It Lived Up to the Hype

Late last year I saw an ad on Facebook.  The ad was to enter the lottery to gain entry in to the New York City Marathon.  I had already decided at that time that I would probably not run another marathon.  Half Marathons provide a challenge, they're strenuous, but I enjoy them.  At that point I had three marathons, none of which I can say I enjoyed.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm glad that I ran them, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment.  But in every single one that I ran this thought entered my mind...."What was I thinking?"  So last year, when I entered the lottery for the New York Marathon, I was thinking that the odds of getting in were pretty slim.  (And they are...less than 1 in 4 get chosen).  But this is one of those marathons that everyone who runs wants to run.  It's one of the big ones.  For me, it's one of the two major marathons in the world.  There's Boston, and there's New York.

In February or March I had figured that the drawing had already happened.  Having not heard anything, I assumed that I was one of the 75% who didn't make it in.  Then it happened.  A notice on my phone that my credit card had been charged.  I was at work at the time, so I immediately thought someone was trying to make a fraudulent charge on my card.  Then I saw who had charged my card...none other than the New York Road Runners Club.  Later that day I got the official email letting me know that I'd been selected to run.

Not a day has gone by since then that I didn't think about what it would be like to run that race.  I've watched this race on TV in past.  Friends who have run this race have told me how great it is.  Now I was actually going to run one of the top marathons in the world.  I would be crossing the bridges with professional athletes, running the five boroughs, entering Central Park, making that turn, and heading for the finish line that I had seen on ESPN on more than a few occasions.

At that point, things started to work out pretty well for me.  In my line of work, trying to schedule time off so far in advance is not necessarily an easy thing.  I went ahead and submitted the requests, but knew it would be September or October before I knew for sure if those requests could be approved.  But as it turned it out, luck was on my side.  Throughout the new couple of months, several of my co-workers were looking to get time off themselves.  So I was able to work out some trades.  Those trades made it possible for me to take the entire week of the marathon off, and an additional day off to recover the following week.  All without having to use any of leave time.

I traveled to New York with my best friend.  On the way there we stopped by the Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania.  It was a moving experience and one I won't soon forget.  We made it to our destination in time to stop and grab dinner while watching game #7 of the World Series.  We had planned to go over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island the next morning, but with the long drive and late end to the game, decided just to sleep in.  Our first day in New York we headed to Times Square and Rockefeller Center.  We went to the Top of the Rock, which I would recommend over the Empire State Building.  The view of fantastic, the wait is not nearly as long, and from the Top of the Rock, you get a great view of The Empire State Building, which you don't get from the top of the Empire State Building.  We then headed over to the convention center for the runner's expo.  Thursday evening we got back in to the city for The Lion King.  I had managed to get front row tickets, right on the aisle.  The show was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone going to New York.

On Friday we headed downtown and started our day at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  We took a guided tour of the Memorial - well worth it.  To hear the stories of the memorial and the stories of some of the people who died in the terrorist attacks in both 2001 and 1993 at the World Trade Center was very touching and humbling.  One fact, if you ever make it there.  A white rose inserted in to the name of a victim around one of the two reflecting pools, means that person would have been celebrating a birthday on that day.  There are white roses on those walls all 365 days of the year.  We then went in to the museum.  As big as the museum is, it is very crowded.  One could spend hours in that building and still not see everything.  As we watched school children on tours in the museum, we both remarked about how even the high school kids there are too young to remember the events that seem like yesterday to some of us.

Friday evening we took a boat tour around Manhattan to see the City lit up at night.  A-MAZ-ING!  New York is such a beautiful City at night.  The boat also swung very close to the Statue of Liberty.  Being that close to the statue, with it lit up like it was, made up for missing it the day before.

Saturday was a rest day, and Carey flew back to Ohio.  On Sunday morning I woke up early to catch the bus for the starting area of the marathon.  Even though my corral didn't start until 11:00am, I had to catch the shuttle at 5:00am.  By 6:00am I was at the start area, found a tree to lean against and napped as best I could.  Fortunately, friends who have run the race before let me know what to expect, so I was prepared.  I had some light snacks, dressed in warm clothes that I could shed prior to the race and was prepared to be in the starting village for a few hours.

