Stupid Gazelle

Yeah, sometimes I feel like that gazelle too......I did have a pretty good 3 mile run this evening, even though the heat just about killed me...bad side cramps too, which I haven't had in a long time....

Still a couple days to enter my giveaway to win $50 in products from CSN. Check it out here.

Can Tab Run

So the other day I had to take my car into the shop for some repairs. I took it to a place in another town, about 4 miles away from my house.


I decided to take it in, and run back home, instead of waking the family up to follow me and then bring me back. It was a nice day outside and I was due for a run.


After dropping the car off, I started running back home, on mostly a one lane road in the country between the two towns. But as I was running I started noticing all the litter on the side of the road. Man, we have some litterbugs here. It was kind of sad.


And then I started noticing all the aluminum cans that people had thrown out their windows which had ended up on the side of the road in the weeds. The biggest litterbugs seem to be Bud Light drinkers, although Pepsi wasn't far behind. Really, I think I saw just about every beverage represented in the can litter.


And then I had an idea.


For the past year or two, we've been collecting can pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. If you don't know about the Ronald McDonald house, they do great work by allowing families to stay in their homes at a very cheap rate (like $15) while a loved one is in the hospital for an extended period of time. This past week, my wife took our boys down to deliver the tabs, and they also picked up a new little house to collect the tabs in:

So my run then became a can tab collection run. I think I collected about 50 tabs, and I didn't even get them all. Some cans were too far into the weeds, or too badly mangled, or I just didn't feel like stopping for some. My pocket was weighted pretty good with the tabs. I kind of felt bad about leaving the rest of the can there and just taking the tab, like I was littering all over again. But there was no way I could carry all those cans, and I justified it by the fact that it was someone else's litter.


It made for a lot of stopping to pull tabs during the run, but it was worth it, and I had fun.

Giveaway reminder --it's not too late to enter my giveaway here! Good luck!

A Giveaway -- Win $50 in Merchandise!

Okay, I am going to keep this simple. One of you is going to win $50 in merchandise at CSN Stores. There is a ton of great stuff at that site -- you could get a foam roller, a LED headlight for those night runs, a massage stick , or any number of hundreds of items. It is up to you how to spend the money, you could even get something non-running related.

To win, here is how to enter:

1. For one entry, leave a comment and say hello...yes, it's that easy
2. Be a follower and let me know it for a 2nd entry

3. For an extra entry, leave a separate comment about what you might spend the $50 on at http://www.csnstores.com/

4. For another entry, link back to this post on your blog

Contest runs until the end of July, and then I'll pick a winner.

Happy blogging and good luck!

A Junk Man, and a Giveaway Teaser

Junk Man
Above is a picture from the Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Branson. In the lobby they have these statues made out of junk parts (toys, cars, lighters, buttons, etc) fastened to a frame.

My kids thought it was the coolest thing, and so when we got home they wanted to try to make one. Here is our attempt...

Giveaway Teaser

The people at CSN Stores have contacted me to do a giveaway. Have you heard of them? They have a gazillion products from everything from a Dutch oven , to luggage, to exercise equipment (tons of yoga and strength training items), to bird cages. You name it, they probably have it. Check it out - CSN. I'll try to post this little giveaway this weekend. Stay tuned.

Soccer Running

Last night I went for a run with my son. He was on his scooter and I kicked a mini soccer ball the entire way, about 2 1/2 miles. It was actually pretty fun.

Tech shirt Giveaway here

Lazy, Crazy Summer

This past month has been crazy busy to work, with a trip to Arkansas, a vacation to Branson, and a quick getaway to Topeka/Lawrence thrown in. Suffice it to say, I haven't been blogging in a while, and I've only run about once a week for the last couple of weeks. Just don't have the time or energy, especially with this mid-to-upper 90's heat we have going on lately. Seriously, all I want to do is jump in a swimming pool most days.

But, I've gotten to do some pretty cool things this past month. Here is a list:

1. I got to ride in my town's July 4th parade with my son's baseball team. This was followed by all kinds of activities in the park where I even entered a horseshoe tournament (?) and won two matches..

Go Red Sox!

2. Took the family on a work trip to NW Arkansas, where we went to a minor league baseball game with some friends and my wife and I were put on the jumbo tron and had to kiss...

At the ball game....we were on the jumbo tron in the background...

3. Got to go swimming with my boys multiple times, and launch my youngest into the water...

Prepare to launch....5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

4. Had an awesome Branson vacation, where we went to Silver Dollar City and Ripley's Believe it or Not....

With the tallest man in the world at Ripleys...

5. Went to a Wichita Wingnuts game with some friends, sat in the skybox, and one of our friends caught a foul ball (okay, she didn't actually catch it but it came right to her and landed at her feet where she picked it up.)

(no picture, forgot to take the camera...but we really did catch a foul ball)

6. Went to the REO Speedwagon/Pat Benetar concert, sat in the 7th row middle and got back stage passes...(my brother in law knows the bass player from REO very well, got us the hook up)....awesome show, and my ears are still ringing....

With Bruce Hall, bass player for REO

7. Took a trip to Topeka to see a taping of the show Pinks All Out .. We got to see a lot of fast cars and had box suite tickets to this as well with free food/drinks...it was nice having air conditioning on such a hot day....

Two rocket cars...man, they were loud... The host of Pinks, All Out, starting a race...

8. Bought a Life is Good "Gotta Run" TShirt on clearance for $7...

9. Got some New Balance shoes to wear test, and I won some Reebok shoes that I am waiting to receive (woo-hoo)

10. Overall, despite the crazy busyness at work, I've had a fun time just hanging out with the family and enjoying the summer...can't believe school starts in less than a month!

PS...Coming soon.....a great Giveaway for you all!