Back at home, back to training

We are finally back at home and hopefully getting back to our normal routine. Kinsey's surgery went well, thank you everyone for the kind words/thoughts. Hopefully she will not need another surgery for a long time.
I am going to start my running routine back this week. I know I probably won't be at the level I was a few weeks ago, but hopefully it won't take me long to get back. I have a church basketball game tonight, so I am planning to run in the morning and skip the running today. Not being able to run the last two weeks has been hard, it has become such a big part of my life. Last year, when I started this program, I never thought I would say this, but I actually feel worse on days when I miss a run. I can't wait to get back out and continue training. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to read some blogs and offer any encouragement that I can.

Back on the Marathon Wagon

Well, I have to admit, i did not run at all last week. My wife found out that she had the week off from work, so we took a trip to Disneyworld for the week. The temperature was perfect and suprisingly, it wasn't very busy to be spring break. Of course the ride that I have never liked, "It's a Small World", was Kinsey's favorite. I do enjoy it more now because I am able to watch her laugh and have a good time rather than focus my attention on the ride and wonder how quickly it will be over.
The characters (Mickey, Minnie, etc.) that we encountered were great. This was our first trip with Kinsey since she started using a wheelchair and we weren't sure how comfortable the characters would be with her. We found that they spent extra time with her and would not leave her alone until they saw her smile once. I have always been impressed with and enjoyed Disneyworld, but am even more impressed now due to the fact that they went the extra mile to make her feel like any other child.
I ran today and will try to run more this week but I'm not sure when I'll be able to. We are getting new carpet tomorrow, so I have lots of furniture to move. And then on Thursday, Kinsey will be admitted to UMC for surgery on Friday and she will go home Sunday. I will not be able to be at the run on Saturday. Please remember her in your prayers, this weekend. She is having what is supposed to be a minor brain surgery, but anytime you deal with the brain, minor can become major in a second.
I'm looking forward to getting back in the running routine next week. April 2nd, I start a new job at UMC that I am very excited about.

Intervals

Great weather for the run Saturday, very little wind. When Mark mentioned intervals Saturday morning, I remembered a story that I've been meaning to share.
When I run, I do intervals. At last years marathon, I did 3:1 intervals for most of the marathon. The funny thing for me (not sure if this happened to others) was that I would be running at a pretty good pace and then my watch would beep and I would start walking. At least two-three times when this occurred, I had a spectator offer encouragement, "Don't give up, you can do it!" When I would stop running and start walking, I assume they thought that I was giving up. Occasionally, I would respond, "I'm fine, this is what I do."
The most entertaining response I got was around mile 20, when I started one of my walk intervals. A guy in the crowd started walking beside me and said, "Come on man, run like you stole something!" Rather than try to explain my routine, I started running again, because I appreciated him taking the time to give me encouragement. As soon as I felt like I was out of his sight, I resumed my walking and gave myself a longer walk break. Recently, I changed the title of my blog to include his quote, because I thought it was hilarious.
It's funny, I have so many memories of the marathon, but some of the more prominent ones are of things/people that I saw or heard rather than the actual running itself. I am looking forward to going back this year, not only for the run, but for the experience as well.

Crosstraining Day

Just like last Wednesday, I chose to play about 2 hours of basketball for my crosstraining day yesterday. I feel good today, not as sore as I was last Thursday. I enjoy playing basketball and find that it breaks up a little of the monotony of running. I also enjoy playing with a group of guys at church because some of them are so serious. If you have never experienced it, the site of grown men playing basketball at church and trying to relive their youth is quite entertaining. It is very common to hear four letter words and see someone foul another player hard. It is also common to hear one of the older guys tell a story about how they would have played in the NBA if they had not hurt their knee in high school.
If the rain stops shortly, I will head out for a three mile run. If not, I'll get on the treadmill.

