Southern Fried Half Marthon - Nags Head, NC

Outerbanks Marathon -- Southern Fried Half Marathon

Race recap for state #14 -- North Carolina  11/12/2017


The best part of this race was that my family went along with me.  My mom, wife, daughter, Coral (Keeley's friend), and both boys.  Even better, Valerie and Noble ran in the race, and my mom rode her bicycle along with us.  We drove and had a fun road trip in the motor home.

Registration:

Registration for this race was through raceit.com

 Fee:

I received another discount through the 50 states half marathon club.  The fee was $85 and I got a 10% discount of $8.50 (for all you math averse folks).

The Expo:

The expo was super small.  The smallest expo I have been too.  Some of the races did not have an expo, but of the ones that did, this one was the smallest.  Of course, this was one of the only expos that I had time to kill and was actually interested in looking at some of the "stuff", but it being so small, they did not have what I wanted.  We browsed the exhibitors and bought a couple little things, some Nuun electrolyte tablets and Valerie bought a hoodie.  I really wanted a visor, but they did not have what I wanted. Oh well. 

Shirt:

The shirt was another long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.  Now I am certain that I own more long-sleeved shirts than I have ever owned at one time.

Race Day:

The race was Sunday.  Valerie and Noble and Mom and I got up early and ate breakfast at 5:00am.  Mom drove us to the start.-- which was awesome, because otherwise we werre going to have to walk to the high school about 1.5 miles and take a bus to the start.
The weather was awesome.  It was about 50F.  It warmed up to almost 60F toward the end of my race, but was still nice.  I was a bit concerned the day before because it was in the 40's and super windy.... like 20MPH windy and that made it super cold, but race day was pretty nice.  MUCH less wind and a bit warmer

Race Start Time:

The race start was scheduled for 7:00am.  We started exactly on time.  I was in corral A, Noble was in corral B and Valerie was in corral D.  There was a 2 minute lag between corrals.

Course Map:

The web site is not working at the moment, so I do not have the picture of the course... but the race started in the middle of Nags Head (outer banks) and ran south.  It was pretty flat.  It ran through a neighborhood and around a golf course and the Kitty Hawk dunes (which, BTW I did not even see -- Valerie asked me, "wasn't it pretty?"  I said, "I did not see it!")... then back on the main road south.  There was a turn to the west at about mile 7 or 8 toward Manteo, NC.  Then a steep uphill section, up the bridge 55 feet to the 10 mile marker, then downhill and a right turn  into Manteo where we finished.

I was running 7:40-7:50 until the bridge.  I ran 8:23 up the hill and then in the high 7:50's until the end.  It kind of took the gas out of me.

I finished 7:56 avg per mile 1:43.58  Not too bad.

Transportation:

We drove from Florida to NC.. and back in my mom's motor home -- thanks mom.
We split up the driving between myself, Valerie and Grammie.  I tried to get Keeley to drive in there somewhere, but she would have nothing of it.

Weather:

So glad it was not freezing and super windy!  Thank you Lord!

Race Morning:

As I mentioned, we got up at 5:00 and made breakfast.  The trickiest part of the morning was trying to make sure that we all went to the bathroom adequately before we left.  We had one who couldn't seem to go at all and one that went four times.  not mentioning any names and trying to be as vague as possible.  The runners reading this understand what I mean -- actually I am betting everyone else does too.

Race:

The race was fairly small.  There were 1800 runners in the half, and 1500 finishers of the half.  There were no hiccups, so I am saying it was well run and organized.  The back streets were all blocked off and the main road had one lane blocked off.  It was actually plenty.  I did not feel any issues with traffic.  The Full marathon started 20 minutes after the half, so I did not see any of them.  The mile markers for the half obviously went from 1-13, and we did see the full marathon mile markers, but they did not join our course until they had already run 13 miles, so although we did see the 20th and 24th, etc... mile markers, it was not confusing because we knew those did not apply to us

Water/Food Stations:

There were plenty of water and nutrition stations.  Every 2-3 miles.  They had Gatorade at several stations and water at EVERY station.  There were nutrition gels at two stations.  I skipped the first two water stations again as I was feeling good and just decided to keep up my pace.  I well ahead of the 1:45 or 8:00/mile pacers after mile 3, so I just kept moving.  The next two stations, I had only a sip of water.  I really did not feel like I needed anything until after about mile 8 or 9.  I was pretty tired at mile 10, but that was because of the steep incline.

Scenery:

The scenery was nice.  I apparently missed the Kitty Hawk dunes, but the neighborhoods and the golf course was nice, and it was nice looking around on top of the bridge.  Valerie apparently stopped on the top of the bridge and marveled at the scenery, because, "It was so pretty!!!"  I did not stop.  Noble did not stop either.

Race Entertainment:

There were some nice spectators.  Most of the ones I saw, I saw at regular intervals because they were cheering for a little girl who had to be 9 years old. (there was an age restriction of 13, but there was no way she was 13)... of course Noble is 12, so I understand.  Anyway, she was running right along with me most of the way, until she passed me after mile 12.  Her dad rode his bike ahead and would stop and take pictures and she had fans doing the same thing, so they were there at multiple places cheering her on.  It was sweet.  My mom was doing the same for me, until she lost me.  I was going too fast, she did not think I was that far ahead, so I did not see her after mile 5 or 6 or so.  I remember a couple of entertainment places.  There was a guy in a shark costume and a girl in a pirate costume and a bear at the finish???  Not sure what that was all about.