The start area was very organized, especially considering the fact that they had 50,000 runners to get through. But the time finally came when the cannon fired and I was on the course.  Starting in Staten Island, runners immediately cross the Verazono Narrows bridge in to Brooklyn.  The view of Manhattan from the bridge is awe inspiring.  Then you hit Brooklyn.  More than half of the race is in Brooklyn, and for the entire stretch the streets are lined with people cheering the runners .  The Police Officers from the NYPD and FDNY firefighters are in to it as well.  We then crossed in to Queens, and the crowds there were just as awesome.  We were only in Queens for a couple of miles, but one sign I saw a spectator holding made me laugh "Welcome to Queens. Get Out".  After crossing the Queens Borough bridge in to Manhattan, we headed north in to the Bronx.  Although we were only in the Bronx for about a mile and a half, this year, running there held a little extra meaning.  Just a couple of days before the marathon an NYPD officer working in the Bronx was shot and killed by a domestic violence suspect.  Another officer was also shot in that incident.  But the crowds were still there cheering.  The officers were still there doing their jobs, as well as cheering on the runners.  This was the spot in the race where I literally slipped on a banana peel that was on the road.  I didn't fall down, but the irony made me laugh.  We then crossed back in to Manhattan for the final part of the race, movin' on up, through the east side.  Again, the crowd support never ended.  It was amazing.  I was near the back of the final group of runners, and still people were lining the streets.  The second coolest part of the race though, was running through Central Park.  At this point, you know you're almost done.  But this is the point I recognized most from watching this race on TV.  Especially  the last few turns.  I had never been on this course before, but I had seen it.  Crowds were still there, hours after the pros had finished, there were still crowds cheering and giving high fives to the runners.

I've always told people that the crowd support in Columbus is the best I've seen.  That's no longer the case.  New Yorkers come out for the race.  New Yorkers stay out for the race.  It was well worth it!  I'll never run another marathon again.....maybe.

States 29 & 30

As I have said far too often in my last few blogs...It's been a while.

I just returned home earlier today from a long weekend and a couple of more runs.  Those who have followed my blog, or have listened to me ramble on about running, know that I have a goal of running a race in all 50 states.

This past weekend I set out for Hartford, CT.  This was my first trip to any of the New England States and was set to be State #29 and my 5th new state for 2016.

I really thought that a highlight of this trip would be the fall foliage in CT.  As the plane came in on the approach to Hartford I noticed two things.  One thing I noticed was that there was a lot of trees...I mean A LOT of trees.  But I also noticed that most of those trees were still covered in green leaves.  Very few had even started to change color.  I noticed the same on my drive from the airport in to Hartford on Thursday morning.

I got in to Hartford early enough to get to the runners expo just as it was opening.  I got my bib, my t-shirt and all the other race day SWAG and checked out some of the booths.  Afterwards I walked a little bit around downtown Hartford, then headed over to the hotel.

On Friday I took advantage of the weather and did a bit of site-seeing.  Being a bit of a fan of American History, visiting the homes of Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain) and Harriet Beecher Stowe was interesting.  I made it out to the Connecticut Fire Academy and the New England Air Museum as well.

I was a little nervous for the race on Saturday.  The fact that I'd spent the day before a half marathon on my feet walking around so much, as well as the fact that I ate like crap on Friday, had me wondering how I'd do running 13.1 miles on Saturday morning.  However, maybe I've found the secret to a good run....the race went fine, better than I expected for sure.  No matter where I ran in Hartford, the people were out cheering on the runners.  Weather it was a firehouse, a resident, or even a Valvoline Instant Oil Change, everyone came out.  Having that kind of crowd support always makes the runs more fun.

Prior to running on Saturday I met Jackie.  Jackie was from MA and, like me, had set a goal of running a race in all 50 states.  UNLIKE me, she plans to run a marathon in all 50 states.  As we talked over breakfast about the race she jokingly mentioned that there was a Half Marathon in Rhode Island on Sunday, only an hour or so away.  Well, after the race on Saturday I did a quick Google search and did find a 5K race the next day in Providence.  So...I registered.  On Sunday morning I woke up and drove the 90 minutes to Providence and ran in a very wet, rainy 5K race.  The course was very nice, circling a park and zoo.  Had it not been raining the whole time, I'm sure it would have been nicer.

