I Just Wrapped My Head Around This

12 hours....minimum.

In a rental van.

With people that aren't family and/or close friends.

So many issues with this. Let's just start throwing them out there, shall we?

• The Stench Factor - This one is self-explanatory. 7 people in a van at all times and, at some point, we will have all run between 10 and 13 miles. Someone needs to buy a vat of Febreze from Cotsco. I feel sorry for the guy at the rental company that has to air it out. He'll probably have to burn it.
• The Boredom Factor - This is where not having friends/family there may be an advantage. No one has heard all of my jokes and uber-humorous observations. At some point, though, we're all going to run out of observations and jokes, right? When is it appropriate to just say, "Guys, I'm going to sit in the back of the van and check up on football scores."?
  
• The Annoyance Factor - On occasion, people annoy me. Hard to believe, huh? I love my family and friends, but I have a breaking point with them, too. We all do. Couple that with the fact, I don't know these people as well as said family/friends and it has all the makings of a low-rent reality show.
  

My teammates seem like nice people, they really do. I just don't know if anyone should spend time with anyone else for 8+ hours unless you're asleep or trapped underneath something really heavy. Fun Fact: I dated one of my relay teammates way back in the day. Well, it was one date. It was obviously memorable for her. I could see it in her eyes.

It should be interesting to see how things shake down. I'm sure it'll be fine. Maybe we'll all create an unending bond that will never be broken. Or, it turns out to be a scene from Lord of the Flies.

Oh, did I mention that this chick is running the relay now, too? I can't even begin to tell you how exciting this must be for her.

Omaha 10K Race Report

4:45am - "Ugh"

4:53am - "Shit"

5:15am - "Harumph"

5:29am - "Ugh, shit, harumph"

Ladies and gentlemen, my new pre-race routine! I knew going in that I wouldn't be in the best condition to start a race....and I wasn't. I didn't overextend myself at the football game, but the 12am return arrival to Casa de RazZDoodle Sunday morning didn't help matters.

I pad downstairs, flip on the TV, determine my attire based on the temperature and just stare off into oblivion until about 5:58am. A friend of mine was nice enough to offer to pick me up, so that bought me some time. In 2 minutes, I managed to getdressedtakeiPodputonGarminandfastenD-taggrababottledwater...and head out.

It was a beautiful fall morning and our starting line overlooked the Missouri River. Omaha has revitalized the area and it's a really cool place to start a race. While waiting to line up, I run into 2 of my relay teammates and they tell me they're running the half marathon. They ask if I am and I tell them that I'm barely even in my body and I'm going to run the 10K.

Damnit. Now I want to run the Half. Oh well. I feel like a wuss. The only way to make me not feel like that? PR this f**ker. In fact, that was my mantra. OK, let's do a quick systems check for a PR, shall we? I have had nothing in my stomach since 10pm the previous night, I consumed quite a bit of alcohol. Not a lampshade-on-my-head-and-singing-karaoke amount (Sweet Caroline! Buh buh buhhhhh), but a fair amount, I've had a few big glasses of water before leaving for downtown....oh yeah, a PR makes perfect sense.

After motivating words from our mayor and the 3rd Team meteorologist from the 2nd ranked local newscast, we were off. Oh, best anthem ever, by the way. No lie. Some recent college grad sang it. Before he sang it, he told the crowd, "If you know of anyone interested in hiring an opera singer, let me know." Funny and talented.

Within a few yards of passing over the timing strip, my run damn near came to an end. There was a traffic cone....in the middle of the course. WTF? I managed to jump over it and I can only hope no one else tripped up/got trampled.

Omaha Marathon Gripe #1: Traffic cones in the middle of the course throughout the race. On the side, I can understand, but the middle? C'mon guys. You're begging for a lawsuit.

I do the Beginning of the Race Shuffle to get into a rhythm which brings me to my second gripe:

Omaha Marathon Gripe #2: The marathon, half marathon and 10K runners all started at the same time. They need to stagger it. They do. I was definitely at a different pace than the Cool Kids (marathon/HM runners) and I kind of felt bad for cutting them off, clipping their heels, and yelling at them to get out of my way.