Finish:

The finish was right in front of our condo.  It was awesome.  The finish area went right up the the entrance to the condo complex... so, after I finished, I waited for Noble and then went and took a shower and came back to meet Valerie.  Keeley, Coral, and Levi had just woken up and still had "sleep" in their eyes, but they strolled out just as I was finishing, so everyone had a cheering section.  Pretty neat.  The announcer called all three of our names and mispronounced each one.

Bling:

The medal was a nice medal.  Now we have three.



















The disappointing part is the post race pictures.  So far, the pictures consist of one area of the race and not even a good angle and not even the finish line

Good thing my mom was there and took some pictures.

Misc:

This was a nice race.  It was well organized and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  I always seem to like the race when I run well.  I felt good and posted a decent time.  sub 8:00 miles is good for me right now.  It was also nice to have the family there and to be able to cheer them on.  I am super proud of my wife and my son.  Neither of them have run that far, ever.. and they both performed great.  Nice to see.   Also it is always nice to have my mom out there riding her bike along with us.

In all, it was a good race.  We made it fun as a family, had a little R&R and a good road trip.. oh yeah and we ran 13.1 miles.

I have Rehoboth Beach Delaware up next on Dec 2.  There is some talk of a Polar something weather pattern something -- it is supposed to be cold.  Snow in December in Delaware?  maybe?  I sure hope not, but we will see.

I also made a weird decision.  I scheduled two races in January.  I will be in Seattle for a week, so I decided to run the Saturday before my course in Washington and the Saturday after the course in California -- yes, that is just 7 days.  The one in Washington is "the rain race".  They schedule it specifically at a time where they expect it to rain. -- odd.  The one in California is at Pebble Beach.  1st time the 17 mile road will be utilized for a race and closed to traffic.  I don't think I will have too much trouble with the recovery time.  I ran Tuesday and Wednesday after this last race which was Sunday, and I feel good.  So, 6 days of recovery should be fine.  I'll let ya know.  Should be fun. 

15 Most Annoying Types of Runners

I just read an article, well it was more like the pejorative "clickbait" type of "article" where you have to click each slide to see the next one rather than simply reading the "article".  It was titled The 15 Most Annoying Types of Runners, and I had to laugh a little because, I think I find myself in 12 or so of them -- that is, many folks would place me squarely in the category of "An Annoying Runner".  Here are the 15 types that they recognized:

1. The Chatty Runner - well, that is definitely not me.  I don't like to talk much anyway, and particularly when I am running.  I am certain that I have missed numerous opportunities to bond with my 12 year old.  Together time and face time for a long time, but instead I told him that I am not likely to talk to him much, so stick with me and we can talk AFTER we run.  That's some great parenting right there.  lol

2.  The One Who Doesn't Understand Pacing - I have definitely had my moments in this area.  Of course, I would love to tell you that I am getting better, alas I still have my meltdowns.

3.  The Stubborn One -  Right off the bat, it may be easy to say that I fit this one pretty well, but they go on to clarify what they mean by stubborn.  They are talking more about the person who just won't let you pass them.  Every time you pass them, they speed up.  I know that is annoying while driving.  I don't like people passing me.  Particularly the closer to the end that I get.  I get super bothered when someone blazes past me at mile 9 or 10.  Where the heck have they been and why when I am about to pass out do they have enough energy to smoke me?  How does that happen?  Of course the difference is I cannot stop them from passing, so I just watch them blow by, cursing under my breath.

4.  The Social Media-Obsessed One -  I certainly would not classify myself as social media-obsessed, but I do post all of my runs and activities on Strava and a few of them make their way on to Facebook.  For me it is a sort of accountability.  I set this goal to run 50 half marathons in 50 states in 50 months, because without a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal), I would not likely accomplish much.  Then, after you create a BHAG, then you tell everyone about it, it is almost like you CANNOT not complete it.  Imagine, literally EVERYONE you know is aware of your goal, your quest and some of them you only see and/or hear from once a year, they ALL ask you, "How's the marathon thing coming?"  How embarrassing would it be to have to tell them ALL that you gave up?  That would suck!

5.  The One That's Naturally Gifted - I have always been fairly athletic, but I certainly would not suggest that I was naturally gifted - at running.  I have suggested all along that I am not a runner.  I feel like I have spent my entire life building a body type for something other than long-distance running, and now I am struggling to change my body type to be more "runner friendly".  For those of you in the know, you understand what I mean is I am fat and need to drop a whole bunch of weight.  Having said that, I have many times been passed by runners who are carrying much more weight around than me.  When I ran my PR in Arizona, I started right up front in the first corral, ran sub 8:00 minute miles -- felt really good about myself, and then at mile 11 I passed a lady who weighed 30 pounds more than me.  HOW DID SHE GET TO MILE 11 IN FRONT OF ME???  It is a mystery to me.  I'm just happy I was able to pass her.
The other aspect to this one is the perspective from the other side.  I have several friends who are secretly mad at me because I decided, with a lack of proper training to go run 50 half marathons, and actually run them, and I was able to just go and do that (for the most part).  I can see how that could be annoying.

6.  The One Who Always Flakes -  This is in reference to your running partner who doesn't show when they are supposed to.  Of course, I do not have a running partner.  I tried to make my son my running partner, but, well... he always flakes.  So, this one does not apply to me.

