will let me know if I think I'm ready to try and run a full marathon in 2014.  I'll be ok if I never run a full marathon again, but if I can get myself to that level I will try it at least one more time.