Facebook Killed My Blog; Comeback in Order

It is Wednesday, February 3rd and this will be my first post here in approximately four months. Like many others, Facebook has a way of killing blogs - mine, once a very popular one, too!

There's a lot that has transpired since early October and I won't necessarily try and catch up.

This past weekend, we had a very successful second annual Bill Crews Remission Run 5K in Conroe at Carl Barton, Jr. Park; however, I really can't even bask in the success of it all. (Not that I really would anyways.) The bottom line is that these is a situation that transpired within the last three weeks that left me a little confused and that kind of got stood up on its head this past weekend.

Yes, I'm kind of tough on myself. Always have been and probably always will be. But this situation left me to doubt myself and how well that I even view myself. It has rocked me pretty hard. I guess I came here - and got off of Facebook - to kind of be a little therapuetic and work my way through it.

Since this is a closed forum, so to speak, I can just kind of vent.

About three Mondays ago, I kind of opened myself to a little bit of melancholy before I left to come here to Poughkeepsie, New York for work - on Facebook, that is. And during that week, there was a cryptic set of e-mails that were traded back and forth leading up to that Sunday's Chevron Houston Marathon.

The e-mails implied one thing, but logic told me another.

All of that hit me like a 2x4 on Saturday, and I'm afraid that I failed a test. It isn't the first time and I'm probably sure that it won't be the last time, but it cut a little deeper, I suppose. And it all has some deeper roots.

It was a day at the Bill Crews Remission Run that my Mom and Dad were both at a race. They were there for two reasons - 1.) to see Waverly sing the National Anthem and 2.) to see my two nieces run the 1-mile run. Their names are Haylee and Hunter. Waverly, of course, ran with my youngest niece, Hunter, who is 5. They're both good kids and Hunter is just absolutely something else.

I was all over the place. I was race director. I was problem solver. I was cone-mover. I was cheerleader. I was a politician. I was a gracious host. I was public address announcer. I was many, many things and I changed from one moment to the next, but we made a lot of people happy. Especially those individuals who ran our race that were cancer survivors or were running in honor of or memory of loved ones who had battled or died of cancer.

The reviews were good. But I guess I was still looking for some words of approval from my Dad, who's 63. I figured that he would have been proud of me for an effort that I had led and worked on since May 2009 (after a successful first run the year before).

I also thought that I might have heard some words of congratulations from my daughter's mother, who got involved because her mom has, I believe what they call "watch and wait" lymphoma. She actually sees Bill Crews' oncology doctor, Dr. Rick Hagemeister. But there was no, "I'm really proud of what you did today" even when the conditions really warranted it.

And then there was this individual that had engaged me in some conversation earlier in the month. They were out at the Park and volunteering. I was glad that they were out, but it was a bit of pressure for me because of the communications. I suppose the error that I made is that I should have found a way to thank the individual in person for volunteering, but two things kept me from doing that. First, they were in a group of people who I've met once or twice and know their name, but I don't really "know" them and second, time just didn't present itself.

So I did the next best thing after I got home and got about seven hours of hard sleep, I began thanking people through the Facebook medium until about 4 a.m. and this individual was on that list. It was simple. I just thanked them for being a part and helping us put on a quality, fun event for all. And I guess the same thing happened: I thought that I might have received a "you know I had a good time and I was glad that I could help", but I didn't get it.

It would have been nice.

Therefore, I think the combination of those three left me getting up on Monday morning pretty depressed and questioning my own self-worth. Which I know is silly. Intellectually, that is. But emotionally, I took it all pretty hard.

It's odd. I really like to "fly under the radar". I like for nobody to really know that I've done anything - no matter what it is that is involved. I just don't want credit, that's all. I'm not one that has this grandiose view of myself. I think God has given me certain abilities and I try to use them as well as I can.

I left one running club for good in October over unrrelated issues and I withdrew from another one on Monday just so that I didn't feel commited to be involved and to do things.

I think I'm just going to go do my own thing for awhile. And work on me. If nobody can find me, nobody will bother me is the way I kind of look at it.

I'll still run races and such, but I won't be letting anybody know where I'm going or what I'm doing. I'll probably blog here ... so I guess you'll be the privileged ones - if you care, that is! :)

Time to eat on a Wednesday night in Poughkeepsie.

Monday in Poughkeepsie, New York

No, I'm not here to run a race. Although Chris Bittinger, Gerardo Mora, Sean Wade, Tom King and one other Houston-area masters runner was in Syracuse on Sunday to compete in the USATF 5K Masters National Championship. No surprise as Sean won!

I've just started another project: just in time for winter in the Northeast!

I'm going to probably start to blog again just to put down some things in writing.

The bottom line is that I'm struggling. Sure. Money is good. I have work. I have an incredible daugthter and I, for the most part, have wonderful friends. But there's a piece in my life that is missing. And if you know me, you know what I'm talking about.

I'm beginning to wonder if I have reached the burnout stage that I did after covering Texas private and parochial high school athletics from 1994 to 2001. I walked away from that in the middle of high school football season (and just after 9-11 too.) Yes, heresy in Texas!

