my treadmill run

Well, I still have not been able to break the 4 mile barrier with my brand new grey bikilas ls.  My run  this evening was a measly 3.14 miles on a startrac treadmill at the island’s ymca.  I almost did not run but a poster on the wall made me reconsider.  The poster stated, “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th”.  Normally, inspirational sayings do not inspire me.  And, this time was no different.  The statement just reminded me what a lazy jackass I really am.  So, I hit the weights pretty hard and felt I had done enough exercise for the day and just wanted to go home and eat and watch another episode of Parks and Recreation.  Then I thought, I really should go running -not because of that stupid inspirational sign but because my belly could stand to lose a little more blubber from it.  And, if I run tonight I can then justify drinking a beer while watching Parks and Recreation.  So, I jumped on a treadmill and cranked out out 3.14 miles in 24:11.  I then went to Publix and bought cat food, milk, mushrooms and went home.

I’m now sitting on my couch typing away on my laptop, drinking a Land Shark beer and watching Parks and Recreation.  Life is good.

Running Playlist:

1. Give peace a chance by John Lennon
2. Barra Barra by Rachid Taha
3. So far away by Avenged sevenfold
4. Crawling by Linkin park
5. Two out of three ain’t bad by Meat Loaf

The treadmill run was pretty tough, I will say.  I started off at 6mph and kept that for the first 3 minutes.  I then pumped it up to 6.5 and stayed there until 5 minutes and incrementally increased the speed until I was sucking in as much air as my lungs would allow and could feel my heart pounding loudly against my rib cage.  The last tenth of a mile was rough!  By the time I finished I was soaking wet and the treadmill dashboard was covered with splatters of my sweat.

Tomorrow, is my long stretch night followed by a run.  So, I’ll hit the gym again and stretch for about 30 minutes in front of the big windows facing the ymca parking lot.  I’ll then strap on my headlamp and kick out a run in my grey bikilas that I promise will be over 4 miles!  Enough of this, right!  These bikilas will not be babied any longer.  It’s time for my grey bikilas to shut up or nut up.  yeah.

• run log

• total miles on grey bikilas: 14.04

• total real miles for 2012: 90.07
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 18.97

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I wish you and yours the very best.

peace,

dh

02/06/2012

At the end of the rails to trails

An upset stomach prevented me from running more than 6.5 miles today at the rails to trails.  It was a great day for running the rtt.  The temperature was an almost perfect 71 degrees with humidity at 68%.  There was a nice cool breeze that brought a pleasant smell of salty air from the ocean a few miles away.

The run started well and continued that way until about mile four.  I was hardly straining at keeping a 7:45 minute pace.  I was sure I was going to be able to squeeze out 10 miles easily but then, this darn stomach problem.  I don’t know if the stomach problem occurred because I had not taken enough fluids for the day or what.  I had hardly eaten most of the day.  So, it could not of been something I ate.  But fluids, I had not taken in a lot of either.  And, I had purposely left my bottle of water inside my locked car instead of carrying it with me.  I should of carried the bottle because I was pretty thirsty early on during the run.  In the past couple of months I’ve gotten in the bad habit of leaving my water behind when I run.  That’s not good.

There were a good bit of people biking and walking the rtt.  On a beautiful day like today I guess that’s expected.  I even saw people walking their dogs there which is illegal at the rails unless you’re blind.  And, these people were obviously not blind.  How did I know?  I threw a rock at them and they ducked.  That’s always my test to determine if someone is blind or not.  I probably should of done a citizens arrest but I was too busy running.  Anyway, it was too beautiful of a day not to be at the rails and, with your dog, if you have one. I probably should of taken Mr. Gypsy there for a walk.  I bet he would love venturing the the rails to trails.  Maybe, next time.

Wildlife inventory:

• 3 pelicans
• 3 dogs
• 1 cargo ship
• 1 vulture
• 1 gnat

Running Music playlist:

1. God’s gonna cut you down by Johnny Cash
2. Simple man by Shinedown
3. Barra Barra by Rachid Taha
4. Fix you by Coldplay
5. Somewhere I belong by Linkin Park
6. Rock of Ages by Def Leppard
7. Crawling by Linkin Park
8. The power by Snap
9. All over you by Live
10. Lightning Crashes by Live
11. The haunted ocean 4 by Max Richter
12. Straight out of Line by godsmack

at the end of the rails to trails at the shrine with the prayer flags

Today’s run was in my blue bikilas.  I had wanted to run in my grey bikilas but earlier this afternoon I stepped on some very squishy and smelly dog poop with both greys on.  They were just washed the day before too!  So, I washed them again and they are drip drying outside at this very moment.  The blue bikilas performed nicely and are quickly aproaching the 200 mile mark.  Thirty-eight more miles and those blue vff’s break 200.

