4 years in the making...

I've had this vision for sometime now... pretty much ever since we first moved into the house. Time, money, time, lack of vision, and a plethora of other excuses kept me from starting this project.

This would be the year that I'd start and finish the backyard. It had to be done if we're going to sell this house and not get a lot of negatives due to the back being unfinished (and worn down by the pooches).

April: It begins... I wear the dogs out the first big weekend of work. The storage shed gets moved to open the space up more. You can see the beginning of the "trench" where the retaining wall will eventually be. The 2 cement pads to the left will eventually be removed (2+ hours with a jack hammer, yeah, I busted out with the big boy tools). The whole backyard pretty much looks like this surface, well packed down bark dust.

May saw little work due to a lot of little things, but there was the weekend with the Bobcat MT-52 mini-loader (google that bad boy! it totally kicks ass!). One long day of leveling things out on the upper end of the backyard, finishing the retaining wall, and realizing I've now made a HUGE mess back there.

June: This was the month I had to get this done. One big push the weekend the pavers were delivered. Rototill, level, spread, 3 loads (ultimately needing 4) of 1/2 cubic yard of gravel (3/4 minus with a top layer of 1/4 minus), and 4 pallets of pavers.

240 sq. ft. of patio space is done, put a fork in it...


Final weekend of June: Wash, rinse, repeat. It was a do-over of the previous weekend of leveling, smoothing, gravel, plate compactor, laying the pavers, and realizing I'm not 20 anymore.

About another 180 sq. ft. of patio is done. The project (for the most part) is complete. We now have a kick ass place to beat the summer heat. In all, I estimate that it took me roughly 60 hours of labor to do this project over several weekends.

Tools of the trade:
Bobcat MT-52 with bucket and tiller attachment
5 HP and 9 HP tiller (the 5 didn't cut it).
Bosch electric jack hammer.
Plate compactor
Brick Saw

I'm done, put a beer in me. Barley's satisfied with the quality, that's all that really matters.

Legacy

22 years in the making... I grew up in a house where the Celtics were the team my father loved dearly. Being Irish, what other team would he root for? Bird, Parish, DJ, McHale, Ainge, Russel, Havlicek... and of course, Red. Now it's Pierce, Allen, and Garnett.

Watching the Celtics DESTROY the Lakers tonight was amazing and emotional. 3 years ago my father passed away on Father's Day. I wish I could call him tonight about this game. I know he'd be very happy and probably a bit choked up too. I know I was...

Boston. Beantown. City of Champions. Red Sox, Pats, now the Celtics. 17 Championships in 62 years. Beating LA by a ridiculous amount at home. Priceless.

This one's for you dad... one for the Irish!

Drop Top 10k

I had this goal last year, run a 10k in under 40 minutes. Well, I never raced that distance until this weekend, so the goal was still there.

I felt real good at the start and went out a little too fast, but it didn't feel out of control. I got into a solid rhythm through 2 miles and kept that pace through 4 miles. Then, just like old times, mile 5 I dropped off my pace, way off... but still in good position. I was in 10th place through the first 3.5. I dropped a place but kept him in check until we crossed back over the highway. With 1.5 to go, I slowed and lost contact and didn't get it back. I did push hard through the last mile and finished strong in... just under 40 minutes.

6:25 ave pace.
11th overall
10th male
3rd overall masters men
1st in age group

How sweet it is!

Running through the Past - Darkly

Well, I did it. I went and ran Eugene. Saturday I arrived at the Expo in time to listen to Kenny Moore speak and get him to sign his book (Bowerman and the Men of Oregon). Dinner at Track Town Pizza (a trip down memory lane), so all was good.

Up at 5 am to get in breakfast and head out to Autzen for the shuttles to the start at Hayward Field. It was crisp and cool, perfect starting weather for a race. Standing outside Hayward memories of the many track meets that I attended there running through my mind. We start off heading towards Hendricks Park and Pre's Rock. My knee's were tight from being cold, but I figured they'd loosen up (and they did). Easy pace through the first mile, running through the residential streets and heading towards Roosevelt Middle School. Down to Amazon Parkway, it's like I was a kid again on a training run heading home from South. At the first turn around I saw Bill and Marcia McChesney. Kenny Moore was at mile 3 and 6 cheering us all on. Through Amazon Park and past the SEHS track. The memories were all coming back to 22 years ago. Mile 7 was the Bill McChesney Jr. mile, right near the SEHS gym. The crowd there was amazing! I see the Axemen Track sweatshirts at the water station in front of the school, a glowing moment of pride.

