Hurricane Irene SCORE!

On Friday morning we decided to head south of Cape Canaveral in hopes of catching the conditions just right. As we arrived and spot checked it at Cherie Down Park it was going off and then I realized we were about to score really big!
For the first session we hit it at Jetty Park and it was overhead and super clean. I got two ligament barrels and pretty much lost count of the nose riding mayhem I was creating on my 9'0" Walden Magic. The amazing thing is it really wasn't that crowded.
By noon it was fading away at Jetty Park. I guess it was too sheltered at that point. We headed south to the more exposed Cocoa Beach Pier only to find a few hundred guys in the water. The waves looked enticing and I was game, but one of our friends (a beginner) was intimidated so we headed back to north to Cherie Down again and paddled out to score big again!
This time it was bigger. The drops were faster and waves more powerful. I was in freaking heaven! But, my arms were getting more and more burnt out. By the end of the second session my arms felt like my legs usually feel after running a marathon. We all headed back north with smiles on our faces. Irene we love you!

Here's some pictures from Friday....











On Saturday it was New Smyrna Beach and the north coast of Florida's turn. The wind was now offshore up this way and the ocean was clean and ready for some rippin'.
We met at a predetermined spot where we know of a good sandbar just after dawn. The waves were the biggest we've seen yet. The wind was slightly less than the day before and that was good because it means easy entry. The paddle out was the hardest yet and I had to take several sets on the head, but made it out in about 10 minutes. The outside break was the furthest out of all our Irene sessions; about 3/4 of a mile. The wave faces were around the 8 feet range. It was so EPIC that I surfed for 3 1/2 hours without coming in once. That's a long time for no food or water. I took about 100 waves during that time and they were so clean that I probably could haven't gotten by without having a leash. Super fun and what a stoke! I surfed myself sick... literally. After the session I had to get in a car and crank the A/C to high while drinking three Gatorades and then going to Subway to down a foot long meatball sub (it's what I was craving). Then I went home to pick up Jenny (she went to Gainesville to do her long run with Team Hot Legs) and I laid down on the couch for a half hour before feeling better.
We went back to the beach to visit friends. I didn't paddle back out as I was stoked and satisfied. A thunderstorm rolled through and sent all the Orlando kooks fleeing the beach and hopefully going home. After it was peaceful. Jenny and I went on a couple mile walk. It was a good ending to a top 10 swell of my lifetime so far!

Here are a few pics from Saturday in New Smyrna Beach.





On Sunday we went down to the inlet only to find waist high sets rolling in with offshore winds. This was hardly exciting after the previous four days. We surfed for about 30 minutes and call it quits. It felt like a recovery paddle... like a recovery run, but for my arms.
Can't wait for the next swell!

So now we wait...

Drove over to the beach at dawn this morning.
The surf is a lot more disorganized than last night and the wind is fully onshore. Hurricane Irene is starting to show herself. We're only under tropical storm watch here in Florida so we'll probably only get 25mph to 45mph winds.
The news people were on the beach trying their hardest to sensationalize their stories. A few young and dumb surfers were preparing to paddle out. A few traveling surfers were in their cars or on the beach sleeping. I remember those days when I was in high school and our gang would all paddle out during the worst and most gnarly part of the storm. It's exciting and seems adventurous when you're 18-years-old. To an experienced surfer or an older surfer it seems flat out retarded. I'm saving my arms for tomorrow and Saturday when the storm is to the north and the Coriolis effect causes the winds to pull offshore and the surf cleans up. That will be our window. Timing is everything as it'll blow the swell down quickly. Hitting it at the right time is key. Stay tuned for more updates!

It's contagious and I'm infected with S.U.P.

Knock them all you want (Lord knows I have). Call them what you will. Stand up paddle boards are here to stay. In the past decade these boards have gained popularity and seem to be spreading across the nation and world like a virus. From Hawaii to California to Florida to a random lake in Kansas the concept is absolutely brilliant. Simply put, you have the billion dollar plus marketing machine that is the modern day world of the surfing industry (although it seems only a small percentage of the people involved in that industry "actually surf) and NOW there's a way for EVERYONE to surf... well... kind of surf. The allure of "surfing" that this mass marketing machine has created across the globe is NOT something everyone can do. First off, you've got to have a beach geographically in reach. Then that beach has to have ridable waves and favorable conditions to learn. And finally, you have to have a little bit of athletic ability in conditioning, balance, strength and stubbornness. Learning to surf waves is not easy no matter who you are and a lot of people get frustrated and give up!
Now take a large stable board with a massive amount of floatation and give someone the ability to have a higher amount of environmental control -- the paddle -- and calm flat water for beginners and just about anyone can enjoy it on their first time. Just check out this picture! BRILLIANT! It looks like a surfboard. You stand on it. It must be surfing, right? I don't think so, but... well, that's the marketing brilliance of it.
Stand up paddle boarders take a lot of shit from surfers. This is probably in part because of a few SUP guys getting into situations where they don't belong. There are a lot of SUPs at my local break (one of the most crowded and territorial in Florida). I talk to the regular ones. They're nice guys and mean nobody harm. The trouble with SUPs is when they allow a beginner to get into a situation where nature would not allow them on a traditional surfboard. Then chaos soon follows and an out-of-control 11 or 12-foot board, paddle and out of shape human in the line up is bad for everyone. I will say in defense of SUPs. Anyone that knocks stand up paddle boards and says they don't belong in the surf needs to watch Laird Hamilton rip the hell of a few waves in this video here. Perhaps watching that very video influenced me.
After careful consideration and a lot of thought I decided to finally give it a try. My idea was simple; get two stand up paddle boards and Jenny and I can use them to explore the river while getting another type of cardio/core workout other than running and most importantly, it's on the water. Jenny was sold on the idea instantly when I pointed out to her some of the endurance SUP races held around the country. Something to train for!
We asked around, did research and eventually decided to buy a couple of SUP ATX boards. They are by far not the best boards ever made, however, for our budgets they get the job done. We got identical boards with different paint jobs. They are epoxy and they included the deck pad, fin and carbon fiber paddle in the discounted price. As popular as these boards are I know that I can always sell them on Craigslist without losing much money and buy different ones if needed.

As I clicked the "order now" button on the website I felt as if I was betraying the brotherhood of surfers. I was excited and weirded out at the same time.


Jenny was 100-percent EXCITED when she clicked the order button!

We had them shipped to my office. You should have seen the look on my co-worker's faces! The box was so big it hardly fit in my truck.

Later that night we opened them up in my living room. Jenny is ready to go! Each board is 11' feet long and 4.5" thick and 28-pounds light.

