The Finale

well I guess I did save the best for last. I ran my last race of the season on October 2nd. It was the Eyes on Aids run in Pleasant Valley. The last Time I had done any type of running was the Royals run the first of September.

Being that the misses was out of town at a convention and we had a few too many the night before, I was able to get a great night sleep and well rested. The morning was cool and crisp and there was around 200-300 runners. The coolness was in the air and it caused my lungs to hurt during the first half of the race along with my back. I struggled through the race and managed to finish the race with my all time best and just missed out of placing in my age group.

Looking forward to next race season

Progress is a start

Well I figured after being absent off the blog for a month it was time to at least update those of you who showed interest in my run quest. I did not feel well after the last run and feared that I would finally have to face the knife on my bad back. I did schedule appointment with my doctor in which they did xrays and sent me to bone and joint specialist.

Let me start by saying there is a tremendous amount of irony that it took running in Axtell again to make joints hurt badly. Upon seeing a specialist I aparantly have the hips of most 60 year olds. I have progressed hip arthritis in both hips and will eventually need replacement in both. I asked how long of course, and the dr, which we will call Dr A**hole, so positively said I should be able to make it 10 more years if I didn't run more the 10 miles a week and regulated weight. I asked how this could be since I have run all my life and he informed me that it was due to the fact I have run all my life!!!

So with all the negative aside I decided to reduce my running to just races and train on the eliptical primarily. So fast forward to the race today and zero training in between and I ran my best 5k yet. The official time has not been posted yet but my guess it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 26 min. Joints felt good and cardio was not bad at all.

I hope I can ride this success to my next race at the end of the month. I do have the 4mile zoo run in 2 weeks that I am gonna miss to go to Nebraska for a rib cookoff. I am sure I can transfer the entry if anyone is around that would like to run. The race actually runs through the zoo which I think would be fun

Way to Go Jason and Angie!!!

First of all let me give credit to a few people that need credit for there amazing accomplishments....Jason and Angie. It is true motivation to see two individuals who were not runners in high school that are very successful adult runners. Both of the handed me a giant ass kicking. Angie made a point to tell me all about it later on...lol. It is very admirable you both look amazing and are kicking major ass.

NOW as for my running....@#%&*!?#@! That sums it up more then anything. I spent my Friday night hanging out with two of my best friends and may have not gotten the rest needed but it was worth it. Secondly I am not sure how I did it, but my back is officially hating me and out of commision. The run it self was not hard cardiovascular wise, but the pain on my lower back and right hip made it hard and seemed like I was wasting energy to try to compensate.

Enough of the bitching. It was a great starting run with great people, good conversation, bright orange t-shirt and in the greatest place in the world...AXTELL KS.

I have a couple weeks off before my next run on August 21st. That day should be interesting since I am running in the morning and then playing in the HCC Alumni football game that evening. So I am hoping to have my back hurt less after the run since it will hurt after 18-20 year old's smack me around for 4 quarters.

until next time, I will keep training and hope to have a more productive race next time.

It puts the shoes on and runs or it gets the hose again!!!!

I'M BACK!!!! Wow it has been a rough start to getting back into the running life. After my last painful 4 mile attempt at running, I felt pretty good overall with the week of training and results. My body however had its own view on what the hell I was doing to it. I got sick Friday night and it would not go away. At first I assumed it was just a touch of food poisoning, however I was miserable all week and the 100+ heat indexes along with work would not allow me to shake it. I tried to call in sick for work but I was denied.....not sure why I have sick days!

So here I am over a week later getting back into the groove of things. I have less then one week till my first race, but feel that I am ready. I am not sure I am at a very competitive level, but am really excited that the race is in my home town. My Parents moved out of Axtell when I was in college, along with every other relative I have, so it is nice to go back to where you are from.

This brings me to the focus of my blog today. This weekend I will also be attending my 15 year class reunion. I started to reflect the years of living in Axtell, USA and have to admit the sadness I have for not still having Axtell in my life as much as I used to. It is only in DJ jobs or reunions that I get to come back. I spent 19 amazing years growing up in a small town in northeast Kansas. From sports to cruising on Friday nights. I can honestly say that it is true when they tell you to "remember these years, as they are the best years of your youth". I can remember working for the city in the summer during the day, running 4 miles and sprints after work, lifting and drinking beer with classmates sharing stories of our first year in college. Seems like such a distant memory that gets pushed to the back with all the changes we all have in life. Bridge parties are replaced with birthday parties, waxing your car with packing the mini van, Axtell/B&B football game with all day soccer tourney...... we are grownsed up!!!!

I know all of us would not change anything to be where we are today, but does that mean we cant relive the past every now and then. What we did in the past is insignificant to most and honestly not nearly as a big of an accomplishment as it is to us and all around us. I think about winning the state championship in football in 1993 for example. I have many ex-teammates and co-workers who did not get why that was so big. Their schools had numerous state championships and they could not grasp that you had to compete against 100's of schools to get there. Same in track in field. In class 1A in KS there are over a 100 schools. It is safe to say that each one of the those schools had 1 person for every event. Take in consideration that some school, like Brewster when I won, had two guys that were good. So to win state against those odds is a great accomplishment.

Basically my new source of motivation has been converting VHS tapes to the computer/dvd's. I was fortunate to have 3 separate tapes that allowed me to remember friends, classmates and accomplishments. I have my junior year track, senior year track and jr/sr class play! I have watched them and it has made me eagerly anticipate going back to Axtell and running. What better place to run your first race of the season then the place where you ran a million races in the past. From racing bikes with friends as a kid, to running out of a moving truck while smashing pumpkins(real pumpkins not the band lead by the bald headed weirdo) to friday night football games (track meets to most of our foes!)....it will be a blast. To sum it up in the best way I can, I like to reference music and songs to settings. My days growing up in Axtell, Kansas are best summarized in the Kenny Chesney song "Back Where I Come From". I may push my body beyond limits next weekend, but will have a smile and know that I will enjoy a lot of memory lane all day!

