Running Away from Me

2011-12-11T19:10:00.001-06:00

Fail
So I hit my intervals on Wednesday I didnt run Thursday and only ran Friday with my wife. I think I have less than 10 for the week. Blows

2011-12-06T09:54:00.001-06:00

Big Week
Looking back at last weeks mileage I ran about 23.5 miles. The mileage is was 5 days in a row. Let's see if I can beat it again.

2011-10-30T19:32:00.001-05:00

Back at it
I was able to run saturday. No pain. Ready to get after it!

2011-05-13T19:30:00.001-05:00

So I have done two MAF runs both on Tuesday. I ran at 143 bpm with about a ten minute pace. The second run was too fast. I was doing group run and just wanted to keep up. I should have slowed down.

He Finally gets it...

2011-05-04T21:17:00.001-05:00

Intervals: An Apology to the iPad: "On the weekend of April 30 th , several friends and I got together in the city of Boston to run together. It was an amazing experience of..."

Ha! If you have listened to Steve lately you have been bombarded by the Apple vs. Droid sections of his pod cast. At first it was funny but the 1000th time warranted me skipping forward. Even when I had to step off the dread-mill to hold steady. I am glad that he get it!

On a related topic, a Steve Runner recommended online workout tracking site Buckeye Outdoors had a major "crap hit the fan" moment when in the matter of a few days, both their servers swallowed all our data. I hope that it can be recovered. I guess that shows the fallacy of storing important things via the "cloud". That begs the question of how much back up is enough. I have my home computer backed up via Carbonite.com. I back up some stuff at work but I guess we need back up for back up. I hope that they are able to recover the data....

New Plan: Slow Down to Speed Up

2011-04-21T13:45:00.000-05:00

For several years I have been running and getting faster. The last several years have kind of slowed down. I think this plateau is because I have been basically doing the same thing. I have not increase my mileage by much over the past three years. I do the same or simular types of training every year. Long runs, track and some tempo. No cross training. If anything I have been doing less cross training than in previous years. I used to go to cycling classes on a regular basis. I bet I have not seen the upstairs work out rooms to Red's in several months. I need something new.

Starting the week after Festival International's Courir du Festival 5K (current 5K PR), I am starting from scratch. I am going to try to develop a base that will carry my into the fall at a faster pace with better fitness than I have seen before. I am going to try to train at MAF (Maximum Aerobic Function) as percribed by Maffetone. You can read more here or here or here or numerous other places.

My MAF as calculated by 180-rule is 143 BPM. If I look back at my training that currently equates to about 9:30 mins per mile. That is also un-heat corrected. It was cool that morning. I imagine under duress (running in S. Louisiana in the heat is duress) it will be closer to 10 mpm. (See run at Pinelog)

Plan
1. Run at or below MAHR (133-143 bpm) for 8 weeks. Running at least four times per week with one 90 minute run, two 45-60 minute runs. 9 mile and 5-6 mile respectivly.
2. Perform MAF test at once every three weeks at the track with 4 mile distance.
3. Review progress after 8 weeks and adjust as necessary adding some tempo and speed.
4. Set a goal race for late 2011 or early 2012 (1/2 Marathon Distance).
5. Trace and document all progress.
6. Add two weight sessions minimum per week.

Running Week

2011-04-14T09:53:00.000-05:00

Last week saw only three runs but I totaled out just over 24 miles. A new recent high mileage. We didn't go to the track on Tuesday so that was my first seven. I ran the normal seven on Thursday. Both were right at 8 min pace which was great. Then Saturday I ended up running over 10. Saturday's run started about fast but finsihed DEAD. I started with two guys who are much faster than me. By five miles I was pretty much done. I finished the second half of the run around 9:30 pace. I was happy with the finish.

This week has not been so great. On Monday and Tuesday, I thought I was hitting snooze and not waking up. When I finally heard the alarm, it was too late to make it to run. I later figured out that my alarm was set to the time I was waking up and I was not hitting snooze. I got that corrected and made it to Red's for the 7 mile run this morning. I was slower than last week but my quads are tight from weights.

I think that I am going to work on building a new base this summer. I would like to run but work on keeping my HR in the lower zones. I think I will have to walk or slow down when it gets too high. That is going to be hard.

Weekly Decline

2011-03-29T09:42:00.001-05:00

Seems like just yesterday I was running over 20 miles in a week. It seems like the on comming warmth has resulted in a stead decline of mileage over the past three weeks. In reviewing my Buckeyeoutdoors.com running log shows that my last three weeks have been 17 miles, 19 miles and 13.5 miles. Last week I had a trip to Houston that kepth me from seven on Thursday and 4 on Friday. I have the same trip this Thursday but hope to be back to run Friday & Saturday. But that will only put me at 18 IF I get 8 on Saturday.

My "long" Saturday run keeps getting shorter. We went out for 10 but I faded fast after 5 and made about 8. I think with the temps climbing the way that they are, I will be lucky to make 8 in up comming weeks. Oh well, more inside stuff. I need to do some weights anyway.

Bike Race

2011-03-18T11:20:00.002-05:00

I just had to post this video after watching it on Frayed Laces. This looks like fun (to watch).

Running this week is at 19 miles. I have gotten two 7 milers and a 5 today. I won't make it Saturday as I am working the massive Race for the Cure (6-8000 "runners"). It is mostly walkers with a few runners thrown out in front. We will time the first 500 or so that run across then it gets too crazy to do anything else.

2011-03-15T21:51:00.001-05:00

Today's run was a seven miler instead of the track. The track man was not there to direct us to the track so the rest of us decided to continue on with the group. The temperature was just about perfect at 50 deg F with a slight breeze. That temp is not too cold so you can dress in shorts and short sleeve shirt. I broke a sweat but at not time was I uncomfortable like when temps start pushing 70 and above. I wish it souls stay that way. I ended up finishing 7.1 miles at 8:13 pace. It felt good.

I think as the heat turns on I need to add some indoor stuff such as weights.

