Posts Tagged ‘Charity’

Twenty

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

On Sunday, my training lead me back to Beck Lake on a twenty mile run. Preparation seems to be getting more complex as race day appoaches. I’m waking up an hour and a half ahead of time to be fully nourished and hydrated. Previously, I ate half a banana before all my long runs.  On Sunday, I ate a breakfast of oatmeal and Gatorade; a huge boost if you ask me. Next goal is to wake up earlier. The the marathon starts at 7:30 am, so I should be waking up at 6 am… but my schedule hasn’t really allowed that. Lately on the weekends, I’ve been waking up at 7:30 am. This weekend, I’ll shoot for 6 am.

As for the run itself, it was rough. Due to the distance, I kept the pace slower than normal. Unfortunately I took several breaks in the last quarter of my run. This was due to a couple of reasons. First, the day was warmer and more humid than other days. Second and more importantly, I was sick Friday and most of Saturday, which carried over to Sunday. It’s a little demotivating, but I’m suprised I didn’t pass out on the trails. Even after my run, I submerged myself in an ice bath. Nothing helps a cold better than an ice bath. I’m just full of good ideas. Suprisingly I’m still coughing now, but I’m getting better by the day. Vitamin C’s a good friend to me and I expect to be over this within the week. Two weeks will be my second 20 miler. It should be a cake walk.

As a side note: I’d like to thank everyone for your continuing support and donations. It means a lot and it’s a good feeling when I’m running out there on those long runs. Together we can make a difference!

Support me at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/prodriguez

http://www.patrickontherun.com

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Running | 1 Comment »

Dark and Cloudy with a Chance of….

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Wednesday July 15th, 2009

If anyone tells you that sleeping more than 10 hours is a bad thing, that person is lying to you. That was exactly what I did and it felt awesome. Today was much of the same good stuff as yesterday but with an unexpected visitor: clouds. An hour or two into the work day, clouds rolled in and brought relief from the pounding sun. What a difference a few clouds make. As a result of the favorable weather, we worked almost twice faster than yesterday.

Before lunch, we met Steven who was a resident of New Orleans all his life. Being a musician, he lived literally across the street and benefitted from Habitat for Humanity’s work. His previous home was destroyed in the hurricane. One condition to home ownership through Habitat was community service, which was a great way to facilitate the circle of giving. It was a great benefit to speak with and work alongside him. He had a cool, laid back personality which was complimented by the fact he had was a jazz trombone player. Prior to lunch, I asked him where the best place to get a Po’Boy for lunch.

A few miles west of out site on Saint Claude’s road, we found Gene’s. I ordered a Roast Beef Po’Boy which was roast beef, lettuce, and pickle on a toasted French bread. Very simple, but delicious. These things were meant to feed Po’ Boys or a lot of food for little money. That roast beef po’boy satisfied me in ways other sandwiches couldn’t. As we returned to the work site, it became dark and cloudy…

The rain came down with a ferocity that’s unrivaled by Chicago’s mild storms. It came hard and long enough to end our work day early. A 30 percent chance of scatter thunderstorms is no joke down here.

The storm subsided late in the afternoon. From my experience yesterday, I decided running would be a bad idea. In addition, I managed to strategically miss a nail and land my hammer into my knee. It sounds a lot worse than it felt, but it was good to give it a day’s rest.

Before long, Pastor Rustin and company offered us some good eats. Tonight was jambalaya. Similarly to the Po’Boy, jambalaya arose from the Cajun culture that was known to make a lot of food with cheap ingredients and spices such as paprika and cayenne. I think I found my favorite southern food.

Our day ended with another stroll down Bourbon Street. One of my goals while in New Orleans was to drink five drinks that the city was known for: Hurricane, Sazerac, Ramos Gin Fizz, One, and Two. Tonight I perched on a barstool at the Absinthe Bar to order a Ramos Gin Fizz. I knew I was in trouble when my bartender cracked an egg open as the first ingredient. The middle ingredients were on par with the usual cocktail mix of gin and some soda. She topped the drink off with whole milk before she shook it. My stomach yelled for mercy, but the sounds of Bourbon Street drowned all other sounds. Cheers to good health!

After slurping down that frothy drink, we headed home on Saint Claude Street, but were redirected after a dozen police closed down the road. Strange and interesting night.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Travel, Volunteering | No Comments »

Hot to the Touch

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Tuesday July 14th, 2009

I woke up to the sound of crickets that made their way into the sleeping quarters. We quickly ate breakfast and slapped on some SPF 70 sunscreen. A few miles down at Alvar Street and Prier Street, we met with other volunteers of Habitat for Humanity. The area was known as Musician’s Village because, well, 80 percent of the residents are musicians. The housing units were designed to be lifted in case shallow flooding occurred. In the event of a hurricane, the walls withstand 225 mile per hour winds; greater than most category 5 hurricanes. Our task for the day was simple, hammer down a few nails into two by fours to construct the walls of housing. Easy enough.

