Jill's New Cellphone

This may seem silly, but cellphones are amazing.

The come with everything loaded on them.

In fact it's difficult to buy one without a camera, video or mp3 capability.

It's getting to the point that people are forgetting that they were originally designed to make and take phone calls.

I remember my first cell phone. It cost around $800 bucks and was permanantly mounted to the car. Gone are the days of the Motorola brick and the briefcase phone. Now they are so small and cheap they are making them for kids (like your 7-year old).

Anyways, we were goofing around with it and Aimee snapped this photo. I like the distortion, flare and lack of quality to it. It's kinda cool looking, except that my nose looks a mile wide.

More Marathon Photos

All of the photos from the 1/2 marathon are in.

Just go to www.asiorders.com. Select Phoenix Rock n Roll Marathon, then enter my bib number 39456.

Enjoy

I'm Insane

Its official.
I just signed up for the John Bingham Arizona Distance Classic 1/2 Marathon

Although I have dedicated myself to continue with this slack-jawed insanity, I'm doing it for the medal. I've been a follower of John Bingham for years. On the medal is a large penguin and at the bottom is inscribed, "Because I had the courage to start."

Happy New Year

It is no longer the year of the chicken.
It's year of the dog now.

Please make sure not to forget to put that on your checks.

Post-it Note Elvis

The Universal Truth

Vikea - Because Vikings are really just Swedish Pirates

http://www.threadless.com/product/328/Vikings_are_just_Swedish_Pirates

The 1/2 Marathon

I survived. I didn’t do as well as I thought that I would do, but after all this is my first half-marathon.



I was able to get through the first 5 miles, then I started to jog and walk pretty much the rest of the way. By the seventh mile my legs cramped up pretty badly but I was able to go on.

Some of the things I would do differently next time:

Stretch – I did not stretch nearly enough before the run.
Bathroom – I can’t stress enough about evacuation. By the time that you get to the race most of the lines for the porta-pottys are 20 deep.
Eat – because I didn’t eat before the race I had a stomach cramp for the entire race. Because I drank water on the race on an empty stomach it felt like I was running with a goldfish bowl in my gut, complete with goldfish.
Drink – At the race they passed out Phoenix tap water. More on this later, but have you ever tasted the water here? At one point I believe that I saw that they had tapped into the fire hydrants to fill the water reservoirs for the runners. I may try to run with my own water next time.
Train at an incline – I did some of my training on a treadmill and some of it on the street. The marathon was on a steady incline for the first 7 miles, I was not ready for this. For the next one I think that I need to do some more hill work.
Train more for speed – I had been jogging at a 13:00 pace (I know that some of you do not consider this running) but at that pace I am able to pretty much go all day. Anything faster than that and my little train would run out of soul coal. I think that more speed work with the goal of 9:00 would be good.
Get a groove – I never really got focused on my pace and my breathing. Usually when I am training I am able to get lost in the music and I am able to pick up the pace. For some reason I was just not able to focus…probably for all of the reasons listed above.
Chaffing – Two words, Body Glide.

Things that I would do again;

Music – The iPod was a real lifesaver. Some of the bands that they had there were mediocre to just plain bad. Having music that motivates you really helps.
Train Often – I was running 4 to 5 days a week for the race. I would like to continue this with my long run of 7+ miles on Sundays.
Wear only what I needed – many of the runners were way over dressed. I wore only a shirt and shorts knowing that I would heat up and that it would only get warmer. Mile 2 and 3 were spent jumping over sweatshirts, jackets, gloves and sweatpants discarded by runners ahead of me.
Ice Bath – This was a great idea. For as miserable as it was to first get into you could feel the effects immediately.
Beer – Having a beer immediately after the race really helped take the edge off of the pain and the subsequent twitch/convulsion attack that occurs from having spent my all. I was able to sleep easily after the ice bath and shower.



Here are the particulars on the event:

Last Name Flores
First Name Ed
Gender M
Age41
City Chandler
State AZ
Bib Number39456
Place15046
Gender Place6291
Division M_40-44
Division Place936
Race Name Half Marathon
Pace14:10
Gun Time3:29:37
Net (Chip) Time3:05:35
5K (HM) 39:10
10K (HM) 1:22:47
10 mi. (HM) 2:18:35
Total in Div. 1015

I am going to start training aging next week, as I will use this week to recover. In March I am going to run the Valley of Gold half marathon in Tucson.