2011-03-12T21:46:00.001-06:00

I forget how much I like working races. Today I substituted and worked the ST Jos Jog. It was a nice day, the race came out Ok. I didn't get my run in and most likely this will be the first sub twenty mile week in the last five. But that is ok

Two Ways to get 21

2011-03-01T10:51:00.000-06:00

This is not a gambling post! If it were it would involve me losing money. I seem to do that when I risk money in a risky way. This is about the last two weeks of 21 miles and how I got there. Both weeks I ran four times in the week. The first week was three shortish/easy runs around 4 miles plus a 10 miler on Saturday. Last week was two shortish runs plus one day at the track and six miles on Saturday. Looking at my two weeks I see that I could up my miles easily if I could just get out of the bed. Tues track with 6-7 miles total, Thurs 7 mile loop, that 13 so far. Friday 4-5 mile easy and Saturday 10 miles for a grand total of 27-29 miles. If I could just get up!

2011-02-27T20:34:00.001-06:00

Not too bad of a week running. I made it to the track on Tuesday ran Wednesday ran Friday and Saturday. I didn't make the ten as in past Saturday but it was a good run. Next week I know I can run one or two days but it should be a good week.

Two Weeks in Review

2011-02-21T13:15:00.000-06:00

The last two weeks have seen 22 mile weeks. Both were different in how I got to the final total. The first week, I ran Tuesday, Thrusday, and Saturday. Doing track run, seven mile run and 10 mile run. All quality runs that pushed my limits. Last week saw runs on Monday, Wednsday, Friday and Saturday. All low quality "easy" runs that didn't really push much of anything. The only thing that was simular was that I did 10 miles on both Saturday's. The first was a 10 mile effort at about 8 minutes per mile and the second was at 8:20 ish per mile. One final difference was the temperatures in week one were in the 30's and last week saw 40-60's.

What will this week hold? Since I didn't get up this morning, I am thinking that it could be a push it week with some Tuesday, Thrusday, Saturday runs. Time shall Tell

Seven Miles and Trumped By a Girl

2011-02-10T11:11:00.000-06:00

The plan for today was to go seven with two x 2mile tempos with a 1 mile in between. The temperature was just right at 32-34F with a stiff breeze (not quite windy). Once we got started I knew it was not be. The lungs from the recent sickness said that they were not going to support this type of run. The legs said they were OK with it but certainly would not protest on consistent run. So off we went. Finished seven with slight quad tightness in the right leg and no temps. Hopefully next week will be better.

After I got done, I hit FB with a "7 miles done" and got hit right back with "14 miles done" from one of my friends. She is a fast runner. Good job on her part.

Mardi Gras Mambo 10K PR

2011-02-09T11:07:00.000-06:00

The Cajun Road Runner's Club took a bus trip from Lafayette to Baton Rouge for the Mardi Gras Mambo (MGM) 10K last weekend. The temperature started out around 28-29F (Cold for S. Louisiana). It was breezy and a bit warmer (32-33F) when we arrived. By race time, I was sporting long sleeves and shorts with only gloves and ear warmers. The sun was shining and only a slight breeze.

The race started and finished at the LSU Natatorium parking lot, ran around campus, out around the lakes and back. My goal for the race was to try to keep about a 7:30 pace. That would put me in the good for a PR. My previous PR was 46:47 at 2008 Crecent City Classis. I didn't make it in 2009 and have not run one since. My training started off OK but has been lack luster since the first of the year. I have missed a lot of workouts and longer runs.

So off we start. I started off running and feeling good. I looked at my watch at about .2 and saw that I was way fast (7:00 ish) and I was ahead of a few people that I know are faster than me. I made and effort to pull back a bit but I still finished the first mile in 7:17. As the second mile came up, I still felt good and went at 7:26. Mile three was about the same at 7:28. It got a bit harder as I started warming up and the other runners thinning out. Mile four was at 7:40 but part of that mile I stopped to stand up the mile marker sign. Mile 5 was 7:18, not sure what went on there but it could have been a miss marked mile. On the home stretch of six I this 7:38. The last portion was down hill and make 6:50 pace for the point 2. 46:17 PR (7:28 overall pace)

Other stats: Average HR 182 (thumping!). 48 ft of elevation gain.

Good job to my sister who also finished plus all of my peeps with CRRC.

Crappy Sleeping Kids and Affects On My Run

2011-01-14T22:29:00.001-06:00

Since we had our first kid, I have been turned inti a morning runner. I had to so that the wife could get her workout in afternoon as someone has to watch kids. Well The Boy is four and still requires someone to lay with him to go to sleep. That is easy compared to his early years. I spent many nights swinging him in his car seat so he would sleep, many nights listening to him cry when the wife put him to sleep, and many nights not sleeping well because he was not sleeping. Now he only wakes up twenty minutes before my alarm goes off to run. I don't k ow about you but the last minutes of my sleep are usually the best.

The girl started out good. We thought she was to be the easy child. She actually slept in her bed! You could sometimes put her down AWAKE and walk away and she would go to sleep. What is that? She would sleep from about six to eleven then end up on our bed. Lately it is getting earlier and earlier that she wakes up and screams till she get her moma. That sucks because where I used to be able to lay down at nine a sleep a while, we now spend that time trying to get her to go back to sleep. You usually can get her sound asleep in your arms but heavenforebid if you make the motion to pit her down! That is instant wake up. I just is frustrating.

WalMart Sucks

2010-12-29T10:50:00.000-06:00

Just more proof that WalMart Sucks!

The Lawsons did Dallas!: Even Jesus has an Issue with WalMart

32 and shorts

2010-12-28T08:44:00.001-06:00

I think I found my limit for running in shorts. I left the house at 32F wearing shorts and two shirts (1 long and 1 short) with Cotten gloves and a hat. We ran to the track and did five 800. I was cold when we started but warmed up one the way. I cooled off and wished I has more clothes.

Did four around 3:24 and the last at 3:17. All felt good except the first.

