A day of mourning...

Just Kidding... But I am sitting here in my office reading though about 100 emails, looking at the snow and gray outside. So going from a white sand beach w/ the sun shining and enjoying the 80 degree afternoon temps is a bit difficult.

Anyway - I need to get back to work so am going to keep this short. But COME BACK soon. I anticipate doing a full trip report w/ pics, stories, everything hopefully by this weekend but definitely in the next week or so. AND.. I think I'm going to keep the blog going just writing about random stuff in my every day life.

I already miss the island - would I do the race again? I would have answered yes 5 seconds after I finished, the entire experience is amazing and I hope to do it again in the future. OK - check back soon for more!

We did it!

A very quick note - writing from the Quiet Mon pub overlooking the street in Cruz Bay w/ a cold drink in hand. We all finished strong today!

Brett finished 38!! Brian did really good too. And I ALMOST got my goal of 90 minutes that I had just kinda guessed on. I finished 168 of like 330 some men (I think..) with a time of 1:30:41. I'll do a full trip and race report when we return.

So far the trip is GREAT. Sun, perfect water, lots to explore and all kinds of fun stuff so far. Couldn't be much better and I feel like I finished the race just about as strong as I possibly could have.

OK, back to the bar to watch the Drake game and enjoy my beverage. By the way, it's gotta be right around 75 and i'm sitting on a deck w/ sandals, shorts, and a tshirt.

Ashley - are you ready to move down here???

Thanks EVERYONE for all of your support!!! Stay tuned for more next week!

One More Day!!!

Only one more day until we leave!! I can't wait. Fortunately, there is at least a little time though as I'm not packed completely yet. Have everything I need (I think) for the week laid out, now just need to finish up some laundry and get it all packed up.

Just got home from the gym. I was pretty tired from running quite a long time yesterday and actually ended up just walking almost my whole work out. I did do it at a pretty good incline the entire time though. Ran a mile to start, then a little bit more before getting into the inclined walk for about 45 minutes. All in all I did over 4 miles and spent over an hour on the treadmill. Ashely continues to do really good at the gym lately too - she's gonna look SUPER HOT in that wedding dress in a few months.

I think I'm going to keep it short tonight as I'm going to work on my ipod playlists for the trip and the race, and get some movies downloaded to my phone for the plane ride. I'll *try* to do a final update tomorrow before we take off, and I anticipate being able to post some short updates from my phone during the trip and following the race. And of course I'll do a complete wrap up and trip report, with pictures and everything, upon our return and successful completion of the race!!

p.s. - Boompa's doing better and looks like he will be headed home before long. HUZZAH!

A good solid workout

Headed over to the gym w/ Ashley in the early afternoon on this miserable gray rainy day. We each ended up having really good workouts. I'm proud of her, she is getting into the swing of working out and ran a 5K on the eliptical, did weights, and rode the bike for 10 miles - not bad! As for me, you can see my run data above (sorry haven't been posting these as much). Did a solid four miles of straight running at 9:13 a mile. Walked a little bit before to warm up and for quite a while after. Felt pretty good the entire time and probably could have kept going but didn't want to push it and exhaust myself as I want to get one more longer run in tomorrow night.

Watched the hockey movie "Youngblood" for the entire run and really enjoyed it. I had seen the end several times but never the beginning - it's cheesy but actually pretty funny. Guess I really should have tried to make it to play junior hockey. That kid experiences more in about 2 weeks at 17 than I did all through college, AND ends up w/ the young hottie at the end!

After that, we went to eat at a really good Mexican restaurant in Batavia called El Taco Grande. We had heard good things but it was my first time. It was very good but no El Rodeo! Then went to pick up some supplies for a project I'm working on for my fellow racers, and over to Dick's Sporting Goods to pick up some stuff.

Since then just been hanging out at home, doing laundry and watching TV in front of the fire. Got to talk to Boompa a bit earlier today and he seemed to be in good spirits so that is really good. I'm hoping he has a full recovery and is back to his old self in no time. We really hope my grandparents can all make it to our wedding but if not we'll try to get out to visit them all soon.