But even better than adding an unexpected new state to my list, was the drive back to Hartford.  I drove back through a lot of wooded state roads.  There I was able to admire all that fall foliage I had been hoping to see all weekend.  That is the most enjoyable part, for me, of running in the fall.  Seeing the trees change to the reds, oranges and yellows.  It's like running routes I've run hundreds of times, but never run before in my life.

So now I'm back in Columbus.  Tomorrow I head back to work.  This week I prepare for my longest run of the year as I tackle the 26.2 miles around Columbus on Sunday.  All of this to prepare for the ultimate 2016 race.  The New York Marathon in November!!

Sad Week

It's been quite a while since I posted to this blog.  But I had some things I wanted to get off my chest and this was the best way I felt I could do that.  Anyone who knows me can probably tell by the title what this blog post is about, and if it is going to bother you to read about it, please don't.

A little over 18 years ago I was hired on as a communications technician (aka dispatcher) with the city of Dublin, Ohio.  (A few years ago we became the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center)  It didn't take me very long to realize that this was a career I was going to love, but also a career that would come with a lot of stress.

I think anyone in my profession who truly knows the job knows that our number one goal whenever we come in to work is to see to it that the men and women who are put in our care...the men and women who go out every day and risk their lives to keep the rest of us safe...go home to their families safely at the end of their shift.  We accomplished that goal every day that I came to work, and even on my days off, for over 18 years.

Sadly, on May 19, the day turned out differently.  We didn't meet our goal.  One of our guys, Officer Sean Johnson #637 of the Hilliard Police Dept. did not go home to his family that evening.  It was an accident that took our officer's life that day.  No one is to blame.  But that doesn't make the loss any easier.  I've known departments and people who have dealt with Line of Duty Deaths, and like many things in life, there was part of me that was thankful it wasn't one of our guys.  But this time it was.

Beginning very early in the process I began seeing many different reactions in myself and from the people around me.  Some of those reactions gave me a deeper respect for people I work with, as I watched how they stepped up and did what needed to be done to start dealing with something we knew would be difficult.  Some of those reactions surprised me, while other reactions were what I would have expected.

Another role that I have in the public safety arena is as a member of the Mid-Ohio Critical Incident Stress Management team.  When asked, we work with agencies whose responders, dispatchers, and employees have had to deal with a critical incident.  As a member of this team, I was asked to respond to help out.  This was a little unique, as I was responding to help people deal with a critical incident in which I was also part of.  But there were a lot of unique factors in this situation, and responding as a member of this team was the way I felt I could help best.  To anyone of my HPD or NRECC family who may read this...I hope that my presence there helped, or at the very least, has not hurt your ability to move through this incident.

When our people have experienced a critical incident, one of the things we tell them might help to work through it is to write down their thoughts.  Journal (or blog).  And that's part of why I'm posting this.  But a bigger reason for posting this is to thank some of those people who did step up over this past week.  I won't name any names, but I think if you see this you will know who I'm talking about.

At many departments, each year, the officers fill out a form that outlines their wishes should they ever be injured or killed.  One of the questions on the form asks if there is a specific person on the department that they want making the notification to family.  In this case their was.  Sean had asked for one of his friends and fellow officers to make that notification.  That officer became the person responsible for being with Sean's family throughout this time.  One of my co-workers and fellow dispatchers, in turn, spent a lot of time handling the household chores for that officer, so he could be with Sean's family.

Other dispatchers covered extra time in the communications center so that those who wanted to attend calling hours or the funeral could attend.

Others covered extra time in the communications center so that I could be out of the communications center working with the Mid-Ohio CISM team.

Others worked went to the Hilliard Police Dept. to cover for their Records Dept. staff, allowing them the time they needed to grieve, attend calling hours and the funeral.

Others covered extra time in the communications center so that those shifts in the Records Dept. could be covered.

Many did this without complaint.  Some made it a point to let the supervisors know they were available for extra coverage.

One of my fellow dispatchers and friend became my sounding board.  The person I was able to vent to when I needed.  She spent one particular morning getting her phone blown up with my "venting".

I'm told that five other dispatch centers also offered to help cover for us during this time, and to those agencies I also say thank you!

