This is why I'm not running...

Day 14: INcomplete
Week 2: Complete

Morning session: 6.03 miles
Evening session: 0 miles
Total distance: 6.03 miles

Today was a big disappointment. It was 107 degrees at around 5:45 PM (about an hour before my scheduled run), so I decided to go to Pizza Hut with my mom and brother, and run when I got back.

But it stormed like crazy until dark, and then I had an important, hour-long phone talk with one of my best friends, Katie--running was pretty much out of the question by then, anyway. So needless to say, the day--the whole week, really--was a letdown. :(

Here's a video here, in case you don't believe me. I'm a weird dude. You've been warned...

**Late added editor's note...OK, that was a tease. Stupid thing won't upload for the life of me. I tried and tried, but it's 1 AM, and it's just not working. Too bad, too, because I found it rather comical.**

Darn it.

Week 2 stats:

73.20 miles--10.43 miles/day
4.0 lbs lost

July stats, up-to-date:

163.63 miles--11.69 miles/day
9.5 lbs lost

Comparison:

Week 1: 90.43 miles
Week 2: 73.20 miles

While I am still on pace to reach my goal of 300 miles for the month, my drop-off concerns me. I need a big day tomorrow (I'm thinking 15+ miles), and as a result of a sluggish week 2 showing, I may not attend rodeo at all, after all. Unless I get some cool out-of-town friends in the area, then I could probably head up. We'll see...

Glory Road now...


D, out

I'll make it.

Day 13: Complete

Morning session: 6.09 miles
Evening session: 8.56 miles
Total distance: 14.65 miles

Milestone reached: Halfway Point, 150-mile mark

Tonight's run was probably the most grueling I've had this month. It wasn't quite the longest, but I maintained a more consistent pace for a longer period of time than I've done yet. Not to mention reaching the halfway point of my goal during mile 1 of my evening run. My pace is back over (barely) 12-miles per day again, but with rodeo fast approaching, there's a chance I may not get in my 10 miles every day. We'll see...

...not to mention my soreness, and recent struggles to get myself up as early in the mornings--especially after today's tough runs. Yikes. *sigh*

Positive note 1: The day's total mileage was the highest I've had so far, though I'm determined to reach 15+ miles at least once.

Positive note 2: I saw another acceptable drop in weight tonight. Having pop tarts for dinner probably aided that, too. ;)

Watched Hoosiers earlier today. Classic. Makes me want to lace 'em up every time.

Sometimes I genuinely feel like I am Jimmy Chitwood. Seriously.


Basketball movie number 3 on tap: He Got Game

I watched this movie the night before every single game my Senior year of High School. Translation: at least 25 times in a 4 month span. Even during tournament week, when we played 3 straight nights, and 6 nights out of 7. I'd get home around 1 AM after a game, and throw it in. Some unnecessary--sometimes graphic--scenes in there for some of you kids, but I love it, as a whole. Especially the 1-on-1 scene with his pops toward the end.

If you have 5 minutes, check it out. If you haven't seen the flick, and/or aren't into hoops, this will mean nothing to you. But this scene speaks to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtKi9SCEJK4

Final thoughts:

--As I approached the corner of a section (what we call it in the country) this morning, I came upon a loose cow. Cow sees me (running toward it), pauses for a second, runs back across the dirt road, and jumps over the fence--where it belonged. Yes, a cow. Yes, it jumped. Coolest thing I've seen in awhile. :)

--Got an e-mail from my best friend in the wide world today, Amanda Lee Walker. Yay!!
Hi, Amanda ;)

Nice to know she's still alive, and I'll probably write her a longer e-mail than she'll care for tomorrow. *chuckles*

Raccoon, Amanda. Very raccoon. :)
(she knows what it means)

D, out.

Runnin' (Dyin' to Live)

Day 12: INcomplete

Morning session: 4.76 miles
Evening session: 4.42 miles
Total distance: 9.18 miles

I actually didn't run this morning. I slept through the alarm, then went to church. I use the term "morning" in this blog loosely. The first figure was before basketball, the second figure was afterward. But both "sessions" were in the evening.

But my pace has fallen off now. I'm only averaging 11.91 miles per day, which still puts me on pace for just under 370 miles, but I don't like the downward turn I'm taking the last 3 days or so.

...Sad news when I got home tonight. The mother of one of my little brother's best friends passed away today. I never met her, and don't even know her name, but Nate is a good guy (who's usually over here a few times a week), and I feel for the kid, for sure. Anyways, rest in peace. :(

Hopefully, I'll soon have a blog without having to mention a death. It's not something I enjoy--just sharing thoughts.

But speaking of which--starting to look as though Arturo Gatti's wife strangled him to death with her purse strap. My friend Trent and I decided tonight that that's gotta be very near the bottom of the list of "6 Million Ways to Die."

Moving on...
Working my way into the basketball movies now. Flick number 1: Rebound


A beyond silly flick. Martin Lawrence coaches a team of Middle School misfits. A Christmas gift from my mom a handful of years ago. Worth a few laughs, though.

...Spent my evening (after basketball) hangin' with my cousin, Bre. Went to Sonic (I just had a drink, so I didn't technically break my "no fast food" rule), talked some, shot a few hoops. Had a couple deep conversations, learned a little too much (the nature of talking life with a 16-year old girl, I suppose), that sort of thing. Fun stuff.

But it gave me a chance to blab about a particular topic that most my friends are biased on by now, so that's always nice.

- I'm really gonna try to get up (early-ish, even) in the morning and run, so on that note...

D, out.

Run? OK. Chase? Uh oh.