• run log
• mapped run
• total miles on blue bikilas: 162.54
• total real miles for 2012: 90.07
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 15.83

I ran to the end of the eastern end of the rtt and hung several prayer flags that I had meant to hang for over a month now.  I then turned around and ran until I heard my runtastic app lady say that I reached six miles.  I then turned around and ran back to the boardwalk where my car was parked.

I came across one prayer flag that deeply touched me.  It’s about a child that has cancer and is too young for treatment.  I do not know about these things and children but it hit me hard and made remember what the prayer flag project was all about.  Even, though, prayer flag project disappeared from the dairy farm, I’m glad that it lives on at the end of the rails to trails.  I will be praying for young Liam and hope you will pray for him as well.

prayer flag for Liam at the end of the rails to trails

Hopefully, my stomach will feel better on Sunday so that I can squeeze in a nice 10 miler.

Thank you for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

02/04/2012

Daffin park chickens

Yesterday after work I drove straight to Daffin Park and ran 3.76 miles.  I still haven’t been able to break 4 miles on my new grey bikilas.  I don’t know what’s going on.  It’s as if a force field suddenly develops and keeps me from running over four miles on my newest bikilas.  Today, hopefully, I will have the strength and stamina to not only break the four mile barrier but explode past it!

The run around Daffin was a bit difficult, I will say.  I just did not seem to have all of my cylinders firing away.  I could not maintain a quick pace.  I was hurting during the run.  It was not any injury or stressed muscles that prevented me from running a quicker pace.  There was some internal mechanism deep within me that wasn’t firing away like normal.  I enjoyed the run but it was difficult to maintain a strong pace…if that makes any sense.  I finished the run at :28:35.  The temperature was a pleasant 60 degrees with the humidity at 84%.  I’m not sure why it was such a struggle to run yesterday.  Some days you have it, some days you don’t…I guess.

after my 3.76 mile run at daffin park. that's my grey bikila on the lower right hand corner

But, I did enjoy the run.  I love running around Daffin Park and the general area around it.  I ran half of Daffin Park and then shot up Kerry Street and ran the Police Memorial Park trail and then shot back to Daffin Park and finished up there.

As I ran by the Daffin Park lake I saw three chickens and took a few pictures.  I think it is so cool that there are living chickens at Daffin Park.  I don’t know who released these chickens there but they are thriving apparently.  They have been living there for at least a year.  One of the chickens looks like the one from the Kellog’s Corn Flakes cereal box.  I hope they end up having babies so that the park will be filled with chickens and eggs.  I’ll just drop by the park on my way to work and grab a few eggs and boil them and eat them.  On my way home from work I could stop by Daffin Park and grab a chicken and when I get home I can cook it and eat it.  This could become an every day tradition for me.  I will say that these chickens are scared of their own shadows, it seems.  You cannot get close to them.  They are very, very skittish.  I guess I finally know where the term “acting like a chicken” comes from.  These Daffin Park chickens are a bunch of chickens!

my 3.76 mile mapped run

wildlife inventory:

• 1 cormorant
• 3 chickens
• 6 squirrels

Yesterday’s wildlife inventory doesn’t include dogs even, though, I saw about 5 million of them.  I’m not including dogs in the inventory because Daffin Park has a section that’s designated as a dog park.  There were just way too many dogs to count.  I could of probably spent an hour at the park just counting dogs…No exaggeration!  Really.  Okay, maybe I have exaggerated a little but not much.

• run log
• mapped run
• total miles on grey bikilas: 10.9
• total real miles for 2012: 83.57
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 15.83

parting shot of the daffin park chicken

Well, later today I’m going to the rails to trails to run.  I have many prayer flags to hang out there but I’m only going to hang 3 or 4 because I do not want to lose too much time during my run hanging prayer flags.  I know that is very selfish of me but some times, that’s how I kind of roll.  If you want me to hang a prayer flag for you at the end of the rails to trails let me know and I’ll do it.

That’s it for now.

I’ll catch you later on the next blog.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

02/04/2012

outside of the island's ymca after my 3.7 mile run

My second run in my new grey bikilas ls was a little longer than the first one but not by much.  I ran this evening 3.7 miles in Whitemarsh Island after lifting weights at the Island’s Y.  The run tonight was kind of fun because it was in the dark, with my headlamp lighting the way through the winding Ymca loop with a temperature of 63 degrees.  63 degrees.  How’s that for an evening run on February 1st?  These are the nights that I love global warming.  Good stuff…if you like warm winters…bad stuff if you’re a polar bear in the North Pole.

I must confess that I almost did not run.  After tearing it up in the gym with the new exercise equipment the Ymca had out tonight I just wanted to go home, eat, shower and watch another episode of Parks and Recreation.  I actually watched two episodes of Parks and Recreation.  I love that show.  It is so darn funny.  I feel sorry for Jerry.  Everyone always makes fun of him on the show.  Andy’s character is so frigging funny.  He’s such a moron.  He reminds me of my cat, totally stupid.