For everyone, please know that there has been a fund set up to help out the family of officer Johnson. If you can contribute, even a little, please do.

To all of my HPD and NRECC family, the grieving doesn't necessarily stop when the funeral is over.  We know this.  It will take some time to find our new normal.  But we will.  We will learn from this tragedy.  We will go to bed every night praying we never have to deal with it again. We will honor Sean and his life and his impact on those around him.

Long Overdue - Birmingham Bust - Awesome Atlanta

It's been quite some time since I last posted a blog entry, and really quite a bit has happened over the last few months.

Start with my house:

Late last summer, while mowing, I noticed some shingle fragments laying on the ground behind my house. I took a couple of steps back and noticed that several shingles had come off the edge of the roof.  I was able to get a recommendation from my nephew's girlfriend for a reputable roofing company and started work on getting some repairs done.  Not only did I have the damage to the roof, but they also found damage to the siding.  The entire story of the repairs is probably one most of you have already heard in person, but bottom line is that, after some time I was able to get my entire roof, including the decking, replaced, as well as all of the siding on my house.  While I was at it, I was able to get the roofing company to remove the old, non-working, insert AC unit from the side of the house and patch the hole that it filled, and also put new porch lights and mailbox on the house for me.  I am so much happier with the way my house looks now (at least on the outside).

In February I was scheduled to run the Mercedes Benz Birmingham Half Marathon.  That would also be the race where I would meet my IRUN4 buddy for the first time.  Unfortunately, I woke up to a lot of snow in Columbus, which led to my flight being cancelled and having to scrap the weekend.  While there was some disappointment in missing out on the weekend, and an out of state race, it ended up working out for the best.  I did lose some money on the hotel room (because I cancelled with less than 72 hours notice) and on the race registration, Brett's mom ended up not feeling great and some illness went through the family that weekend, so travelling for them would not have been a great experience.  One other thing I learned from that experience was to stick with the Hilton brand of hotels.  I had decided to get a room at one of the "host" hotels for the Birmingham race.  Now I understood when I reserved the room that there was a 72 hour requirement to cancel the reservation without losing the cost of the hotel room for the evening.  However, when I called to cancel I was told by Sheraton that "some of the Sheraton properties were giving an exception to the 72 hour rule due to the weather conditions around the country cancelling travel."  Apparently the Sheraton property where I was planning to stay was NOT one of those properties, so I lost the cost of the hotel room for the night.  Again, I knew that going in, but I've found that Hilton is much more considerate of "special circumstances" and doing what they can to keep their customers happy (more on that later).  Over the past year I have traveled quite a bit, mostly staying at Hilton brand properties.  In one case I stayed at a  Marriott property.  While that hotel (Fairfield Inn) was fine, the employees were not what I would consider "friendly".  The other non-Hilton situation was the Sheraton in Birmingham.  Lesson learned....stick with what works.

In March I did get the opportunity to meet my IRUN4 buddy Brett and his family.  I traveled to Atlanta for the Publix Georgia Half Marathon.  I had heard some scary things about the traffic in Atlanta and was honestly a little bit concerned.  I considered cancelling my rental car and using my feet and a taxi for anything I did while in Atlanta, and maybe only renting a car one day.  I was glad I decided to go ahead and keep the rental though.  Fortunately I did not experience many problems with the traffic.  I always happened to be travelling in the right direction at the right time of the day to avoid heavy traffic.

I arrived in Atlanta on a Wednesday evening.  If you've never traveled to Atlanta, let me tell you something...the airport is huge!  Nice long walk from the gate to baggage claim.  And because I walked instead of taking the train across, I almost had a luggage issue.  My bag was the last on the belt when I arrived and was being removed by an employee as I walked up.  Fortunately I saw him grabbing my bag and was able to get it before it went to a "lost luggage" office somewhere.  I got to the rental car area with no problem, and thanks to "self-service kiosks" was able to by-pass standing and waiting in line while rental car employees did sold customers on extra insurance and GPS units on their cars.

