Mother Nature welcomed Father's Day in our neck of Chicagoland with a thunderous ovation early this morning. We awoke to thunder, wind, and driving rain pounding on the house. So much for sleeping in, but I've never been a big fan of the "sleeping in" concept anyway, so Ma Nature's continued assault on the water-logged Midwest was no big deal. (Note to Mother Nature - listen, lady, give it a rest with the rain. It's enough already and we aren't even in a flood plain. Seriously, let us dry out, sister.)
I've never been too good about waiting for the surprise of breakfast in bed, so I got up showered, shaved, and ran outside to try and save my Sunday New York Times from a water-logged grave. It's 630PM Sunday as I write this and it's still drying out. Some of the more conservative readers o'the blog would argue that I'm not missing much, but I beg to differ. After my attempt at saving said paper, it was back to bed for breakfast. Yogurt and curry-seasoned scrambled eggs were on the menu. One can never, ever have enough curry so I was completely delighted. I opened my cards, and was told by my eldest to make it quick so she could go back to bed. This of course made me slow everything down. I got some boss gifts, including the Nike+ for my iPod so I can better track my running obsession. I was thrilled. Also got a very boss jar of seasoned salts from Williams-Sonoma for my food obsession. It's a really good thing that the running obsession now offsets the food obsession. I'd be in a world of hurt without it.
Got some religion today too. Burning Question - Why is it that on Mother's Day in our meetings the women are always honored with flowers or some such nicety and on Father's Day, the men get a whole lot of nothing? By and large, this has been my experience across the Church. That being lamented, I will say that we were spiritually fed to be certain, including a very good lesson in the EQuarrel about our roles as the Lord's emissaries - missionary work. And not the two years on a bike kind but the role we have today. It was a good discussion today.
After Church, we ran home to grab Courtney's suitcase and to get the spinach and orange pepper salad and it was off to the Peterson's for Father's Day Dinner. Can I just quickly mention what an incredibly awesome thing the orange bell pepper is to me? It's like candy. I love them and think they should be in pretty much every salad and all things grilled. I'm just saying...So it was dinner with the Stake President and his wife today, as well as another family from the ward. It was a really nice dinner and good conversation. We managed, OK I managed, to get through dinner without setting off the Offend-O-Meter, as far as I can tell. The Petersons are really wonderful and I am really impressed by their model of service.
Sister Peterson asked us each to speak briefly about our fathers. It was an honor for me to speak of my father and the example of service that he has been to me. My dad has taught from an early age what it means to be about the service of God and of my fellowman (it's an example I struggle to follow but I know the example is there for me to follow). In his example of service to God, I've seen blessings pour from the heavens and it's an example I would be wise to strive to follow at all times. My dad has fulfilled his divine calling as a father. I refer to the text of the "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" and what it says about fathers:
"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families."
To my father, I say thank you.
It also gave me time to think of the other father's in my life. I thought much of my late father-in-law, Dick Thompson, today. I only knew this great mean (he raised an amazing daughter - a woman who has stuck with me for almost twenty years now) for a little more than four years but he has a profound influence on my life each and every day. He gave me his daughter many years ago and I promised him I'd always take care of her. I strive to fulfill that promise every day. I'm also grateful to Shari's stepfather, Paul Eckel, for the man he is and how he's been so wonderful to my mother-in-law and how he has blessed the lives of my children. He's been a blessing to us all.
And as Father's Day draws to a close, my family is heading all over the place. Shari and Sarah are packing as we speak for their flight Wednesday to get Sarah to BYU. Courtney flew out late this afternoon for Salt Lake City for three weeks. Parker and I will be lone men in the Garden of Eden, as it were, by mid-week. I do have to give a shout out to the Global Services staff at United Airlines at O'Hare. They rocked once again today. First of all, the private check-in is the BEST. Secondly, upgrading my daughter and priority tagging her bags when she's not flying with me was just cool. So even as the airline industry falls apart, there are still shreds of customer service humanity out there. Way to go!
BTW - No video today. Really couldn't come up with an appropriate 80's related, father-themed song. Unless you count Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" and I really didn't think her hectoring her dad about teen-age pregnancy needed to go up.