9 x 400M

2010-12-02T08:50:00.000-06:00

Untitled by koonarse at Garmin Connect - Details

Yesterday we ran to the track to do some 400's. The main gate and the side gate for both locked so we high jumped the fence. It is a shame that two of the guys that helped raise $30K for the college track group have to hop a fence to get some circles in! Not sure why it is locked now but would be nice if it was not.

Goal was around 1:40 per 400. I only have one at 1:40 the rest were between 1:38 and 1:35. Walked a 100 between 400's. My HR chart shows that I neglected to wet the contacts, so I started with a high HR. Need to remember to do that.

More Negative

2010-11-04T15:34:00.001-05:00

As you can see my HR starts out high for the first five minutes or half a mile then drops. It slowly climbs as I continue to run. Pace, Elevation and HR

Brooks Running Freak

2010-10-30T14:04:00.000-05:00

Checked out the Brooks Run Happy Cavalcade of Curiosities at Tri-Running. My gait analysis showed that my feet are ugly and I am running in the correct shoes.

Negative Heart Rate

2010-10-26T08:03:00.001-05:00

I am just getting to downloading and updating my training log from my trip last week to Aberdeen. There is one thing that really stands out. My heart rate goes from around 170 bpm when I started and continually drops to around 156 bpm when I finished. I did start faster than I finished by about a minute per mile. I never thought it would make that much of a difference but I guess it does.

I looked back at the run on Monday and about the same thing happened but not at the same scale. Interesting

Best Stop?

2010-10-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

Make a boudin run with The Boy and a friend of mine. We went to Crowley to pick up the finish line from their race. On the way back we stopped at the Best Stop for some boudin. The Boy got some boudin balls and enjoyed them. We also got a few links. The friend had to break appart the boudin with his hands and we ate on the drive. I saw that they placed at the Boudin contest last week but I wonder how.

The boudin was VERY greasy and all most too liquidy. The casing was crisp but didn't break easy. I think it was more meat than rice with specks of onions. I think the seasoning was a bit much also. I think there are better boudins out there.

Running is going OK. I am in Aberdeen this week for work so plan on running in the cooler weather.

Fount It!

2010-10-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

"I fount it" as one of my college buddies would say. The HRM was between the foot board and the end of the bed. It had apparently fallen out of the bag that I stuck it in. Glad to have it back now I can spend the $60 dollars on my wife! Right!

Check out this knarly spike of HRM. It was raining and lack of hills in Lafayette drove me to the dread-mill. I did 6 x 45s hill repeats. It was a good workout as I still "feel" the affects of it.

6 x 45s Hill Repeats on Treadmill by koonarse at Garmin Connect - Details

I miss my Garmin HRM

2010-10-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

So I actaully got up this morning somewhat on time (4:45 AM) to make it to Red's for to run (5AM). Another minute or two and I would not have made it. Run was uneventful. I started with 5 people and at mile one two speed up and two slowed down. I ended up running 3-1/2" miles at my "Base Pace" so that was good. Overall it was a good run.

On to the Garmin HRM. Last weekend there was and early LSU game. We left Lafayette early to make the game with the plan on staying in Baton Rouge to help The Folks unpack some in their new house. I figured since it was an early game, I would be able to get up and go run Sunday. As I gathered up my running stuff. I grabbed my Garmin 405 CX and the HRM strap. Uppon furhter inspection, noted that the Garmin was a bit low on juice, so I plugged it in. I recollect tossing the strap into some or one of the bags that The Wife had packed. Before we left, I grabbed the watch and stuck it in the box of miscelanous stuff that all ways seems to travel with us these days (baby monitor, pop tarts, organic ravaoli, organic rasins, etc). Well Sunday morning rolls around, I get up and Dad has his running shoes on, so I ran upstairs got dressed, found the watch, couldn't find the strap. So I ran with out it. We we get home and I start seaching for the strap and have yet to find it.

I know it is on one of the places that I will never find it for a year or two. I am going to have to order an new HRM for my NEW watch at $60. Oh well for now I am running san-HRM. It makes my graphs on Garmin Connect look only and leaves blanks on Buckeye Outdoors. I am an engineer and don't like having missing information. I might have to start using my Polar for HRM and Garmin for distance and pace. Two watches while running, that should be fun.

2010-10-06T16:06:00.001-05:00

Test SMS

Mobil test blog

2010-10-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

This is a test of to Mobil blogging feature of blogger. I tried SMS bit failed. Now I need to figure out how to attach a picture!

Sent from my iPhone

First Run

2010-07-11T20:53:00.000-05:00

It has been since last Monday since I have been able to run. I went at 5 PM in the heat and humity. I stopped my watch to talk to some one and didn't start it till farther down the road. Does the part I ran with the watch running count?

First Garmin 405CX Run

2010-07-02T08:26:00.002-05:00

I was able to do my first run with my Garmin today. It was nothing special but it was the first. I was twarted by rain on Wednsday. Stomach issues on Thursday. It took me a bit to get the watch started, I ran for a 1/4 of a mile or so before finally figuring out how to actually start it. I did read the manual but that doesn't mean I know how to use it. I will get better.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-06-29T14:29:00.003-05:00

Give-a, Give-a, Gave-a, A Garmin! Check out what I got for my birthday (Garmin 405CX)! The Wife let me open my present at lunch because I was doing nothing at work today and she said I could play with it there. Unfortunatly I got back to work and have been busy. I only had time to unpack it then the phone started ringing. Oh well, I will wing it!

I can't wait to use it. I am going to be the envy of all my running friends. Most of the all ready have Garmin but none have the new one. I was not planning on running tomorrow but I might have to now!