Traffic from the airport to the hotel was light and I made it there with minimal issues.  When I arrived at the hotel I was surprised to find that, despite using the early bird check-in on line, there was not a room available for me at the Embassy Suites.  However, they had made arrangements for me to stay at the hotel across the street for the first evening.  In exchange for the inconvenience, Embassy Suites paid for my hotel room the first night and my breakfast the following morning.  The next day I went back to Embassy Suites to try and check in early.  They informed me that my room was not ready yet, but I could leave my luggage and it would be in my room when I returned.  More on that later.

I headed out to Douglasville where I finally met the Smith family.  Brett showed me his lego village that was set up in his bedroom.  Emma showed me her Elsa dress.  We all played a game of Yahtzee.  Then we went bowling.  I haven't bowled in a long time and I will say this.....I SUCK at bowling.  But we had a good time.  After bowling the Smith's took me out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.  Most of had a good dinner, although Emma's home health care person must have gotten some bad chicken wings, because she apparently woke up sick later that evening.  We had a nice evening though, and by the time we finished dinner, all of the traffic was now trying to get out of Atlanta, while I was driving back in to Atlanta.

When I returned to my hotel I was informed that my room had been upgraded to make up for the inconvenience of not having a room that first night.  I went from Embassy's basic two room suite to the "King Executive Suite".  Although my luggage was not in my room when I got there, it was delivered shortly after my arrival, along with a large plate of fresh fruit and a note from the manager apologizing for the inconvenience the first night.  Also in the envelope was a $25 voucher for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  As I posted on Facebook....THIS is why I remain a loyal Hilton customer.  I didn't fuss, I didn't yell, I didn't complain, when the issue happened.  I wonder now if maybe that had something to do with the nice treatment.  Is it possible that the manager who checked me in was so relieved that I took the issue in stride and even joked with her, that she did more to make up for the issue than she would have?  Or did she do the same she would have done with any other guest in the same circumstances?  Or would she have done even more had a caused a fuss?  I don't know, but what I do know is that my stay was more pleasant than it would have been otherwise, and complaining about a situation that I really couldn't have changed, would have started my trip out on the wrong foot.

On Friday I was able to find my way to the race expo.  It was pretty much the same as most other race expos I've been to.  It didn't take me too long to pick up my race packet and check out some of the vendors.  I was able to pick up a couple quick items that I would need for race day, then I headed back out to Douglasville to the Smith family home again.

This evening they took me out to dinner again.  Because Brett and I both like crab legs, we did a seafood restaurant.  A place called the Marietta Fish Market.  We kind of lucked out pulling in to a packed parking lot on Friday evening, to find two empty parking spots right near the front.  We expected a wait...probably a lengthy one, which told me this place must be pretty good.  Well, again we got lucky, maybe due to the size of our party, but a table opened up fairly quickly.  Again, a very good dinner!!  And once again, I headed back in to Atlanta at a time when most people were heading out of Atlanta.

On Saturday we all met at the Atlanta Zoo.  It was one of first really nice weekends in Atlanta, so the zoo was pretty busy.  It seemed like Emma was enjoying things a little less at the zoo, maybe more because it was difficult for her to see some of the animals while she was in her wheelchair and a lot of kids would move in front of her and block her view.  But, I also found that Emma and her mom are frequent visitors to the zoo in Atlanta and to the zoo website, so they keep up on the animals in the zoo, the babies that have been born, and I could see that Emma got more excited when she was able to see some of the animals that she'd been hearing about from the website.

After the zoo we made our way to lunch at Johnny Rockets.  Any time I've been to a Johnny Rockets they are usually pretty busy, and rightfully so.  A 50's style hamburger joint that serves up good burgers and root beer floats!  After lunch we headed over the World of Coke.  A whole museum dedicated to Coke.  For me, the best part of the World of Coke was the tasting room.  Although it was crowded and there were a lot of people pushing their way in front of others, it was interesting to try different Coke products from different parts of the world.

Sunday morning was race morning.  One of the nice things about where I was staying was that I was able to literally walk out the front door of my hotel and directly in to my starting corral for the race.  This allowed me to sleep in a little later than I would for most races, especially those that are as big as this one.  It did rain for most of the 13.1 miles.  It was a steady rain though, not storming, so it ends up not being too big of a problem.  As a matter of fact, it is sometimes nice to have some rain falling to keep from getting too hot.  Brett and his mom were at Mile 13 to cheer me in to the finish.  I was really great to have someone there cheering me in to finish.  It's been a while since I was fortunate enough to have that experience.  People are usually at the finish line and cheering in all the runners.  But to have someone specifically cheering for me, holding up a sign with my name on it, is a great motivator!  The fact that they stood out there for me, especially in the rain, meant a lot!

