Blog Vacation

I haven't felt much like posting updates lately?

My running has been going fairly well after the marathon. I ran a 5K the Friday after the pig, and what a disaster. My legs felt like mush and I was about 30 seconds per mile slower than the last PR.

Now for the good news...the pictures below are from Asheville, NC - I ran the Biltmore 15K at the Biltmore Estate this morning, and ran my fastest race ever for a distance over five miles. The official time was 1:13:30 - that calculates to a 7:54 mile!!! I was so excited...the grounds were beautiful and this was my first sub 8-minute pace other than a 5K.

The picture at the left was from the Expo at the Flying Pig Marathon. They had all these pigs decorated for the race - hysterical. I am still in the afterglow from the race and find myself dreaming about it at least once a week. I am looking forward to running another, but can't decide where or when? I'm taking recommendations...just leave me a comment below.

On the school front...I started summer semester last week. I'm only taking one class - Information Systems Management, so I'm hoping it is manageable. I am really looking forward to getting back on campus next month. After my finals last semester I am kinda pumped. I ended up getting a perfect score on my strategy course and a 97 on my health policy final. Not bad, I felt pretty good when I submitted them, but an ace was beyond my expectation.

Dad and I are heading to Michigan for our annual Poplin Fishing Trip, so look for pictures next week sometime.

Diggin' the Pig!

Just wanted to post a quick note to all of you have been so supportive in preparation for my first shot at the Flying Pig Marathon. I'm heading out the door for the airport, but will follow-up tomorrow with a mile-by-mile snapshot of what was going through my mind (not always PG rated mind you) during the race. It was an amazing and humbling experience and I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you.

Thanks to...Toni for being there at the points along the way. Her support and encouragement was more than I deserved.

Thanks to...Grandma for providing a nice crash pad and a GREAT pre-race dinner.

Thanks to...The Latham Clan for the amazing post-race surprise party. What a cool way to share a great day.

Thanks to...Bruce Poplin for letting me join their Saturday morning loop. Trying to hold onto my cash was a pleasant diversion and walking 18 holes made for a good stretch.

Thanks to...Chris Elkins of "Run For Your Life" for hooking me up with the great tech shirt and letting me wear the RFYL logo during the race.

Thanks to...Team Rabbino for being my unofficial coaches/training partners and willing me to the starting line.

Thanks to...all the great friends that have been watching my progress and encouraging me before and after the race. I appreciate you all; Benny, Steve, JK, Dev, TRBL, Chris, Tracerhawk, and the rest of the BrianTV viewing audience.

By the way...I finished in 4:09:26 - right on my training pace!

Piggin' Out

Well, we leave in the morning for the Flying Pig. My training is finished and now all that is left is the 26.2 to the finish line. Hopefully, the practice will pay off.

This is the last post until after I get back...so thanks to all of you for supporting me. I am nervous and wonder how I will do, but there is no backing out now.

Here are a couple pictures from the Wachovia Championship Pro-Am this week. BH - doesn't Jordan's swing look a lot like yours???

Hell Week

This has been one crazy week!

It all started last Sunday as I was hoping to get a long run in before beginning my marathon taper. Having pushed off the run to get in the Charlotte Half Marathon, I thought a nice 20-mile morning jog would be a great way to cap my training. Then, I woke up. My stomach felt like a stampede was heading through, and I returned home before even starting my run.

I should have known that when I fell back to sleep for three hours, the run was doomed but I felt better around two o'clock and thought "hey, let's go". A bad idea gets worse. Now a run in the 85 degree heat is coming - and a long afternoon of puking set me up for a week that I really needed my "A" game.

By Monday morning I felt better and kicked off my team meeting at work with a great series of discussions that helped me feel better about puting off the impending Health Policy Final due Sunday night. Monday turned into Friday and the week had passed with little advancement on my final.
Saturday proved to be the turning point. In a desperate effort to atone for my ill fated run last weekend, I had two solid performances during the week and nailed a PR at the Skyline CPCC 5K. I ran the course in 21:38, better than 7 minute miles!

