Lovely winter we're having this spring

That about summarizes the past month.  I heard on the radio today that this is the third different snow storm we've had since April 9!  I know that we need the moisture and the roads haven't been too bad but I'm ready for some decent weather.  I see that it's supposed to clear up for a couple days and then snow again on Monday.  Ugh.  I guess I should come clean and let everyone know that the weather is my fault.  You know how it always rains the day after you get your car washed?  Well, I signed up for a spring softball league.  My bad.  The league plays on Tuesday nights and we started back on March 19.  We won that first game and haven't played since.  If you want to know when it's going to snow next, Tuesday is a pretty good bet.  After four (and counting?) straight weeks of snow-outs we're scheduled to play double-headers three weeks in a row.  If our double-headers get rained out I'm not sure what they will do.  Hopefully they decide to push the playoffs back a week instead of asking us to play four games in one night.  Ugh.

The weather last Monday and Friday was actually pretty nice so I got to run outside twice.  On Monday I ran a route that forced me to run the last 5 minutes uphill which, combined with the gusty wind, made for a rough finish.  On Friday I decided to go the opposite direction so that I went uphill during my warm-up walk and the workout felt much easier.  Here is my "end of week 4 update:"

Projected 1/2 marathon time (repeating week 4 workout): 150 minutes = 2 hours 30 minutes

1/2 marathon time goal: 2 hours 45 minutes

As I mentioned earlier the weather here hasn't been ideal for outdoor training so I've done treadmill workouts so far this week.  I'll give more details on week 5 when I wrap it up on Friday afternoon but this is the week that it starts to get more difficult.

We went up to my cousin's cabin in Bailey this past weekend and my oldest daughter, L, was introduced to Star Wars.  She and her cousin watched Episodes IV and VI and they LOVED it.  In fact, L now goes by Luke Skywalker and won't answer to her real name.  Because Luke's dad is Darth Vader, I am now Darth Vader.  Or should I say, "Door Vader."  Luckily, according to L...I mean Luke, I'm nice and we only fight in the movie, not real life!  I love that she loves the movies and it's so great that the movies are OK for my 3-year old.  Sure there are some scary parts, which she doesn't seem to find scary, but there is no bad language, no "adult situations", and no blood.  Too bad PG these days doesn't mean PG like it used to.

Home Opener

Today is one of my favorite days of the year.  The home opener for the Colorado Rockies.  This year celebrates their 20th year as a MLB franchise which is hard to believe.  I remember being in ninth grade in 1993 and my junior high (yes ninth grade was still in junior high) brought a bunch of TVs into the lunch room so we could watch the Rockies play the Mets at the old Shea stadium.  The Rockies were awful that year, they finished 67-95, but it didn't matter because pro baseball was in town!  I remember going to a couple games that year as one of my friends had season tickets.  Prior to the Rockies the highest level of baseball I had seen was when the Denver Zephyrs (AAA team for the Milwaukee Brewers) played at Mile High.  It was pretty exciting to see my baseball idols in person.  20 years later I still have yet to make it to a home opener but I'll get there one of these years.  I've heard it's such a great atmosphere because everyone is full of hope and hey, this could be our year!

Today I completed week 3 of my 5k training plan.  This week wasn't much harder than last week: 5 min warm-up walk, 1.5 min jog, 1.5 min walk, 3 min jog, 3 min walk, 1.5 min jog, 1.5 min walk, 3 min jog, 3 min walk, 5 min cool-down walk.  Monday was cold (40 degrees) and windy, Wednesday was warmer (47 degrees) and windy, but today was a perfect 60 degrees with just a slight breeze.  For the week I averaged 2.31 miles in the 28 minutes which cut about 10 minutes off my projected 1/2 marathon pace.  Next week's plan doesn't look too bad but things get tougher starting week 5.  I guess I should enjoy these easy weeks while I can.