I ended the weekend heading back to Columbus.  Again, avoiding too much traffic by leaving a little bit early.  I made it through security fairly quickly, again avoiding the large rush that typically comes with Monday mornings in an airport as big as Atlanta.

On Monday morning I arrived back in Columbus, and while still waiting for my luggage, got a call from work.  Someone had called off sick and coverage was needed....so back to work I went, relaxed from a nice long weekend away.

Long Time - No Blog

Wow....it really has been a while since my last blog entry.  Since my last post I have now moved back to first shift at work.  This is most definitely a busier shift than the first shift that I left last year, and the third shift that I've worked for the past year.  It took me a little bit of time to get used to the activity level, and I'll admit that I left work a couple of times mentally exhausted.  But again, as I've said in the past, that is where running really helps out.  It's the outlet I need.  The weather has been cold, which caused some "motivational issues" on my end, when it came to running.  But the last couple of weeks have been decent and I'm preparing now for my first race of 2015, the Mercedes Benz Birmingham Half Marathon.

Because of training that is going on at work, Birmingham will be a quick 3 day trip.  I fly down on Saturday and fly back Monday.  I will finally get to meet my IR4 running buddy and his family.  They are going to drive out and spend a night in the Birmingham area to meet me and cheer me on in my race.  That will make for a fun weekend.  This will be my 22nd state in my quest to run a race in all 50 states.

My times over the past year have gotten really bad compared to where they were in 2013.  I've been running in the 2:20 area for my last few half marathons, and am really expecting to be even slower for this one.  But as I get back to a more "normal" routine, I'm hoping that will improve my times.  Even if my times don't improve though, as long as I continue to have fun and continue to stay active, I'm ok with that.

This will be a busy few months of races for me.  After running Birmingham next week I will be back down south just four weeks later for the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in Atlanta and state #23.  A short four weeks after that I will be headed south again, this time to Oklahoma for state #24 and the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon.  This year marks the 20 year anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.  Funds raised from that race go towards the Oklahoma City Memorial and museum.  One week after running in Oklahoma City I will be lacing up again for the Cap City Half Marathon in my hometown here in Columbus.

That means four half marathons in nine weeks.  Then I have a break.  The next race I currently have scheduled after that will be the Shawshank Hustle.  This race starts and ends at the Mansfield Correctional Institute, where much of the movie The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  The course passes by many locations where different parts of the movie were filmed.  This will be the second time I've run a "movie based" race, the first being the Christmas Story 5K in Cleveland last December.

After that race I'm registered for the Columbus Half Marathon in October and then the Space Coast Half Marathon in Cocoa, FL in November.  A slightly lighter year of running, at least so far, than I did last year.  However, 2015 will be a year to do a little bit of re-grouping and having some fun.

Let's Review

The last couple of years I have posted answers to several questions regarding what I did in the past year and what I plan to do in the upcoming year...so why mess with what works...here we go...

1 - What did you do in 2014/will you do in 2015, that you have never done before?

Not really a lot of "new" experiences in 2015, and probably won't be in 2015 either.  I did do a lot more travelling, but I've traveled before, so I can't say that's new.  I am always saying that I'm going to do more cross-training and trying to so some other type of exercise besides running, so in 2015 I do plan to join a fitness group that meets once a week at church in order to get motivated and do some cross training to "mix it up".  The different activity should also help with my running, so it's a win-win.

2 - Did you keep your 2014 Resolutions and will you make more for 2015?

Short answer...no/yes.  I did make resolutions for 2014, which I didn't end up keeping, but I will work on more in 2015.  Probably go back to my 2014 resolutions and try a do-over.  Of the three I made, I was able to keep one for most of the year, but it dwindled towards the end, and I expect to get that one back early in 2015.  The other two will take a good bit of the year to accomplish.

3 - Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.  My nephew's wife is due within the next few weeks though with their 3rd child.

4 - Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5 - Which countries did you visit?

