A Very Happy Father's Day

Taken a few years ago at Zion's National Park, yet still my favorite pix of the kiddos. The oldest (second from the Left) will be 12 in October. In honor of being their Dad for nearly 12 years - I ran 12 miles yesterday AM.

If any of ya have been following this Blog long or any short amount time. You know WHY I run. There are many good reasons to run. Yet, for me, I run for the 4 reasons above - my Kiddo's. In fact, pretty much all my reasons in, and for life are pictured above.

The run? went well. Early AM due to 9:00 AM Church and upper 90's heat for the day. Odd I am saying upper 90's. Usually we are  5-7 degrees warmer this time of year. When I left the house at 4:30 AM for the run - only 76 degrees. Very nice.

I enjoy early AM runs, at least once I start them. I DO NOT like waking up for them though. It is a forced pleasure. Love seeing that big ball of fire rise over the Mojave. Yet, even more than that - I like the feeling of solitude. The streets are mine. ALL mine. Except for the other runner with the German Shepard who wanted to eat me. The Dog, not the Runner. :)

Very smooth run in preparation for a possible race this weekend as well. Running with the Devil. Yep, not my favorite name either, but it is titled that for the Triple digit heat at race time. Well, possibly at the end of race time. The Half Marathon starts at 6:30 AM, and given our cooler than normal weather of late - it might be low 90's by the finish. Or, that could be just wishful thinking on my part. The race itself could just be wishful thinking as well.

It is a local race organization that puts it on, Calico Racing. I have done their races before. To be honest to only mixed reviews on my part. ALL of their races are HARD and a few are a bit ridiculous. Kinda like Running with the Devil! There are multiple events for the Devil run - 50 miler, Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and yes even a 5K. My reviews are mixed because ultimately I have enjoyed the overall experience. I like meeting local runners and we get a lot of towners for the events. Pretty well organized event with runners as volunteers. You get credit for other Calico events if you volunteer. So you have water stations with people who really KNOW what you need, and are going through.

Yet, given all this - the person whom is Calico Racing - you would think would be a tad more congenial and have fun with it all. She has rubbed more than a few the wrong way. Plus, well, as I said before - the races are hard, and you feel beaten to a pulp afterwards.

There in lies the rub. I am just not up, to getting beat up right now. Still not sure from week to week if my Achilles will hold up at times. The steep and rolling hills on the course concern me with regards to that. I did have a solid Hill training run last week. Also, put in two tempo runs and some decent mileage with over 30 for the week. Yet, my calves are really tight and stiff. I will take today off, and most likely tomorrow as well. Then hit the pavement with Husky Puppy for a shorty 5K on Wednesday. Will see how it goes after that?

Anyway, the rest of my Fathers Day - PERFECT! My little Runner Girl, was Singer Girl at Church. She sang a solo in front of the 150 people or more in the congregation. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! As most of you may know - my Runner/ Soccer/Straight A Honor Roll/Singer Girl - has her Daddy wrapped around her finger. She is the Apple of my Eye.

We also ATE way too MUCH! BBQ (Bubba Q) pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, watermelon, BBQ beans and copious amounts of Lemonade and Strawberry Shortcake. THE BEST!

Happy Belated Day to all the GREAT Dad's out there as well!

Cheers!