From a media perspective, as it relates to running, I've hit the apex of my game - so to speak. Sure, I haven't penned anything for Runner's World, Running Times or Marathon & Beyond, but that has never been an aspiration of mine.

I feel like I'm very well respected and when you reach that position, there is an incredible internal pressure to feel like you have to live up to so many people.

And when you get to that spot, you have to work even harder to maintain that perception that people have of you. I think that it brings burnout.

Yes, it appears that I'm going 90 miles an hour, but there is also a side of me that people don't always see. If I'm not being somewhat busy, I become lazy and unproductive while fear and procastination takes over.

It is an ugly cycle. And while I'm certainly not special, by any means, I do everything that I do without anyone very close and personal to offer more than just words of encouragement.

Again, I know that I'm very well respected by most. I'm thankful for that. Really I am. And while that is flattering, you can become guilty of reading your own press clippings and succumb to that. Now I don't think that is where I'm really at, but it is just that I'm tired of swinging at everything all by myself.

I don't want the praise or words of encouragement to beat my own chest by, but somebody just to say - and recognize - that they're proud of me simply for who I am and love me for being that way.

It's hard to give yourself a hug and tell yourself that you love yourself ... LOL! I don't even want to try for fear that somebody with a camera will show up and put in on You Tube! :)

If you have happened to decide to check the blog and are the praying type, please keep me in your prayers. I don't want to know if you did or not. That's not important to me.

The bottom life is that I just need some peace in my life.

Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon Race Report

Sunday's Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon in Irving isn't the first race that I've ever participated in that I wasn't ready for and it is likely that it won't be the last either.

This was a race that was supposed to have been run on the first Sunday in May; however, the storm that destroyed the Dallas Cowboys training facility also cancelled the event. In most cases, that would have been money lost. But race directors Libby Jones and Paula Robertson allowed runners to move that entry to a fall half marathon that they had on the calendar.

This half marathon, my 62nd finish at this distance, was also not the first one that I hadn't handicapped myself just a little bit.

On Friday, I drove from Spring to Arkadelphia, Arkansas for the Matters of the hEEEart 5K on the campus of Ouachita Baptist University. It was an afternoon event.

After the race, I traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana - with dinner at IHOP in Texarkana in between - for Saturday's Captain Shreve Gator Run 5K #9.

Then, I drove from Shreveport to Houston for the HARRA Cross Country Relay - no, I didn't run, but might have if asked - and then drove north again to Irving.

So you might be able to say that I was a little tired. :)

The race was to start at 7:30 a.m., I believe. I was on-site and parked in the parking garage at Williams Square in Irving no later than 6:30 a.m. It was already humid and the temperatures were expected to rise into the mid-80s.

I immediately went to where packet pickup was (the other garage at the other end) and I got thrown my first curve of the morning. The event was using one of the new "flat card" IPICO timing chips. They are flat and have holes - four of them - in the card. Every race that I've ever been to where they have been used, you have taken small orange twist ties - like you put around the garbage bag - and tied the card to your shoelaces.

They didn't have any. You were expected to thread your shoelace through the timing card!

Now OK. You've just finished 13.1 miles on a warm day and the last thing that you want to be trying to do is to bend down, undo your shoelaces, pull the card off and give it to a volunteer. So I took the median approach: I had enough room on the shoelaces that I didn't have to untie it. I took the extra length above the tie, used that to thread through them and knotted it to the shoelaces. But I just thought that it all was an unnecessary exercise.

We're using the same timing chip for the Bill Crews Remission Run 5K. Therefore, it is something that I have on my race director's checklist now.

The two other things, logistically, that I saw that concerned me is that 1.) the line to the port-a-potties could have been redirected to keep the starting line queuing process from being a little convoluted and 2.) with the masses of people, there needed to be a couple of more speakers so that everyone could hear. Those are minor things, but they were big enough that I picked up on them.

The P.A. guy was good except that he could have had a list of names with bib numbers on laminated cards and called out people's names - and a live singer for the National Anthem would have been better than a recording (but I'm a little biased with that opinion).

I knew with the temperatures being up that I couldn't even attempt to click off low 10-minute miles, let alone if I had them in me or not.

The first two miles went fairly easy as I posted time of 10:48.86 and 11:12.52. I saw The Woodlands' Judith Blevins as she began to return from the 1.55-mile turnaround of the 5K. She looked like she was running effortlessly. Me? I knew that this was going to be a long morning.

I was good for the next three miles -- 11:54.46, 12:11.27 and 11:59.43. Then just before the turnaround, things started to get a little bit tougher for me.

Miles 6, 7 and 8 were about the same -- 12:46.50, 12:55.93 and 12:51.93. And at this point, I was probably running about 75% of those miles. If it had been a little cooler, I think these miles would have been a little bit faster.

Miles 9 and 10 were 12:31.32 and 12:48.40.

