Fluky Friday Flash!

<>Oh cumulonimbus cloud thank you for blocking out the sun this morning. You must have been unleashing thunderstorm hell somewhere offshore, but here.... HERE in my little beach town you provided some much needed shade as I was late to getting up and out the door this morning for my run. Cumulonimbus cloud, without your 40,000 feet tall peak on the east horizon that sun surely would have been beating down on me with all its might! It's been a rough week for me starting out with a 10-mile run and followed with four softball games in two days and a mid-week late night concert involving more than normal adult beverages... my body thanks you cumulonimbus cloud for making my run easier!

<>A friend of mine whom is just beginning to dabble into the world of journalism, or should I say getting "paid" to write, wrote this article this week about running and sex and how the two can be related. Titled "Is Running Better than Sex," I found it a good humorous read and decided to share it with some friends via email and help my runner friend get some "hits" to her article. Here it is if you care to read it:
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2009/08/13/is-running-better-than-sex/
But my real reason for mentioning it this morning is the responses I got back from my email. I'll share two of them, one by a guy and the other buy a girl, both married.
Married girl, "That is funny. My husband used to run a lot when we first met; several miles a day. Now he never runs..... And men say women let themselves go when they get comfortable. lol"
Recently married guy, "No wonder so many married men take up running — it fits in where the sex used to be when he and his wife were still dating."
Hmmmmm.... conflicting reports from the marriage front. Maybe being in my shoes and single for what seems like FOREVER isn't so bad....


<>What's this I see in the tropics? A tropical wave? A tropical depression? A low pressure system? Seriously... this hurricane season has seriously been stalling. We don't even have a named storm yet! Last year by this time we were getting hurricane or tropical storm swells almost each weekend, as if they were perfectly timed. I haven't rode my shortboard since Spring! I have high hopes that something is brewing out there for next week. Could we have Tropical Storm Anna? Time will tell!


<>Donovan Frankenreiter made an appearance this week at Beachside Tavern. I was lucky enough to get a ticket and see him play at this super small local venue. Honestly, I went to see the famous hippy-like surfer that makes me laugh when I watch the Drive Thru series on FUEL TV. However, after the concert I am now a fan of Donnie, the musican and I'm definitely going to be downloading some of his songs. I'll leave you with this video I took of the last song he played at the end the show called "It Don't Matter."

What it's like to feel old...

Yesterday I mentioned I ran a self-inflicted half marathon when I was 19-years-old. I do not remember being sore back then. I remember being tired after the run, but not very sore.

Yesterday I decided it would be a "good idea" to run 10 miles (not even a half marathon) before work. This I did with flying colors. I mean, I rocked it. Got a huge runner's high and felt great for most of the day. Unlike when I was 19-years-old I made sure I properly hydrated, carb-loaded the night before and got at least 8 hours of sleep. I also thought it'd be a "good idea" to play softball last night.

Not only was it our first softball game, but it was a double header AND the team manager put me on shortstop (mixed with a couple innings of left field), which meant more running. Unlike the long run, this softball business is all sprinting and "fast-twitch" muscle use. I have to say for not playing softball in more than 2-years I did pretty damn good. I batted 1000 for the night and I didn't make any errors. However, I hit a wall the last couple innings of the second game. Despite a gallant effort to fuel my body with the best sources of energy, I hit the wall and was about as useful as an elephant hunter with a BB gun!

This morning I woke up. Stepped out of bed and almost fell to the floor as I tripped over my two nearly nonfunctional legs. My hamstrings are as flexible as a 2x4. My ankles and calves feel as if someone has injected them with liquid fire. My abs and obliques feel like Mike Tyson went to town on like a punching bag. It really is amazing that nothing is torn, ripped or broken. I am declaring that I have achieved a new level of personal soreness!!!

The first thing on my list today was to hand deliver a contract extension to the Clerk of the Court in DeLand, get it docketed and attempt to deliver it to a judge. Walking through the parking garage at the pace of a fast sloth, I noticed a woman holding the elevator door for me about 50 feet away. I tried to run, hustle or jog.... anything to show gratitude for her kindness and not being a slow poke. Again I almost fell down over myself as pain shot through my entire body. She gave me the "are you alright look" as I hobbled into the elevator. Lady, if you only knew!