Thanks to The Wife and The Boy

Good bye Brooks Trance 8, Hello Trance 9

2010-06-28T15:12:00.002-05:00

After seeing that the side of my Brooks Trance 8 had split open(794 miles) , I decided it was time to get a new pair. This was coupled by the fact that I had a nice gift card and Tri-Running was having a sale. So I went today at lunch and bought me some new Trance 9's. I tried on the Adreline's with the Trance 9's but they both felt the same with the Adreline being a bit more of a snug fit and the Trance felt like there was slight room in the toe box. I wondered what the difference was between the two and while digging around on the web I found that Brooks has a blog titled "Brooks Adreline GTS10 vs. Trance 9: What's the difference?" The blog basically says the same thing that I felt and was kind of confirmed by several comments. Since the last four pairs have been Trance, I decide to stick with them. I thought about going to a lighter shoe type, one that is less stability but in the end, I stuck with the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it' mantra".

Tomorrow we should hit that track but even if I don't, I will go out for a run to see how the perform.

The Regular

2010-05-22T21:10:00.006-05:00

Hit 20 miles this week today with a run of the Four-Seven. I had a great run on Wednsday around Four-Seven. We ran hard and it was hot. I donated blood WEdnsday so my running suffered since then. I donate blood in the summer as it is too hot to do any serious training. I stop in the fall to concentrate on half marathon training.

BIL was in town to get his boat but too busy for boudin. The Boy and I went to Johnson's and split a piece. I bought the new Feufollet CD "En Couleurs". I like it but I think I like "Cow Island Hop" better.

Aggie Land Run

2010-05-03T06:30:00.002-05:00

I am in College Station this week for a school and need to get back to running. Last week I only scratched out 10 miles of running. I was in North Dakota and didn't hit a lick. I did run about 6 on Saturday and it felt like I have not run in a week.

Got up a made about 4.7 miles around the A&M campus. I averages about a 9 min/mile pace mainly because I had no idea of where I was going. Tomorrow will be faster.

NuNu's Revisited

2010-04-18T13:27:00.003-05:00

Saturday was a good day for runs. I got up to go to Red's after making it back to Lafayette on the red eye from Denver. I had not a plan for the type of run I was going to do. One of the runners had to do a 6 mile pace run so I decided to tag along. It was a good run overall. We warmed up a mile or so to Camilla Blvd, then ran to the end and back. It was an overall run of about 8.5 miles. I felt pretty good, it was just below sub 8 minute miles. Things are starting to warm up.

After my run, a college friend was in town for an interview and wanted to go look at a few subdivision in the Youngsville area. The BOY and I took him for a ride with the plans to stop and get some boudin. We stopped at NuNu's grocery store. We have had NuNu's boudin but purchased it from Broussards in Milton. NuNu's award winning boudin was great as usual. Good mix of rice and pork with a few green onions. NuNu's is kind of mashed up but you can still see the rice and pork. The BOY at boudin and a few cracklins. We also bought some of their chicken jalapeno burgers that were later eaten for lunch. Very nice grocery store worth the trip.

Modivation

2010-03-23T08:17:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I have posted about boudin. It has been a while since I have run (Saturday). Since BIL moved, I have yet to find someone to go we the BOY and I for boudin. We have made several trips to Johnson's but no where new.

Running has been slow since New Orleans. I ran easy the week after, I didn't run at all the next week as I was in North Dakota working, last week I did run 20 miles. My new goal starting today is to pick up in the end of a training program for the Festival 5K. I am going to attempt to follow the "Brain Training" program (modified a bit) and see if I can PR for a 5K. My current PR is five years old. (22:30 from 2005). I have only run 7 5K since then and come with in a few seconds of PR'ing. I used to run a lot of 5Ks but they took a backseat to running 10Ks and 1/2 Marathons. I would rather work the 5K with CRRC than run. I run the Festival 5K every year as part of my Festival ritual.

Anyway, my training started out on the wrong foot this morning. I set my alarm for 4:20 so that I could get up and meet the folks heading to the track at 4:45. Unfortunatly, I didn't turn the alarm on. I woke up at 4:55, which it too late to even make the 5AM running group. So my options were to get up and run from the house to the track or around the hood or sleep in. Yea, I chose sleep in. My favorite sleep in is to get up and go sleep on the couch, that way I can hit snooze on my alarm phone with out waking up the rest of the crew. It takes me about 1 mintute to get comforable an go back to sleep. Yea I feel like a slug, but it sure feels good.

I plan on going home and running the 5 miles at recovery pace that I was supposed to run this morning (thought I had track). Tomorrow calls for 2 miles warm up, 4 x 600m at 3000m pace (7:15) and 2 miles cool down.

I just thought it was COLD

2010-01-27T15:22:00.003-06:00

After a blizzard that dumped a load of snow everywhere, it is now in the single digits of temperature with a negative double digit wind chill. Tired of the dread-mill. Did get in a 30 min eliptical while jamming to Pearl Jam. Ready to leave and go home where it is warmer. The forecast in Lafayette is going to be in the low 30s when I am supposed to get home. BRING IT ON.

This is the picture leaving location at 3 PM and this was a good spot.

Cold, Cold, and Cold

2010-01-22T17:14:00.005-06:00

Not a whole lot to report latley. BIL has been gone or working on his house so he has not been available for a boudin run. The BOY and I made several trips to Johnson's. You just can't go wrong there. Last weekend we got a link and Mr. Johnson came out while we were eating on the porch and showed us some pictures of the old grocery store. He said folks used to come buy boudin and eat it on the hood of their cars.

I left Lafayette Monday for North Dakota. I sat on the runway due to fog and didn't get into Bismarck till 7PM to be greeted by Freezing Fog. What the hell! The weather has been good until today. The stupid job got delayed and should start today. I have wasted a entire week here doing nothing.

I have been able to run some on the treatmill. The first day I got in two run. The second day I ran once. Yesterday I went out of a pace run from location to the road. Four out and back. After a 1.5m warm up, I hit it. I was trying for 7:50 but hit 8:09 on the first. It was all down hill from there. The last mile was over 9. Not good. Oh well. The picture is the road I ran on.

I am all read up on blogs, tired of watching TV, listening to iPod, and surfing the net. Ready to get started and get done.