We picked a calm, wind-protected canal for our first attempt. Neither of us had ever tried it. The plan I devised was to push off on our knees and paddle around for a bit on our knees to acclimate and then stand up. I was shocked to see Jenny hop up to her feet only after a few seconds on her knees. It was even easier than I thought!


In only a few weeks we've been exploring all sorts of waterways. I own a touring kayak and I can confidently say I'm going to sell it and never kayak again. You can see SO much more on SUPs. So far I've paddled within a few feet of redfish, flounder, manatees, dolphin and even a bonnet-head shark. It's also been a great learning tool for Jenny and her surfing. She has practiced her paddle and pop-up on the SUP in a controlled environment and is now taking it to the waves on her normal surfboard. It's helping and I'm stoked!

A Good Day ....

I was stressed out yesterday. A string of unfortunate events with work combined with some bad luck in the past month has left me on edge. Feeling like I should be working rather than playing I was not in my normal "thrilled to be going surfing" mood when we decided to make it a beach day.

The weather was perfect -- sunny and warm. A sense of Spring and a hint of Summer is in the air.As we pulled up to the inlet and assessed the situation (playful little thigh high glassy sets rolling in with the incoming tide) I noticed some commotion in the water. Fighter-jet colored fins breaching the water. Fishing flinging themselves airborne in a desperate attempt to escape. White water splashing about.

No not sharks. Another visitor to New Smyrna Inlet that is even more common than sharks believe it or not -- The common dolphin. An entire pod to be exact!

Dolphin are one of my favorite animals. Intelligent, playful, skilled and the undisputed best surfers in the world. Many times I've shared waves with them, locked eyes and sensed a common bond of "let's have some fun on this wave!" I grabbed my camera and snapped off some shots before grabbing my noserider to join the fun.

Stressed out or not, a paddle out with the dolphins and fun surfing session at New Smyrna Inlet is a cure all!

"Run to the Sun" Memorial 4-Mile Run/Walk

Jefferson H. Ridgdill "Run to the Sun" Memorial 4 Mile Run/Walk - 4 Mile

Quote of the Race: "When we turned the corner of that first block we could see you and Jenny already running across the top of the bridge!" - My mother who walked the race.

RACE STATS:
Location - New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Cost - $20 pre-registration (with no fee 'cause it's not those Active Nazis!) or $25 day of race.
Year of Running - 5thSponsor - Black Crow Media, New Smyrna Pennysaver, Publix, Hometown News, Elite Amenities, MultiSportFit.com, Canal Street Tire & Tube, SoNapa Wine Company, Clancy's Cantina, Chick-Fil-A, Daytona Beach Track Club, Pepsi & and other local businesses.
Charity - This race always supports a charity as it memorializes Jefferson H. Ridgdill, a local teacher and musician that passed away after a long battle with cancer. This year's race benefits the LIVESTRONG Foundation.
Number of Participants - 144 finishers.
Available Races - 4-mile loopCourse Condition - Mostly concrete or asphalt sidewalk. Note: this is an open traffic course so there are no road closures, but since it is a loop around the Intracoastal Waterway in a counterclockwise direction there are no major intersections to cross. There are two bridges with moderate incline/declines, but otherwise the course is flat and fast.
Pace Groups - N/A
Expo - N/A

ORGANIZATION, SUPPORT & SPECTATORS: This is the third year I have participated in this race and it's one of my local short distance favorites. It's about average for your run-of-the-mill $20 5kish race, but what is above average is the overall atmosphere. Runners will notice a small town vibe that is relaxing and NOT stressful. Packet pickup and day-of-registration is easy, fast and simple. This year runners received strap-on ankle style chips and while the race was still "gun time," it is small enough that even if you're the last to cross the start line it's only a matter of seconds difference from gun time. I was easily able to toe the start line. Support was excellent with volunteers handing out water at each mile during the race and I was handed a customized "Run to the Sun" labeled water bottle upon finishing. Light breakfast was served pre-race and a full on Chick-Fil-A sponsored brunch was held following the race before awards and prizes. Spectators are minimal, but there were a few lining the sidewalk just before the first bridge.

ACCESSIBILITY:
The race starts and finishes in Riverside Park in downtown New Smyrna Beach right along the waterfront. It's a straight shot from I-95 on State Road 44. There's plenty of parking along Riverside Drive and in the parking lot of the park. New Smyrna Beach is located 20 minutes south of Daytona Beach and 1 hour northeast of Orlando.

SWAG:
For a $20 charitable donation this race gets you breakfast, brunch, chip-timed results & and a decent quality cotton race T-shirt.

POST RACE AWARDS & FOOD:
In previous years all finishers received "music themed" medals. This year, only place finishers in age divisions got medals, but all finishers were given yellow LIVESTRONG gel bracelets. Overall winners were awarded trophies and age group winners were given aluminum water bottles, yellow in color with race logo on them. Numerous prizes including, a vacation in St. Pete Beach, Kid's mountain bicycle, gift certificates, free 1-page advertisement in the local newspaper and a sport analysis from MultiSportFit.com were given out in a post awards ceremony drawing. Food was great, because, well, it was provided by Chick-Fil-La... 'nuff said.

MY RACE STORY:
This was the 1-year anniversary the first race that Jenny and I ran together. On that fateful day last year it was only a third date, we were both overcoming injuries and all I remember was something like "dang, this girl is FAST!"
This year I'm feeling the strongest I've ever felt as a "runner." Jenny is overcoming a small post Boston Qualifying marathon muscle injury. We decided that we would not run together since I was really feeling like opening up the throttle on this one and it would be best for her not to further aggravate her injury. We also managed to talk my sister, mother, step-father and friend, Matt, into registering during the Thanksgiving festivities the few days prior so our little race was now a fun social event!
Jenny and I both managed to get right up to the start line. The gun sounded and we were off. I immediately got caught up in the lead pack and after about 200 meters decided that it would be a VERY bad idea to continue to run with these guys and started easing off to a pace that I felt was sustainable. After a block, the course begins a 1/4-mile incline up a high rise bridge crossing the Intracoastal Waterway. I'm used to this bridge from running repeats on it (it's the only hill in New Smyrna Beach) and it's something like 66-feet tall. Still able to see the leaders (only about 10 runners in front of me) I probably charged it harder than I should have and came down fast too...
The Mile-1 marker is right at the bottom of the bridge. I check my watch and it reads 6:50. "Holy sh*t," I gasp aloud! I'm still too fast so I throttle back a little more. I man passes me. I blow past the water station and just after a female runner blows past me. I try and settle into a sustainable pace. It's hard when I know the course from running it hundreds of times at a slower than race pace and now I'm trying to figure out how far I can push the envelop. At the second mile marker I check my watch again and my second split is 7:10. That's a little better, but still seems fast for me. It's overcast and in the low 70s temperature-wise, but I'm starting to sweat like a horse!
I start to slow a bit running up the second bridge (a smaller draw bridge) not by my choice. After the summit I try and make up the time by speeding up, but my body tells me otherwise. I guess it's going to be a Fartlek-style finish to this race as I continue to slow the pace, catch my breath and then speed back up.
I don't dare look behind me. I don't want to know. I want to feel like I'm the predator and not the prey. There is a man about 50 meters in front of me. For the last mile I focus on slowly gaining on him and cut it down to about 20 meters. We turn the corner of Riverside Drive and I can see the finish line. I feel a burst of adrenaline and probably have the speed to over take him. Something strange happens. I don't want to pass him. He's been running hard this entire race and so have I. I'm not racing him. My goal is to beat my PR from October's 4-Mile "Beer Run," and I'll settle for anything under 30 minutes. Besides, I feel like people that surge to an all out sprint the last hundred feet of a race tend to look like douchebags! The race clock comes into focus and I can see 28:something and I know I'm OK. I cross the finish line with a new 4-mile PR! Jenny comes in about 20 seconds behind me and we hug and congratulate each other. She really is an amazing runner! Jenny gets a free post race Massage by KJ and I devour some food. It's a good day.