Day 11: Complete (sort of)

Morning session: 4.15 miles
Evening session: 9.33 miles
Total distance: 13.48 miles

My early run was rough, to say the least. Slept in, took awhile getting around, didn't get out 'til around 11:30, and it was blistering hot out. I struggled to get in what I did.

Knew all day that I had a lot to make up for with yesterday's short day, and this morning's rough start. Turned in my month-high run, thus far, and probably could have run another mile or 2, if not for the sun about to go down, and my shirt being soaked with sweat and weighing me down. :)

Toughest part of this evening was in the third mile: Big ol' dog spotted me, and decided he wanted to run, too. Except subtract the word "run," and insert "chase." So naturally, it spurned me on about a 600-yard dead sprint. That took a little out of me. :)

Shout-out to my good friend, Katie Hill. She was at the Cubs game (a "W", by the way) today, and sent me a few pics:

Somewhere in here is Bulls' center Brad Miller (who I love) after throwing out the first pitch.

Darn it. Stupid net. The other pics aren't uploading at the moment, sorry. Anyways, thanks a bunch, Katie (if you see ever see this). You rock!! :)

Back to running: Tomorrow is another day of uncertainty. I think I may forgo my morning run, and go to church. I suppose I could do both. Reckon I'll set the alarm, and see how that goes.

Although I will more than likely run to the gym to play ball in the evening, and if I take the (super) long route, I could make up some mileage there. Good call, Derrick.

Other thoughts:

UFC is beyond stupid. It's killing boxing--a brilliant sport that I love--and I hate it. It's nothing but a glorified street brawl, and it's garbage. There, I said it.

R.I.P. to boxer, Arturo Gatti. Too many people dying far too young lately. Sad stuff.

D, out.

You're a friggin' Eagle, aren't you?

Day 10: INcomplete

Morning session: 2.00 miles
Evening session: 2.00 miles
Total distance: 4.00 miles

Ran a couple miles around the track both before and after playing ball at Wichita State today, but otherwise, it was essentially a day off. It was neither a "morning," or an "evening" session, but since we played at noon, I figure one run was in the AM, and one in the PM, so that's how I'm splitting it.

Weekly update: 81.98 miles (11.71 miles/day)
*This is just in the last 7 days (not accumulative), since last Friday's update. The pace obviously fell off some after today.*

Accumulative total: 120.29 miles (12.03 miles/day)

Weigh-in: 200.5 lbs

This is the one aspect of my month that I am not pleased with. I was really hoping to be under 200 by now. It's a big milestone for me to not only get under, but stay under. My pace is a little behind here.
Goal: 195 lbs by next Friday. I feel like this is attainable, and it's what I need to do to get back on pace for my weight loss goal.

Catching the last few minutes of football movie #8: Invincible. Makes me tear up every single time. Amazing flick.



Next on tap: Friday Night Lights. Highly overrated, in my opinion, but still an effectively made picture, I guess. *Net's being lame, so no pic for that one.*

Random (basketball) thoughts for today:
I've decided the immense amount of running has improved the consistency of my jump shot. Perhaps because my biggest downfall on the court is over-thinking, whereas now I'm mainly just thinking about how sore my legs are. I've been borderline un-guardable on the court the last week-plus. It's a nice zone to be in. Euphoric, even.

Kirk Hinrich is more than likely about to get traded. It'll make my team more formidable, but still...*tear*

Paul Millsap is so overrated. No idea why NBA execs (Portland and Utah, in particular) are so gaga over him. Dude's about to make bank, and he's really not that great a player. *rolls eyes*

D, out.

Why Didn't You Write Me?

Day 9: Complete

Morning session: 5.18 miles
Evening session: 7.55 miles
Total distance: 12.73 miles

Broke my "No meat after 9" rule. By the time I got home from playing ball, and showered, it was like 9:10, and mom was making burgers. Sue me. :)

Tomorrow will most likely be the first day I don't reach 10+ miles. I'm headed to Wichita to play some ball with my Wichita State compadres. Then most likely sticking around for my friend Rachel's birthday dinner. So I won't get a whole lot of running in. Luckily, I'm at a pace where I can probably afford to have one lax day.

Although my average pace is 12.92 miles per day. Hate to see that tail off a bit, but it will. Shame...

Hangin' with the "little" (he's bigger than me) bro for a bit right now, but on tap for later is football movie #7: The Longest Yard: the Adam Sandler remake, not the Burt Reynolds original.



Vague ramblings in 3...2...1...
So I got a pretty huge pick-me-up today that changes my outlook on things quite a bit. I've come to the conclusion that no one truly understands it but me and God. And by that, I mean no one understands it but God. But I at least sort of know where He's going with it.

I'm a little embarrassed by my lack of faith in a particular department of late, and I don't want to get too ahead of myself, but I kind of feel like He sent me a little reminder today.

And I just need to keep reminding myself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF2hh-Gsz0g

Final thought: I am 88.4% sure of what I will do when I complete my 300-mile quest. My mind is all but made up. A little nervous about it, but I think it will be cool. Contemplating keeping it a secret, but could possibly be persuaded to share the idea with a good enough friend. :)

D, out.

100 miles in...

Day 8: Complete

Morning session: 8.09 miles
Evening session: 5.04 miles
Total distance: 13.13 miles

Milestone reached: 100-mile mark

I am approximately 34% finished with my goal. For you Math buffs out there, that's more than 1/3 complete. Neat, eh?

Running aside...

Did something foolish today, and annoyed a friend or two (would've been a few more, if more knew). Sometimes I just can't help myself. Man, I'm annoying sometimes. :)

Football movie #5: Radio



Not much else to say here. Too much on my mind that is more likely to go away if I get off here, than if I stay. :)


D, out.