Lesson learned:
I am NOT 19-years-old anymore.

New mission:
How to get over soreness quickly???

There is a swell coming this weekend and I want to be ready to surf it! Not to mention another softball doubleheader on Wednesday, plus a 3-mile run. Hmmmmm....

10 Miles is SO much cooler than 9

When I was 19-years old I ran a half marathon. I did not train for it. I did not time myself. I did not hydrate properly or "carb load" beforehand. I did not even run in an official "Half Marathon Race." I simply clocked out a 13.1 mile route in my truck. Then I ran it, called it a day and went to class. I was living in Gainesville at the time and attending the University of Florida. It was more of the "can I do it" idea than anything else. I only remember thinking after the run a couple of things. First, "damn that took forever!" Second, "that's probably not good for your knees, oh well."

I never ran that far again.

This morning I ran 10 miles in 1:35:15. After the run I came to one conclusion. I am NOT 19-years old anymore. In fact, I might be stronger and wiser at 31-years old, but my body is NOT as bulletproof as 19! I'm gonna be sore for a few days!

I was supposed to run 9 miles, but the 10-mile barrier has been lingering in the back of my mind for a while now as I train to run an "Official Half Marathon" in November and most likely a real marathon in January. Really? What's one more mile when you've already gone 9 miles? So I set out to run 9 miles with that possible 10th as a sort of backup plan.

Here's the recap!

5:45 a.m. - Alarm sounds. Check the surf report (yes, I actually considered going surfing instead). Eat a handful of cashews followed by a tablespoon of honey (my old running trick) and drink a full glass of COLD water with a Shot Blok. Use the bathroom, put on running shoes, iPod and I'm off by 6:10 a.m.

Miles 1 and 2 - It's still dark. Like last week, I witness hundreds of BATS flying in a circle in the same spot. They must sleep somewhere around here. What's it called when a bat turns in for the day, ummm, morning to sleep??? Can you say they are going to roost??? Anyways, I think I'm starting to like seeing these bats! I cross a water fountain in a park at mile 2, take a sip, swish it around in my mouth and spit it out. Time for the big bridge!

Miles 2 and 3 - Hitting the big bridge at the beginning of a run is much better than toward the end. Super good call on that plan Sylvan! There are two ladies walking the bridge. They take up the entire path. I'm a big guy (see blog name) and I try to make a lot of noise as I approach them from behind in an attempt not to startle them at this early predawn hour. They are just chit chatting away and I'm forced to say "excuse me" as I'm only a few feet behind them. They both instinctively look behind them and then jump as my tallness has startled them a bit. FAIL.... but seriously, how could you not hear me coming???

Miles 4-6 - I try and pick up the pace a bit as the sun makes an appearance over the ocean. I'm just getting to the beach and I've got to run at least a mile on the beach exposed with not shade. There are no turtle tracks this time. I only come across a bum sleeping in the sand. My shadow is long. The ocean is glassy like a mirror. I stop at the beach patrol station for a water break. I sample my first ever Gu. It's orange flavor and contains caffeine. It doesn't upset my stomach, goes down well with water and in my opinion tastes better than the Powerbar Gels. A+ to the Gu!

Miles 7-9 - Nothing much happens worth noting. I make it to the park at Sapphire Avenue and start heading back to Flagler while I'll cross over the North Bridge (easy bridge) and eventually head back down Riverside Drive toward my house. I'm running slow and taking it easy, but I feel great!

Mile 10! - Of all things... MY iPOD BATTERY DIES! If almost on cue or in protest to me making it a 10 mile run, this happens now when I need my music the most! I frantically push the on button like that's going to help. Argggggggg... time to suck it up. Nothing's going to stop me now! I remove my ear pieces and try to find a tempo without music. I hear my feet pounding the pavement. I hear birds singing, car engines humming and sounds of the city coming to life. It's now that I realized I blew right past my last opportunity for water somewhere around mile 8.5 because I was mentally assessing my poor luck in timing with women in my dating life. Avoiding "water panic" I focus on where I have to go and hump it out!