Projected 1/2 marathon time (repeating week 3 workout): 160 minutes = 2 hours 40 minutes

1/2 marathon time goal: 2 hours 45 minutes

Week 2 update

Well, it looks like I'm back to my slacking ways.  I meant to update this last week but I was in CA Monday - Thursday and then Friday I left work a bit early so I could spend some time with my two little girls.  We went to Dairy Queen, which is one of L's favorite places.  It turns out N loves it too...big surprise!  I could hardly scoop it up into N's mouth fast enough.  A bit of background: L really likes to sit on my lap on school mornings as I feed her yogurt for breakfast.  I know I should maker her feed herself but I know it won't be too long before she won't want to sit on Daddy's lap so I'm going to enjoy it while I can.  Anyway, sometimes when she's being silly she opens her mouth and says "ahhhhh ahhhhh" when she wants another bite and N has caught on to this.  I'm sure I looked like a mama bird at DQ with my one year old sitting in her chair with her mouth wide open saying "ahhhh ahhhh."

Back to my original point, I never ended up updating this blog with my week 2 progress report.  Week 2 was another easy week of alternating walking with jogging although the intervals increased in length.  My two workouts in California were done on the hotel treadmill although I'm not sure why I didn't take advantage of the weather and jog outside.  Back in CO on Friday I got in an outdoor workout so I could actually get an idea of how far I was going.  I ended up going 2.37 miles in 31 minutes which means:

Projected 1/2 marathon time (repeating week 2 workout): 171 minutes = 2 hours 51 minutes

1/2 marathon time goal: 3 hours

Moving from week 1 to week 2 of the couch-to-5k program basically cut off 6 minutes of my projected time.  Of course this assumes that I could keep up the same pace for the entire 13.1 miles which probably wouldn't happen since my legs would be burning but it at least gives me an idea of what to expect as far as time.

Just this morning I completed the second workout of week 3 but I'm going to wait and post the results after I complete the final workout on Friday.  I'm definitely not feeling like a runner yet and don't see how I could run for 3 miles straight let alone 13.1.

One week down, a lot more to go

Well, I just wrapped up the first week of my couch to half marathon training.  This week was very simple: a 5 minute warm up walk, alternate jogging for 1 minute with 90 seconds of walking for 8 reps, and then a 5 minute cool down walk.  Because the weather has been cold and windy this week I had to do all three of my sessions inside.  Two of the sessions were at the Westminster Rec Center jogging track which is right next to my work.  The Rec Center is nice enough but the track drives me crazy.  It takes 14 laps to go a mile so it almost makes you dizzy because you feel like you're constantly turning.  The 30 minutes of exercise took me 2.21 miles with, extrapolated over 13.1 miles, would put me right at 3 hours.  That's exactly what my initial target time was.  I definitely feel like I could do this workout six times in a row so now I need to think about improving my target time.  I do have to say that I don't necessarily trust the 14 laps = 1 mile so I look forward to getting in a workout outside so I can use my GPS to get an accurate distance.  Plus, no race is on a completely level track so I need to get some hills in my training.

The training for next week shouldn't be too difficult either.  I think it's alternating 90 seconds of jogging with 2 minutes of walking.  The tough part is that I'm flying to SF for the week so I'll have to try to find time to exercise at the hotel.  Theoretically I should be able to get up early (because of the time change) and do it in the morning but I never sleep well on the road so I don't like to get up early.

Not much else is going.  Last night CSU won their first tournament game since 1988 beating Missouri 84-72.  They started off hot and the game was never really in doubt which was nice for a change.  Things get tough fast tomorrow as they have to play the overall #1 seed in Louisville.  To make matters worse the game is in Lexington, KY.  Hopefully there will be a lot of Kentucky fans there cheering on the Rams (or should I say cheering against the Cardinals.)

The Nuggets pulled off a miracle last night beating the 76ers 101-100 and extending their winning streak to 14 games.  Without Ty Lawson in the lineup they had no energy at all and almost seemed OK with losing.  They were down 5 with 10 seconds left until Corey Brewer hit a three and then, with 2.1 seconds to go, three free throws.  Don't get me wrong, the 76ers are awful and had no business being in the game but it was a nice comeback to watch.  I usually find the NBA hard to watch (although Angie will tell you I'm watching it all the time) because of all the one-on-one, clear out mentality but the Nuggets are really fun to watch.  I'm not sure how far they can go in the playoffs without a go-to player but I'm enjoying the ride.

Snow and cold this weekend.  Both girls were sick with colds and pink eye and now Angie is sick.  Hopefully they will all start feeling better before I have to leave on Monday.  Next update from Manteca, CA!

Couch to half marathon?