I had my headphones on, so I couldn't hear my Garmin beep at me. When I looked down to check my pace, I was already at 1.3 miles and had a 7:45/mile pace going.

Hmmm......

Once things leveled out and everyone got into a rhythm, it was pretty smooth sailing. There was a LOT of scenery, so that kept me occupied. There was the time that we passed some sort of salvage yard, but I was too busy keeping track of my competition. My nicely tanned, ponytail swishing, well-"paced" competition.

Oh, and there's the picture people. I can't wait to see the pictures. Half-hungover, glasses on, sweating. I'm damn sexy. Just. Freakin'. Sexy.

I was concerned that the 10K would not have a separate finish and that we'd stop, but the Cool Kids would keep running and we'd have some sort of pileup. Not the case. We peeled off and finished our race along the river. I look at my Garmin and I'm staring down the barrel of a PR...with some time to spare. As is tradition with me, I kick a little too soon and I see someone's shadow behind me. Do I have it in me to kick just a little further? Yes, I do. I sail into the finish line with an empty stomach, a pickled liver, and a new PR.

48:53

At the end of the race, there were stale bagels and mushy bananas! Yeah!

Lesson learned? Getting lots of rest and not drinking before race day is a myth.

Seeing as though this was my first big race since Phoenix, I drew one conclusion:

I think Phoenix spoiled me.

Phoenix's Expo: Took up the entire Arizona Convention Center. It took us about 2 hours to go through everything.

Omaha's Expo: Took up the front lobby of a social hall. Not the entire social hall. The front lobby.

Phoenix's Finishing Area: Massive and had every fruit possible PLUS popsicles!

Omaha's Finishing Area: 2 tables of questionable fruit and a guy flipping pancakes.

Overall, I think that the Omaha Marathon has some potential. I do. They just need to address some things. Am I going to run the half or the full next year? I'd give it consideration.

Congrats to the real runners who raced this past weekend!

This Week's PIcks...

Before I prognosticate (+5 points!*), I'm just going to say that I'm rethinking my goals for this 10K on Sunday. Maybe, just maybe, if limit my consumption of all things that aren't conducive (+2 pts.) for a pre-race feast (yes, it's only a 10K. I know that), I can finish with a decent time. The last time I ran an official 10K was 2 years ago. I was young. I needed the money. And I finished in 50:10. I'll just leave that at that.

On to the picks:

Louisiana-LaFayette at Nebraska - This one is for the fans. 300th sellout. Oh, by the way, the Virginia Tech game never happened. Never. Happened. NEBRASKA

Iowa at Penn State - If Iowa can limit their turnovers and lean on their defense, they may not embarass themselves. Gulp. PENN STATE

Tennessee Tech vs. K-State - There's a technical college in Tennessee? Do they offer advanced degrees in Musket Loading? For Chrissakes, K-State would you please win this?????? K-State

Colorado at West Virginia (next Thursday) - Hope you enjoyed that shutout CU fans. It'll be the last one for a longggg time. At least, from the winning side, that is. WVU

Indiana at Michigan - Holy crap this is a boring game. Thank God ESPN 2 is covering it. MICHIGAN

Florida at Kentucky - Really Urban Meyer? You had to get into a pissing match with LANE KIFFIN the Monday after the game? You're the defending national champs. Man up and don't go down to that level. Yet another dull matchup. Is Tim Couch still alive? FLORIDA

Army at Iowa State - As much as it pains me to say this, ISU could go into Big XII play with only 1 loss. That, of course, leaves KSU and CU as the Big 12 North's suckholes. Ahhhhh....all is right with the world. ISU at home.

Missouri at Nevada (tonight) - Nevada isn't that good, but knowing Missouri fans, they'll turn this around and say that they've now beaten 2 bowl teams (current combined record: 1-3) on the road. That, of course, will prompt every media hack in the Show Me State to declare them the Best Team Ever. MIZZOU. Ugh.