My official stats:
15th out of 144 finishers
12th male finisher overall
1st in my age division out of 5 - woohoo!
Chip Time: 29:19 (personal record)
Average pace: 7:19
"Run to the Sun" Memorial 4-Mile Run/Walk grade = A

My sister, stepfather, mother, myself, Jenny and Matt after finishing the race. Good times all around!

In memory of The Log

It is with my deepest regrets that I bring to you the news that The Ron Jon Log has left this Earthly world for a better place on this 14th Day of October in the year two-thousand ten.

The Log, age approximately 15 years, died while on the operating table in a small, but soon-to-be well known board-shaping bay in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., after a horrific encounter with a jig saw blade. While The Log's early years are relatively unknown, its last 6 years of adventures are well documented. After a short stint as a learning board along the shores of Bethune Beach The Log relocated to TallGuySurfing's board rack where it spent numerous sessions along the many surf breaks of the New Smyrna Inlet and even a few behind the vessel Quest in the Intracoastal Waterway. Because of its thickness and size The Log provided the stability and float required for dozens of friends and family to learn to surf and catch their first waves. The Log also served as a platform for some of the best and most humorous surf sessions among friends. Infamous memories include Tucker the Labradoodle's dog beach session, Nate's "Mario-kart" scream rides behind the Quest, Brian & Blythe's successful tandem stunt, Jenny's first skurfing attempt, a base for "ding-eduction and experimentation" with its many MANY dings; Chad's first attempt at catching a wave with that same wave being his first successful ride and TallGuySurfing's famous Gator band uniform session amongst many others. It also had a few encounters with shorter boards in a crowded lineup where it ALWAYS won. The Log sported many faces and also many dings. Resin stained orange upon sun bleached yellow from time and exposure, it was a good board and a fun ride. The Log's survivors include Papa Smurf, the 9'0" Walden Magic; Mr. Anderson, the 9'8" Josh Farberow Noserider; the 6'8" Neilson Big Guy thruster; Blue, the 8'2" XXX; Porn Star, the 9'0" XXX; Nemo, the 5'10" Storm twin fin fish; and Alaia, the homemade failure. R.I.P. The Log - may your 9'6" foam and beautiful stringer soon ride again!


Stay tuned for the official announcement of the new recycled and reshaped "Log" in a few weeks. . .

Welcome to New Smyrna Beach!

A few weeks ago Jenny and I ran the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. A few days after that we returned to Florida and immediately began a moving process. A process that brought Jenny to my hometown of New Smyrna Beach. She was previously a 2-hour drive away. Between the marathon recovery, the move and her starting a new job this week there has been little time to blog or keep up with the blogger so that my friends explains my absence from the blog-sphere!

I've got some big news to report! Well, maybe not that big, but it's exciting for me as a surfer. Yup, this is a rare surfing post (sorry runners). Since New Smyrna Beach is a "surf town" it's only proper that if you are an athlete and plan to live here that you learn to surf, or at least try. And to do that my friends, you'll need a shred stick! After much thought it was decided that a performance shape longboard would be best all around board for Jenny to learn with given our beach breaks. A few months ago a non-surfer friend of mine got hooked on surfing. One ride and he was stoked beyond believe. He researched and hunted for an inexpensive board with some quality that will last and hold up to some abuse while he learns to surf. What he found was Triple X Surfboards or XXX Surfboards, which I was highly skeptical of at first.

The website claims: "Triple X Surf and Skim was founded in 2004 with the goal in mind of producing top quality surfboards, skimboards and wakesurfers that rival any custom or production board available..."

I rode along with my friend when he purchased the XXX board he scoped out online. At first, I was skeptical because my first guess what this company is probably keeping price low by having their epoxy boards mass produced and "popped out" in China. Upon looking at the 9'0" performance longboard he was buying I was satisfied that the shape and specs were decent. Upon riding it in some waist high surf a few weeks back I was satisfied that for the price of these boards a beginner can't go wrong. The board is not heavy and paddles fast. It's easy to maneuver and turn rail-to-rail with the squash tail and hard rails. It's single to double concaves and sidebites give it drive and speed to make some of the sloppy sections we get here in Florida. I was even able to walk up on the nose (something I can't do on my Walden Magic 9'0") and hold for a few seconds. The board is super flexible, probably because it's got less layers of glass, which is probably why its weight is low. Less flex is super fun, but probably not great for a more advanced surfer that is going to charge more powerful swell. In other words I could see it breaking on me in hurricane swell. Nevertheless, what a great deal for the price!

That's why I decided to surprise Jenny and get her one! I chose the 8'2" mini longboard that is 22 3/4" wide and 3" thick. For Jenny's size it is perfect for her to learn on and if she advances and decides she wants a high quality surfboard we could always sell it and buy a better one or she could keep it and start a quiver. I conspired with the new landlord to let me put the surfboard in her apartment the day before she moved in so it would be a surprise. Everything went perfectly! Jenny was stoked!


We've gone surfing half a dozen times and she's learning very quickly! And we're continuing our running adventures, but that my friends is another story!

Two lessons learned (Long run recap)

12.5 Mile long run down.... a heck of a lot more to go until Seattle Marathon! Last weekends long run with Jenny was fun, but I learned two important lessons.

1.) Don't eat a LOT of one food type (in my case asparagus) the night before a long run.

2.) Don't attempt to go to work where you are going to have to be standing and walking for hours immediately after a long run.

