Where have I been?

Well, happy belated Thanksgiving! Sorry I've been out of touch. For Thanksgiving, my family and I took off for Hilton Head, SC to see the in-laws, then over to Atlanta to see our old friends. I think everyone had a great time, especially the boys, who got to see their grandparents, their favorite aunt - Aunt Beth - and their friends they had to leave behind when we moved this summer.
Injury status: Well, just to be smart, I've taken this week off so far to let my calf heal. So I've not officially run for nearly 2 weeks. The whole area from the knee to the calf is feeling like its old self, so I'm eager to get back out soon. As my wife will tell anyone, I'm pretty grumpy when I can't run. Even I'd half to agree!
I still want to talk about the death of my sister one of these days, but haven't quite figured out how to start 'at the beginning'. So stay tuned....
I've always wanted to be a writer and its been literally years since I put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, but lately I've been feeling the urge to start again. Maybe I'll post something here!

Injured....

Well, a few weeks ago, I felt a 'pull' in my right calf area. At one point during my run, I actually had to stop, stretch, and walk. I though maybe it was just a cramp or severe pull. I laid off a few days and then was able to run a couple more times. Then last Monday, I felt it 'pull' again. I laid off and did some searching and came to the conclusion that it must be a - hopefully - slight muscle tear. I stayed off all all last week and it began to feel good again. So, this morning I headed out for a short 2-3 mile run. Well, other than my knee feeling a little tight, it seemed to be going ok. Until 2.75 of my 3.00 mile run and riiiiiiiiiip! Well, I guess, I'm laying off of it for another week and see how it goes. This time when I felt the pull, I didn't push it.
Its funny how a runner's life begins to revolve around running. I spent most of last week being grumpy and somewhat 'depressed' that I couldn't hit the road. I was going nuts. Now I've got another week and most likely another one after that according to all I've read. Frustrating to say the least! I guess I'd better turn my attention to starting my workouts at the office since I now have access to the little 'gym' in our building. Maybe for now, its even time to start 'writing' again.

David Crowder* Band Concert

On November 7th, Alexander and I ventured to Cincinnati to see David Crowder* Band. It was Alexander's first concert.

For those that have not seen DCB, whether you are into Christian bands or not, I highly recommend it. DCB is a worship band from Waco, Texas that spends a lot of their efforts ministering to the college age/20 + crowd. Not to be pigeonholed, their musical styles is a hodgepodge of everything, with a heavy emphasis on modern. They pull from old hymns, gospel, rock, bluegrass and just about everything else. At the Cincinnati concert, Dave even pulled out a Guitar Hero guitar and played it during one song.

In my opinion, they've begun to have a following similar to Grateful Dead or Dave Matthews. Meaning, many of those attending were doing so for the 2nd or more time, attesting to the power (& fun) of DCB's concerts. Tickets were only $22 - $26, which is a bargain in this day and age, especially considering there were two (2!) opening acts.

Regardless of the music and message, it was a great experience for me and Alexander, who, at 11 and in 6th grade, is already showing those signs of 'my parents aren't cool' type of attitude. Alexander has also been amazingly mature for his age, and somewhat introverted. But there are several things upon which he and I connect: Movies, Books, Video Games, and now, ever since getting his first MP3 player, music. It was a cool thing to be able to share in the DCB fun. Even more so that he already liked them and liked their music. But I think seeing them live was something I hope he found very special.

And for the rest of you: If you've not see David Crowder* Band...what are you waiting for?

Garmin 305

Well, I finally got the Garmin 305 Forerunner that I order this past weekend. I got to use it on my first run yesterday morning, and it was pretty sweet! It kept my distance, total time, pace, etc. But the cool thing is that I can bring it home, plus it into the computer and it downloads the info, including a map of my run! How awesome is that? I highly recommend one....and I know just how to get the amazing deal. In the end, I'll only pay $137, or about $200 less than retail.

I did run yesterday, but took today (Friday) off so I can run a longer run tomorrow and can't wait to use my new watch on that!

Hope...

In 1989, my sister passed away from injuries sustained in a car accident. I was twenty and on the verge of moving away from home. She had just turned seven.

In the future, I hope to use this blog to re-examine this tumultuous period of my life. What insights, if any, it will bring me, I cannot guess. But maybe, just maybe, it might bring some comfort and possibly a small fraction of hope to someone else that might be experiencing something similar.

I don't claim to know anything special or insightful in regards to losing a loved one or the grief that follows; I don't claim to have made it through the madness with any particular ease; I don't even claim that I (or any other person for that matter) ever gets over losing a loved one; I only claim to share my recollections about living, loving and loss.

Please keep in mind that these memories are mine and mine alone. Neither substantiated nor corrorated by anyone else that was there and close to me. They are what they are: memories from a boy on the verge of manhood, perhaps forced to grow a little too quickly, looking back down the fading path of time to that one sorrowful day.