The initial task seemed easy, but the task quickly compounded in difficulty. First, we laid lumber on the ground, checked for warping, and hammered nails in. Add in 92 degree weather and 80% humidity, and bending over at the hip to a 90 degree angle and quickly standing up. Blood rushed out of my head with that motion. After three hours, I became dizzy, my lips were numb, and my body was on fire. Despite the fact that I was drinking loads of water (I drank over 4 liters that day), my body was suffering from heat exhaustion. I took a break in the shade and enjoyed the view of the construction site.

The three of us were paired up with two other volunteers: Jack and Janet. Jack was a New Orleans resident, who during his break before senior year in high school, decided to help Habitat for Humanity for a month. I wish I had that kind of stamina in this heat. A week’s all I can handle! Janet was originally from New Orleans and moved to Colorado where she works as a manager at an engineering company (I think). She had been on a sabbatical where she’d volunteer while on vacation from work. We spent the most time chatting with them and learning more intimately about New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina.

As the afternoon rolled around, Marilou, Jake, and I had been exhausted from the day. We had two hours before Pastor Rustin’s family served dinner at their house. During that time, Jake slept, Marilou read, and I decided to run for three miles. Clouds covered the sky but the humidity remained. I paced slow just in case, but after a mile, everything felt surreal. My heart rate jumped and forced me to walk halfway through. I returned to the Church covered in sweat, dizzy, and stumbled indoors. I completed over 50 races throughout my life, but on that day my body felt peculiar. It was hot to the touch as if I had a fever. This would be normal if it subsided, but it stayed like that for the remainder of the day. Scary.

Tonight, we ate spaghetti at the Pastor’s house. Not exactly the southern food I was looking for, but it was great to have a warm, home cooked meal. After dinner, we were still tired and slept the night away. A well deserved rest.

http://www.patrickontherun.com

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Running, Travel, Volunteering | No Comments »

Now Approaching Half Marathon….

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

…next stop, Chicago Marathon 2009. As many of you already know, I have been running for some time. In the past few years, college has gotten the best of me and stopped me from consistently running. Of course, I ran from time to time and cross trained with lifting, boxing, and other miscellaneous recreational activities. The rest of my time was filled with studying, extracurricular activities, and “social gatherings”. About a year after being out of school, I blew out both arms and couldn’t lift anything above my waist without a burning feeling near my elbows. Unfortunately, tendonitis never completely goes away and the best anyone can do is keep it at bay by strengthening exercises and not pushing it to the edge. Frankly, I’m not the type to sit back and get comfortable with something easy. Hence, I picked up running.

January 2009 – Current

My Acsics GT-2140 were laced up and hit the pavement once again early January. A bit cold for my liking, but it always makes me appreciate modern air conditioning. I also hate treadmills. Since then,  I’ve been running from temperatures from -10°F to 90°F, in the rain, 500-4000 ft elevations (of course ranges weren’t on the same run). I have also completed four races:

2009 Shamrock Shuffle 8k (3/29/2009):

Time: 36:30 min

Pace 7:18 min/mile

Anelise’s Run 5k (4/25/2009):

Time: 19:50 min

Pace: 6:40 min/mile

8K Run for Youth by Alternative Inc. (5/17/2009)

Time: 34:23 min

Pace: 6:55 min/mile

Committed to be Fit 9th Annual 10K (6/7/2009)

Time: 42:58 min

Pace: 7:05 min/mile

Before I get flamed out, yes I do know it seems that I am “full of it” or boasting because I’m posting times. However, numbers are a good way to gauge performance and fitness overtime. It’ll give you a good perspective on where I am at. Years ago, I ran competitively in high school, recreationally in college, and recently been training for six months. It’s nice to be on the upward trend of fitness rather than the contrary.

Now approaching Half Marathon

The next stop is the 2009 Rock and Roll Half Marathon on August 2, 2009. A steady 13.1 mile run that’s precisely 0.1 miles longer than I have ever ran (the 13 miler was done fall 2001 in my senior year of high school). I have two goals in this race: 1) to get a free T-Shirt, 2) Not injuring myself.  To achieve this, this will be the first race (ever) that I won’t race in. In other words, I’m not giving it 100%, because this is a stepping stone to my real destination: the 2009 Chicago Marathon.

Next Stop, The Chicago Marathon!

Since high school, it was always a dream of mine to complete a marathon. In the past years, I have always identified myself as a long distance runner, but what kind of real long distance runner would I be if I haven’t run a race that everyone and their momma has run. The road will be long (obviously) and hard, but I feel that it’s a matter of consistency and developing a routine that will pull me through. Having little marathon experience, I’m turning to a third party resource to keep me from breaking a leg (literally). The marathon program that I am running can be found at Hal Higdon’s Website. With 15 weeks to go, I have a lot of work to do, but running for a good cause is one of the best motivators to have for this race.

Running: the Anti-Drug!

Well not exactly anti-drug, but I have signed up to run for the American Cancer Society. Years ago, my uncle passed away from malignant lung cancer. It was a trying time for my family and I still feel that things haven’t been the same. Since then I have donated to charities here and there, but I feel that this marathon is a great opportunity to finally put myself out there. I am reaching out to everyone to support me in this race by making a donation, no matter if it’s a 1,000 dollars to 1 dollar. Every little bit counts.

Please support me and the fight against cancer at: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/prodriguez

I’ll continue with updates in my training and fundraising. Pax.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Running | 1 Comment »