Back meet Shin splints...shin splints meet back!

As I sit here trying to cool off and get up the energy to mow, it has occurred to me I am just not supposed to run anymore. I digress however and will kick ten kinds of running ass. Some may now and others could care less, but I have a horrible back. The biggest joy I get out of going to new doctors is watching them look at x-rays of my lower back. the best way to explain what EVERY single one has done, is to watch a child, or my wife, tilt a magazine as if to see behind or under whats in the picture. It is a very funny task to watch My lower back has some crookedness to it and my right hip is lower then the other. So I battle with pain more often then not.

Let me back up and share that my run at 4 am on Wednesday was great. For only my second run I was able to finish a 5k in 30 min without any pain or struggle. So when after today I was walking after a mile and half it was a little disheartening. My back was hurting which I can normaly deal with, but when my shins were barking too it made me want to shake a baby. Thank god there were no un-supervised children on this route!! Towards then end of the run it was if the two part of my body were having a competition to see who could be the bigger d-bag. That is like being the smartest KU fan....even if you you are the smartest you are still DUMB!

So as I have mentioned, when I run I have a lot of time to listen to music and think of random stuff. Of course this is in between weezing, crying and coughing of course. It has occured to me for some time I missed out on a few things being from a very small town. For you that are not aware I graduated with 25 people (5 foreign exchange students) and that was a big class! I would never change where I grew up because I had more opportunities then most kids will ever have. With that being said I really wished we would have had a drama department. I have many ideas on a daily basis for great improve.....what do you mean Darin? SO GLAD YOU ASKED. To keep it short lets just say that I think a funny show would be acting out 3 part scenarios involving a famous individual, explaining any topic, to a random audience. The example I gave a friend was to have Ralph Machio explain the new Karate Kid movie to IROC-Z guy(the dude who still thinks its 1985)

Well I am now off to mow and limp...thanks for tunning in and as always, peace out

First Run: Running 1- Darin 0

As I slowly grazed through the neighborhoods of North Brook it occurred to me, I AM DUMB! It did not take a trained lip reader, psychic or worker at worlds of fun to guess what people where thinking and saying as they watched me. What in the hell is he thinking. Maybe it was the buckets of sweat glistening (or pouring) off me like I just jumped out of the pool. Maybe it was the look of agony on my face as if I had broken all of my ribs on one side. Possibly it was the breathing that resembled that of an asthmatic pug. What ever the case lets just say I could have been mistaken for the "special kid" running to the pool.

With all that been said, run number one is in the books and the training has officially begun. I know that many people would think that 2 miles is no big deal and that I am maybe being a bit dramatic. To this I say, "so what! Its my blog!" In all seriousness this is the very point in which I started this training. I used to run 4 miles like it was a daily chore with ease. I want to get back to that point and be that crazy a-hole who can run for an hour at an 8min/mile pace. But in due time people. I am overall happy with the results of the run. I was able to run at a 9 min/mile pace for the first 1+ mile before having to walk some. Training is a very gradual process and have to refer back to track my senior year in high school. The first meet was cold and blustery and I ran a 54 second 400m. The last meet was warm and windy and I was standing on a podium as a state champion. I guess the point I am making is that I cant expect to be at 8 min/mile on the first run of training when its Africa hot outside.

Overall I feel good and am looking forward to my Wednesday 3 mile run. I am grateful for you that read this and promise to entertain with more then just running results. I will tell you I have a lot of songs on my Ipod and already had some interesting thoughts about certain songs I will share in the best entertaining way the reverend knows how.

peace out

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN

As far back as I can remember, running always came with ease. Maybe it was good genetics, maybe it was an active childhood or maybe it was a gift. Either way as I matured I became a very good runner. From the early years as a high school middle distance runner to the later high school years as a sprinter, I achieved the highest levels of achievements with what came naturally. Due to all of this I was highly recruited as a runner and took a college scholarship.

After two years of running college track and moderate success, I would venture to say I was burned out. After a short break from running(10 years!), it was not the natural and easy task that I ever remembered. I also missed the competition and that person or goal being dangled in front of me to get me moving!

Fast forward to modern day and running is far from easy. I try to run a mile, something that would have seemed easy, and am gasping and in pain all over. I started to get into running by running a few 5 K's last year but have slacked off since. It was today that I watched a friend, who up until a couple years ago, had little to no competitive racing experiences under her belt. She finished her 2nd triathlon while I sat there like a fat turd. To make this first blog short. I am going on a journey, a quest, a nightmare, (insert own view here), over the course of the next 3.5 months to run 5-5 K's, 2 10-K's and one four mile run. At that point I will set the bar higher (hitting his head with hand as he types this)and accept other challenges from readers as well as myself!!!!

So dig deep fans and offer me suggestions of challenges and/or ways you want me to document my trials and tribulations through this next few months. I also am looking for any gadgets or other items I can use on this blog to share success and failure.

Lastly I want to say. At no point will I use my blog to wine and cry about any past events in my life that may have caused me to get fat, battle addiction and overall become a waling health hazard. I will not throw anyone under the buss for things they did years ago or my brothers for bad touchi.... err I mean beating me up(lol). I will try my best to make it informative and make you smile through my sweating.

Now its off for a beer and cigarette. TOMORROW THIS FAT MAN STARTS GETING SEXY AND ANOTHER SHAPE THEN ROUND!

Its a great day to be a hornet!