As I embark on this journey, I'd like to remind anyone who reads this that there is hope. There is hope in Christ, first and foremost. But there is hope in within oneself and what can be overcome and accomplished; there is hope in our family and friends; there is hope in helping others; there is hope everywhere, now if we'd just open our eyes, minds, and hearts.

As I'll go into detail in another post someday, I wasn't always full of hope. I despaired. I treated others wrongly. I lacked responsibility. I lacked compassion and love. All of this I lacked, especially following my sister's death. I'm sure my close friends and family would attest to this.

It took a while, but after all these years, I hope.

I'll leave you with this quote:

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite a virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.

- Reinhold Niebuhr

Anniversary

Today, October 29th, Wendy and I are sharing our 13th wedding anniversary. You know, I often hear people say that "thirteen years is a long time" or "you've been married forever" or even stuff like "how'd you do it?" A friend of mine who was going through a divorce once asked me how I got so lucky to find someone like Wendy. Actually, truth be told, I hear that all the time! I remember that I replied to my friend that there was no luck involved (at least not much), and that it was surely, if anything, that God had a plan for me and was looking out for me though I didn't deserve it. How else do you explain how she came along at the right time and in the right place and it moved quickly after that? To say I married up is an understatement.

So here we are, 13 years and two kids later and, as far as I'm concerned, still going strong. Sometimes I feel guilty because things have seemed too easy. I constantly hear people griping and moaning all the time about their marriages and wonder, "Am I supposed to complain like that?" I won't.

For me, I promise to always remember how blessed I've been and will continue to be in the future.

Happy Anniversary, Wendy!

Love,

Trey

1st Marathon Post Run

Yesterday I got my butt up and out for a 4 mile run and it felt good, if not still a little tight and sore. Monday will be back to normal, pre-work runs. Even though the weather was warm for the marathon, Ohio is starting to fall into its more typical fall weather with lows starting to drop to 31 and the highs in the day having a hard time getting to or out of the 50s. Got my hats and gloves ready!

For those that want a great weigh to track their running workouts, the Cape Cod Athletic Club has an awesome excel spreadsheet that I've been using for years. Take a look, its called Run2007:

http://www.capecodathleticclub.org/files/home.shtml

My wife has decided to start running, so we've got her on a 10 week startup program to running 30 minutes. She seems to be enjoying it, enough in fact that she wants to 'jump' weeks. Next on our list is to take her to Fleet Feet and have her running style tested so she can get the correct shoes.

Kinda bummed. I was looking for a Turkey Trot 5k to run in Hilton Head when we're there visiting Wendy's parents, but it doesn't look like there are any.

As for website design? Thinking about a quotes section, maybe a calendar, maybe my runnign spreadsheet. We'll see.

2007 Columbus Marathon, October 21

Trey getting ready to head into the start line crowd.

10,000 plus 1/2 and full marathoners

The Start Line (Treys WAY back). It takes me over 3 minutes to cross the line and over 8 minutes for all the runners to cross.

The halfway mark. The 1/2 marathoners were lucky -

they were peeling off towards the finish line! Actually, at this point I was 5-6 minutes ahead of pace.

Pictures from the Columbus Marathon Red Nose Fun Run

The day before the Columbus Marathon was the Red Nose Run (fun run) for the kids. Its called the Red Nose Run because it was sponsored by Barnum & Bailey and had clowns. Of course, maybe the red noses on the boys in the picture to the left might have given it away. The picture to the left is of me, my mom and the boys after the race.

To the right is the boys wither their medals. They both did great!

Papa and Grammy with the boys.

The proud parents.

3rd day since the Marathon and time to start thinking about the future

Ok, so today is Wednesday, officially the 3rd day since the marathon and its time to start thinking about the future.

First things first. I'm still sore, but at least I can walk up and down stairs without too much pain today. I should have taken the ice baths after the marathon, though I did have a hot soak last night that seemed to do wonders. Either way, I'm not nearly as sore as my first marathon where it felt like every bone in my feet were breaking and rubbing together everytime I walked. I'm eager to hit the pavement again, but I'll give it a few more days just to be safe. This eagerness surprises me a little, as after my first marathon I was burnt out and laid off running throughout much of the winter.

Next, I've decided that as I push ahead with the running, I've also decided to start coming into work 3 days a week to workout. My company has a small gym with 20 year old nautilus equipment, a treadmill, bike and some other odds and ends, including dumbbells that I might as well start using. I know that the cross training will help my running in the long run, as well as help me to drop down to my first marathon weight. I'd like to decrease my waist size and finally slim this little gut I've got. I feel that if I do this, my time will increase dramtically.

Or course, going hand in hand with the increasd exercise, is nutrition. I need to make sure that I begin sticking to a well-balanced nutritional plan, incorporating 6 small meals a day, including additional protein intake.

Ok, so thats the plan!