I'm just going to throw it out there. We made Naan bread pizza with asparagus, pesto, cheese and chicken the night before the run. Yup, if you read Runner's World the recipe is in the current issue. I can report that if you haven't made it do it! It's amazing. I ate it off my plate like a starving African kid. It tasted so damn good. Hmmmm.... I think I might just make it again tonight. It's fast, simple and easy. Only problem is with my stomach not being used to large amounts of asparagus it didn't take kindly to me bouncing around on a long run for 2 hours! Yeah... TallGuySurfing had some GI issues on Saturday. But, not to worry. I didn't let it ruin the fun. We had a great time.

Started out about 45 minutes before dawn and made it to the beach just as the sun was breaching the horizon. We held a steady slow pace and stopped for water twice. The air temperature was perfect at about 65 degrees. I carried my camera and took a few pictures.

After reaching the 12.5 mark Jenny continued on for another couple miles (we're trying to merge our training schedules together piece by piece) and I got ready for work. By the time I got out of the shower Jenny had made an amazing omelet for me, which I immediately engulfed! Here's where the second lesson comes into play. I had an open house to conduct at 10 a.m. for a couple hours and then a showing immediately after so I was on my feet for 3 hours after the long run. By the time I got back to the house and met up with Jenny my legs were torched! We decided to just chill out and eat a glorious lunch on the couch with our legs elevated and...... and...... and have a wonderful glass of wine!


Tonight I decided the perfect cure for a bad day (computer crashed... the kind of crash the involves smoke coming out of it) at work would be to charge a high rise bridge. This is actually something I try to do quite regularly, but have been slacking off the past month. So hills it was and 3 miles for 6 repeats. Here's a picture I took a few weeks ago of the only "hill" in town moments before dawn.

Take one for the team... Volunteer!

I watched the SEC Championship last night.

In case you are wondering... I only have one thing to say.

Go Gators! ... that is all.

But I do have something else to say about yesterday. I volunteered for the first time during a race. It was the 26th annual Ed Root 10K/5k race here in New Smyrna Beach. It was the first 10k race I ever ran last year and I really wanted to run it again this year. However, in an effort to "take it easy" with the Achilles tendon recovery I decided the best way to ensure I don't run it is to give back and volunteer. After reading a post by Redhead Running several months back about her experience volunteering at a race it's been on my mind. This was the perfect opportunity.

I contacted the race director a few days prior and despite the late notice she was more than happy to accept my offer to volunteer. So I showed up at 6:45 a.m. eager to work. They let me help pass out T-shirts at registration and then work as a time person at mile 4. I had expected to be put to work handing out water at an aid station, but was giving a stop watch instead. We started our stop watches at the sound of the start horn and then drove to Mile 4. It wasn't long before the leaders showed up as mile 4 and mile 2 intersected. When they returned to really hit the mile 4 mark I not only yelled out their times to them, but also their respective places and their time behind the leader. This got rather complicated rather quickly and I had to stop and settle for only the race time after about the 20th person from the leader passed (I got confused).

Over all I was so happy to help out with whatever they asked me to do. During the last year I've run numerous races and it was really nice to give back a little as so many races would not happen without the support of volunteers. It was also fun to yell out the time to a handful of friends that happened to be running the race.

The weather was sub-par with some relentless light to moderate rain. The temperature would have been perfect without the cold rain at around 55 degrees. Kudos to all those that participated and hashed it out in the rain. I heard a lot of soggy shoes slosh past me.

If your injured, or recovering from an injury I highly recommend volunteering at a race. It keeps you feeling like you're in the running community, keeps you motivated to recover and get back in the game and is a good overall experience!

The Thursday Stoke!

This week I am stoked for the beginning of the Fall season!

Autumn officially began on Tuesday. I am SO ready for all the fun things to be stoked about this Fall. Yup, that's right... in list format 10 reasons I'm stoked for Autumn!

1.) Cooler temperatures. At this point in Florida it's hard to tell it is Fall. Temperatures are still in the 90s F during the day and when wearing work attire it feels like an inferno. I can actually feel myself sweating sometimes while in the water surfing!

2.) With cooler temperatures there won't be a need for running at crazy before dawn hours like last Saturday when Redhead Running and I had a 4 a.m. start to our long run. This means NO MORE RUNNING IN THE DARK! It also means temperatures will be agreeable for evening runs at sunset. I always run better in the afternoon as I'm NOT a morning person no matter how hard I try!

3.) Earlier sunrise, which means more time to surf at dawn before work and before they open the beach to traffic. Yes, the water will be colder (I hate wetsuits), but the lineup will be less crowded with beginners, weekend warriors and out-of-towners (trying to be nice to the O-town kooks! LOL)

4.) Grass grows slower. I'll only have to mow my yard two or three times all winter instead of once a week in the summer!

5.) Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays! Within a week's period in October seven of my friends including myself celebrate birthdays! Happy Birthday to Morgan, Landy, Jeanie, Melissa, Riki, Jess and ME!

6.) Halloween! One of my favorite holidays. I've got a great group of friends and we usually dress up in some kind of theme. Last year we were hippies from the movie Easy Rider. This year I'm really excited because I'll be entering a Halloween surfing contest, but you'll just have to wait and see what I dress up and attempt to surf as....

7.) Races galore! 5Ks, 10Ks, 15Ks, 4-milers, Half Marathons and Marathons... they're everywhere! I'm already registered for the Daytona Half Marathon on Nov. 1st and the Disney Marathon on Jan. 10th. I hope to throw in a healthy mix of the others hopefully with a few running friends!

8.) Football... need I say more?

9.) Bigger waves. October always has good surf in store for east Florida!

10.) And finally I'm stoked for my dog, Tucker! While I hate cold weather (unless it involves a snowball fight, snowboarding or bonfire on the beach), my dog absolutely loves the cold. He's half lab and half poodle and he'll sit outside all day and sniff the cold wind.


Have a fun weekend everyone! 104 Days until Disney Marathon!

15-Mile Barrier SHATTERED!!!!

If Redhead Running had told me a couple of years ago that one day I would be marathon training at a ridiculous hour (4:30 a.m.) with her for a ludicrous distance (16.5 miles for me, 18 miles for her) I would have laughed her out of the room. I would have told her I'll never run that far. I would have told her that distance running like this is horrible for your body. I would have even bet my bank account against such a crazy prediction. And if I had told her she'd be running like this back in those days she would have raised her beer, laughed ME out of the room and drank!

Those predictions were never made, but Saturday morning at 3:57 a.m. the text message alert on my phone sounded off. It read, "I'm here," and when I opened my front door there stood the Redhead nearly 30-minutes early. Now that's hardcore! Her day started at 2:30 a.m. (when most of our friends are passing out from a long night of partying) to allow time for the hour drive to my house. I wasn't ready yet, but it worked out perfectly because she had a routine of stretching to do before our run. At around 4:15ish, I think, we headed out for our planned run; a 15-mile for me and an 18-mile for her.

