Geez, this thing doesn't get updated much does it?
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 88.76/408.36 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 13,268/74,290 Weight: 198.5 Beers in last 24 hours: 4 Total raised towards goal: $4,348
Again, it's been far too long since I've updated this blog. I just got back from a weekend vacation to the Sierra Nevadas and Sonoma County, where I rafted the white water of the American River on Friday and then tasted the champagnes and wines of Sonoma County, California on Saturday. It was awesome.
At right, you'll see a sequence from a portion of the American called Troublemaker. It submerged us in 50 degree water coming straight off the snowmelt from the highest reaches of the Sierra's. It was totally invigorating.
Not much to report here – as always, work has been incredibly busy, and as we get into the heart of the semester, it seems to get harder and harder to find time to sit down and crank out a blog entry. Some of you have told me you're having problems watching the old movie clips on the site ... I'll have to check that out.
Labot Day weekend is coming up ... and the marathon is only two months away ...
Oh, and for those of you in New Jersey ... there will be a NJ fundraiser the day before the marathon. Stay posted for details ... they'll come soon.
Welcome to Toddler-ville, and other assorted observations a full week later
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 83.7/402.3 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 12,868/73,890 Weight: 198.5 Beers in last 24 hours: 3 Total raised towards goal: $4,348
Greetings. I think it's been a full week, or pretty damn close to it. Sorry. With work, baby, running and life, I just get tired, and it's hard after a long day to sit out and program a website for an hour. But I'm going to try to get recommited to the blog a bit more, as things should be calming down now that the first couple weeks of the fall semester at College Times are in the bag. Those first couple weeks can be brutal.
So, it's pretty much official that Beckett has descended into the vile world of toddler-hood. He throws food, he hits us, bites us, laughs at us when we discipline him, and last night, he pulled out a 12-guage shotgun and fired warning shots at us. Okay, not that last part, but the rest of it is true. Kid probably spent 50 percent of his time in time-out last night around dinner time, and the same thing this night.
If he doesn't shape up by Wednesday, I think I'll make him sleep outside. That oughta learn him.
In more positive news, I took the boy on Saturday to this gig where they dump snow in the desert and let the kids play in it, as you can see in the photo on the right. When we got finished with that, we went and got hot dogs at world famous Ted's Hot Dogs, with 17 locations in western, upstate New York and one in Arizona. Well thought out business plan. Anyway, the food was good.
On Sunday, I spent most of the day on the couch - but we got to see Andy, Electa, Rob and Erica for dinner.
Oh, most importantly, Heidi and I got to have a date on Friday afternoon. We had lunch at this frou-frou little joint in Scottsdale called Arcadia Farms and then we saw "Little Miss Sunshine," which was, seriously, one of the funniest movies I've seen in years. Check it if you get the chance.
Is That a Stork I See in the Distance? Nah, That's Just Fate Telling Me To Kiss Goodbye Any Semblance of a Social Life I Have Remaining ...
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 78.16/396.76 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 12.253/73,275 Weight: 198 Beers in last 24 hours: 4 Total raised towards goal: $4,348
See this? This is me with one other dude and a lot of really good looking women. There was once upon a time that, you know, I had my share of days like these. Young, dashing reporter with a 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme making $21,500/year? What woman could refuse that? And then when I upgraded to a '95 Ford Ranger and got a job running a paper nobody had ever heard of, well, shit, I coudln't fend them off.
But somewhere in the midst of all that came marriage, and then a kid – both of whom I'll grudingly admit (okay, scream to the world) that I love with everything I've got.
But this picture to the right? This will forever be linked in my mind as the beginning of the end. Why? 'Cuz it was on this day – roughly three weeks or a month ago – that the word slowly started to get out. Heidi wasn't drinking. Was she sick? Was she (gasp!) ooooohhhh (I'm imitating a girl here ... hands beginning flapping ... then the whisper ...) are you? (Then comes Heidi's nod yes followed by more hand flapping by the woman asking the question, then ...) Oooooh, congratulations!
