May 24th, Thursday

Ran the 56 east run & added on the Old Carmel Valley loop for 7.71 miles in 1:12:03.  Going to take tomorrow off for travel up to Wine Country.  My friends get a house every Memorial Day weekend and I missed it last year due to graduation being that weekend last year.  Looking forward to some nice peace and quiet.  I don't even pay attention to where exactly we are staying this year as a friend is picking me up at the Oakland airport and we are driving up from there.

Finals start tomorrow for the seniors, so this is the beginning of the end for them.  Some awesome kids as usual and will miss them but it is time for them to fly and leave the nest.  Time to see how they will do on their own. 

Here over the next week or more, I will leave you with some great quotes for the graduates:

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go.
~Dr. Seuss

Total Miles:  842.30  Pace Runner:  797.10   +  45.2 miles (a new record!)

Love to my parental units!  <3 

May 23rd, Wednesday

Bad news, my Garmin is on the fritz (sp?) so I am now borrowing a CCHS XC Garmin that doesn't do quite as much.  It will work until I figure out what one I want to get.  My old one, dubbed "the oven" by Dan Geiger, got too much sweat in the battery area and let's just say it stopped being reliable!

Ran a quick one of 6.24 miles in 58:08 as I was trying to get ready for my trip this weekend. 

I wanted to share the latest picture of my white board in my classroom.  It is starting to get filled up as opposed to the last time I put a picture up of it.  I will give you the before and after:

I would say we are both doing our part!  I'm over 40 % done and things are going well so you keep spreading the word, & I'll keep running!  I'm still trying to put a few things together but I want to have an event to get the Parkinson's $$ up a bit.  More on that soon.  I'm also working on some more publicity stuff.  Can't wait to get school done in a couple weeks so I can devote some real time to these things!

Total Miles:  834.59   Pace Runner:  791.61   + 42.98 miles!

Love to you Mom & Pops!  

May 22nd, Tuesday

Another run down at Lake Murray, 7.8 miles in 1:12:39, I finally ran slow there!  Afterwards, I went over to the minor league field at San Carlos LL & I found a bunch of people I know!  Mary Prada's son was playing, Elaine Camera was there & her brother John Canepa was coaching!  Small world!  I remember playing there on Pro Golf Discount with Tony Miles!  Both our dad's coached & it was a fun time but that was 35 years ago!  Wow! 

Have to keep remembering how short life is and remembering to keep the things that really matter on the front burner!  Hope you all do the same.

I need to gain control of my time and thus control of my life again!  This is paraphrased from John Mason but he sure knew what he was saying!  My life is spinning loose and I am hanging on but it is time that I start taking control instead of time controlling me! 

Have a great day!  SHARE! SUPPORT! DONATE!

Total Miles:  828.35  Pace Runner:  786.11   +  42.24 miles!

Love ya Mom & Dad!  

May 21st, Monday

Quick one today as I am beat and it's only Monday!  6.33 miles at Lake Murray tonight.  As usual, I ran too fast, 54:26 but my legs are holding out so I can't complain too much!  Bugs weren't too bad either.

Here's wishing you a great week and that you will all share my journey with someone you know!  Thank you!

Total Miles:  820.55  Pace Runner:  780.61   +  39.94 miles

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3

May 20th, Sunday

Happy Sunday!  I took Friday off and then on Saturday I was going to run and I ended up passed out on my couch.  I did wake up in time to attend a dinner in honor of one of my mentors, Frank "Rocky" Graciano.  He was a grade school coach of mine who is one of the most generous people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.  He was a fireman in town for 30 years, retiring as captain.  He gave countless hours of service to the Blessed Sacrament community cooking up some great food.  He is best known for being Bill Walton's first coach.  Bill spoke and was hilarious!  We raised a lot of money for Brian Bennett's scholarship fund and had a great time seeing a lot of people that I haven't seen in quite some time.  Been very lucky to have had such great role models growing up!

Today, in honor of both Rocky & Dr. Bennett, I ran a 1/2 marathon around Mission Bay doing what I call the figure 8.  I started at Ski Beach, went around Sea World, the Hilton, Information Center Campland by the Bay, Crown Point, back by Paradise Point to the Hyatt, toward Belmont Park and then around Sail Bay back to Ski Beach.  I was telling someone at work about the route and they said they don't even like to drive that far!  13.1 miles in 1 hour, 59 minutes & 31 seconds on an empty stomach no less!

Didn't want to advertise for these places but this was the only decent map I could find of Mission Bay.  I should not have put my truck in a place where I could get to it half way through my run because I was VERY close to cutting my run short after just the Fiesta Bay loop!  Luckily, my momentary thought of stopping passed and I crossed Ingram so it wasn't so close.