7.  The One Who Stinks -  This one made me laugh.  I am certain that I do not smell of roses and perfume while I am running or after.  I sweat, a lot.  The part that made me laugh has to do with a trip that I took recently.  I went to Seattle for a week.  I ran almost every day while I was there.  I only had one carry-on sized bag and I packed all of my clothes in zip-locked baggies to compress them and conserve space.  My used workout clothes were all placed in one zip-locked baggie for the trip home.  When my wife opened the bag to sort and wash my clothes from the trip (she is a super special lady - I am blessed), she nearly passed out as they had begun to ferment.  Even after she washed them, they STILL stunk and had to be washed again with vinegar or bleach or hydrochloric acid or something.  Sorry honey!

8.  The Uber Competitive One -- Yeah, I have to admit I am somewhat competitive, and by somewhat I mean, OMGoodness, everything is a competition and losing sucks! :)  I was gonna tell you a funny anecdotal story to make my point, but I think you get the idea, and the stroy ends with me losing, so that would simply be another blow to my fragile ego.

9.  The One Who Makes Excuses - As many of you have read throughout this blog, I have an excuse for everything.  I like to call it a theory of how the negative outcome may have happened, with the expressed purpose of correcting that aspect so as to not ever let it happen again.

10.  The "All Running, All the Time" One - I would not exactly put myself in this category either, as it is important to note that I have other interests and hobbies that I like to talk about - when I am forced to talk.  I think the key here is that it is not so important that we talk about running, however it is important to talk about me and my interests.  Just kidding, but enough about me, let's talk about you for a while.  What do you think of me?

11.  The Not-So-Humble Bragger - So, I suppose it depends on your perspective.  That is, I do not go out of my way to tell people about what I am doing or what I have done, or how well I did it, but people DO ask me a lot.  So, when they ask me, I tell them.  Also, I write this blog and post on social media, so it is all out there.  I don't see it as bragging, but everyone will likely have their own opinion.

12.  The Gear Snob - This one also made me laugh.  As those of you that have read this much know from previous posts that I have tried many things and considered many others.  I have $75 shorts - multiple pairs for heaven's sake.  On the other hand, I don't use my heart monitor and I don't have camel backs or fanny packs or fancy equipment.  Just my Garmin, my fancy shorts and socks and shoes, and then there is the whole ear-bud thing, but I am using them less and less.

13.  The "Your Pace is Fine" One - This one is in reference to running with others who are running slower than you are interested in running, yet you tell them you will run slower with them, but you don't.  I know it has been annoying to my lovely wife on more than one occasion where we would run "together", which means I would run on and circle back around multiple times.  I am sure she hates that.

14.  The Complainer - Have you read my blog?

15.  The Perpetually Injured One - I have been very fortunate that I have only had a couple of minor injuries.  I am betting that they would have healed much faster and without incident or drama if I had only rested properly instead of continuing to race.. but I have an agenda here, ain't nobody got time for injuries.

In recap, I suppose it would be appropriate to apologize to everyone right now for being annoying in many areas.  I get pretty annoyed with myself many times.

We are driving to Nags Head North Carolina.  Leaving this evening.  The race is not 'till Sunday, but the whole family is going, so we are making a trip out of it.  Noble and Valerie are still planning on running, so it should be fun.  Race recap when I return from State #14.

Detroit International Half Marathon race recap

Detroit International Half Marathon

Detroit, MI

Race recap for state #13 -- Michigan.  10/15/2017


This race was an interesting one because it started in Detroit, continued over the bridge to Windsor Canada, along the Detroit River in Canada, then through the tunnel back to Detroit.  There was an option to run a half marathon on the same day also in Detroit that remained in Detroit, not crossing over into Canada, but I elected to run the International half as it sounded like it would be fun.

Registration:

Registration for this race was through imathlete.  

 Fee:

I received a bit of a discount through the 50 states half marathon club , so the fee for this race was $70.00 and a service fee of $5.90 for a total of $75.90.  That was a nice surprise. 

The Expo:

The expo was at the COBO center in downtown Detroit.  It was required to show your passport to receive your bib and race packet.   Once I received my packet, (I had gone straight to the expo from the airport) I and my carry-on luggage attempted to traverse through the expo.  I took a picture of the billboard displaying the course map, then started my way through the expo.  It was difficult to make it thorough the hoards of people with my luggage and I became fairly claustrophobic, so I snuck out the side and found some open field to make my way out to find my lodging. 

I am certain the expo was a good one, I just could not deal with all of the people.  I do have difficulty with crowds of people.

Shirt:

The shirt was another long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.  I believe I now own more long-sleeved shirts than I have ever owned at one time.

Race Day:

The race was Sunday at 7:00am.  We started exactly on time.

The weather was overcast, rainy and windy.  I received an email the evening before the race informing me that the race may be cancelled due to weather and gave instructions on what to do in the event that the race is cancelled in the middle of the race.  They were expecting severe weather and lightning, but we only had some wind and rain... thank God, no lightning.

Race Start Time:

The Half and the full started together and started right at 7:00.  My corral was close to the start, so I was able to hear the Star Spangled Banner and the Canadian National Anthem, sung by the same young man.  It was a nice tribute to the spirit of this race, "two great countries, one great race".  It was still dark at the start.  

Course Map:

The course started in downtown Detroit, then a little loop around the customs area, past all of the customs officers checking that we all had proper race bibs on our shirts.  I did carry my passport, as instructed in the event we were to get stopped.  Then over the bridge to Windsor Canada.