I want to thank everyone that helped/motivated/encouraged me on my foray back into running:

Jill & Aimee – for putting up with me, my aches and pains and for all of the time that I have spent away on the road and treadmill. For being at the finish line, for helping me out after the race; Thanks for all of your love and support

All of the Agents, Supervisors, Managers and employees at 2Wire.

Chris Dorn – For motivating me in the humorous, agitating way that you do.

Tim Williams – Knowing that you were up there ahead of me on the race was a motivating factor.

A special thanks to Alice Pike for motivating me to get back into running, sharing all of her tips learned from her recent experience on the half marathon.

Kyle Scofield – I’ll see you on the mountain…punk ☺

Girl Scout Cookies

It has begun.

Last night Aimee attended the Phoenix Girl Scout Cookie Kick Off.

Billions and billions of scouts were in attendance. Even Carl Sagan would be impressed.

Thin Mints
Do-Si-Dos
Peanut Butter Tagalongs
All Abouts
Samoas

All coming to a neighborhood near you. Little Girls en masse will be going door to door selling what is now part of our American culture.

“Would you like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies,” will echo in towns and cities throughout the country.

There are some pretty strict rules that go with selling the cookies; all put in place for the safety of the girls.

• Girls cannot sell cookies before 9 am and after sunset
• Girls must be accompanied by an adult
• Girls should never enter a customer’s house
• Girls should never give out their name

Gone are the days of Pleasantville when you could trust anyone and when little girls were not targets.

On one of our stops an old man (2quarts short on embalming fluid) shouts, “What are you selling!? What do you want!?” We are okay that he does not get any cookies, but how can you be rude to a little girl selling cookies? Joseph McCarthy would have surely put him on trial for being Un-American.

Last year we got rolled…hard. We were stopped dead in our tracks by an angry parent and Girl Scout leader, “What are you doing? You can’t sell cookies here! This is our street.” “We made a deal here with all of the girl scouts in the area and have already divided up the territory ahead of time.” Cause when you're a Jet you're always a Jet...
The Thin Mint Mafia had already decided on who owned what turf, who could sell where and who could not. Eventually the turf war between the elements in the Purple Sage group was smoothed over. All within the Cactus Pine district was well again.

Last year I had to go at 6:00 in the morning to help pick up the cookies for the troop. The distribution center looked like the end scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark with stacks of boxes as far as the eye could see. The pallets of boxes covered both the parking lots and the PE field of a high school. About a dozen semis continued to unload even more cookies. It was an amazing site that inspired awe.

When going door to door it is nice to see the reactions of some of the people as they say, “is it that time of year again?” On one of our last stops a woman came to the door and was happy to see Aimee as she said, “nobody has ever come to my door to sell me cookies, I have always wanted to buy Girl Scout Cookies.”
It is not the amount of cookies that she sells that makes the experience but to see the joyful reaction from the people as a little girl brings just a little bit of happiness in a box.

I’m Ready

The clothes have been pulled and folded, race number and timing chip are ready.

It’s supposed to be a cool 62 degrees tomorrow. I’ll let you know how I do.

Chasing a Hot Air Balloon in the Mini

Yesterday Aimee saw a hot air balloon rapidly descending over our house. At around 200 feet it looked as if it was going to land in the nearby golf course.

“Let’s chase it and see where it lands.” Jill said excitedly.

I ran in and grabbed my running shoes, wallet and digital camera. Aimee and Jill looked to the sky as I sped through the streets of Chandler.

About two miles from our house we saw the balloon as it attempted to land in a field next to the Holiday Inn. The balloon could not descend quickly enough and drifted dangerously close to Alma School Boulevard. Two long bursts from the burners and the balloon climbed to about 40 feet. We followed the balloon chase team to an empty lot where they again attempted to land …no luck. We then had to make a u-turn to get to a field that was across the street. The balloon flew directly above us by a mere 15 feet.

After two bounces the balloon stopped as the pilot opened the skirt and let out the hot air. As the giant collapsed in the open field a team of men hurried to fold it up. The well heeled passengers were then packed up into a van and headed off.

It was an exciting, spontaneous and fun moment of our afternoon

Preparing for Battle, Daily

Every night I prepare the armor and place it upon its stand.

Each piece is carefully chosen, each piece is methodically put into its place.

Shoes shined, slacks pressed, shirt starched.

Briefcase as shield, pen as sword, proximity badge as crest of arms.

As each piece is donned I envision what is to come and how it is to be faced.

I arrive and join the fray.

Each moment as melee, each day as battle.

I return only to repeat and to then face once more upon the gates.