Day 53

George, has she shown you any sites at this point. The biggest issue is the viability of the site. The economics of the real estate, rent, term, and lease conditions, landlord/developer etc. The Goddard stuff is really secondary. I can run you all numbers on the school in about 10 minutes. A little market analysis is all it will take. Demographics are important and they usually run these prior to settling on a site. But you should ask her for that..1,2,3 and 5 mile radius the #kids 0-5 and family income on any site she is showing you. I still think your biggest hurdle to doing the Goddard thing is getting the house thing settled. You do not want to open a school and not have enough capital to carry you through ramp up.

Today I trained for the Spring Lake 5. Got on the treadmill and ran 5 miles in sub 8 min mile pace. But the treadmill makes that a lot easier to do. However, no pounding on the knees. Last mile was at about a 7min mile...good songs on the I-Pod. Finished up with stomach and upper body work as usual. Still no Carmen been out now for a month. Have no way of contacting him and I have know him for over 5 years. It is funny how some friendships work.

Tomorrow the weather may not allow me to cross train on the golf course. If so I will do a run somewhere.

I almost did the same thing to my knee on Sunday playing baseball with Freddy and his buddies. Did my Luis Tiant moves which the kids were getting a kick out of but my knees were feeling it.

Day 52

Was supposed to be a day-off. Spent the night raking a LL field that was half mud. I worked up a bigger sweat then if I had ran 5 miles. It was a cold windy night. But the kids played their best game this year. We won 13-9. Freddy pitched the last two inning giving up no runs. Maybe they will renew my contract.

Tomorrow back to the Y.

George how was that trail you were driving to?

Hopefully tomorrow I will have some time to work on our Blog.

Day 51

George, what did you mean guys like us ? You mean elite runners...by mid July we will be lean, mean, running machines !!!

Ran uphill for 50 minutes today on the treadmill. Did 5.4 miles. Took it up to 7% running again. Did a bulk of the run at 4-5%. Cooled down at a 10% grade. People think I am nuts. Then went and did my usual work-out.

Read Sat Sandhu blog today. He is very technical. Keeps track of calories in and out and % carbs,protein and fat. How many calories in six donuts, ten pretzel rods and two buds? I have to show Helen being a dietitian she will appreciate it. You also need to read his gear comments, again very technical but informative. He has also upped his mileage and his long run( 15.7 miles). AND his cross training is a little more intense then playing golf.

We are falling behind !!! I am going back out tonight for another run!

Ok day off tomorrow. LL game at night.

Day 50

George, I go long on the weekends as I do not have that much time during the week. But I am going to have to make time. I am not big at running at 5:00 at night but may have to. Here are my thoughts...We divide the days total miles by 3or4 and run/ walk. Day 1 is 18 miles maybe we break it up into 3 six milers. Run 4 walk 2. Just a thought.

Today went the extra mile...did a 4 mile walk with the suicide vest. Took an 1hr... 4mph/15min a mile. Feels like I am getting stronger. Therefore, 2miles 30 mins; 4miles @ 10 min 40min an 1hr 10min. 3 hours 30 minutes out in the Rockies has to be great experience. And we do not have to go to work afterwards.

Went to church today as well...one of our parishioners who was 48 died in her sleep yesterday leaving behind 5 kids and a husband. The youngest being 4. It makes you count your blessing. Health you can not take it for granted. We are doing something that is going to change our lifestyle.

The house thing is your major challenge...hopefully working both fronts trying to sell and talking to the lawyer may give you options to at least set a $ sum to your risk.

Back to the Y tomorrow. Treadmill...uphill workout.

Day 49

George...it is scary I was thinking of you and Tadpole on my run today before I read your post. On my I-pod I have 2 Johnny Cash songs...Ira Hayes and it Grand Old Flag. Both reminded me of people who have served in the Marines. Anyway, I was going to post and say after you finish your training for the Transrockie you should re-enlist and join Tadpole. If you keep running in the suicide vest you will be in better shape then when you were in Marines. That is very impressive... 2 Star General heading up Iraq. I will never forget meeting him in the Atlanta airport when he came off the plane doing a hand stand!!