All of these pictures of the race scenery were taken by others and posted on social media.  I copied them here as I do not take photos during the race.

Four or five miles in Canada along the Detroit River, then into the tunnel under the water back to the USA.  I thought the tunnel would be cool, but in retrospect, I think it was my least favorite part of the race.  It was about a mile long and much smaller than I thought it would be.  There was only enough room for two cars to pass through.  There was no sidewalk or easement of any sort.  There was no air condition and no wind.  A few hundred people hot and sweaty in a confined space for about 8 min... and mostly uphill... and relatively steep toward the end.  I had to remove my running hat as I thought I might be overheating.  Not enjoyable, not enjoyable at all.

It was nice to see the US customs and the "light at the end of the tunnel", although I was met with a significant headwind that slowed me down a bit, especially after barely surviving the uphill section of the tunnel. 

Accommodations:

I stayed in a AirBnB again.  It was a simple, small one-room apartment -- studio.  It served its purpose and the location was just 3 or 4 blocks from the start and finish.

Transportation:

Uber ride from the airport to the expo, then I walked to Hard Rock Cafe where my AirBnB was a server.   She gave me the keys as I had lunch.  Then walked to the apartment, and walked everywhere else from there and a Uber back to the airport.

Weather:

I already discussed the weather.  On the course it was just overcast, gray and WINDY.

Race Morning:

Nothing special about race morning.  I walked to the start too early as usual and waited in my corral for the start.

Race:

The race was well organized.  The course was very well marked and contained, particularly around the customs areas.  There were multiple volunteers and race officials that kept order.  There was no confusion about the course direction or where and when or how the races were to split.

Water/Food Stations:

There were plenty of water and nutrition stations.  Every 2-3 miles.  I saw Gatorade and water at EVERY station.  I saw nutrition gels at two stations.  I skipped the first two water stations as I was feeling good and just did not want to get caught in the mess of people.  The next two stations, I had only a sip of water.  I really did not feel like I needed anything until after the tunnel about mile 8 or 9.  I was pretty tired by that point.

Scenery:

The scenery was interesting.  I enjoyed running around the customs loop and over the bridge and along the waters edge.  

Race Entertainment:

It seems like I remember thinking that the entertainment was pretty good for this race, but at the moment I simply cannot remember one of them.  I do remember a very loud speaker playing mostly bass that was located very near a police car and I recall thinking for a significant period of time that the sound was coming from the police car radio.  I was fairly impressed by the output from this vehicle.  As it turns out, it was  a speaker from the nearby DJ.  There was a very nice crowd of smiling and cheering spectators.  One older lady in Canada continually repeated, "You are doing great! You are amazing!"  I said to her, "Thank you for noticing."  She and her friends seemed to get a big laugh out of that.

Finish:

The road leading up to the finish was long and crowded with people cheering and having a good time.  The road past the finish was also long and littered with volunteers  supplying water and chocolate milk and bananas.  I was super hungry for some reason, so I grabbed at least one of everything that I saw.

Bling:

The medal was a nice medal.  I particularly liked the ribbon with the US and Canadian colors.

Misc:

This was a nice race.  It was well organized and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  The course was interesting and all of the people along the way were nice.  I had a good time.  I felt very good throughout the entire race.  With the single exception of the end of the tunnel, I felt good.  Toward the end, I felt fine, but could not seem to make my legs respond.  I would say go faster, but they did not want to move.  Over all, I did well and felt good about my race.

My race wall is filling up.  It is nice to see pins in several states and so many medals.  From one perspective, I have raced a bunch of races.  From another perspective, I have a terribly long way to go.  One foot in front of the other.  One race at a time.

Next race, Nags Head North Carolina.  The whole fam is going and Valerie and Noble will even run the half too.

Chicago Half Marathon

Chicago Half Marathon -- Chicago. IL

Race recap for state #12 -- Illinois.  9/24/2017


This picture pretty much sums up the race for me in Chicago.  It was hot and I struggled.  More accurately, I had a bit of a melt-down.  This was not a great race for me, but I finished and was happy to be finished.

Registration:

Another registration through Athlinks.  Easy registration, multiple questions and multiple pages to navigate, but easy enough.

 Fee:

The fee for this on was $95.00 and a service fee of $8.41 for a total of $103.41. 

The Expo:

The expo was at Soldier Field.  The entire expo was designed to force the participants to walk through all of the vendor exhibits... twice.

First you had to walk all the way through the concourse to get your race bib, then you had to walk all the way back and around the other way to get your shirt and packet.  I understand the marketing behind it, but it was a bit annoying.

Shirt:

The shirt was another long-sleeved wicking, tech shirt.  I am thinking of cutting off the sleeves of several of these shirts that I am receiving to make them something I can wear more than twice a year.

Race Day:

The race was Sunday at 7:00am.  We started exactly on time.

The weather was 76F at 5:00 am, so I was a little worried about how hot it might be, but figured I would be through before 9:00am so it should not be too bad.  Well, it did warm up and rose to about 89F before I finished and 95F some time after I finished.  It was hotter in Chicago than it was in Tampa.

Race Start Time:

The Half started at 7:00 and the 5 K started at 7:30.  I was long gone by then, so I never saw the 5k.  Although, at about the 5K mark, I was considering making this race a 5K for me instead of the half.  For some reason, I got flush and dizzy just before mile 3.  Had to slow significantly.