In 72 hours we'll be setting up our tent next to the beach at Cinnamon Bay on St. John!!!!!!!

Getting Ready...

Short note this morning - we're headed out to the gym in a little bit so I'll try to update tonight on that run. Also need to pick up some final supplies for the trip and start packing everything up so I don't have to worry about it Tuesday.

Found on late Friday night that my grandpa, who we call "Boompa," was transported to the hospital via life flight helicopter after having chest pains. Fortunately, I talked to him just a few minutes ago and he seems to be doing pretty well. The are doing tests and should know more about what actually happened on Monday. So I've been thinking about him and my grandma a lot Sent out any good thoughts and prayers for him if you have time.

OK - stuff to do! Come back tonight for the workout report!

Sick of Winter? This should warm you up!

So looks like this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue spent some time at Caneel Bay on St. John... Click here to check out pics, videos, etc. I'm sure Ashley won't be too disappointed they did their shooting last October (don't think we'll be running into any famous swimsuit models next week!)

Thursday night update

First just want to take a quick minute to remind everyone to send their thoughts and prayers out to the community at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb. I was born in Dekalb, and have actually applied to go back to grad school at NIU (about 30 min from our house), so hearing the news about today's shooting was quite a shock. It's crazy to think these kinds of things can happen anytime, anywhere. Anyway, thinking about the victims and their families tonight and will be into the future.

Sorry I missed last night's update, although since I didn't run last night and worked instead on a website for our wedding and some other stuff - there wasn't much to report. There IS stuff to report from Tuesday night and today however. Tuesday night went to work out w/ Ashley right after work and had a really great run. I ran four straight miles on the treadmill at just over 9 minutes a mile. If I didn't have to go to the bathroom from about mile 2 on I think I could have done a couple more! The hockey game was on TV to watch so that always helps. Ashley says I'll be in trouble w/ no TV to watch as I run 8 Tuff Miles - but I figure with my ipod and all there is to see along the course, I'll be able to keep my brain busy w/o just focusing on the pain and suffering of it all.

Went to run today on my lunch break and had another good workout. Only 30 minutes but I set it to the hills program and ran almost the whole time (one 5 minute walk in the middle). The hills are definitely hard and I ran slower, only doing about 2.75 miles total. Still, I worked up a real good sweat and although I struggled, was able to keep running at the same pace on the steepest incline setting. To think the entire first 6 miles of the race will be like this!!! Well I only have about 3 or 4 more hard workouts to go before we are down there and just trying to stay loose before the race.

Both Brett and Brian seem to be getting really pumped about the trip. Brett says he can't concentrate on anything else and Brian called tonight. Also, Brian and his wife are apparently going to buy a house this weekend - so that is exciting!!

Tonight we headed out to go wedding ring shopping (really the only thing we did for Valentine's day other than give each other cards). This went OK - we aren't quite seeing the whole "ring" experience in the same way so we have some figuring out to do before the big day (will we buy each other's rings?, our own rings?, simple?, diamond band?, etc., etc.) Then went to Kohl's and Ashley got me a cool t-shirt for the trip that has palm trees on it. Then we went out to eat and I bought Ashley dinner while we met w/ our wedding photographer at Colonial restaurant by our house. She is VERY nice and we both like her a lot. She was very down to earth and very chatty - we think she'll do a great job and will be very comfortable to work with on our wedding day.

That's about it for right now - gonna run again tomorrow at lunch and hopefully both days this weekend. Meeting tomorrow night w/ Maria who will marry us, so I'm making lasagna for dinner. Only 5 DAYS UNTIL WE TAKE OFF FOR ST. JOHN!!!!

Pray for those Huskies tonight...

Don't worry I'm still here!