Hope you all have a great week ahead!

Total Miles:  814.22   Pace Runner:   775.11   +  39.11 miles

Love to my dear Mother & Father!  <3

May 17th, Thursday

I am falling behind on my blog posts but not on my running! :)  I would be more depressed if it were the other way around!  Today I did a very short run, 4.8 miles on the east 56 bike path to just get something in as it was my 7th day running in a row.  The good thing is that I broke the 800 mile mark!  Plan to take tomorrow off for some much needed body repair & I also have a trip to the chiropractor (Murphy Frasier :) to help in that process.

Can't say that I will get caught up on sleep as that never seems to happen, even on the weekend, but I hope to at least get some things done.  I can't wait for the school year to end so that I can actually find some time to sleep before I get sick again!  I just keep having things pop up in my calendar.

All I can do is persevere.  Because if I can do that, I will eventually reach my goal.  I will leave you with a quote I like on this topic.  I actually have found many but I have many more posts to make in the future so I will spread them out!


"People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don't know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to." ~ George E. Allen

This fits my situation to a tee right now.  I am no great runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it can be said that I don't have the good sense to know when to quit!

Happy trails my friends!

Total miles:  801.12   Pace Runner:  758.62   + 42.5 miles!

Love to you both Mom & Dad!  <3 

May 16th, Wednesday

With my knee giving me problems, I was hoping to have a longer run but was not really sure if it would happen, especially on day six in a row.  The key was, as it usually is, to just take it one step at a time and before I knew it, I was 5 miles in with over 3 miles to go to get back to school!   I have not walked at all so far so I wasn't about to start now even though I have to admit to being tempted.  I always remember what Coach Geiger always tells the XC runners before our first meet (Bronco Invite) that no CCHS XC runner walks up the hill or anywhere else!  Before you know it, you are finished and drinking a cold Power or Gatorade!  8.95 miles on the combo easet/west 56 run.

Today at school we showed one of Nicky Geis' videos (she is a good friend and former teacher at CCHS) that I would like to share with all of you.  It is all about what is possible.  Nicky went one particular direction with it and it is awesome!  This can be used in all arenas of life, so make sure to stay on the positive train to "I think I can!"  This girl has what it takes to make it so I thought I would give you a sneak preview of what you will be seeing on TV someday in the near future!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pic8tZb4RSQ

It's funny how the people who say it can't be done are always getting interrupted by those who are doing it! That is paraphrased from James Baldwin.  I really like the way he thinks!

Total Miles:  796.32   Pace Runner:  753.13   +  43.19 miles!

LOVE you MOM & DAD!!!!!!  <3  

May 15th, Tuesday

Trying to gt caught up on this blog writing!  Sometimes this can be almost as tough as the running itself!  Did the east 56 run for 6.42 miles today in 60 minutes.  Day 5 in a row and the legs are definitely feeling the fatigue.

Going to keep this short as I am tired but hope that I can get caught up on sleep.  At least the running is ahead of schedule and I guess that is the best of news.

I hope you will consider sharing this with others (especially if they know a Parkinson's or Cancer battler)  My fund-raising efforts have been unreal so far but they have stagnated a bit.  Trying to get my brother to commit to a date for a fund-raiser that I will tell you about as soon as I get a date set!

Here's a good classic Rush song that I play for my students, you get out, what you put in, for anything you do in life!  "Something for Nothing"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78yioWJhUJA

Total Miles:  787.37  Pace Runner:  747.63   +  39.74 miles

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3

May 14th, Monday

Ran after school today and did the combo east/west 56 bike path run.  My mileage makes me say that I ran like a Porsche today!  9.11 miles in 83 minutes & 20 seconds.  (so far only guys got the joke so if you are a female and understand, let me know!)

My AP students take the Economics test in 2 days and even though it is out of my hands now, I still get nervous and wish I could do more!  I just hope they have something left in the tank (after taking multiple other tests since last Monday) to study and give it a true effort to pass.  Last year was a disaster in that department but I will let sleeping tests lie!  They only have 11 more days of school left too!  Such an exciting time for them!

Anxious to see the Pads this week and have a lot of my students competing in CIF this week as well in many sports: Volleyball, track & field, swimming, & softball & baseball soon to follow!  Another iPad rollout date today (students getting their iPads for next year as we go 1 to 1!)

An update on where I have virtually run to:  I have now run through Boise Idaho!!!  Nothing until I break through the 800 mark but more states are just around the bend!