Well, I did run and I am glad that I did.  I started the run on the Y loop and exited the Ymca trail behind the Police department and ran up Whitemarsh Island blvd to highway 80.  I hung a left on 80 and followed it until turning left on Dolphin Lane.  I ran through the parking lot of the elementary school there and then reconnected with the Whitemarsh blvd road and then ran back onto the Ymca loop, catching it again behind the Police department building.  The moon being half out and a brand new set of batteries on my headlamp gave ample light.  So, I was able to navigate the Y trail without a problem.

There is no wildlife inventory tonight because I did not see anything at all.  Believe it or not, I saw four other runners on the Y trail this evening.  One of the runners was a woman.  That was awesome!  I love it when people do not allow themselves to be limited by the dark for running.  Hey, if you want to run, get out there and do it!  Right?  Right!  I think I’m going to go run again, just for the fun of it!  Ok, I’m not going to go run again.  I’m too comfortable sitting on my couch typing this blog on my laptop while watching the Horde.  I’ll run tomorrow.

map of my 3.7 mile run

Running music inventory:

1. someone in london by godsmack
2. the power by snap
3. caribbean blue by enya
4. byob by system of a down
5. so far away by avenged sevenfold
6. the haunted ocean 5 by max richter
7. somewhere i belong by linkin park
8. spiral by godsmack

Tomorrow, I’ll put in a longer run on my new bikilas.  The shoes felt better today during the run than they did yesterday.  The new bikilas will soon stretch and contour to my foot.

Here’s something interesting to nobody but myself, this evening I counted 9 people in the gym wearing vff’s (including me).  Vff’s are getting very popular.  Soon, everyone and their grandmother will be wearing vff’s.  One day maybe even the President of the United States will give the state of the union address in vff’s.  You never know.  I may have to start hating vff’s if they continue to get so popular.  After all, I’m not supposed to follow trends…I’m supposed to set trends.  Right?  Ok, whatever.

• run log
• mapped run
• total miles on grey bikilas: 7.14
• total real miles 2012: 79.81
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 15.83

Well, that’s it for now.  I’m tired and I want to go to bed.  So, show me the way to go home…

Thank you so much for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

02/01/2012

my new bikilas after a 3.44 mile run

Yesterday was my inaugural run in my new grey bikilas ls.  Yep, I upgraded my vff’s.  I went from regular bikilas to the ls model.  What’s the difference, you ask?  From all I can tell is that the ls has laces and the regular bikilas do not.  There may be some hidden magical power in these new one’s but I have yet to discover that.   So, my first run on my grey bikilas was a 3.44 mile run through my neighborhood.  The shoes performed as I expected – well.

I will say that the new bikilas were a little tight and stiff but that’s to be expected of a new shoe.  My middle toe, the one next to the fat toe is longer than all my other toes…combined!  No, not combined but on both feet the toe next to the fat toe is longer than the others and that toe on both bikilas seemed pressed to the point of slight annoyance.  As with the other bikilas I own these will stretch out and contour to my foot in due time.  Give them a couple of hundred miles and they’ll fit like a cozy snug glove.  That’s just one of the many things I like about vff’s.  You can count on them to become more comfortable with use.

Wildlife inventory:

• 5 dogs
• 2 cats
• 1 squirrel

The run itself was pretty undramatic.  I ran out my front door, turning on Wessels and following that to Skidaway.  I ran around Starbucks and across the parking lot of the strip mall on Skidaway and Victory and then ran behind Piggly Wiggly and then ran down 43rd to Evergreen and then Margaret and then hooked back up with 43rd.  I then turned on Herbed and switched back from 42nd to 41st to 39th and 38th and then to 37th and reconnected with Herbed which drained me into Bonaventure Road.  I hung a louie and followed Bonaventure to Georgia ave and then home sweet home.  It was an enjoyable run.

The weather was a very agreeable at 58 degrees with humidity at 56%.  My run time was 25 minutes, 59 seconds.  That gave me a pace of 7:33 per mile which was comfortable.  Tonight, my bikilas will be challenged more.  I’ll keep you posted.

Running Music inventory:

1. Fix you by Coldplay
2. Gortoz a Ran J’Attends by Denez Pregent/Lisa Gerrard
3. 45 by Shinedown
4. Speed of Sound by Coldplay
5. Clocks by Coldplay
6. The Haunted Ocean 5 by Max Richter

my red bikilas after my last run in them.

Last Saturday I retired my red bikilas after having logged 705 miles on them.  Those were my first bikilas and they have been with me approximately one year one month. Those red bikilas went with me to the very top of Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa last year.  I ran my fastest ever half marathon to date in those bikilas, 1:34:49.