The last three miles - 14:06.26, 13:58.71 and 14:26.34 - took me over the 2:40 mark -- a place that I really don't like to be at any more. Especially since I rattled off a 2:14 in January and a 2:18 in late March. That seems so far away!

The last tenth of a mile was in 1:05.55 and I finished with a "chip time" of 2:45:37. Ugh! (The official results had a time of 2:45:33. I think I'll go with that!)

The race was run primarily on the Trinity Trails in Irving. Parts of them were shaded and others weren't. There could have been one more water stop so that they could have been spaced at about a one and a half mile interval, but I understand from an RD standpoint why they were placed where they were.

The medals were nice (not that they really mean that much to me, but they are important to some people). There were plenty of post-race fluids, but a little short on any thing other than a banana. Again, it isn't a big deal to me as I've seen everything imaginable in the races that I've run and participated in.

I think that they ought to give all women a half hour head start in this predominantly female event (466 women finished versus 128 men). It was just odd seeing men finish first as they passed us coming in while I was still heading out.

The event gave me a little bit of an idea where I stand. And that's a little off the mark where I normally am, but I know that I have time between here and January. Just have to get the work done.

Harvest Moon & Margarita Run 5K Race Report

When is a 5K not really a 5K? Your first answer might be if the course was long or short. The real answer is when it is advertised as one thing, but turns out to be another.

The first paragraph may lead you to believe that I'm going to be hyper-critical. I'm not. However, you'll see how plausible it is to allow first impressions to damper one's entire thought process.

Earlier this week, as a Houston Masters Sports Association member, I received a copy of the October 2009 newsletter and it made reference to a new running store - Fit 2 Run - in Galveston and an event - the Harvest Moon and Margarita Run 5K - that they were hosting.

I googled the store, got the yet-to-be-completed web site and found that they were also on Facebook. There was a registration form on the web site and they were touting the event on the store's Facebook page. I decided, once I cleared some things out of the way from work, to head to Galveston on Thursday afternoon - in the midst of afternoon traffic.

After navigating some heavy rains in the League City area along Interstate 45, I made it to Galveston just shortly before 6 p.m. and found Salsa's Restaraunt along the Seawall at 45th Street.

I already saw Leno Rios warming up around the parking lot that was part of Academy.

I hadn't replaced my watch this week after it came to a halt at the Heels and Hills and Him Half Marathon in Irving on Sunday. It would be my third watch that I had purchased since the first one just prior to the 2005 hp Houston Marathon.

Once I had that secured, I made my way over to the restaraunt and registered.

After circling the parking lot three or four times with Leno, I learned that he works in Galveston very close to their store on 23rd Street, had met the owners recently and helped give them some advice.

The event didn't quite get started on time, and it really wasn't even handled like a real race. I was a little disappointed, but the atmosphere and the spirit was great. And the turnout was a big, big surprise - and very good. Just before we crossed the street to run along the Seawall, the organizer, Kim Bachmeier, had everybody turn to somebody close to them and introduce themselves. I was close to a young woman who was wearing a BARC Pub Crawl singlet and she introduced herself as "Serina" and I replied, "Oh, McEntire".

Needless to say, she was a little freaked.

I quickly chimed in and told her that I recognized her name from all of the Bay Area Running Club HARRA reports that Veronica Hoge had provided me over the years. (She's also included in the Clear Lake Fitness Club reports too!)

We were to run to 25th Street and come back. I got off to a pretty good start and while there wasn't a ton of people in front of me, I started to wonder to myself that I must have gone out a little too fast.

I'm still struggling with getting back to my normal 29-minute 5K and 2:18-2:20 half marathon times, and tonight would be no different than what I've been suffering through since the first of June.

I'm trying to run about a 9:20 pace (which is in the low 29s for a 5K), but my endurance and all certainly isn't there yet. So it is a lot of starts and stops.

I made it down in 16:19:08, quickly doubled it in my mind and was praying that perhaps the organizer didn't get the turnaround in the right spot.

The temperatures were in the mid-80s, but they didn't seem to bother me going south. However, I quickly found out why on the return trip north: We were running into the wind! Just what I needed to slow me down even more than what I was.

So I had to make the best of it for the long drive down. I had two ladies pass me about half of the way heading south to 25th Street. Then just before we made the turnaround, another two women did as well. Even though I'm slow, the second one didn't sit real well with me. (And approaching was Serina and the young woman that she was pacing - in her first 5K I later learned.)

As we made our way north back to the restaraunt, I eventually caught and passed both pairs of women. Small victories. The one little defeat was the time on the return trip - 17:33.40 - and a total time of 33:52. Ugh!

When we got back, we turned in a reflective wrist band - kind of like the stick that we used for TIR - for two drink tickets and off everyone went into Salsa's.

The restaraunt really did a great job and everyone basically had a plate of Mexican food with their drinks.

Kim gave out a number of nice door prizes and a good time really seemed to be had by all. I spent a little bit more time getting to know Serina and visited some more with Leno. During the trip down, I got to meet Terlingua's Dale Lee for the first time. I had known of Dale for a long time and knew him to see him, but had never introduced myself to him. Nice guy.