All week I've been anxious about this run. Perhaps it's was something about the number 15. I psyched myself up in Thursday's blog post on the number. I hydrated, carb loaded and got plenty of rest on Friday. Now it's Go Time!

We start off with a slow pace to warm up. When I'm by myself I think I might start running faster sooner, but today I want to take it super easy and slow is good. I've got plenty of time until Disney and the last thing I want to do is injure myself. The run it's self is awesome. At mile 5 I'm feeling great! I quickly find the bag of water bottles and energy/electrolyte gels I stashed in the woods the night before and week each down them. It's the faster water stop on a long run I've taken yet. The Redhead told me earlier she wants to keep stops to a minimum as she's only a few weeks from her Chicago Marathon and this is one of her last few long runs. Another mile and we're on the beach. We are so early it's still dark. REALLY DARK. It's a new moon and the stars are amazing. Other than shrimp boats on the horizon and a lone beach patrol officer driving by we are alone for the next five miles. At mile 10 a little detective work is done to find the bag of water and energy gels I buried the day before and marked with a pelican feather. The Redhead finds this amusing. What was really amusing was me the day before in business clothes trying to NOT look suspicious amongst sunbathers while using a shovel to bury the water without being seen. We push on and soon the runner's high silliness kicks in gear. A song pops into the Redhead's mind after an earlier discussion about coconut juice. She starts singing a song from the Lion King:

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts
There they are all standing in a row
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head
Give them a twist a flick of the wrist
That's what the showman said
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts
Every ball you throw will make me rich
There stands my wife, the idol of me life
Singing roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch
Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch"

I can't help but laugh, smile and think to myself, "appropriate, I am training for the 'Disney' Marathon!"

We had a beach walker snap this shot somewhere around mile 14. Hmmm, either the Redhead is really short or I'm really tall.... or both.

We are now running the 1.5-mile loop on the boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park and the first hints of dawn are lighting up the horizon. It's a beautiful sight! We pass three other "serious" guy runners, several fisherman and a few surfers, but that's it and we're back on the beach again tracing our footprints back toward Flagler Avenue. The tide is getting high and the sand is soft so we switch up to pavement a little early and suddenly I realize for me there's only about a mile left to run. The shops are opening along Flagler Avenue. The Coffee House is abuzz with activity. I'm feeling a new sensation. Instead of only leg pain, which set in several miles ago, I'm feeling a loss of energy, a loss of endurance. It's like I have the will to continue running, but every part of my body is resisting in protest. The Redhead claps her hands and yells, "Let's go Sylvan, Let's go!" Now she knows what it feels like to be the motivator and NOT the one that needs end of the run motivating from the "Lazy Runner." I feel her slipping away. It doesn't feel like I'm running any slower, but I am. I struggle to keep pace. Half a mile to go and I catch up with her and proclaim that "I'm back," only to fall behind again. She mentions another blogger she knows, this guy Jamoosh, that counts hot girl's ponytails for motivation. What a great idea? I stare at the Redhead's ponytail. It bounces back and forth with the rhythm of her body. Hot! Normally I'd be in a daze, but right now my extreme fatigue is taking priority. It's like the final few minutes of Bikram Yoga when you could care less if the hottest girl in the world is next to you... all I want to do is finish! Sorry Redhead Running, I love ya, but it's just not working for me right now! At a quarter-mile to go she's a good 50 feet ahead of me and unsure where the stopping point is so I yell out directions. I want to stop, but I'm determined! I dig deep and the most random thought of motivation comes to me. I start singing Pearl Jam's "Alive." When this song was released in the early 1990s I was just a teenager and my father had just passed away. I learned this song on my guitar from beginning to end. It was such an inspiration to me at the time and somehow it's going to get me through this run!

"I, oh, Im still alive
Hey i, oh, Im still alive
Hey i, but, Im still alive
Yeah i, ooh, Im still alive"

Finally, at 2:30:00 we reach the 15-mile mark!!!!

It's located at a friends house where I've left my truck the night before stashed with a cooler stocked full of Gatorade, Cliff Bars, Water and the Redhead's last energy gel. She downs it and heads out for the final 3 miles. I slam a Gatorade and walk around the driveway for a good five minutes before attempting to remember how to drive my truck. I'm looped out of my head right now and it feels great!

So how did I run the 16.5 miles if the story ends here???

An interesting twist of fate all thanks to a sketchy black man in a black truck.

Yup, thank you sketchy black man! Because of you I can say my longest run ever is 16.5 miles instead of just 15!

The plan was for me to drive the truck down to the park where the Redhead would be finishing her 18-miles after one last loop around the boardwalk. I wanted to drive down and be there before she started in on the boardwalk to cheer her on, but she came running up with a look of concern on her face. Apparently, a black man in a black truck drove by her once on the main road, turned around and drove by her two more times and even honked at her before continuing on to the park. We could see the unoccupied black truck in the parking lot. I can tell the Redhead is a little freaked and I would be too if I were a female her size so I decide to run the last 1.5 miles with her around the boardwalk. I feel amazingly better on this last run with no problem finishing. With a quarter mile left I yell out the final distance and the Redhead takes off sprinting with a super strong finish. She is SOOOOO ready for the Chicago Marathon!

Overall it was a milestone run with many "firsts." It was the first time I've set out my clothes the night before a run. It was my first time stashing supplies along the route. It was the first time the Redhead and I have ever run together, let alone being around each other this time of day without being drunk, passed out or hungover. It was the first time I've run that distance in my life. It was the first I've run that early in the morning. It was my first time doing a long run on Saturday (which I might switch instead of Sundays or Mondays). It was the first time I've seen my good old friend the Redhead in more than a 1 year!

All of it rocked!

Favorite Quote of the Run: "Ya'll are going to like live a long time being all healthy and stuff... unlike me," the 7-Eleven clerk said as he took another hit from his cigarette after taking our picture in front of the 7-Eleven sign. You see, The Redhead and I have this history with 7-Eleven, being drunk and in costume. Our friends used to get dressed up in crazy outfits and walk to 7-Eleven after long nights of partying for junk food. It's ironic that years later we find ourselves at 7-eleven using the bathroom at 5 a.m. while on a long run.

At the 7-eleven 3:20 a.m. sometime in 2007

At the 7-Eleven around 5 a.m. 2009

I'd like to send out a BIG THANKS to the Redhead one more time for coming over and running with me. My official time with the extra 1.5-miles added on was right at 2:45:00 (a little slow, but strong) and I doubt I could have done it without my old friend chatting it up, making it seem short, and being silly with me! I've got a long ways to go, but plenty of time to work on that distance and time!