That Old Temptress..Great Harvest Bread

We had perfect weather for the group run Saturday. The only problem I encountered was after finishing two miles. I went inside FBC to use the restroom and passed by the cinnamon bread from Great Harvest. On my way back out of the building to do another 2 miles, I had to pass by it again. I'm not one who usually is tempted by food, but early in the morning after a run, there's just something about the Great Harvest cinnamon bread. I laughed at myself becaue it was honestly one of the only times in my life where I was having an inner struggle that went something like this:
Voice 1: "You've done two miles, relax, eat some bread, take it easy."
Voice 2: "You said you were going to do 4 miles, the bread will still be there when you're done. Get back out there and finish your run."
I did finish my four miles and yes there was bread waiting when I was done. I am still a bit confused about the fact that a piece of bread would make me question completing my mileage. Oh well, I'll chalk it up to not eating enough for breakfast and move on.
I have added a link on the right side of my page that goes to my daughter's (Kinsey) website. Her site has a link to many photos of her that go as far back as when she was born. There is also a journal link that chronicles our experiences from the day of her birth.
I have also added a link to a page for Kinsey's school. She attends a special needs school called The Little Lighthouse. There is no charge for us to send her there and they do a great job with her. It is a very worthwhile place to donate time and or money to. Please check it out.

Basketball

I'll be heading to church in a few minutes and plan to play basketball for about 2 hours. I hope this counts as crosstraining. I also hope that I don't hurt too bad tomorrow so I can get some running in. We'll see.

Perfect Day for Running

Today was the perfect day for running. I started my run at about 2:00 this afternoon. The temperature was 70 degrees and it was cloudy with a little wind. And finally, I got a few sprinkles of rain the last mile. Also, the radio stations that I have programmed into my radio seemed to play fewer commercials than usual. I did 3 miles, but wish I could have done more because the weather was so great, but I had other things to do.
I think the weather is supposed to stay pretty consistent this week, so hopefully we will have more days like today. On days like today, I really enjoy running and while I'm running, I think back to a little over a year ago when on a day like this I would not have been out enjoying the weather. Instead I probably would have been in front of the TV watching Seinfeld or something.

Finally getting around to blogging again

I haven't had enough time lately to keep up with my blog (okay that's an excuse). I am going to do better. The run Saturday was pretty good, I had forgotten how tough the wind on the levee could be. Also, running on the levee reminds me of driving on the Natchez Trace, no matter how far you go, you feel like you're in the same place where you started. I rode my bike for the first time in many months on Sunday (crosstraining day). I felt like a child again due to the fact that I had not ridden it in awhile and for the first few miles I went in a "wobbly" straight line. Thankfully I was the only one on the trail, except for a deer who ran far away as soon as he saw me.
My daughter, Kinsey, is completely back to her old self and has fully recovered from her illness. We did find out that she will be having surgery on March 23rd to reposition one of the shunts in her brain, so they will have to shave one side of her full head of hair. It had just started to completely fill in from her last surgery, but hopefully this will be the last surgery she needs for a long time.

Kinsey is Home

Kinsey was doing so well today that they decided to go ahead and send her home. There are alot of respiratory bugs going around right now and the doctors decided that keeping her a few extra days wasn't worth the risk of her possibly catching a cold. So, we are at home.
Again, I cannot say thank you enough to everyone who has sent up a prayer for Kinsey. Being a pediatric nurse and knowing what I know, looking at Kinsey last week if you had told me she would be ready to go home one week later, I would never have believed you. But, here we are one week later at home and doing great.
I'm excited about getting to run tomorrow (Saturday). It has been more than a week since I have run.

Another Kinsey Update

Kinsey continues to improve. The ultrasound showed that her kidneys are fine. The plan for now is to keep her on antibiotics until Sunday and then they will send her home on oral antibiotics for a few days. So she is scheduled to be discharged on Sunday. It is amazing how quickly her condition has improved.
I have not been able to get any running in because Kinsey has 5 different doctors/specialists and you never know when one will walk into her room and want to send her for a test/treatment. I am planning on being at the group run Saturday morning as long as things with Kinsey continue to go well. Again, the outpowering of concern for Kinsey has been amazing and we truly appreciate everyone that has kept her in their thoughts and prayers. I ran into someone I know today and they have a son named Evan who is currently on a ventilator. He is about to be sent to a special nursing unit at UAB in Birmingham for 6 weeks so that his family can learn to take care of him and his ventilator at home. Please remember him and his family in your prayers.
Hoping to see everyone Saturday.