Soon I'm finished. I pull off my "water wicking" shirt, which is drenched as if I swam in the ocean and it slowly starts to hit me: You just ran 10 'effing miles!!!!!!

My friend Redhead Running later tells me in a text message (after I send her a running high induced text proclaiming my accomplishment) that I'm entitled to have bragging rights all day so I've been telling everyone at work today, "I RAN 10 MILES THIS MORNING BEFORE WORK!" So far I've received a lot of confused and "your insane" looks followed by a lot of questions like, "what, why, how?" Hahahaha... If only the knew I intend to play a double header softball game tonight after work and they'll most likely stick me in left field because I'm fast and can run down pop flies. Oh joy... time to get in some speed work in the outfield!

ON A FINAL NOTE:
I was supposed to do this run on Sunday. I planned to do it Saturday morning, but a weekend full of (you guessed it) surfing and other social events didn't allow that to happen. I managed to surf about 3 sessions on both Saturday and Sunday. The first session on Saturday was again inside the inlet. This time with only my friends JB, Brian, Blythe, Morgan, Austin and myself out there. Again, we had it all to ourselves. It's like a secret spot, but the great part is it's NOT. It's in plain site of the other side of the inlet where several hundred locals, Orlando kooks, weekend warriors and "I'll kill you with my foam board" beginners are fighting over waves. It only lasted about an hour and promptly turned off. You have to be in the know as far as the swell direction, tide and wind goes....
I manged to do my FIRST EVER heels nose ride. Yup, walked to the nose of the board, turned 180 degrees around and for a second it felt like I was flying backwards with my heels off the tip of the board! On the very next ride, almost as if Mother Nature was knocking me back into the realm of mortals, I busted ass (literally) so hard falling backward that I bruised my bum. Then I lost my board (I rarely wear a leash) and had to do the Swim of Shame* back to the beach to get it.
All in all... super fun weekend. Stoke level 10!

*Swim of Shame - coined by Sylvan 2009 and now used by several local longboarders!

Fluky Friday Flash

<> This morning I got up before dawn, ran my three miles along Riverside Drive, returned home and set down in front of the computer with breakfast in hand to check email. Waiting for me in my inbox was hands down the best news I've heard all year! My second cousin, Bob, who is like a living father figure to me (my real father passed away when I was a child) was diagnosed 8 1/2 years ago with multiple myeloma. It's a rare cancer of the immune cells of the bone marrow and blood. At the time they gave him 3-4 years to live. Thanks to a wonderful support group and excellent treatment from the Dana-Farber Cancer Clinic in Boston he is announcing that he is cured. This summer he had a pretty insane procedure done called an autologous stem cell transplant. They basically took the stem cells out of his bone marrow and transplanted them with isolated and condensed ones from his blood. He lost 30 pounds and all his hair from the radiation, but his test are finally back and there is no indication of any remaining cancer! This is truly an amazing story of survival and I'm trying to convince him to write a book about it. I'm so stoked for him and his family. What a great reminder for all of us to live, love and be thankful for what we have and those in our lives. Everyday is a gift!

<> Text message of the week:
(This is the funniest part of a lengthy conversation. Use your imagination)

Me: "You know... most pilots have big ones!"

Jeanie: "Oh well they do inflate as u go up so that makes sense."

<> Photo of the week:
(This is a series showing the type of drop ins that occur a LOT at NSB inlet in the crowd, click the photo to enlarge)

Point Break in New Smyrna?!?!?!

Today is my day off from running.

My alarm clock rings at 7 a.m. (hell yeah, sleeping in!) and instead of going straight to work I decide a surfing pit stop is necessary to get the day off to a good start.

I meet my buddy JB as the beach ramp opens at 8 a.m. The inlet is already crowded at New Smyrna Beach. We paddle out. The ocean is as glassy as an oil slick with the sun glaring intensely off the surface. The choice waves at the best spot are about chest high, but there is a strange vibe in the water today. It's not negative, just strange. JB feels it too. The normal crowd is not out. We paddle south to another sand bar that is a little shallower in hopes of picking up some longer lines to surf. After an hour I'm just not feeling it and I tell JB I'm headed in to go to work.