Best of luck to Viper, Nitmos and everyone else running in races this weekend!

*I'm bringing back Nitmos' point system

Mr. Magoo Runs a Tempo Run

As I woke up for my run this morning, I made the executive decision to not throw in contact lenses. Actually, now that mornings are cooler, I haven't put them in for quite awhile. I digress.

I head out and, when I open my front door, all I see is fog. Diffused streetlights and fog. No big deal. I start my run and make another executive decision to make this a tempo run. Well, the combination of fog and glasses made things interesting.

Since my route was through my neighborhood, I knew I had to tread lightly. See, chuckholes and construction abound right now in my little corner of the universe. The construction areas have those blinky lights (technical term) and barricades, but they're also replacing all the speed bumps and they've yet to paint stripes on them. You really don't have an appreciation for stripes until you run at 5am.

So now it's foggy, my glasses are fogged over, and I'm trying to run at a "comfortably hard" pace. Things were going well until.......

I took a wrong turn. Don't know how I missed it, but I did. And it took me about 3 blocks to figure out where the hell I was. If it weren't for a mailbox that looked eerily similar to this:
Thank you MailBass. You were my North Star and I was a Wise Man. I liken myself to the Wise Man with myrrh. Which wise man are you? Discuss!

10K...pre-FAIL

I'm running a 10K this weekend* and I can guarantee you one thing:

This will not be a record-breaking run.

Why not, Raz? I mean, you're our inspiration. You're the reason I run intervals, eat right, etc. You're my whole reason for being!

Well, it's like this: My Beloved Cornhuskers are going to be celebrating the 300th consecutive sellout of Memorial Stadium this Saturday. Let me repeat that: 300th. Consecutive. Sellout. Since 1962, loyal/psychotic/rabid NU fans have packed Memorial Stadium and have watched the highs and lows of our football team. If you're not from around these them parts, it's really hard to explain the loyalty/fanaticism. Nevertheless, I'm going and I wouldn't miss it for the world. It also happens to be the game where friends and family will gather 'round to celebrate my birthday with a tailgate prior**. And my oh my....we'll tailgate.

On the menu:

• Ribs
• Beer
• Liquor
• Boneless wings
• Mini-Mac and Cheese
  
• Pizza Bread
  
• Orzo
  
• Tomato and Feta salad
• Combos
  
• Skittles
• More beer
• More liquor
  

MomDoodle runs the tailgates. She makes everything (save for the beer, combos, skittles) and she is the best cook. Ever. And her tailgates are legendary. In fact, if you're ever in Lincoln for gameday, you can find us in our usual spot. White SUV, red Husker flag. Stop on by! I'm sure mom wouldn't mind at all.

None of this really sounds very conducive to running a 10K, does it? Couple the fact that the game is at night and the run is at 7am the next morning, I can pretty much guarantee a non-PR race.

So, what are my goals?

• Get up by 6am
• Arrive before the gun goes off
• Don't puke

Easy enough, right? RIGHT???

*for those of you keeping score, I toyed with the idea of running the marathon, dropped down to the half marathon and am now running the 10K. Some things you can just set your watch to, can't you?

**wasn't it nice of them to plan this around my birthday? I'm just waiting for the commemorative t-shirt.

BOTR - Episode 4 and This Week's College Picks

I kind of glossed over the fact in yesterday's post that there's a new episode for Banned on the Run. It's quite good if I say so myself save for the fact that I had to go in and re-edit (again) after I posted it. If you're one of the lucky ones to have downloaded my mistakes, consider it a memento. It's one of the rare times I screw up.

So I said this episode was good. Why? Is it because you get to hear my silky, smooth voice seeping into your ears during your long run? Probably. There is the outside chance that it's because we interviewed one of the finest writers about running. Vanilla, Nitmos, Amy and I* had the good fortune of having Kristina (a.k.a. - Marathon Mama) on for the show. She regaled us with her tales about running in the Outback. I'm not doing it any justice, but suffice it to say, her stories are very interesting. You'll notice that I don't have much to say during the podcast. That's because during the entire interview I was trying to wrap my head around the fact that she ran in the Outback (not the steakhouse oddly enough) for 2 weeks. Aside from a well-placed Wiggles joke, I kept quiet. That was, of course, until I talked about the potential of crapping myself during my Burrito Run later on in the 'cast. See? Informational AND juvenile!

