The Rock

Took advantage of my 4 days off stretch to head back to Castle Rock to see my brother, other friends and the Crismans.  It was a real nice time with lots of good food (thanks Shirley) and LOTS of wine :-)

Best part was that I got a couple training runs in with Ryan and we are both feeling pretty good leading into the Rock n Roll half in AZ.  I had a 4 miler with my new Garmin on Monday which was for speedwork, then had a nice 8.5 mile run with ryan in the pouring rain on Tuesday.  Ryan strategically planned for us to stop at a pizza joint which unfortunately was closed.... 

Wednesday morning we all got up and had a nice recovery 5K (Mat, Lindsay, Laura, Ryan and I) and some coffee post workout.  Our second annual wine tasting at the Schwinn's was very nice Wednesday night, and then Thursday we brewed a batch of Nut Brown Ale with Dick.  I believe we have got him hooked :-)

Drove home Thursday evening and hit the gym for a 4 mile treadmill run to burn off some of the booze and will try for one more run after work today to round out the week.  All in all, great week of training and great time catching up with everyone. 

Happy New Year!

I've been good :-)

Well I got an outstanding Christmas gift from Shannon this year.  I dropped a few hints a couple of months back about my frustrations with tracking distances and having to get online to figure out how far I had run.  A trip to REI was all it took to get me excited about the Garmin 305 Forerunner!  As usual, the REI dude was helpful and I took home a brochure to show my future Christmas shopper.  She came through and I couldn't be more thrilled!  Lots to read up about this little gadget but I'm looking forward to being GPS connected.

Hoping for slow days here at the hospital this weekend.  Not because I don't want to work but because I don't want to see injured and sick folks this time of year.  Happy Holidays!

The Luke 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone in cyberland. (That means you Ryan since you are the only one who follows this blog.)

Solid base week of running for me.  Nothing to write home about since I didn't get any real distance in but I ran on all of my days off (4 in a row), and managed to avoid a four or five thousand calorie explosion that would have likely slowed down a run or two this week. 

Celebrated Christmas two days early since I work all weekend and won't even see daylight until Monday.  Holiday pay will help me endure as I'm thinking about those I'd like to be sharing a Christmas cocktail or Micro with but I'm there in spirit like Ol' Saint Nick!

Brewed a batch of ESB this week with my buddy Jeff in Yakima and tried to plant the running bug back in him since he is one of the key influences on my urge to challenge my mind and body with this new hobby.  Didn't work.  Since his last marathon in Hawaii he has become the anti-runner and thus I continue to train solo.  If only a close runner friend of mine would move back to the west coast.....

Looking forward to making the drive to Castle Rock next week to catch up with the old pals and get a couple of runs in with RC.  Thankful for health, family, and steady employment this time of year and looking forward to a great 2011!

Merry X-mas!

Weekend conundrum ~

That is the first time I've used the word conundrum.

So I work weekends and what I mean by that is I work every waking hour of every weekend.  Enough time to sleep between my 16hr shifts, but pretty much nothing but work.  I actually really like it, however it presents an issue in regards to races.  I can't sign up for all the races I would like to do because as of right now I can't change the schedule around that much...

I'm looking for races that aren't on weekends (they pretty much don't exist).  I could also pull off a local race where I could drive to it, race, then head back and only have to get coverage for half of my day.  Gonna be a struggle but I'll find a way.

Although I said I wouldn't do it again, I may sign up for the Snake River Canyon Half Marathon in March because it would be a race where I could just scoot back to Tri-Cities and finish my shift with little waves made in the schedule.

Cheers to a good week of training!

Luke

My own show...

Well, I've shared a blog or two in the past and now it's time to start my own.  I'll upload some pics and blogs from my previous shared blog but most of this will be 2011 and onward.

The new year will be starting with some fun as Ryan and I will be going to Arizona for their Rock 'n' Roll half marathon.  Should be a great time and a nice break from the cold weather each of us is dealing with. 

About 18 miles of running for me this week so far with an almost 9miler to start the week.  Things have been stressful as I've been studying for CT boards but with that behind me I'm ready to tackle some serious training.  And looming in May is a true "Dean" event for me which could give me my 30 at 30... (30 mile run @ 30 years old).  A trail ultra in Pocatello, Idaho that Ryan has found for us.... Stay tuned.

Anway, time to boost the miles with a month remaining before Arizona.  Mix in some speed work and enjoy the holidays that are upcoming.

Cheers,
The Luke