15 June 2008
14 June 2008
My First 5K...why didn't I read the story of the tortoise and the hare one more time?!
FAIR WARNING - this post has more pictures than usual and ends with perhaps the video of the CHEESIEST song to ever come out of the 80's - read on:
5AM dawned early today after my two and half day jaunt across the country. While on that trip I was determined to A) eat at In-n-Out (did so - see proof below) and B) get at least one more training run, a two-miler, in (did so in Alexandria, VA on Friday morning).
So Shari, Sarah, Parker, and I left the house at about 630AM to head to Batavia (Courtney is at a three day Stake Youth Conference so wasn't with us this morning) for the race. I checked in and got my race t-shirt and then just mulled around with my family, listening to the playlist I had compiled for the race, getting ready to run. I'm not sure how many runners there were in total but I was #178 and I saw numbers into the 300's. Here's how things looked pre-race:
At about 7:50AM, the race organizers had us pile up at the start line, and I do mean pile. I am still amazed that when the start gun was fired that no one got mowed over.
The starter gun was fired and we were, collectively, off. And this is where I should have read and reread the story of the tortoise and the hare. I would have remembered that slow and steady wins the race...I would have remembered that the tortoise left that stupid hare eating the proverbial dust. I would have remembered to keep a different pace. I was really caught up in the excitement of my first race and was amazed at the pace of my first mile. It was faster than anything I had done in training. My second, while a little slower, was still beating my training pace. And just past Mile Two, the hare in me gave up the ghost. The last mile became something akin to my personal version of the Bataan Death March. Suddenly my body announced it was done and it was all I could do to force it along. As I am fighting those demons, all I am recalling is the most recent issue of "Runner's World" magazine, which had a whole section on improving your 5K and a warning about getting caught up in the rush of your first race and realizing that is exactly what I had done. My buddy Jeff, who just ran a 100K(!) warned me that it would happen. And it did. So accepting my fate, I plodded on and managed to round the corner to the finish line. What was so heartening was to see my wife and two of my three kids at the end of the line. They were holding a poster and cheering me on. That really was awesome. And Courtney had called, leaving me a voicemail on my phone and then calling Shari's phone to track me down. I was so touched by that sweet girl remembering me. Here are a couple of shots post-race:
After greeting my family and complaining more than I should have to them about my disappointment about my performance, it was off to get a bunch o'water and the most awesome orange slices ever. We didn't hang around for the rest of post-race festivities, as Shari and I had to attend a memorial service for a colleague of mine from work.
I'm still ruminating about my performance and realize that training is just a tad different from a real race and that I need to remember pacing and its importance. And I can't let the excitement of the race climate affect my pace either. I have another 5K in two weeks, so I'll be working on that as I train for that one. One thing that did make me laugh was one of the songs that was played before the race. the afore-mentioned issue of "Runner's World" had an article about race music and what people run to and it noted that there isn't a race where the CHEESIEST song to come out of a movie ever is played. And if you are a child of the 80's, you may have already guessed the schlock I am referring to but if not here it is - Survivor and "Eye of the Tiger":
5AM dawned early today after my two and half day jaunt across the country. While on that trip I was determined to A) eat at In-n-Out (did so - see proof below) and B) get at least one more training run, a two-miler, in (did so in Alexandria, VA on Friday morning).
So Shari, Sarah, Parker, and I left the house at about 630AM to head to Batavia (Courtney is at a three day Stake Youth Conference so wasn't with us this morning) for the race. I checked in and got my race t-shirt and then just mulled around with my family, listening to the playlist I had compiled for the race, getting ready to run. I'm not sure how many runners there were in total but I was #178 and I saw numbers into the 300's. Here's how things looked pre-race:
At about 7:50AM, the race organizers had us pile up at the start line, and I do mean pile. I am still amazed that when the start gun was fired that no one got mowed over.