Did 11 miles today the weather was perfect... cool and cloudy. Felt the best so far after a long run. Was afraid I would be tired after a long week. Maybe the training is kicking in. My weight is down to 164 I just wish I would lose the stomach.

LL Game ended in a tie 7-7. We should have won...poor base running. Blame the manager again. They may not renew my contract.

Tomorrow my Sunday routine...suicide walk may up the mileage.

Day 48

Another long day...work which was a disaster when I got in this morning(that will teach me to take a day -off), ran 5+ miles and did my stomach and upper body work. Back to work... off to Maggie Moos for school fund raiser had to serve Ice Cream for an hour. Then off to LL we had a game at 7:15. Lost a tough game tonight 12-11. Poor managing again. Got home at 10:00.

Tomorrow long run... hope I get some sleep tonight. Another big game at 4:00 tomorrow as well. Hope I get a nap in tomorrow.

Day 47

Good day of Golf...great weather. Felt better this week then last. Even played better. I think walking the course carrying my bag is good cross training...4 1/2 hrs on my feet has to help.

LL is getting frustrating...the kids are just goofing around too much.

Tomorrow back to the Y.

Day 46

I am a man of routine. Back to the Y. Outside 4+ mile run same route except I was running with my I-Pod that I am learning to program. Low energy level. No Carmen again...I hope he did not quit.

Tomorrow cross training again...golf. Like I said a man of routine. Also LL practice after golf.

Day 46

Day-off. However, I feel like I walk 10 miles today shopping at Sams... my weekly Tuesday chore.

Tracy helped me with my I-Pod saved me a lot of time with selecting/making playlist.

Too bad your buddy did not make the cut. It would have been fun I am sure caddying in the final rounds.

George, be careful with the weights I read somewhere ankle and wrist weights are not good.

Paulie called today...he told me about some pill you can take for altitude issues. He is going to email the name. Off course I forgot the name already. He had some serious issues with altitude he passed out a couple of times. Said the pill helped.

Being a bum for a couple months is not a bad thing especially now that you are in training. My biggest problem is finding time for the long runs it will only get harder as weather gets warmer/hotter. NJ is a little behind Dallas but will be hitting 90 soon as well.

Day 45

Y day...my buddy Carmen has not been there now for over 3 wks. He would have given me grief with my I-pod. He got one a year ago and was on my case to get one. It's not the same not seeing him. I have another buddy he is 85. He makes me laugh...he is still chasing the ladies!! He does not work out much but he is hornen in. George, the good news here is you are never too old.

Ran up hill for 50 minutes on the treadmill did 5+ miles. The treadmill is great for my legs no pounding and I can maintain a steady pace which is one of my biggest problems. Plus I can control the grade took it up to 10%(walking) and 7% running.

Day-off tomorrow!!!

How was the golf tournament did your guy do well. How was the cadding ?

Day 44

Sunday...Church, breakfast at our favorite dinner The Princetoian been going there for 12 years for Sunday breakfast. Then the 3 mile suicide walk with the I-Pod. I am very surprised no one called the padded wagon on me. I was dancing and singing down the road with the suicide vest on.

3hrs of gardening and no Sunday nap not happy. Will watch John Adams and go to bed.

Back to the Y tomorrow.

Day 41,42 & 43

Missed 2 days of posting. Thursday crossed trained...played 18 holes in 4 1/2 hours carrying my bag. Had a good round going till the 16th hole then the wheels feel off. After golf...LL practice for 1 1/2 hours. I think the TransRockie will be a piece cake after a day like Thursday. Dealing with 11 10 years olds for for hour and half might be like climbing to 11,000 ft!!!

Bought the I-pod shuffle loaded it with a few songs. Never ran with music before.

Friday did the Y work-out. Ran outside...tried the I-pod...1st song was the Big E You Aint Nothin But a Hound Dog...ran my 1st mile in under 6 minutes!!! Need to re-work the song selections!!! The next 3 miles I had to walk.

Today ran 12...the weather was perfect maybe a touch warm. Felt a little rough at the end but my pace was pretty good. I really think I need to work on the upper body and stomach more. Arms and shoulders were bothering me a little near the end.

