A White Knuckle Ride...or What Team Elliott Calls Normal

Buckle up…because here is the cliff note version of the white knuckle ride of Team Elliott on the previous weekend….and could be any given weekend.

Friday up bright and early for a 0530 leg work out the weights…I added up 1200 reps of squats, leg extension, leg curls, more squats…lunges…and for the rest of the day Friday felt much like Bambi did on Ice… Left work a bit early so Luke and I could go camping…it is almost time for him to cross over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts and Troop 380 had invited us on the campout. We leave a little before 1800 on Friday (6:00PM for you air force types) and we are off to Camp Wisdom. We set up camp….and finally hit the rack at nearly 2300 (11:00PM for you army types) I am up at 0500 (5:00 AM for you Navy Squid Types) to get in 10 miles of running before reveille sounds at 0700 (that is 0700 for you Marine types ;-)) The 10 miles of running was a bit painful due to the extreme intense weight workout the previous day…but all by design. We had Breakfast and carried out the plan of the day for Troop 380. Luke absolutely loved the troop and was highly impressed. It is truly boy lead and I was really impressed with the older scouts…they really had their act together.

We break camp and saddle up at about noon…to get back by 1500 (3:00PM) for Luke’s Soccer game…and then after that I had squid duty so Bren could go with her mom on some high fluting event at Glenn Eagle Country Club.

On Sunday I am up at 0430 to knock out 20 miles on the trail. The legs were dead…really dead…but I kept a good pace…the body adapts and the mind overcomes….and about 4 hours later…I am back at the house cleaned up and ready for church. After Church….I had a quick lunch and then Macy and I head out for a Y Princess outing at Heritage Farms in Plano Texas. Macy had a blast with her friends and us dad’s had a good time with no shortage of smart elleck (how do you really spell that?) comments.

I had to have Macy back home by 1600 (4:00 pm for country club types) so that she could get to AWANAS at Church. Luke had soccer practice that I had to get him to at 1630….but alas it was cancelled…which really suited me just fine…at about 1700 (5:00PM for you civilian types) I finally got to sit down…for the weekend….so what did you do this weekend? Press On!

Post Script: Last year I rode for Carolyn Boyd…the LIVESTRONG campaign for people battling cancer. Right now her situation is grave…she is seeking alternatives that are real aggressive since her prognosis is grim. This burdens my heart more than I can tell you…Please keep Carolyn, her 16 year old daughter, her 2 younger sons…and her husband in your prayers.

A few of my favorite things...and a marathon to boot.

You know how Oprah does a favorite things episode?...and she gives away all that stuff….ok…I only know about this because of my wife tells me about that. Anyways….this post is about a few things that s that I use and think they are incredible….They are typically not mainstream….and sometimes hard to find. I don’t go with low dollar….but more quality. Two of these companies are small and you cannot find any of their stuff in retail shops but only on the internet. I endorse all these products and do not receive payment from any of them….except one will pay me a small commission if you tell them you learned about it from my blog...and I will get to that in a moment. And by the way...unlike Oprah...I can't give you all this stuff...;-)

First…my Sanuk’s. I have blogged about them before, so I won’t go into detail on these…but suffice it to say…they are absolutely the most comfortable shoe I have ever owned…I wear them to church and really do not care what people think….and they are the best to wear after a long run. Cost: $55-65.



If you follow my blog….you know that I own a Nook. When perusing the internet for Nook covers, I came across some designer leather covers that cost nearly $200.00. yikes….that is a bit steep….like more than the Nook steep. Then I came across Oberon Design. These people are artisans…handmade from leather…wonderful pieces of work…without the $200 price tag. More like $75.00.



Ok…I have had one of these for nearly 5 years….and you can find them in high end camping/outdoor retail. The Tilley Hat…made in Canada…many styles and such but I have the T3 Cotton Duck hat….quality…awesome design with the snap up brim….it floats for you water people…I have the khaki color…and it looks as good today as when I bought it….I do wash it often. Cost - $69.00.


This last item is my favorite…bar none. I love the story behind the company…I love the quality…they do not cut corners so don’t expect the price tag to either. It is a Saddleback Leather Product. Their tag line is “Your kids will fight over it when you’re dead.” It comes with a 100 year warranty…yep…that is ONE HUNDRED YEARS! I bought the chestnut color large briefcase pictured below. It is handmade of full grain leather…lined with pigskin. It is absolutely gorgeous. When I am old and decrepit…I want this bag to whisper of adventures of life that we went on together. It is tough enough to go anywhere. This is the one company that will give me credit if you tell them you found it here….I got other stuff I want to buy from them…do some research like I did and you will find this Texas Company and incredible quality. On a sidenote…these bags were given away in the “gift bags” for the MTV awards in 2008. Price for my bag…$555.00.


On the training front/endurance front…Ran the Grasslands trail race this past weekend. I only ran the marathon...2 years ago I ran the 50 mile race...and this weekend was a far cry from that success. The race was hot...at least for this time of the year...and my buddy Clive insisted that we run together...and we did for the first 5 miles at a pace that sent my heart rate into the stratosphere...and I went ahead with it knowing I would pay the piper...and I did at about mile 18. I went into this race as a training run...and not until it was over did I realize that I had only run 3...yes 3 times since we have gotten back from Chicago in late February. I haven't been putting the miles in...and as of tomorrow that will change...at least for the next 6 weeks. Time to put the bike on the rack and get back on the "running" road. So there you are...a little over 5 hours of tough love inflicted on myself...This was the last year for my peeps Kevin and Stacie Boudreaux to be race directors for the Grasslands...They are two of the good people in my life. My bud Matt Heinz ran his first trail race...the marathon...and absolutely owned it...and told me he had a wonderful experience...He is another one of those good people in my life...yep...I keep track of 'em. Till next time Press On.
(pic courtesy of Matt Heinz pre race)

p.s. All the pics do not do the product justice...all except for the pre race shot...I really looked that bad...when I get up at 0400 in the morning.

p.s.s. I was made aware that I didn't include Clive as a "Good person in my life" catagory. Let me take this moment to ammend that and say that he absolutely is!!! Let me also say that I did think bad thoughts about him from miles 18-26...let me also say that there are few people that can make me laugh as hard as he does while we are running.

Life and Training…Sometimes it’s just…

...moving forward…it ebbs and flows…climbs and descends…surges and pulls back. That is where I am…last year I was on top of my game for most of the year…trained for Bataan…ran an epic race…then moved right into cycling…lots of core and lots of endurance….riding a 50 miles on a fixed gear and then running a 50K trail run that night…going like I was on fire during the Hotter N Hell 100 miles ride and then running the ½ marathon trail race the next day. Currently, that looks like a long ways off…the edge isn’t there….but I press on.

After the Chicago trip I had a double ear infection and sinus infection…so I did something I had never done since I started running 4 years ago. I took the entire week off. I am now back in the swing. I feel about at 80%...I ran 2 hours on the trail on Saturday and enjoyed the moment…about an hour into it I ran into my bud Rochelle...and we finished the run together…to learn that she has been excepted into the Badwater 135…you know the 135 miles through death valley in July….where it gets a 130 F. She inspires me as she quote Palms 139:14…”I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” She is a testament to that as she finished a 200 mile relay…solo.

I continue on….not up…not down….just moving forward…and what that means is usually a boring blog.

So I leave you with this…it reminded me of my Marine Corps Legacy…the buds I served with….and what made us do what we do…that, my friend, makes me want to run fast….and far…Press On!