This week's picks:

• Nebraska at Virginia Tech - I'm a die-hard NU fan, but I don't that they're "there" just yet. VT is going to be fast and nasty. Plus it's the first road game for Zac Lee. Va Tech.
• Wyoming at Colorado - I won't pile onto CU. They're pretty much screwed. If the Buffs don't win this one, things will go downhill....fast. CU at home.
• K-State at UCLA - 2 words for K-State fans.....Louisiana Lafayette. Nice job 'Cats. Way to represent the Big XII. UCLA
• Michigan vs. Eastern Michigan - Settle down, Michigan. All you did was beat yet another overrated Notre Dame team. Although I will say this: if/when Rodriguez gets his speed guys in there, UM will be tough to beat in the Big 10 for a long time. Michigan
• Iowa State at Kent State - Maybe someone other than KU and NU in the Big XII North won't suck. Nah. Kent State at home.
  
• Missouri vs. Furman - Furman? FURMAN??? WTF? Missouri.
  
• Tennessee at Florida - I'll use the prison analogy. Pick a fight with the biggest guy right when you get into the joint. Well, Kiffin did that and now he's going to be Urban Meyer's beyatch for 60 minutes. The best part? I've got Tebow in fantasy football. Think Meyer will leave him in in the 4th quarter? *nodding emphatically* - Florida, but only by 5 touchdowns.

Have a great weekend everyone!

*When do I just start calling them Ian and Mike in blogland?

Strange Things Afoot at the Circle K

This has been a really weird week. To note:

Monday - I had to give a 5 minute presentation to a committee of the City Council that oversees the cable network on which we air our TV show. No big deal, but the Public Comments section of the meeting was worth the price of admission. From one guy....one guy....came a 5 minute rant that was legendary. It included, but was not limited to, the following:

• Abortion
• Mexicans
  
• Black people
• A day-long furlough for the committee members
• Robbing a bank
• Hot dogs
• The Catholic Church

It was epic. And guess who had to follow that? THIS GUY! I felt woefully unprepared with my Powerpoint and videos.

Tuesday - Half day due to Staff Collaboration. The topic? Blogging and Education. Right in my wheelhouse! And, in honor of the event, I got caught up on all of my blogs. Happy Birthday to me!

Wednesday - We actually were able to record a new episode for the podcast! Yeah us! Subjects covered: glowing spiders and hermaphrodites. Click here for the latest episode.

Thursday - Who knows? Day has barely started.

Oh, about those 2-a-days for my relay training. They just ain't gonna happen. I don't see the benefit and I've been running for 3 whole years (I'm experienced!) I suppose if I actually thought that we were going to win the thing, I'd throw myself into them, but we're not. Actually, I'm going to start training for my Burrito Run. Thanks to Jess, I'm now more concerned about the other "avenue" where said burrito could exit. Looks like it's long pants and old shoes on race day!

I'll leave you with that thought.

You're So Lucky to Have Me

Twas 30 and some odd years today when the heavens opened up and bestowed upon the world one Raz Z Doodle.

You're welcome.

Am I shameless? Yes
Do I expect gifts? Yes

Feel free to email me for gift ideas. I have a list.

Weekend Odds and Ends

Haven't done this in awhile, so here goes. On to the bullet points!

• I may be running the Omaha Half Marathon in a couple of weeks. Somehow, I had "inspired" (for lack of a better term) a friend of mine to train for a half-marathon. This summer, over beers, we were talking about running and how he'd like to try a half-marathon. I had told him to go for it, gave him some training plans and thought nothing more of it. What's fuzzy is whether or not I said I'd run with him. Next thing I know, he's all signed up and is expecting me to run with him. I learned this this weekend. Needless to say, I haven't signed up for it and my IT band is subtly telling me to rest. Help!
• I can run long (9 miles) the morning after having copious amounts of beer the previous evening. Yes I can.
• Why is it the last few swigs of Starbucks coffee are the most vile?
• The Huskers looked good this weekend. We'll find out how good they really are next weekend (@ Virginia Tech).
  
