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Keep the Focus!

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We’re working through the second week of training and thus far I feel pretty good!  I’m staying focused on keeping my miles where they need to be and getting to the gym 2-3 times each week to maintain my strength.  Doing the core work and eating better will help I’m sure.  I really hate carrying the extra weight but know that in time that’ll be corrected. I always feel better when I’m a bit lighter and my speed will improve as well.  On Task!

I’ve signed up for group of runs that’ll be done here locally. http://runtoledo.com/runthe419/ I’ve run a couple of them in the past years but there are some that have been brought back from my past.  The Channel 11 River Run was one that I remember running in the wayyyyy back!  I like the idea of running the streets of Toledo and reliving memories of yesteryear.  Brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.  For those of you that are here in town…you need to come out to these and cheer!  If you have the time…volunteer!  I’ve never known a race director to turn away free help!

I have my sights set on a couple of my Winter favorites.  The Great Scott 25K was big fun the last time through and I absolutely must run it again. February 19th at Oak Openings Metro park.  The next favorite is the Great Black Swamp Festival of Races! FALLEN TIMBERS MIDDLE SCHOOL, 6119 Finzel Rd, Whitehouse, OH 43571.  For those of you who have followed Run Zombie Run you may remember that I love this race because of the “Memory Mile” at the end of the race.  Signs posted everywhere of special people that we’ve loved and lost.  I find myself fighting tears and emotion during this final mile.  All the names just make you realize how precious and short life really is.  It’s a must to come out to this one!

I’m keeping with the challenge to run at least a 10 mile (OR More) during each month of 2017!  I’ll run some of the super fun 5K’s as well but want to keep at the Big Runs!  The idea is to maintain big mileage but stay healthy to make it through the entire 2017 race season.

The Race shirt for this year is a dark Gray Nike DriFit.  We have white letters for the Run Zombie Run and an Orange Zombie!  New this year is an Orange Zombie Dog!  This year’s focus is on Blackjack Animal Rescue.  blackjackrescue.org  I want people to know the kind of work that’s going on in the world out there so that we can keep hope.  Sharon Bryant and so many others that she’s networked with do hard work for the love of these animals.  They want nothing in return but to know that they’ve made a difference and saved one of God’s creatures.  How can you not want to help a group like that?  I’ll talk about them more in future blogs and continue to find ways to raise funds to help their operation.  Feel free at anytime to get on their website and make a donation!  Tell them that Zombie sent you in the comments…it’ll make Sharon smile!

I hate to get too much ahead of myself but I will tell you that I’m looking into a possible Virtual 5K again this year!  My Tattoo artist told me today that he’d be happy to do artwork for shirts and you know…we just might have to do that because it sure was fun the last time!  I’ll look into getting a sponsor or two to cover the cost of the shirts and printing so that every dollar can be sent to Blackjack Animal Rescue!  If there’s interest…I may look into doing regular (soft) T-shirts that mimic my Run Zombie Run Race shirt!  Reach out and let me know if it’s something I need to look into.

I always like to close by telling you all that I appreciate you following me on these journeys in my life.  I love that people become inspired and want to do good for others as well as themselves.  Remember the human body was meant to be in motion!  Go out and enjoy the winter…don’t just hide from it.  There’s a certain peace in walking on a crisp Winter day!  Download the ResQwalk App on your phone and turn that on while walking as well!  If you put Blackjack Animal Rescue in as your chosen rescue…every mile you walk they’ll donate funds to the rescue!  How cool is that?  So get out and go!

I’ll see you on the road!

~Zombie~

2017…Running To Make A Difference

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I pretty much stepped away from organized running for the 2016 year and I have to tell you, it sucked!  2016 left me with such an empty space inside after everything that went on in 2015.  Raising money to help Mobile Meals of Toledo was a blessing for me.  I had such purpose and enjoyed every moment I was out running races!  So to make things right…I needed to get back out on the road and make a difference.