108 Days Until the Disney Marathon!!!!


Final thoughts:
If I ever bring myself to such self torture as taking an ice bath after a long run, somebody slap me!

The Redhead taking her famous ice bath after the run. Wearing a bathing suit bottom, long sleeve shirt and sweat shirt hoodie she listens to Dropkick Murphy's music, head bangs and waits for the ice to melt. You can see the happy picture of her on her blog, but I took this one as she was hunkered down and enduring the "freeze!" Note: She also called me an A*hole for taking this picture at the time.... hahaha... Love ya Morgan!

The Thursday Stoke (major announcment!)

I've been struggling with a topic, or should I say headline, for a repeating blog that I can post once a week like some other sites do here and here. At first I thought.... hmmm... Friday seems like a good day. Then came the name game. What rhymes or sounds good with "Friday," and defines a post that would include random ramblings as subject matter? I came up with "Fluky Friday Flash," and made a few post under that name until my recent Puerto Rico trip when Friday rolled around and I opted to go surfing and snorkeling in crystal clear Caribbean waters rather than use the free Wi-Fi in a nearby Burger King to update my blog. After that I said farewell "Fluky Friday Flash," after all the name is kind of LAME and who seriously wants to be concerned with coming up with content for a blog every Friday when the only thing that really matters is finishing up the work week and gearing up for surfing sessions and long runs?

Today I introduce to you:

wait for it....

The Thursday Stoke!

It sounds soooooo much better than Fluky Friday Flash and it means sooooo much more. Every week I pride myself on finding something to be "stoked" about and Thursday is a much better day to be writing blogs than Friday so now I'll share my weekly "stoke" every Thursday along with some random ramblings!

Riverview during my Wednesday
run before sunrise.

And for the Inaugural Thursday Stoke I have a major announcement!

It's official. As of 10:30 a.m. September 16, 2009 this very one TallGuySurfing is registered for the Disney Marathon. Yup.... in 111 days on Jan. 10th at an hour when most of you will be sleeping in I'll be running 26.2 miles... a distance that killed the first runner every to attempt do it. I think I've officially gone mad.

For the past three months I've been training for the marathon, but now that I've actually bit the bullet, charged my credit card and have the electronic confirmation in my email account, I'M SO STOKED! It really is a different feeling not to just say your training for a marathon, but to be officially registered for one.

Other things I'm stoked about this week:

1.) The pain in my left IT Band seems to be gone. After taking it easy the past week with only short easy runs, surfing sessions and playing infield rather than outfield in softball I think I've avoided the notorious ITB injury I hear so much about.

2.) My favorite number is 15. It was always my jersey number in all the sports I played (soccer, basketball, baseball, etc.) growing up. This Sunday it will be exactly 15 weeks until the Disney Marathon. This Saturday I'm scheduled to run 15 miles on my training program. Let it be noted I've never run this far in my life. Hiked, trekked, climbed YES.... run NO! I've been running solo the past three months and I've noticed after 10 miles I get extremely bored, not to mention burning leg syndrome, which I find leads to maybe I'll just stop running syndrome! It's not that I'm tired. I can surf 6-hours a day. Energy isn't the problem, it's leg muscles. They become tired and start feeling like they're on fire! When I realized I was up for 15 miles I became anxious. I somehow feel like 15-miles is some kind of barrier to overcome in distance running. To help me cross this imaginary barrier my friend Redhead Running is coming for a visit with one of her fellow runner friends to join me. They will run 18-miles and I'll stop at 15-miles. I'm super stoked about this and with the realization that 15 is also my favorite number I'm no longer anxious about breaking through the 15-mile barrier! Bring it!

Me after a short easy 5 miler yesterday and just before officially registering for the Disney Marathon! Woohoo! Bring it 15-miler!

*If anyone is already using "The Thursday Stoke," I apologize. I'm not trying to steal it and the only reason I'm mentioning this is I'm not sure how it came about in my head. I may have heard it somewhere or maybe it's original, but I'm going to use it nevertheless.

Two Waves

Fun swell this weekend...
Not sure where it came from...
Calm offshore winds graced us...
The Weekend Warriors bombarded us...
Managed four sessions between Saturday and Sunday...
Here is a glimpse of the sessions told in only two waves...


The water is warm and glassy. The wave forecast is holding true. To the south I can see hundreds of torsos and heads floating between the waves. To the north I see the same. Some are on longboards with more floatation allowing more of their bodies to be seen above the water, but most are on shortboards. I am straddling a longboard; a 9'0" epoxy Walden Magic model that is solid blue on the bottom and a faded light blue on top. It's name (I name all my boards) is Papa Smurf (because of its color) and it's a performance longboard meaning that with its hard rails, increased rocker, squash tail, side-bite fins and large center concave it's designed to rip up a wave with the most speed and maneuverability that a longboard can bare. The only thing it isn't made for is noseriding. I like Papa Smurf when the waves are large and powerful and a little extra speed and drive is comforting. Today I borrowed a small 6-inch center fin from a fellow surfer to try in place of my normal 8-inch fin. The idea is it will give even more speed and maneuverability to the board on the initial bottom turn after dropping in on the wave face.

The ebb of the ocean has past. The slack low tide turns to a steady incoming tide. I can tell because instead of staying stationary with little drift only caused by getting too close to a rip current we are now being pull north toward the mouth of Ponce Inlet. I've triangulated myself between my Jeep Wrangler on the beach and a spot locally known as 3/2 because of some pavilions along a boardwalk that are highly visible (there are three pavilions close together and then two more a short ways down). By doing this I can tell when I'm drifting. I can also keep myself in a specific spot in the ocean where I feel the waves are breaking the best. There are no landmarks in the surf and you cannot see the sandbars with our murky shark invested water.

Shadows appear on the horizon and a few surfers (the experienced ones) and myself start paddling and repositioning ourselves. These shadows are the first indication of an approaching set of waves. Being on a longboard is a huge advantage in a crowd like today (the largest crowd in recent memory) because sitting higher up gives a better field of vision to see waves first and get into better position plus with more floatation it's easier to paddle into a large wave earlier as the shortboarders have to wait for the wave to peak up more or they won't be able to paddle fast enough and the wave will leave them behind. On a day like today I'm super "aggro" (aggressive) and almost cocky. I have to be. The way I see it, I'm better than 80 percent of the people in the lineup. Most of the crowd is due to it being a Sunday and a favorable forecast. The familiar faces are here, but for every one of them there are 10 unfamiliar faces. If I'm cocky and aggro without being an A-hole about it and I'm in the right position (not dropping in, snaking or cutting off anyone) then 9 out of 10 surfers just think I'm better than them and backoff, which scores me lots of fun waves to ride.