I will leave you with a great baseball quote that can be equated to every part of life:

"Progress ALWAYS involves risk.  You can't steal second base while keeping your foot on first"  ~ Frederick Wilcox

Hope your week is going well so far and I will be talking to you soon!

Total Miles:  780.95  Pace Runner:  742.13   +  38.82 miles!

Lots of Love coming your way Mom & Dad!  <3  
 

May 13th, Sunday

I have done some procrastinating this weekend!  Again, I waited to run until about 6:15 pm and ran around Sail Bay this time for 6.71 miles in 60 minutes & 1 second!  I must say that I am liking the less crowded night runs down at Mission Bay though!  AND there are no bugs like at Lake Murray, worth the short added drive!

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day all you Mom's out there.  Seems like you are a majority of my audience from what people tell me!  I was very sad not being able to spend it with my mom but I did send her some flowers & a nice card and I will get to see her very soon when school is over so I can take both her & my dad out to lunch or dinner hopefully!  :)  They truly are amazing people, parents, & friends!  I even had a complete stranger tell me that my mom was so sweet from a 2 minute phone conversation!  I'm glad 2 of my brothers were able to be there!  Here she is with her tulips and irises.

Looking forward to 800 miles in the near future and better yet, the half way mark coming around the corner...but I don't want to get ahead of myself.  One day at a time, slow & steady never lost the race & any other cliche you want to throw out there...

Better go get ready for the new week of school, got laundry to do, grocery shopping, all kinds of fun stuff!  Take care & thanks as always for your support!  Can't do it without you!!!!

Total Miles:  771.84   Pace Runner:  736.63  +  35.21 miles

Extra Mother's Day Love to you Mom & Dad!!!  <3

May 12th, Saturday

Did another late night run but this time at the Bay to avoid the bugs!  Started after 7:00 PM but manged to beat the sun and was lucky that the May gray stayed off the coast to keep the light around a little longer.  Did Fiesta Bay for 8.08 miles (it's now a little shorter with the new bridge by MBHS) 

Very quiet that late which is nice not having to dodge the crowds of people congregating on the path.  People need to treat it like a busy street, you can't just stop or cross it without looking both ways and you definitely should not walk 4 abreast and take up the whole thing!

One other thing that was cool was the R/C planes that fly just east of the Sea World parking lot.  I always like watching them during the day but never knew they also flew at night!  There were 3 planes all lit up, 2 in red, white, & green and a smaller one in red,  white, & blue.  Very cool to see.

It was really serene as the light was fading and I was running from the Fiesta Island entrance toward my starting spot at the runner's bathroom (Information Center).  A song came on that I just played in my class for my "wisdom" segment that was crazy appropriate called "Time Stand Still" by Rush.  It is a reminder to stop and smell the roses as time keeps marching on (faster & faster as my Dad always told me & boy do I believe him now!)  Here's a link to it with the lyrics as they are the important part.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAMl5IMWrrU 

A great week of running (over 49 miles!) and soon I will get my stats caught up on here.  I'm missing the last few weeks but they will be up on Sat posts soon.  Sorry if you are a stat nerd like me but time is not standing still by any stretch of the imagination so bear with me!

Total Miles:  765.13  Pace Runner:  731.14   +  33.99 miles!

Love to you both, Mom & Dad!  <3

May 11th, Friday

Took yesterday off and went to see Chicago last night.  Christy Brinkley was much better than anticipated and it was a good show!  John O'Hurley (J. Peterman from Seinfeld) was great too!

Did my run right after school to try and get to the league finals track meet ASAP!  7.20 miles in 66 minutes.  Left knee was worrying me for the first 1.5 miles but the pain subsided and the rest of the run went fairly well.

Made it to Serra HS a little late but got to see the the girls run the mile (1600m) and the rest.  I will give you the CC highlights: Ambassador Jake Williams doubled in the 1600m (4:15:04) & 800m (1:57:39), Grant Zebold (Arcadia Decathlon champion) doubled in the 110HH (14.69) & 300LH (38.59), 4x100 relay (42.49, best of the meet) LeBlanc got 21'6 1/4" to take the LJ.  The 4x400 got 2nd and qualified for CIF, & last ly Anthony Ajlouny got the discus (146' 02").

On the ladies side, Dana Conlin took the 100 in 12.91, Caitlin Krol won the 800 (2:15:61) & qualified for the 1600 too!  4x100 (49.38), Jady Tolda took the pole vault (10' 05"), & for the best individual performance of the night: Wendy Anae had a triple!  She won the high jump (5' 01"), the shot put (30' 10 3/4") & the discus (98' 02").  I might be going out on a limb, but I doubt anyone has won this particular trio as league champ.  Did I mention she is also the center on the hoop team and one of the best cross country runners on the team as well...  Can't wait for CIF next week!

