Rainy And 39 Degrees - Isn't That Cold?

When I woke up this morning at 5:00 am to rain and 39 degrees it would have been very easy to crawl right back into bed.  However, knowing that I skipped my run yesterday for more sleep since I had stayed up so late the night before got me up and got me going with very little effort for my 4 mile run this morning.

The steady rain was gone by the time I made it out the door but I was still left with sprinkles throughout the run and lots of puddles left from the last day of raining.  I have run this route many times before so I know right where the water puddles up so I was able to avoid stepping into anything unpleasant.

Ten Mile Trail Run at Tribble Mill Park

I usually like to get my long runs in around the house.  I know there are many other better places to run, and some very nice trails within just a short drive, but when it comes to a long run I like to run from home because I know it is already going to take me 90 minutes or longer to complete the run, and I don't want to add the drive time on top of that.

Since I really don't like to travel for my long runs, I wasn't too excited when my daughter Payton told me right before church on Sunday that she and her friend were going to go to Tribble Mill Park in Grayson to do their long run.  Whenever she tells me this, I know that this means I am going to make a trip to the park.  Since I had a long run scheduled that day already, I knew it would be crazy for me to not take advantage of being at the park to get the long run in.  When I asked her, she told me that they were planning on running 10 miles, so this put pretty much anything over 10 miles out of the question for me.  I don't mind asking them to wait five or ten minutes, but anything more than that I won't make them wait alone for me.

Winners of Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator

If you have not yet tried Febreze Laundry Odor Eliminator to take care of all those stinky running clothes you need to go and give it a try.  If you didn't win the giveaway you still can get a coupon from their website to get $2 off which is still a good way to give a great product a try.


This giveaway didn't last long so if you are just now finding this I am sorry.  The coupons had a very close expiration date so we needed to move quickly.  I am sure we would have had many more entries but with the limited time everyone that entered had just that much better of a chance to win.


We had 16 total entries and so the number was plugged into random.org and two winners were chosen.

Yurbuds Winner Announced and Another Way to Win

Let me start by saying that I just was contacted today on another way to win your own pair of Yurbuds if you are not the lucky winner today.  You can find that information after the winner is announced below.

I counted, counted again, and then recounted the entries in the Yurbuds Giveaway Post just to make sure I got the correct amount of entries in the in the random.org magic winner picker tool.  The total entries I counted were 62 which means each entry had a 1 in 62 chance to win.... just incase you were wondering what your odds were.  If you had more than one entry you will have to figure that out because I just can't be bothered with trying to figure out what your odds were.  (this line is for my brother in law, that probably doesn't read my blog anyway, but has just quit smoking and I am very proud of him because he is going to start running soon and then he may start reading my blog)

I Don't Stink Any More! (Giveaway too!)

Some people in my house actually have the nerve to tell me that I stink when I return from running.  I normally don't admit to the stench and blame it on the dog, but deep inside as I am gagging I know running brings along many joys, especially it's very own odors.

The colder weather we have been having lately does help things, but only a little.  If I have had a good run I am sweaty, that is the bottom line.  It doesn't matter if it is 90 or 12, if I have done what I set out to do I stink.  I am OK with this, and so is the rest of the family...... OK, maybe not my wife and kids, but the dog doesn't care..... usually.  You know, I still don't understand why my girls complain about my smell when I return from a run, it's not like they smell all pretty and everything when they get back from a run.... OK, they do, it is just me that smells.

I Rounded It Up To 13.1 To Get An Even Number

Cold, wet, rainy, windy, icy, long 13.1 mile run.  That is really enough to explain this run, but you know me.... I am not one of few words, so I will continue. (like you thought for a moment that I wouldn't)

I was really not feeling the motivation and was really having a hard time getting out of the door for this run. I missed my run yesterday because life and family took precedence.  I was feeling much more motivation after about a mile of running and was in the groove after a couple miles when the rain started to come. I am a wimp and I had wished after about 1/2 mile that I had wore gloves. It wasn't horribly cold at 42 degrees but the wind was blowing pretty good making for some very cold hands.

26.2 Quest - Marathoner In Training

I have been thinking for sometime about ways to take this blog to the next level.  I am ready to double my readers and wanted to find a way to take it from 5 to 10.  I know that is asking a lot, and shooting for the stars, especially since it had been a long time since I had dabbled in any MLM's.  The few that I did when I was younger no doubt made me wealthy beyond my wildest dreams.

Working With What We Have

If you are not aware with what is going on in my life right now you need to go back and read the last couple posts.  Of course, you may want to start three posts back because that is where I am giving away the YurBuds which are one of the latest hot items for runners who like their music and or podcasts on the run.