My pace through all of this was perfect, low 7's and fairly consistent. Everything feels great. We head past UO, over the footbridge, and out to Springfield. I try to slow down a little to conserve energy. Since I was down for so long, I knew that endurance and fatigue would be my enemy. I come through the half in 1:36, sweet! I needed to be between 1:35 and 1:40, when I need to, I can run pace perfectly. By 16, I was a little tired but still feeling strong. I'm told that I looked strong through 17 (felt pretty good too), but I knew it would only be a matter of time before fatigue was going to be an issue. Mile 18 I had sock issues (lovely blisters as a result) and dealt with it as best as I could. Still good at 20 although I've dropped my pace (while fussing with my socks around 18).

OK, so 10k to go. Gut check time. I think I might be able to pull this off...

At 22, I'm tired. I know my stride is not where it needs to be and my lack of endurance is showing. I could still pull out a BQ, but I'm not overly optimistic. I've had an awesome run and and happy with whatever comes my way. 3 to go and I'm losing it. 2.5 and the wheels come off. With just 2 miles to go, I can't run anymore. I've given it everything I had, and that's OK. I stroll to the footbridge, see Autzen, and start to jog it in. I run through the finish line and it's done. Marathon #2 is in the books. It was hell to get here, but I'm not complaining about a thing. I ran as perfect a race as I could considering all that had been going on the last 3 weeks.

I'm dreading walking down stairs...

Here I go again...

So the rehab has gone well this week. It's not perfect, but it's considerably better. I know I can run in the 7:30-40 range, but it's just a question of for how far and will my legs hold up. If they don't and I have to stop, I'm OK with that. It's a mental health thing. I'm mental and I run for my health...

As the doc put it, well, if you've paid the entry and you think you can do it as a training run, then go for it. If it hurts, then stop.

News at 11...

Anatomy of an Injury

OK, so I did some "light" reading (not that I hadn't already done this before), but this thing called the IT Band is rather fascinating. The fact that it primarily will only show up in running and cycling makes it a double edged sword for me.

I won't bore anyone with the details, but you can google the hell out of this for treatment, stretching, diagnosis, long term effects, surgery, cortisone treatments, Yoga, whatever you desire.

So what matters here is that today I got shot up with cortisone. I can theoretically run tomorrow, but I may wait another day to let the magic work. Right now my ass is on fire from the shot (to be expected, last time I got a shot in my foot, that burning sensation went halfway up my leg). I know, TMI...

The doctor still seems to think that I could concevably still run Eugene as a training run. My kind of doc, prescribes a 26 mile run for rehab... lol

I'm moving forward with caution. I don't want to be down for a whole month becuause I did something stupid. A week would be acceptable though... ;-)

The other side of the pillow...

When you're hot, you're hot... when you're not... life stinks.

OK, first major negative post of the year. Since the Race for the Roses, I've been battling IT band problems. First 2 days were OK, but very tight. Took a day off and rested, iced, stretched. Got in 2 solid runs and was happy with the progress. Did a 10.5 miler on the following Sunday and the wheels came off the bus. My IT band hurt bad around my knee. Very bad...

Took 3 days off, tried to run 2 miles and couldn't. Saw the doc and we did some manipulations to release the IT band. New shoes. Tried 2 miles on the dreadmill and that was OK, minimal pain. Tried to run the next day (Sunday) and had to stop within the first mile. Another 3 days of rest, ice, rehab and then deep tissue massage on the lower back, hips, and left leg. I felt a noticable difference in my range of motion, so I thought things would be better.

Tried to run again (4.8 miles). It would get tight, I'd walk, stretch, walk, then run again. Repeat as necessary (every mile?). Last night after that run, it was hell. No amount of ice, no position, nothing felt good.

Note: At this point, many runners can become destructive, depressed, or just plain cranky.

Eugene is in 9 days. It's looking extremely bleak to run even the 5k there (the half and full marathon are not looking even remotely possible). I'm taking another day off, I'll try aquajogging tomorrow and Sunday, but I'm about ready to throw in the towel.

Yup, I'm pissed and not in the best of moods for a Friday. I wanted this race badly and managed to screw it all up with an injury that I can't run through. I should be thankful that I can do these things, but it's not easy to see that when it hurts this much.