The shadow on the horizon is now only seconds away. Four maybe five large waves approach. The secret it out! Thirty, maybe 40 surfers in the path of this set turn their boards and beginning paddling, acting if these waves belongs to them and only them. However, I'm further out than any of them. I let the first wave pass. They can fight over it. Sitting high upon Papa Smurf I can see there is even a bigger wave beyond the second wave so I let it pass as well. The third wave approaches. I swing Papa Smurf around 180 degrees and start to paddle. Being out this far is going to require a lot of speed to catch this wave before it reaches the wolf pack of surfers closer to shore. I imagine my paddling as an "act of violence" against the sea. Each stroke is harder and deeper. My entire body swings toward the arm giving the stroke. My legs swing back in forth to add more weight to the arm that's paddling. I feel the wave picking me up and my speed increases. I lean back to keep the board from pearling (nosediving). Looking left and right during the final two strokes I check to see that no other surfers are on the wave yet and that I am in the best position for wave priority. The wave excepts me and I feel its power pulling the surfboard along; no more need for paddling. I pop up to my feet, look both ways again and decide to go toward the right. This is considered frontside since I surf a regular stance (left foot forward). The wave has not crested yet. It continues to grow in size. I work my way down the wave about halfway and try to pick a line on this wall of water before me. The line of surfers on shortboards quickly approaches. I call this line the "asteroid belt" because it reminds me of playing a video game and dodging asteroids in a space ship. This is my asteroid belt, Papa Smurf is my space ship and the cresting wave is my thrust. Most of the shortboarders duckdive under the wave or paddle in a direction that gets them out of my way, but there's always a couple that have to be "dodged." This time the asteroid belt clears out leaving a perfect wave before me. I can tell from experience that it will break in a uniform manner allowing for a long ride along the face of the wave just in front of the breaking white wash. I manage my speed by working the board higher or lower on the wave. I see that the incoming tide is giving more push to the wave. This wave is so large it might become hollow. Leaning toward the inside to stall the board, I squat down low and allow the wave to break over top me. I'm 6'6" tall and I've hunched down to probably less than 3-feet almost into a ball. Tucking my head down flush with one of my knees I can see the lip of the wave breaking just inches over my forehead. I feel my inside shoulder brushing the wall of the wave. For an instant I'm in the shade. I'm blinded as water splashes into my face. Instinctively I lean my body weight to the outside to gain some speed and I'm shot out from the barrel (or tube) as it collapses behind me. About 20 feet ahead of me the wave is closing out (no more clean wall to ride, only whitewash) so I pull off a quick bottom turn and shoot over the lip of the wave leaving it behind. The energy of the wave still seems to be pushing my board as I continue for another 10 feet or so behind the wave before laying down on it. The ride is over. It's the ride of the day. A successful barrel!

Sometimes I feel like Mother Nature has a sense of humor. Sometimes I feel like every blessing She gives is met with a consequence. "Here's the wave of the day, now you have to pay for it!" As I attempt to paddle back to the line up past the asteroid belt I'm met with a set of breaking waves. The first wave is expected since I took a middle wave of the set. I turtle roll under it and pop back on top of my board and continue paddling, but there's another wave and another and another. One or two waves on the head after a great ride is almost expected, but six or seven? What the hell Mother Nature?!?!? It's just down right annoying. I finally force my way through the impact zone and back out to where I am perfectly triangulated between my Jeep and 3/2.

Another shadow is on the horizon and I'm already in a great spot. This may make me look cocky or like a wave hog, but I'm going for it. Two in a row! Still high from my barrel and lusting for another, I commence another "act of violence" against the sea paddling furiously atop Papa Smurf. The wave takes me. I'm up and deciding to go left toward my backside. The wave is steeper than the last. Perhaps I should've committed toward the right, but I never allow myself to hesitate when I'm in this position. I must be fully committed or "bad things" will happen. It's just me and the wave. All time stops and nothing else matters at this moment. It's... just... me... and... the... wave. It jacks up and I lower my right knee to the board laying my lower leg flush horizontally with the board. My left leg (front) is bend 90 degrees at the knee and almost in a squatting position. My right (backside) arm reaches forward and grabs the outside rail of Papa Smurf digging the inside rail into the wave face as my left arm is outstretched for balance. This is called "pig dogging" and it's the only way I know how to make the bottom turn on a wave this steep without getting pitched out in front of the lip. I try and stay ahead of the violently breaking water behind me. Then I see a shortboarder dropping in 15 feet ahead of me. He's NOT looking around and has no idea I'm coming at him like a rocket. There are now three choices for me. 1.) continue down the wave face, probably getting a barrel and if I make it out of the barrel run over the shortboarder to his surprise and risk injury to either him or myself and perhaps damaged or broken surfboards. 2.) Turn down the face of the wave, hope it doesn't break on top of me and be pushed back into the impact zone where paddling back out is a bitch! 3.) Attempt a quickly little bottom turn and try to shoot or launch myself over the top of the wave landing behind it and hopefully not being sucked over the falls. Being lazy and not wanting to end up in the impact zone or being accused of attempted murder as I run over the shortboarder (he looks like a small guy compared to me) I decide to take option number three. This option results in an epic FAIL. My bottom turn is too long and the wave jacks up to its peak. I jump hard off Papa Smurf, but the the lip of the wave hits my back just above my hips. This punches my body forward and I land somewhere on the face of the wave. I immediately feel the power and suction of the wave lifting me upward. At the same time I feel a hard object flush up against my body. It's smooth meaning it's the bottom side of Papa Smurf (no wax surface) and this also means sharp fins somewhere nearby. NO BUENO! I feel the lifting power of the wave cease and a falling sensation begins. "Oh God, out of all the places to be on this wave this is the worst," It think to myself. The last thing I want to be next to in this situation is Papa Smurf. Surfers have been killed by their surfboards in situations like these. The impact is quick. I'm tossed around like a ragdoll. There is no sense in fighting it. The best thing to do is just remain calm and conserve oxygen. I feel a blunt pain in my leg and know that some part of Papa Smurf just slammed into me. Other than that I'm soon comforted by the fact that I'm deep underwater and that means the surfboard is NOT near me as it will be floating or bobbing up and down at the surface. The wave holds me down for a few more seconds and then releases her grasp. I surface, ignore the pain from my newly bruised and maybe bleeding leg and paddle back out to the safety of the outside. Then I check my leg. I'm not bleeding, just bruised. It could have been worse.

From wave of the day barrel to wipeout of the month one right after another. There's no real need to talk about the rest of the session when that pretty much sums it up!