Hello there, it's great to be back.  I was just looking over my last post from September 2011 (yikes, 2011?) and was thinking about how much has changed.  First, and most important in my life, we had a new baby girl, N, born on February 12, 2012.  Of course she's 13 months old now but she's still our little baby.  She's not walking yet and still has rubber legs when we try to get her to stand up but we don't mind.  She loves being held, especially by Mama, and we're lucky if we can set her down for 5 minutes before she tracks us down and wants to be picked up.  Sometimes, after dinner, I set her down in the living room while I try to clean up and do dishes.  If I'm lucky enough to set her down without her wanting to be picked back up, I'll be at the sink and feel someone tugging on my pant leg.  There's little N with her hands up wanting to be picked up.  I love it!


What else has changed?  Oh, the Broncos traded away Tim Tebow and picked up some guy name Peyton Manning.  I'm still not completely over the loss to Baltimore in the playoffs although the free agent moves this off-season (specifically the signing of Wes Welker) have me looking forward to football season again.


Last week I received an email from a friend (Angie's cousin's husband) with the subject "*Vegas."  My first thought was "Vegas? I'm in!" and then about 0.5 seconds later I thought "Hmmm, why the *?"  As soon as I opened the email I saw the reason for the asterisk.  I need to run the Vegas half marathon in order to receive an official invitation.  A half marathon.  13.1 miles.  The distance I drive to work each day.  Running.

My friend is contemplating a guys weekend in Vegas that will revolve around the half marathon.  The good news is that the race isn't until mid-November.  The bad news is that the race is only 8 months away.  I've never been a runner.  I've wanted to be a runner.  As I drive back after going through the Taco Bell or Wendy's drive-through I see those attractive, thin, fit, seemingly happy people jogging along the side of the road and I think to myself (while stuffing french fries in my mouth)  "I bet this cheeseburger, fries, and frosty would taste so much better if I had just finished a nice 5-6 mile run."  That thought lasts until I get back to my office and start stuffing my face and is replaced by the thought "I should have ordered some chicken nuggets."

Anyway, I like to challenge myself (mainly because I love numbers and tracking stats) so I have decided to start the couch to 5k program using the Active.com mobile app.  If successful I plan on moving to the 5k to 10k program.  If that goes well and I'm comfortable running 6.2 miles, I will see how I feel about going to the half marathon distance.  I probably could have skipped a few weeks but I decided to start at the very beginning and today completed workout 1 of week 1!  I think I will like this program because the first 6 weeks basically combine walking and jogging and that's how I can see myself completing a half marathon.  My goal right now would be to complete the half marathon in 3 hours using a combination of walking and jogging.  If I were to alternate jogging a mile and walking a mile with an average pace of 10 min/mile (jogging) and 18 min/mile (walking) then 13.1 miles would take approximately 3 hours.  I'm interested to see how these numbers change as I move further along in the program.

I'll try to update after every workout, or at least after every week, to let you know how it goes.  I'm a bit nervous about how my knees will hold up as they both crack and crunch anytime I go up/down steps.  If I can do it you can too!

Nail biter in Nashville

Dang it, I meant to start this earlier in the day but now my day is winding down and I want to head home.  As I always say (and rarely live up to) I'll keep this one brief.

Congrats to the CSU Rams on a big win over Utah State on Saturday night.  Beating Utah State might not sound like much but the Aggies of Utah State coulda woulda shoulda beat Auburn in their first game of the year.  Unfortunately The Mountain decided not to show the game but based on what I read CSU forced four turnovers, the big one being a fumble recovery on a dropped punt on the Utah St. 15 yard line with 2:17 to play.  CSU scored a TD and the two-point conversion to send the game to OT.  In the second OT CSU scored a TD and extra point to put them up 7.  After scoring on a 25 yard run, Utah St. decided to end the game on the next play by going for two.  Aggie running back Robert Turbin, he of four TDs on the night, was stoned by the Rams defense and CSU left Logan with a W.  Pete Thomas continued his struggles and averaged a pitiful 3.9 ypa.  Something needs to change and hopefully before league play starts.

