Healthy Kids Running Series: Spring 2015 - Race 3 (of 5)

Healthy Kids Running Series: Spring 2015   -   Race 3 (of 5)
Rustin High School


Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this week's race.  I was on my way back from Ohio, and was still around Pittsburgh when the race took place.

From what I was told, Chris did great.  He got 5th place.  Nathan though really came through.  He got second to last place (which is fine by him), but then he went back and helped the kid who got last place.  Apparently, that kid was really struggling, so Nathan went back to assist him to the finish line.  I couldn't be prouder. 

Chris is 3rd from left

2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon

04/26/2015
Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon
Canton, OH


We stayed at a hotel about 2 miles away, so getting over to the start was pretty easy.

This was the first time Jared and I ran a marathon/half marathon together.  The first half of my race (the half that Jared ran.....again, Jared ONLY ran half) was through the town of Akron.  Lots of uneven payment which made for a bumpy run.

Jared finished, a good 45 minutes before I got to the half way point, which means he had plenty of time to go back to the hotel, take a shower, take a nap, watch The Godfather, get his car washed, go to mass, etc.

I finally rolled in at after the 6 hour mark.  It was a tough run, and I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep.  The good thing was that Megan was there waiting for me at the finish. 

Now we had just a short 6 hour ride back to West Chester.  What a hell of a weekend.

race bib

Finisher's Medal

Dedication

Yesterday, I completed Marathon #11, and knocked out the state of Ohio. Since the marathon, was the "Pro Football Hall of Fame Marathon", then the dedication of this marathon had to go to a football player.  Now, I thought long and hard about this, because I know it will make some of my friends not happy. But after I thought about it, I realized thats just silly. Red Sox fans had an appreciation for Jeter. Celtics fans had an appreciation for Magic, as did Lakers fans for Bird. Surely, it is OK for me to have appreciation for the greatest Cowboy I ever saw.

You might be thinking I must mean Emmit Smith, but I think Emmit was the most overrated RB in the history of football. Then it must be Aikman, you say? Hey, remember that awesome, career defining victory that Troy Aikman had where he put Dallas on his back and won the game. Yeah, me neither. Surely it must be Michael Irvin. I can say that of all the WRs in the Hall of Fame, only one was ever shut down by a rookie cornerback (Eagle CB Bobby Taylor).

No indeed, the greatest Cowboy I ever saw is a gazelle, just like me. He was also the hero in my favorite play of all-time (clip below). Thank you for being an inspiration, Larry Allen. This one was for you.

Larry Allen is a gazelle

NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame

What a day.  So, last night, I flew in from Dallas to Philly (stop over in Saint Louis).  The flight had a lot of turbulence, and we didn't get into Philly until 1130.  Jared and Trish picked me up at the airport, and we headed back to their house where I spent the night.  Up and at'em at 6am, on the road by 6:30am to head to Canton, OH. We drove through WV to get there (for all of 20 mins).  Still, good time for a photo-op.

We get to our hotel, check in, and then make our way over to the Hall of Fame.  Literally right next to the Hall of Fame is a high school, where we had our packet pick up.

As part of our registration, we are given free passes to the NFL Hall of Fame.  We made our way over and saw quite a bit of football history.

Trip to the Hall of Fame slideshow

 

 

The Lombardi Trophy

Jared with Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana

Me and O.J.

NFL Hall of Fame Bust Gallery

The building wasn't as big as I thought, but it was still a great place to visit.  Looking forward to taking my boys out here when they are older.

Healthy Kids Running Series: Spring 2015 - Race 2 (of 5)

Race #2 (of 5)


Another great effort by Chris.

and another last place finish for Nathan, who seems to be enjoying it.  Love it!

"Justified" series finale

"Justified" series finale

Grantland's article on "Justified" finale.

While watching the final season of "Sons of Anarchy," I kept seeing all the ads for the final season of Justified.  I decided to give it a shot and binge watch it.  Well, it took me 9 days to watch 5 seasons and get caught up to the beginning of season 6.

I was always a fan of Timothy Olpyhant, so I figured the show has to be half decent just because he is in it.  But I really didn't know much about Walton Goggins, execpt what I saw on "Sons of Anarchy," where he played a transgender escort named Venus.  Venus was one of the most memorable characters in television history.  Well, Walton was unbelievable as Boyd Crowder.  He was such a great bad guy.

So the finale was tonight, and it was the best finale I had ever seen.  It wrapped everything up so well, without being over the top.  I have to give the writers a lot of credit.  It could have been a little more exciting, but it would have been cheezy if it had been.

I can honestly say, "Justified" was the most underrated show I have ever seen.