Week 18 & 19 (2-15 May)

As far as running goes, the past two weeks have been fairly uneventful. The one exciting running event of Week 18 was Cinco De Mayo 5K that I ran in on base. It was free, and worked well with my PT schedule so I figured I would go ahead and do it. I decided that I should probably do more than just a 5K for PT though, so I ran about 3.5 miles before the race. My intention was not to win, I just figured it would be a good opportunity for PT. I also joked with the people setting up the race that because it is a Cinco De Mayo race, there should be Margaritas instead of Gatorade at the finish line, or maybe chips and salsa. In addition to there not being any of that, there also weren't a lot of people who showed up. As such my 20:41 time (far from a personal best) was good enough for first place and a little trophy. It's kind of silly, but kind of fun, and so I added it to my growing shelf of running metals and trophies.

My totals for Week 18 were:
Total Runs Logged: 5
Total Miles: 25
Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 8 minutes, 9 seconds
Average Pace: 7:32 (min/mile)

As for Week 19 it was not a great week for running, and it very well could have been. By Thursday, I had already passed 21 miles for the week, and just needed an easy 4 to make 25. It never happened, though. I had every intention of running on Friday, but that was before this little guy decided to make his home in my bedroom:This vermin kept me up most of Thursday night/Friday morning with both his elusiveness and incessant scratching at the door/chewing on the carpet. It took me about two hours Friday morning (after I gave up trying to sleep) to catch him, and "dispose" of him (relax, I released him outside, far from our house). For most of the story (my wife's version of it anyway) you can check out here. That being said, after that adventure, I was not in the running mood. As for the weekend, I managed to stay busy, and find things to do that didn't involve running.

My totals for Week 19 were:
Total Runs Logged: 4
Total Miles: 21.1
Total Time Spent Running: 2 hours, 40 minutes, 43 seconds
Average Pace: 7:37 (min/mile)

Despite the less than stellar week of running, I'm still doing good overall.
My new "as of" totals are:
Total Runs Logged: 101
Total Miles: 553.8
Total Time Spent Running: 71 hours, 34 minutes, 41 seconds
Average Pace: 7:45 (min/mile)

REFLECTION TIME: Two weeks of okay running, and very little excitement, makes it hard to stay motivated. What does motivate me is that I'm nearing my half way point, and it's still May. Also, I know that in running towards a distant goal, most weeks won't be that exciting. It comes down to putting your head down, focusing, and above all else, keep running. When the opportunities come to "spice things up", you take them, but on weeks when not much is happening, you just run. This Saturday my second MAN HIKE is planned. It should be a lot of fun, and I hopefully will have some great pictures to add to the blog. Get excited, I sure am!

Man Hike #1 (Anoa Trail)

As a man I think it's important that every once and awhile guys get and be a little adventurous. That means going outdoors with your buddies, getting dirty, sweaty, maybe a little cut, bruised, or bloody, and in general toying with that line between safe and perhaps I shouldn't be doing this. That's why I am a big proponent for "Man Hikes." The concept is pretty simple, grab your friends, get water, and "blaze a trail" to somewhere (it is okay to follow a previously defined path, but the rougher it is, the more manly the hike becomes, and all the better for everyone on it). Beer at the end is optional, though highly encouraged. Also, no girls allowed! A couple of Saturday's ago, a few guys from The Guam Crew and I decided to take our first Man Hike of 2011 through the Anoa Conservation Area, to the Pacific Ocean side of Guam. It was definitely manly, and a whole lot of fun. Although we were following a trail of sorts, it added to the excitement (and manliness) that the trail started at the "No Trespassing" sign My fellow Man Hike participants: Jesse, Chris, and James
The first part of our hike was mostly a steep downhill,
and required some agility with a little bit of climbing, and some areas that required us to get low.

About half way down the cliff's path we reached a clearing that gave us a glimpse of our destination.As you can see, it was pretty incredible, but nothing compared to when we finally reached the bottom:Unlike the Philippine Sea side of Guam which is fairly calm, the Pacific Ocean side is very rough, and where we were, completely non-swimmable, but what a view!Here's our group pic on the bottom. After a short break, we hiked along the coast to see what else we could find...It didn't take us too long.
We called this the blow hole because although water wasn't shooting out of the top of it, the waves did find a way into this pit

This is in the same area. the spot of light under the rock and above the water was the area I just climbed out of.

After spending an hour or so walking along the coast we decided it was time to head back, which was the least fun part of the trip, not so much because the Man Hike was over, but rather because we had to go uphill...and it was steep! It's hard to get a good idea based on that picture, but we essentially had to go back to the top of that hill where. The green in the picture isn't grass or bushes, it's full grown trees!
In all actuality the hike up wasn't too bad since we knew where we were going. All in all it was a great Man Hike, and everyone had a good time. It's the first one of 2011, and the first one we've done in a while, but I guarantee there will be more this year. Expect more adventure, more excitement, and a lot more manliness.

Week 17 (Four Months Down)

Let me try a little harder to update this blog with a little more frequency. I know I say that every couple of weeks, but this time I really mean it :) Like I said in my last post, coming into this week, I had just over 20 miles to run before I hit the big 500. With my goal of doing 100 miles a month, I was already way ahead, but my goal this week was to make sure I made that 500 mark before the week's end. It did not prove to be difficult, but I'm still glad the goal was there as it made me get up and run at least once during the week, when I really didn't feel like it. In the end I was glad I did it, and even happier that I broke the 500 mile point. Though far from a big mileage week, it was still a good week for running.

My Week 17 totals were:
Total Runs Logged: 7
Total Miles: 28.2
Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds
Average Pace: 7:42 (min/mile)

In addition, to breaking 500 miles, I was also able to get another "great run" in using the same Fartlek method that I had talked about in my last post. Once again, it was good to go out and run fast when I felt like it, and slow down when I felt like it. In addition the the 28 miles, I also squeezed in a "Man Hike" with the guys on Saturday. I'll blog about it later, but here's a picture to pique your interest, and show yet another reason why Guam is so awesome.



With April 2011 a part of history, my new "as of" totals are:
Total Runs Logged: 92
Total Miles:507.7
Total Time Spent Running: 65 hours, 45 minutes, 49 seconds
Average Pace: 7:46 (min/mile)

REFLECTION TIME: Given that I ran 500 miles in the first 4 months of 2011, I could say that my new goal should be to run 1500 miles, not 1200. Still, I'm not ready to make that big of a jump. I had a few REALLY great weeks of running, but I'm trying to do more than just run. I think I will have no trouble getting to 1200 (assuming I keep at it), and I can probably get 1300 to 1400 miles by the time the year is up. Still, for the time being, I'll keep the 1200 as the goal on my "ticker" (and in the blog address), but my "secret" goal will be to see how many miles over 1200 I can get before it's 2012. I'm looking forward to the next 8 months.