In the restaraunt, I also saw Ralph Miller of Tiki Island. Miller is in his mid-70s and still does lots of triathlons.

Certainly the store won't be able to do more of these at a $25 price without making it a real race - even running it on the sidewalk of the Seawall. However, I could very, very easily see them doing a $5 event monthly of different distances much like Run The Woodlands 5K is done twice a month. That is something that I see would be a very real possibility for the store that seems to be revitalizing running in Galveston.

And it turned out to be the seventh straight day that I had run three miles or more: definitely a record!

Delaware Half Marathon Race Report

Those who chase states know that sometimes you can plan your races out and other times you can’t and you have to take what the schedule gives you. On March 28th, I was fortunate enough to spot a cheap fare on Continental to Philadelphia (~$200) which would enable me to do the Delaware Half Marathon in Wilmington.

I haven’t been running as regularly as I should, especially during the week in Jackson when my consulting engagement often puts me at the office very late into the evenings.

Nonetheless, I’ve never let the lack of enough runs and/or workouts keep me in the way of accomplishing a different goal and having some fun. The travel logistics are sometimes fun in and of itself and it is great just to go out and take what a course gives you on any given day.

Anybody can pick a race and a specific course profile and train properly for it, and I’m the first one to admit that I admire those individual’s ability to focus, exercise incredible discipline and control and have the intestinal fortitude to stick with a plan. However, it takes somebody a little crazy just to run whatever race you choose to do – just because. It doesn’t make me special. Just different.

I did have a little bit of a plan though. I signed up for the Heels and Hills Half Marathon in Irving on Sunday, May 2 to use kind of as a tune-up, but it was rained out when the storm that blew down the Cowboys training facility also whitewashed the course through the middle of the subsequent evening.

I wasn’t expecting another 2:14 like I did in Mobile in January or a 2:18 like I did in my last half at the end of March at Angie’s Half Crazy! Half Marathon. Why? Most of my runs have only been an hour long and on the treadmill. I haven’t pounded my body against the pavement since the first Saturday in April.

The other reason that I wasn’t expecting much is because I’ve been dealing with some plantar in my left heel off and on since the first of the year. I don’t know if it is because I had the combination of breaking in a new pair of dress shoes, a little extra weight and starting to bike a lot – gearing up for and completing day 2 of MS150 - without bike shoes. It has caused me to alter my gait at times, especially in that left leg. However, I would be undeterred.

I stayed less than three miles from the race site, which was along the riverfront just east of downtown Wilmington. Packet pickup was very easy, but nine minutes cost me $7. I could have parked on the street somewhere, but I felt safer parking in a garage. Well, the garage let marathoners park there for $3 after 6 a.m. and before 3 p.m. But they couldn’t cut any slack for nine minutes.

That also turned out to be the difference between a normal half and Sunday’s performance. Races2run.com had my chip time as 2:25:44. It was the 31st best time of 59 half marathons -- smack dab between the April 9, 2006 Prince George Roadrunners Half, 500 miles north of Vancouver, British Columbia (in 32 degrees weather) and the June 17, 2006 scorcher (with rain), the Carrabba’s Classic Half Marathon in San Antonio.

Mile 1 – 9:55.78
Mile 2 – 10:29.50
Mile 3 – 10:35.25

We had rain much of the first three miles, but it began to dissipate after we turned away from the Wilmington Riverfront and headed west as we started to make our way through one part of downtown. I wasn’t necessarily out of gas in mile two, but I knew early on that it wasn’t going to be a 2:14-2:18 day. The water stations at this event, by the way, were appropriately spaced and well-manned. They called out “water in the front, gatorade in the back” (which is what you’ll hear again at the last water stop at Ten For Texas manned by Friends of the Running Community).

Mile 4 – 10:50.69
Mile 5 – 11:08.23
Mile 6 – 10:54.66

Miles 4 through 6 were through a very beautiful Brandywine Park. This section reminded me much of parts of the courses in Fargo, North Dakota (2007) and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (2008) that I have run. You even crossed a semi-shaky footbridge to cross over Brandywine Creek. I hustled to each mile marker to try to make each split look as good as it could possibly be on less than a great day.

Mile 7 – 12:23.44

Why does mile 7 stand out? Because it was pretty much all slightly uphill along Nottingham Road! It doesn’t compare in steepness to, let’s say, the hill near Bowers Stadium in Huntsville during the Huntsville Half or the one in mile 12 of the News and Sentinel Half Marathon in Parkersburg, West Virginia. This one though just kept going and going and going.

Mile 8 – 11:09.21
Mile 9 – 11:15.37
Mile 10 – 11:11.11
Mile 11 – 11:29.02

The miles above turned out to be pretty consistent because they were, for the most part, flat. We went through what they call the 40 Acres, Wawaset Park and Little Italy sections of Wilmington. The first two sections were old tree lined subdivisions where Steve and Paula Boone had lined N. Bancroft Parkway with signs for 50 States Marathon Club members (like they do at the Texas Marathon on New Year’s Day) while the latter was a block of city streets that took us past the mile 9 marker.

The race is very important for 50 Staters because it is, I believe, the only marathon Delaware has. (Wilmington plays host in the late winter to the very popular Rodney Caesar Half Marathon.)

We got a little bit of the uphill back from mile 7 in mile 11, but a short uphill at the end of that mile kept it a little further away from an even 11-minute split.

Mile 12 – 11:16.86

I took a bit more advantage of a little downhill, but mile 13, with a right hand turn on to Martin Luther King, had the most significant uphill of the day in it. When you’ve run as many events as I do (as this was race #300), you see part of one course in others that you’ve done, like I mentioned earlier. This hill reminded me a little bit of an incline late in the Cowtown Half Marathon in Fort Worth earlier this year.

Mile 13 – 12:00.91
Last .1 – 1:04.26

Therefore, it cost me a little bit of time. However, the last two tenths of a mile were almost even as we passed under the AMTRAK station and train line to make a sharp left hand turn back to the finish line.

I had carried a water bottle with me the entire time. I ditched it right before the final left hand turn so I could make the finish with the “Hook ‘Em Horns” sign on both hands overhead. As I mentioned in the comments on the picture, it is my “out of state” trademark.

All in all, I couldn’t complain. I had just put another state in the books. It is my 25th state. Half2run.com lets me count British Columbia for no. 26 and makes me one of five Texans – including The Woodlands’ Patrick Morein – who have run a half marathon in half or more of the United States.

I’m very fortunate and lucky to get to do the things that I do.

I met Jesse Rios of The Woodlands Cycling Club on the plane ride home. I was in seat 8D and he and his wife where in seats 10D-E. Paula and Steve Boone were in seats 5 E-F. It reminded me that I had first met them four years ago in the airport in Omaha, Nebraska after they were in Runner’s World for getting the Delaware Marathon started.

Oh … before the race, I met Kamiar Kouzekanani of the Corpus Christi Roadrunners and the Austin Runners Club. It was state no. 47 for him. You see his race reports in the Austin Runners Club section of Inside Texas Running. (Wonder if I’ll get a mention!)

Next up (as far as states are concerned) is The Renaissance at Colony Park Marathon in Ridgeland, Mississippi, which is in the same town where I stay in while working in Jackson each week, on Saturday, June 13. Don’t worry, it is a 6:00 a.m. start.

Current 2009 Results/Appearances

1/1 - Texas Marathon (Kingwood, TX) - 5:43:12 (Marathon No. 22)
1/10 - Run The Woodlands 5K #216 (The Woodlands, TX) - 41:01.89 (PD)
1/11 - First Light Half Marathon (Mobile, AL) - 2:14:09 (State no. 24)
1/18 - Chevron Houston Marathon (Houston, TX) - 5:34:37 (Marathon no. 23)
2/14 - Surfside Beach Marathon (Surfside Beach, TX) - DNF at mile 23 (was at 5:12:01)
2/28 - Cowtown Half Marathon (Fort Worth, TX) - 2:23:05 (Half marathon no. 57)
3/7-8 - Texas Independence Relay (Gonzales to La Porte, TX)
3/28 - Run The Woodlands 5K #221 (The Woodlands, TX) - 29:58.90
3/29 - Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon (Houston, TX) - 2:18:05 (Half marathon no. 58)
4/4 - 13th annual United Way of St. Charles Mississippi River 5K Bridge Run (Destrehan to Luling, LA) - 30:56.28
5/17 - Delaware Half Marathon (Wilmington, DE) - 2:25:44 (Half marathon no. 59)

Social Appearances
1/24 - Run The Woodlands 5K (The Woodlands, TX)
1/31 - Bill Crews Remission Run 5K (Conroe, TX)
2/7 - Rocky Raccoon 50- and 100-Miler (Huntsville, TX)
2/15 - Austin Marathon (Austin, TX) - Wrote story for either RTN or ITR
2/21 - Park to Park 5-Miler (Houston, TX)
3/15 - Lucky Trails Marathon (Seabrook, TX) - Finish line announcing
4/5 - Ironman 70.3 New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
4/11 - Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon (Groveton, TX) - Finish line announcing
5/2 - 6th annual CB&I Triathlon (The Woodlands, TX)
5/9 - 4th annual YMCA Trail Run 5K (Conroe, TX)

Organized Bike Rides
1/25 - Frost Bike 50 (Cypress, TX) - 41.24 miles
2/1 - Ride to the Rescue (Houston, TX) - 50.1 miles
3/22 - Tour de Houston (Houston, TX) - Just under 70 miles
4/19 - MS150 (Giddings to Austin, TX) - 85 miles

Totals
300 career races since January 2003
91 career races of 13.1 miles or more (1 50-miler, 23 full, 59 half, 2 30K, 1 25K road, 3 25K trail, 1 15M, 1 50K)
23 marathons since October 31, 2004 (12 states)
59 half marathons since November 1, 2003 (25 states, 1 province)

Chuck Engle: The Marathon Junkie

I've been working over the Memorial Day Weekend to get Chuck Engle's marathon statistics up-to-date. [His web site is http://www.chuckengle.com/]

The last two weekends, he has won races in Brookings, South Dakota and Rochester, Minnesota (Med-City Marathon).

He currently has 178 marathons to his credit, including 78 wins.

He has marathons in 44 states plus the District of Columbia (lacking UT, CT, NH, VT, MT and ND) and wins in 37 of those states.

He has a sub 3-hour marathon in 42 of those 44 states (exclude Wyoming and Colorado).

This is the release that I've given to him to take with him when he runs the Minneapolis Marathon this weekend:

"The Marathon Junkie" Chuck Engle, 38, of Dublin, Ohio, is running his 179th marathon at today's inaugural Minneapolis Marathon.

Engle is a week removed from completing a marathon in his 44th state after winning last Sunday's Med-City Marathon in Rochester in 2:39:16 - the event's fastest time in four years when Peter Gilman scorched the 2005 course in 2:25:54.

Med-City was Engle's 78th career marathon victory and a win in his 37th state.

He will be running consecutive marathons in the same state for the 12th time in his marathoning career, which started on September 3, 2000 with a 2:34:33 win at the Tupelo (Mississippi) Marathon. (Engle has won the Tupelo Marathon seven times.)

The Minneapolis Marathon will be Engle's 26th marathon of 2009. He ran 51 marathons in 2006 and posted 33 marathon finishes a year ago. It will be the fifth consecutive month that he has run 5 marathons in - something that the Marathon Junkie has never done before.

64 of Engle's marathons have been run under two hours and 40 minutes, 106 under 2:45, 139 under 2:50 and 168 under 3 hours. The only marathon that Engle has run where he hasn't posted a Boston Marathon-qualifying time was the Pikes Peak Marathon.

Engle enters the Minneapolis Marathon having won his last three marathons including the This Is More Than A Marathon in Ames, Iowa on May 10, the Brookings, S.D. Marathon on May 16 and Med-City last Sunday. He won seven straight marathons to start 2006 and his 14 marathons to start that year included top three finishes.

End of the Road?

Perhaps. I don't know yet.

I've been busy. I'm well, but certain things get cut out when they do get busy. And this blog has taken a beating. I can't even tell you what is or isn't on here. :)

I don't update every little thing on Facebook, but I am there and I use it fairly frequently. (That currently is the best way to keep up with me and what I'm doing.)

My drive has changed and motivations are changing. I don't know where they all quite are and where they are going.

The extrinsic things, such as this blog, have become less important while some the intrinsic things have. Where things are lacking focus, direction or expediency, I'm moving away from. I don't have time to sit around and wait, talk about, and maybe think about getting something done. Let's make a decision and do it.

If a decision isn't ready to be made, let me move to something else where it can.

My primary focus later on is going to be race directing the 2nd annual Bill Crews Remission Run 5K on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Our goals are 400 5K participants, 100 1-mile participants and to raise $20,000 for the Hagemeister Research Fund.

It is a worthy cause, we have great partners with the City of Conroe, and we're going to strive to put on a quality, yet different race and raise money for charity at the same time.

Give me a clear vision, committed and unfailing support and I'll get it done. I've proven that time and time again - and will continue to in the future.

Don't hesitate to drop me a line!

Swine Flu: Here's What My Hospital is doing ...

>>> Public Affairs (UMC - Campus Notification) 4/30/2009 4:55 PM >>>

FROM:
Rathel L. Nolan M.D. F.A.C.P., Professor of Medicine, Interim Director - Division of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Epidemiologist
Karen Moise R.N. C.I.C. C.L.N.C., Interim Director of Infection Prevention

TO:
All Faculty and Staff

(Please share with your co-workers who may not have e-mail.)

H1N1 Swine Flu Update April 30, 2009

Swine flu continues to spread in the U.S. Although a cause for considerable concern we need to remember a few facts.

No cases have yet been reported in Mississippi.

Cases in the U.S. to date have been the usual spectrum of flu symptoms. This is not some new "killer flu". Although one death has occurred in the U.S. and many in Mexico, mortality occurs in any flu outbreak. In a normal year 35,000 persons succumb to flu, mostly the very old, and those with certain other chronic illnesses.

The flu in the U.S. so far has NOT been that contagious. Although this might change, as it can with any flu strain, cases to date have occurred in those returning from trips to Mexico and their close contacts in school or at home. "Casual" transmission, such as an exposure occurring in a restaurant, theatre, clinic etc. does not seem to be occurring presently.

What you can do to protect yourself and co-workers

- Adhere to good handwashing practices, preferably with alcohol foam or rub.

- Cough/sneeze into a Kleenex or your shirt sleeve.

- Stay at home if you have a cold or other respiratory illness.

- Wipe common use computer key boards with a disinfectant wipe each shift since these have been proven to be potentials for infection.

What's the hospital is doing to prepare

- Our first action is to resume the use of "cough etiquette" stations in the outpatient areas. This is to try to limit risk of transmission in the outpatient area by recognizing patients who might be affected and separating them from others. (Ordering information below) These are small stations that go in waiting areas that supply patients with Kleenex, gloves, masks and hand sanitizer.

- Upon entering outpatient areas, patients should be asked if they have a runny nose, nasal stuffiness, cough or sore throat.

- If they answer yes to 2 or more symptoms, they should be asked to use hand sanitizer and don a mask. If they can't wear a mask, then they should cough or sneeze into a Kleenex, discard in trash and use hand sanitizer.

- If at all possible these individuals should be placed in a separate area in the waiting area at least 3, and preferably 6 feet away from unaffected individuals.

- These individuals should be given priority in being placed in exam rooms.

- Once in exam rooms, they should be managed in Contact and Airborne Isolation Precautions with use of N95 particulate respirator mask if available. Hepa Filter Units may be used as available (See the Infection Control web page under Departments for details).

- If warranted, rapid tests for flu and culture for flu are available.

- When the room is vacated a hospital approved disinfectant wipe or spray should be used to clean all items touched by the patient and allowed to dry for 10 minutes before reuse.

Patients with Swine flu admitted to the hospital

- The hospital has a pandemic flu preparedness plan as part of general disaster preparedness. This may be invoked if things get bad enough (which as of today we're not expecting).

- This plan addresses where patients will be placed in the hospital, allocation of resources, delay or discontinuation of non-essential services, etc.

- Patients should be placed in Contact and Airborne Infection Isolation Precautions , using N95 particulate respirators and placed in negative pressure rooms or rooms with heap filter units if available.

- Patients should remain in isolation for 7 days or until symptom free, whichever is longer, and should wear a surgical mask if leaving the room as a medical necessity.

- Visitors to room should be limited to at most immediate family and must be given surgical masks.

- Individuals caring for affected workers may be offered anti-viral medications on a preventative basis.

If a patient is suspected or confirmed as a case of Swine flu please contact Infection Prevention:

Jolynn Lewis, Office 984-2189; Pager 929-0485

Debbie McCaffrey, Office 984-6783; Pager 929-2473

Karen Moise, Office 984-2999; Pager 929-2446

Office fax: 984-67

Cough etiquette stations and supplies

1. Kleenex

WIPE TISSUE (COUGH STATION ONLY) LARGE 005044 BX .64

2. Child's Face Mask (Kimberly-Clark Ref # 47127)

MASK FACE CHILD (COUGH STATION ONLY) 4052 BX 11.21

3. Procedure Mask-Adult (Kimberly-Clark Ref # (48100)

MASK SURGEON DISPOSABLE STANDARD 4049 BX 3.55

4. Hand Sanitizer (Kimberly-Clark DIN: 02243379 - 8 FL oz.)

SOAP SANITIZER (COUGH STATION ONLY) 007195 BT 2.49 BT.

5. Station Hygiene (Cough Station) Cat. No. 1010 Unit Price $53.05 Charge Code: 36012

PLEASE NOTE: Use supplies as stated in protocols. No stockpile of any supplies will last if used inappropriately.

N95 Particulate Respirator Fit Testing: Although there are presently there are no swine flu cases in Mississippi, it is possible we might see our first case at any time. If we do hospitalize affected patients they will need to be cared for in Droplet Precautions with the use of N95 Particulate respirators. These masks require fit testing to assure they work as intended. If you haven't been fit tested then call Employee/Student Health at 4-1185 to schedule fit testing. Priority appointments will be scheduled for direct care workers who have NEVER been fit tested, or whose most recent fit test was more than 1 calendar year ago. All others will be scheduled as quickly as possible

For additional authoritative information, visit cdc.gov.

General Update Concerning My Dad

My Dad's surgery on Friday went "as well as it could have", according to his doctor. He was in surgical ICU until Monday morning. He went to a step-down room yesterday and then I received a call from my Mom this morning and reported that he is going home!

He has done well. He was up and sitting in a chair 3 to 4 times on both Saturday and Sunday and walked a little bit on Sunday with the aide of a walker.

Our pastor and associate pastor - at North Park Baptist Church - came to visit before the surgery as well as a number of business associates over the weekend. It is always good to see an outpouring of support, care and concern.

With the fusion that he had in his back, the doctor had told him last October that he'd need to be off work for up to six months with his travel (like I do). However, he has taken a job locally and is hoping to be in a position to go back to work in about six to eight weeks. The Marine in him will probably want to push that envelope.

He's gone 40-something years without ever missing a paycheck. Something that he has been incredibly thankful for - and something, of course, that I'm proud of him for. Before this recent job had come through, and with his business going down, he was at a point that they were starting to explore unemployment benefits and he had contacted the VA to see about being able to get his meds, as a Vet, through them. But God took care of everything.

Thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts and concerns for my Dad. I greatly appreciate each and every one of them.

The Republic of Texas (or, err, Nation of Texas)

THE NATION of TEXAS
(Something that is making its way around the Web ... for a little fun, of course!)