• Glad to see USC win. It only took ESPN .05 seconds to develop a man-crush on Matt Barkley following the game. Way to show some restraint, guys! Was Tebow available for comment?
  
• My aforementioned IT band is acting up again. I've stretched. I haven't put on an excessive amount of miles. I'm frustrated. Maybe I'm not cut out for a full marathon again. Come to think of it, the 2 HALF marathons I've run had IT band issues as well. I'm at a loss. Pity Party, table of 1 please.

That should do it for now. Until later.

BREAKING NEWS - Oh, HELL Yes!

**Breaking News**

Received this email from our Cross Country coaches just this morning:

Teachers -
Join us for the first annual Qdoba Burrito Mile at the (school name) Track on Oct. 3 (Sat.) at 1 p.m. All proceeds from the race will benefit the Cross Country Teams. We will have a special teacher's heat with the winner getting a nice prize (I promise it WON'T be a free burrito). All you have to do is take down a burrito and then run/jog/walk/crawl four laps on the track. The clock will start as the burrito enters your mouth. No time limit...just finish the four laps!

The cost is $10 and with that you get a Qdoba burrito, a t-shirt, and four laps of fun!

Oh Lord, I am IN!

P.S. - My staff is 50/50 on posting the video of the race. Stay tuned

SSTIFY Friday - Keep on Wantin'

This has been stuck in my head this week. I know you all are anxiously awaiting my college football picks. Well, kids, it's nice to want things. Maybe later today. In the meantime, enjoy!

Hearts on Fire

Well, after the RazZDoodle Family reenacted their own version of Outbreak this past week, yours truly tried to get back on track. I was ready and willing to get a run in late last week, but I decided "one more day of rest couldn't hurt". So, I made the executive decision to rest until my long run this past weekend.

Until the bee sting.

KidDoodle1 was set to cheer during the 1st quarter of our school's high school football game. Well, as we were sitting outside, snacking on some grub, a bee stung my daughter on the eyelid. I'm convinced that it got stuck between her glasses, freaked out, stung her, and got the hell outta there. Hopefully, it died a stinger-less death. Here's the damage:

To her credit, she stuck around and cheered for the whole 1st quarter. Of course, it didn't hurt that I told her that I paid good money to see her cheer and, damnit, she was going to cheer. Oddly enough, CPS never knocked on our door this weekend.

After assurances from the after-hours nurse that all would be well (she is extremely allergic to bug bites), I set my alarm for God-Awful-Early-For-a-Saturday. 4am rolls around and KidDoodle 1 is freaked out because her eye has swollen back shut and she's convinced she's gone blind in that eye. So much for my Saturday run. Kids.

I could've run Sunday, but I was hungover.

Which finally brings me to the point of this post: I'm getting serious now about this whole Relay thing.

• I've got to stick to the plan. No more deviations and no more justifications for said deviations.
  
• I'm going to eat better. Did you know that fruits and veggies are good for you? Who knew?
• I've got a plan.
• I'm focused.
• I wonder if I can drop down to the Half-Relay

Yep, it's "Go Time" everyone. If the posts here at ROATM get a little intense until early October, it's because I don't have time for foolish little spats with you people. Oh sure, it's wonderful to read about all of your trials, tribulations, and pithy observations, but I'm now like Stallone in Rocky IV. All I need is wilderness, bad weather conditions, a fat brother-in-law and an ox-yoke. Hell, I may even chop something.

Hearts on fire, indeed.

Week 1 of My "thing"

This post has nothing to do with running. Shocking, I know.

After 2 fantasy football drafts and reading/watching countless articles/stories about football, I'm jacked.

Football is here!