Year in Review

2009-12-31T07:51:00.003-06:00

I ran 180 runs this year for 907 miles in 128:06:52. My average time was 42:42 min. This was less than last year but I am training for a later race than before (Mardi Gras 1/2 vs. Houston 1/2). Overall it was a good year, I PR in Houston with a 1:44. I ran CCC in about the same time as last year. OK a bit slower but I was burnt from Houston. I tried to poster but that didn't happen. I didn't PR in a 5K but I didn't really run but one and I ran it with The BOY and The Wife.

Next years goals. PR in New Orleans with a 1:42. I have a stretch goal of sub 1:40 but not getting my hopes up. Poster in the CCC. Set a PR for a 5K.

No Boudin but lots of FOOD

2009-12-26T18:56:00.003-06:00

We this week in running was one of highs and lows. After skipping out Monday, I ran intervals on Tuesday. I hit me goal pace of 3:15 four out of the six. This is the first time in a while that I reached the goal pace. Ran Wednsday. Rain Thrusday but was able to get a 7:40 pace on the dread-mill. Friday brought lots of presents but no running. Slept in Saturday but ran 6 after watching "The Blind Side" Great movies.

Another present, I won a pair of Yurbuds from Frayed Laces I can't wait to get them.

No Boudin but we did eat a lot of good food. I fried my first turkey on Christmas day. We decided to fry it becuase we didn't have the oven room to cook all the other stuff. I injected it with white wine, chicken broth and hot sauce. It turned out great.

Bourque's Superstore

2009-12-19T13:53:00.002-06:00

Started the morning with an 8 mile run. I only needed to do 6 but since I skipped out yesterday I figured it wold be OK. Nice morning with temps about 40F. You couldn't ask for better weather. I will still be short for the week if I run 10 tomorrow but it will only be by a few. I got my 5 x 800 in on Wednsday due to rain but the pace run on Thursday was torpedoed by 5000 ft of elevation in Denver. I still got a run in, just slow.

Me and the fussy BOY went and picked up BIL at 9. We headed to Bourque's in Port Barre. We made our way around the store, picking up the famous jalapeno cheese bread. This stuff is very dense. I wouldn't want to get hit on the head with it. It is delicious.

We got to the meat counter and bought three links delivered as promised in the review. We checked out and at on the hood of my car. The BOY was supper excited that he got to sit on the hood. He was even more excited about the several packs of crackers that come with the boudin. BIL cut us some. The linksters indicated it was about an even mixture but I think what we had was much more meat than rice. It was good. Our favorite was it seems as if they used all most the whole green onion so you got part of the whitter onion so it gave it a nice crunch. The spice was warm. The BOY at his fair share and we headed on down the road to Lafayette. Well worth the drive. The linksters gave it an A+ rating and I tend to agree.

Boudin & Cracklin Express

2009-12-06T16:45:00.003-06:00

The day started out too cold to run or hit the farmer's market. I actually slept till 7 on a Saturday. Plus I knew all my running folks were working at the Cajun Country 1/2 Marathon.

I picked up BIL before he headed out of town for his Santa Claus Pub Crawl in New Orleans. We decided to go to Boudin & Cracklin Express in Henderson via the Breaux Bridge Hwy. With THE Boy strapped in we were off. We passes the Pack and Paddle to see their newly remodeled front (someone put a car into the front window). It now holds lots of boats and looks nice.

We came in to Henderson from the South, we actually passed three other places that featured boudin. There was Kevin's, gas station, Landry's and then Express. Four places that The Linkster's have yet to evaluate.

We bought 2-1/2 links that came in a paper tray wrapped in foil. The boudin was about 50/50 mix of rice pieces and pork meat with a sprinkling of green onions. Casing was snappy. BIL commented that it was a bit light on liver but I found a few chunks. The liver was not evenly distributed. The spice was good, not too hot and not too mild. The BOY at all most all of his half. He says "mmmm dat's good". I think it is worth at least a B+ to A-.

The store has a drive through window for all the fat-so who can't walk but need their boudin. There is lots of jars of Cajun stuff you can buy. At the end of the day, it would be a great place to stop an pick up a link or two. I think if BIL and I make a few more run, we might have to check out the other place at Henderson.

As far a running, I ended up with 31 miles for the week but running 6 Sat afternoon and 8 on Sunday.

Gidroz Food Center and More

2009-11-20T08:29:00.007-06:00

The running for this week has recovered. I was able to make it to Red's every day this week with no sleeping in on the couch. I was able to run intervals on Tuesday and a parking garage with my run on Thursday. I also topped out the running mileage at 25.2 miles. Lot better than last week. It was raining this morning so no running but I did get on the elliptical.

We picked up BIL for the boudin run. We stopped at Home Depot to pick up some pipes for BILs since. We decided to take a journey to Guidroz Food Center on E. Simco. It was just as good as the Linksters said. There were big whole grains of rice mixes with good meat and specks of green onion. The Boy at some along with some "gratons" (don't tell his mom!). We decided that Guidroz would make a good place to stop on the way to see the Tiger's play. M&S Grocery is also on the way but this is a much better link.

After Guidroz, we journeyed West down I-10 to The Best Stop. BIL's wife wanted boudin as did her friends and they are a bit picky. Not a big deal. While BIL was picking up boudin, tasso and frozen boudin, the BOY and I shared three Boudin Balls. They had a creamy texture that was melt in your mouth. Once we got back to BILs house, the BOY helped finish off the remainder of the boudin from Best Stop.

Despite the rain it was a successful run.

Recent Activity

2009-11-17T14:24:00.003-06:00

Well the boudin runs with BIL will come to a stop after the first of the year, he will be moving to Houston. We might have to go on charizo & egg runs if I go visit. Oh well, I guess as the boy gets older we can continue to go together.

We picked up Johnson's before we went to the game this weekend and as all ways it was great. Congratulations to them for winning "Best Un-linked Boudin" at the contest held by the linksters. I am not sure why un-linked boudin would taste any different than linked. Maybe the casing concentrates or changes the flavor. I don't know.