13.1 Miles? No Problem!

First, let me say I'm a slacker for not updating my blog the past week. I was in Puerto Rico and just didn't feel like going to the Burger King to use the free Wi-Fi.

So get ready for an awesome Puerto Rico recap post with some seriously sick photographs!

But before that, while I'm still cracked out of my mind on a runner's high, I want recap my first ever timed 13.1 mile run this morning that I rocked in less than 2 hours. Yup, I'm a badass!

Yesterday I planned to take it easy with an early morning surf session, followed by a day spent with my Orlando family at the Bethune beach house while carb loading and hydrating in anticipation of today's run. What really happened was a surfing related injury followed by eating junk food with the family and then being suckered out last night for a few (three to be exact) beers and only getting about six hours of sleep before the run.

The injury happened when I got over eager and attempted to do a "helicopter" move with my 9'8" noserider. The idea is to get both feet up on the nose just as the wave is peaking and be positioned high on the lip while above the "pocket" and reach down to the frontside rail of the board and pop the tail out of the wave. Using body weight and the force of the wave the tail spins around to the forward direction. At this point you are going forward on the wave with the board backwards and you have to walk back down the board eventually allowing the fin to go back into the water and when that happens the board will spin around to the normal surfing position. It really is an awesome sight to see it done on a longboard and takes just the right wave, position and experience to pull off. What happened to me was about half way through while I had the board spun around 180 degrees the wave "pooped" out on me leaving me behind. With no wave I'm now sinking rapidly on top of the nose of my board. I jump off and the board shoots straight up about six feet into the air. Normally this is not a problem, but this time the 30-pound board decided to come back down right on top of me! I quickly dive underwater as deep as I can go, but I feel a pressure on my right leg about halfway between my hip and knee. The 10-inch single fin of the board impacted my quadricep so hard it cut me and bruised me over an area that is at least half way around my leg. So needless to say I wasn't sure if I'd be able to run at all today.

With all that in mind, I set out to run and easy 6-8 miles. Somewhere around the third mile I was feeling amazing. It was still dark and there was a cool sea breeze. Before I officially started training I always ran with no set distance. It was simple. If I felt good I'd run far. If I felt bad I'd run short. Today I remembered that philosophy and pretty much said "F*ck it I feel good," and went for greatness! Two bridges, the beach, a boardwalk and numerous sidewalks later I found myself conquering 13.1 miles in 1:59:06. When I realized that I had just run a sloppy half marathon in under two hours I got even more stoked! My unofficial goal for the Disney Marathon in January is to be under the 4-hour mark. Today was my first attempt at half that distance and I was right on pace and I feel freaking great!

I'm feeling so great that I think I'll head out to the beach, maybe even surf (but no helicopters for me today), enjoy the rest of Labor Day, call my sister to wish her happy birthday and play a softball game tonight! Hope everyone has a great Labor Day!

Puerto Rico Recap Coming Soon!

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures I took with my cell phone from Puerto Rico. I did a 4-mile hill run that was moderately difficult just because I am NOT used to hills! But the scenery was amazing! Ciao everyone!

Fluky Friday Flash

<>Tropical Storm Danny is gracing us with his presence today along the east coast of Florida. I was able to sneak in a couple hours session this morning before work. Out front and at the inlet looked like the ocean had a bit of morning sickness with the low tide so we headed south to the wall at Bethune. It's amazing how much better it looked. We paddled out. The crowd was thin. The first five rides I had were "turn-in-burn" right after another bang bang bombs! Super fun lefts and rights. The waves aren't quite hollowing or pitching out like from Hurricane Bill, but they are still overhead and semi-clean. The classic Florida sun shower happened and the rain glassed out the ocean just in time for a monster set to roll in from the horizon. By my judgment the waves were pushing 6-8 feet. This week has turned out to be an excellent warm up for my next week in Puerto Rico!

<>I work in real estate. The past month has been insanely busy compared to the last two years. Through the "boom" I worked my butt off and was very good at managing my time and prioritizing deadlines. Currently, I'm working my butt off, but the difference is the pay checks just are NOT coming through so it's hard to find the motivation to keep up the level of service I was able to provide during the "boom." Right my team has about 8 transactions in different stages of progress. Each one of these involves one or more of the following: short sale, REO, pre-foreclosure, court ordered estate sale, FHA Financing, VA Financing, FHA 203k Rehab Financing and even a cash deal on a home with a normal seller, but the home keeps flooding for unknown reasons (No Bueno on getting it closed). Each one of these transactions is like going to war to get it closed. Each time something changes usually results in about a dozen phone calls back and forth between all parties (last week I literally talked by cell phone battery dead multiple times during the day). So this week I discovered a major break through. I'm going to call it the A-hole break through because I felt like a bit of an A-Hole doing it, but it worked. Here's the example:
-Buyer's lender will not respond to direct questions about getting repairs made to house per VA Loan guidelines. Furthermore, lender will provide no guidance about possible solutions to repair issue.
-Seller is actually a bank. Property was foreclosed on (REO) and the bank has now listed property with a Realtor.
-Seller's Realtor is an arrogant A-Hole that thinks he is God's gift to real estate.
-Buyer is simple, nice and a retired veteran that gets confused easily resulting in many phone conversations (should I say counseling?).
Basically the problem stems from two banks with their "rules" no budging one bit to break said "rules" for either party. Buyer's bank requires repairs made prior to closing. Seller absolutely allows no repairs prior to closing. Any repair cost will be escrowed at closing and made after closing. Can I just say the one single repair is a 4x4-inch section of wood rot in an exterior doorway?
So here's what I did. I wrote an email to God's Gift to Real Estate explaining that I'm getting no guidance from buyer's lender and all the other details of the issue. Then, instead of calling everyone else to give a status update, I just copied it to all of them including the buyer's lender who was not returning messages. With in a minute the buyer's lender emailed me back in ALL CAPS yelling at me that she is doing her job well, but also gave several key pieces of information that helped get the problem solved. She then sent two additional emails yelling at me. I copied her emails and sent them out to all parties again and thanked her for updating us. Today she apologized and also relayed some more helpful information. I'm going to start doing this on all my deals. If it pisses off some people so be it. The best part, my cell phone battery still has a charge!

<>Two more days and I'm Rincon bound! Yup, Puerto Rico here I come for five whole days! It's a win win situation. If there's swell in the water I get to surf amazing point breaks and reef breaks. If there's not I get to snorkel over amazing reefs in crystal clear Caribbean water and have tropical drinks on beautiful beaches! Plus, I'm off to Universal Studios tomorrow with some friends. It'll be my first time ever to Islands of Adventure. I'm sooooo stoked! And Sunday plans are shaping up to look like some fun possibilities too! Better finish packing tonight!