Denny’s blog

I am excited to hear the new Yeah Yeah Yeah's single today.  Really kinda different for them.  This new single Zero, is kinda techno and with Karen O's obvious improvement in her singing, really reminds me of Terry Nunn from Berlin.  So, I'm pumped.  Yeah Yeah Yeah's and Metric's new albums are both due out April 13th.  That would be so cool if they were to go on tour together.

This Saturday, I'm going to run my first race of 2009.  A pretty competitive 5 miler in Indianapolis.  It was exactly 10 years ago that I ran this race for the first time.  I ran a 28:08 and finished 30th overall.  This year, barring injury, I will reach a milestone of running in 250 road races since I started running dating back to my first race on July 1st, 1982.  The Achilles problem that I've been dealing with for the last 6 weeks is just about gone.  Still in pretty decent shape, but have put on about 7 pounds.  But looks like I may get 54 miles in this week.

Work has been especially rough this week.  Lots of interrupted sleep and tight deadlines and tons of problems.  Next week I won't be on-call, so it should be better. 

Trying to catch up on the Australian Open that I've DVRd.  Right now I'm up to the Women's Singles 4th round, so I'm only a couple of days behind.  Some pretty good matches so far.  I've actually been able to run the last two days with no pain, so that is highly encouraging.  Just gotta take it easy and make sure I don't re aggravate things.

I went to Circuit City the other night to see what they had on clearance and I wasn't impressed.  I just don't think 10% off is very aggressive when you're wanting to drain the swamp...

S'well.

Wow, I am not having a good time dealing with this bursitis in my ankle that has crept up on me.  Unfortunately, it seems to be healing about the rate that it came on.  It is a very slow process.  The thing that sucks right now, is that I can't really do the Octane.  Worse yet, I'm having a hard time motivating myself to do the Octane.  Probably because it's a "caving in" if you will, to admitting or accepting injury.  I can't be hurt dammit.  I am in the best shape I've been in in 10 years.  I have goals in place for this year already.  So, now it's been six days since I've run. Every day, I think about the fitness level eroding, the goals slipping away, and I feel no control...  Cross training isn't good enough dammit.  I need to be able to run...  I have to convince myself that this isn't going to be a nagging injury.  I can never get the kind of injuries that sit you down for a week.  I always have to get the kind that sits you down 6-12 months.  Shin splints, plantar fasciitis, ITB syndrome?  How about 'em?  I'd take one of those...  Part of training and competing at the level I desire to compete involves risk of injury.  Not knowing how long you'll be out is the worst part.  Not knowing when you can just go out for that non-training, get-rid-of-stress, breathe-in-the-air run again... 

Got things to do this week.  Gotta get the oil changed.  Get a hair cut.  Mariah's birthday is this week.  I promised Austin that we would do his "growing rocks" project this weekend.  Gotta get me some gum so I'll quit biting the hell outta my fingers.  Think maybe cutting down on the caffeine a bit will help, eh? 

So, here is me.  Quit feeling sorry for yourself and do those things you know you need to do to accomplish what you want.  Watch the Australian Open tomorrow and hit that Octane.  No self-defeating behaviors.  Catch the Inauguration.  New Hope in the air for America.  

Until the start of the Australian Open.  I'm ready to DVR and catch as much of it as I possibly can.  The NFL playoffs surely didn't end up how I thought they would.  The teams that are hot right now are the ones that are winning, and that's what it's all about, who is the best at this time of the season. 

Austin got contact lenses today.  He is going to try them out for a week to see if he wants to get them.  We'll see.  He's not quite 11 yet.  Don't know if he's ready for that sort of routine yet as it's still quite a chore sometimes to get him to brush his teeth!!

I'm looking forward to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs CD, Metric's new CD, loving the new Rush DVD.  I would so love to see the YYYs in concert.

