Okinawa Marathon

Well, it is all over but the groaning. I, Mike, Sr. completed my first marathon, the Okinawa Marathon, a full 26.2 Miles (42.195 Kilometers for the scientifically minded) and it was a bear. The hills were beastly going from 0 to over three hundred feet, with some climbs being as much as 200 feet in just a few kilometers.

These are the elevation charts. With all the ups and downs the total amount climbed is way over the highest elevation reached, which was just 360 ft.

Here is my action shot, coming through Kadena, I am sweaty and geared for running. I did not pee my pants! You can see I stand out from most of the crowd, not just because of my buttoned shirt. I got a good sunburn on my face, but my arms and neck were well protected. Half the race was in cloudy/rainy conditions, the second half was sunny and warm, but not too hot.

Well, I made about 14 miles before I stopped continuous running. After that I took water breaks of one to two minutes and then ran to the next station (3 miles in between). Around the 18th mile my left knee started to feel like it was being stabbed. I went to 5 minutes walk and 10 running. Also I got icyhot sprayed on my knee every few miles by volunteers. Then with about 3 miles left I went down to five walking and five running. The pain was quite bad. But I finished in 5:37 by my stopwatch, although the official time was 5:45 due to the amount of time from the real start to when I crossed the line.

I was #11744 which meant I started at the back of the pack. After the starting cannons and fireworks I waited about 15 minutes to even walk to the gate. It was like running a marathon inside a Chinese subway train (they are quite packed). I had a great time, despite the pain at the end, and am left with a feeling of a real accomplishment. And with about 24 hours of recovery time under my belt I am sure this is not my last marathon. I would like to run at least one more, and I think it will be the Shamrock in Virginia Beach, VA. I love Virginia Beach and would like to try a marathon with mostly level surface to see how that would affect my time.

Right now I am just waiting for my knee to go back to normal size. Love you all bunches.

Ryukyu Mura

Entering Ryuky Mura
Traditional Okinawan kimonos
Our 3D glasses to watch a habu snake and mongoose fight on film. It is illegal now to have live fights.
Shisa dogs keep bad demons out and the good ones in.
A king and queen of ancient Okinawa.

Viewer Discretion is Advised! (Subtitled: Just Like in 'Nam)

Well, I was on the phone the other day when I looked out the window at our neighbor's house and saw an ambulance, a fire truck, and a patrol unit! I was worried, not only because it's our neighbor, and one of my home teaching families, but because Desiree and the boys were over there playing after school. So I ran over and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature child and a bunch of blood!

Zachary was the victim of what we call 'the rough and tumble' and hit his head on the corner of a wall. There was quite a bit of blood as you can see. The responders from Base Medical said he was fine though and barely had a lump. He didn't have to go to the hospital, but he and Mommy needed a bath and a change of clothes to get rid of the evidence. Here are some great shots. Not for the faint of heart!

Michael's Tooth

Michael, Jr. lost his first tooth! One day it was loose, and the next day it came out at Burger King. When it first got loose he suggested we tie it to a door and slam it like on TV! We just told him to wait. What a big boy.

China

Well, we went to China. I have to say it was pretty amazing. What you may find more amazing is that I ever got around to blogging it. The secret is, the computer is back at the bottom of the stairs. We may be blogging more often now that I don't have to walk up a flight of stairs to do it! Lazy! Oh well. Here are a few pics to get you in the mood, and then Desiree is making an album on her Facebook page with a lot more.


While we were there we met with President Obama during his visit. The kids wouldn't shake hands with him 'cause Mom is a Republican. Quite embarassing.


Desiree met Jackie Chan and thought about trading up. But couldn't get a better deal than eternity!


This was in Tiananmen Square with the famous huge picture of Chairman Mao in the background. General Tsao was nowhere to be found.


This is the Sacred Road of the Ming Tombs, it was amazingly peaceful. Even more amazing since Mike, Jr. and Zach were there! It was one of our favorite places and was lined with statues of animals and soldiers.


The Great Wall was the crown of the trip. We want to go back and climb again. It was amazing to think of all the work and lives that went into this, for good or ill. The Chinese call it the longest tomb in the world. Desiree and I hope it was not just a once in a lifetime opportunity.


This was in Xi An, where thousands of terracotta warriors were buried to escort some emperor to wherever he went. It was pretty cool.


Here is how tourists ham up the emperor's sacred guard. There's one of me around here somewhere also!


These were not the same place, just in the same direction, but Chinese signs were a laugh a minute!


Check out this sign outside the Government Headquarters! Just kidding, it was outside some palace, but still quite funny, and I think it is supposed to say no 'loud' speaking.


This was just a cool building in a fairly popular style in Shanghai.

If you are going to China, go to Beijing. It has the most, best, memorable stuff. Favorites were the Sacred Road, the Great Wall, and the Pearl Market (not just pearls). We had a great time, and wished you were all there with us. More posts to come . . . eventually.

That Boy is a Runnin' Fool

Well, I haven't had a lot of time lately but I wanted to mention that I accomplished a goal this month. It happens on a day to day basis, goal-setting, but this one was a biggie. On August 3rd I overheard a buddy at work talking about how our Chief had challenged him to run 100 miles during the month of August. I asked what the setup was and he said he and the Chief were going to keep track of mileage and do 100 miles total during the month.

I thought about it for a minute, or less, this guy always gives me good ideas. I told him I was in and started that night. Initially I ran 3 miles a night and a couple in the morning through the week, but by the end I was doing 4 1/4 miles a night and finished at a little over 100 miles run that month. I was talking to Desiree about how I used to get a stitch in my side after two minutes of running. I weighed 215 at Graduation in 04 and it took a lot just to finish the 1.5 mile run for the Navy Entry Program.

Ironically, Chief had work responsibilities that kept him off his schedule, and my buddy Lighty got sick and couldn't run for over a week. Neither of them finished. When I was asked, 'Why did you keep going?', I simply said I didn't do it for them. I did it for me. It felt great to get it done, and I really feel proud.

Anyway, the kids are big as fence posts, and twice as smart and Desiree is doing great. And Lighty, the aforementioned buddy, mentioned that we might want to look at the Okinawa Marathon. It is in February, and the 20 week training schedule would start in two weeks to have us ready. I am thinking about it. Love you all, and miss you. Can't wait to be back.

The Slackers

Anyways, sorry we have been such slackers. I still need to figure out how to get the pictures from one computer and put them into this one. Michael is now on graves so life is backwards right now. Some news is that Zachary is 3 now, and doing great with wearing big boy underwear. Yeah!! No more diapers. Also we got a dog named Sheba. The family was PSCing and couldn't take her with them. She is a 5 year old mini dachsund. She was already house trained and kennel trained. She is a very easy first dog. Of course she follows me around like a 2year old child. She is waiting for me by the door even when I take a shower. She is a crazy girl. Now there is some more estrogen in the house. Oh and Michael Jr. was so brave yesterday. He had to get 6 shots for kindergarten. The nurse said he was the best she has seen. He later enjoyed his coconut milkshake from Baskin Robbins. Anyways, thats for now.

Desiree