They opened a Road Runner's sneaker store not too far from us. I buy all my sneakers from there catalogues. Had my stride analyzed and bought some running shoes and socks. Was disappointed in the store though. Not much inventory was hoping to buy a few pair of running shoes after 1 st trying them on. Ended up buying the same shoe I was running in. Will not go there again...will stick to the catalogue.

Day 40

Almost did not make my post tonight. Got home late from LL. Hard fought victory 11-6. Beat one of the top teams...brilliant managing again. To keyed up to sleep!!

Ok weather was so good did not stick to plan of running on the treadmill with the grade. Instead, ran outside did a fast pace 4+ on some trail and pavement a couple of little hills. Then went inside for my stomach and upper body work-out.

Tomorrow cross training again...golf 11:20 tee time. Weather is supposed to be better then today.

George watch out for the young kids...your not as good as you once was were(country western song)

Day 39

Day-off. Read some training material. Back to the Y Wednesday and a busy day of work and LL again.

Day 38

A good work-out at the Y. 48 minutes on the treadmill going up hill to a grade 7%.
I think two days a week of that will help until May when I start following the TransRockie training scheme. Still need to find some steep hills though.

Another tough day with work ,work-out and LL. We lost tonight 14-11...poor managing. I was alone with 11 kids only one coach showed up at the start of the game. I am exhausted.

Day-off tomorrow!!! Yea !! Only work.

Day 37

Went for my traditional Sunday suicide walk. It was to warm to wear a jacket so my neighbors were asking all kinds of questions. Went 3 miles as usual. Tried to run in it did about 100yds.

Had to do a lot of gardening work after my walk. Had to take down a fence thought it would take a half hour ...2hrs later I finished. Sunday afternoon nap was in order except I had to watch the Masters.

Tomorrow back to the Y.

Day 36

Very long day...woke-up early went for 11 mile run actually felt pretty good. Weather was good the weatherman messed up again...but that is ok. Filled the backpack with some more stuff. Still felt ok.

LL and Soccer took up the rest of my day. LL finished up at around 8:30 tonight. We are now 2-1 !

Too tired to talk about Grizzly Bears tonight...

Day 35

A fairly easy day did a pretty easy 4 miler. The weather turned out great. Then went inside and did some stomach and upper body work. Will do a long run tomorrow... again the weather is not looking good.

Ok. What to do in case of a Snake Bite ? The 1st thing the book says to do is to stay/remain calm. George you have know me 37+ years any crisis I have ever faced the 5 1st things I always do is PANIC,followed by more PANIC followed by more PANIC,PANIC and further PANIC. Therefore, If I get bit by a Snake knock me out and call 911-Helicopter and forget about what the book says. If you get bit by a snake you will be ok. The book says walk-out and look for some help. Do not suck out the venom. Keep the bite below heart level. Most snake bites do not kill unless you PANIC!

Tomorrow's topic Grizzly Bears.

Day 34

Cross training was fun today...ended up walking 6 miles playing 18 holes carrying my bag. It was a 4hr round not bad. The weather was great best so far this spring. After golf off to a LL game. We won tonight 14-7...Freddy pitched 2 innings played well. Our record 1-1. Brilliant coaching of course.

Back to the Y tomorrow...weather is looking shaky again.

Day 33

Back at the Y...treadmill 9mph pace constant increasing the grade to 7% then back down and finished walking at the 7% grade. Ran/walked for 5 miles. Then back down for some weight lifting. Felt Ok today. George you are right about rest...we should not get too carried away early on. That training schedule looks challenging as we get into July. I am thinking about focusing on the upper body and stomach during the next month. Keeping mileage around 30-35 miles and scouting hill runs.

I could not download the three stooges song must of done something wrong. But I am still on it.

George you should go to Sat sandhu blog he has two blogs on there of last year's run. One written by a guy who was actually competing to win and the other by a lady who was 40+ who was running to finish and have a good time.

Just remember this... an external force moved me into a new career 13 years ago and things worked-out well. Not to worry I will hook you up with Paulie he is down Guyana running around with the Mutual of Omaha people building air strips.

Tomorrow I am cross training...I am playing golf but plan to carry my bag which should weigh about the same as the suicide vest. This will give me about 4-5miles and on my feet for 4 hours.