Can the Indianapolis Colts pull through this year, or will they be bumped by San Diego again?  Hopefully not.  We'll see tonight.  Kourtney's indoor soccer team played a tough team today.  They lost 5-1 but it was a pretty tight game until the end.  Had a pretty decent run today.  Have 22.5 miles for the week so far.  Seem to be recovering pretty well from the marathon aside from some tightness in my lower left calf and left ankle.  Going to try 10 miles tomorrow on the trails.

2008 for me was a pretty good year.  Mariah and I celebrated 20 years being together.  It's amazing that it's been that long ago that I was a 19 year old college sophomore dating a 16 year old high school junior (yikes?).  The Beijing Olympics was a highlight for me.  I recorded as much as I could on DVR and watched as much as I could.  Running wise, I was awed and inspired by the performances of some of the athletes.  Namely, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Shalane Flanagan, Paula Radcliffe and Kara Goucher.  Those performances drove me to a higher level of inspiration and discipline than I've seen in years and it paid off in my running.  I actually won a few local 5K races this year, and finally broke 1:20 in the half marathon for the first time in 10 years with a 1:19:00 On November 1st.  Then watching Paula and Kara in the NYC Marathon really made me want to run a marathon again.  I want to run either Chicago or NYC Marathon this Fall.  Started this off with my first marathon in more than two years with a 3:02:44 on December 28th.  Other inspirations in running this year came from runners that I compete with and train with.  Namely, Lucie Mays, Jeff and Jacki Andrew, Tim Monaghan, Molly McKee (a local HS soccer star w/ a bright future) and Annie Gasway.  I have run with and competed with these individuals over the course of a couple of years and they are just beyond my reach, somewhere I see myself being if I apply myself correctly.  One thing that really woke up my competitive desire this Fall was the following link from Annie's blog.  Since the marathon a few days ago, I have identified some "obvious" things that I need to work on, and I will strive for that this year in my running. 
On the family front, I will work strongly on being patient with my children and keep my cool.  On the work front, I will try to become tolerant of things that I deem to be inexcusable.  This will be difficult since I set high standards for myself, that I expect the same from others, most especially by those who are the deemed "experts" in their areas.  Things at work have always been like this, the difference is my tolerance level, which seems to fluctuate wildly depending on what is going on.
I will be 40 this August.  It sounds funny, but I am actually looking forward to competing as a Masters Runner this fall. I think I will fare pretty well. Things will be good this year.  Special thanks to everyone who supports me, inspires me and those who accept me for who I am.  Most notably my wife, Mariah, my parents, my kids Kourtney and Austin, Jeff and Jacki Andrew, Aaron Gadberry, Jo Pridemore, Jerry Huxford, Kelly McKee, and John Chrzanowski.

Four more days until Christmas.  Still gotta get one more thing for Mariah or Christmas.  Mariah and the kids are on break all the way through January 5th.  Kourtney's team had another indoor soccer game yesterday.  They lost 5-3, but it was a good game.  I'm going to bail on the Hangover Classic 10 Miler in Louisiville January 1st and run a marathon in Springfield, "MO" instead on the 28th.  I haven't been "marathon" training, but I'm running more overall mileage than I ever have and I'm going to jump in.  My goal is to run either Chicago or NYC next Fall, but I need to get one under my belt before then.  My only concern will be how much this will throw a wrench into my training for the Indy Mini in May.  Hopefully, it only takes a few weeks to recover and I can resume real "training" by February 1st.  We'll see.  Yesterday I ran 14 miles at what I hope to be marathon pace of 6:50 per mile.  It is incredibly cold out now today, it is 7.  Just 48 hours ago, it was 49.  Work has been very hectic in the last few months.  High level of stress and pressure.  I finally read a book this year. I borrowed "Christine" from the library a few weeks ago and finished it last night.  Now I need to finish Dean Karnaze's book. 

It's been months since I've made a post here.  A lot going on.  Still checking in, just not posting.  Been really busy.  Running has been going super.  I'm running the best I've run in 10 years.  It is so awesome to be able to train and compete at this level injury free.  Just gotta be smart with it.  Just wrapped up a 60 mile week.  I've run over 20 races this year.  Probably going to run just one more December 7th.  Then it's a visit back to Louisville for the Hangover Classic on New Year's Day. I finished 24th overall this year in 1:03:34.  My goal is to go under 59 minutes this go around (I've gone sub one-hour en route to a 1:19:00 half marathon two weeks ago).