That's all for now, have a great weekend and don't forget to do something nice for your mother!

Total Miles:  757.05   Pace Runner:  725.64   + 31.41 miles

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3

May 9th, Wednesday

Hi all, I have the mid week drag but I managed to work out 7.95 miles and get close to the 750 mark.  This will be short as this is day 5 of running in a row when things get very tough for me. 

I have another person to add to your prayer chain as well.  My friend at work's husband has just been diagnosed with cancer and I would hope you could keep them in your thoughts and prayers along with my parents, THANK YOU!

Hope that you are doing well this week and I will be more thoughtful and inspiring next time, just beat and need some rest!

Total Miles:  749.85  Pace Runner:  714.64   + 35.21

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3

May 8th, Tuesday

7.0 miles today on my still very sore legs (both shins and quads) but they should be feeling better by tomorrow I would guess & hope!  Getting a little warmer these days so I ran late, 6-7 pm and it was pretty nice!  Definitely more smelly afterwards though with all this sun!

Got some good news on the cancer front, which is rare but very cool!  Silvia Byrne is now cancer free and is a survivor!!!!  Congrats to her courage and persistence to fight off this would be killer.  I am waiting for the day I can write that about my mom, but until then I will keep on truckin'!

Getting ready for playoff time at CCHS so I am going to have to figure out how to run around all these games coming up.  The good thing is that the AP test is a week away and then Econ will be over for all intent and purposes.

Quote for your day/week/mont:  "You may succeed if nobody else believes in you, but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself!"  ~ John C. Maxwell

Take care and please keep these 3 words in mind as you go about your day:

SHARE!  SUPPORT! DONATE!
Thanks for everything you do to support me in my crazy quest!  

Total Miles:  741.90  Pace Runner:  709.15   + 32.75

Love you Mom & Dad!   

May 7th, Monday

First time I have been sore in quite some time, I think the hills definitely got to me.  managed to get 5.81 miles in with the sore shins & quads but wasn't terrible.  More tired than anything else!

I rambled quite a bit in yesterday's so I think I will keep this nice and short.  Thank you all, faithful readers!  I appreciate all the great support that I am getting from many different angles!

I try not to use any of these products but this is what my medicine cabinet might look like today as I am sore for the 1st time in months!

Total Miles:  734.90   Pace Runner:  703.65  + 31.25

Love you both Mom & Dad!

May 6th, Sunday

Hi all of you faithful followers!  Today was a good day on the road.  Perfect weather conditions, a challenging course, and my heart filled with love from my friends, family, & above!  I managed my second best time at the 1/2 marathon distance, 1:56:53, & that was with 2 substantial hills!  I didn't outrun a cheetah but I did come in 37th in my age group, that's a PR for me!

Ran into a Dons Alum about mile 7, Dan Drobnicki, and helped him break 2:00 on his 22nd birthday & his 1st ever 1/2!  Great job Dan!

 This is from the Hot Chocolate 15 K again but this is how I felt today!  Felt good to break 2:00 again!

When I run a race like this, my mind goes many places.  It is obviously focused on my parents a lot of the time but there are many other sources of inspiration I use as well.

Derek "D-Rock" Thomas, who was give a 1% chance of survival after being badly burned in an accident.  That was barely 20 months ago and he is now riding his bike all over southern CA, taking college classes & living!

Next is a young lady who I just saw last night at the CCHS Prom.  Her name is Tehya.  She has a severe form of spina bifida and has just recovered from her 4th surgery on her spine.  She is one of the most upbeat students at our school, always has a smile on her face, & is always looking to help others when she by all rights should be worrying about her own care!

Our angels are next, Natalie & Amanda.  They were lost to us in the same accident that almost took Derek from us.  I know that they were there today, helping me along, pushing, pulling, kicking me in the butt, whatever it takes!  Today, they helped me help another runner get to his goal!  (I made this shirt for the AFC that I ran the week after the accident and I wore it today too!)

These are just some of the people that run through my head as I run these many miles.  I can only hope that I can do good things for you, my students, my family, and all those that have cancer and Parkinson's!

Lastly, my partners in these last 600 or so miles are going to be leaving me.  Yes, it's time to change my shoes!  So here is their last hurrah, with the last medal they earned and they will be on the net for all to see!  Good work Nimbus 12's!

