The Rowe Family Blog

Even before we moved into our house Mary and I knew we were going to put a deck on it.  About four years ago we did just that.  Little did we know what we were in for. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a busy weekend.  One that didn’t allow me to do my typical Sunday morning long run.  Sometimes life gets in the way of running.  I had trouble running most of the previous week primarily due to sore calves that I earned at the 2009 Utica Boilermaker.  Like a small child I was grumpy because my routine was thrown off.  To top it off it started to pour rain while I got ready to head out.  I wasn’t heading out for just any run, this was a 20 mile run.  This would be the longest I’d run since October of 2008.  I didn’t want to go.

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This was my fourth consecutive time running the Utica Boilermaker 15k Roadrace.  The last race I ran, the Airport 5k, wasn’t particularly fun for me.  I took it too seriously pushing for a time goal.  Many times I’ve said I want to keep running fun and avoid being so competitive.  This race was a return to racing for fun for me.

Although my primary goal was to have fun I still had time goals but they were not overly aggressive.   I wanted to break 1:05 and hoped to break 1:03.  Various race time predictors said I was capable of breaking an hour based on my time at the Airport 5k but I felt that was aggressive based on the course (the boilermaker course is far more difficult than running on a runway!).  I had a blast and learned some valuable lessons that day.

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It’s not often that I run a 5k.  I prefer longer races.  I like 15ks and half marathons a lot and I don’t mind 10ks but 5ks are too short.  Short races hurt the whole time.  Longer races feel good except perhaps near the end.  Prior to Saturday I had run 3 5ks since I become a runner (and 1 5k before I was a runner).  I’ve run 3 marathons — I’d rather run a marathon than a 5k!

One of my long term running goals was to break 20 minutes in a 5k.  At the Corporate Challenge this year I proved to myself that I could break 20 minutes.  I ran a pace there that would not only break 20 minutes but break 19 minutes. I decided to readjust my goal and shoot for a sub-19 5k.  The airport 5k was my target race. Read the rest of this entry »

Last night I ran my first 1 mile race. Running a one mile race was a great way to remind me that I don’t like running short races! They are more difficult than long races because you are uncomfortable for the entire race. In my last half marathon I was pushing close to the V threshold (Vomit Threshold) for the last 5k but for the first 10 miles I was pretty comfortable and really enjoying myself. At this one mile race I was uncomfortable .001 seconds after the gun fired.
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The course for the 2009 Rock and Roll Las Vegas Marathon was announced yesterday.  I’m pretty blown away by this course.  The entire half marathon route is on the strip!  That means that the strip will be closed to traffic for about 5 hours.  I’m really surprised, but excited, that the race coordinators were able to get the necessary permits to do this.  I applaud Clark County (the strip isn’t actually in Las Vegas) for allowing such a prominate course. Read the rest of this entry »

In 2007 the Corporate Challenge was my first race (even if I don’t consider it a real race).  In 2008 I ran it again and improved a lot.  This year I ran it again and had an incredible race. Read the rest of this entry »

For quite some time I was a contributor to Bianca2000’s Shark Attack map on Platial.  In early 2009 I decided I wanted to do things on my own.  Platial was slow, I didn’t like the way it looked, and I had to wait for Bianca (if that’s her real name?!) to update with my posts.  I found some excellent free software that would allow me to do just that.

I don’t update the blog as quickly as Marcus at Swim At Your Own Risk, nor do I cover as things as he does.  I’m focusing  only on shark attacks.  It’s a strange fascination that I have.

So check it out!  It has a global shark attack map that allows you to see where shark attacks are clustered around the world.  In some ways it’s a lot like Bianca’s shark attack map when I originally found it so many years ago.

I made an order from performancebike.com a short time ago.  The total was for $87.  I printed the receipt, two copies actually.  Then I noticed a 95$ charge to my credit card.  I called and they said they’d refund the difference to my card.  Many days later no refunds have come through my card.

I called them again today.  Today they said that I need to fax in my receipt.  In addition they said they had no record of me calling previously about their billing error.  Two phones call so far and no resolution.

This is the first, and likely last, time I’ve ordered from performancebike.com.  What a horrible experience.

Update (5/26/2009): After my third phone call and faxing them my receipt they have finally refunded the $8.40 error.

About a week ago I ran the Grand Island Half Marathon and exceeded my expectations.  I’ve been saying for quite some time that my short term goal is to break 20 minutes in a 5k and my long term goal is to qualify to run the Boston Marathon.  I haven’t run a 5k recently to prove it but I’m pretty sure I can break 20 minutes now.  I ran a 20:13 for the final 5k of the GI Half!  Read the rest of this entry »