Course Map:

The course started in Jackson Park and then on to Lakeshore Dr.  They blocked off the road north bound and south bound.  There was lots of room.  The course went North up Lakshore and then turned around and came back.  I was focused on ways to cross the median and hide for a minute and then come out on the other side essentially saving myself several miles.  I very much wanted to quit for most of the race.  It was not pretty.  really though my training was decent for this race, and was expecting a good time on this flat course.  It did not happen.

This is a picture of me making a concerted effort to smile for the camera.  The best I could muster was a pained look of constipation.  (that might have actually been better)


Accommodations:

I stayed in a AirBnB with Noble and my friend from Illinois.  It was a two bedroom 2.5 bath apartment just a few blocks from the start and finish.  Although it took me 40 minutes to walk back from the finish because I was disoriented and wasn't real sure where I was or where I was going for a while.  Once I figured it out, I was a few blocks too far.

Transportation:

My buddy picked us up from the airport and took us to the apartment.  He brought some bikes with him and pretty much all of our transportation was by bike for 3 days.  The weather was clear and sunny, so we felt like the rides would be fun.  I wonder if all that riding depleted my energy??

Weather:

Weather was great for sight seeing, which we did.  

But it was hotter than I wanted for the race.

Race Morning:

I walked to the start at about 6:20am  Got there about 6:40am, waited in my corral, then the race started.  I really did not talk to anyone, just waited there and then went off for a little jog around the park.  My buddy and Noble rode their bikes and I saw them a couple of times for the first mile, then they went of running errands.  I suppose watching my run is a bit boring.

Race:

The race was well organized.  The start was clean and much easier than some of the other races.  The course was well marked and the roads were wide... plenty of room, which was really nice.  There was very little dodging of racers.  This was my favorite part of the race.

Water/Food Stations:

There were plenty of water and nutrition stations.  Every 2-3 miles.  I saw Gatorade and water at EVERY station.  And they were offering cups of ice at every station on the return -- after the turn around. I saw nutrition gels at two other stations.  The water stations were long, which was helpful because I had fallen back to where all of the stoppers were.  That is, they get their drink at the water station, then stop and walk.  This clogs up the entire station and causes pileups and congestion.  So, I would run to the end of the station, passing all of the stopped runners, then get my drink from the last volunteer... then, of course I would stop.  It was just that kind of race for me.

Scenery:

The scenery was nice, It was a very nice venue along the water's edge.  Had I not had my head down, sweat in my eyes and blurred vision, I would have really enjoyed it.

Race Entertainment:

There really little entertainment that I noticed.  A few DJ's (who were motivating and fun), and one guy with curly red hair, a shirt pulled up to expose his belly and a cow bell.  He banged the cowbell for at least 2 hours and presumably longer.  Plenty of spectators and many were cheering.  Some sitting on the median (the one I wanted to jump over and cross to the other side), some on the side of the road.

Finish:

The finish was crowded with people cheering and having a good time.  They were encouraging all of the runners.  That was nice.  I was very happy to be finished.  I skipped all of the after party and food and drink, pictures, etc.  I just sort of wandered around lost until I figured out where I was.

Bling:

The Medal was the largest medal I have received so far.  I was surprised how big it is and how heavy it is.

Misc:

I suppose everybody has a bad race from time to time.  This was a bad race for me.  I was definitely hydrated adequately, but my nutrition was not the best and I did spend the previous two days out in the sun walking and biking (we were biking fairly hard).  I thought maybe I would be all loose and physically prepared... or maybe I just wore myself out??

I felt like my training was good for this race.  So, not really sure what it was, but it was not my day.  It was not my worst race, Kiawah still gets that designation, but it was close.  I would have thought that I would be getting better after 12 of these races, but that does not appear to be the case.  It will be interesting to see what happens next.

Next stop, Detroit international half.  It starts in Detroit, crosses over into Canada and back to Detroit.  Sounds interesting.  Hope I do better.

Bynum -- Hurricane Irma -- Update

I realize that this blog was originally started as a running blog to update anyone and everyone who was interested in knowing more about my progress with the 50 half marathons in 50 states in 50 months goal that I have set for myself.... BUT... there appears to be a little storm brewing out in the Atlantic and there are several family and friends who are interested to know what is happening down here in Florida.  So, this particular blog I will use to update whoever cares what's happening from my limited perspective.

I will keep it chronological, so you don't have to read the whole thing.  Just scroll down to the time that you are interested in and read from there.

Saturday, September 9, 2:25pm 

I just got back from a run.  The weather is really nice, although there was a bit of a headwind on the run back.  So, I ran 4 miles out, then did interval sprints heading East into the wind.   Ran 5 intervals, walking in between, then jogged back almost a mile.  Almost 7 miles total.  Here is the current weather conditions in Valrico Florida.  Just East of Tampa.



So far today I have driven to the lake house in Winter Haven and moved everything off the patio into the house.  We will likely lose the screen, but I did not want any of our patio furniture flying through the air into the neighbors house.  Just about all of the neighbors there are staying around.  They have stayed for all of the storms since they have lived there.  They intend to watch out for our house since we will not be there.

Valerie and Keeley have moved all of the movable stuff out of our yard here at our house in Valrico and moved it all into the garage.  We have taken important papers and money and some clothing, etc. and placed it into vacuum sealed bags just in case we take on water.  (BTW.  It appears as if the story of putting your valuables in the dishwasher for safe keeping from the water is not an accurate story.   I hope we don't have to test it.)  We have removed all of the pictures off the walls in case they were to get knocked off.  It only took a few minutes and would potentially save us from having to clean up broken glass.  It looks like we are moving.  Where is that moving truck anyway?