Yeah, you got it. Let's spell it out in red: Heidi is pregnant.
We really didn't want to tell anybody until a little later, cuz she's prolly only like seven weeks and we've already had one 'incident,' but that cats out of the bag now. Electa pretty much was onto the whole situation, as were Rob, Erica, Bang, Megan, Janet and a few others, so it might as well be out there. So now, pray for a healthy, happy pregnancy and a new beautiful baby.
Obviously, we're all excited down here in Sun Devil country. But my social life is forever over as I know it ... and that's okay, honestly. Family life is good, not just in general, but for me.
I continue to be insanely, mega-busy, working ridiculous hours and sleeping like crap, but it should all mellow out soon. I think I worked 25 hours on Monday and Tuesday, and another 4 or 5 on Saturday and Sunday. That's too much ... but, like I said, it should calm down.
Heidi and I are thinking of playing hooky on Friday and getting lunch together and going to see a movie. It'll be nice to have a date. We rarely do anymore. And I really miss that.
And hey there fellow readers, donations are still needed and being accepted. Please considering donating to the cause - to help young kids, to help me and to do good.
To donate, click here. Yes, that's right, click here. Registration number is TFK06 Team name is TEAMPHOENIX
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 78.16/396.76 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 12.253/73,275 Weight: 198 Beers in last 24 hours: 4 Total raised towards goal: $4,348
Sorry it's been so long again in between posts. Things have just been so busy, it's been hard to find time to do much of anything.
This picture? This was from the baby shower in 2004. There's no reason why I'm posting this photo, really, it's just to remember those glorious, glorious years before children – when I was young and vibrant and well-rested.
Take a look at those totals up above – tonight was a very good night. Our first fundraiser brought in somewhere around $3,300 – honestly much better than I expected for the first event. I know that the next couple will be even crazier than this, once the word spreads that these are some quality events we're throwing in North Scottsdale.
The food was awesome, the wine was great and the crowd - well, hmm, I need more of my friends to show up next time. The crowd was like those middle-aged, wealthy people who spend all their time going to charity events. Weird. I've never been around the circuit. We need more Andy, Electa, Bang, Kristin, Joe, Lindsey, Tim and Megans to populate the next event. We need some insanity. Yeah! Woo! Yeah! Woo! Yeah! Woooooooo! Okay, you get the point.
The best part was that pretty much every one of my friends won an auction item. So, on top of getting filled with crab, sausage, fancy cheese dishes, bruchetta and yummy, yummy wine, most of them won items that were close to the value of the admission they paid. Some drunk chick even gave Electa one of her gifts – a free hair-cut at a salon in Gilbert.
I finally put in a full week of running to – did a 12-miler on Saturday. Got up at 5 a.m. and cranked it out. It had rained and rained and rained the night before, and it was so humid in the morning. When I got home from the run, my shirt weighed 3 pounds – no kidding ... I weighed it.
The eBay auction continues to go well. Total is up to about $300 ... but I've got a lot of stuff to auction yet ... I'm guessing it'll raise $700 or $800, which can then be doubled.
Also, I've got to give a public thanx to my beautiful, beautfiul cousin Karen, who has another little girl on the way. I actually got a chance to talk to her on Saturday, which was nice, cause we don't get to do that that often. She and her husband Eric were on their way out the door for a rare date night ... Hope you guys had fun.
For those of you who don't know, Karen and I have had many memorable moments, but I think the most classic moment from all of the photos that exist out thier in family-land, has to be the image of me trying to chomp down on her finger outside my parent's wedding. Don't know what it was, but I was always trying to bite her. As Heidi says ... "That's where our son gets it, I guess ..."
Maybe so, maybe so ...
Oh, and the picture up top from the baby shower? Maybe there's something more to it ... you know? Maybe it's like a code ...