This 2017 year I’ve teamed up with BlackJack Animal Rescue.  They’re a Tennessee based animal rescue that helps not only Catahoula Leopard dogs (my Stella) but many others as well.  They may be based out of Tennessee but their heart-strings venture out across the country!  They’ve devised a wonderful network of people who Foster, transport and just get out and save these beautiful creatures from a sure death.  I can think of no better way to spend 2017 than by raising funds and awareness for this rescue and I hope you’ll all join in and help along the way!

The shirts!  Run Zombie Run racing shirts will be put together in the very near future.  I’ve reached out to Matt at Second Sole 4130 Levis Commons Blvd, Perrysburg, Ohio to supply me with the shirts.  I’ve also reached out to Jon & Mike over at Jupmode to do the printing of my race shirts.  The front will remain pretty much unchanged from prior years but the back will have All proceeds to benefit Blackjack Animal Rescue!  Working on either a pup face or paw prints on there as well!  Hoping to go with Black this year but will be happy with a dark gray as well.  I do have some ideas for T-shirts for sale to help raise more money for Blackjack.  We’ll get that moving in February or March.  I’ll be working on the big build up to our Big Sur Full Marathon out in California!  Stay tuned!

The challenge!  I’m setting a start goal of getting at least a 10 mile (or further) race for each month of 2017!  I’m going to do my best to find as many Half Marathons as possible as that is my distance of choice!  We’ve committed to run the following right now:

The Dave’s 10 Miler-this is on January 22nd and can be anything from a crazy 60 degree day to a fricking blizzard!  I ran it in 2015 and holy cats was it a tough, windy and cold run!  That one almost broke me.  If you look back through my blog postings you’ll find an entry on how I struggled to finish this one.  Had to dig deep!

The Ann Arbor Half Marathon-this is on March 26th and is a scenic but tough race!  It has a serious mother of a hill at right about mile 11!  Most of the race is on an incline and of course…shitty Michigan roads…lol!  It starts out right next to the Big House so if you’re a Michigan fan…it’s pretty damn cool!

The Glass City Half Marathon-this one is on April 23rd and is a week prior to the Big Sur Full Marathon!  I thought about skipping it this year but hey…the bling is cool and Karla gave it a green light!  I may regret it the following weekend but I’ll worry about that when the time comes.  Love running in my home town!

The Big Sur Full Marathon-this is on April 30th and is considered to be one of/if not the most scenic Marathon in the country!  Getting into this is done on a lottery system and I’ve been trying for a few years now to get into it.  I’ve always said that if I did…I’d run the Full Marathon…well…now it’s time to get it done!  My Brother in law who has run Marathons in every state has said time and time again that the Big Sur is one of his favorites.  That speaks to me as he’s seen some of the most beautiful spots in the country.  I’m all in for this one!

Training… I’ve decided to take my own approach on the training for the Full Marathon.  I’ll be doing a build up by adding a mile to each week on my long run.  This should have me right where I need to be come race time.  During the week I’ll do smaller runs and maybe a mid mileage run to keep moving.  I have to think of keeping healthy so I need to keep it simple and allow myself rest time as well.  I’ve already started my strength training to re-condition my body for the beating that it’ll be going through during the coming months.  I’m adding the stair climber back into the mix to get ready for elevation issues in California!  There might be a few hills in that race…lol!

Diet will be cleaned up and I’m going with the 6 clean days and 1 off day.  The off day will be on my long run day as I’m sure Carbs will have to be my friend!  I used this program a few times over the years and love how I feel when I’m eating clean most of the week.  The one off day keeps your head in the game and gives you something to look forward to when you want to eat something “bad”!