The boys are busy playing in the yard and swimming in the neighbor's pool.




We have plenty of food and plenty of water, frozen and unfrozen.  All of our devices are charged up.  We have flashlights and batteries and candles and propane and a gas grill.  5 or six of our immediate neighbors have a generator and have told us that we could use their refrigerator or whatever we need if we need.

We have had multiple friends offer to help us if we are in a worse position than they find themselves and vise versa.

My mom has invited us over to her house on the other coast.  I am pretty sure she is not happy with me for not accepting her invitation.

I have my office three miles away that has everything we might need and could function as a house in the event that this one and the lake house are inoperable.

3:00 pm Sat.  Sept. 9


The latest track of hurricane Irma shows her pushing further and further West.  Generally speaking about a hurricane in the Atlantic, we would pray that it push off to the East so it does not impact anyone.... and it often does just that.  This one appears to want to keep pushing West, which puts those of us on the West side of Florida at risk.  If there is any good news for us, it would be that the storm has downgraded to Category 3 -- for now. -- and could potentially continue to push West and miss Florida all together.  The downside to that is the potential for damage to the panhandle and/or Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.

Please keep in mind that what you see on the news is not what is happening right now in the state of Florida.  There is certainly danger, but that danger would not be until Sunday evening or so.  I will keep you updated here.  Right now we are making sure that we are prepared, but we are not freaking out.  There will most certainly be wind and wetness.  There could be flooding and we might lose some possessions.  We are about 40 miles inland from the coast.  We are NOT in a flood zone.  We are NOT in a mandatory evacuation zone.  We are NOT being stupid or unsafe.  We are NOT worried about our possessions.  We have taken precautions and we have decided to stay home and see what happens and deal with it when it does.  The children are well aware of what is happening and they are in NO danger.  We have a few safe places in our home, near the center,  that have no windows and nothing that could fly around and hurt someone.  No one is looting, not even us, lol.  Valerie is planning some hamburgers on the grill for dinner this evening.  I'm hungry... and tired.

Stay tuned if you are interested.  We love you all and thank you for your concern and support and prayers and offers.

4:15pm
The extreme outer bands have reached the area.  Light winds only.  A little cloudy.  We are expecting rain soon.


7:40 pm
Very light winds.  Darker than normal because of the clouds.  A couple of small rain drops, but nothing really.  I would not even take an umbrella if I were going out.  In fact, Valerie and I went out to a friend's house and had a nice prayer meeting a few minutes ago and the windshield wipers did not even come on.  The forecast looks like it is still pushing West a bit and moving slower than they anticipated.  Still downgraded to Cat 3.  Looks like it is not forecasted to be over us until 2:00 am Monday morning.  I guess I will not be working on Monday and possibly Tuesday either. (Is it possible that this storm was created and planned by my employees in an effort to get a vacation???... hmmm....)


10:00 pm Saturday

Still pretty much the same.  It appears that the storm slowed a bit over Cuba and decreased in intensity all the while heading West.  The latest track shows much of the same as the above.  The satellite image shows that Irma has started to turn slightly to the North as predicted.  So, it looks like the previous projections are proving accurate.  I am waiting for the 11:00 pm advisory, then off to bed.  The weather outside is calm and normal.  You wold never know we were about to get 100+ mph wind gusts.  The air-condition is working hard keeping us cool.  I am not looking forward to the power going out and losing the A/C.  Not sure I will make it till 11:00.  I may get to bed and get a good rest. -- Well, now that I think about it, I am watching football, so I'll probably stay up for a while.

11:22 pm Saturday

The 11:00 advisory shows that Irma did begin to move NorthWest.  But continued to move West.  This report also suggests a decrease in the storm intensity to Cat 3.  Currently the forecast shows the storm hitting land in roughly the same spot, around late Sunday evening, but kind of brushing the West coast of Florida and at something lower/smaller than Cat 3 -- winds around 110 mph (much better).   Potentially she continues West and the worst of the storm happens out in the Gulf and affects no one.  The european model is the next advisory and it does not come out until 2:00am.  I am certain that I will not stay up for that.  I'll sleep soundly knowing that God is in control.  We will see what she looks like in the morning.  Good night all. Thanks for your prayers.

6:49 am Sunday, Sept.10

Good morning.  We got a good night's sleep last night.  It rained, but that is not atypical and it was a typical type of a rain.  No significant wind noticed.  Just some rain. This is the view out my front door.  Looks like a normal day after a night of rain.  Not uncommon. (Noble mowed the yard Friday, so it still looks good.)  I'll take a contrasting picture after the storm, but before I make him go back out there and clean up the debris, lol.)



Irma appears to have begun her expected trip up to the North.  Over night her path appears to have been straight North.  The 6:00 am advisory shows her expected path to be brushing the West coast of Florida and on land in our area somewhere around 2:00am Monday.



I am praying for anyone still in the Florida Keys and for those who have left their homes.  Some models have her at Cat 4 and others have her at Cat 3 at the moment... a big storm either way and will leave a lot of damage in her wake in Key West.

We are safe and in good shape -- for the moment.  The kids and Valerie are still sleeping.  Now it is time for some God time and start my day.  I'll keep you updated.

