SocialJeff

First Sunkist in a glass bottle (Taken with Instagram at FLIP...

Sat, 26 May 2012 18:32:47 -0500

First Sunkist in a glass bottle (Taken with Instagram at FLIP Burger Boutique)

Details to come! #Winning (Taken with Instagram at Infomedia,...

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:18:30 -0500

Details to come! #Winning (Taken with Instagram at Infomedia, Inc.)

The observation deck is one of the few gems of MSP (Taken with...

Fri, 18 May 2012 18:50:46 -0500

The observation deck is one of the few gems of MSP (Taken with Instagram at Observation Deck - Concourse D)

More self entertainment. (Taken with Instagram at San Diego...

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:13:59 -0500

More self entertainment. (Taken with Instagram at San Diego International Airport (SAN))

Little one waiting to leave on a jet plane. (Taken with...

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:12:02 -0500

Little one waiting to leave on a jet plane. (Taken with Instagram at San Diego International Airport (SAN))

The elephant is still one of my favorite animals. #nofilter ...

Thu, 17 May 2012 13:24:03 -0500

The elephant is still one of my favorite animals. #nofilter (Taken with Instagram at Elephant Overlook)

Wife and little one by the pacific ocean in Coronado (Taken with...

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:12:26 -0500

Wife and little one by the pacific ocean in Coronado (Taken with Instagram at Hotel del Coronado)

4-Year Old Happiness to the 100th Degree! (Taken with Instagram...

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:56:06 -0500

4-Year Old Happiness to the 100th Degree! (Taken with Instagram at Furry Photo)

Loving the Abby merry-go-round! (Taken with Instagram at...

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:03:58 -0500

Loving the Abby merry-go-round! (Taken with Instagram at Abby’s Sea Star Spin)

Ready for Elmo’s Flying fish. (Taken with Instagram at...

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:55:18 -0500

Ready for Elmo’s Flying fish. (Taken with Instagram at Elmo’s Flying Fish)

Time for the bus tour part of the day. (Taken with Instagram at...

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:37:46 -0500

Time for the bus tour part of the day. (Taken with Instagram at San Diego Zoo)

Who turned 40? (Taken with Instagram at Flamingo Lagoon)

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:33:08 -0500

Who turned 40? (Taken with Instagram at Flamingo Lagoon)

Ready for the zoo! (Taken with instagram)

Mon, 14 May 2012 11:34:44 -0500

Ready for the zoo! (Taken with instagram)

Beautiful golf course. (Taken with Instagram at Torrey Pines...

Sun, 13 May 2012 17:41:55 -0500

Beautiful golf course. (Taken with Instagram at Torrey Pines Golf Course)

EatABurrito.Com has good tacos. (Taken with Instagram at Don...

Sun, 13 May 2012 14:22:24 -0500

EatABurrito.Com has good tacos. (Taken with Instagram at Don Carlos Taco Shop)

A playground at the beach is a brilliant idea. (Taken with...

Sun, 13 May 2012 13:26:54 -0500

A playground at the beach is a brilliant idea. (Taken with Instagram at Kellogg Park Playground)

Little one going on 14 straight hours with no sleep or nap. Such...

Sat, 12 May 2012 21:12:34 -0500

Little one going on 14 straight hours with no sleep or nap. Such a trooper! (Taken with instagram)

Little one is ready to leave on a jet plane! (Taken with...

Sat, 12 May 2012 07:33:58 -0500

Little one is ready to leave on a jet plane! (Taken with Instagram at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM))

My First Half Marathon - Completed

Mon, 07 May 2012 21:53:33 -0500

A little over three months ago I started training for the Country Music Half Marathon and am happy to post (finally) I finished it!

I ran in 2:25:37 finishing overall: 10,202 out of 22,277 runners (Division: 881 out of 1,330 runners and in my Gender: 4,912 out of 8,088 runners [Link]). All of my photos are here on Flickr

The training plan on I used from Runkeeper pushed me beyond the 13.1 miles which I was very happy to have since it was something I wanted to make sure I mentally and physically could do. If you are looking for a good training program, I highly recommend it.

What it did not train me for was running with 31,000 other runners. I have never ran in a race with more then 5,000 (My First 5K) and this was something that challenged me mentally upon starting. It took 3 miles for me to settle down and get into a pace of running around runners.

With that said, the City of Nashville put on a fantastic race. Many residents were out in their driveways supporting the runners in all different ways. Some had signs, oranges, or just high-fives. It made the grueling 13 miles easier to deal with.

The weather was cool, but muggy which made for lots of sweaty runners. I felt my preparation for the race (hydration and nutrition) was perfect. Thanks to Jenny for suffering through Italian for 4 straight nights I was loaded with carbs and properly hydrated. The course itself was tough. Three large hills with a decent elevation gain for the entire 12th mile - which made me dig deep.

A few things I did learn that I will share with other first time half marathoners

Bring hand sanitizer. 31,000 people using 300 porta-potties results in a need to feel clean - so dont forget this.
Have your family on the course - not try to see you at the finish line. My wife, daughter, and mom never got a chance to see me running because the finish line area was total chaos. In hindsight they could have setup on the course at set mile marker and cheered me on (and got a picture).
I have to wear tighter fitting clothes. As you can see in my pictures, I had some “chaffing” on two psoriasis patches on either side of my stomach that bleed. I did not notice it until mile 11, but after the race I learned that tighter clothes can prevent this.

All in all it was a life accomplishment that I never thought would ever occur. In January of 2010 when i set out to change my life I never thought in 2 years & 4 months I would cross the finish line of a 13.1 mile race.

Thanks to all my friends and family for your support. Jenny was a trooper during my training. Many nights and weekends I was gone for countless hours putting in long runs and she never once complained. Thanks babe for your endless support.

Another special Thanks to Tasha. Through two tough training ruts your spot on encouragement helped me get through it, as always.

On to the next race…..

Important work from important people. (Taken with Instagram at...

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:47:55 -0500

Important work from important people. (Taken with Instagram at Infomedia, Inc.)