If you follow college football OR if you like my witty writing, read on. If not, I don't care.

Here's what we know about this year's college football season if all you do is watch/listen to ESPN:

• Tim Tebow is the Savior. Reports out of Gainesville are that he's planning on taking a plate of nachos and a can of Busch Light and will feed the entire eastern seaboard by halftime this Saturday
  
• Texas and OU is the Game of the Lifetime.
• USC is still the elite program in college football. Allegations? What allegations? No allegations here!
  
• Rich Rodriguez overextending his players? Let's jump on that story instead!

The sad thing is is that Fox Sports is worse. So where can you go for your weekly college football predictions? Right here of course!

I'm making it a "thing".

I'm going solely from memory as to what bloggers are fans/alums of what school. If I'm blatantly missing something and you can't place a bet (for entertainment purposes only) without my keen insight, well.....wait till next week or leave a comment. I'll gladly add your school next week. On to this week's picks:

• Georgia vs. Oklahoma State - This is arguably the premier matchup this weekend. That, and VTech and Alabama. I'd like to see OSU win. They've got the talent this year to at least scare UT and OU in the Big 12. Gundy is not known for winning big games. He is known for being 40. Georgia 24, OSU 20
  
• Colorado vs. Colorado State - Break out the Coors Light and the tear gas! When these teams play, you can just tear up the record books on this one. You can also bring in the National Guard*. Has Hawkins decided if his son is going to play yet? You always want a quarterback controversy days before the opener. CSU 42 CU 21
  
• Iowa vs. Univ of Northern Iowa - Yawn. Seriously. I actually yawned when I typed that. Hawks 49 UNI 3
  
• Michigan vs. Western Michigan - Rodriguez has found himself a bunch of trouble even without the "extended practice" controversy. It's never good when your players and fan base hate you. The Broncos in an upset. Aren't you impressed that I knew WMU's mascot without looking it up? You should be! WMU 21 Michigan 20
  
• Maryland vs. California - Cal could sneak up on people this year. Maryland? Don't know just yet. It's tough to win at Berkeley and Tedford will have them ready (i.e. - not stoned). Cal 38 Maryland 14
  
• Purdue vs. Toledo - I know nothing about Purdue. I know they have a relatively new coach and I know that their school colors are black and gold. I know less about Toledo. See? That's the difference between me and the "experts". I don't bullshit.....much. Purdue because they're at home. Purdue 35 Toledo 21
  
• Florida vs. Charleston Southern - The Almighty should throw for 7000 yards in this one. That is, of course, if you listen to Colin Cowherd/Lou Holtz/Kirk Herbstreit/et. al. While we're on that topic, is Tebow The Best College Football Player Ever? No. Is he in the conversation? Possibly. Aren't there others in the annals of College Football history you'd rather have on your team? Staubach? Hornung? Frazier? And those are just the QBs. Here's the thing in this over-hyped world we now live in: things just can't be classified as good, or even great. They now have to be titled the The Best ____ Ever. Don't get me started. Where was I? Florida 853 C.Southern - 3
  
• Nebraska vs. Florida Atlantic - This should be a decent opener for my Beloved Huskers. At the very least, we'll get to kick Howard Schnellenberger's ass. Something we weren't able to do in '84. Are we still bitter? Abso-friggin-lutely. NU - 31 FAU - 10

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

*I'm pretty sure I used that same joke last year. My response? Stop having riots and it won't be relevant/funny anymore.

9 of 10

I bolted into my local running store late last week cuz I needed me some new tenny-runners. And, as tradition dictates, I decided to try on some new brands because....you know....I liked my latest pair of shoes, but what if I'm missing out on something else? Maybe I'm just one step (get it?) away from pure shoe bliss.

I found a new pair, tried it on, gave it a test run up and down the store's "track", brought it up to the counter and the salesman proceeded to tell me that I've purchased 8 pairs of shoes from them. The current pair being my 9th. "Um, OK...", I deftly replied.