Running took a dive last week. I had been managing +20 for the previous two weeks but cut that in half last week. I did take a trip to Houston but had a chance to run there and several more a home that I did not take. I am on a better track this week as I have run Monday and did some 800s today. We started a wellness challenge at work this week. My goal is to get ten extra workout classes in before the end of the year. While it might not seem that hard to do in 6 weeks time, it will be a stretch since I am currently doing none. Hopefully it will also result in a bit of weight loss.

I am still on the fence about running the New Orleans Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon. Last year the 1/2 went by Audubon park but I think they are going to send it up toward City Park. Not that it would not be a great run, going toward Audubon is much better. Oh well, hope to have a boudin report for this weekend but I am not sure if BIL will be in town or not. They might be heading to NO.

Comeaux's Boudin

2009-11-01T13:47:00.003-06:00

We we finally made it on a Saturday morning boudin run. Football season makes it hard. BIL leaves early for the game, we are trying to get our stuff ready. This weekend we both skipped the game do get some things done. He had to work on the house and we had trick-or-treat with the boy.

We decided to hit someplace close so we chose Comeaux's on Kaliste Saloom. This used to be my favorite boudin. It was right where I lived so I could all ways pick some up. Unfortunatly it was not as good as I remember it being. The boudin was very pasty as everything was very mashed up, you couldn't really tell the rice from the pork. It had a stronger hint of liver than what I liked and we even found a few chunck of liver. The BOY had fun mashing it flat and then cutting it up. He ate some but I don't think it was his favorite. He did get mad when I wrapped up the last bite for the trash. Overall it was OK but I don't think it was deserving of the linksters A rating.

I did run this morning. We ran in the awsome weather to River Ranch and back.

Running in the Rain

2009-10-22T08:14:00.003-05:00

Ran two miles yesterday around the house after I didn't get up in the morning. Got rained on for half of the time and decided to run one mile barefooted (yea I am reading "Born to Run"). Ran 4.5 miles this morning at an easy speed.

Did get to ride my bike part way to work since I dropped The Wife's car off to get new tires.

84 Interval

2009-10-20T09:57:00.002-05:00

The weather outside was a nice damp 54 deg F. I say damp because it was cool and you could still feel the humidity. We headed out to the track to run 4-800 & 4-400. I have been averaging 15 measly miles the last month or so with little to no track work so I mentally prepared myself for stopping early.

So the 1 plus mile to the track too 10:56, then the suffering began.
800 3:18 (Way fast)
800 3:23 (Better)
800 3:24 (Hurt, I am going to quit after the next one!)
800 3:27 (That really hurt)
400 1:27 (Rode Glen's coat tails)
400 1:29 (I can do one more)
400 1:34 (Hurts!)
400 1:24 (Done)

As usual I was the back of the pack with the guys and girl that I run with but I am OK with that.

LSU and The Boy

2009-10-18T15:38:00.000-05:00

Pictures from the LSU football game against ULL. They are a bit late but it was to test how to insert pictures from Picasa. No boudin reports latley because of football and other early Saturday morning obligations. Hopefully soon.

No Boudin!

2009-09-12T12:39:00.001-05:00

Got up and ran 7 miles to top out the week at about 30miles. Largest weeking in a while. Hot and humid with a bit of drizzle.

BIL headed out early to the LSU game so we didn't go on a run. The Wife and The Boy decided that the rain today was going to suck having to watch the game and in or drive back in so they are going to stay home. (Probably better option than gettting wet!).

Janise's Boudin Run (repeat)

2009-08-31T11:26:00.002-05:00

The morning started out with about a 5 mile run to River Ranch. The temperature was good but a bit humid. Coffee break was cut short as The Wife decided to get an early start on her work out. No bid deal.

Went home and got The Boy ready to go. Picked up BIL around 9. He dropped the ball as he was supposed to find us a place to go but didn't. Since we decided to go by Lowe's after the run, we headed North in search of a place. Up Hwy 182 we went, after driving for about 40 minutes we found ourselves in Sunset by Janise's Supermarket. We have been here before and liked it and decided to sample it again to see if they were consistent.

We procured two links because the Boy has been eating his fair share lately. In fact I have had to make two trips in the past becuase he wanted more. The boudin was hot and wrapped in paper. It was two LARGE links. They were definitely stuffed full. The insides were similar to the stuffing, the rice was whole and large, the chunks of meat were large and the taste was large. The BOY liked it but only ate about 1/4 of a link. Overall it lives up to "The Linksters" rating of A.

No Boudin

2009-08-08T13:11:00.001-05:00

Dam it is hot out side. I ran the Four-Seven loop with Greg. I strugled. It felt like I was running in a humid oven. Ready for at least fall to get here.

No boudin run this morning because BIL is at the Red Dress Run in New Orleans. It sounds like it is a fun race but he crowd is getting so large that it is probably too much. One of my friends has been running it for a while, he said it was much better when there were about 200 people. They should have about 3000 this year.

Saturday Run

2009-08-04T18:24:00.002-05:00

Ran almost 6 miles Saturday morning. It was hot and humid. I can't wait for the cool.

The BIL, The Boy and I went to Trahan's Foods in Rayne (Frog Capital) for some boudin. It lived up to it's A- rating. The boy thinks it is A+, he ate 1/2 a link (which is a lot for him).

Another Week

2009-07-12T20:24:00.003-05:00

Well another week went by and a lot happened. I ran a total of 12 miles, my lowest week in a long time. I missed my Tuesday track sesson due to rain and Thursday longer run due to sleep. The Wife was out with her friends and didn't get home till late, so I slept in. I did to body pump twice which is more than the last few weeks.

The bathroom progressed. I got the tile installed and grouted. I got some of the cabinets installed. Once the plubmer finishes up we can use it. I will still need to put the trim work but I can use the bathroom with out it.

I did make it to Johnson's for boudin this week. The Boy and The Neice went with me. The Boy ate his share but the Niece decided she didn't like it. Johnson's as all ways was good. It has a great mix with just the right kick. They are the greatest folks.