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 62.51/381.11 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 9,708/70,730 Weight: 197 Beers in last 24 hours: 2 Total raised towards goal: $1,048
Today, the first issue of the College Times' fall semester went to press today. One down, 19 to go. It's always been a sort of company tradition to count down. When the number gets to zero, we get to take a break. The semesters seem to go by with increasing speed. I remember the first semester there seemed to last forever. Now I know it'll be over before it even seemed like it started. Look for it on news stands starting later today. The always charming Christina Aguilera graces the cover. It's a good issue. A nice start to a new school year.
Finally got back on the running schedule today. Hope to keep on it. I have to run 12 miles this Saturday. The weekend mileage totals are already starting to climb.
Up above you can see Beckett trying to shoot hoops. He had never seen a basketball net before (unless they have one at school which, come to think of it, they probably do). He grabbed the ball at Tate's birthday party and went right for the net. Pretty smart.
Besides lots of work stuff, nothing really notable happened today. Very soon, though, I'm going to be rafting the American River in northern California and doing some wine tasting in Napa. Can't wait for that ... don't know how that fits into the training ...
Speaking of wine tasting, don't forget all you locals - the big fundraising wine tasting is this Sunday at Tapino, 7000 E. Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale at 4:00 p.m. All of the $25 admission fee goes to the charity ... This should really help us get our total up.
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 58.66/377.26 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 9,253/70,275 Weight: 198 Beers in last 24 hours: 0 Total raised towards goal: $1,048
So much has happened here since the last post. But one thing has not - more running. This weekend proved to be too busy to get any of that done. I can't even remember what I did, or where I had to go. Oh, yeah, now I do, Friday was my friend Jeremy's birthday - so there was a birthday partyish event at the Diamondbacks game. Saturday was Tate's – Eric's and Kelli's son – birthday party, followed by taking Beck to his Grandma's house, followed by 10 hours of nonstop work on the infamous defective shower. The whole redo of the bathroom/bedroom is about 80 percent complete. All that's left is to tile the shower, really. I can't wait for that to be done.
To the right is a scene from Tate's "mad scientist" birthday party. What you see here is what happens when you drop three Mentos into a full 2-liter bottle of soda – EXPLOSIONS!
The first round of auction stuff netted about $200 towards the charity. And this Sunday is the first big charity wine tasting event. Remember, for anybody in PHX, the event is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Tapino, 7000 E. Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale on this coming Sunday – August 13. The $25 admission goes entirely to charity and you get to taste 10 wines and chow on yummy appretizers. It's a good afternoon out (not too expensive) and absolutely every dollar goes to charity. You can't beat that. Bring some friends or something too. Help out the cause. Help kids. C'mon, you know you want to.
Well, they finally caught one of the serial killers in Phoenix. Actually, it was a duo going around shoot people. Damn ... what motivated people to do that? Now, they've got one left to find – the seemingly more dangerous and cunning one, the so-called "Baseline Killer."
I've gotta get back to work. So much stuff coming up ... Talk to tomorrow.
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 58.66/377.26 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 20.65 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 9,253/70,275 Weight: 197 Beers in last 24 hours: 0 Total raised towards goal: $860
I'm sitting at the office right now, getting ready to pack it up and go home. It's 7:40 p.m. here in Phoenix, and I can't wait to hang out with Heidi. By now, little Beckett is already to bed.
But today has been another good day, and first I must tell you all about it.
This morning, the TV station that is doing the story on the Phoenix marathon runners provided VO2 Max testing, along with analysis of our body's performance, efficiency and use of oxygen. We went to a Scottsdale sports medicine clinic that was like no other doctor's office I've ever been in – it had leather chairs and a plasma TV playing the first game of the Diamondbacks/Cubs doubleheader today. That was about the best doctor's waiting room experience I've ever had. The doctor I guess was the doctor for the Milwaukee Brewers for several years and now is known as the "Rock Doc" because of his clientele of rock stars.
Once inside they hooked us up to something that looked the machine Ivan Draco was hooked up to in Rocky IV, or like something out of a Gatorade commercial. You have this headgear on, plus a mask to which is connected a temperature sensor, and oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors, a heart monitor is wrapped around your chest and over your head you wear some kind of bizarre gizmo with all kinds of electric do-dads attached to it. I don't even know how to describe it. That's about the best I can.