Again, I stayed in the United States, however I did do a lot of traveling inside the country.  In 2014 I went to Phoenix, Nashville, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, California and Florida, adding many more states to my quest to run a race in all 50 states.  If all goes well, I hope to run races in Birmingham, Atlanta and Oklahoma City in late winter and early spring.  I also plan to hit Florida again later in the year to run the third year of the Space Coast Half Marathon.

6 - What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

Again, I think I did pretty well in 2014, so if I can just keep things progressing in 2015 I'll be in good shape.

7 - What in 2014 will remain etched in your memory?

I keep looking for something "huge", but really that rarely happens.  I can say that in 2014 I had the opportunity to meet 3 Olympic Medalists and met someone whom I consider to be a mentor for me in the running world.  I also had the extra opportunities to "pay it forward."  One of the most notable of those was in joining a group called "I Run 4".  I have mentioned it before on my blog.  I Run 4 matches "runners" with "buddies".  The group started as a way for runners to run for those who do not have the ability to run themselves due to illnesses and/or disabilities.  It expanded to include siblings of those with disabilities and I've been paired with a young man from Georgia who is the older brother of a young girl who has been diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease.  Brett's a great young man, but does have one flaw that I'm trying to overlook....He's an Alabama fan.  But, at least he's not a Michigan fan, so I think I can overlook it.  In all seriousness, getting to know a little bit about Brett and his family has really encouraged me try and remain positive, even in the most adverse circumstances.  I plan to meet Brett and his family this year when I run a couple of races close to where they live.

8 - What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I think I added 11 - 12 states in my quest for 50 this year.  That was the most traveling I've ever done in a single year, and to have done that while working so much overtime was not something I would have thought I'd be able to do.

9 - What was your biggest failure of the year?

I had decided for 2014 to try working night shift at work.  The days off worked better for the races I wanted to run in 2014.  However, it did make it a little more difficult to maintain a proper diet and running regimen.  I allowed that difficulty to get the better of me, resulting in some weight gain and not running near as many miles as I should have this year.  I plan to fix that in 2015, starting with moving back to day shift.

10 - Did you suffer any illness or injury this year?

OK....I had made it a personal goal of mine to get a "Perfect Attendance" award at work for 2014.  I was SO CLOSE.  But, in November I did end up with an upper respiratory infection.  I tried to fight through it, and went a work a couple of days that I probably shouldn't have.  But I finally gave in to the illness and did end up calling off sick a couple of days in November.  So, I'll try it all over again in 2015.

11 - What is the best thing you bought?

I really didn't buy anything really "special" or "outstanding" for myself in 2014.  I guess I might be able to say I bought a few vacations in 2014, the most special being my trip back to Monterey, CA in November and my whale watching trip I took while I was there.

12 - Whose behavior merited celebration?

I have to give credit to my sibling buddy Brett on this one.  Now Brett is 11 years old, and 11 year olds may not always be on their best behavior.  But, based on what his mom has said, Brett has dealt with a lot of adversity in the past year or two, yet he's still be great big brother to his sister and handled more than any 11 year old should ever have to handle with the maturity of someone far beyond his years.  I have said this before to his parents, and I will say this here for anyone who reads this.  Brett's ability to deal with the issues he has in the way he has, is a tribute who how he's been raised.  I will say the same for his sister too.  Two loving parents teaching good Christian moral values have lead to two great kids.

13 - Where did most of your money go?

Well, I've mentioned already all the travelling I did in 2014.  Gas isn't free, airplane tickets aren't free, hotel rooms aren't free...so there ya go.

14 - What did you get really really excited about?

All year I was really excited for my trip to California.  I had done a lot of planning to get back to a place where I had been stationed in the Army so many years ago.  I couldn't wait to see it again, and see some of it for the first time.  I did enjoy that trip!

15 - What song will always remind you of 2014?

Let it Go.  Not because I'm a fan of Frozen.  Honestly, I haven't seen it.  But when you've got three young nieces and a sibling buddy with a little sister...well, I've heard the song so many times there's not way that I could NOT be reminded of 2014 when I hear the song.

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

I think I was in a pretty good place this time last year.  But I think I'm in a little bit better place now, so I'm going to go with happier.  It's not that I have much more than I did a year ago, it's just that I think I continue to appreciate what I do have even more and continue to realize what it and who are the truly important things and people in my life.