My red bikilas have been all over Savannah.  I have run the entire rails to trails in them.  I have run from one end of Ft. Pulaski to the other in them.  They have accompanied me on runs from Tybee Island to downtown Savannah to Hutchinson Island.  I have run in them through Bonaventure and Greenwich cemeteries.  They have ventured with me through every trail in the dairy farm and have covered just about every road in Thunderbolt.

my red bikilas atop kilimanjaro - 19340 feet!

My dog, Mr. Gypsy, has worn my red bikilas.  My cat, Lyza, has slept inside one of my red bikilas.  A fiddler crab once ran over and across one of my bikilas (I have a picture to prove it!).  I have rested my red bikilas on a bleached out pelvic bone of an elephant at the Kilimanjaro Ranger station and on the skeletal remains of a zebra that died years before on an African savanna.

red bikila with lizard at the island's ymca

I have run the following races in my red bikilas:

• Tybee Island half marathon 2011
• Race for Preservation 10k 2011
• CrimeStoppers Azalea 10k 2011
• Savannah River Bridge Run 10k 2011
• Reindeer 8k 2011

red bikilas at bonaventure cemetery

The longest run I’ve done on these red bikilas was a 24 mile run this past October at the Rails to Trails.  I ran the rtt twice that day in three hours and thirty-one minutes.

So, as you can see I’ve covered a lot of mileage and distance with these vff’s.  I’ve grown to love minimalist running with those red bikilas. They have served me quite well.

red bikilas in fort pulaski

I will not lie to you but I had hoped I could of logged a thousand miles in them but as I got closer to the 700 mile mark I knew these shoes were quickly approaching their end as a useful pair of running shoes for me.  Toward the end my pinky toe on my left foot was hanging out of the shoe.  The rubber soles were paper thin in several areas of both shoes.  The fabric between the toes on every toe on both vff’s was ripped.  I had a hard time keeping small pebbles, dirt and little twigs out of my shoes because of the many holes on them.

Mr. Gypsy wearing my bikilas

If I really wanted to I guess I could of probably squeezed out another 50 miles or possibly 100 more miles out of them but it would of been foolish to do so as running in them was becoming a frustrating and painful experience.  These shoes were done in.  Perhaps, other minimalist runners are not as hard on their running shoes as I have been on mine.  I don’t know.  The truth is I’m not sure what the average life expectancy is for bikilas are.  Do you?

this was the tybee 1/2 2011 where i got my pr. notice the red bikila at the bottom of the picture?

So, I do not know what the record for mileage is for vff’s, specifically, the bikilas but I would love to find out.  I can tell you, though, that I have gotten my money’s worth out of mine!  705 miles is a lot of distance on a running shoe whether conventional running shoe or minimalist.  I have been quite pleased with my red bikilas.

I already have replacements for my red bikilas.  One replacement was purchased last summer.  It was another bikilas model in the color blue.  Those blue bikilas have approximate 150-plus miles on them.

red bikilas for the run for preservation 10k in 2011

Two hours after I finished my last run on my red bikilas I went to Half Moon Outfitters and purchased another pair of bikilas, – a pair of grey bikilas ls.  That’s right, I’m now a proud owner of bikilas with lace straps!  Today, I had my inaugural run in my new grey bikilas ls and of course, they performed beautifully.  I ran a short 3.44 miles in them.  They were a little stiff but that is to be expected.  Give them a few hundred miles and these new bikilas will fit my feet snuggly like gloves…just like my beloved red bikilas.

I have grown to love minimalist running and running in vff’s, specifically, bikilas.  Bikilas are awesome running shoes.  My running has become stronger since venturing into the minimalist world and the bikilas have been with me just about every step of the way.  I say, just about every step of the way, because my first venture into minimalist running was with the Vibram Sprints.  I only logged approximately 300 miles on those before I was advised to upgrade to the true Vibram Five Finger minimalist running shoe, the Bikilas.  And, since slipping on a pair of bikilas I have become a true believer in minimalist running.  The aching knees and hip I used to suffer through when running mile after mile in conventional back-end heavy running shoes have pretty much disappeared since my advent in vff running.

red bikila with the forsyth fountain after the race for preservation 10k

Those that know me know that I am quite the fanatic of vff’s.  I love those shoes.  I love the attention they get and the questions they provoke from everyone I meet.  When I was in Tanzania last year every where I went I had small bands of people gather around me staring at my shoes, asking questions and making funny remarks.  There was one Masai park ranger that looked at my vff-clad feet and threw his head back and laughed heartily exclaiming that I had gorilla feet!  I took that as a compliment!  Thank you very much!