"With the 10th pair, we take the average cost of the 9 pairs you've bought and apply that average as a discount toward your 10th pair.", he said, anticipating my math skills to be above average.

"So, um, they're gonna be close to free?", I replied.

"Yeah (idiot).", he said.

I'm pretty sure the "idiot" part was implied. His eye-rolling was not.*

So that got me to thinking about the pairs of shoes I have had. Since I've only purchased running shoes from this store, I took a jog (get it? I'm on fire!) down memory lane. Technically, my first pair were a pair of Asics 2090's. I got them from a National Sporting Goods Store when I was going to get into lifting weighHAHAHAHAHAHA. Yeah, I still can't say it without laughing.

I should have asked for some sort of printout of my shoe-whore history. Now, that wouldn't make a very good/half-assed blog post, would it? Here's the list from my stellar memory:

1. Asics 2100 - meh. They're great mowing shoes.
   
2. Asics 2110 - see #1
   
3. Brooks Trance 7s - horrible shoe
4. Mizuno Wave Rider 9 - no cushioning
5. Pearl Izumi SynchroFloat - good shoe. Lasted longer than most.
6. Asics Landreths - Godawful shoe. Ironically, the shoe I used for the marathon. Now, rather than give it a ceremonial toss in the dumpster, I feel obligated to keep them around. Even as a pair for just knockin' around, they suck. I don't care if this Landreth guy was a friend of Amy's or not. (listen to the podcast and you'll understand)
   
7. New Balance - no thanks.
   
8. Mizuno Wave Rider 12 - Great shoe
9. Mizuno Wave Rider 12 - (see #8)

If you're an astute reader (hell, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt), you'll see that pairs 8 and 9 are the same. If you recall, I tried on a new pair at the beginning of this story. Well, I was going to go with another pair of New Balance for the 9th pair, but I went back to the Mizunos. I'm convinced there's a file on me at the store. "This guy will always return his first choice of shoes. Guaranteed."

Oh, RazZDoodle, you're incorrigible! (cue wa wa wa horn sound)

*To be clear, the guy at my Local Running Store could not have been any more patient and knowledgeable. That's why I go back. I'm just an idiot. I get the eye roll a LOT.

Do It....I Dare You

Join Vanilla's Fantasy Football league.

I dare you.

Is it geeky? Maybe.
Is it fun? Absolutely.
Will it give me the opportunity for more blog posts where I make fun of you? You know it!

Not only that, you'll have the opportunity to hang with me (virtually) tomorrow night at the draft. Vanilla, Nitmos, and Amy can attest to that thrill.

What a Load of......

Friday Night
First high school football game. In a football-crazed state such as Nebraska, Friday Night Lights is a big deal. I got home from the game and noticed that the back of my throat was a little scratchy. No big deal. I downed a big glass of water and took a Zyrtec and went to bed.

Saturday Morning
I woke up feeling like I had been on an all-night bender with Gary Busey and Nick Nolte*. Holy Lord. My head killed me, something large was sitting on my chest, and I sounded like I just finished off my 3rd pack of Marlboro Reds for the morning.

I had my long run plan for Saturday and I had read somewhere that, if your head isn't clogged up (mine wasn't), you could still run. So, that's what I did.....

...and it somehow made things worse.

Of course, this isn't my fault. No no no no no. This is all your fault. Each and everyone of you. What I should have done was stay in, drink fluids and get caught up on my DVRd shows. Instead, I'm taking antibiotics for every infection known to mankind. Well, not every infection. No need for any penicillin, thankyouverymuch.

I'm blaming all of you because I'm taking my mom's approach to disciplining my sister and I which was:

"I'll smack you both. That way I know I got the right one."

Thanks mom.

I hope you can all live with yourselves. I was just starting to like all of you.

P.S. - Dramatic? Possibly. That's a side effect of the horse pill/antibiotic that I have to take. That and "lady part" itching. Feel free to make your own joke on that one. I'll give ya a freebie.

*I'm assuming. Apparently, in the past few years, Busey has found Christ. Yeah, I'm sure that was a banner day for J.C., don't you suppose?