Lots of exciting news on the music front for me.  Rush's new live DVD is due out November 25th.  Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Metric are wrapping up new CDs to be released in early 2009.  Bought the new AC/DC album, which is pretty good, and got to see them in concert in Indy. 

Work has been crazy, but manageable. 

To The Other Side.  This past Saturday, one of my strongest races since I suffered a stress fracture along my entire right side SI Joint nearly 19 months ago.I ran the Terre Haute Ten Miler and finished second overall in 1:01:02.  This was a difficult course, so I am ecstatic with the time.  Most of all though, I am ecstatic with my effort, focus and concentration through the entire race.  It is one of the few times that I didn't have any mental lapses during the race.  The fastest 10 miler I've run in over 8 years.  Last year I was actually the pace car for this race, as I couldn't even yet run 10 miles as I was still just starting to run again.  My primary goal this fall is to break 1:20 in the half marathon.  Each race, 5Ks, 10Ks and this 10 miler have all been building races to my goal.  This 1:01 effort of 6:06 per mile pace is what I need to run 1:20 for the half.  I have a half marathon three weeks from now in Evansville.  That will be my first shot at 1:20.  Realistically, I'm thinking a 1:21 is in store.  Three weeks after that, I will have another half marathon in Indianapolis that will attract the caliber competition that will surely pull me to a 1:20. 

The race started out rather conservatively as the first mile has a 400m steep hill.  A pack of 4 of us quickly became three following the hill.  At that point, we were clocking 6:10 and 6:11 pace as a group of three.  I thought, wow, this could go according to plan.  However, the first major hill, about a 200m climb, the eventual winner, Tim Monaghan threw in quite a surge in which I had to use the down hill to recatch him.  Surprisingly, the other guy in the group fell off a bit.  I've raced against him before, but wasn't sure what kind of racing condition he was in.  At four miles, once again, another hill and Tim just kept charging as if the hill wasn't there.  Dropped down to 5:53 then 5:55.  By 5 miles I was 15 seconds behind and could no longer hear the guy in third behind me.  A long 600m climb up hill made me drop all the way down to a 6:19 mile and I was nearly 45 seconds behind at this point.

By this time, I was still running aggressively and still had 36:13 at 6 miles.  I could hear Bob in third behind me keep catching me and I kept trying to hold him off.  Finally, at 9 miles, we had that last huge downhill and I took off.  I worked too damn hard to give up second place!  I was just hoping I put enough distance on him before the last 200m climb to the finish line.  Apparantly it was enough as I put 21 seconds on him in the last mile.  Meanwhile, Tim didn't slow down at all and blazed to a 59:07.  The weather was perfect.  Started out really cool but started to warm up in a hurry.  Legs cramped up after ward on occasion.

So, I'm totally pumped.  I ran a really easy 7 miles on soft terrain lastnight and tonight actually felt good and ran 11 miles after work.  I am surely feeling it now though.  This was a truly breakthrough race for me.  Gotta stay focused and disciplined.  The fall racing season will be over in just another 6 weeks.  My legs are twitching, I'm still not done rehydrating.

It's been a long time since my last post.  Having a hard time finding the time.  Kids are so busy and I'm busy with running.  Work has slowed down in total volume, but still a little bit of jerking around.  Running is going really well.  Got a tooth pulled last week.  That totally sucked.  I missed almost all of the US Open.  Damn.  Serena Williams pulled it off and Federer looks to sweep it in three.  The Colts pretty much sucked lastnight.  I don't have much faith in the Colts defense.

I am really happy with my running.  I've maintained 56 or more miles 4 weeks in a row now.  5 weeks to go before the Evansville Half Marathon.  It's kinda hard to believe that I only have 3 more races this year.

So, now I'm tired...  Let's see what Adrian Peterson can do tonight against the Pack.