I don’t know what I’m going to do with my red bikilas now that they are truly spent.  I mean, I’ve actually developed quite a sentimental attachment to them!  It would be very sad for me to discard these shoes in the trash.  I have wondered what to do with them now.  Should I bury them?  Should I donate them to science or to the Smithsonian?  Should I have them bronzed?  Should I send them to Vibram the company with a note attached to them explaining my experience with them?  Should I build a pyre and burn them, letting their ashes reach the heavens?  I don’t know?  I welcome any suggestions.  Please do advise me.

preparing for my kilimanjaro trip with my red bikilas and best pal, Mr. Gypsy

I greatly love my red bikilas and I very happy of the productive time we have shared.  Very seldom does a man fall in love with his shoes.  Perhaps, I am the first but I certainly will not be the last.  I love my vff’s and I’m not ashamed to say it!  I love my vff’s!  I love them!  I love them!  I love them!

Should there ever be a zombie apocalypse please note that I will gladly meet that challenge clad in vff bikilas and a machete.

at the savannah sidewalk arts festival

Thank you so much for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

01/31/2012

If you want to see more pictures of  my beloved vff’s go to my google album: me and my vff’s

my cat, lyza, in my red bikila

stopping for a funeral at Greenwich cemetery

As I was doing my run yesterday I started to think about a runner’s etiquette.  Is there such a thing?  There must be and I’m willing to bet that most of us runners follow some kind of a runner’s etiquette or code of conduct even if we do not give it an actual name.  What I’m talking about is being polite and alerting a slower runner or walker that you’re coming up on them like say, “on your left”.  You know what I mean?

Well, I wondered about that as I ran up the very narrow two-lane Bonaventure Road in Thunderbolt/Savannah.  As I ran Bonaventure most of the incoming drivers slowed down and if possible gave me a wide berth as they passed by me.  I thought that was very cool of them.  They really did not have to give me a cushion of space to make me feel safe nor did they really need to slow down but they did.  So, I began to acknowledge their act of kindness by giving them a nod of my head and mouthing thank you.  I’m not sure if any drivers noticed me doing this but I did it any way.  It seemed to me the right thing to do on such a narrow, sparsely driven two-lane road that Saturday afternoon.  I don’t think I would be thanking every car that zooms past me on say, highway 80 at 5:00pm on weekday runs.  I would just grow tired from all that thanking and nodding.  And, I think most drivers on highway 80 on a weekday evening drive home are driving way too fast and are way too distracted on their phones and on thoughts of a nice candle-lit dinner with their honeys and catching on tv the next speaker on cspan than to notice some runner on the road, right?  Well, maybe not everyone is into cspan like me but I think you get what I mean, right?  It’s probably best to stay away or, be very, very careful when running on heavily trafficked streets.  What I’m talking about are the small, less traveled roads and drivers just being nice.

So, as I stated earlier, I began nodding and mouthing thank you’s to drivers that slowed down and gave me a nice cushion of space between their car and me.  What about the one’s that didn’t slow down nor give me a cushion of space?  I shot them the bird.  No.  I didn’t do that.  And, only one driver during my 11 mile run Saturday didn’t slow down nor give me a cushion of space as he past me.  I noticed this driver was about 100 years old and thought this guy probably doesn’t even know he’s driving.  So, why get bothered.  This is why we run against traffic and why we should always remain overly cautious as we run against traffic because not all drivers are kind and, not all drivers are on planet earth while driving – their minds could be a million miles away.

Any way, during my run on Bonaventure Road I resolved to nod and mouth thank you’s to every driver that showed me love.  I then ran into Greenwich cemetery and began to wonder if there is an  runner’s etiquette for funerals.  And guess what?  I came upon an ongoing funeral Saturday afternoon in Greenwich cemetery.  So, what did I do?  I’ll tell you what I wanted to do. I wanted to complete the leg of my Greenwich cemetery run that was past that funeral and then continue the rest of my pre-routed run through Greenwich cemetery and then head into Bonaventure cemetery and so on.  But, I didn’t.  My runner’s etiquette or morality kicked in and I stopped about a hundred feet from where the funeral was at and I bowed my head momentarily in respect.  I took a picture of the funeral for this blog and then turned around and ran a different route through the cemetery.  That seemed the right thing for me to do.  Was it?

As I continued my run I thought more about a runner’s etiquette and began putting together a mental list of one.  I’ll give you my list first and then I’ll post the list I found on the internets later.

