I found this cool widget to track the presedential results in pretty much real time. Enjoy!
Tag: 2008
Portland Marathon 2008 – A Success for Everyone!
Well, we did it. Amongst the long hours of work, moving to the city and other surprises… not to mention Amy Macs knee tendinitis, 6 weeks of inactivity and 4 weeks of physical therapy… we made it! Not only did we make it, we made it look goooood.
Ok, maybe not good, but we both were very happy with the race. 26.2 miles is a hard race to prepare for not only physically, but mentally as well. How do you run that far, and more importantly, how do you plan to run that far? When we started this adventure 6-7 months ago we had no idea what to expect in terms of time commitment, training hours and miles or even how fast we would try to run this thing… so we through some goal times out (pulling them from thin air) and put them out there.
Originally I thought ~4 hours would be something I could accomplish, and I would try to drag Amy along with me. But as time wore on it became more and more obvious with our short training schedule and demands at work that this would not really be possible. I adjusted my plan to be around 4:30 and Amy adjusted her schedule to be 5 hours (although she really wanted to be able to keep pace with me). While not 100% successful, we are very happy with what the results were. I ended up running 4 hours and 38 minutes and Amy ran 4 hours and 59 minutes! Success, I say!
As of this writing it has been one week since we finished our race. I will probably run one again, but Amy was only in it for the one race. Im not sure when I will be able to begin my training again, my toe nail fell off yesterday (my big toe) and it hurts to walk, let alone run. We will just have to see how soon the pain goes away so I can start moving again. Most likely I will start training for more triathlons and half marathons and find a sweet full marathon in the next few years to test me again.
I just read that Sarah Palin ran a sub 4 hour marathon… and with that, I have a new goal time. I would like to say my goal was to qualify for the Boston marathon, but to make that happen I would have to slash about 90 minutes off of my time. Ha ha ha ha!
To all of our supporters for the last few months and those who cheered us on along the route in Portland, thanks for your support, kind words and tips. You helped make this a memorable experience all around.
- Check out all of our Marathon Photos here.
- The Official Portland Marathon Website
Learning How to Surf in Maui, Hawaii
This Photo taken by theFerf
Well, it’s not a giant tube, but it was a great wave to learn on! Here is a quick snapshot of me learning how to surf yesterday here in Maui. I even tricked Amy Mac into learning how to surf too (and if you know Amy, you know she NEVER puts her face in the water)! Notice our instructor (JB Fallo) in the back left of the photo… he was happy we were able to get up and surf that day too.
More later, just a quick post :)
Run for the Fallen – Today It’s Not About Me
Amy wrote a great post about the run we did in southern California a few weeks ago with Run for the Fallen. Read Amy’s blog post, I could not describe it any better.
From WithAmyMac.com:
“Every time I head out for a run, I’m focused on MY goals, MY progress, MY training and making it to the next mile. But today it was different. Today we traveled over 400 miles so we could run 5 miles with the “Run for the Fallen†team. The “Run for the Fallen†team, lead by Jon, is a group of 12 people that after recently losing a loved one in Iraq has decided to run a mile for every fallen U.S. soldier. There have been over 4,080 lives lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom and starting on Flag Day 2008 these runners began their journey from Fort Irwin, CA to Arlington National Cemetery. The goal is to memorialize each soldier by assigning them a mile and planting a flag and placard at the start of that mile.”
Read the rest of Amys description of our trip and experience titled “Today, it’s not about me” on her blog.
Running a Few Miles for the Fallen Troops of Operation Iraqi Freedom
This coming Wednesday (June 18, 2008 at 6am), Amy and I will be in southern California (near Camp Pendleton) to run 5 to 10 miles with the people at Run for the Fallen. I am proud of the effort they are making and am thankful for what they are doing to help heal the pain of the friends, families and loved ones of the over 4,000 soldiers who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom. In my opinion, this is a great way to help remember those who have died protecting us.
If you are a runner and you would like to take part in what is going on with the Run for the Fallen folks, head on over to the website www.runforthefallen.org and check out their route map and other links. They have setup a Facebook Group for each day of the event (over 70 days total of running) listing the time and date of every days run, the days running map, and also the name and details of the soldiers they will be running for and memorializing that day. Here is the Facebook Page for the day of the run Amy and I will be taking part in and here are the names and photos of all the soldiers we are running for that day. Even if they are not running through your area, you should take some time if you are a runner or walker to head outside and take a few steps (or a few 1000 steps) to support the cause.
As we all run across the country, there will be an American flag and signcard for every one of the over 4,000 soldiers who have died placed at every single mile. Our friend, Tim McGovern, will have is signcard and flag placed on August 18th in the middle of Virginia on the way to Arlington National Cemetery.
TIME AND PLACE of Our Run:
Date: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Time: 6:00am – 6:00pm
Location: South Harbor
Street: Harbor Drive S.
City/Town: Oceanside, CA
What is Run for the Fallen (from their Official Site):
ONE MILE FOR EVERY SOLDIER KILLED IN OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
Beginning Flag Day, June 14, 2008, a dedicated team of runners will run across America from Fort Irwin, CA to Arlington National Cemetery, one mile for every soldier killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. For ten weeks, team members will mark each mile with an American flag and signcard in an apolitical reflection of remembrance of each soldier.
Here is a Video that explains why this run was setup: