It's a BOY!!

Well, after a few months of hiatus (we'll just blame Joy's pregnancy) from the blog, it is time to get things up and running around here again. A few things have happened since it snowed, but none more important than the ultrasound appointment we had last Friday.

After being asked at least 3,482 time over the last month or two if we knew what "it" was, we finally got to find out. We got a real clear picture of the baby's anatomy, but I won't post it here on the blog for fear that it might be inappropriate. Plus, the baby would probably be mad one day in the future when it found out that we had posted pictures of it's anatomy in public. So, without further ado...here is the first really good photo of our baby BOY!

So...now everyone can start asking us, "Have you decided what his name will be?"

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

We finally got a good snow day today in Atlanta. It started this morning while we were in church and didn't stop until sometime after 6:00 PM. We got home in time to enjoy some of it, and let Georgie get out an play in it for a little bit, too. I'm not sure he could decide whether he liked it or not. Here are some photos...

Our house, from the middle of the street...

Me and Joy on the front porch...lovin' the snow!

Georgie, checkin' it all out. Later, he made some yellow snow.

Me and my mini-snowman. Couldn't pass up the chance to build something.

I didn't win, but I came closer than last year!

I'll post more about the weekend later with some pictures, but I wanted to go ahead and put the results of the marathon up for anyone who hasn't heard already or seen it on Facebook.

Needless to say, I was thrilled with the result. I beat my previous marathon time by 15 minutes, beat my goal by five minutes and accomplished my stretch goal. I ran a little too fast during the first half and paid for it in closing miles, but I never stopped and I ran strong through the finish line. It was great to have Joy and my parents there cheering me to the finish, and I'm just really happy with the results. It was a great day and a great weekend, and many thanks to any and all who were thinking about me, praying for me or tracking me during the race!

More later...

It's over. Now it is time to RUN.

It’s over. The training, that is. And now it is time to run. Later this afternoon we’ll hit the road for Orlando to meet up with the Platt’s, the other Platt’s, some more Platt’s and the Droddy’s for our second Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend (Steve and Jamey’s third). Sunday morning, at 5:50 AM the gun will go off and fireworks will explode over the start line as Steve, David, Adam and I head off for 26.2 miles of running fun, pain, torture, exhaustion, endurance, among other things (experiences may vary).

Successfully completing a marathon requires a lot of preparation, no matter how one defines "successfully." I'm reminded of something my mom used to tell me when I was about to take a test in school, and that is that you shouldn't pray that God will give you the answers to something you haven't studied, but that you should pray that He will help you recall what you have studied. So, when I toe the line Sunday morning, I'll be saying a little prayer that God will allow the training I've done over the last 16 weeks to help me run fast, run strong and accomplish my goals.

I did my last, short recovery run Wednesday morning, and with that I pretty much completed this training cycle. Here is my "study" over the last 16 weeks that I'll be relying on come Sunday morning:

• 72 out of 114 days with some type of running
• 550 total miles run
• Average of 35 miles per week
• Average run length of 7.6 miles
• Peak week of 52 miles
• Three over-20-mile runs (just did one last year)
• 79 hours and 40 minutes of running
• One loving, patient and enduring wife

My #1 goal is to finish in under 3 hours, 45 minutes. My "stretch" goal is to finish under 3:40. Here's hoping and praying that it all comes together Sunday morning for me and for all of my friends that will be running as well, including:

• Steve Platt
• David Platt
• Adam Platt
• Suzanne Eason
• Linda Whaley
• Leslie Tucker

If you have any interest if following my progress or the progress of any of the others running, you can enter your name and email address at the website below, search for me or any of the others and then enter your cell phone number or email address to get a message at different points during the race and the finish.

2009 WDW Marathon Runner Tracking

You can check out the course map at this link:

2009 WDW Marathon Course Map

Good luck to everyone running. Looking forward to a great weekend, and I hope to have a full report when we return!

Atlanta Half Marathon Race Report

I wasn't too sure how this year's Atlanta Half Marathon was going to do. As I've mentioned before, because I'm training a little different for this year's marathon than I did last year, I just haven't been confident that my overall fitness was as good right now as it was last year. Well...in this race I proved myself wrong!

The day started with the alarm clock going off at 5:00 AM. The race started at 7:00, but I needed some time to eat and digest and get to the start. I ate a couple of bananas at the house and took one with me. Drove to the Doraville MARTA station and rode the train down to the Chamblee station which is basically where the half marathon starts. Temperatures were in the 30's, so it was a little chilly. I wore shorts and a long sleeve shirt, my regular running hat and a pair of knit gloves that I had picked up from Wal-Mart the day before. I found during that 20-miler in 20-degree weather last weekend that I ran much better when my hands were warm.

I stood around at the start for about 20 minutes and then made my way to my corral. I was in the first corral, based on my predicted finishing time. I think that when I registered I had written an expected finish time of 1:45:00. Leading up to the race, though, I had decided that I would be satisfied if just beat my time from last year of 1:50:00. I really wasn't sure I had it in me to get those five minutes off my time.

When the gun went off, I headed off with the masses down Peachtree Street. Even though it was still very cold, it didn't take long to get warmed up and before I knew it we were at the 1-mile marker. I didn't feel like I was running a quicker pace than I typically run, so I was expecting my watch to tell me that I'd run the first mile in about 8-1/2 minutes. I glanced down and to my surprise my watch says 7:48. I'm thinking "Holy cow, I'm flying (for me) and I've got to slow down!" (Typical running mistake for inexperienced runners is to go out too fast with the crowds and then run out of steam before the finish) I knew I couldn't hold that pace for 13 miles, and I knew that I needed to slow down, and I thought that I did.

It wasn't too long until we were coming up on the 2-mile marker. I look down at my watch, and to my chagrin it tells me that I ran the second mile in 7:40...eight seconds faster than the first mile! This couldn't be right, but I convinced myself that since the first part of the course is downhill that I was gaining some advantage from that. Mile 3 came in around 7:42, Mile 4 at 7:40 and on we went. I really couldn't believe that I was maintaining that kind of pace. It is a good bit faster than I ever run in training, but it didn't feel faster. I just felt like I was in a groove.

At around the 7-mile mark they were handing out Sport Beans. This was great because I love Sport Beans, and I didn't have to carry any in my pocket. I grabbed a pack running by and then headed up Cardiac Hill in front of Piedmont Hospital. This is the toughest hill on the course, and is an infamous part of the Peachtree Road Race each summer. The mile that contains this hill and a slightly smaller hill just before it was my slowest mile of the race. I ran that mile in about 8:00. That amazed me, because that morning I didn't think 8:00 would be my fastest mile!

The last six miles of the course is a gradual incline as you head down Peachtree Street into downtown. But here is where I think my Stone Mountain running really helps me. I read all the time about how hard the hills on this course are, but they just didn't seem that hard to me. There are much bigger hills around Stone Mountain. I still figured that I would probably slow down some going up these hills, but I clicked off a couple more 7:40ish miles and even a 7:36 mile. I hit the 10-mile marker at 1:17:00. It doesn't take an actuarial degree to figure out that I could run the last 3.1 miles in 33 minutes and still beat my initial goal. I knew at that point that 1:45:00 was pretty certain and that I had a great chance of going even lower.

I tried hard to just to maintain a steady pace climbing the last couple of hills. I made the left had turn onto Mitchell Street, climbed the last real hill in front of the capital building - they call it Capital Punishment - and then made the last turn onto Capital Avenue and head toward the finish line at Turner Field. The last portion of the course is downhill, and when I started down that hill I gave it all I had. I hadn't looked at my watch in a while, so I wasn't exactly sure where I was in my total time, but as I approached the finish line I could see the Marathon Finish clock, and it read 1:10:something. The Marathon started 30-minutes after the Half started so I knew that I was close to finishing in 1:40:something. I sprinted across the finish line as the PA announcer called out my name, stopped my watch and looked down. It said 1:40:49. I was absolutely stunned. I really didn't think I had that kind of race in me, and seeing that time was one of the best feelings of my running "career." It was so much better than I thought I was capable of. Come to find out that it actually took me a couple of seconds after I crossed to stop my watch, so my official finish time was 1:40:43.

Final results: 710th Place out of 8,697 finishers

Besides just being really happy with my finish, this has given me a lot of confidence that I'm doing the right thing in my training. I was concerned that my running fitness wasn't as good as it was last year. Not only is it as good, it seems to be much better. The pace I ran this half marathon was only seven seconds per mile slower than the pace I ran my best ever 10K race, a race of less than half the distance of the half marathon, back in February and almost 20 seconds per mile faster than I ran the Peachtree Road Race in July! That makes for a great way to start Thanksgiving Day, and I think that I certainly earned my turkey.

Getting Ready to Earn My Turkey

Well, I intended to try to update a little more frequently on my marathon training this fall, but the blog hasn't seen much action in the last couple of weeks. I figured with the Atlanta Half Marathon coming up on Thanksgiving Day, now would be a good time to update anyone who actually reads the blog on what I've been doing.

I've been pretty happy with the training plan so far, and except for last week - which was a step back week anyway (reduced miles for recovery) - I haven't missed any runs, yet. I took off this morning on my first of three 20-mile runs. The one thing that I felt would have helped me do better in my first marathon was to have run more 20-mile runs and built up my endurance better. The purpose of these long runs is have physical (physical endurance) and half mental (getting used to being on your feet that long). They are supposed to run at a pace slower than your actual race pace so that you don't injure yourself running fast all the time and to get closer to running closer to the actual time you would run the marathon, if that makes sense. So...this year's training plan has three 20-mile runs in it.

But back to this morning's run. It was cold. Real cold. Here was the forecast when I left the house:

Yeah...20 degrees. I decided that that was cold enough to break out the tights. Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it. I've got some cold weather tights...and yes, I wear shorts over them. The thermometer in the car said that it was 21 degrees when I started and 31 degrees when I finished. The water in my Nalgene water bottle froze sometime between the first and second loops around Stone Mountain. Total running time of 3 hours, so it was a good morning all around. Here is a shot of my Garmin 405 when I got done.


I'm going to go easy for the next few days and try to rest up a little for the half marathon on Thanksgiving Day. My main goal is just to do better than I did last year when I finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes. I think this will be a good test of my training program, even though it isn't ideal to do a 20-mile training run five days before a race!

Here's a rundown of my training so far this year compared to last year:

Total Miles Run to Date
2009: 325
2008: 248

Longest Run to Date
2009: 20 miles
2008: 15 miles

Most Miles in a Week to Date
2009: 47 miles
2008: 32 miles

Average Run Length
2009: 7.2 miles
2008: 6.0 miles

So...I feel pretty good about it all, and I am looking forward to the half marathon on Thursday. Maybe I'll blog a report on it over the weekend.

Finally...

A few things to note:

1. I love Georgia Tech football.

2. I love listening to Wes Durham.

3. I was a freshman at Georgia Tech in the fall of 1992, FSU's first year in the ACC.

4. I was in the student section at Bobby Dodd Stadium in the fall of 1992, and I watched Charlie Ward and FSU come from behind in the fourth quarter to beat Georgia Tech.

5. I have been to every GT/FSU game at Bobby Dodd Stadium since that game and one GT/FSU game at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahasee.

6. I have NEVER seen Georgia Tech beat FSU.

7. I was sitting in the stands on Saturday, listening to Wes, certain that FSU was about to score the game clinching touchdown with about 45 seconds left in the game...certain that heartbreak was once again to be delivered by the 'Noles.

That being said, I could watch THIS video over and over and over...

(Sorry for the link...the video's creater has disabled embedding for some reason)

Marathon Training Update

The blog has been pretty quiet lately, but I promise we'll try to update a little more frequently. I thought this would be as good a time as any to post a little update on my marathon #2 training. I mentioned before that I'm using a different training program this time around. Last year I used Hal Higdon's Novice plan. This year I'm using a hybrid of his two Intermediate plans. There's a good bit more mileage in this plan, it schedules five runs per week versus four, and the distance of the long runs ramps up much quicker. Here's a little comparison of my training to date this year versus last year (through October 16):

2008 Total Miles Run: 102
2009 Total Miles Run: 120

2008 Longest Run to Date: 10 miles
2009 Longest Run to Date: 14 miles

2008 Most Miles in a Week to Date: 19 miles
2009 Most Miles in a Week to Date: 32 miles

2008 Average Run Length: 5.2 miles
2009 Average Run Length: 5.8 miles

I'll try to update the comparisons every few weeks. As an overall comparison, in my training last year I ran a total of 444 miles before the marathon. This year I should hit 444 miles in week 14 and should hit about 575 miles overall. Most marathon training plans work with the philosophy that improved performance comes primarily in increased training volume. My planned volume isn't even close to serious marathoners, but we'll see if it helps me finish faster than last year!

Mmmm...sweet potato casserole

For the first time in the 3-1/2 years that we've been married, Joy cooked me my all time favorite food in the whole world...sweet potato casserole.

Now, I don't just like any old sweet potato casserole. I like other sweet potato casserole's, but to be my favorite it has to be my mom's recipe that I think she got from an old friend. No marshmallows. No pecans. Just a nice, crispy brown sugar topping. Mmmmmmmmm...

And I have to say, Joy did an incredible job. This casserole was waiting on me when I got home from work on Friday afternoon, and it was gone by Sunday afternoon. She might have gotten a couple of bites, I don't know. What I do know is that it was delicious.

I love my wife!

It's on...

I don't know if I'm crazy, stupid, ambitious or all of the above, but I'm going to do it again. The Walt Disney World Marathon. January 11, 2009. Steve and Jamey are are in it again as well as about half a dozen other people I know.

Training reports may not be as exciting as they were this time last year since I've now been there and done that, BUT...since I've been such a slacker over the summer I feel like I'm starting all over. Five miles was an easy run for me back in January, but my five miles on the treadmill this morning kicked my butt.

I'm stepping up to the Hal Higdon Intermediate Training Schedule. Hopefully, my endurance will pick back up pretty quickly because this time around the long runs get longer quicker, and there are more long runs during the week.

My #1 goal is to finish again. My #2 goal is to beat my time of 3:53:03 from last year. My stretch goal is to get in under 3:45:00. Can I take over eight minutes off my time from last year? Only time will tell. One thing I do know is that I now know what an exhilarating feeling crossing the finish line in a marathon is, and so I'll keep this photo in site as my inspiration...

Searching for my inner-Kenyan...

100,000 Miles

Got home from work this afternoon, and this is what the odometer on my Envoy looked like...

First time I've ever turned 100,000 miles on a car I've owned! Wonder if she'll survive to see another 100,000 miles...

Ramp Project Part 2 - We Got Skillz

If you were impressed with how a bunch of amateurs could build such an impressive ramp, just wait till you see how we finished it. Same crew, different Saturday. This time, though, we got down and dirty with some concrete. We finished up the ballusters on the ramp railing and poured a sidewalk from the end of the ramp to the driveway.

David and I got to work attaching the ballusters to the handrails of the ramp. This should keep my granddad from driving off the side!

In order to further exaggerate our professionalism, we rented a concrete mixer. I don't think the one load is going to be enough. Good thing Dad picked up 1,600 pounds of Quickcrete at Hope Depot (the bags in the background)!

Being in construction I see guys pouring concrete all the time. But like many things, seeing it done and actually doing it yourself are two different things. We were figuring it out on the fly!

Me and Dad floating and finishing the concrete under the watchful supervision of the boss(es).

Now it is really finished! Like I said before, if you didn't know any better you might think we actually knew what we were doing. I think we are all proud of our work and happy that my grandparents will more easily be able to get in and out of the house, and it was great getting to spend time with David and Jason. But if you've got a project in mind for your own house, don't go getting any crazy ideas...we don't work for cheap!

Oh, Glorious Day!

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Georgia Tech football program. New coach, new offense. But...no matter the outcome, not much excites me more than being in Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field when toe meets leather. One of my favorite days of the year is when that special package shows up in the mailbox. My season tickets!

Just 12 more days till opening kickoff! I'll be there...will you?

Ramp Project

An architect, a contractor and a minister walk into bar...

OK...so we didn't walk into a bar, but it does sound like the start of a funny joke.

Saturday, me, Dad, my uncle David and my cousin Jason set out to complete a ramp building project at my grandparents' house. Dad, David and my other uncle Gene had started the framing work last weekend. We started about 9:30 Saturday morning, worked through the stifling heat of the afternoon and finished work about 7:00 PM Saturday evenining just before the storms came. We got everything done but the ballusters on the railing, but at least now my granddad can drive his Hoveround from the house to the driveway! Some photos from the day (click on the image for a bigger view)...

We started out the day getting the ramp framing assembled and in place. David dug the holes, and we started "planting" the posts that would support the ramp and create the handrail.

More post planting and a little better shot of the length of the ramp.

Dad and Jason cutting the decking to length.

Me and David screwing them in place. Would you be surprised to find out that my back was killing me on Sunday?

My granddad tests out the first section of the ramp to get his picture taken with the crew.

Me and David cutting off the posts while Dad runs to Home Depot to get one more piece of deck material that you can see we ran short of. We briefly considered leaving the posts at full height and putting a canopy over the ramp, but my grandmother didn't care for that idea!

Screwing the last toe board into place. Looks like a government job, doesn't it?

The nearly-finished product. All we've got to do now is put the ballusters on and paint! I'm pretty proud of it myself, and if you didn't know any better you might actually think that we knew what we were doing!

The Jedi Gym

Since there are so many things about the gym that bug me, I started to give some thought to finding a new one. Doing a little research I found this one that seemed pretty goood...

Maybe not...

Things That Bug Me At The Gym #2

Way back when I first started my marathon training I wrote a post about things that bug me at the gym. Since I was in the gym several days a week, I intended to write about a number of observations that really irritate me at the gym...like having 3 or 4 treadmills out of order. I don't think I ever got past that first post, but now that I'm back in the gym more regularly (training for the Peachtree and considering another marathon run), I am constantly reminded about the little things in the gym that really bug me. So here is #2.

Treadmill racers. I am, by no means, a super fast runner. I'm not sure I'd even consider myself a regular fast runner. But I do try to do a couple of fast workouts each week at the gym in order to build leg strength and speed. It is inevitable that whenever I am doing one of these speedwork sessions, some dude will hop on the treadmill next to me, glance over at my display and then immediately set his treadmill at 0.1 or 0.2 MPH fast than mine.

And of course, as I increase my speed throughout the workout I can see him out of the corner of my eye looking over at my display and increasing his speed about 30 seconds later. Really? Am I supposed to be impressed, or intimidated? As the kids say...whatever. Just do your own thing. I'm not racing you on the treadmill.

Back in Training

With the arrival of the Peachtree Road Race numbers, I figured it was time to get serious again about running and getting ready. I am also giving some serious thought to running the Disney Marathon again next year, and if I do I want to do more than just finish so I'm going to start training now and building mileage.

This morning I rode over to the west side of town...or East Cobb...to put a 9-mile run in with Carlos and Heather. It has been awhile since I've put in a run that long, but it felt pretty good. Carlos and Heather are planning to run a marathon later this year.

I never blogged about it, but I finally did get my Garmin watch, and I love it. It uploads the training information to our computer wirelessly, and the software will plot out the course in Google Maps or Google Earth. Pretty cool. Here's the route we ran this morning...

Peachtree Numbers are Here!

Fourth of July...
Peachtree Street...
55,000 People...
World's Largest 10K Road Race...


We'll be there. Up towards the front. Running with the masses.

Who else is in?

Look what I got in the mail!

This is what it says on the back...

"Jury duty is one of the highest duties of citizenship. Your service will give you and opportunity to learn about Gwinnett County's court system and allow you to see the county's trial court operate. While it may require some adjustment of your normal schedule and routine to serve as a juror, the judges hope that any inconvenience will be minimal and they thank you, in advance, for your sacrifice and effort."

I am actually quite excited about it. I was called for Jury Duty a number of years ago when I was in college and actually got to sit on a jury for two days in an assault and robbery case. Some young lady tried to rob another woman at a post office using a toy gun. When the victim realized the gun was not real, she resisted and the perp gave her a beat down. We found her guilty.

I look forward to participating in one of the "highest duties of citizenship."

Monday Night at the Ted

5:15 PM on Monday, the cell phone rings...

Los: Sullivan...what's up? Wanna go to the Braves game tonight?

Me: Yeah...let me check with the boss and see if its OK.

Five minutes later, after a quick call home...

Me: Los...we're on. I'll pick you up in twenty minutes.

Los: Sweet.

7:15 PM on Monday night, 21 rows back of home plate at Turner Field. Braves vs. Nationals. Tim Hudson on the mound. You probably saw us on TV and didn't even know it. Braves win 7-2.

All-in-all, a great night with a great friend. Thanks, brother!