Easier game this week against San Jose State in Fort Collins for Homecoming.  Rams 38 SJS 24

CU didn't fare as well in Columbus and lost to Ohio State 37-17 and now their road losing streak is at 19.  They open up Pac 12 play on Saturday in Boulder against the Cougars of Washington St.  I think CU will get a W this week in a shootout.  CU 38 WSU 31

After dominating the game Denver still managed to lose to Tennessee by a score of 17-14.  Of course the play everyone is talking about is the fourth and goal from the six inch line that Denver was not able to punch into the end zone.  A field goal would have put them up 7 with just over 13 minutes to go in the game.  Of course a TD would have put them up 11 and the game may have been out of reach for the Titans.  After a terrible play action play call on first down the Broncos gave the ball to Willis McGahee three straight times and couldn't manage to get the two yards to paydirt.

After another week of fans begging for Tebow the Broncos head to Green Bay to play the Super Bowl champion Packers.  The line is 13 (just like it was for Super Bowl 32) but I don't think Denver will be able to keep it that close.  They will get some of their injured starters back but not the one that would help the most in Champ Bailey.  Denver is in desperate need of a win in the next two games (@ GB and at home against SD) otherwise they will head into the bye week 1-4.  If that's the case there may not be much choice but to start Tebow for the remainder of the season and get into draft mode.  Sigh.  It's looking like another season of "wait until next year" and it's only week 4.

Beautiful weather this weekend, have a great one!

Welcome to My Hammy

Once again I meant to update this on Monday while my football thoughts were fresh but work got in the way.  It has a funny way of doing that.  This post will be a short one because I just have too much work to do right now.

Let's start with the CSU-CU game.  How pitiful did CSU look?  The defense actually played pretty well considering their best two players are out but the offense was just terrible.  Pete Thomas didn't complete as many passes as I thought he would although his yards per attempt were along the lines of my prediction.  I was expecting an average of 4 ypa but he ended up at 5.6.  That puts him at 6.2 for the season which is second to last in the conference.  He looks just like Tim Tebow in the pocket which is not a good thing.  I'm not referring to the Tim Tebow running out of the pocket but Tim Tebow when he decides to throw.  Thomas, like Tebow, always seems to check down to the safe receiver and gain minimal yardage.  Outside of a 34 yard completion to TE Crockett Gilmore his longest completion was 12 yards.  12 yards!  WR Charles Lovett had a 23 yard touchdown completion on his only attempt of the game (and probably career.)  At some point he needs to trust his arm and his receivers and throw the ball down field.  I am sad to say I am still seeing no improvement in the team and I'm sure Coach Fairchild is a little nervous about his job...as he should be.

CSU 17 Utah St. 35

CU got a win last week (as mentioned above) and have the tough task of facing Ohio State in Columbus.  I don't know much about the Buckeyes other than they have a bunch of suspended players and a new coach.  That being said I still think they will be able to beat CU but I think it will be a close game.

CU 24 OSU 31

The Broncos game was a strange one.  Already missing 4-5 of their starters Denver lost 2 more key players (Royal and Thomas) in the first quarter.  Denver still played pretty well for the most part and managed to hold on by 2 points against a below average Bengals team.  The defense had no pass rush at all other than a big play on the second to last play of the game but the game was beyond frustrating.  After multiple big stops by the defense on third and shorts, the offense managed to come in and go three and out four times in the second half (and a 3 and fumble by Orton) when a couple of first downs would have allowed them to run out the clock.  I'm not too optimistic about their chances in Tennessee this week and I think Chris Johnson will finally break out of his slump in a big way.  If Denver loses this one they need to turn the calendar a couple times until they can find the next winnable game on the schedule.  A road game in Miami might be their best chance in October otherwise we're looking at a game in KC on 11/13, a game in Minnesota on 12/4 or a home game against KC on 1/1.  It looks like we're on track for 1 win/month which would put us at 5-11 for the season.  Sigh.

Denver 13 Tennessee 27

I have always been skeptical when I hear that a player is out of a game due to a pulled hamstring.  I mean come on, how bad can it be?  Answer: it can be very very painful.  As I was rounding first base on Tuesday night admiring my line drive down the third base line I heard a strange "pop" followed by a bolt of lightning in my leg.  It turns out I suffered a grade 2 pulled hamstring.  I can't image ever jogging again let alone jump, sprint, dash, cut, weave, or even walk without a limp.  I long for the day when I can bend over and tie my shoe without a sharp pain in my leg.  I know I'm a wimp and it will heal soon and could have been much worse but I will no longer roll my eyes when I hear a player is day-to-day with a pulled hamstring.  Consider me month-to-month.

Have a great weekend!