Drying off at my truck, I decide to cruise down to the jetty and climb up on the rocks in the hopes of getting a few decent or amusing pictures of the short boarders aggressively dropping in on each other at the most crowded and peaky spot. It's something I've been meaning to do for a while and today is perfect since it's right around the full moon high tide. The water is high and I'm able to get out far enough on the rocks to be shooting down the line at the surfer for a different perspective than the usual direct from the beach shot.

Immediately I notice Austin, a local college student who works part time at a surf shop, sitting on his long board INSIDE the inlet completely alone. Earlier I saw him paddle north, away from the pack and wondered where the hell he was heading since it looked as if he was going out to sea. He's a phenomenal longboarder and when I see him I know what's up. New Smyrna Inlet rarely breaks on the inside where the boats come and go from. The swell has to be from the right direction and the tide has to be high enough. Right now there are both! I take a few pictures and then notice a local pharmacist that's another amazing longboarder along with his wife a couple of their daughters paddling out. I'm getting some really great pictures of all of them and starting to muster up some energy to join them when JB climbs up the rocks behind me. He's also wondered down the beach and found me. It's on! We grab our boards and join the fun.

It's a super fun vibe now as there are only eight of us with the entire inside of the inlet to ourselves. Only 100 feet away on the other side of the rocks lie about 200 guys on short boards snaking each other, fighting and dropping in on each other for a wave that's not nearly as clean and long as the one we are surfing. Stoked out of my mind I ride wave after wave with these wonderful people. The vibe in the water is everything! The rides are long... nearly the length of a football field and they all begin at one point near the rocks and peel off to the right toward the Intracoastal Waterway. Point Break at New Smyrna Beach??? You bet!

After a half hour the tide starts pushing out and the wind picks up out of the south. That oil slick glass turns into a slightly bumpy texture and the consistency of the wave deteriorates. The fun is over, but I'm stoked for the rest of the work day!

Rincon Rocks

This photo feature was published a few months before I started this blog. It's about a trip I did last March to Rincon, Puerto Rico. We lucked out and experienced a massive North Atlantic swell. I'm going back in a month and I can't wait!

Rincon Rocks

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Holy Smokes Batman - 8 Miles!

I've run 8 miles before. I have not run 8 miles in say, the last decade. Coming to terms with the fact that my body is not as bulletproof as it was when I was 21-years-old, I start my "long run" with a very conservative-slow pace. I don't have any fancy running gadgets. All I have is a cheap Timex iControl watch so I'm guessing my pace is around 10 minutes to start out.

It's Sunday morning, 5:45 a.m. It's dark. Things immediately get strange not even a 1/2 mile into the run. I cross over U.S. 1 and pass the Audio Vision building when I notice an object buzz past the back of my head. Just a few feet over my head between the building and an ancient oak tree are about 100 small birds flying in a circle. They seem to jaunt back in forth and are flying so erratically that it's amazing they don't have multiple mid-air collisions. Deja vu hits me. I've seen this before. Where? India... Nicaragua... I can't remember. One of the small birds breaks away from the chaos and flies higher and I see it clearly with the early morning sky in the background. IT'S A FREAKING BAT!

I stop running and just kind of gaze at them. Hundreds of bats flying around just feet above my head. They are completely silent, unlike in the movies. I've seen bats in Florida before, but usually only one or two flying around. NOT HUNDREDS! I continue one with my long run.

WILDLIFE #1 = Hundreds of BATS!

Mile 1 comes amidst a peaceful section of Riverside Drive. It's quiet and still dark. I'm feeling really good so I pick up the pace to probably around 9:30 pace. I conquer the North Bridge and with that comes mile 3. I'm still feeling great, but I begin to notice something. I have to pee. This is strange because I used the bathroom before I left and I'm almost always fine for my runs without having to have a bathroom stop. Soon I realize what I did differently. Before leaving I ate a Shot Blok that had caffeine in it. Normally, I eat the regular ones with no caffeine, but since I was up a little late the night before with friends drinking beer of all things I needed an extra boost this morning. It's gotta be the caffeine! TallGuySurfing rarely drinks anything with caffeine in it as I can hardly sit still as it is normally!

CAFFEINE & SYLVAN = bathroom stop.