The starter gun was fired and we were, collectively, off. And this is where I should have read and reread the story of the tortoise and the hare. I would have remembered that slow and steady wins the race...I would have remembered that the tortoise left that stupid hare eating the proverbial dust. I would have remembered to keep a different pace. I was really caught up in the excitement of my first race and was amazed at the pace of my first mile. It was faster than anything I had done in training. My second, while a little slower, was still beating my training pace. And just past Mile Two, the hare in me gave up the ghost. The last mile became something akin to my personal version of the Bataan Death March. Suddenly my body announced it was done and it was all I could do to force it along. As I am fighting those demons, all I am recalling is the most recent issue of "Runner's World" magazine, which had a whole section on improving your 5K and a warning about getting caught up in the rush of your first race and realizing that is exactly what I had done. My buddy Jeff, who just ran a 100K(!) warned me that it would happen. And it did. So accepting my fate, I plodded on and managed to round the corner to the finish line. What was so heartening was to see my wife and two of my three kids at the end of the line. They were holding a poster and cheering me on. That really was awesome. And Courtney had called, leaving me a voicemail on my phone and then calling Shari's phone to track me down. I was so touched by that sweet girl remembering me. Here are a couple of shots post-race:
After greeting my family and complaining more than I should have to them about my disappointment about my performance, it was off to get a bunch o'water and the most awesome orange slices ever. We didn't hang around for the rest of post-race festivities, as Shari and I had to attend a memorial service for a colleague of mine from work.
I'm still ruminating about my performance and realize that training is just a tad different from a real race and that I need to remember pacing and its importance. And I can't let the excitement of the race climate affect my pace either. I have another 5K in two weeks, so I'll be working on that as I train for that one. One thing that did make me laugh was one of the songs that was played before the race. the afore-mentioned issue of "Runner's World" had an article about race music and what people run to and it noted that there isn't a race where the CHEESIEST song to come out of a movie ever is played. And if you are a child of the 80's, you may have already guessed the schlock I am referring to but if not here it is - Survivor and "Eye of the Tiger":
10 June 2008
Here Comes the RedEye
It's going to be a completely unpleasant couple of days of travel starting tomorrow. I have a noon flight to Los Angeles, which will put me in there around 3PM and then I have a car (NOTE - said Towncar will be stopping at the In-N-Out on Sepulveda Blvd right off LAX immediately after I get picked up) taking me to friggin' Universal City (land of burning studios) in order to give a speech and then it's back to LAX for a REDEYE, a REDEYE to Washington DC. I've got be in DC for meetings by 9AM on Thursday and this was the only way to pull it off. Check here for ME NOT HAPPY about the redeye, but that being said, I'm in First in both directions so that does take down the theatre of cruelty element, as does the fact that I am not flying the world's worst airline, USAirways. It's back to that old gray mare, United, and that is fine with me.
I'm still debating about taking a Tylenol PM for the flight to Dulles tomorrow night. The last time I fell that asleep on a plane, well, let's just say I was nearly asked to never fly America West again (it's a story for another time). Had I known then (it was 1987, people) what America West was going to devolve into, I would have been happy with a ban. I'll make the call tomorrow night at LAX.
Managed to get a three mile run in tonight. Shari went over to Herrick Lake with me and got her walk in while I ran. This was the first night in a few where it wasn't oppressively humid, so it made for a much better run. I was a lot happier with my time than a couple of days ago. That's the other thing that has me all kinds of worked up - my first race is this Saturday and I am spending the days before trotting around the country. I get home Friday night - here's hoping the thunderstorms skirt Chicagoland so I get home on time and get some rest before Saturday morning.
And for today's 80's video post-o-rama, let's go to the Queen of the 80's (hard to believe the old girl is still trying, desperately, to bring back the 'magic')-so throw on about a dozen black "o" ring plastic bracelets, and everyone that was at the memorable Temecula Humiliation Prom (why Humiliation Prom? see the photo above and ask no more), enjoy this. It's some vintage Madonna and "Borderline" -
I'm still debating about taking a Tylenol PM for the flight to Dulles tomorrow night. The last time I fell that asleep on a plane, well, let's just say I was nearly asked to never fly America West again (it's a story for another time). Had I known then (it was 1987, people) what America West was going to devolve into, I would have been happy with a ban. I'll make the call tomorrow night at LAX.