Hey everyone. Sorry for the brief delay in the day to day updates. I've had a LOT going on lately! First let me say it's like 12 degrees or something and I'm looking out the window and more falling snow. I am SO ready for next week's trip. Only a week from tonight Brett and Brian will be arriving and we'll be taking off for St. John the next morning. But to recap what's been going on:

At lunch Friday I had the best run I've had in a long time. I ran 3 straight miles at a pretty high speed on the treadmill - no stopping to walk or anything and I felt like I could have even gone a bit longer if I wanted to (had to get back to work!). Now I know you are probably saying that's not 8 miles you fool and there was no hills. Well, that is true. I'll admit I'm not at the level I hoped to be by now. But I'm going to do the best I can, train all this coming week hard, and do my best and finish the race.

Friday, I got home from work and Ashley and I immediately jumped into our home improvement project - laying new laminate hardwood floors in our kitchen. It ended up taking us about 6 hours, but we finished it all in one night (not counting molding). Ashley was awesome and figured out how to cut out all the pieces to fit around doors and weird spots - including the completely rounded bottom of one of our cabinets. Although it took awhile and was killer on my thighs and knees (it was actually a good workout), it was really pretty simple to install the floor. Just locks into place and you go one row after another. We used my circular saw and miniature band saw to get the boards cut just right. Overall, we really like how it came out - check it out (one before and 2 after pictures):




Saturday we got up and went to Menard's to pick up molding for the kitchen and some other stuff we needed. We were able to almost finish the kitchen but still had to put a little more molding in and paint over some nail holes and stuff. At 2:00 p.m. we headed over to Petco for the Valentine's Day Pet Party with Pim and Essie. I know this sounds ridiculous, and it was, but hey, it's fun. AND, Pim beat out lots of other dogs and was a finalist in the "best kiss contest" so we won a free bag of pet food - not bad!! We went to Target after that to work on our wedding registery with Ashley's parents. This mostly involved Ashley and her mom walking around w/ a scanner gun picking out kitchen stuff while me and her dad sat on boxes of kitty litter and talked. When the gun finally died, we went over to Portillo's and picked up hotdogs to take back to our house. Ashley's parents were really surprised and happy with how the new floor looked. We were proud.

Sunday did chores around the house, finished the molding in the kitchen, went to the library, cleaned, and did other random stuff that kept us busy. It's been freezing cold and snowing and just crappy out so it was good to stay in the house. Our heating bills have been huge so we put up some of that window film on some windows. Hopefully that will help! Also, I spent a long time paying all my bills which is never fun at all...

Yesterday I was into work bright and early for a training on some new software. This is my final full week in my current position so there is a lot to get done and I'll be pretty busy. It's fun looking forward to my new role though and I'm already started on a few small things. It was coming down pretty hard and cold outside when I got home so instead of going to work out at the fitness center Ashley and I did a bunch of exercises at home in the house. I'll have to get back into 8 minute abs this week and leading up to the wedding so I am looking good!

Tonight after work, I'm going to go home to pick up my shoes and then go directly over to the fitness center to run - so I'll report on that tomorrow. Hmm... other stuff going on. Sent some pics down to Ella with the St. John Sun Times so it will be fun to see if she uses any for her article on the race. Also, Spencer from St. Thomas has visited and posted some good motivational comments for me on this blog, he has started something similar, and has information on his rental home as well as his boat, the Happy Hour. They both look great, and you can check out his blog here:

www.spencerusvi.blogspot.com

I also saw on the 8 tuff miles site he placed first in his age for the last "tuff tune up" on St. John. Way to go Spencer!! Other than ALL THAT, not much else going on. Got some wedding stuff to take care of later this week, and then next week is the trip! I can't wait. Hope everyone's doing well.

Hilarious...

I'll try to get that big update in tonight.. but to tide you over - here's a funny little VI story:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jAdXN7cF0YmitDB3FDy55XB8bn5gD8UMFGTG0

quick update - more tomorrow

I'm exhausted... We just spent 6.5 hours laying a new engineered hardwood laminate floor in our kitchen - it looks amazing! I'll post pictures tomorrow and a training update. I had a GREAT run on my lunch break today and the knee feels perfect - feeling good! OK my eyes are literally shutting on me so I'm off to bed.