The Rescue!  Blackjack is a very small and humble organization.  They’re a 501c3 non-profit and are doing their work because it’s a calling!  How can you not fight for people who do that?!  I love my dogs and when I lost my Silver…my heart was absolutely broken.  I reached out to Blackjack and found a whole new world of animals that are not only unique…but absolutely wonderful!  The Catahoula Leopard Dog (mostly known as the Cata-What??) when you tell someone what kind of dog you have are very energetic, loving and beautiful dogs.  They’re the Louisiana state dog and you’ll find most of them in the southern states such as Tennessee, Georgia, Texas and of course Louisiana.  Blackjack watches for dogs that are on death row, being mistreated, strays or just pups turned over to them to find good homes.  Sharon Bryant runs the show there and can I just say…she needs to receive some kind of award for the work she’s doing!

So fellow Zombies…time to focus!  Tune in again and I hope you’ll stay on for the entire stretch!  There are good things to come in 2017!  If you haven’t got on Facebook and like/shared Blackjack Animal Rescue…please do so!  Look on their web page:

http://www.blackjackrescue.org/

If you need a dog or can foster…even better!  They have a paypal set up for one time donations or monthly donations.  You can also help by using :

https://smile.amazon.com/  Just put Blackjack Animal Rescue in as your choice of charity and they’ll get a portion of your dollars spent on Amazon!

Also…break out your smartphones…go to the App store and get the ResQwalk App.  put Blackjack Animal Rescue in as your choice of charity and just turn it on and go out and walk!  Blackjack will get money just for you moving your butt!  lol!!  It’s a fun App and you can look through all the people out there walking and posting pictures of their pups!

You all know I’m about moving and working on keeping healthy.  So lets all make the pledge to do that in 2017.  Help make a difference in the lives of these beautiful creatures that depend on us humans to have a good life.  They deserve that.  I’ll get back to more regular blogs…I promise!  Stay Tuned for more info as it becomes available!  Keep following me on 30races.com and also on my Run Zombie Run Facebook page!  I’ll post pictures of the shirts as soon as they’re done!  Woo Hoo!!  Let’s do this!

See you on the road!

~Zombie~

 

 

 

March Madness!!

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Well, another month done and wow what a month!  February…I officially don’t care for you at all!  Thank goodness for the Florida break!  Two more races in the books while in Florida.  The Fort Lauderdale 5K and the A1A Half Marathon both completed on the same weekend!  I’m grateful to have knocked out at least two races during the month, keeps me on schedule to complete the task of 30 races this year.

March will be a full month on the racing calendar.  March 14th will be the Run for Super PI!  Math nerds are welcome to come out and walk, run or just spectate the madness!  This race will take place at Second Sole at Levis Commons in Perrysburg.  http://www.roadracerunner.com/re_165794/RunforSuperPi.html

The next race will be a big one.  The Black Swamp Festival of Races http://greatblackswampruns.org/.  This will be a 25K run on March 21st!  I’ll be running with my sister Patti and my sister Leanna is coming in from Florida to run as well.  Not planning on setting any records for this one as it’s 15.5 miles long.  The plan is to just enjoy the company and finish the race with no injuries!

To follow the Black Swamp up, I’ll be running The Wearin of the Green 7K run on March 22nd (the following day!)http://www.imathlete.com/events/EventOverview.aspx?fEID=19995  This was one hell of a race last year!  It’s held at Maumee Bay State Park out here in Oregon, Ohio and being March in NW Ohio…you never know what kind of ugly Mother Nature is going to throw at you!  I’ll be tired from the long run the day before and if the winds were anything like they were last year…I just want to see the finish line!

The final run for March will be the Ann Arbor, MI Half Marathon!  March 29th and will be starting…you guessed it…right there at the Big House!  Not a fan of Michigan Football but it’ll be my first time in the area and hey…It’s another race to mark off my calendar! http://theannarbormarathon.com/

So there you have it!  4 Races in one month!  Right around the corner in April will be the Glass City Marathon/Half Marathon!  I’m working on dropping weight and scoring a PR at that one!  Cross your fingers!  I’ll do an entire blog entry dedicated to the Glass City at a later date.