The ice in Atlanta is getting better, but not fast enough.  Friday will mark the fifth day in a row that the schools have been closed and the kids are going crazy.  My daughters and I are also getting antsy since we have not been able to get a run in for the last couple days.  We did run in the snow on Monday, before everything turned to ice, but the ice has made it just too dangerous to run on the roads.

Life Isn't Always About Running

These past few days have been interesting to say the least.  Some may be going stir crazy, but I am not sure that is how I would describe what has been going on in our house these past few days.

If you are from the Southeast what I am about to say is not news to you, and I am willing to guess most of the rest of the United States have heard and maybe even chuckled at our expense (unless you have been stuck in a airport somewhere because ATL has been closed as an airport, but open as an extended stay lodge)

Snow Running With The Kids!

We got hit with nearly seven inches of snow last night followed by freezing rain this morning and into this afternoon.  This NEVER happens to this extent here in Atlanta so everything is closed and the roads are ice and snow everywhere. I can't think of anything more fun to do than to take advantage of it and go for a run...... with my daughters!

It rained (freezing rain) much of our run, but wasn't too bad because it was mostly frozen so it didn't get us wet.  The temperature was 27 with a feels like of 16 degrees.  The top part of the snow was crunchy from the freezing rain for the past few hours.  It was still easier to run in the crunchy topped snow than it was to run on the ice where the cars had been since it was really slippery (duh!) packed down ice. The exaggerative steps to get through the snow made it a more exhausting run than even if we had been going a minute or more per mile faster.

Running The Trails & Win a Pair of YurBuds!

It won't be long before we will be BURIED under 2 inches of snow in the Atlanta area.  That being the case, and from what 2 inches of snow will do to the south I am glad I had the opportunity to hit the trials earlier this afternoon.  I run with my daughter a lot, but today she had a friend to run with so I was just the taxi driver, but while I was there why not get a good trail run in?  Do you run with your family?  If so, why not join me in a new community I am starting on Facebook - Family Running

Virtual 5K - The Boring Way!

A few weeks ago I signed up to run a Virtual 5K today.  Adam from The Boring Runner is the race director for The Freeze Your Thorns Off Virtual 5K and I am sure there will be a wonderful time had by all.  I had big plans for today's race, maybe get up late, eat a lot right before the race, over-hydrate and skip using the facilities, overdress so I am hot the entire time, and maybe even go out too fast so I can writhe with pain the rest of the way.

Running Hurts

An anonymous writer once wrote "The truth is that running hurts".  I have a lot of running quotes that I like a lot, but that is one of my favorites and earns a spot on both my personal Facebook Quotes, as well as on my Facebook Fanpage.

Over the past couple weeks I have been building my mileage and running nearly everyday like I did before the marathon.  Since I had taken a little time off immediately following the marathon and then again after the back pain my mileage had dropped back quite a bit.  Now that I have committed to my next marathon, which I am behind in training for incase you are wondering, I am in the mode of trying to build back my mileage pretty quickly.

A Long Run Route Untraveled In Over A Year... & Yurbuds?

You gotta love a long run of 12 miles with negative splits! It was only a 1 minute negative split but I will take it after not running this distance since before the marathon and subsequent back issues. The first six miles were in 56:18 and the second six miles in 55:12.

It was 50 degrees and sunny with winds from 20-27 mph when the run started and of course they seemed to be directly in my face most of the time. I ran a long run route that I have not run since training for last years marathon. It was nice to see some old roads that I have not run in nearly 18 months. When I got back home the temperatures were 47, with a feels like temperature of 41, but still felt good to be out there sweating with just my shorts and t-shirt.  Looking at the forecast and my schedule it looks like it may be the last run I get in like this for a little while.

Get Ready to Start Reading - Winner Announcement

Nearly two weeks ago when I announced the Facebook Fanpage giveaway of Meb Keflezighi's Run to Overcome I had not yet acquired the book myself.  It was on my "running books to read" list but was still just a desire and not yet in my hands to read.  One of you will be a winner by the time this post is finished, but the cool thing is that I too was a winner!  I was notified just a short time after posting the giveaway that I was a winner over at the Run To Overcome website - how cool is that?

The giveaway was announced on December 20th, and every comment made on my Facebook Fanpage dated the 20th until the 31st was counted towards this giveaway.  There were also some Tweets, and Facebook wall posts during that time that will also be counted.  I printed out all these pages and numbered each of the comments and posts starting with the tweets and then starting at the bottom of the Fanpage and working my way up.  I came up with a total of 75 entries.