Dan’s Runner’s Etiquette List

1. acknowledge and give thanks to drivers that show you kindness while running on the road.  If a driver slows down and gives you a wide berth between you and the car acknowledge that kind act by mouthing a thank you and nodding or by giving a peace sign.  I like the peace sign.  Just show gratitude, dude.
2. If you’re running in a cemetery and you come upon an ongoing funeral, stop.  Show some respect and turn around and find another path to run on.  Think about the difficult time that family and friends are going through at that moment.
3. Call out, don’t scream out, an “on your left” or an “on your right” as you come upon slower runners or walkers on a path.  You don’t want to give someone a heart attack any more than you want someone to give you one.
4. Don’t shoot a nostril full of snot before looking.  You would not want someone to blast your legs or brand new running shoes with a load of green mucus as you run past them.  Also, be mindful of ladies.  Just as most of us (guys) wouldn’t fart in front of a lady don’t shoot a wad of snot on the sidewalk in front of a lady.  That’s just bad manners.  Ask your mother about that.  Well, I do know a lot of guys that fart in front of women but I’m not one of those.  Every now and then, though, one does slip out.  Hm.  Let’s move along.
5. Share the running path and road with other runners.  The road nor the running path was made specifically for you.  Don’t hog the trail or slow down an approaching runner.  If someone is coming upon you while running  and you know they are carrying a faster clip than you are shift over a little if possible and let them get by.  It’s the sportsman thing to do.  When you get your second wind you can blaze past him, leaving him eating your dust. Right?  Right.
6. Always help out a runner in trouble/distress.  A PR is never worth the wellness/safety of a fellow runner…or, walker, cyclist, whoever.  If someone is in trouble as you run past them stop and see if you can assist them.  It’s the right thing to do.
7. I believe in doing the same thing for an injured or distressed animal you come upon while running (without endangering yourself, that is).  If you come upon an injured dog or cat or cow while running try to do something for the critter even if it means flagging down a car or running up to the nearest gas station and contacting the proper authorities.  No animal should be left to suffer on the side of a road if you come across one.  If you see a turtle trying to cross the road try to help it along but don’t endanger yourself.  Please don’t get run over by a car because you were trying to save a turtle.

Well, that’s about all that I could think of as I ran.  I’m sure other situations will pop up to make me reconsider or add to the list above.

Now, here is the runner’s etiquette list from Road Runner’s Club of America:

Rules of the road and trails

• Run against traffic if running on the road. If running on the sidewalk or multi-use trails, travel on the right and pass on the left.
• Never run more than two abreast if you are running in a group. Don’t be a road or trail hog.
• Don’t run down the middle of the road or trail.
• If you are running an out-and-back route, don’t just make a sudden u-turn at your turn around point. Stop, step to the right to allow oncoming traffic the opportunity to pass. Ensure the road or trail is clear of oncoming traffic (runners, cyclists, in-line skaters, etc.) then make your u-turn. Making a sudden u-turn without looking over your shoulder is a good way to get hit.
• Alert pedestrians when you are passing them – don’t assume they are aware of their surroundings. A simple “on your left” warning will suffice.
• Be alert on blind curves.
• Stop at stop signs and ensure oncoming traffic yields to you before proceeding across a road. Don’t assume cars will stop if you are entering a cross walk.
• Respect private property along your route. Don’t relieve yourself in the neighbor’s bushes.
• Don’t litter. If you can’t find a trash can, carry your trash home.

RRCA’s list is good.  I should of thought of some of those but I didn’t.  That’s why we have this group, right?  I agree whole-heartedly with RRCA’s list but still will incorporate my list above and append it to theirs.

As for the rest of my run on Saturday, I ran through Greenwich and Bonaventure cemeteries, ran over the Thunderbolt bridge and into and around Isle of Armstrong, ran to the Wilmington River and worked my way back to my home for an 11.14 mile run.  This was my final run with my legendary red bikilas.  My red bikilas have served me well for 705 miles and are now officially retired.  I have another blog that will be devoted entirely to a farewell to those vff’s.  So, stay tuned for that one.

my 11 mile mapped run

• run log
• mapped run
• total miles on red bikilas: 705.7
• total real miles for 2012: 69.23
• total treadmill miles: 15.83

Wildlife inventory:

• 2 seagulls
• 1 cormorant
• 1 vulture in Greenwich cemetery.  That was an ominous sign, I think.
• 5 doves
• 1 moth.  Yes, one moth flying about on January 28th!  It’s supposed to be winter, I thought.
• 3 squirrels
• 3 cats
• 10 dogs

Thank you so much for stopping by.

I wish you and yours the very, very best.

peace,

dh

01/29/2012

to serve and to protect

This weather we’re having in January is excellent…not hot, not cold…just right –for running.  The temperature during the run this evening was a very pleasant 62 degrees.  My run this evening was 5.43 miles through my hood.  The traffic was a bit hairy but I still enjoyed the run but had to be doubly aware of drivers paying attention to driving rather than phone talking.  Most drivers here are really cool on my neighborhood’s narrow roads, – they’ll slow down and widen the gulf between them and me as they pass by me.  Unfortunately, some are not so cool.  During tonight’s run one driver in a big red suv refused to give me breathing room on Bonaventure Road even though there were no other cars on the road.  I literally had to jerk my right arm away quickly because the side rear view mirror on the suv almost hit my arm.  I was kind of stunned that the driver was either that uncool or simply was not paying attention while driving.  I say that because I never did get a view of the driver.  So, I do not know whether the driver was male, female or an angel of death hell bent on ripping off my arm with the devil red colored suv.