Then you run. They start the treadmill at a walking pace and slowly work the speed up to 7 miles per hour (about a 9:08 mile pace). When it reaches top speed, the treadmill begins a gradual incline, eventual going to 8 percent incline. All the while, you run, as long as you can, and this machine reads your body's signs. At the end, you get statistics about your health, and then you get a custom routine aimed towards further increasing your body's effiency, so that you could ran farther, faster, and exert less energy. Very cool stuff.
The VO2 Max is basically some kind of measurement that looks at how your body uses and exchanges carbon dioxide and oxygen, and it's a very good measure of cardiovascular health - that, along with pulse. Most everyday people, who live a sedentiary lifestyle, would have a VO2 Max of about 25 to 30. An elite, high-performance athlete would have a 60. Mine is a 49. According to the test's today, my health level is considered excellent, and I would be categorized at the very high end of physical and cardiovascular health when compared to the world's population.
For those of you who know my past – cigarettes and booze, and way too many of both – I was stunned. My health level and VO2 Max were comparable to the other people there who had been marathoning for years, and looked like it. Guess it just goes to show with some hard work we really can improve ourselves. Anyhow, it made me very happy.
Speaking of which, I have to extend some more thank-yous: first to David and Karin, my favorite duo from the beautiful island state of Hawai'i. Everybody should be so lucky as to have two people in their lives like David and Karin. My first experience on the open ocean comes thanks to them. They own a beautiful sailboat which they race off the shores of Oahu. On that boat, I've been a guest during a race, and sailed out to some channel where the ocean swells were so high, you just knew that if somebody fell off, finding them would have been very difficult. They have a rum tank on that boat, too. Combine that rum tank back at the dock with some cribbage, and you've got a night you'll never forget. They've also been so kind over the years, allowing me to stay at their house, hosting friends, providing dinners and just taking care of us so we could have a good time. There's no way to really every thank them enough or repay them for all their kindness, but I'll try. Thanks David and Karin.
And then, of course, I can't forget my beautiful, wonderful friends, Becky and Gibson. I don't even know where to start. Gibson and I have ridden some bizarre personal and career path that just seems to keep intersecting at all the right times. Gib is responsible for some major, major turning points in my life that ultimately led me to be a lot happier in everything I do, and Becky, in the same way, has been equally important to both me and my wife – providing advice and insights and food for thought that often became integral parts of decisions we made on big issues. And, on top of that, they're just friggen' fun to hang out with. Thanks, you two. You're belief in me, and the contribution means a whole hell of a lot. Hopefully, we can get together soon.
Okay guys, that's all for today. I've really got to get home.
Oh, and if you want to donate, just click the word here. Yeah, that word: Here. The marathon/registry # is TFK06 The last name is TEAMPHOENIX
Hope everyone out there is doing well. The weekend is almost upon us ...
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 56.86/375.38 Total miles swam since entry to marathon: 1.38 Total miles biked since entry to marathon: 12.2 Exercise calories burned since entry/this year: 8,853/69,875 Weight: 198 Beers in last 24 hours: 3 Total raised towards goal: $660
This is a picture of friends from Halloween of 2000, there's no particular reason I posted it. I kind of just felt like posting something fun.
I spent the a good portion of my day doing the kinds of things I honestly, honestly never thought I'd hear myself say the following: I must have spent four hours negotiating with a several A-list type celebrities' "people" over trying to arrange interviews. It's a strange, strange, strange world that Hollywood – it's not like the experiences were bad. Just strange. It's a world were image, message control and similar things are important. I won't name names on a public venue like the Internet because it does neither me, nor the company, anything positive, to gripe about such things. It's just on my mind, because I spent so much of the day doing it ... Much of the last two days doing it. And for the past two days, I've come home with headaches. I can't remember the last time that's happened.