8:34 am Sunday

I just had to check my pulse because I thought I might be dead.  Watching the news, it appears as if I am dead or dying.  The good news, or bad news depending on who you are, is I am NOT dead.  I DO have a pulse, and my roof is still on my house.  I find that I can only watch the news in short bursts.  I am not at all nervous.  At least not until I hear all of the doomsday reporting.

There is a rain band over the area at the moment.  Light rain, light wind.  We are NOT in danger.  We are NOT running scared.  Keeley is still sleeping soundly.  We have power and Valerie is making waffles. (I had leftover Chinese food for breakfast :)~ ).

Our plans for today are to relax and spend some time together as a family, enjoying each other's company.  We will play some board games, watch some animated movies, tell some stories.  Our big plans for the day as it relates to planning for the storm is to make sure that we have everything prepared for the eventual and inevitable loss of power.  We WILL lose power.  When and for how long are the only variables.

Church is cancelled today.  I will update when there is anything different to report. -- or maybe sooner as I might get bored.  OK... probably sooner.  Chances are I will not run today.  Maybe I will "run" on the elliptical.   Oooh, that's a good idea.  Hope you all have a great day!!

11:29am

Just like a woman, this storm is being a little stubborn and a little unpredictable. (yes ladies, you could substitute "man" in that last sentence for "woman".  That would be OK).  Irma has move East a bit and then straight North.  It appears if she will make contact Florida south of the Naples area.  If this is the case, then it will be devastating for them, and will likely weaken the storm significantly for us.  

I read earlier that this period of waiting on Irma is like waiting for your father to come home to give you a beating and the media is like your mother threatening you saying, "You wait till your father gets home!"

We are experiencing rain.  It has been raining steadily for 3-4 hours now.  There are some wind gusts about 30mph, but not sustained winds.  Mostly it is just a bit breezy and rainy. We still have power and water and no trees down at the moment.  Irma is currently listed at a Cat 4, but expected to weaken again to Cat3 once it makes land fall and then weaken significantly from there.  If the current projected path remains constant, that would put the eye on our East side and this would give us southern winds instead of northern winds, which they say will be MUCH better for us.  We are praying for the First Responders who are willingly placing themselves in harms way and their families.  We are also praying for those in and from the Naples and Marco Island areas.

Keeley is still sleeping.

Time to prepare for lunch:


12:45 pm Sunday

Nothing new to report -- but it is a party in the driveway.


3:35 pm Sunday

Keeley woke up in time for lunch.

Good news/bad news -- really just depends on your perspective.  Irma has not yet hit land in Florida... but is due to make landfall right about Naples/Marco Island within an hour.  She is currently pushing winds of 120mph.  That is a weak Cat 3.  When it hits land, it will weaken further.  They are suggesting that it will continue north on land toward Tampa, but it will be weakening all the way, so it may be at Cat 1 by the time it gets here.  She has tracked straight North for several hours.  So, they are fairly confident in the projected path.  The next official track will come out at 5:00pm.

I tried to workout on the elliptical.  I rode it for 30 min on its highest speed, but I did not feel like I got enough of a workout, so I decided to go for a run.  I ran a little 5k around the neighborhood.  It is like a ghost town out there.  I saw maybe twelve cars, and I ran on the major highway in our town.  All of the stores were closed and it was raining with a light wind.  A little spooky without anyone around.  For a minute, I started to wonder if I got "left behind".  I ran down one road and there was a large tree down in the middle of the road and one of the homeowners got out his big utility truck and some chains and tried to pull the tree off the road.  I stopped and helped him tie the chains around the tree and to the trailer hitch.  He almost had it off the road when another homeowner came running out barefooted, bald with a rain coat and a beer and began screaming obscenities at this man.  The best I could tell through all of the cuss words, the bald guy was expressing his concern that the good citizen would "mess" up and pull down the power line and bleep, bleep, bleeping, bleep, bleep.  Of course, the good citizen screamed back to the bald guy something about bleeping, bleep, with live bleeping power every bleeping day.  It got fairly heated and they were not happy with each other and were getting very close to each other.  I restarted my watch and ran the rest of the way home.  I think they both had everyone's best interests at heart, but unable to communicate effectively with each other.  Sad, but I did not want to be a part of it.  I hope they got it worked out.  I did see a TECO truck headed that way, not sure if they were called to the scene or not.  I hope they worked it out.

Wind is starting to pick up.  We just heard a tree break behind our house, but we did not hear it land.

We were just informed that the sewage lift station in our neighborhood has already failed and we are asked to limit our usage of the facilities.  Awesome.  Oh well, I guess I'll shower outside.  More later if I am able. still have power, still have water, still have a pulse. -- and faith!

6:27pm Sunday

We are starting to "feel" the effects of the storm.  The wind is picking up and the rain is steady.  Trees are starting to fall and break branches.



The retention pond in the back is starting to take on water.
We expect to lose power any time now as a tree or branch will likely fall and take out a power line.
The kids are getting cleaned up and ready for bed.  We have all had a hot meal and are prepared to be without power for as long as it takes.  The latest advisory still shows Tampa in the target of the middle of this storm, but the winds are slowing.  We are expecting a Cat 1.

Just heard another tree branch fall in the back yard.

All of our devices are charged up to 100%.  I will keep you updated if and when I am able.  Ready for some board games.

7:26 pm

Looks like she still want to aim right for us, but she is slowing down.  Currently a Cat 2.  Still projecting a Cat 1 by the time it gets to Tampa.  Wind is continuing to pick up.  Power has flickered off and back on several times.  We imagine it will be soon when we lose power all together.  

