When I was a kid there was nothing more that I wanted be than an architect. More importantly I wanted to be Frank Lloyd Wright. I’d spend countless hours drawing houses and reading up on my idol. As anyone knows anything about Frank Lloyd Wright he amassed an impressive collection of Asian prints. His love of the art resonated in his designs throughout his career, but none more than his design for the Imperial Hotel in Japan. Through my studies of Wright it introduced me to whole new world that helped me immensely with my studies in fine arts in college. While I did not go on to become that architect I had wanted to be it was the young exposure of Asian art that still carries with me to this day as a graphic and interactive designer. I’d love to attend #GlimpsesofAsia to relive those young childhood memories and hear from experts in the field and become inspired for new projects.

Thanks.

I recently started receiving Runner’s World magazine and the January 2011 edition has an article listing the “first timer” marathon favorites. To my surprise Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon is listed as one of the top ten marathons for beginners. I kept going back to the page thinking about it more and more. It dawned on me that Kate has lots of relatives in the Cincy area and what better way to have a family gathering that didn’t involve a funeral or wedding than a marathon? That was that. I committed to running a full marathon a year earlier than planned.

I notified family and now on May 1st I will be torturing my feet and body for the greater good of bringing lots of extended family together in The Queen City. Training starts now. I sure hope I know what I’m getting myself into. No backing out now. I am officially registered to be one of the 16 thousand plus runners.

Stay tuned.

Glad those fears went away. I worked my butt off to get back into 10k shape 2 weeks before the race. I even ran one time in the rain just so I was prepared for this kooky Cleveland, Ohio weather just in case.

I ran twice that week of the race, but then I rested for two days before the race. I’m so glad I did that. It helped. I usually have been going every other day for runs, but an extra day of rest helped in this case. Race day couldn’t have been anymore beautiful and perfect out. 55 and sunny. Flat course. Not many runners. I will certainly run this race again. Loved it. The scenery was awesome.

The most memorable thing about the run was that my four year old daughter had made the request to cross the finish line with me. Of course how could I resist that? I ran a couple of minutes above my usual pace and sure enough at the end I crossed that line with my daughter’s hand in mine. A moment I will always cherish.

The time: 55:36 with an average pace of 8:57/mile. 79th overall (out of 140) and 9th place out of 10 in my age group. (I was a full 5 minutes faster than the last place for my group.) I was also faster than several people almost ten years younger. I am very happy with the results. Especially since I had only been training for a 10k 6 weeks prior to the race.

Next up… Quite possibly it will be the Cleveland 10 Miler, but till then I will be out there building up to 13.1 mile runs.

P.S. About the title of this post. Since I started this goal of one day running a marathon I am now close to dropping 30 pounds of weight off this frame. I am stunned by that thought. Stunned. All of those early runs with carrying that additional weight just blows my mind.

Fast forward to 2006. Early in the year we discovered Kate was with child. Admittedly I was actually impressed that it was that easy, but on the other hand deftly scared! Me a dad? So as the months go by with Kate’s due date getting closer and closer it still had not sunk in at all that a child, that we chose not to know the sex of, would soon know me as “daddy.” September 23, 2006. Hospital. And action….

3:03 p.m. The first cries of our daughter arrive. Kate was an incredible trooper I might add since this was an all natural no drug childbirth. The first looks of my daughter froze me forever and all of those feelings of never wanting to be dad were quickly ancient memories to never return from an abyss. I’m forever wrapped around this 4 year old’s finger.

I couldn’t be a prouder dad to a girl who has the personality that is out of this world. She is one of my proudest achievements and it has been a great 4 years to get to know her. I love my little magpie. Happy birthday.

P.S. A super thank you to Kate for making all of this possible. We celebrate you too for making our girls 4th year possible!

The race I ran was a benefit for ovarian cancer research (OROC). Having a daughter (and wife) makes me more aware of women’s issues I think and really glad the timing to run my first race coincided with this great cause.

Next up on my platter is a 10k called the MidTown Cleveland HealthLine Classic.

Of course with the wife she is never too far away from her camera (ugh, my gut!).

Stay tuned.

No my New Years have been pretty lame and I am super fine with that. I don’t really reflect on New Years much. I think more about it regarding the daughter and her milestones, but I would say I live the day and carry on. Can’t change the year and certainly not a decade. I do, probably oddly, prefer the even numbered years over the odds. I do have a feeling that this year will be a good one. With Baby D 2.0 on the way in spring for starters, but beyond that in my rapidly approaching forty year old bones there is more spark in the air. Time will tell.

So bah-bye 2009 I will not be missing you. Happy Another Year y’all!

Below is a joke sent to me that I just had to share since I think it represents how frustrating our team has become (again). I say again because I remember a time before Bernie Bernie days came when people would call my team the Clowns. Sigh. Ten years is way too long to endure a lifeless pulse of a team losing profusely. Where our cry is “there’s always next year.” This is not the Cleveland Browns I know and loved. We’re a joke and sadly this joke sums up how bad it is.

……………..
A guy walks into a bar wearing a Cleveland Browns jersey and carrying a cat that also has a Browns jersey on, along with a little Browns helmet on his head. The guy says to the bartender, “Can my cat and I watch the Browns game here? My TV at home is broken and we always watch the game together.”

The bartender replies, “Well, normally cats wouldn’t be allowed in the bar, but it’s not very busy in here right now, so you and the cat can sit at the end of the bar. If there’s any trouble with you or the cat, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” The guy agrees and he and the cat start watching the game.

Pretty soon the Browns kick a field goal and the excited cat jumps up on the bar and walks down the bar, giving everyone a high five. The bartender says, “Hey, that’s pretty cool! What does he do for a touchdown?” The guy answers, “I don’t know, I’ve only had him for 2 years.”

Check it out: Ka-Ka-Ka-Katy!