In case things get a little tough during the next few months we Texans have a plan... Maybe you don't know it, but Texas is the only state with a legal right to secede from the Union. (Reference the Texas-American Annexation Treaty of 1848.)

We Texans love y'all Americans, but we'll probably have to take action since Barack Obama won the election and is now the President of the U.S.A. We'll miss ya'll though.

Here is what CAN happen:

1. Barack Hussein Obama, after becoming the President of the United States , begins to try and create a socialist country, then Texas announces that it is going to secede from the Union .

2. George W. Bush becomes the President of the Republic of Texas. You might not think that he talks too pretty, but we haven't had another terrorist attack and the economy was fine until the effects of the Democrats lowering the qualifications for home loans came home to roost. So what does Texas have to do to survive as a Republic?

1. NASA is just south of Houston , Texas . We will control the space industry.

2. We refine over 85% of the gasoline in the United States .

3. Defense Industry--we have over 65% of it.. The term "Don't mess with Texas ," will take on a whole new meaning.

4. Oil - we can supply all the oil that the Republic of Texas will need for the next 300 years. What will the other states do? Gee, we don't know. Why not ask Obama?

5. Natural Gas - again, we have all we need and it's too bad about those Northern States. John Kerry and Al Gore will just have to figure out a way to keep them warm...

6. Computer Industry - we lead the nation in producing computer chips and communications equipment - small companies like Texas Instruments, Dell Computer, EDS, Raytheon, National Semiconductor, Motorola, Intel, AMD, Atmel, Applied Materials, Ball Misconduct, Dallas Semiconductor, Nortel, Alcatel, etc. The list goes on and on.

7. Medical Care - We have the research centers for cancer research, the best burn centers and the top trauma units in the world, as well as other large health centers. The Houston Medical Center alone employees over 65,000 people.

8. We have enough colleges to keep educating and making smarter citizens: University of Texas , Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Texas Christian, Rice, SMU, University of Dallas , University of Houston , Baylor, UNT ( University of North Texas), Texas Women's University, etc. Ivy grows better in the South anyway.

9. We have an intelligent and energetic work force and it isn't restricted by a bunch of unions. Here in Texas , we are a Right to Work State and, therefore, it's every man and woman for themselves. We just go out and get the job done. And if we don't like the way one company operates, we get a job somewhere else.

10. We have essential control of the paper, plastics, and insurance industries, etc.

11. In case of a foreign invasion, we have the Texas National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and several military bases. We don't have an Army, but since everybody down here has at least six rifles and a pile of ammo, we can raise an Army in 24 hours if we need one. If the situation really gets bad, we can always call the Department of Public Safety and ask them to send over the Texas Rangers.

12. We are totally self-sufficient in beef, poultry, hogs, and several types of grain, fruit and vegetables, and let's not forget seafood from the Gulf. Also, everybody down here knows how to cook them so that they taste good. We don't need any food.

13. Three of the ten largest cities in the United States , and twenty-three of the 100 largest cities in the United States are located in Texas . And Texas also has more land than California , New York , New Jersey , Connecticut , Delaware , Hawaii , Massachusetts , Maryland, Rhode Island , and Vermont combined.

14. Trade: Three of the ten largest ports in the United States are located in Texas .

15. We also manufacture cars down here, but we don't need to. You see, nothing rusts in Texas so our vehicles stay beautiful and run well for decades.

This just names a few of the items that will keep the Republic of Texas in good shape.. There isn't a thing out there that we need and don't have.

Now to the rest of you folks in the United States under President Obama:

Since you won't have the refineries to get gas for your cars, only President Obama will be able to drive around in his big 9 mpg SUV. The rest of the United States will have to walk or ride bikes.

You won't have any TV as the Space Center in Houston will cut off satellite communications. You won't have any natural gas to heat your homes, but since Mr. Obama has predicted global warming, you will not need the gas as long as you survive the 2000 years it will take to get enough heat from Global Warming.

In other words, the rest of ya'll in the USA are screwed!

Signed, The People of Texas

P.S. This is not a threatening letter - just a note to give you something to think about! Sleep well tonight 'cause the eyes of Texas are on YOU!! One Nation Under God!!

''Life's tough...it's even tougher if you're stupid.'' -- John Wayne

Dad's Surgery Was Cancelled Until Friday

I apologize for not keeping everyone up-to-date; however, my Dad's surgery was cancelled from this past Tuesday to tomorrow, Friday, April 24.

Here was his note from Monday:

Can you believe that? My nerves are completely shot and I get a phone call about 2:30 p.m. that my surgery for tomorrow had to be canceled until this Friday. I have to be there by 8:00 a.m. so I guess it will be about two hours after that before they get the show underway.

I didn't realize how much pain relief I was getting from the anti-inflammatory medication I have been taking until I had to stop taking it last Thursday prior to surgery. Boy, I hurt worse than I thought I did.

I flew to Jackson for work Tuesday morning and am returning home this afternoon.

I will have my laptop with me at the hospital and will be able to provide updates tomorrow.