The forecast is that we will not be sleeping much tonight.  Trees and branches continuing to crack and break and fall.  BTW... IF I NEVER HEAR THE WORDS HUNKER DOWN AGAIN, IT WILL BE TOO SOON!

9:00 pm Sunday



Amazingly we still have power and internet and water and cell service.  Lots of rain.  More and more wind.  Tree branches are cracking and falling all around us, but so far there does not appear to be any damage.  The storm is just south of us right now and headed this way.  But, as you can see from the graphic above, the wind speeds are still decreasing.  We are expecting 70-85 mph winds when it gets here -- which should be around 2:00 am.  wind speeds are about 40-45mph right now.  All of the rain is enough to take down the tree branches and even some trees.  Add in some heavy and sustained winds, and the trees, if not just the branches come down around us.  So far so good though.

Kids are playing games and we are just chillin.  God is good! and we are doing great.  Might be a rough night, but it looks like we are going to be way better off than anyone thought.  This was close to being catastrophic.  Thankful that this will be minimal.  Praying for those in and from the Naples area and all of those affected by flooding in the Miami area.

I am hoping for a restful nights sleep.  Hoping that we are not woken by a tree in the house or anything like that.

10:10 pm

Still have power, somehow.  Winds are picking up.  we are seeing sustained 40 mph and gusts up to 50-60.  I am guessing a little and following along with the abc live feed.  Storm is still heading North and moving faster, but wind speeds are still decreasing.  Also storm has continued directly north, so the center appears as if it might pass by us a little to the east.  Still expecting 70-85mph sustained winds somewhere 12:00-2:00 am.

My concern is what will happen after the storm passes.  Sounds weird, I know, but what happened in Naples may happen here as well.  The storm sucked out all of the water and when the storm passed it pushed all the water back in and the storm surge as well, which flooded Naples.  Naples, FL (164 miles south of here) -- below -- appears to be flooded pretty good.


The same thing MAY happen here.  Earlier today they showed pictures of Tampa Bay.  People were walking on the bay.  The water used to be there... but the storm sucked it out.  People were walking out what looked like more than a couple hundred yards.  Normally they would be under water.

So, when the storm passes and the storm surge comes back in with all of that water.  I wonder if we will have some problems.  As I mentioned, we are about 40 miles from the coast, but closer to the bay.  I am guessing about 20 miles east of the bay.  Either way, there may be a bunch of flooding in the Tampa area... same as in Naples.  Also, there was apparently a great deal of flooding in Miami too.  This could be a problem for us.  Not sure how it will play out.  I'll update you tomorrow if I can.  Pray for no flooding.  Thanks!!!

1:00 am Monday, Sept. 11

It appears as if we have weathered the worst of the storm.  The storm is just passed us to the north.  It passed by us with winds of 100-110 -- a Cat 2.  The reports suggest that we sustained wind gusts of 85mph.  It was certainly windy.  Trees were cracking and branches falling, but as far as we can tell nothing has damaged the house.  I have not been to my office, but our house seems to be fine at the moment.  I will report what I find in the  morning.

Winter Haven is reported have taken the highest winds in our area -- of course that is where the lake house is.  I suppose I will drive over there tomorrow and check out the damage.  Oh well.  The family is safe and the winds have died down.  The kids are now sleeping and all appears to be well.  There is still some concern about flooding with the storm surge.  Hoping and praying that we do not have the significant flooding like Naples and Miami.

We have maintained power the entire time.  Valerie just told me that the lamp post outside our front door is missing... gone... weird.  We were spared the major damage.  So thankful as many, myself included thought this was going to be much worse.  Praise God.

Still praying for others who were affected more than us.

5:10 am Monday

Managed to get a few hours sleep.  Something woke me, but everyone else is still sleeping.  The house is fine.  It is still very windy.  The back side of the storm is still affecting us.  I have no idea if there is any further damage at this moment, but I think we fared very well and we are extremely thankful that we were spared here.  Valerie and the kids are safe and comfortable, in their own beds.    We still have power.  The flooding that I was concerned about does not appear to be a major issue yet, but the news is suggesting that there may still be some flooding.

This morning I will go check on the neighbors and my office and the lake house.  Winter Haven apparently took a beating. THINGS can be replaced.  We are not at all concerned.  Just thankful we are all safe.  Thank God!!

8:45 am Monday

I went out to the office to check on the status there.  It took me a while longer than usual to get there as I had to change roads multiple times because there are trees down over the roads everywhere.  I saw no less than ten trees down and laying on the road.  Many of them had taken the power lines with them.  Miraculously the office is fine.  The power is off because of the downed trees, but otherwise in fine shape -- which is good because last year I remember the same scenario.  It cost me about $15,000 in tree removal alone.  Not so bad this year.

We have little trees down in the yard here at the house and the lamp post is not gone.  It did not disappear,  but it did fall over.  We will have some clean up to do , but nothing structural.

There are a few houses in the neighborhood that have trees fallen on them.  No one appears injured, just some minor house damage.

We are headed over to the lake to see what kind of damage is there.  I don't think we will fare so well there, but we will see.

It is still windy and some heavy gusts, but Irma has passed us and we are confident this is the worst of the damage.  Here is a picture of the back yard at the moment.  Could definitely have been worse!!

Thanks for all of your prayers and support.

We are going to start the clean up now.

God bless you.  Have a great day.