As a small teaser…I’ve joined a group of people from a running group and have committed to running Ragnar (Chicago 2016) http://ragnarrelay.com/race/Chicago I’ve posted the website for the 2015 relay so that you all can look through and see how much fun this is going to be.  12 runners, 2 vans, 200 miles of running from Madison, WI to the windy city!  Chi town!  This has been on my bucket list for years and I still can’t believe I’m finally going to have the opportunity to do it!  More on that later too!

Keeping up with my running and hitting the gym on schedule.  Cleaned up my eating and will continue to tune it as time passes.  Still have plans of dropping the extra pounds for my challenge at the gym.

As always, thank you to everyone for following along!  Extra thanks to all for donating to Mobile Meals of Toledo!!  They keep me focused to keep the legs moving!  Running with a purpose!  Take care and …I’ll see you on the Road!

Zombie

And so it goes….

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We are moving through the final hours of 2014.  There were some spectacular moments during the year and some crazy lows.  I’m sure many of you feel much the same.  2015 holds new hope!  A “do over” if you will.  The slate is clean and begging you to fill it with fun and excitement.

I’ll be ending 2014 running and beginning 2015 running!  I know that this may be a shock to most of you…lol!  My first of 30 races will start tonight at 11:45 p.m. and will finish in the New Year!  Race #1!  29 more to knock down!  I’m excited to start what I’ve been talking and dreaming about for some time.  Tonight promises to be yet another challenge.  Cold and wind will be there to greet me at the starting line.  My iron will and some great running gear will get me through…for that, I have no doubts!

2015…New Years day will be race #2!  The Hangover classic!  What the hell…if I didn’t freeze my butt off during the night run, why not try again around noon time?!  No matter how many times I lace up for a “race”, I’m always nervous and excited.  Wondering what everyone else is feeling, how will I run, how many runners are here…all that and more in my head!

I’d invite you all to come out and join or say hello…but hey, it’s cold outside!!  Whatever you do for the New Year’s, remember to think of your health, your family and what you can do to bring the new year in on a positive note.  Enjoy a drink (but don’t drive!), see some friends, watch a movie, work on a puzzle or hey…Go Running!!  I promise to keep the blogging going throughout the entire year.  I also promise to keep talking about running, health, physical fitness and of course…Mobile Meals of Toledo!  I look forward to making 2015 a great year for them!  I want so much to make a difference and help those that are in need.  I need that for myself more than anything.  With the push of my wonderful wife Karla Neeley and the support of all my friends and family, I plan on getting these 30 races done and done in style!

Be safe tonight and every night.  Happy New Year!  I’ll see you on the road…

Zombie

Holidays, running and the challenge!

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We’re about to start a line up of Holidays that can cause a few issues.  Over eating, good old stress, of course the lack of sun due to time change and weather!  I say again…”Keep Moving!’  I plan on getting out both today and tomorrow for some nice runs.  Today because the wind is light and work is crazy busy!  I come to work in a better mood and better frame of mind after a nice run.  The plan for Thanksgiving is to get up and run with my sister for our weekly long run.  We have a set goal of no less than 9 miles on our long run day.  Hoping to go 10 miles + tomorrow!  It’s easier to consume a few extra calories when you’ve gone out and burned some 1,000 to 1,500 calories first thing in the morning.

We get through the Thanksgiving hangover only to go right into shopping mode for the Christmas season.  Everyone loves to cook and bake during this season and I won’t lie, I love me some cookies!!  While Christmas is always special and I enjoy seeing family that at times I may only see once a year, I still like to find my time to get some running done.  This year will be even crazier because of this plan I’ve come up with to run 30 races during 2015!