The Craziest Week of My Life? Probably....

But in a good way.. I think! Sorry no post for almost a week - things have been craaazzzy around here lately. First let me say that I haven't done much training the past few days - although I think the knee is pretty much completely better now so in the exactly 2 weeks I have until we leave for the islands I will hopefully get in 10-12 runs/workouts of some kind. No, I won't be ironman when I board the plane (even my mom was making fun of me, saying "have fun walking the whole race!"), but yes I'll be healthier than I have been and I'll be off an an adventure w/ my two best friends. I hope to get back going on the nightly or so posts, even if they are short, leading up to the big day.

So to recap the craziness. First, Ashley has been gone so taking care of our zoo of animals in itself has been a bit crazy but not a big deal. Anyway, last Friday I interviewed for a new position at the Children's Museum where I work. The interview went great and I'm happy to announce officially that I got the new job! It's a great promotion for me for a lot of reasons and I'm now the Museum's Corporate Relations and Special Events Manager. This basically means I'll be forming relationships with current and potential donors and sponsors to hopefully garner large donations to the Museum (sorry I am capitalizing Museum but we always do that in our communication so it's habit!). Also I'll be in charge of planning special events that raise funds for the Museum, including the big annual gala event. It should be a big challenge, hopefully fun, and exciting. Most of all I'm excited to have a bit more ownership of my projects and make a bigger impact to help the institution.

Also, I found out another big project I had been working on turned out the way I wanted it to, and that is good news too! Stay tuned for more on that as info becomes available in the future...

Then... yesterday my boss (well my old boss as I'm moving into a new department w/ my promotion) announced she is leaving. This leaves the Museum in an interesting predicament and it remains to be seen how everything will shake out in the next month or so. Anyway, I'll be finishing up some of my current projects and starting the new position right after we get back from the race.

And speaking of the race, I had fun corresponding with the editor and publisher of the St. John Sun Times Eloise Ham over the last couple of days. I contacted her to wish her well in 8 Tuff Miles after reading about her here, on the News of St. John website (Also an update from Peter in there, scroll down a few entries to see more about Eloise) She emailed me back w/ a bunch of questions regarding the race so I did my best to answer them. It will be fun to see if she uses some of my responses in her coverage of the race for the Sun Times (if so I'll have to scan a copy and post it up here after the race or something). She also gave me lots of great advice about some stuff to check out when we are down on St. John. Sounds like she is doing a great job after taking over the newspaper less than a year ago! Pick up the Sun Times (it's free!) when you are on St. John people!

Another weird/cool St. John connection I noticed this week. Well more just a coincidence I guess but I picked up our local suburban newspaper yesterday and the cover story of the Life section was on a guy that was apparently born and raised on St. John who now lives in the Chicago area (read it here). He is going to be competing on the new Survivor, which I believe starts tomorrow. I just thought that was weird. My grandma told me once that if you learn a new word, you'll hear it in the next 3 days (or something like that) and it is TOTALLY TRUE. Seriously, next time you learn a word for the first time, you'll hear it for sure within the next week. Maybe it's like that for me because I'm so focused on heading down to St. John for this trip and the race that now I just keep noticing or finding St. John stuff randomly! That for some reason reminds me of my brother Ben's story of how his Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket magically represented the spirit of a well-known Jewish holiday. It's too hard to explain - just ask him about it.

On a final note, I've been busy updating and doing some stuff to our kitchen while Ashley is away as a sorta surprise/valentine's day gift for her. I created a chalkboard message center, got a new stainless steel trash can for recycling stuff, mounted under cabinet lights and a new stereo/ipod system, and build a new shelf for Pims dog crate and a new feeding station for him. See, you all thought, "T.J. is sooo lazy lately, why isn't he working out more!?" but really I have been busy! Now I just gotta convince Ashley to help me put down a new floor in there and it will actually be pleasant to cook and eat in our kitchen!

Look for a run report tomorrow.