The majority of Saturday night was spent nailing down my final with a brief interruption for a sunrise 11-miler Sunday morning. After my run (the last long run before the Pig) I settled down for a push to the finish on my paper. As I update this blog, the submission has been in to the professor for a solid 23 minutes - 20 minutes ahead of the deadline...

So now you know why the updates have been non-existent this week. Hopefully, I will do a better job this week and will also try to post an update on the marathon...one week from today. In the meantime, I better get started on my Strategic Management Final - it's due Tuesday by midnight!

Medical University of South Carolina

College of Health Professions

The Chef is in the House

At the request of my buddy Chris, the blog is getting a visit from Chef Brian. Tonight was a good night in the kitchen and I wanted to share a new recipe I've been working on for roasted chicken. If you haven't tried beer-can chicken you are in for a treat. The recipe on the back of the holder is a little weak, so here is what I've come up with so far.

Beer Can in the Ass Chicken

>Use a can opener to remove the top of a beer can and remove about half of the beer (drink it sissy).

>Add a tablespoon of Liquid Smoke to the can and place it in the holder.

>Sit the holder (you can get one at any cooking store) in a baking pan and preheat the oven to 350 - I like convection roasting for the even browning, but a regular oven works.

>Mix equal parts; cracked pepper, Hungarian paprika, dry Italian herbs, and sea salt in a small bowl and set aside for a minute.

>Rinse a whole organic chicken and pat dry. Coat the outside of the chicken with olive oil or vegtable oil and then pat the dry mixture around the outside on the skin. Now the fun part...

>Sit the chicken on top of the holder (ouch...that hurts) and shove a cut lemon in the neck hole to prevent the steam from escaping.

>Place the pan in the oven.

>Roast until the internal thigh temperature reaches 180 degrees and remove. Let rest for 10 minutes and then enjoy being "The Man" as your significant other enjoys a succulent bird!

FORE - (tune) Cookies

Golf Season is finally here...well, sort of. This picture is from the "Coach's Cup" tournament last year. Ralph and I were taken to the woodshed by Al and Sean shortly after this picture was snapped. It one of several beatings I would take that weekend, but at least the beer was cold.
This afternoon storms ripped through the southeast and I spent most of my time thinking about playing golf while procrastinating over the papers that are due by the end of the month. I'm not sure which is more daunting, the research papers or the marathon. Both have a victorious finish line that follows months/years of hard work?
Last night while Toni was catching up on her rest, I treated myself to Sushi at one of my favorite restaurants; "Bonsai" in Davidson. It was a stormy outside and the combination of a hard run and a big plate of sashimi prepared by Simon was awesome. I took along the book I'm reading "Atlas Shrugged" and spent most of the evening reading. When I got ready to leave my fortune cookie had the quote - "your hard work is about to pay off". Go figure? I wonder how they know?

Racefest

Do you ever wonder where the days go?

It is 24 days until the Flying Pig Marathon and my mileage was supposed to peak tomorrow, but I decided on a two week taper instead of three. Making the change gave me the opportunity to run the Charlotte Racefest Half-Marathon this morning. One more race under my belt before wrestling with the Pig. I finished in 1:49:32 and felt pretty good. Unfortunately, I didn't plan very well and had my 7-mile tempo run the night before which made the 13.1 today a bit slower than I would have liked. Hopefully, my peak run next week will be a good trek and finish my preparation.

On the home front, it has been an awful week for Toni. She spent most of the week in bed and didn't move much except for a couple trips to see the doctor. Were not sure what it was, but the thing knocked her down hard. She's on the mend now and getting ready for a vacation home to see her parents this Thursday. I'm sure it will be a good trip.


This billboard came in an email a while back...I thought I lost it when I upgraded my computer, but found it again looking for a couple files.

Does this mean only married or ugly people drive convertibles?