trying to cross victory drive to continue running on the other side of river drive

Definitely, it is almost time to retire my red bikilas.  I was thinking about that while running.  There are so many holes in my red bikilas now that it is easy to get pebbles and twigs to go inside my vff through one of the tears in the fabric or cracks in the rubber.  Also, certain parts of the soles of my vff’s are so thin that I can feel every little pebble I step on as if I were barefoot.  So, I’m pretty sure that this weekend will be their last run.  I’m now within 5 to 6 miles of breaking 700 miles on these vff’s.  Once I retire these red bikilas ones it will be time to buy another pair.  I like having two pairs of bikilas on hand so that I can swap them out easily when one pair begins to stink like a skunk’s butthole.  So, I always keep one clean pair and one dirty pair.  It’s a good plan.  Trust me.

Wildlife inventory:

• 2 doves
• 4 egrets.  I cannot remember if they were snowy or great egret, I’m afraid.
• 10 dogs
• 3 dogs
• 2 very large flock of dark birds

I think these are great egrets on the wilmington river

Tonight’s run started on my home street.  I followed it to Delaware Ave and took a right.  Delaware took me to Bonaventure where I took a left on it and followed it til Fennel.  Fennel ended at Mechanics so I took Mechanics road to the Wilmington River pier where I photographed some egrets on the low tide river.  I ran back up Mechanics to Dogwood…Dogwood to River Drive and then to Victory where I had to wait about five minutes for the traffic to thin out so that I could cross the road and continue running up River drive.  I turned right on a street just before Tubby’s and then followed that road to Mechanics and then back to Victory.  This time, I didn’t have to wait at all to cross Victory so I ran quickly across it to another road which took me back to Victory where I ran alongside it, running past Coach’s Corner before turning up on Downing Street, you know, where the English Prime Minister lives.  I then caught forty-something street to Herbed and ran up Herbed to Bonaventure following it until something else and then ran through some grassy, rocky back alleys until I found another road that took me to Pennsylvania Ave.  I ran up Pennsylvania to Tennessee and back to home sweet home…5.43 miles.

Tonight’s running music inventory:

1. The World I know by Collective Soul
2. Beverly Hills by Weezer
3. Shout 2000 by Disturbed
4. Getting away with murder by Papa Roach
5. 45 by Shinedown
6. Stupify by Disturbed
7. The Scientist by Willie Nelson
8. Heavenly Day by Patty Griffin
9. Have you ever seen the Rain by the Spin Doctors
10. The Haunted Ocean 5 by Max Richter
11. The Power by Snap
12. Gortoz a Ran J’Attends by Deez Prigent/Lisa Gerrard

there, another picture of the wilmington river and the egrets taken from the wilmington river pier

Anyway, I’m now going to shower and think about what I’m going to eat for dinner.  Yesterday was Mr. Gypsy’s birthday.  I got him a few gifts.  I’ll post the pictures on another blog entry.  Mr.  Gypsy is now ten years old.  I love that little dog so much.  He’s the best.

• run log
• mapped run
• total miles on red bikilas: 694.56
• total real miles for 2012: 58.09
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 15.83

Thank you so much for stopping by.

I wish you and yours the very best.

peace,

dh

01/27/2012

Well, tonight I added a little more mileage to my 2012 treadmill total.  I ran 3.11 miles on a startrac treadmill at the Island’s Ymca.  I really like those treadmills.  They are super nice.  The run tonight was tough.  I started off slow but after a few minutes I began to crank the speed upwards every few minutes until  I was running 8.5 mph.  That is a fast speed for me on a treadmill.

I ran with my heart rate monitor and continually glanced at my bpm.  On average, I would say my bpm was 155.  The highest I saw my bpm was 160 and that was making my stomach feel a little upset.  So, I dropped back down (by slowing down) to 152-153.  At the mid-fifties I was huffing and puffing but I did not feel like my stomach was going to erupt.  I had a good workout.

Speaking of workout, I started off at the Y by doing bench press, dumbell curls, kickbacks, rows and leg extensions before jumping on the treadmill.  I felt good and strong through-out the weight-lifting and the run as well.  And, before hitting the gym this evening, Mr. Gypsy and I walked 1.9 miles.

It was a good day today.

this is a great song and Willie's rendition of it is quite awesome.

I ran with music again.  So, here goes the music inventory…

Tonight’s Running Music inventory:

1. Snuff by Slipknot
2. Last Resort by Papa Roach
3. Sea of Love by Phil Phillips
4. Somewhere I belong by Linkin Park
5. The Haunted Ocean 5 by Max Richter
6. Getting Away with Murder by Papa Roach
7. Fix you by Coldplay
8. The Scientist by Willie Nelson

Finally, my pinky toe broke through my vff.