Construction Update

2009-07-08T08:42:00.003-05:00

Well it has been a while. I am still running about 15 miles a week. I have a two week plan that I am not following 100%. This is mainly do to the move.

The plan is for:
Monday - Run (optional) / Body Pump
Tuesday - Interval 4 x 800 Goal 3:30
Wed - Yoga? (have not made that one yet)
Thursday - Cycle Class or Run (only run)
Friday - Run morning - Pump at Lunch
Saturday - Run
Sunday - optional long Run
Week 2
Monday - Off
Tuesday - Interval 4 x 800
Wed - Circuit Training Class at Lunch
Thur - Run or Cycle
Saturday - Run long (6-8 mile range)
Sunday - off

Between the work at the new house and the work at the old house, I am usually wore out. In the last few weeks I usually make Tuesday, pump once a week Friday and Saturday. But we are in and the construction is dwindling so hopefully I will get back on track.

Today I ran because we had rain yesterday. I will run in the rain but I will not get out of bed to start running in the rain.

I had to laught this moring. One of the running blogs that I read, the runner said he was running so slow he could have been mistaken for a jogger. That is funny because compared to some other runners he is a jogger even on his fastest day. I guess on the oposite, compared to some slower folks he is a runner. I don't think there is any problem with the jogger title. I know of folks that run sub 6 minute miles and call themselves joggers.

New House Tomorrow

2009-05-28T20:26:00.002-05:00

My running will be tested in the next month. We will get our new house tomorrow. On the agenda before we move in is to: pull up carpet in 5 rooms, destroy a bathroom, stain concrete in 5 rooms, replace a bathroom, paint the kitchen cabinets and move in. Oh in the middle of all that I have a week vacation that was pre-secheduled before we decided to move and I can't back out. In between paid work and house work on new house and house work on old house, I will need to get some runs in. Wish me luck.

Got Boudin? I don't.

2009-05-16T21:16:00.002-05:00

The past few weeks have not seen a boudin run. Three weekends ago we went to Memphis for a college friends weding. Last weekend I spent on my knees tiling BILs kitchen. This weekend BIL was at a weding so I am looking forward to next weekend. After that we get into our new house, so Saturdays after the run will be spend working in the house. I will have to make and effort to run to Johnson's and get some.

The running have been around 15 miles per week. I make a Tues, Thurs, Friday and Saturday. I set myself a schedule to add Body Pump and Circuit Training twice a week and I am going to try to get Yoga in once a week. I have to break the ice and go to the class but so far the ice has been too thick.

Festival 09

2009-04-29T13:40:00.002-05:00

Well Festival International has come and gone. It was another great year of great music, great weather and great friends.

The Wife, The Boy and SIL (Sister In Law) went Thursday to catch some music. The Wife and The Boy left at dark and SIL and I stayed to catch some Mark Broussard. There were numerous rumor of super stars joining Mark on stage, but as I predicted they were all BS.

Friday just The Wife, The Boy and I went downtown. We had fun, saw some good stuff and called it an early night.

Saturday we all got up to run the Festival 5K. Since The Wife was missing her two hour Red's workout, she asked that I miss my run to run with her and push The Boy. Not a big deal, it saved me from a less than stellar performance. We took from a new course. The race has started from the court house in previous years but this year they chose to start around The Pit Stop. Unfortunally the lead runner is supper fast (Kevin Castille) and was so far ahead of number two, that the #2 guy missed a turn. His inability to follow the course caused the run to be about 2/10ths shorter. I am not complaining since I was not going to PR but look at the map before you run, pay attention. We saw the nervous wife off at nine and went back to enjoy the festivities only to find out that they were out of beer! Damn it! So I caught a ride home.

The 25 lbs of briscit came out of the oven at 11 and the first guest arrived at 12:30. Sister, Neises, Parents, and Friends all stopped by to grab a bit. We headed to to Festival around 3:30. Lots of good music that ended around 9:30 while watching Cedric Watson. Zachary Richard was also pretty good.

Sunday afternoon we headed back meeting some friends. The temperature was nice with a breeze day. Couple hours of music brought the Festival to a close for us this year.

Next year will be a new Festival, new house and hopefully good time again.

CCC10K

2009-04-15T14:31:00.002-05:00

I had aspirations of " postering" this year but it was not to be. "Postering" is a term I just made up. The CCC10K gives free posters to the first 500 chipped runner. You can get a chip by either qualifying or $5. I took the $5 route. I had hopes because last year, I blew out my PR and was only a minute or two from qualifying. So I set me goals to get one this year.

After Houston, I devised an agressive training plan based on the Advanced 10K plans from Hal Higgdon. Unfortunatly, my interest in running more than 3-4 days per week after all the training for Houston was very low. So I got my 12 to 15 miles per week, a few intervals and one or two pace runs.

So along comes race day and here we go. Dad, Sister, BIL#2, BIL#1 and several other friends all lined up. I started off pretty good with 7:12 followed by 7:13. After that is was all up hill. It went 7:32, 7:43, 7:51; 7:58 with a final 1:33. I didn't feel bad just didn't have anything in the tank. My final was 47:05 just a hair shy of last year. Overall I was happy with the results.

We were able to stick around to hear some of "Bag of Dounuts" and drink several Abita beers. We finally decided to leave after the beer lines got too long and were starting to run out of beer.

I guess we will leave the poster for next year.

Heleaux's Grocery

2009-04-06T14:20:00.002-05:00

The trip started with no idea of where we were going to go. I had too much at DTA last night and cleared my head on a short 4-7 run with Glen, Suzy and Greg. I wish the run could have been longer but it was better than nothing. The "too much" contribuited to me not doing any research of were we wanted to go.

After picking BIL up, we headed West. After severel turns and twist we ended up at Heleaux's Grocery. BIL got some sausage for his BBQ and we got two links and two 8-oz cokes. We ate our fair on the hood of the car. The Boy even came back for seconds, so I would rate it as spicy but not too because the meter on The Boy for the peppery suff usually goes off with an "hot-hot-hot". The boudin was good, I think it deserves the B+ rating the linksters gave it. We meanedered back along Hwy 733 and headed home to finish the weekend.