Managed to get a three mile run in tonight. Shari went over to Herrick Lake with me and got her walk in while I ran. This was the first night in a few where it wasn't oppressively humid, so it made for a much better run. I was a lot happier with my time than a couple of days ago. That's the other thing that has me all kinds of worked up - my first race is this Saturday and I am spending the days before trotting around the country. I get home Friday night - here's hoping the thunderstorms skirt Chicagoland so I get home on time and get some rest before Saturday morning.
And for today's 80's video post-o-rama, let's go to the Queen of the 80's (hard to believe the old girl is still trying, desperately, to bring back the 'magic')-so throw on about a dozen black "o" ring plastic bracelets, and everyone that was at the memorable Temecula Humiliation Prom (why Humiliation Prom? see the photo above and ask no more), enjoy this. It's some vintage Madonna and "Borderline" -
08 June 2008
A Sunday Sayonara to Shrillary
Another seventh day and another day of rest. It doesn't feel like June in Chicago - it feels more like stormy August. More storms this morning and more to come this afternoon. It may put the kill on grilling outside for dinner tonight. More on dinner later because first I have to attend to bidding farewell to a campaign that was ill-fated from the beginning.
Of course, I am referring to Shrillary's self-serving and avaricious run at the U.S Presidency and its "suspension" yesterday. That was the longest case of euthanasia I have ever seen. And I wish it was over, but it's not. We'll have to endure the Veep stakes (by all that's holy, Obama, don't do it - don't bring her on as your Veep, please!) as well a tirade or two from Bill (how completely INSANE has he become?) Her "suspension" speech because we still can't call it a "concession" speech in my book until she has released her delegates was 29 minutes long, about 26 minutes longer than it needed to be. And it took her seven (7!) minutes to even mention Senator Obama. Seven minutes of her blathering about herself (boo-hoo sorry it wasn't the party you had planned) before she could stomach mentioning the candidate who beat her fairly. There in lies the rub - "fairly" a concept completely foreign to Shrill and Bill. One can only hope that the two of them will keep quiet now and allow Obama to go forth and campaign without the Clinton albatross weighing him and his team down. I doubt the Democratic party and the nation will be so lucky...
So today's 80's flashback video is for you, Shrill. (David, I know this wasn't the video we decided on during the EQuarrel today but when I found this one, it had to go up). A little Romeo Void and "Girl in Trouble" -
Should I have gone with Aerosmith and "Dude Looks Like A Lady"?
And now back to dinner...I am pretty excited about the potatoes hasselback I'm making. Slices of garlic wedged into the tops of new red potatoes, drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and then baked. We'll see how they turn out!
Of course, I am referring to Shrillary's self-serving and avaricious run at the U.S Presidency and its "suspension" yesterday. That was the longest case of euthanasia I have ever seen. And I wish it was over, but it's not. We'll have to endure the Veep stakes (by all that's holy, Obama, don't do it - don't bring her on as your Veep, please!) as well a tirade or two from Bill (how completely INSANE has he become?) Her "suspension" speech because we still can't call it a "concession" speech in my book until she has released her delegates was 29 minutes long, about 26 minutes longer than it needed to be. And it took her seven (7!) minutes to even mention Senator Obama. Seven minutes of her blathering about herself (boo-hoo sorry it wasn't the party you had planned) before she could stomach mentioning the candidate who beat her fairly. There in lies the rub - "fairly" a concept completely foreign to Shrill and Bill. One can only hope that the two of them will keep quiet now and allow Obama to go forth and campaign without the Clinton albatross weighing him and his team down. I doubt the Democratic party and the nation will be so lucky...
So today's 80's flashback video is for you, Shrill. (David, I know this wasn't the video we decided on during the EQuarrel today but when I found this one, it had to go up). A little Romeo Void and "Girl in Trouble" -
Should I have gone with Aerosmith and "Dude Looks Like A Lady"?
And now back to dinner...I am pretty excited about the potatoes hasselback I'm making. Slices of garlic wedged into the tops of new red potatoes, drizzled in olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and then baked. We'll see how they turn out!
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