The new website will be going live, I’ll still be working on getting sponsors and blogging of course.  Then there is the matter of setting up the race schedule.  I’ve started a list of some of the local runs coming right into the beginning of the year.  Here are a few that are on my list:  The kick off race will be the Midnight Special 5K.  It’s held on New Year’s Eve and runs through the midnight hour!  I thought that would be kind of cool!  I don’t drink or party, but I do run!  That will be the kick off of the 30 races!  I’m looking into doing the Dave’s 10 Miler on 1/25/15.  I may find time to get one more in January.  Also looking to travel to Florida in February to visit my sister and run the A1A Half Marathon down there!  Sunrise at the beach…yeah…I’m there!  That’s 2/15/15.  I will for sure be running the Black Swamp Festival of races on March 21, 2015.  I fell in love with this race last year because of their “memory mile”.  Runners are given the opportunity to list names of love ones they’ve lost over the years.  The entire last mile of the race is covered with signs showing  the names and a message on them.  I was in tears the whole way in last year…so touching!  I will of course plan for the big one in Toledo, The Glass City Half Marathon on 4/26/15!!  Once the website goes live, I’ll list any and all races on a calendar right on the site for all to check and hopefully follow!  Busy but in a good way!

Don’t forget to be kind to one another through the Holiday Seasons!  It doesn’t take much to make someone’s day!  You never know what they might be going through and you could be the difference…and really, don’t we all want to make a difference?!

Keep talking about my 30races.com to anyone and everyone!  Talk about Mobile Meals of Toledo and the fine work they do!  Keep following and buy a Run Zombie Run T-shirt for a Christmas gift!  It all goes to Mobile Meals of Toledo…nothing for me but happiness knowing they we’re making things better.  https://www.booster.com/mobilemealsoftoledo

Zombie

Gear for the elements

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One of the most important things I’ve found when it comes to running, is the gear you wear.  I started out doing my walks and just ran tree to tree.  At the time, I wore some good ole Nike Air Max and thought they were just cool to look at…lol!  As time progressed, I’ve learned that your shoe…and your sock are vital pieces of the equation.  Those Nike Air Max shoes were never fit by someone that knows shoes.  I purchased them at the mall…lol!  So after losing the toenail on my big toe twice, I decided that there must be some kind of problem.

I made the trip across town to Dave’s Running shop.  Was fitted properly and also found out that I needed a wide shoe (2E).  This would open up the toe box space and allow my toenails to stay on my toes!  Who knew?!  My first pair of really good running shoes were the New Balance 851’s and boy did they change my world of running!  The sky became the limit!

Cotton is the enemy!  Socks, underwear, running shirts, shorts…please, don’t wear cotton!  You’ll thank me later or you’ll tell me how badly you chafed areas of your body.  (Not fun!)  Again, stay running gear specific.  Tech shirts polyester based, spandex are awesome!  Socks…well, I have my favorites.  Feetures brand are my go to almost year round.  When it’s really cold, I switch up to Smartwool brand.  A bit warmer for the tough winter winds and snow.  Most of the big companies make a sock and everyone seems to have their favorite.  Just don’t go and throw on some cotton “tube socks” and think you’re going to run a marathon…hee hee!

Thicker is not always warmer!  The technology has grown in leaps and bounds in running gear.  So many things can be purchased that are thin yet warm, waterproof, moisture wicking, they are truly amazing now days!  I can go out on a very cold and windy day and be wearing running underwear, wind resistant running pants, heat holding compression top, a heat holding shirt over that, hat, gloves, shoes and socks.  To the untrained eye, you’d think I would freeze.  Actually I feel amazingly comfortable!  If there is heavy snow coming down, I throw a pullover shell jacket (windbreaker type) to keep from soaking the heat gear.  Again, we’ve come a long way in the technology here.

If you live in the local area, I recommend both Dave’s Running shop or Second Sole Running shop.  Both have just about anything that you’d need to get yourself out year round in comfort.  They are runners…so they get it!!  I hope to see you all out enjoying the winter months as often as you can (outside!)  Don’t let Mother nature ruin you fun!  Embrace the technology used in the running gear and hit it!

Zombie