Day 32

Day-off. Well I got a good night sleep and feel like a new man. Looking forward to hitting the Y tomorrow. I have doctor's appointment tomorrow as well. I am hoping he will agree with me to ruduce the Zocor after telling him about the Quest.

George if we listen to the I-Pod how will we hear the Grizzly Bear(topic #2 yet to be discussed), the Mountain Loin( topic #3 yet to be discussed) and not mention the Rattle Snakes(partially discussed).

I have given this some thought though...I was going to reseach the IPhone...thought being it would be three things in one, phone,camera and music...less things to pack. But I plan to buy an I-pod to see how they work. I will check-out 240 song one. I have also been thinking about a music playlist. There is a solar recharger available on Mountaingear.com.

Any hills around that lake ? I am going to check-out a route tomorrow which is about 10 miles from home.

Day 31

Still not up to par...took it easy at the Y today. Ratcheted it back on the pace of my run and distance. I think I am in need of a good night sleep.

George how do you run in that vest. It bounces all around on me. I must be doing something wrong. I have tried to tighten it but have not been successful.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road...maybe our team song should be if I only had a brain.
I do not blame the girls that where I would have been with the munchkins !!!

Day-off tomorrow hope to come back strong on Wednesday.

Day 30

This will be short...a little under the weather. Did 3 mile walk with the suicide vest.

Will update Snake bite hopefully tomorrow.

Day 29

The weather turn out better then predicted...no rain. Ran 11+ with my new backpack...which was empty except for my Gatorade bottle and cell phone. Keeping true to our knucklehead name I should have packed a wind breaker as the weather change halfway into my run. I was able to run about half of it on trail and when ever I saw a hill I ran up it. Hamstrings are starting to tighten up though... felt it near the end of the run.

Ok. Topic 1 from my Trail Running book...Wildlife/SNAKES!!! What to do...the book says avoid them...thank you very much. 1st stay away from rocks/logs do not put your hands into holes. Snakes tend to hide dark,hidden areas. Also of special note...snake are more active at night. This is a MAJOR CONCERN George. Being over 50 and having bladder issues especially at night leaves us at increased risk for snake bite. Especially with all the hydrating we will have to being doing. How do we mitigate this risk ?

Tomorrow topic what to do if bitten by a snake?

Day 28

Friday always a good day. Did my traditional Y work-out. Tweaked it a bit. Ran on the treadmill increasing the grade up to 7%. I think this is going to be my Friday run until I find a close by hill route.

Tomorrow, I am going long,deep,over the middle,down and out with a button hook and go!!! Once again the weather is going to be bad.

Stay tuned for Topic 1 tomorrow.

Day 27

A long day...Started with work,run, and LL baseball game. Almost did not have time for the post. Tried interval training today. Threw-up twice may not be ready yet for interval training. Also tried a chocolate snack prior to running as well did not sit too good.

Good news on the medical front ...my blood work came back raised my HDL up to 52 up 10pts and my triglycerides were down 75 pts cut in half. Scheduled an appointment with my doctor hoping he will agree to cut my Zorcor dosage.

Freddy was the star of the game tonight even though it was only a scrimmage. It was a long cold game.

Starting this weekend I will be posting topics I think we need to be concern with. You can tell me what you think.

Day 26

George I saw you joined facebook who are you looking for? Did you get the Phi Tau email ? Looks like everybody had a good time at the reunion.

Another cold windy day...but got my run in...did 5 went into the Y and did my usual stomach and upper body work. I know I am getting stronger but I have not been able to find any sizable hills to push myself. That is beginning to worry me a little. I know we have time and it is probably better to get stronger and then take on the hills. I wish I was back in NYC the park had some good hills. I will most likely go traveling to find some good hill running.

By the way in addition to a team song we need a team uniform and t-shirt. I am on it!!!

Day 25

Day-off from running but I think I feel worse having not run. Long day . I actually missed not running.

George, I think the vest should help the upper body and the lower back. I feel it mostly in my shoulders and legs.

Back to the Y tomorrow. Looking to 5+ hope the weather is decent.

We got two nice comments today.