Constant

2009-04-02T20:09:00.002-05:00

Well a lot has happened since the last blog. I had plans of some serious training in prepration for the Cresent City Classic 10K but I think I got burned from the Houston Half training. Plus there was a lot of personal and buisness things that have gotten in the way. I have done a decent job of staying running but it had not been enough for a poster finish at the CCC10K. I am going to try any way.

Saturday Double Run

2009-03-01T17:21:00.002-06:00

Got up Saturday to run, it was drillizing a bit so I figured I would get wet running. I did but not due to rain, it was HUMID. I was drenched with sweat. I ran with Jay and Suzy for about 5 miles. We were are hot and huffing and puffing. We had a good pick up the last mile in order to catch Darrell who popped out from his run.

The second run as a boudin run with BIL (Brother In Law). We drove to the Mowatta Store in Mowatta, LA. It had a firm casing with a good mix of meat and rice. The rice was under-cooked so it was a bit crunch. There was lots of red pepper. B plus

Dallas, TX

2009-02-23T21:21:00.002-06:00

I spent most of the last week in Dallas for a convention for work. It was 1,000 of my fellow employees meeting to see how well we did last year, what was in store for this year and to see what new technology we have for this year. It was exausting. I only ran once and it was on the dread mill. My total for the week was 8 miles. I am just in a rut that I don't want to run often and I have no motivation to do anything else. I should be hitting some weight or doing some stretches but I got the don't wants.

I Start Tomorrow, I Promise.

2009-02-16T21:21:00.003-06:00

Lazy Monday where I get out of bed for my 4:30 alarm, set my alarm on my phone for 6 AM and go back to sleep on the couch. This is so I don't annoy The Wife with snoozes. CCC10K training officially starts tomorrow with 6 x 400's. Good luck to me. No Lazy Tuesday.

Boudin Run - Charlie T's

2009-02-14T11:20:00.005-06:00

One of the reasons that I run, is so that I can eat. I live in South Louisiana there is an over abundance of awsome food. One such food is "Boudin" (boo-dan). It is a mixture of pork and rice with lots of spice (and green onions). There are two guys that have a website that rates local boudin. Every Saturday I get up and go run at Red's. I ran 4.7 miles this morning in about 38 minutes. I didn't have a watch, I am running cave man till I start training again. Anyway, after the run, I drink coffee at Red's with the guys. The Wife goes to Red's for her two hour work out from 9 till 11, so I have to be home to watch The Boy.

After The Wife leaves The Boy and I go pick up BILL (Brother-In-Law) to go on a "Boudin Run". We are working out way down the list to the "A" rated places. (Technically this is a bit of a blog about running, and we went on a run). Three weeks ago, we went to Breaux Bridge to try to get some boudin, I thought I could remember the location of the place. I was wrong, we ended up in Henderson at Webster's. I was good and spicy.

So fast forward two weeks and we headed back to Breaux Bridge. We decided to go to Charlie T's because I went to the other place last weekend on the way to camping. It was good. The linksters overstated it was a smigen more meat than rice , it had a lot of meat. The spice was just right and the casing was snappy. The Boy gave it his seal of approval by eating several bits.

It's Friday

2009-02-06T21:03:00.002-06:00

So today I skipped running so that I could sleep in. I didn't run very far this week. I am calling it recovery week two. I am going to start my training for the CCC10k very soon but I don't want to fall too far and I don't want to get too burned out. I need to do some other exercises but once again, LAZY.

The Wife and The Boy left town Thursday to go to her mom's while I am going camping in the woods tomorrow night. It is my yearly trip with one of my college buddy's and lots of friend. The weather should be good but a bit colder would be better. One year it was in the 20's. Great if you stay by the fire.

$350 Stripper

2009-01-31T18:21:00.002-06:00

I just spent $350 on a stripper and it was on my front porch! Do I have your interest? Well it is not what you think. I live in an old house. It has a front porch that has lots of peeling paint. I have aspirations to strip the porch and repaint it. I have tried chemical stripper- didn't work very well. Belt sander- nope. So I bit the bullet and paid $350 for a mechanical stripper with diamonds on the bottom. It took all of three hours to remove the paint from the concrete. Now I need to figure out how to refinish it. The system that I want (epoxy) cost about $500 total but it will look sweet.

Running: I ran the Four-Seven loop with Jeff, Mike, Becky, Cecile, Greg, Ruthie, Todd, Glenn, Mario, Brandy, and I am sure I am missing a few people. It was a large group. Ruthie took off early, after Todd, Glen and Greg left to head back, I picked it up and ran to the mid-walk spot ahead of all. I am still trying not to run too hard. I am going to take it easy, trying to keep it steady till I start training for the Crescent City Classic 10K. My goal is to get a poster. CCC10K top 500 get a poster. Anyway, after the mid-walk spot, we all ran back with a pit stop to see Ruthie's new back yard. Good times. 12 miles for the week with three run

Yea Me

2009-01-23T12:40:00.002-06:00

Well the training for Aramaco 1/2 Marathon is done and the results are in. I was able to exceed my goal time of 1:45 (1:44:13). PR baby. I am very happy. It has taken me until today to be able to run with out soreness. I tried to run on Wednsday but it hurt way to much. I ran the Shannon Loop Wednsday and had to run back. Today I ran 4.7 Loop (walk in the middle) and did OK. I am going to try to run tomorrow with the group but we will see how that goes.

Merry Fat Christmas

2008-12-25T21:01:00.002-06:00

Well Christmas day is about over. Any hopes that I had that I would stay the same weight has gone out the window. I tried not to eat to much but the plate of rice crispie treats knocked me over the edge. I ate a bunch of those alone. My pants are so tight I had to remove my belt and undo my pants.

Tomorrow will be a new day of not eating so much and starting to try to get to 170 (I was 184 before the holiday). It will be a challenge.

The Boy had his first Christmas where he actually knew what was going on. It was awsome to see him rip open presents.