Oh, I forgot to mention, today as I was lifting weights I noticed that my pinky toe on my right foot had pushed through the inside fabric of my red vff.  Yeah, that’s right.  My red bikilas are literally falling apart.  I do hope they have another 11 miles in them.  That’s right.  Eleven miles from now my red bikilas will have logged 700 miles!  Yeah.  That’s like a record…for me…it will be, I mean.

• run log
• total miles on red bikilas: 689.13
• total real miles for 2012: 52.66
• total treadmill miles for 2012: 15.83

Well, tomorrow I’m back to an outdoor run…probably, in my neighborhood.  I doubt it will be the eleven miles needed for reaching 700 but it will get me a few miles closer.  I will retire my red bikilas after this weekend.  I’m pretty sure that these vff’s do not have another hundred miles.  So, no need to press my luck and injure myself.

Thank you so very much for stopping by.

I wish you and yours the very best.

peace,

dh

01/26/2012

Wilmington River and Thunderbolt bridge

I’m still not feeling 100% but tonight’s 4.8 mile run did me a lot of good.  One nice thing, my left calf only bothered me for about a mile.  My right hip did not bother me at all and neither did my left ankle!  Woo hoo!  Another good thing, it was a beautiful evening for a run.  The temperature was a very pleasant 61 degrees and humidity was a very unpleasant 100%.  Perfect!

I ran in my neck of the woods after walking mr. Gypsy for 1.9 miles.  So, I kind of knocked out a good chunk of mileage today after work, I would say.

this was part 1 of 2 of my mapped run today

The run today began in front of my house and quickly took me up Wessels to Indiana.  I followed Indiana to Ohio and then 38th and back onto Wessels until it ended at the back of Piggly Wiggly.  I ran around the Pig and caught Victory to whatever and then connected with Bonaventure and then back to Victory and to the top of the Thunderbolt bridge where I stopped momentarily to take a picture of the red fake flower I crammed into some gooie stuff a month or so ago.  Unfortunately, at the top of the bridge I accidently stopped  and saved my mapped run on runtastic.  So, after careful deliberation I decided to start another session of runtastic and record the rest of my run starting from the very top of the Thunderbolt Bridge. At the end of my run I had to apply my amazing math skills and by adding the distances covered on two mapped runs today: 2.2 miles + 2.6 miles = 12 miles, right?  Wrong.  It equals 4.8 miles.

this is part 2 of 2 of my run today

I ran back to the bottom of the bridge and ran up Dogwood Ave to Mechanics Ave and followed that into the Wilmington River pier.  The Wilmington River’s surface was like  glass tonight and magnificently beautiful.  Pinkish, grey colors reflected beautifully off of the surface of the Wilmington River and I had to stop again momentarily to get a few pictures.  After that, though, I high tailed it back to Bonaventure ave and followed it to Georgia Ave and then back to home sweet home.

Wildlife inventory:

• 1 dove
• 4 cats
• 6 dogs

this is the flower i crammed into the tarry stuff on top of the thunderbolt bridge about a month ago.

Even though, I did not feel 100% during this evening’s run it was still a delightful run and it did what I had hoped it would do – lift my spirits.  There is something very magical about running at sunset in the low country especially as you cross rivers and marshes and old oak trees draped heavily in Spanish moss.  It was nice.  I highly recommend a sunset run in Thunderbolt, Georgia.  You will not be disappointed.

Tonight’s Running Music inventory:

1. The Haunted Ocean  by Max Richter
2. Simple Man by Shinedown
3. The world I know by Collective Soul
4. Rock of Ages by Def Leppard
5. Closer by Kings of Leon
6. Crying Over by Patty Griffin
7. Get Off by Prince
8. Son of a Preacher Man by Dusty Springfield
9. Hunger by Black Hawk Down soundtrack
10. Stupify by Disturbed

Tomorrow, I will definitely go to the gym and lift weights, stretch and then run.  Hopefully, the run will be outdoors and not on the treadmill but then again, I really should add more mileage to my treadmill run stats, do you not think so?  I’ve only run 12 point something miles on a treadmill so far this year.  I need to get that number up.

• run log
• mapped run part 1 of 2
• mapped run part 2 of 2
• total miles on red bikilas: 686.02
• total real miles for 2012: 52.66
• total treadmill miles: 12.72

that's me in the reflection on Bonaventure and Kansas ave.

Well, my red bikilas are almost at 700 miles and they are showing the wear and tear!  The soles are ripping apart in different areas now.  I may very well be running like Fred Flintstone before too long.  I will close out the month of January with 700+ miles on my red bikilas!  That is a promise you can believe in!

Thank you so very much for stopping by.

All the very best to you and yours.

peace,

dh

01/25/2012