I have to tell y'all: I'm really engaged in stuff right now. Work is incredibly challenging in a good way. The marathon training is starting to get really intense. I think I have a slight beer buzz right now. The fundraising is going really well. My internet auction is off and soaring. The first of the big fundraising events - the August 13 wine tasting at Tapino in Scottsdale - is almost here. Beckett is getting smarter and more beautiful with each passing day. Heidi is more beautiful and amazing each day.
I wish I had more time to take it all in and really appreciate everything that's happening right now. It's 10 p.m. and I still haven't rested since the second I got up this morning: I ran at 5:30, got Beckett ready for school at 6:15, showered at 6:45, went to work at 8, got home a 5:30, made dinner, ran out to a meeting at 6:30, got home at 8:45, tended to the auction, got some more stuff online, and then - now, finally - got to this blog. Whew ...
I don't even know what happend to the Diamondbacks ... wait, I'll check ... crap, they lost 9-3. But so did the Mets. And so did the Padres. Which means the Diamondbacks remain 1 game out of first. I can handle that.
Before I go any further and forget, I need to thank Wayne and Patricia for both making a generous contribution. Wayne and Patricia are very close friends of my family - somebody I know my mother and father adore very much – and very kind people. When I go back to visit NJ, the two of them seem to brighten a room upon entering. Wayne and Patricia, I really am sincerely touched by your donations. Thank you so, so much. Beyond inspiring me, this will go towards a very good cause - helping kids who've been dropped into a bum lot in life. Thanks again.
Also, I need to thank my second mother - Filomena. Phyllis threw a boatload of old Playbills my way, and these will very shortly make their way to auction. Many of you who read this blog know of Phyllis, and the legendary trip to Maine to see Phish back in '96 or '97. We were supposed to be camping and, seriously, I think it rained 20 inches in like six hours. Our tent had three inches of water in it, and, on top of all that, it was 45 degrees outside. Very pleasant. We burned a tank of gas sleeping in the car with the heat on, while my drunk 19-year-old friends ran around in the rain and called us wimps. I like to think we were the smart ones. My stories and memories of Phyllis could fill pages and pages, but I think it's important to mention that I love her, and her giving me these memorabilia that meant enough to her that she collected them is a very nice gesture, and one that I will not soon forget. Thanks, Phyllis.
In other news, why do you fools only post comments when I post a video of Beck? That's crap. Write to me just because ... It shouldn't be that I have to post video of my kid to get comments. That's crap, I tell you, crap. I write all y'all every day ... So write me, I like reading your comments.
Man, Dos Equis is good ...
By the way, how about that Mel Gibson? That's just weird, eh?
I think I have to go now. I'm tired. And I read back over this and I was forced to ask myself: Is any of this actually interesting? It seems like blogs are just a place to ramble and ramble on. Like the Rambler, or The Gambler, which was a song by Kenny Rogers. Remember that tune: "You gotta' know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run. You never count your money, when your sitting at the table, they'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's done."
You know what was a better Kenny Rogers song? That tune with Dolly Parton: "Islands in the Stream:'" or, an office favorite: "Lady" ... "Lady (in deep Kenny Rogers scratchy voice) / I'm your knight in shining armor, and I love you ..." Beautiful. Oh, Kenny, why did you opt to dedicate your life to fried chicken and leave us longing for original musical material? A tragedy I tell you ...
Ed is a 32-year-old, happily married, father of two, five-time marathoner sponsored by his beer gut and an all around happy go lucky kind of guy, except when he's surly, moody or otherwise pissed off. He's trying to be an Ironman, in the November 2008 Arizona Ford Ironman. He's also trying to raise money for Tempe Community Action Agency, a local nonprofit that aims to help families, children, elderly and the homeless get back on their feet through emergency food, utility and medical programs. You can learn more about TCAA at www.tempeaction.org
Total miles run since entry to NYC marathon/this year: 88.76/408.36
County, where I rafted the white water of the American River on Friday and then tasted the champagnes and wines of Sonoma County, California on Saturday. It was awesome.
been incredibly busy, and as we get into the heart of the semester, it seems to get harder and harder to find time to sit down and crank out a blog entry.