Kinsey Update

Kinsey is doing better. She is acting more like her old self. We will still have to stay in the hospital at least another week. The bacteria that was growing in her blood is extremely rare in children her age, so we are not sure where it came from. At this point, the doctors feel that her shunts are okay. She will have to have one shunt repositioned, but that surgery will be done after she is over this infection.
She had an ultrasound yesterday, they think she may have a problem with one of her kidneys. We will find out the results today. We did get some great news yesterday. Kinsey had an EEG done (it measures brain waves and seizure activity). One of her two seizure disorders is completely gone. This seizure disorder was the most severe and was capable of wiping out any mental and developmental ability she has at any moment. So we are extremely thankful that it is gone.
The response of encouragement and prayers that we have gotten has been overwhelming. Thanks to everyone that has remembered Kinsey in prayer. Our family always believes that God and the power of prayer do amazing things. So thanks for praying for our little miracle and please continue to do so.
Don't forget to run, walk, or wog.

Please take a moment to pray for Kinsey.

Early Friday morning, we had to rush Kinsey, my daughter to the ER at UMC because she was having really bad seizures. They admitted her to the Peds ICU and found out that she has a bacterial infection in her blood. Kinsey has a shunt in each side of her brain and there is a possibility that these could be infected as well. They cannot draw fluid from these because if they are not infected, they would be going through infected blood to get to them and would then infect them. Currently they are planning on her staying a minimum of 10-14 days to receive antibiotics. The hope is that that will fix her up. If she gets worse then they will have to check the shunts. If her shunts are infected, then they will have to be removed and new ones put in their place, which is a pretty big deal. She is doing pretty well. You can tell she doesn't feel good. She plays for a few minutes and then falls asleep because she now tires easily. I will try to keep my blog updated with her condition.
Running is extremely low on my priority list at this time. I am going to try to get some running in around the UMC campus after Kinsey has improved. Running is my therapy at times like this. I hope everyone had a great run, walk, or wog today. See you soon.

Cold Weather, Deer Encounter, New Asphalt, and Disney

I wogged 3 miles today. I went a little slower than usual because it was so cold. I live in Fox Bay and run on the trail out on the Northshore Parkway. Halfway through my run I noticed a deer about 20 feet back in the trees watching me. I thought it would run away when it noticed me, but it continued watching me and actually took a few steps in my direction. Now I'm no hunter or deer expert, but I know enough to know that they are supposed to fear humans and the fact that this one was not afraid of me made me a little nervous. I turned my radio down and watched over my shoulder to make sure I was safe. I'm not sure what I would have done if it had run in my direction. I certainly could not have outrun it. Maybe I would have dropped and played dead, I'm not sure, but it probably would have been hilarious to the drivers passing by.
When I returned to my neighborhood, I passed by some guys who are repaving the main street in Fox Bay and asked them if they were only paving that section. They said that the whole neighborhood would be repaved. So, there will be 2 miles (thanks GMAP) of new asphalt to run on.
Last night my wife, Ashley, mentioned that she would like to try the half marathon at Disneyworld next January. I told her that if she would do the half, I would do the whole (we are always looking for an excuse to go to Disney). So I am planning to do the Chicago Marathon in Oct. and the Disney Marathon in January. I always enjoy the characters at Disney, but I have a feeling that towards the end of the marathon when I am tired, they will be somewhat annoying. I will try to be polite.

Starting the routine again

In the last few months since the Chicago Marathon, I have only been jogging and wogging 3 miles 2-3 days per week. From the end of the marathon until Thanksgiving, I did no running. During last years training, I got to where I would eat 6-7 small meals per day. Because of the energy I was expending, I was hungry more often. I took in a few more calories than I usually do, but the running was helping me lose and maintain my weight. Once I quit running (and took part in holiday feasting) I put 3 pounds back on in one month. Thankfully, a few weeks of running made them disappear.
This week I started back with the MM daily plan and I feel great so far. I am looking forward to being able to run more of the marathon this year. Last year I did a 3/1 interval.
I look forward to meeting everyone. I am a 33 year old nurse currently at Baptist in Jackson. My wife, Ashley, is an internal medicine resident at UMC, so she stays busy. I am working part-time and mainly staying at home to take care of our daughter, Kinsey. I am planning to go back to work fulltime in February when I find the right job/schedule that meets our family needs. I am also planning to start working towards a career change in a few weeks. This is something I have been wanting to do for awhile, but never took that step. Just like training for and completing the Chicago Marathon, the hardest part is convincing yourself that this is something I can do.