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

Running, my mileage took a hit this year. (I know, you were probably hoping for a more "insightful" answer..but there it is).

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

I think last year's answer can certainly carry over...eating Christmas cookies (or just "crap" in general).

19 - What's your favorite TV program?

- Survivor
- Scandal
- Sleepy Hallow
- The Black List
- Grimm

20 - What was your favorite film this year?

Didn't have one.  There are a few movies out now that I would like to see though, so they may make the 2015 list.

21 - What was the best book you read?

I didn't read any books this year (That's right Lauren, you read correctly).

22 - How would you describe your personal fashion concept for 2014?

I don't know why I even continue to put this question in these year end blog posts.  Seriously, I have never in my life made a fashion statement.

23 - What kept you sane?

Running and my friends.

24 - What political issue stirred you the most?

Events that should never have been politicized in the first place.  I think it's very difficult to have "open, honest" discussions when the conversation starts based on lies.

So there it is.  My 2014 in a nutshell.  Happy 2015...I'll see you in the new year.

A Promise and A Request

Normally I'd be posting about Christmas right now.  I'm a big Christmas person, have always loved the season and all that it symbolizes.  I've loved both the secular and religious parts of the holiday.  That will be a blog post for a different day.  For today I want to speak specifically to those I work with.  The responders...the men and women I work with daily who go out and put the uniform on.  Whether you are a police officer, firefighter or EMT, this post is directed to you.

I was reminded, somewhat harshly recently, of the awesome responsibility I have each day when I go to work.  In nearly 17 years doing this job it's something I have always had in the back of my mind.  I've always known it, and I've always tried to make sure I live up to that responsibility.  However, in light of the events over the past few months, and more specifically over the last few days, I felt the need to put this out there.

Each day when you go to work you rely on your partners to be there for you, to back you up, to "have your six".  You also rely on me.  You rely on your dispatcher.  Your wives, your husbands, your girlfriends, your boyfriends, your parents, your children; anyone who cares about you, rely on me.  Part of my responsibility, sitting here in this room, surrounded by locked doors and what they tell me are bullet proof windows, is to do everything I can to make sure you go home safe at the end of your shift.

Some of you are people I've built relationships with.  Some of you I know only as a badge number or a crew member.  I may or may not have met your family, they may or may not have met me, yet they put their most precious possession in my care, your safety.

So to all of you, and to all of your loved ones, I make these promises:

From behind my mic and through my phone, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.
I will ask the questions that need to be asked.
I will make sure I understand you when you tell me where you are, and I will ask you to repeat that location as many times as it takes to make sure I've got it right.
I will relay to you any information I find to enhance your safety.
No matter how many times you tell me you don't need to be checked up on...I WILL continue to check up on you.

To all of you I have some very simple requests:

Tell me where you are.  You can be as upset with me as you want when I ask you to repeat your location.  There can be any number of reasons why I need you to repeat that location, none of them will be that I wasn't paying attention.  Be as upset with me as you want for asking you to repeat it, but repeat it.

Speak as clearly as you can in to your mic.  Again, if I ask you to repeat something, it's not because I'm not paying attention.  Nothing beats speaking directly in to the mic.  I know conditions are not usually the best on your end, and you're trying to get the information out there quickly, while not taking your eyes off a suspect, trying to drive, wind blowing through your mic and sirens in the background.  All of these are conditions that neither one of us can do anything about.  So again, feel free to be upset with me all you want if I ask you to repeat something, but repeat it.

If I send you with backup on a call, don't cancel the backup until you're sure they're not needed.  Please please please, let your backup keep coming until you are 100% sure they will not be needed.  When I call someone back who's hung up on 9-1-1, they are probably going to say it was an accident.  They usually do, and I pass that on to you.  I know you know this, but please remember...the person who answered my call back may very well be the reason 9-1-1 got called in the first place, and now they know it's been called, and now they know you're on the way to their house.  So, take the backup.

Watch out for each other.  I can do only so much from inside this room and behind this mic.

Please be safe.  Please know that most people out there really respect what you do.  It may not seem that way sometimes, but they do.  Right now it's the ones who don't that are getting all the press.