That's all for now!  Please keep spreading the word anyway you can, send some comments here, via FB, email, text, I don't care but I need to keep up the momentum!  And, of course, if you can, donate.  I'm working on an event this summer so as soon as I have a date, I will let you know and if anyone is interested in helping in anyway, please let me know.  Take care!

Total Miles:  729.09  Pace Runner:  698.15   + 30.94

Love to you Mom & Dad!

Cinco de Mayo, Saturday

Hi all,

Got home from chiro appt. (Murphy-Frasier Chiro) after school and was just beat!  I was going to go on a run and take Sat. off but I ended up taking a nap and the run didn't happen.  So I decided to do a warm up at Mission Bay which turned out to be 6.15 miles.  Ran across the Dragon Boat festival with some very cool outrigger canoes.

Have to work the Prom tonight for school.  They are having it at the SD ZOO which should be a cool venue.  Here's hoping all the kids will be safe and make good decisions tonight because I love them all!

With any luck, I will be able to leave a little early to get a few extra winks before the 1/2 tomorrow AM.  It starts at 6:30 which I thought was a little early but if it were going to be sunny, I would not be complaining!

Last on the list for today, we lost another person to cancer, Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys.  He was only 47 and although I don't consider myself a "Rap Fan", I did enjoy some of their tunes.  Really like how they mixed many types of music and melded them into something pretty cool.  Here's a little news story I found to check it out if you like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q99UFzl807I

Total Miles:  715.99   Pace Runner:  692.66   + 23.33

Love you so much Mom & Dad!!!!

May 3rd, Thursday

So tired from a lack of sleep but got the run in anyway.  6.36 miles in 60 minutes.  In a place just west on the 56 bike path, I had the fun of running through a swarm of bees!  Thinking that they might be establishing a hive or something near by but definitely was a surprise.  No stings or anything like that but we will see if it is like that the next time I run by there.

Lots of thoughts about Junior Seau today.  He was such a great man off the field, forget about how good he was on it.  I feel that this happening to such a big star will definitely bring about more change in the NFL and beyond in the coming years.  Feel for his children, family & friends.  I know the whole city of SD is feeling it but not like those who knew him best.  I remember meeting him when I worked at the La Valencia, he called us all, "stud", when in reality he was the stud!  I will keep running as if his great spirit was in me, making me a "stud" and helping me to finish this adventure!  RIP Junior!

“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
― Jimi Hendrix

My body is hanging in there, just the usual hamstring/knee soreness that ice can at least help.  El Paso, TX, Santa Fe, NM, and Chihuahua, Mexico are now in my rear view mirror.  Looking forward to getting a few more states under my belt this month!

Time to go, please share this with others who might be willing to donate and or leave me some COMMENTS!  :)

Total Miles:  709.84   Pace Runner:  681.66   + 28.18

Love you tons Mom & Dad!  <3

 

May 2nd, Wednesday

What a week, is it Friday yet?  This cold is bringing me down but I have to keep going... don't I???
5.63 miles today on one of the shortest runs I have done in months I believe!  At least I didn't lose any ground (actually increased my lead by by .13 miles!)  I will take any little victory that I can.

Going to see Cirque du Soleil Totem at the Del Mar Fairgrounds tonight so no sleep once again.  I know, it is self inflicted but I have to keep living don't I???

Always love their shows as they meld unreal physical abilities with awesome set design & live music.  Have never been disappointed!

I would love some more comments as time passes, I have now reached the 700 mile mark and hope to approach 900 by the end of May with any luck but I need your help and encouragement!!!!

Running the Safari Park half on Sunday if anyone wants to run with me, let me know!  Talk to you tomorrow!

Total Miles:  703.48   Pace Runner:  676.16     + 27.35

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3

May 1st, Tuesday

Felt like I needed to make up a little ground after the runless weekend so I did the east/west combo run on the 56 for 9.16 miles.  The weather was great, nice fine mist, nice & cool but not cold.  Just what I was looking for as far as weather was concerned.

This was also a good prep for the Safari Park 1/2 marathon I'm running on Sunday.  Speaking of organized runs, I got a couple pictures from the 15K I did downtown.

My legs look like tree trunks but I guess when you run hundreds of miles, that kind of thing happens!

Hope all is well in your world!  SHARE! SUPPORT! DONATE!   Today marks the 1/3 mark in terms of days of the year # 122 out of 366!

Total Miles:  697.85   Pace Runner:  670.67    +  27.18

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3 

April 30th, Monday

A short entry today as I am exhausted!  6.78 miles in 63 minutes.  Sick all weekend and still feeling the effects.  Looking forward to healthier days.

Total Miles:  688.69  Pace Runner:  665.17   + 23.52

Love you Mom & Dad!  <3