Soon I'm at the beach ramp so I jog over to the beach patrol station where I know there are bathrooms and showers. The sunrise is just beginning. There are about two dozen people standing on the beach staring at it. It reminds me of a scene in the movie, City of Angels, where all the angels gather each morning for the sunrise. I notice some of these people are still dressed in the close they wore out last night to the party scene on Flagler Avenue. Classic! I'm glad I'm not one of them. The bathrooms are still locked. Damn it. I'm here before the beach patrol take duty for the day! Argggggg.

As I head down the beach the sunrise is absolutely beautiful. The last time I watched a sunrise on my own beach here in town I had been up drinking and partying all night long. Today is a much better way to watch the sunrise. I notice some odd tracks going up the beach. They look like 4-wheeler tracks, but a little different. They are turtle tracks. Probably a loggerhead. There's a mound of dirt where she has laid dozens of eggs several feet below the sand only hours ago under the cover of darkness. The turtle patrol people have not arrived yet and I feel like I'm the first human to see them. A short distance further I see where she returned to the ocean to leave her eggs and eventual hatch lings to discover the cruelty of the ocean.

WILDLIFE #2 = Endangered Species Turtle tracks

Another mile down the beach and I find a port-o-potty to put to use. It smells like a landfill. Then it's heading back west toward the South Bridge. This is the biggest incline for miles around. It's a high rise bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway. I'm not sure what the pitch and rise of the slope is, but the height at the top is about 80 feet and it's about a quarter mile run to the top. As I'm running up the bridge the sun breaks the horizon almost on cue and starts beating down upon me. The temperature seems to rise 10 degrees and I start to feel nauseous. What's worse is my planned water stop is in Riverside Park on the other side of the bridge. I can see the bathrooms and even the little water fountain below in the park not even a 1/2 mile below. It's like the water fountain is yelling at me, "come on dude, you can make it. I'm waiting for ya!" Reaching the top of the bridge I stop and walk. I have to. It's not a choice. Perhaps if I had a running buddy with me I would have humped it out, but by myself it seems involuntary. Must walk now! Down below I notice movement in the water. Many years of surfing and fishing has taught me to notice these things. A mullet jumps wildly out of the water again and again. A large boil follows the mullet. I know this to mean impending doom for that poor mullet. Then a large tarpon, probably five feet long, swallows the mullet whole in a violent attack sending water spraying across the surface. I think to myself, "things could be worse, you could have just been eating by a large tarpon." The water fountain doesn't look far now and I start to run again. Peace out mile 6!

WILDLIFE #3 = Large tarpon and mullet/life and death motivation.

The water is super cold and hits my lips with a freshness that is indescribable. It's good. REAL GOOD. I force down a Power Bar Gel packet and drink more water. There's a drunk guy on a nearby bench smoking a cigarette. He's staring at me like, "what's your deal man?" I give him the "Screw off loser," stare back while nodding good morning to him and continue my run. Only 2 miles to go!

WILDLIFE #4 = Drunk man on park bench smoking cigarette.

The last two miles are uneventful. I ease into a zone. Perhaps I'm at the point of NOT noticing my surroundings. I'm focused on finishing. Tunnel vision for sure. I pick up the pace a little and my body makes me slow back down after a short ways. My knees are fine. No cramps. I just have a little bit of "get-there-itis." The final stretch is before me and I can see my own finish line in the distance. My Chemical Romance's, "I'm Not Okay," starts playing in my iPod. I feel okay as I cross the finishing point, tear off my drenched shirt and headband, start walking for my cool down and start to feel the "runner's high" hit me. I just ran EIGHT FREAKING MILES and most of my friends are still sleeping! Am I okay? I feel fine, but somehow I relate to the song on a small level. I feel like I can eat a small animal. Who knew running would make me so hungry!?!?

I manage to surf for three hours later in the morning with some friends that give me the "you are NOT OKAY" look as I paddle up and tell them I just ran 8 miles. Later in the evening as the sun is setting I surf again, this time because my roommate wants to learn. He takes a pounding and after an hour looks more beat up than myself. He gives me the "how do you do it and make it look so easy," look. It's then that I know after burning about 2,500 calories and still going strong, sunrise to sunset, that I know that I am truly OKAY!